Thomas Henry

Thomas Henry

In 1811, Thomas Henry emigrated to Canada with his family.  The family arrived in Little York with a letter from the British Consul in New York, introducing them to General Brock.

Shortly after the outbreak of the war, Henry began work as an attendant to Judge William Drummer Powell.  In his position as attendant to a Judge who was a member of the Executive Council, Henry spent much of 1812 travelling the province with the Judge.  The following year, in 1813, Henry continued his work as an attendant with Judge Powell’s successor, Judge William Campbell.  While in this position, Henry met many of the most influential people in Ontario.

As the War was coming to an end in 1814, Henry was hired as a substitute in the Army.  A substitute was a person who served in an army or navy in the place of a conscript.  He served as a guard to American prisoners as they were moved from Toronto to Kingston, and from Fort George to Niagara.  Henry served in this position until the war ended.

According to the book Memoir of Rev. Thomas Henry: Christian Minister, York Pioneer and Soldier of 1812, while a member of the Garrison each soldier would receive an extra bottle of spirits on Saturday nights.  Rather than drinking this bottle, apparently Henry would send his to a local store to be sold.  He then saved the earnings made from their sale and was able to save up $400 by the time he was 17.  This money was used to purchase land when he arrived in Port Oshawa in 1816.

“During the War of 1812 both my father and myself did  military duty part of the time, and my father was made prisoner when Little York was captured.  I was an officer in the Militia for many years.” Thomas Henry Letter to the Editor – The Ontario Reformer – Friday, August 16, 1872.