Philip Michael Matthew Scott VanKoughnet - The Bench and Bar of Ontario

Philip Michael Matthew Scott VanKoughnet, (January 21, 1822 – November 7, 1869), was a Canadian politician, lawyer and judge who held the positions of President of the

Executive Council of the Province of Canada The Executive Council of the Province of Canada had a similar function to the Cabinet in England but was not responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from its inception in 1841 to 1848. Members were advisers to the Gover ...

;

Commissioner of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

; Commissioner of Crown Lands and Chancellor of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

Early life

Born at

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, he was the son of Colonel The Hon. Philip VanKoughnet and Harriet, daughter of Matthew Scott, of

Carrick-on-Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on the so ...

, who was a first cousin of

Thomas Scott, 2nd Earl of Clonmell Thomas Scott, 2nd Earl of Clonmell (15 August 1783 – 18 January 1838), styled Lord Earlsfort between 1793 and 1798, was an Irish peer and politician. Scott was the only son of John Scott, 1st Earl of Clonmell, Lord Chief Justice of the King's ...

. VanKoughnet's immediate family were prominent in the political affairs of early

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. His brother, Salter, married a daughter of Senator

Benjamin Seymour Benjamin Seymour (ca 1806 – March 23, 1880) was a political figure in Canada West and a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada from 1867 to 1880. He was born in Fredericksburgh Township in Upper Canada around 1806 and became a mercha ...

, and another brother, Matthew, married the sister of Sir

James Buchanan Macaulay Colonel Sir James Buchanan Macaulay, Order of the Bath, CB (3 December 1793 – 26 November 1859) was a lawyer and judge in colonial Canada. Early life Macaulay, born at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Newark, Upper Canada, 3 December 1793, was the s ...

and

John Simcoe Macaulay Colonel The Hon. John Simcoe Macaulay (13 October 1791 – 20 December 1855) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada. In 1845, before retiring to England, he donated the land on which the Church of the Holy Trinity (Toronto) w ...

. They were first cousins of Mrs Alexander Morris and Brock Anderson who was married to Amelia Johnson, granddaughter of

Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet Brigadier General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, magistrate, landowner and colonial official in the British Indian Department who fought as a Loyalist during the America ...

. Another first cousin, Louisa Anderson, married Alexander MacDonald, uncle of Prime Minister

John Sandfield Macdonald John Sandfield Macdonald, (December 12, 1812 – June 1, 1872) was the joint premier of the Province of Canada from 1862 to 1864. He was also the first premier of Ontario from 1867 to 1871, one of the four founding provinces created at Conf ...

and Governor

Donald Alexander Macdonald Donald Alexander Macdonald (February 17, 1817 – June 10, 1896) was a Canadian politician. Born in 1817 in St. Raphael's, Upper Canada, Donald Alexander Macdonald studied at St Raphael's College under the first Catholic Bishop of Ontar ...

. VanKoughnet's nieces included Lady MacDonald, Lady van Straubenzee and Mrs Meredith. His mother had planned for him to become a minister in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, but after serving in his father's

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

during the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the rebellion in Lower Canada (p ...

, he went on to study law with

George Stephen Benjamin Jarvis George Stephen Benjamin Jarvis (April 21, 1797 – April 15, 1878) was a judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1797 and moved to York (Toronto) with his family in 1809. He joined the 49th Regimen ...

at Cornwall and then with another firm at

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. VanKoughnet was called to the Upper Canada bar in 1843, and in partnership with his brother, Matthew, they went on to acquire the largest legal practice in

. He lectured in law at the

University of Trinity College Trinity College (occasionally referred to as The University of Trinity College) is a college federated with the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Strachan originally intended Trinity as a university of strong Angl ...

and also served on its council. He became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1850.

