Marshall Spring Bidwell

Bidwell ran in the byelection for Lennox & Addington to replace his father, who had been barred from taking his seat by the legislature. Bidwell was disqualified by the election returning officer under the assumption that if his father was ineligible to run for office Bidwell was unqualified, too. After the byelection, the legislature voided the results because of Bidwell's disqualification. In the second byelection, the returning officer again disqualified Bidwell under similar pretences but the legislature voided the second results. The 1824 general election was called before another byelection could be held and Bidwell was able to run and become elected to the 9th Parliament of Upper Canada.[1] He held the seat until 1836. In 1826 Bidwell represented William Lyon Mackenzie in his civil lawsuit against rioters in the Types Riot.[2] In 1828, he helped introduce a bill which made it easier for American-born residents to become citizens. He also lobbied for responsible government within the province.[3] In 1828, he was elected speaker for the assembly.

Although he did not take part in the Upper Canada Rebellion, his name appeared on a banner carried by the rebels and he was forced to leave the province in December 1837. Some sources believe that Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head forced Bidwell out of the province because Head's refusal to appoint Bidwell as a judge in the province was a factor in his dismissal by the British Colonial Office.

Bidwell returned to the United States, settling in New York City. He was admitted to the New York bar and in 1838 became a partner in the law firm of George Washington Strong, which would later become Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft.

He died in New York City in 1872.

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Marshall Spring Bidwell family fonds, Archives of Ontario