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About John Willson
- John Willson (August 5, 1776 – May 26, 1860) was a judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in New Jersey in 1776.
- He arrived in the Niagara District around 1789 and settled in Saltfleet Township, where he became a farmer, in 1797.
- In 1809, he was elected to the 5th Parliament of Upper Canada in a by-election in the West riding of York County.
- He supported reform and voted against the suspension of habeas corpus in the province during the War of 1812.
- He helped introduce the Common Schools Bill, which introduced public support of elementary schools.
- In his later periods in office, he adopted more a more conservative position, although he continued to represent the interests of farmers.
- In 1832, he supported a bill to dispose of the clergy reserves, proposing that the proceeds go to education. He became a justice of the peace in the Gore District (present day Hamilton, Ontario) in 1811 and, in 1838, became a judge in the district court.
- In 1839, he became a member of the Legislative Council.
- He served as commissioner for the Burlington Bay and Welland Canals. He died in Saltfleet Township in 1860. His great-great-granddaughter was one of Canada's preeminent portrait sculptors, Dr.
- Elizabeth Bradford Holbrook (1913–2009 ).
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