John Stephen (1771–1833) was appointed solicitor-general and judge of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court ...

in the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

Career

Stephen built up a legal practice as an attorney and barrister in

Basseterre Basseterre (; Saint Kitts Creole: ''Basterre'') is the capital and largest city of Saint Kitts and Nevis with an estimated population of 14,000 in 2018. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kit ...

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain ...

. Stephen returned to England, where he lost on some bad investments, so then returned to Basseterre, but was unable to re-establish his previously profitable practice. His nephew James Stephen, who was permanent under-secretary of state for the colonies, recommended Stephen for appointment in the Colony of New South Wales. He was appointed the first

Solicitor General for New South Wales Solicitor General for New South Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General. They can exercise the powers of the Attorney General in the Attorney General's a ...

in 1824, serving until August 1825 when he was appointed an additional judge of the

. Stephen resigned from the Supreme Court in December 1932 due to ill health and died on 21 December 1833, at Clareville, described as his country house, in what is now Belfield.

Family

Stephen was the son of James Stephen, from

Aberdeen, Scotland Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), an ...

, and Sibella Milner, of

Poole, Dorsetshire Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

. Stephen and his wife Mary Anne, née Pasmore, had six boys, and three girls. The Stephen family became a prominent legal dynasty in Australia. Of his sons, Sir Alfred served as

Chief Justice of New South Wales The Chief Justice of New South Wales is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of New South Wales. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court ...

, while Sidney served on the Supreme Court of New Zealand. His nephew

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

served on the Supreme Court of Victoria, while his grandson, Sir Henry and great-grandson

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

served on the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

References

External links

*
John Stephen
at

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Colonial Secretary's papers 1822-1877

State Library of Queensland The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contai ...

- includes digitised correspondence, petitions and letters written by Stephen to the

Colonial Secretary of New South Wales Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen, John 1771 births 1833 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales English emigrants to colonial Australia People from Poole English people of Scottish descent Settlers of New South Wales

Career

Family

See also

References

External links