John Murray Bliss (22 February 1771 – 22 August 1834) was a Canadian jurist, politician and administrator.

Biography

Father

John Murray Bliss was born in

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, the son of Massachusetts loyalist Daniel Bliss, a lawyer and British soldier who moved his family to New Brunswick in 1784 after being appointed to the first provincial council. Daniel Bliss also became chief justice of the court of common pleas. Daniel was a Harvard graduate (1760), and had left

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the confl ...

, and joined the British army when he was proscribed under the

Massachusetts Banishment Act The Massachusetts Banishment Act, officially named the "Banishment Act of the State of Massachusetts", was passed in September 1778 "to prevent the return to this state of certain persons therein named and others who have left this state or either o ...

of 1778. In the army, he was appointed commissary.

Education and career

John Bliss studied law with

Jonathan Sewall Jonathan Sewall (August 24, 1729 – September 27, 1796) was the last Colonial attorney general of Massachusetts. He was born in Boston on August 24, 1729 to Jonathan Sewall Sr. and Mary (Payne) Sewall. Sewall's father was an unsuccessf ...

and

Jonathan Bliss Jonathan Bliss (October 1, 1742 – October 1, 1822) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in New Brunswick. He represented St. John County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1786 to 1792 and from 1796 to 1802. He was born in ...

, became a lawyer in 1792, and started his practise in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He represented the

county of York Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

in the house of assembly. In 1816 he was elevated to the bench and to a seat in his majesty's council. On the decease in 1824 of

Ward Chipman Ward Chipman (July 30, 1754 – February 9, 1824) was a New Brunswick lawyer, judge, and political figure. He briefly served as administrator for New Brunswick from 1823 until his death in 1824. Early life He was born in Marblehead, Massac ...

, who was acting as

Governor of New Brunswick The following is a list of the lieutenant governors of New Brunswick. Though the present day office of the lieutenant governor in New Brunswick came into being only upon the province's entry into Canadian Confederation in 1867, the post is a co ...

after the death of Governor

George Stracey Smyth George Stracey Smyth (4 April 1767 – 27 March 1823) was Commander-in-Chief, North America, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia and Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. Biography Born in England, he was appointed an ensign in the East Norf ...

, Bliss assumed the administration of the government until the arrival of Governor

Howard Douglas General Sir Howard Douglas, 3rd Baronet, (23 January 1776 – 9 November 1861) was a British Army officer born in Gosport, England, the younger son of Admiral Sir Charles Douglas, and a descendant of the Earls of Morton. He was an English ...

, a period of nearly a year. Bliss was a judge of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, and was the senior justice at the time of his death. John Murray Bliss is notable for his Loyalist beliefs and ties to this influential community. As a politician and colonial administrator he influenced the growth of New Brunswick.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, John Murray 1771 births 1834 deaths Lawyers in New Brunswick United Empire Loyalists