John Fillis (c. 1724 – July 16, 1792) was a merchant and political figure in

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 ...

. He was a member of the

1st General Assembly of Nova Scotia The General Assembly of Nova Scotia was established by a proclamation of the Governor in Council on May 20, 1758. A writ for the election of the 1st General Assembly of Nova Scotia was issued by May 22, returnable at the convening of the assembly o ...

and later represented Halifax County from 1768 to 1770, Barrington Township from 1772 to 1785 and Halifax Township from 1785 to 1792. He was accused of being an

American Patriot Patriots, also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs, were the colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rejected British rule during the American Revolution, and declared the United States of America an independent n ...

and led the efforts against Governor

Francis Legge Francis Legge (c.1719-15 May 1783), was a British military officer and colonial official in Nova Scotia during the 18th century. He served as Governor of Nova Scotia from 1772 to 1776. During the American Revolution, Legge raised the Royal Nova ...

. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of John Fillis, and came to Nova Scotia around 1751. He had married Elizabeth Stoddard in 1747. Fillis established a shipping business based in Halifax, with a branch in Boston. He also set up a distillery in Halifax. In 1756, he married Sarah Cleveland (Rudduck). Fillis was also a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. He died in office in Halifax. He is buried in the

Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia) The Old Burying Ground (also known as St. Paul's Church Cemetery) is a historic cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road in Downtown Halifax. History The Old Buryi ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fillis, John 1724 births 1792 deaths Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs

See also

References