Lieutenant-GeneralJohn Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British army officer, politician and colonial administrator who served as thelieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796. He foundedYork, which is now known asToronto, and was instrumental in introducing institutions such as courts of law,trial by jury,English common law,freehold land tenure, and also in the abolition ofslavery in Upper Canada.

John Graves Simcoe
Portrait byGeorge Theodore Berthon
1stLieutenant Governor of Upper Canada
In office 1791–1796
Monarch	George III
Governor General	Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester
Premier	William Pitt the Younger
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Peter Russell
Personal details
Born	(1752-02-25)25 February 1752 Cotterstock,Oundle, England
Died	26 October 1806(1806-10-26) (aged 54) Exeter, England
Spouse	Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim ​ ​ (m. 1782)​
Children	11
Parent(s)	John Simcoe Katherine Simcoe
Education	Exeter School,Eton College, Merton College, Oxford
Occupation	Military officer,colonial administrator
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Great Britain
Branch/service	British Army
Years of service	1770–1806
Rank	Lieutenant-general
Unit	35th Regiment of Foot 40th Regiment of Foot
Commands	Queen's Rangers 22nd Regiment of Foot Commander-in-Chief, India
Battles/wars	American War of Independence Siege of Boston New York and New Jersey campaign Philadelphia campaign Battle of Monmouth Battle of Crooked Billet Battle of Quinton's Bridge Battle of Brandywine Yorktown campaign Raid on Richmond Battle of Spencer's Ordinary Siege of Yorktown Haitian Revolution

His long-term goal was the development of Upper Canada (Ontario) as a model community built on aristocratic and conservative principles, designed to demonstrate the superiority of those principles to the republicanism of the United States. His energetic efforts were only partially successful in establishing a localgentry, a thrivingChurch of England, and an anti-American coalition with select indigenous nations. He is seen by many Canadians as a founding figure in Canadian history, especially by those inSouthern Ontario.^[1] He is commemorated inToronto withSimcoe Day.

Simcoe was the only surviving son ofCornishman John (1710–1759) and Katherine Simcoe (died 1767). His parents had four children, but he was the only one to live past childhood; Percy drowned in 1764, while Paulet William and John William died as infants. His father was a captain in theRoyal Navy who commanded the 60-gunHMSPembroke during thesiege of Louisbourg, withJames Cook as hissailing master. He died ofpneumonia on 15 May 1759 on board his ship in the mouth of theSaint Lawrence River a few months prior to thesiege of Quebec, and was buried at sea.^[2] The family then moved to his mother's parental home inExeter. His paternal grandparents were William and Mary (née Hutchinson) Simcoe.

He was educated atExeter Grammar School andEton College. He spent a year atMerton College, Oxford;^[3] he was then admitted toLincoln's Inn, but decided to follow the military career for which his father had intended him. He was initiated intoFreemasonry in Union Lodge, Exeter, on 2 November 1773.^[4]

In 1770, Simcoe entered the British Army as an ensign in the35th Regiment of Foot, and his unit was dispatched to theThirteen Colonies. Later, he saw action in theAmerican Revolutionary War during thesiege of Boston. After the siege, in July 1776, he was promoted captain in the40th Regiment of Foot.^[5] He saw action with thegrenadier company of the 40th Foot in theNew York and New Jersey campaign and thePhiladelphia campaign. Simcoe commanded the 40th's Grenadiers at theBattle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777, where he was wounded. Legend has it that Simcoe ordered his men at Brandywine not to fire upon three fleeing rebels, among whom wasGeorge Washington.^[6]

In 1777, Simcoe sought to form a Loyalist regiment offree blacks from Boston but instead was offered the command of theQueen's Rangers formed onStaten Island on 15 October 1777. It was a well-trained light infantry unit comprising 11 companies of 30 men -- 1grenadier, and 1hussar, and the rest light infantry. The Queen's Rangers saw extensive action during the Philadelphia campaign, including a successful surprise attack (planned and executed by Simcoe) at theBattle of Crooked Billet.

