O'Hara, Walter, 1787-1874 : Lieutenant-Colonel Walter O'Hara, K.T.S. (1787-1874) was the son of Robert O'Hara of Raheen, County Galway, Ireland, and of his wife Fanny, née Taylor, a niece of William Trench, 1st Earl of Clancarty. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, 1801-1806, then studied for the bar at the Middle Temple. In 1808 he was persuaded by the poet Landor to enter the army and volunteer for service in the Iberias Peninsula. He obtained an ensign's commission in the 91st Regiment in 1809 and a lieutenancy in the 47th Regiment in 1811. He was promoted to a captaincy in 1814, shortly before being placed on half pay at the end of the war. Prior to that, however, he had served under Lord Beresford in the Peninsula and had been attached to the 6th Regiment of Portuguese caçadores with the rank of major and, later of lieutenant-colonel.
For his service he received the Peninsula Medal with eight clasps as well as two foreign medals and a knighthood in the Portuguese Order of Tower and Sword. After the war, he remained in Portuguese service but was treacherously arrested during the civil strife between Dom Pedro and Dom Miguel so that his regiment could be seduced from its allegiance. He was imprisoned but released at the demand of the British minister. He obtained an appointment as a brigade-major at Limerick shortly before selling out of the army and emigrating to Canada.
In 1822, Walter O'Hara married Marian Murray (ca.1804-1882), daughter of Charles Murray of Norwich and niece of Anne Powell, née Murray, wife of the Hon. William Dummer Powell (1755-1834), Chief Justice of Upper Canada. In 1826, he sailed with his family from Blackwall to Quebec aboard the BRUNSWICK, then proceeded to Dundas in Upper Canada, where he bought his first farm. Later he settled in the Parkdale area of York, where many of the streets in what is now Toronto were named after members of his family or in honour of battles in which he had fought (e.g. Marion, Constance, and Geoffrey Streets, and Roncesvalles and Sorauren Avenues).
He was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General of Militia for Upper Canada in 1831 and also served as a justice of the peace. His support for political reform was, however, not agreeable to the establishment and in later years he devoted himself mainly to the management of his property. He died at Toronto, 13 January 1874.
