Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online

Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online: " From the American revolution to 1796 Detroit was under military government, with little civil jurisdiction. In 1789 Askin became a justice of the peace there, and in this capacity took part in the enforcement of “such regulations . . . as are generally practiced in the internal polity of the towns of Quebec and Montreal and which are most conducive to prevent public nusances, and to preserve the health and convenience of the inhabitants.” Although Askin continued to reside in Detroit after it was turned over to the Americans in 1796, he chose to remain a British subject and became a jp for the Western District of Upper Canada in 1796.

In the spring of 1802(John) Askin moved to Sandwich, a change of location he had apparently been intending to make for some time. Although much of his land passed to Todd and McGill in payment of his debts, they gave him back the property on which he established his estate, Strabane, near Sandwich, and he acted as land agent for them. He continued to hold extensive lands of his own, acquiring the nickname the Count of Kent. As in his early years he took a great interest in farming, recording in a diary the day-to-day activities of his farm. He seems to have lived in considerable comfort. An inventory of his estate in 1787 listed among other things carriages, silver plate, mahogany furniture, and a well-stocked library.

Although Askin’s first three children, John, Catherine, and Madelaine, were probably born to the Indian slave Manette (Monette) whom he freed in 1766, he made no distinction between them and the nine children of his marriage to Marie-Archange Barthe, contracted at Detroit on 21 June 1772. His connection with the Barthes, a prominent local family, soon gave him a relative in high office, since in 1774 his wife’s sister married Alexander Grant, an officer in the marine forces on the Great Lakes and later an executive councillor. John Askin Jr became collector of customs for Amherstburg in 1801 and storekeeper for the Indian Department at St Joseph Island, Upper Canada, in 1807. Askin’s other children married British military officers or members of locally influential families. Catherine’s second marriage was to Robert Hamilton. Thérèse married Thomas McKee, son of the deputy superintendent general of Indian affairs in Upper Canada, Alexander McKee*.