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Thomas McKee

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Thomas McKee
Often identified as a portrait of his father Alexander, this is probably Thomas McKee because the uniform is that of an officer of the 60th Regiment of Foot of the 1790s.[1]
Superintendent of Indian affairs for the Northwestern District
In office
1796–1800
Member of 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada for Kent
In office
1797–1800
Preceded byFrançois Baby
Succeeded byThomas McCrae
Member of 3rd Parliament of Upper Canada for Essex
In office
1801–1804
Preceded byNew - split from Suffolk & Essex
Succeeded byDavid Cowan
Personal details
Bornc. 1770
Ohio Country, British America
Died20 October 1814
Île des Cascades, Lower Canada
Spouse(s)unknown (1st)
Thérèse Askin m. 1797 (2nd)
Children1 son with Askin
Parent(s)Alexander McKee (father)
Nonhelema (mother)
Military service
AllegianceGreat Britain
Branch/serviceBritish Army (1791-1806)
British Indian Department (1797-1814)
local militia (1807-1814)
RankCaptain (British Army)
Superintendent of Indian affairs
Major (militia)
Battles/warsSiege of Fort Recovery, War of 1812

Thomas McKee (c. 1770 – 20 October 1814) was a British Army officer and politician.

Biography

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McKee was born in the Ohio Country around 1770. He was the son of Alexander McKee (c. 1735–1799), an important official in the British Indian Department, and the grandson of Thomas McKee (c.1695–1769), a veteran of King George's War and the French and Indian War as well as a business associate of George Croghan. His great-grandfather Alexander McKee (d.1740) immigrated to Pennsylvania from County Antrim, Ireland, around 1707, and was a veteran of the Battle of the Boyne. His mother was a Shawnee woman, Nonhelema, who had become a Shawnee chief by 1750.

In 1788, the Ojibwa and Ottawa granted him a lease for Pelee Island for 999 years. In 1791, he became a member of the 60th Regiment of Foot of the British Army at Detroit. Three years later, he was part of the Siege of Fort Recovery.[2] eventually reaching the rank of Captain in 1796. In the same year, he became superintendent of Indian affairs for the Northwestern District. In 1797, he also became responsible for the Amherstburg region and he was elected to represent Kent in the 2nd Parliament of Upper Canada. McKee was reelected in 1800 to represent Essex. Around 1806, his duties with the 60th Foot ended, he joined the local militia and served as a Major in the militia during the War of 1812. In 1814, he was accused of grave misconduct, having gotten drunk and allowed his native followers to become drunk and disorderly. During his life, he owned seven or eight slaves.[3]

He died near Île des Cascades in Lower Canada in 1814 while travelling to Montreal.

References

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  1. ^ Nelson, p. 159
  2. ^ Hogeland, William (2017). Autumn of the Black Snake : the creation of the U.S. Army and the invasion that opened the West (First ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-374-10734-5. LCCN 2016052193. OCLC 974612291.
  3. ^ Done with Slavery: The Black Fact in Montreal, 1760-1840. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. February 2010. ISBN 9780773583115.