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John Denison was an early settler of Upper Canada. He was a militia officer and became a member of Upper Canada's notorious family compact. Through the friendship between his family and Peter Russell (a senior administrator of the new province) and his sister Elizabeth Russell, Denison and his family became one of the province's richest.

Denison's wife, the former Sophia Taylor, had been a childhood friend with Elizabeth. When Simcoe learned he would be appointed Lieutenant Governor, he lined up individuals to accompany him, who would be appointed to positions of influence. They would, in effect, fill a role similar to that of the landed gentry in English counties - this was the family compact. Simcoe had picked Russell, who, in turn, encouraged Denison to join them.

Denison, his wife and three sons arrived in Kingston, Ontario in 1792. He advertized an invitation for farmers to cultivate barley the same year and used that barley to open a brewery the following year.

At 57, he led a militia company during the War of 1812, with his three sons serving under him.

A dozen years near the top of the provincial administration had made Russell the largest landowner in the province. He was also a slave owner. His sister Elizabeth became the province's largest landowner, when she inherited his property on his death in 1808. She gave Amy Pompadour to her friend Sophia. Pompadour has been described as the last slave in the province. Denison family tradition states they later freed her.

References

1. ^ James Granville Fleming (1913-12-01). "The Fighting Denisons". Maclean's magazine. Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2021-02-20. There was a close intimacy between John Denison and his wife and Peter Russell and his sister; so much so that when the Russells decided to go with Colonel Simcoe, they endeavored to induce their friends to accompany them. Mrs. Denison was eager to make the journey and her husband was strongly tempted by the stories of the excellentshooting and fishing that were to be enjoyed in the new world.
2. David Gagan (1971). "The Historical Identity of the Denison Family of Toronto, 1792-1860" (PDF). Erudit. Vol. 6, no. 1. p. 127. ISSN 1712-9109. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
3. ^ Robert Evelyn Denison (1910). "A history of the Denison family in Canada, 1792 to 1910 : for the use of members of the family only". Thomas Fisher Rare Books Library. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-02-20. The cottage referred to in this account, appears to have been built on Front Street, near Bay. Help for household work was very hard to get then as now, and we read that Miss Russel presented Mrs. John Denison with a negro female slave, Amy Pompadour, said to be the last slave ever legally held in Upper Canada.
4. Edith G. First (1979–2016). "Russell, Elizabeth, gentlewoman and diarist". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Archived from the original on 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2019-06-13. It was not until 1771 that Peter visited Harwich. Elizabeth was charmed with her unknown, unmarried brother, who was more than 20 years older than she was, while Peter was delighted to help with advice, instruction, and encouragement. He returned from the American colonies in 1782, and after their father's death in 1786 he and Elizabeth lived together in Ipswich; they were to be a devoted couple for the rest of their lives.
5. William Renwick Riddell (July 1920). "Upper Canada-Early Period" (PDF). The Journal of Negro History. 5 (3): 324. doi:10.2307/2713625. JSTOR 2713625. S2CID 149799189. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
6. Peggy Bristow; Dionne Brand (1994). Peggy Bristow (ed.). We're Rooted Here and They Can't Pull Us Up: Essays in African Canadian Women's History. University of Toronto Press. p. 73. ISBN 9780802068811. Retrieved 2021-02-20.

• Denison family of Toronto
• Businesspeople in brewing
• People from York, Upper Canada
• 1824 deaths
• 1755 births