Peter Van Alstine

Who was Peter Van Alstine?

Peter Van Alstine was a farmer, soldier and political figure in Upper Canada.

He was born in Kinderhook, New York in 1743. He served as a major in a Loyalist regiment during the American Revolution. He helped settle a group of Quakers and a number of former Loyalist soldiers in the Bay of Quinte area. Van Alstine first settled in Adolphustown Township in Upper Canada. He was made a justice of the peace in Montreal District in 1785 and became a justice of the peace in the Mecklenburg District in 1788. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada to represent Prince Edward and Adolphustown in a 1793 by-election after his neighbour Philip Dorland was unseated because he could not take the oath of office as a Quaker. Van Alstine later moved to Marysburgh Township in Prince Edward County near the current site of Glenora where he built a gristmill. He operated a ferry between this location and Adolphustown. A small settlement developed in the area around his mill. The old stone building that was Van Alstine's mill still stands at Glenora.

Van Alstine died at Adolphustown in 1811.