In 1778, Simcoe led an attack onJudge William Hancock's house during a foraging expeditionopposed by Patriot militia. Hancock was also killed, although he was not with the Americans. The attack took place at night and with bayonets. On 28 June of that year, Simcoe and his Queen's Rangers took part in theBattle of Monmouth, in and nearFreehold, New Jersey.

On 31 August 1778, Lieut. Col. Simcoe earned a victory overDaniel Nimham's Native American force serving under the Continental Army as theStockbridge Militia in theBattle of Kingsbridge (also known as the “Stockbridge Massacre”). The skirmish had been planned by Simcoe for an earlier ambush by the same unit, and took place in what today isVan Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, New York. The battlefield is recognized as theIndian Field there.^[7]

On 26 October 1779, Simcoe and 80 men launched an attack on centralNew Jersey from southern Staten Island known as Simcoe's Raid, from what is known today as theConference House, resulting in the burning of Patriot supplies inside aDutch Reformed Church inFinderne, including hay and grain; the release of Loyalist prisoners from theSomerset County Courthouse; and Simcoe's capture byArmand Tuffin de La Rouërie.^[8][9][10] Simcoe was released at the end of 1779^[11] and rejoined his unit inVirginia. He participated in theRaid on Richmond with Benedict Arnold in January 1781 and was involved ina skirmish near Williamsburg and was at thesiege of Yorktown. He was invalided back to England in December of that year as a lieutenant-colonel, having been promoted in March 1782.^[12]

Simcoe wrote a book on his experiences with the Queen's Rangers, titledA Journal of the Operations of the royal Queen's Rangers from the end of the year 1777 to the conclusion of the late American War, which was published in 1787.^[13] He served briefly as Inspector General of Recruitment for the British Army, from 1789 until his departure for Upper Canada two years later.^[14]

Simcoe convalesced at theDevon home of his godfather,AdmiralSamuel Graves. In 1782, Simcoe marriedElizabeth Posthuma Gwillim, his godfather's ward. Elizabeth was a wealthy heiress, who acquired a 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) estate atHoniton in Devon and built Wolford Lodge. Wolford was the Simcoe family seat until 1923.^[15]

The Simcoes had five daughters before their posting in Canada. Son Francis was born in 1791. Their Canadian-born daughter, Katherine, died in infancy inYork. She is buried in theVictoria Square Memorial Park on Portland Avenue, Toronto. Francis returned with his father to England when his tenure expired and joined the army. He was killed in an infantry charge during thePeninsular War in 1812.

Son Henry Addington Simcoe became an English theologian.

Simcoe entered politics in 1790. He was electedMember of Parliament forSt Mawes in Cornwall, as a supporter of the government (led byWilliam Pitt the Younger). As MP, he proposed raising a militia force like the Queen's Rangers. He also proposed to lead an invasion of Spain. But instead he was to be made lieutenant governor of the new loyalist province ofUpper Canada.^[15] He resigned from Parliament in 1792 on taking up his new post.

TheConstitutional Act 1791 divided Canada into the Provinces ofUpper Canada (Ontario) andLower Canada (Quebec). The Act established separate governments andlegislative assemblies for each province. Lower Canada was the French-speaking eastern portion, which retained the Frenchcivil law and protections for theRoman Catholic Church established when Britain took over the area after its defeat of the French in theSeven Years' War. Upper Canada was the western area, newly settled after theAmerican Revolutionary War. The settlers were mostly English speakers, including Loyalists from theThirteen Colonies, and also the Six Nations of theIroquois, who had been British allies during the war. The Crown had purchased land from theMississauga and otherFirst Nations to give the Loyalists land grants in partial compensation for property lost in the United States, and to help them set up new communities and develop this territory.^[16]

Simcoe was appointed Lieutenant-Governor on 12 September 1791, and left for Canada with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Sophia, leaving three daughters behind in England with their aunt. They left England in September and arrived in Canada on 11 November. Due to severe weather, the Simcoes spent the winter inQuebec City. Simcoe finally reachedKingston, Upper Canada, on 24 June 1792.^[15]

In a proclamation on 16 July 1792, he renamed several islands at the mouth of the archipelago at the head of theSt. Lawrence river to commemorate the British generals of theSeven Years' War (Amherst Island,Carleton Island,Gage Island,Wolfe Island, andHowe Island).^[17]

Under the Constitutional Act, the provincial government consisted of the Lieutenant-Governor, an appointed Executive Council and Legislative Council, and anelected Legislative Assembly. The first meeting of the nine-member Legislative Council and sixteen-member Legislative Assembly took place at Newark (nowNiagara-on-the-Lake) on 17 September 1792.

