William Nesbitt (ca 1707 – March 23, 1784) was a lawyer and political figure in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) 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. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. He served as a member of the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

from 1758 to 1783. He came to Nova Scotia in 1749 as

Edward Cornwallis Edward Cornwallis ( – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and was a member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacobi ...

' clerk. In 1752, he qualified as a notary public. The following year he became judge advocate of the

vice admiralty court Vice Admiralty Courts were juryless courts located in British colonies that were granted jurisdiction over local legal matters related to maritime activities, such as disputes between merchants and seamen. American Colonies American maritime ac ...

and attorney general. Nesbitt married Rebecca Phelan in 1756 after the death of his first wife. Nesbitt was named speaker for the provincial assembly in 1759 and served in that post until 1783. He also served as

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 surrogate general for the Probate Court. He was accused of opposing the colony's administrator

Francis Legge Francis Legge (c.1719-15 May 1783), was a British military officer and colonial official in Nova Scotia during the 18th century. He served as Governor of Nova Scotia from 1772 to 1776. During the American Revolution, Legge raised the Royal Nov ...

while speaker; he also signed a petition critical of Legge. At the outbreak 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 ...

, Nesbitt presided over the trial for treason of the future attorney general

Richard John Uniacke Richard John Uniacke (November 22, 1753 – October 11, 1830) was an abolitionist, lawyer, politician, member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and Attorney General of Nova Scotia. According to historian Brian Cutherburton, Uniacke was " ...

after he participated in the

Eddy Rebellion The Battle of Fort Cumberland (also known as the Eddy Rebellion) was an attempt by a small number of militia commanded by Jonathan Eddy to bring the American Revolutionary War to Nova Scotia in late 1776. With minimal logistical support from Ma ...

. Nesbitt resigned as attorney general in 1779. He died in Halifax and is buried in the

Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia) The Old Burying Ground (also known as St. Paul's Church Cemetery) is a historic cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road in Downtown Halifax. History The Old Bur ...

. Portraits of Nesbitt and his wife hung in the King's College Library, Windsor (1920), which was destroyed by fire the same year.

Legacy

* namesake of Nesbitt Island (Mill Island), Windsor, Nova Scotia * namesake of Nesbitt Street, Windsor, Nova Scotia

References

* * "The First Five Attorney-Generals of Nova Scotia"; by Hon. John Doull ( -1969), a justice of Supreme Court of Nova Scotia; Otis Little, Wm. Nesbitt, James Brenton, Richard Gibbons, Samuel Salter Blowers, NSHS, Vol #26 (1945); pp. 16. 1784 deaths Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs Speakers of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Year of birth uncertain Attorneys General of the Colony of Nova Scotia Colony of Nova Scotia judges {{NovaScotia-MLA-stub