John Ritchie (c. 1745 – July 20, 1790) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

-born merchant and politician 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 represented Annapolis County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1783 to 1785. Ritchie was born in or close to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and came to Boston, Massachusetts in 1770, moving to

Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the n ...

several years later. Around 1775, he married Alicia Maria Le Cain. He joined the militia company formed at the start of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, becoming captain in 1779. That same year, he was named

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 was taken hostage in the Raid on Annapolis Royal (1781) and was released some time later in exchange for American prisoners. He was elected to the provincial assembly in a 1783 by-election held after

Phineas Lovett Phineas Lovett (May 15, 1745 – June 17, 1828) was a farmer, merchant, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Annapolis Township from 1775 to 1783 and from 1799 to 1806 and Annapolis County from 1808 to 1811 in the Nova S ...

was unseated for non-attendance. When he ran for reelection in Annapolis township in 1785, he was defeated by

Stephen De Lancey Stephen De Lancey (December 1738 – May 1809) was a lawyer and political figure in New York state and Nova Scotia. He represented Annapolis Township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1784 to 1789. Early life He was born in West Fa ...

. In 1786, he was named a justice in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas. Ritchie died at Annapolis Royal. His grandson William Johnstone Ritchie later served as chief justice of Canada. He is buried at

Garrison Cemetery (Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) Garrison Cemetery is a cemetery located on the grounds of Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located next to the old Court House, at the intersection of George St. and Nova Scotia Trunk 1. History Initially used as a burial ...

References

1790 deaths Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs Canadian justices of the peace Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Nova Scotia Hostages Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain Colony of Nova Scotia judges {{NovaScotia-politician-stub