Laurence Kavanagh Cairn, Sydney, Nova Scotia

Laurence Kavanagh (1764 – August 20, 1830) was a merchant, judge 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 represented

Cape Breton County Cape Breton County is one of eighteen counties in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located on Cape Breton Island. From 1879 to 1995, the area of the county excluded from towns and cities was incorporated as the Municipality of ...

in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

from 1820 to 1830. His first name also appears as Lawrence and his surname as Cavanagh in some sources. He is the father of Laurence Kavanagh Jr. He was born on

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

, probably at

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour ...

, the son of Laurence Kavanagh, an immigrant from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, and Margaret Farrell. The family moved to St. Peter's in 1777, three years after his father's death at sea. With his brother James, who relocated to Halifax, Laurence took over the operation of his father's business, becoming one of the major suppliers for settlers in the region. In 1789, he married Felicité LeJeune. Kavanagh in 1823 broke 100+ years of precedent when, as the first representative of

in the

, he became the first English speaking

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

to serve in a legislature. His election had to be approved by the Colonial Office and confirmed by a vote of the assembly. Other Roman Catholics were then granted the right to serve in the assembly. He also served as a major in the militia, justice of the peace and as a member of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Cape Breton. Kavanagh died in office at St. Peter's, Nova Scotia in 1830.

References

External links

''A History of the Island of Cape Breton'', RFGS Brown (1979)
1764 births 1830 deaths Canadian people of Irish descent Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs People from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Colony of Nova Scotia judges Canadian Roman Catholics {{NovaScotia-MLA-stub

See also

References

Further reading

External links