{{short description|Canadian politician}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Benjamin Tett''' (February 14, 1798 – May 15, 1878) was an Ontario businessman and political figure. He represented Leeds South as a Conservative member of the 1st Parliament of Ontario.
He was born in Hinton St. George in England in 1798, the son of John Tett who manufactured cloth for ships' sails, and came to Perth, Upper Canada in 1820, later moving to Newboro. He served on the district council of the Johnstown District representing North Crosby. Around 1830, he set up a sawmill north of Kingston at Bedford Mills, anticipating the completion of the Rideau Canal. In partnership with the Chaffey family and others, he established a booming timber business in the area. He also constructed a gristmill and opened a general store. In 1833, he married Julianna Poole. Tett ran unsuccessfully in Leeds for a seat in the legislative assembly of Upper Canada in 1838. He was again unsuccessful when he ran for the South Leeds seat in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1854 but went on to represent South Leeds in the assembly from 1858 to 1863. In 1863, he was defeated by Albert Norton Richards for the same seat. Tett also served as a justice of the peace.
His daughter Elizabeth married doctor Robert Henry Preston, who later represented South Leeds in the provincial assembly. His great-grandson John Tett is the namesake of Kingston's Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning.
== Electoral history == {{1867 Ontario general election/Leeds South}}
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * ''History of Leeds and Grenville, Ontario'' by Thaddeus William Henry Leavitt * {{cite book |url=https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.32450/45 |page=41 |title=The Canadian Parliamentary Companion |year=1862 |publisher=John Lovell |editor-last=Morgan |editor-first=Henry J. |editor-link=Henry James Morgan |edition=First}} *[http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_all_detail.do?locale=en&ID=756 Member's parliamentary history for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tett, Benjamin}} Category:1798 births Category:1878 deaths Category:Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs Category:Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Category:19th-century Canadian businesspeople Category:English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Category:Politicians from Somerset Category:People from the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville Category:Immigrants to Upper Canada Category:19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
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