Sir Robert Hodgson (1798 – 15 September 1880) 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 ...

lawyer, politician, judge, and the

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island The lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island () is the viceregal representative in Prince Edward Island of the , who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the ...

Early life and education

Hodgson was born in

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in 1 ...

, in 1798, to Robert Hodgson Sr. and Rebecca Robinson, the former being a member of the

General Assembly of Prince Edward Island The General Assembly of Prince Edward Island is the unicameral legislature of the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada, consisting of the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island. ( Crown-in-Parliament) and the Legislative Assembly of Princ ...

and public speaker who died while Hodgson Jr. was a child. His family was

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

and Hodgson was the oldest of a total of 5 children, 3 sons and a daughter. Hodgson moved to

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Highway 101. The community has a history dating back to its use by the Mi'kmaq Nation for sev ...

to complete his education, going to the

University of King's College The University of King's College, established in 1789, is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and Nova Scotian Higher Education in the Nineteenth Century." Anglic ...

. He then traveled to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, where

Simon Bradstreet Robie Simon Bradstreet Robie (1770 – January 3, 1858) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Truro Township from 1799 to 1806 and Halifax County from 1806 to 1826 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Born in ...

and

James William Johnston James W. Johnston (29 August 1792 – 21 November 1873) was a Nova Scotia lawyer and politician. He served as Premier of the colony from 1857 to 1860 and again from 1864. He was also ''Government Leader'' prior to the granting of responsible ...

helped him study law. He later returned to Charlottetown and became a politician and lawyer. In Charlottetown, Hodgson had a wife, Fanny McDonell, whom he married in 1827. After having 3 children, two daughters and a son, McDonell died 5 years after their marriage, on 2 May 1832; Hodgson did not marry again after her death.

Career

In 1819, Hodgon became a part of the Bar of Nova Scotia, as well as the Bar of Prince Edward Island. In 1824, Hodgson successfully contested an assembly seat in

. He became the land owner of several businesses, often working with John Lawson. Hodgson became the temporary attorney general of Prince Edward Island in May 1828, after the death of William Johnston, the previous attorney of the colony; this was switched to a permanent appointment in 1829. Hodgson also became the advocate general, surrogate, and judge of probate of the island in 1828. Hodgson became the president of the Legislative Council of Prince Edward Island in 1840, after serving in that council, as well as the Executive Council, since 1829. He became a temporary chief justice of the island in 1841. In 1850, reformers of Prince Edward Island asked if Hodgson would join them, stating that they would allow him to keep both of his positions in office. However, he refused, and in 1851, the reformers ended up taking power of the island. At this point, Hodgson resigned from his attorney general position and his Executive Council seat, but kept his position as president of the Legislative Council for the next year. After agreeing to not accept any office of payment controlled by the island's government, Hodgson received a grant of £200 a year, for his work as attorney general. On 26 May 1852, he was appointed chief justice of Prince Edward Island by the executive council; the governor,

Alexander Bannerman Sir Alexander Bannerman (7 October 1788 – 30 December 1864) was a Scottish merchant, vintner, politician and British colonial governor. Early life Known as "Sandy", he was born on 7 October 1788 in Scotland. He was the eldest son of merchant ...

, believed that Hodgson had "a thorough knowledge of Colonial & Constitutional law." Throughout his time as chief justice, he performed as an administrator of the island several times during

Dundas Dundas may refer to: Places Australia * Dundas, New South Wales * Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region * Dundas, Tasmania * Dundas, Western Australia * Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828 * Shire of ...

's absences from governor. He was selected to be the judge of the Court of Vice-Admiralty in 1853. His first period serving as an administrator was in 1865, from July – December, during which time disputes over land were occurring. The members of the

Tenant League The Tenant League in Prince Edward Island was a 19th-century agrarian populist movement whose goal was the "dismantling of the proprietary land system" in that province.

, a populist league which wanted to demolish the proprietary land system, would not pay landlords their rent. This issue became so severe that soldiers were sent to restore order by Hodgson. This proved to be successful, and the action was praised by the press of the island and London. Hodgson was knighted in 1869, along with William Young. Also in 1869, Hodgon requested to be the lieutenant governor of the island, but was unsuccessful, with William C. F. Robinson becoming the lieutenant governor instead. However, Hodgson did become the lieutenant governor in 1874; the previous year, Robinson had resigned his position and left the island. Hodgson served as lieutenant governor until 1879, when he retired. He died on 15—16 September 1880, a year after his retirement, when he was 82 years old.

References

External links

Government of PEI profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson, Robert 1798 births 1880 deaths Lawyers in Prince Edward Island Judges in Prince Edward Island Lieutenant Governors of Prince Edward Island Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island People from Charlottetown Canadian Knights Bachelor Colony of Prince Edward Island judges