James Webster was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

-born political figure in Canada West. He represented West Halton and then Waterloo in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada

The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the...

 from 1844 to 1848 as a Conservative.

He was born in Balruddery, Forfar

Forfar

Forfar is a parish, town and former royal burgh of approximately 13,500 people in Angus, located in the East Central Lowlands of Scotland. Forfar is the county town of Angus, which was officially known as Forfarshire from the 18th century until 1929, when the ancient name was reinstated, and...

, the son of James Webster, and came to Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

 in 1833. With Adam Fergusson, Webster founded the village of Fergus

Fergus, Ontario

Fergus is the largest community in Centre Wellington, a township within Wellington County in Ontario, Canada. It lies on the Grand River about 25 km north of Guelph.-History:...

. He was named a commissioner for Nichol Township in 1835 and later served as a district councillor for the township; he was also a commissioner for the Court of Requests. Webster married Margaret Wilson in 1838. His reelection to the provincial assembly in 1848 was appealed by Fergusson Blair

Adam Johnston Fergusson Blair

Adam Johnston Fergusson Blair, PC , known prior to 1862 as Adam Johnston Fergusson, was a Canadian lawyer and politician....

 and Webster did not run for reelection. In 1852, he moved to Guelph

Guelph, Ontario

Guelph is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Waterloo and west of downtown Toronto at the intersection of Highway 6 and Highway 7. It is the seat of Wellington County, but is politically independent of it...

. Webster ran for the North Wellington seat in 1857 and again in an 1859 by-election but was unsuccessful. He was elected mayor of Guelph in 1859. Later that same year, he was appointed registrar for Wellington County

Wellington County, Ontario

Wellington County is a county located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat is Guelph, a city which is politically independent, but Guelph's status as the seat means it houses the county's administrative offices...

. Webster also served in the local militia, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel.