Winckworth Tonge (4 February 1727 – 2 February 1792) was an Anglo-Irish soldier who served in North America, where he became a land owner 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 ...

after his military service. He represented

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

from 1759 to 1760, King's County from 1765 to 1783 and

Hants County Hants County is an historical county and census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the West Hants Regional Municipality, and the Municipality of the District of East Hants. History Formation The county of Hants ...

from 1785 to 1792 in 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 ...

Biography

Winckworth Tonge was born in

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

to a Protestant family. In 1743, he served as a volunteer in the expedition led by Captain Charles Knowles (later a Rear Admiral) against the Spanish settlements and ships in the Caribbean and Central America. Tonge then served with Colonel

Hugh Warburton General Hugh Warburton (1695 – 26 August 1771) was an officer of the British Army and fought in the French and Indian War with the 45th Regiment of Foot. He later commanded the 27th Regiment of Foot during the Seven Years' War. Early life ...

in the 45th Regiment of Foot first at Gibraltar and then at the

Fortress of Louisbourg The Fortress of Louisbourg (french: Forteresse de Louisbourg) is a National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Its two sie ...

(1746 to 1749). His regiment was assigned to garrison the new town of

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, where a fort was built. Tonge also took part in the Battle of Fort Beauséjour, where he was wounded in action. In 1758, he took part in the siege of Louisbourg and, in 1759, served with General Wolfe at the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (french: Bataille des Plaines d'Abraham, Première bataille de Québec), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe ...

Fort Beausejour in 1755 by Winckworth Tonge

After retiring from the army, Tonge received grants of land in Nova Scotia, where he settled. He married Martha Grace Cottnam and they had a family. Their son William Cottnam later became an attorney and a judge. Like his father, he was elected as a member of the Nova Scotia legislative assembly. Tonge was commissioned as a colonel in the local militia and 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 ...

. He also served as justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for Hants County and provincial superintendent of roads, bridges, and public works. In 1773, Tonge was named naval officer for Nova Scotia, as tensions increased in the Thirteen Colonies between some groups and the British colonial governments. After suffering losses at the hands of American

privateers A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Tonge had to sell most of his property later in his life. He died in 1792 at Halifax.

Legacy

* namesake of Tonge's Island, Tantramar Marsh, New Brunswick * His son Captain William Peter Tonge participated in the

action of 21 July 1781 The action of 21 July 1781(in French: ''Combat naval en vue de Louisbourg'', or ''Combat naval à la hauteur de Louisbourg'') was a naval skirmish off the harbour of Spanish River, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (present-day Sydney, Nova Scotia), duri ...

* His son William Cottnam Tonge is the namesake of Tonge Hill,

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Highway 101. The community has a history dating back to its use by the Mi'kmaq Nation for sev ...

* Wentworth Road, Windsor, Nova Scotia is a corruption of Winckworth Road, which was named after Winckworth Tonge.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Winckworth Tonge. "Remarks on the climate, produce and natural advantages of Nova Scotia." 1783
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonge, Winckworth 1727 births 1792 deaths Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs People from County Wexford Canadian justices of the peace Canadian people of Irish descent Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Nova Scotia People of Father Le Loutre's War British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars