Bill of treason from Upper Canada Rebellion found in drawer

A bill of treason connected to the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 has been found in a drawer at McMaster University.

Written on parchment and dated March 1838, the bill was filed against William Rogers, a yeoman living in or near Albion, York Township, Upper Canada.

The uprising was led by William Lyon Mackenzie, a Scottish-Canadian journalist, reformer and politician who was also the first mayor of Toronto. He rallied 400 rebels, including many farmers from the Toronto area, to fight as Crown reserves or in support of the Anglican Church against the allocation of land to wealthy owners in the government.