News from our rich agriculture history

John Smith Bessey was born on December 9, 1832 in Esquesing township, Halton County, Upper Canada. The Bessey’s were originally from the Thirteen Colonies, and John’s grandfather fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War. The family were thus forced to flee the newly-established United States and came to British North America. Like many other United Empire Loyalists, the Besseys were granted land in the developing province of Upper Canada and took up farming. Also like many other Loyalists, John’s father was a staunch Tory, and strongly opposed to any

Martin Burrell was not the first Federal Minister of Agriculture. But he was, importantly, the first Minister of Agriculture to be a farmer himself. Burrell was born in Faringdon, England and immigrated to Canada in 1883, intending to work as a fruit farmer in the Niagara Peninsula.

Burrell lived in the peninsula for a short time and then settled down outside Grand Forks, British Columbia. He did, however, achieve his occupational goal. Burrell’s fruit farming enterprise was quite successful and he became a member of the B.C. Board of Horticulture as well as the