Following Simcoe's work precipitated by theChloe Cooley incident, the Assembly passed theAct Against Slavery in 1793, the first legislation to limit slavery in the British Empire; the English colonists of Upper Canada took pride in this distinction with respect to the French-Canadian populace of Lower Canada. The Upper Canadians valued theircommon law legal system, as opposed to the civil law of Quebec, which had chafed them ever since 1763. This was one of the primary reasons for the partition of 1791. Simcoe collaborated extensively with his Attorney-GeneralJohn White on the file.

The principles of theBritish Constitution do not admit of that slavery whichChristianity condemns. The moment I assume the Government of Upper Canada under no modification will I assent to a law that discriminates by dishonest policy between natives of Africa, America, or Europe.

— John Graves Simcoe, Address to the Legislative Assembly^[18]

However, this Act did not free anybody directly, and slaves continued to be held across Upper Canada.^[19] The Crown abolished slavery throughout theBritish Empire, including Upper Canada, in 1834.

Simcoe's priority was theNorthwest Indian War between the United States and the "Western Confederacy" of Native Americans west of theAppalachian Mountains and south of theGreat Lakes (theShawnee,Miami,Wyandot, and other tribes). This conflict had begun in 1785, and was still raging when Simcoe arrived in 1792. Simcoe had hoped to form anIndian barrier state between the two countries, even though he distrustedJoseph Brant, the main Indian leader. Simcoe rejected the section of theTreaty of Paris (1783) which awarded that area to the US, on the grounds that American actions had nullified the treaty.^[20] However, theFrench Revolutionary Wars broke out in 1793. The government in London decided to seek good terms with the United States. Simcoe was instructed to avoid giving the US reason to mistrust Britain but, at the same time, to keep the Natives on both sides of the border friendly to Britain. The Indians asked for British military support, which was initially refused, but in 1794 Britain supplied the Indians with rifles and ammunition.^[21]

In February 1794, thegovernor general,Lord Dorchester, expecting the US to ally with France, said that war was likely to break out between the US and Britain before the year was out. This encouraged the Indians in their war. Dorchester ordered Simcoe to rally the Indians and arm British vessels on the Great Lakes. He also builtFort Miami (present-dayMaumee, Ohio) to supply the Indians. Simcoe expelled Americans from a settlement on the southern shore ofLake Erie which had threatened British control of the lake.US President Washington denounced the "irregular and high-handed proceeding of Mr. Simcoe."^[22] While Dorchester planned for a defensive war, Simcoe urged London to declare war: "Upper Canada is not to be defended by remaining within the boundary line."^[23] Dorchester was officially reprimanded by the Crown for his strong speech against the Americans in 1794.

Simcoe realised that Newark made an unsuitable capital because it was on the Canada–US border and subject to attack. He proposed moving the capital to a more defensible position, in the middle of Upper Canada's southwestern peninsula betweenLake Erie andLake Huron. He named the new locationLondon, and renamed the river there theThames in anticipation of the change. Dorchester rejected this proposal, but accepted Simcoe's second choice, the present site ofToronto. Simcoe moved the capital there in 1793, and renamed the settlementYork afterFrederick, Duke of York, KingGeorge III's second son. The town was severely underdeveloped at the time of its founding so he brought with him politicians, builders, Nova Scotia timber men, and Englishmen skilled in whipsawing and cutting joists and rafters.^[24]

Simcoe began construction of two roads through Upper Canada, for defence and to encourage settlement and trade.Yonge Street (named after British Minister of War SirGeorge Yonge) ran north–south from York toLake Simcoe. Soldiers of theQueen's Rangers began cutting the road in August 1793, reachingHolland Landing in 1796.Dundas Street (named for Colonial SecretaryHenry Dundas) ran east–west, between York and London.

