Honorable Richard A. McHeffey (December 26, 1773 – December 5, 1874) was a 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 ...

and a member of the Liberal Party. He was born in Windsor Township,

, the son of Richard McHeffey and Mary Caulfield, of

Irish descent The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been co ...

. On March 26, 1831, Richard married Jane Hill, the daughter of Robert Hill and Elizabeth Cleveland of Windsor, and their children included: # Charles, born 1834, who married Ellen Vesch Maxner # Katherine (or Kathleen) Elizabeth, who married Alfred C. Thomas in 1862 # George, born circa 1840, who married Ellen Hayes # Mary, born circa 1843, who married Mr. Moffatt # Jesse, born circa 1846, who married W. Inglis Moffatt, Esq # Anne, born circa 1848 # Isabelle, born 1851, who married James Alexander Dickey, son of Hon Robert Barry Dickie of Amherst His surname also appears as McHeffy. He represented the township of Windsor in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1838 to 1840 and was called to the province's Legislative Council in 1853. When Hiram Blanchard tendered the resignation of his government in 1867, after being defeated by Joseph Howe's Anti-Confederation Party, Lieutenant-Governor Charles Hastings Doyle called upon McHeffey to form the administration of the new government. McHeffey had long been a respected member of Nova Scotia's Liberal Party, but held no conspicuous position at the time of his appointment that would mark him for political leadership. He nonetheless undertook the task and called at once for a meeting of the anti-confederate members of the Assembly and of the Legislative Council at Halifax. At Halifax, McHeffey successfully formed an administration for the new government under the leadership of

William Annand William Annand (April 10, 1808 – October 12, 1887) was a Nova Scotia publisher and politician. He was a member of the North British Society. Annand was born in Halifax. He was educated in Scotland and returned to Nova Scotia in the 1820 ...

. McHeffey became

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

in the Executive Council. He served as custos rotulorum for Hants County and was also a senior Grand Warden in the province's

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

s. He died in Windsor at the age of 100. His grandson Francis R. Parker also served in the provincial assembly.

References

''The Canadian parliamentary companion'', HJ Morgan (1874)
* ''A Directory of the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758-1958'', Public Archives of Nova Scotia (1958) 1773 births 1874 deaths Nova Scotia Anti-Confederation Party MLAs Members of the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia Canadian centenarians Men centenarians Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia {{Liberal-NovaScotia-MLA-stub