Thomas Scott (baptised 18 October 1746 – July 29, 1824) was a judge and political figure in

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 ...

. He was born in the parish of Kingoldrum,

Angus, Scotland Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agr ...

and studied law at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He was called to the bar in 1793. In 1800, he was appointed attorney general in Upper Canada and arrived in York in 1801. He was appointed to the Executive Council for the province in 1805. He was the fourth

Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; frenc ...

from 1805 until he became Chief Justice for Upper Canada succeeding

Henry Allcock Henry Allcock (baptised January 26, 1759 – February 22, 1808) was a judge and political figure in Upper and Lower Canada. His family was from Edgbaston and he was born in Birmingham, England in 1759 and studied law at Lincoln's Inn in Lon ...

and was appointed to the Executive Council in 1806.The Law Society of Upper Canada, List of Law Society Treasurers
/ref> In 1811, already suffering from ill health, Scott applied for a pension so that he could retire, but was refused. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, the administration sought to ensure the loyalty of its subjects by imposing

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

and, in 1814, by prosecuting those who had expressed sympathy for the enemy with

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

in a series of trials at Ancaster known as the " Bloody Assize". Fifteen men were condemned to death of which eight were executed. These actions increased Scott's workload. In 1816, Scott was finally granted a pension and retired. He was succeeded by

William Dummer Powell William Dummer Powell (November 5, 1755 - September 6, 1834) was a Loyalist lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. Early life and education Born at Boston, Massachusetts, he was named for his grandmother's brother William Dummer ...

as Chief Justice for the province. Scott died at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

(

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 ...

) in 1824. * Scott Township in Ontario County,

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 ...

, now part of

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

, was named after Scott. * Scott Street (and Scott Lane) in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood of

are also named after Thomas Scott.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Thomas Chief justices of Upper Canada 1746 births 1824 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada People from Angus, Scotland People from Old Toronto Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Treasurers of the Law Society of Upper Canada Attorneys-General of Upper Canada Immigrants to Upper Canada Scottish lawyers Members of Lincoln's Inn