The Northwest Indian War ended after the United States defeated the Indians at theBattle of Fallen Timbers. They made peace under theTreaty of Greenville. While still at war with France, Britain could not afford to antagonise the US in theJay Treaty of 1794, and agreed to withdraw north of the Great Lakes, as agreed in theTreaty of Paris. Simcoe evacuated the frontier forts.

In 1794, Simcoe was appointed to the rank ofmajor general. In July 1796, poor health (gout andneuralgia) forced him to return to Britain. He was unable to return to Upper Canada and resigned his office in 1798.^[25]

From October 1796 until March 1797, Simcoe briefly served as the commander of the British expeditionary force which was dispatched to captured theFrench colony ofSaint-Domingue, which was in the midst of theHaitian Revolution.^[26] After assuming control of the British forces in Saint-Domingue, Simcoe was attacked by troops under the command of Black generalToussaint Louverture, who at the time was fighting for theFrench Republic. An assault on the British-held town ofSaint-Marc was repulsed, though Louverture's forces capturedMirebalais and the Central Plateau. Simcoe was eventually replaced as leader of the expeditionary force in March.^[27][28]

Simcoe was appointedcolonel of the81st Foot in 1798, but exchanged the position for the22nd Foot less than six months later.

Simcoe was appointed commander in chief in India in 1806, but he fell ill on his way there. He returned to England, where he died.^[29] He was buried inWolford Chapel on the Simcoe family estate nearHoniton, Devon. The Ontario Heritage Foundation acquired title to the chapel in 1982.^[30]

Many of Simcoe's personal effects including his sword, sabre, and walking cane, may be viewed by appointment at theArchives of Ontario inToronto. Elizabeth Simcoe's personal effects and hundreds of her watercolour paintings are also available there.

• In the winter of 1779, the first knownValentine's Day letter in America was given by then Lieutenant Colonel John Simcoe toSarah 'Sally' Townsend.^[31]
• Simcoe Street inOyster Bay, New York is named after him for his destruction of a vast apple orchard and reconstruction of a hill fort on the site.^[32]
• Act Against Slavery passed in 1793, leading to the abolition of slavery inUpper Canada by 1810. It was superseded by theSlavery Abolition Act 1833 that abolished slavery across theBritish Empire.
• Simcoe namedLondon, Ontario and theRiver Thames in Upper Canada.
• He namedLake Simcoe andSimcoe County to the west and north ofLake Simcoe in honour of his father.
• Simcoe named his summer homeCastle Frank for his first son Francis Gwillim, who was preceded by eight daughters. (It is in what is now named Rosedale, a neighbourhood indowntown Toronto.)^[33]
• TheOntario Heritage Foundation placed a plaque in Exeter's cathedral precinct to commemorate his life.
• Simcoe's regiment is still called theQueen's York Rangers, now anarmoured reconnaissance regiment of theCanadian Forces reserves.

Many places in Canada were named in honour of Simcoe:

• The town ofSimcoe in southwestern Ontario
• The Simcoe Fairgrounds in Simcoe
• Civic Holiday, astatutory holiday celebrated throughout Canada under a variety of names by region,^[34] was established in honour of Simcoe by the Toronto City Council in 1869.^[35] Other Ontario municipalities and then other provinces soon took up the holiday as well, leading to its Canada-wide status, but without any attribution to Simcoe. In 1965, the Toronto City Council declared the holiday would henceforth be known asSimcoe Day within Toronto.^[35] Attempts have been made to have the official provincial name—still Civic Holiday^[34]—amended, but none have succeeded.
• Governor Simcoe Secondary School inSt. Catharines, Ontario
• Governor Simcoe Public School. Grades K – 8, inLondon, Ontario. The now closed and demolished school was located at the corner of Simcoe and Clarence Streets.
• Three parallel streets in downtown Toronto,John Street, Graves Street, and Simcoe Street, are all located near the fort where Simcoe lived during his early years in York and were named for him. Graves Street was later renamed Duncan Street.
• Simcoe Street, Simcoe Street United Church, and Simcoe Hall Settlement House inOshawa.
• Simcoe Street inNew Westminster and Simcoe Park was named by Colonel Moody in reference to the surveying of the area after the city of Toronto.
• Simcoe Street, Simcoe Street School and the Simcoe Street School Tigers Bantam Baseball Team of Niagara Falls
• Simcoe Island, located nearKingston, Ontario
• Simcoe Hall, located on theSt. George campus of theUniversity of Toronto
• John Graves Simcoe Armoury, located on Industrial Parkway inAurora, Ontario
• Governors Road, a named section ofOntario Highway 99 running betweenDundas, Ontario andParis, Ontario

