Absalom Shade

{{short description|Canadian politician}}

{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Absalom Shade

| birth_date = {{circa|1793}}

| birth_place = Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, United States

| death_date = {{Death date|1862|3|15|df=yes}}

| death_place = Galt, Canada West

| occupation = Businessman

| burial_place = Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Cambridge, Ontario

| spouse = {{plainlist|

• {{marriage|Catherine Kimball|1823|1833|reason=died}}
• {{marriage|Isabella Jemima Davidson|1837}}

}}

| father = Johann Sebastian Shade

| known_for = Founder of Shade's Mills, early pioneer in Dumfries Township

}}

Absalom Shade ({{c.|1793}} – March 15, 1862) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada.

He was born in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania around 1793 and worked as a carpenter in Buffalo, New York. In 1816, he was hired by William Dickson to manage his lands in Dumfries Township in Upper Canada. Shade operated a general store, a mill and a distillery in the area. The settlement that developed on the Grand River, originally known as Shade's Mills and later became Galt (now part of Cambridge, Ontario). In 1819, he built a small bridge over the Grand River to serve customers on the other side; it lasted until 1932.{{Cite web|url=http://www.therecord.com/living-story/6130017-flash-from-the-past-galt-bridge-dates-back-to-absalom-shade/|title = Flash from the Past: Galt bridge dates back to Absalom Shade|date = 22 November 2015}} Shade also secured a number of contracts to supply food and build roads for the Canada Company. He helped establish the Grand River Navigation Company to help transport goods along the river. He helped establish the Gore Bank in Hamilton and also helped develop railroads in the area. He also helped to build Galt's Trinity Anglican Church in 1844 which still stands, and is in use, today.

He helped establish the Grand River Navigation Company to help transport goods along the river and the Gore Bank in Hamilton. Shade also helped develop railroads in the area and was among those who funded the building of Trinity House Rectory in Galt as a major donor; he and William Dickson were also major donors toward the building of Trinity Anglican Church in 1844.{{Cite web|url=http://www.electriccanadian.com/history/ontario/galt/chapter02.htm|title=Reminiscences of the Early History of Galt and the Settlement of Dumfries in the Province of Ontario}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.waterlooregionmuseum.com/collections-and-research/place-names-in-waterloo-region/north-dumfries-township/|title = Homepage|date = 19 May 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.kitchenerpost.ca/living-story/6224443-trinity-anglican-church-dates-back-to-galt-s-founding/|title = Trinity Anglican Church dates back to Galt's founding|date = 9 January 2016}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.trinityanglican.on.ca/about.html |title=About Trinity Anglican Church |access-date=2017-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170412142933/http://www.trinityanglican.on.ca/about.html |archive-date=2017-04-12 |url-status=dead }}

In 1831, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada representing Halton; he served until 1841.

Shade died at Galt in 1862.