Hamnett Kirkes Pinhey
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Hamnett Kirkes Pinhey (December 11, 1784 – March 3, 1857) was a Canadian landowner and politician.
He was born in Plymouth, England in 1784. He was educated in London and became a merchant. During the Napoleonic Wars, he carried messages to the king of Prussia on behalf of the British Army. Pinhey married in 1812 and later entered into a partnership with Henry Crosley as ship and insurance brokers; this business failed during the post war recession and the resulting litigation lasted three years.
Seeking greener pastures, Pinhey petitioned the Earl of Bathurst, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time, for lands in Canada and received a land grant. In 1820, with the details still sketchy, he travelled to March Township in Upper Canada and settled at a site on the Ottawa River. His wife, children and possessions followed in 1821.
He established himself as a gentleman farmer on his land and named this location Horaceville after his eldest son. On the site, Pinhey built a grist mill, sawmill, and St. Mary's Church. Although the first service in the church was held on October 7 1827, it was not consecrated until 1834 due to a dispute about the church's location with the ruling bishop at the time.
In 1832, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada in a by-election in Carleton County. He lost his seat the following year due to voting irregularities in the by-election. Pinhey continued to serve in various positions in local government and, in 1847, became a member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada. Pinhey had been governor of Christ's Hospital in London and continued to provide it with financial support.
He died in 1857 and was buried in the graveyard at St. Mary's Church.
The former site of the town of Horaceville has been preserved as a historical site operated by the Pinhey's Point Foundation.