Politics

Spending a fortune to do so, VanKoughnet entered politics in 1856. During his campaign, he expressed the belief that the ownership of

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...

and the

North-Western Territory The North-Western Territory was a region of British North America extant until 1870 and named for where it lay in relation to Rupert's Land. Due to the lack of development, exploration, and cartographic limits of the time, the exact boundarie ...

should be transferred from the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

and that they should become part of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

. Following the resignation of Sir

Allan Napier MacNab Sir Allan Napier MacNab, 1st Baronet (19 February 1798 – 8 August 1862) was a Canadian political leader who served as joint Premier of the Province of Canada from 1854 to 1856. Early life He was born in Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to All ...

he was named President of the

and

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

in the administration of Sir

Étienne-Paschal Taché Sir Étienne-Paschal Taché (5 September 1795 – 30 July 1865) was a Canadian doctor, politician, and Father of Confederation. Life Born in St. Thomas, Lower Canada, in 1795, the third son of Charles Taché and Geneviève Michon, Tach� ...

; he was elected to the

Legislative Council of the Province of Canada The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as ...

for the Rideau district later that same year. VanKoughnet efficiently reorganised the department of Agriculture, and in particular took effective measures to check the ravages of the

Hessian fly The Hessian fly or barley midge, ''Mayetiola destructor'', is a species of fly that is a significant pest of cereal crops including wheat, barley and rye. Though a native of Asia, upon its discovery it was believed to have been transported into ...

and

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They b ...

. In August 1858, he was named Commissioner of Crown Lands in the Cartier-Macdonald administration, and held office for four years. In 1860, he was also appointed the first Chief Superintendent of Indian Affairs. During his time as Commissioner of Crown Lands he established the system of selling

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

en bloc, and opened up some of the best colonization roads. He also acted as Leader of the Conservative Government in the

, or Upper House of Canada. He was named Chancellor of the

Court of Chancery of Upper Canada The Court of Chancery of Upper Canada was a court of equity in Upper Canada. It was established in 1837. The idea of introducing a court of equity in the province had been around since at least 1801, when Henry Allcock suggested it. On Allcock's ...

in 1862 and named Chancellor of Ontario in 1867. He held that office till his death, having declined the office of Chief Justice which Macdonald made him in 1868. Vankoughnet died at

on 7 Nov., 1869. He was a close political and personal friend of Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

, but made his way chiefly through his own abilities. His niece, Gertrude Agnes VanKoughnet, married Sir John's only son, Sir

Hugh John Macdonald Sir Hugh John Macdonald, (March 13, 1850 – March 29, 1929) was the only surviving son of the first prime minister of Canada, John A. Macdonald. He too was a politician, serving as a member of the House of Commons of Canada and a federal cabine ...

. VanKoughnet was a forcible and fluent speaker, and an able lawyer. An annual award is made in his name to a member of the graduating law class of

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

, where his full-length portrait hangs. A small village in Muskoka, on the old Peterson Colonization Road, was named for him.

Family

Philip VanKoughnet married Elizabeth Turner (b. 1829), daughter of Colonel Charles Barker Turner (1787–1853), Knight of Hanover (

Royal Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order (german: Königliche Guelphen-Orden), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name ...

); veteran of the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

and the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, who settled in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1845. Mrs VanKoughnet's mother, Eliza, was the daughter of Major-General John Hassard (1797–1848) R.E., C.M.G. They were the parents of two sons. After graduating from

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...

, their eldest son went to live in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Their second son settled in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Tyttenhanger House Tyttenhanger House is a 17th-century country mansion, now converted into commercial offices, at Tyttenhanger, near St Albans, Hertfordshire. It is a Grade I listed building. History The Tyttenhanger estate was owned by the Abbey of St Albans until ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. The latter was Captain Edmund Barker VanKoughnet (1849–1905) R.N., J.P., C.M.G., who married Lady Jane Charlotte Elizabeth Alexander (1850–1941), daughter of James Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon. Lady Jane VanKoughnet wrote a history of her husband's family, 'The von Gochnats'.

External links

Portrait of The Hon. Philip M.M.S. VanKoughnet at Osgoode Hall, TorontoBiography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Portrait of VanKoughnet's daughter-in-lawTyttenhanger House, Hertfordshire
{{DEFAULTSORT:VanKoughnet, Philip Michael Matthew Scott 1822 births 1869 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Judges in Ontario Lawyers in Ontario People from Cornwall, Ontario Canadian King's Counsel Province of Canada judges 19th-century Canadian judges