Orange Order Activities
He became a Captain in the local militia and a member of the Orange Order in later years. He helped finance the building of a plank road between Belleville and Camden. He served as warden for Hastings County from 1847 to 1862.
Though he was Jewish; in 1836 he became grand master in British North America for the Orange Order, replacing Ogle Robert Gowan. At this time, the Orange Order had a strong voice in Upper Canada. Gowan's attempt to regain control of the Order in 1853 led to a split in the organization which was only healed in 1856 when both he and Benjamin withdrew from the leadership.
Benjamin had many political enemies, he was the subject of a cruel caricature in Susanna Moodie's 1843 short story "Richard Redpath".
Read more about this topic: George Benjamin (Orangeman)
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