Simcoe, John Graves, 1752-1806

John Graves Simcoe was born at Cotterstock, England in 1752, the third of four sons of John and Katherine Simcoe. He spent one year at Merton College, Oxford, before entering the army as an Ensign in the 35th Foot in 1770. He was posted to Boston in 1775, and in 1777 was given command of the Queen's Rangers, a mixed (predominantly light infantry) corps made up of loyalists. He took part in several operations in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia before being invalided home as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1781.

In 1782, Simcoe married Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim, the ward of his godfather, Admiral Samuel Graves and his wife Margaret. She provided a significant financial support for his career, enabling Simcoe to purchase an estate in Honiton, Devon, and build Wolford Lodge, which served as the Simcoe family home until 1923. He spent the years 1782-1791 as a half-pay officer, managing his estate, pursuing military promotion and appointments, and corresponding with members of his former command about land claims and problems faced by loyalists. He entered Parliament in 1790, but took little part in debates. In 1791 he was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. Simcoe, his wife, and two of their younger children arrived in the Canadas in 1792.

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