Amos Botsford (January 31, 1744 – September 14, 1812) was a lawyer, judge, land owner and political figure in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. He represented Westmorland County in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

from 1786 to 1812. He was born in

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

, the son of Gideon Botsford, a farmer, and Bertha Bennett and was educated at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

. He studied law with

Jared Ingersoll Jared Ingersoll (October 24, 1749 – October 31, 1822) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Constitution. He se ...

, was admitted to the bar and taught law at Yale. In 1770, he married Sarah Chandler. Because Botsford remained loyal to Britain, his property was confiscated and, in July 1779, he left Connecticut. In 1782, he was sent to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

with a group of

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

from New York state; Botsford helped identify possible areas in the region for loyalist settlements. In 1784, he moved to

Dorchester, New Brunswick Dorchester is a formerly incorporated village and the shire town of Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada. It is named for Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, an 18th-century Governor-General of the old Province of Quebec. It is located on t ...

. Botsford was named clerk of the peace, judge for the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and registrar of deeds for Westmorland. He was chosen as speaker for the first legislative assembly and performed that function until his death in Saint John in 1812. Botsford opposed the choice of St Anne's Point (later

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

) as the capital of New Brunswick. Besides his law practice, he also farmed and rented farm land and owned a retail business. His son

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

also represented the county in the legislative assembly and later became a judge in the province's Supreme Court. His grandson

Amos Edwin Botsford Amos Edwin Botsford, (September 25, 1804 – March 19, 1894) was a Canadian farmer, judge, politician, and businessman. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, the son of William Botsford, and moved with his family to Westcock in 1808. He was ...

served in the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Botsford, Amos 1744 births 1812 deaths Yale Law School alumni Yale Law School faculty Loyalists in the American Revolution from Connecticut Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick People from colonial Connecticut United Empire Loyalists Canadian people of English descent Colony of New Brunswick judges Yale College alumni