Stair Agnew (October 19, 1757 – October 10, 1821) was a land owner, judge and political figure in

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 ...

, now 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 ...

. He represented York County in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

from 1792 to 1795 and from 1796 to 1821. Agnew was born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, the son of the Reverend John Agnew, and was educated in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and joined the Queen's Loyal Virginia Regiment at the beginning of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Agnew and his father, a chaplain for the loyalists, were captured in 1781 and released at the end of the war. He went to

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 ...

where he married Sophia Winifred (last name unknown). In 1789, Agnew settled in

near

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

. He served as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and a judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for the county from 1799 until his death at his estate in York County in 1821. Agnew, a slave owner, challenged Judge

Isaac Allen Isaac Allen ( – ) was a Canadian jurist in New Brunswick. Isaac Allen was a loyalist officer during the American Revolutionary War, who at the close of the war held the rank of colonel and commanded the 2d battalion of New Jersey volunteers. H ...

to a duel after the judge found in favour of an escaped slave in ''

R v Jones Reginald Victor Jones , FRSE, LLD (29 September 1911 – 17 December 1997) was a British physicist and scientific military intelligence expert who played an important role in the defence of Britain in by solving scientific and technical pr ...

'' in 1800. Allen refused the challenge. Agnew later fought with Samuel Denny Street, one of the lawyers for the slave.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1757 births 1821 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick United Empire Loyalists Colony of New Brunswick judges Canadian slave owners 19th-century Canadian judges 19th-century Canadian politicians {{NewBrunswick-MLA-stub