John William Ritchie by William Valentine

John William Ritchie (26 March 1808 – 13 or 18 December 1890) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

lawyer and politician from

Annapolis Royal 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 ...

, Nova Scotia who is one of the

Fathers of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...

. Ritchie was the son of Thomas Ritchie and Elizabeth Wildman Johnston. He studied law with his uncle

James William Johnston James W. Johnston (29 August 1792 – 21 November 1873) was a Nova Scotia lawyer and politician. He served as Premier of the colony from 1857 to 1860 and again from 1864. He was also ''Government Leader'' prior to the granting of responsible ...

and was admitted to the bar in 1831. Appointed to the Nova Scotia legislative council as Solicitor General in 1864, he was a delegate to the London Conference on

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

and as such is considered one of the

. Appointed to 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 ...

in 1867, he was a judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia from 1873 to 1882. His younger brother,

William Johnstone Ritchie Sir William Johnstone Ritchie (October 28, 1813 – September 25, 1892) was one of the first judges appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. He became the second Chief Justice of the court, and the second-longest serving Chief Justice to da ...

, was

Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada (french: juge en chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court sy ...

. His daughter was Eliza Ritchie. Ritchie died at his estate in the

Northwest Arm The Northwest Arm, originally named Sandwich River, is an inlet in eastern Canada off the Atlantic Ocean in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. Geography Part of Halifax Harbour, it measures approximately 3.5 km in length and 0.5 ...

of Halifax and is buried at St. John's Cemetery.

Gallery

John William Ritchie, St. Pauls Church, Halifax.jpg, John William Ritchie,

St. Paul's Church (Halifax) St. Paul's Church is an evangelical Anglican church in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, within the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is located at the south end of the Grand Parade, an open sq ...

John William Ritchie.jpg, Hon. John William Ritchie, Q.C. (Senator), April 1868 John Ritchie window, St. Paul's church, Halifax, Nova Scotia.jpg, John Ritchie window, St. Paul's church

References

* * 1808 births 1890 deaths Canadian senators from Nova Scotia Canadian people of British descent Fathers of Confederation Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators People from Annapolis County, Nova Scotia Colony of Nova Scotia people Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Members of the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia Judges in Nova Scotia {{NovaScotia-politician-stub