William Bowman Felton was a British naval officer, political figure in Lower Canada, and in his time the most influential man at Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Occupation
politician
Position held
Member of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada
Born
1782
Died
June 30, 1837
Overview
William Bowman Felton (1782 – June 30, 1837) was a British naval officer, political figure in Lower Canada, and in his time the most influential man at Sherbrooke, Quebec.
He was born in Gloucester, England in 1782. He was the son of John Felton (1752-1796), an officer in the Royal Navy and Governor of the Balearic Islands, by his wife Elizabeth (1765-1833), daughter of John Butt. He was descended from the mentally disturbed Naval officer John Felton, who murdered George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham in 1628.
The Feltons had a long association with the Royal Navy, and William too served with the British fleet in the Mediterranean and at Gibraltar during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1811, he married Anna Maria Valls at Menorca and in 1814 he was appointed British Consul at Livorno. He amassed a considerable fortune as naval storekeeper at Port Mahon, Menorca.
In 1815/16, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, he came to Lower Canada where he was granted large tracts of land in the Eastern Townships. He brought with him his extended family and settled on property in Ascot Township near Sherbrooke. Felton raised livestock and also leased some of his land. He served in the local militia, becoming lieutenant-colonel, and also served as justice of the peace.
