William Henry Pope (May 29, 1825 – October 7, 1879) 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, politician, journalist, judge and one of the

Fathers of Confederation The Fathers of Confederation are the 36 people who attended at least one of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864 (23 attendees), the Quebec Conference of 1864 (33 attendees), and the London Conference of 1866 (16 attendees), preceding Canadian ...

. He was born in Bedeque, P.E.I.(Prince Edward Island), the son of Joseph Pope and Lucy Colledge. He was educated in England, but returned to Charlottetown where he studied law at the office of Edward Palmer. He became a lawyer in 1847. The editor of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

's main

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

newspaper, ''The Islander'', from 1859 to 1872, he entered politics in 1863. He was named Colonial Secretary in 1859 even though he was not a part of the legislature because of a government experiment of having civil servants head the government departments. When he became a representative for the constituency of Belfast in 1863, he continued to hold that position. He was one of the hosts of the Charlottetown Conference in 1864. An enthusiastic supporter of

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

, he left the PEI cabinet in 1864 when the government rejected Confederation outright, but continued to press for union. The allocation of land was a key issue for Islanders in the 1860s; Pope opposed the idea of

escheat Escheat is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied to a ...

, a common idea at the time. After this was accomplished in 1873 under the leadership of his brother, PEI Premier

James Colledge Pope James Colledge Pope, (June 11, 1826 – May 8, 1885) was a land proprietor and politician on Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada. He served as premier of the colony from 1865 to 1867, and from 1870 to 1873. He was premier of PEI in 1873 when ...

, he was appointed a county court judge. His son, Joseph Pope, became the private secretary to Canada's first Prime Minister Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

and later wrote his biography
The Day of Sir John Macdonald
' Ardgowan, Pope's residence, was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1966. During the

Charlottetown Conference The Charlottetown Conference (Canada's Conference) was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation. The conference took place between September 1 thro ...

, the Popes billetted

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

and hosted a luncheon for delegates at Ardgowan. Pope was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

of Victoria Lodge in Charlottestown, at the time No. 383 under the

Grand Lodge of Scotland The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland is the governing body of Freemasonry in Scotland. It was founded in 1736. About one third of Scotland's lodges were represented at the foundation meeting of the Grand Lodge. Histor ...

, but today No. 2 under the

Grand Lodge of Prince Edward Island Freemasonry is a Fraternity, fraternal organisation that arose from the loose organization of medieval masons (i.e. stone workers) working in the medieval building industry. History Freemasonry in Canada traces its origins to the United Grand ...

References

Bibliography

* 1825 births 1879 deaths Fathers of Confederation Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Colonial Secretaries of Prince Edward Island Judges in Prince Edward Island Canadian Freemasons {{PrinceEdwardIsland-politician-stub