Two places have been named for Simcoe with the titleLord, even though Simcoe was never a Lord in his lifetime:

• Lord Simcoe Drive inBrampton, Ontario
• Lord Simcoe Hotel, which operated from 1956 to 1981

Captain John Kennaway Simcoe, the last member of the Simcoe family, died without issue in 1891 and was survived by his widow beyond 1911.^{[36][better source needed]}

A fictionalised version of John Graves Simcoe is a primary antagonist in the 2014–2017AMC dramaTurn: Washington's Spies, portrayed bySamuel Roukin.^[37] He is portrayed in the series as a cruel and ruthless sociopath.

Despite the strong fictionalisation of the namesake TV-show character, several biographical aspects of the latter's historical counterpart appear to have been adapted for and transferred onto the fictional character Edmund Hewlett. For instance, Hewlett's romantic ambitions regardingAnna Strong in the series resemble Simcoe's courtship ofSarah Townsend, sister ofCulper Ring spyRobert Townsend, for whom he wrote a poem that is thought to be the first verifiable valentine on the North American continent.^[38] It is presumed that Townsend, much like the fictionalised portrayal of Anna Strong onTurn, may have gathered and passed on intelligence gleaned from her unsuspecting suitor to the Culper Ring.

Similarly, Hewlett's close bond with his horse Bucephalus (presumably named afterBucephalus, the horse ofAlexander the Great) which overarches all four seasons, appears to have been inspired by history: in 1783, John Graves Simcoe sent a series of letters to New York in order to find the horse he had ridden on campaign, Salem. Salem was located and Simcoe subsequently paid the considerable sum of £40 to have him shipped to England and thus returned to him.^[39] Shortly before his departure to Upper Canada almost a decade later, it is reported he was greatly concerned for Salem's welfare in his absence, therefore making arrangements for the latter's care and upkeep.^[40]

• Craig, Gerald M.Upper Canada: the formative years, 1784–1841 (McClelland & Stewart, 1963) ch 2
• Fryer, Mary Beacock, and Christopher Dracott.John Graves Simcoe 1752–1806: A Biography(Dundurn, 1998)online
• Mealing, S. R. "SIMCOE, JOHN GRAVES," inDictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Retrieved 6 October 2015,online.
• Mealing, Stanley Robert. "The Enthusiasms of John Graves Simcoe."Report of the Annual Meeting. Vol. 37. No. 1. The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada, 1958.online
• Read, David Breakinridge. The Life and Times of John Graves Simcoe. Toronto: George Virtue, 1890.
• Riddell, William Renwick.The Life of John Graves Simcoe, First Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Upper Canada, 1792–96 (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1926.)
• Scott, Duncan Campbell.John Graves Simcoe (Toronto: Morang & Company, 1905)online
• Taylor, Alan (2006).The Divided Ground (1st ed.). New York:Alfred A. Knopf.ISBN 978-0-679-45471-7.OCLC 58043162.
• Wise, Sydney F. (1953)."The Indian Diplomacy of John Graves Simcoe"(PDF).Report of the Annual Meeting.32 (1).The Canadian Historical Association.ISSN 0847-4478.OCLC 671805518. Retrieved18 June 2020.

• Simcoe, John Graves.The correspondence of Lieut. Governor John Graves Simcoe: with allied documents relating to his administration of the government of Upper Canada (2 vol. The Society, 1924)

• Works by John Graves Simcoe atFaded Page (Canada)
• Biography at theDictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• John Graves Simcoe's biography
• Massacre at Hancock's Bridge
• Massacre at Hancock's Bridge 2
• The Real Castle Frank (Toronto Star)
• Simcoe family fonds, Archives of Ontario