Robert Duncan Wilmot, (16 October 1809 – 13 February 1891) 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 ...

politician and a

Father 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 ...

Early life and family

Wilmot was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick on 16 October 1809. He was the son of John McNeil and Susanna (Susan) Harriet (born Wiggins) Wilmot. He moved to Saint John with his family at around the age of five, and there he was educated. In 1833 he married Susannah (Susan) Elizabeth Mowat of St Andrews. His father, John McNeil Wilmot, was a big tank and ship owner. Wilmot worked for his father's business and represented the company in

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, England from 1835 to 1840. It is there that his son, Robert Duncan Wilmot, Jr., a future Member of Parliament, was born.

Political career

New Brunswick

Wilmot served as mayor of Saint John from 1849 to 1850. He represented Saint John County in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

from 1847 to 1861, and from 1865 to 1867, and was member of the

Executive Council of New Brunswick The Executive Council of New Brunswick (french: Conseil exécutif du Nouveau-Brunswick), informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of New Brunswick (french: Cabinet du Nouveau-Brunswick), is the cabinet of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. ...

, serving as the Surveyor-General from 1851 to 1854, and provincial secretary from 1856 to 1857. He was a New Brunswick delegate to the

London Conference of 1866 The London Conference was held in London, in the United Kingdom, in 1866. It was the third and final in a series of conferences that led to Canadian Confederation in 1867. Sixteen delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunsw ...

, which settled the final terms for

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 Dominion ...

Federal politics

Following Confederation, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada on 23 October 1867 by

royal proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

, and represented the Senate division of

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 1878, he became Speaker of the Senate, and was also a member of the ministry of

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 ...

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick

Wilmot resigned from the Senate on 10 February 1880 and was appointed the sixth

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the viceregal representative in New Brunswick of the , who operates distinctly wit ...

. He served in that position until 1885.

Death

Wilmot died at his estate in Sunbury County at the age of 81. His home 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 on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

in 1975. He is buried in Sunbury County Oromocto Anglican Church cemetery on Broad Road.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilmot, Robert Duncan 1809 births 1891 deaths Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Lieutenant Governors of New Brunswick Speakers of the Senate of Canada Canadian senators from New Brunswick Fathers of Confederation Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Mayors of Saint John, New Brunswick Politicians from Fredericton Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Provincial Secretaries of New Brunswick