1850 : Benjamin Van Norman

Benjamin Van Norman,  Dereham

Born ca. 1800 in New Jersey United States, Benjamin Van Norman arrived in Upper Canada in 1822. He was an operator of the Normandale Iron Foundry in Norfolk County with his father Joseph, father-in-law George Tillson and Hiram Capron. In 1825, Van Norman and Tillson moved to Dereham Township where they built a sawmill and foundry. He served as Dereham Township Clerk in 1840 and sat on the District of Brock Council beginning in 1842. He became the first Warden of Oxford County in 1850. He died on August 21, 1869 and is buried in the Tillsonburg Pioneer Cemetery.