William Hume Blake, (10 March 1809 – 15 November 1870) was an Irish-Canadian jurist and politician. He was the father of

Edward Blake Dominick Edward Blake (October 13, 1833 – March 1, 1912), known as Edward Blake, was the second premier of Ontario, from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1880 to 1887. He is one of only three federal permanent Li ...

, an Ontario Premier and federal

Liberal party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

leader, and the first Chancellor of Upper Canada. He was born at his grandfather's home, Humewood Castle,

Kiltegan Kiltegan () is a village in west County Wicklow, Ireland, on the R747 regional road close to the border with County Carlow. The 19th century mansion Humewood House lies just outside the village. It was built in 1870 for William Hume-Dick, ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

, Ireland, the son of the Rev. Dominick Edward Blake, and Ann, daughter of William Hume (1747–1798) MP, of

Humewood Castle Humewood Castle is a Gothic-fantasy mansion built in 1870 in 427 acres of parkland at Kiltegan, County Wicklow in the Republic of Ireland. The mansion was originally built as a private residence of the Hume family. It is currently owned by Amer ...

. His ancestors were counted among the

Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...

. He was educated at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. In 1832 he emigrated to Canada and settled on a farm in Middlesex County. In a few years he removed to

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 ...

, studied law, and was called to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1838. He soon distinguished himself in the profession, but was strongly interested in the political issues which agitated the province. In 1848 he was elected to the Legislature for East York (now Ontario County) and in the same year was appointed Solicitor-General for Upper Canada in the Lafontaine-Baldwin ministry. In 1849 he prepared the act reforming the practice and organization of the Court of Chancery 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 ...

and resigned from the ministry in order to become in 1849 the first chancellor of the court. In March, 1862, he resigned on account of failing health, and eight years later he died in Toronto. He was named a

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 1848.

Family

William Hume Blake, Esquire, married Catherine Honoria Hume (born in 1804), daughter of Joseph Samuel Hume, and Eliza, in 1832. The couple emigrated to Canada in 1832. Her death on 3 February 1886, resulted from an accident. She served on the Committee of Management of the Toronto General Hospital and of the Female Emigrant Society and other similar bodies. The couple were the parents of the Hon.

, an Ontario Premier and federal

leader and of the Hon.

Samuel Hume Blake Samuel Hume Blake (31 August 1835 – 23 June 1914) was a Canadian politician from Toronto. Early life Blake was born on 31 August 1835 in Toronto, Canada. He was the second son of William Hume Blake (1809–1870), an Irish-Canadian jurist ...

, K.C., a member of the Ontario Bar.

Notes

References

External links

* * *Biography i
The Canadian Portrait Gallery: Volume 3
by John Charles Dent, 1881. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, William Hume 1809 births 1870 deaths 19th-century Irish people People from County Wicklow Lawyers in Ontario Canadian King's Counsel Judges in Ontario Chancellors of the University of Toronto Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West Politicians from County Wicklow Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Immigrants to Upper Canada Province of Canada judges