James Wilson was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

-born farmer, Methodist preacher and political figure in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. He represented Norfolk North

Norfolk North

For the UK Parliament constituency, see North Norfolk Norfolk North was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the county of...

 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 from 1867 to 1871 as a Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario , is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. The party was known for many years as "Ontario's natural governing party." It has ruled the province for 80 of the years since Confederation, including an uninterrupted run from 1943 to 1985...

 member.

He was born in Carlow

Carlow

Carlow is the county town of County Carlow in Ireland. It is situated in the south-east of Ireland, 84 km from Dublin. County Carlow is the second smallest county in Ireland by area, however Carlow Town is the 14th largest urban area in Ireland by population according to the 2006 census. The...

, the son of a Methodist preacher who 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 1817. In 1832, he married Susanna Shaver. Wilson settled in Chinguacousy Township

Chinguacousy Township, Ontario

Chinguacousy Township is a former municipality and geographic township in Peel County, Ontario. In 1973, when Peel County became the Regional Municipality of Peel, it was split in half, with the northern half becoming part of the town of Caledon, and the southern half, along with the township of...

, moving to Townsend Township three years later. In 1846, Wilson built a steam-powered sawmill. He served on the township council for Townsend, also serving as deputy reeve. Wilson was defeated by John Fitzgerald Clarke

John Fitzgerald Clarke

John Fitzgerald Clarke was an Ontario physician and political figure. He represented Norfolk North in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1871 to 1879....

when he ran for reelection to the assembly in 1871.