Jonathan Sewell (born Jonathan Sewall; June 6, 1766 – November 11, 1839) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

Early life

He was born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, the son of

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 ...

, the last

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

attorney general of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and Esther Quincy. After a group of patriots attacked the family's residence, the Sewalls moved to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England; they adopted the spelling Sewell for the family name at this time. He attended

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

and then went to

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) 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. It is the only province with both English and ...

in 1785, where he studied law with

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 ...

. He was named registrar of the

Vice Admiralty Court Vice Admiralty Courts were juryless courts located in British colonies that were granted jurisdiction over local legal matters related to maritime activities, such as disputes between merchants and seamen. American Colonies American maritime ac ...

for New Brunswick in 1787. In 1788, he was called to the bar and set up practice.

Career

The following year, he moved to

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

and qualified as a lawyer there. In 1790, he served as interim attorney general for the province. In 1793, Sewell was named solicitor general and inspector of the king's domain and, in 1795, he became attorney general and advocate general in

. In 1796, he was appointed judge in the Vice-Admiralty Court at Quebec. On September 24 that same year, he married Henrietta, daughter of chief justice William Smith. He was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada The Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada was the lower house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The legislative assembly was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. The lower house consisted of el ...

for William-Henry (later Sorel) in 1796. In the house, he was often called on to draft bills, but with regard to government business, he normally played a role secondary to that of leaders of the English party such as

John Young John Young may refer to: Academics * John Young (professor of Greek) (died 1820), Scottish professor of Greek at the University of Glasgow * John C. Young (college president) (1803–1857), American educator, pastor, and president of Centre Col ...

and

Pierre-Amable de Bonne Pierre-Amable de Bonne (November 25, 1758 – September 6, 1816) was a seigneur, lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada. He was born in Montreal in 1758, the son of Louis de Bonne de Missègle (1717-1760), Chevalier de Saint-Lou ...

. He supported the party, except on two controversial issues — the financing of prisons in 1805 and the expulsion of

Ezekiel Hart Ezekiel Hart (15 May 1770 – 16 September 1843) was an entrepreneur and politician in British North America. He is often said to be the first Jew to be elected to public office in the British Empire,. He was elected three times by the voters of ...

, a Jew — in which his legal opinions obliged him to break rank. He remained in the assembly until 1808. Sewell helped introduce the Better Preservation Act of 1797 which allowed the suspension of

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

in cases of suspected treason. In 1797, he prosecuted

David McLane David B. McLane is an American businessman, known primarily as a wrestling promoter and television producer. He was the creator of the GLOW- Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling and WOW-Women Of Wrestling (recognized as WOW! and WOW), both nationally ...

for treason, who was executed. He prepared legislation which led to the establishment of the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning (later

McGill College McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University ...

) in 1801. In 1808, he was named Chief Justice for Lower Canada and became a member of the

Executive Council of Lower Canada The Executive Council of Lower Canada was an appointive body created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. Its function was to advise the Governor or his representative on the administration of the colony's public affairs. It was replaced by the Execu ...

. Later in 1808, he was appointed to the Legislative Council and was named speaker in 1809. Sewell supported a union of Upper and Lower Canada. However, in 1822, he opposed a legislative union because of the strong opposition in the province. In 1809, he published rules of practice for the Quebec Court of King's Bench and the Court of Appeals;

James Monk Sir James Monk (1745 – November 18, 1826) was Chief Justice of Lower Canada. Monk played a significant role in the abolition of slavery in British North America, when as Chief Justice he rendered a series of decisions regarding escaped ...

published similar rules at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Lower Canada. In 1814, the legislative assembly voted to impeach Sewell and Monk on the grounds that some of their rules of practice were actually legislation, the responsibility of the legislature. Sewell successfully defended himself against the charges in London. On the bench, he endorsed the use of civil law based on French traditions and

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

modelled after English norms. Sewell resigned from the Executive Council in 1830 after the assembly requested for judges to be excluded from serving on the council. He resigned from his position of chief justice in 1838 for ill health. Sewell was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1830. He died November 11, 1839 in Quebec City. His residence, at 87 Saint-Louis Street, Quebec City, was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1969.

Personal life

Sewell also led an amateur orchestra and performed violin in a quartet at Quebec City and opened the Theatre Royal there in 1832. He helped found the

Literary and Historical Society of Quebec The Literary and Historical Society of Quebec (LHSQ) was the first historical society, and one of the first learned societies, in Canada. It was founded in 1824 by George Ramsay, Earl of Dalhousie, governor of British North America. Its headquar ...

and served as its president from 1830 to 1831. His brother

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

was a member of the legislative assembly and served as solicitor general for Lower Canada.

References

Bibliography

* * * Halpenny, Francess, ed.
Jonathan Sewell
" '' Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 1836-1850'', Vol. 7, Toronto:

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calen ...

, 1988. p. 782-91. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sewell, Jonathan 1766 births 1839 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Lower Canada Chief justices of Lower Canada People educated at Bristol Grammar School Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Attorneys-General of Lower Canada Quincy family