John Tucker Williams

Who was John Tucker Williams?

John Tucker Williams was a navy officer and political figure in Canada West.

He was born at Penryn, Cornwall in 1789, a member of the Williams family of Caerhays and Burncoose. His middle name was for the Tucker family of Trematon Castle in Cornwall. He joined the Royal Navy and served as a commander at the Battle of Trafalgar, coming to Upper Canada in 1812. During the War of 1812, he commanded a ship on Lake Ontario. Williams first settled in Cobourg and later moved to Port Hope, becoming its first mayor in 1850. He commanded a militia regiment during the Rebellions of 1837 and represented East Durham in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1841 to 1847. He died at his estate, Penryn Park, in Port Hope in 1854.

He married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Ward of Port Hope, and sister of Henry Alfred Ward. Thomas Ward was an English Captain who came to Canada with Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1791 and later served as Judge of the County Court. John and Sarah's son, Arthur, later represented Durham East in the provincial and federal legislatures, and his statue stands in front of the town hall of Port Hope, Ontario.