Thomas Moss (August 20, 1836 – January 4, 1881) 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, judge and political figure. He represented

West Toronto West Toronto was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the city of Toronto, in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. T ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1873 to 1875 as a

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member. He was born in Cobourg,

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 ...

, the son of John Moss, and grew up in

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 ...

. He was educated at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an elite, all-boys, private school in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as the country's most prestigious preparatory school, and has produce ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. Moss studied law with Adam Crooks, was called to the bar in 1861 and practised law in

. In 1863, he married Amy, the daughter of

Robert Baldwin Sullivan Robert Baldwin Sullivan, (May 24, 1802 – April 14, 1853), was an Irish-Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician who became the second Mayor of Toronto, Upper Canada. Career In 1835, he was elected to Toronto City Council of the year-old city ...

. Moss was named

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1872. He was also a lecturer for 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 ...

and served as registrar and a member of the senate for the University of Toronto. He was elected to the House of Commons in an 1873 by-election held after the death of

John Willoughby Crawford John Willoughby Crawford (26 August 1817 – 13 May 1875) served as the third Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada from 1873 to 1875. Born in 1817 in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim, Ireland, the son of George Crawford, John Crawford came t ...

. In 1875, he accepted a position as judge in the Ontario Court of Error and Appeal; he was named chief justice in that court two years later and, in 1878, he was named

Chief Justice of Ontario The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...

. Moss retired from the bench in 1880 due to poor health. He died in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

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early in the following year. His brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

also served as chief justice of Ontario.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
*
''The Canadian biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men'' (1880)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Thomas 1836 births 1881 deaths Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Justices of the Court of Appeal for Ontario University of Toronto alumni People from Cobourg Canadian King's Counsel Province of Canada judges