Edmund Murray Dodd (January 9, 1797 – July 27, 1876) was a lawyer, judge 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 represented the township of Sydney 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 ...

from 1832 to 1848. He was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, the son of Archibald Charles Dodd and Susannah Gibbons. Dodd served in the British navy during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. He later practiced law in Sydney. In 1826, he married Mary Ann Sarah Weeks. Dodd married Caroline Maria Ritchie in 1830, a granddaughter of

David Mathews David Mathews ( – July 28, 1800) was an American lawyer and politician from New York City. He was a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and was the 43rd and last Colonial Mayor of New York City from 1776 until 1783. As New York Cit ...

, the Loyalist Mayor of New York City under the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

during 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 Revoluti ...

, after the death of his first wife. Although he generally supported the Tories in the assembly, he was for a time a personal friend of

Joseph Howe Joseph Howe (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer ha ...

. Dodd was named to the Executive Council in 1838 and was named Solicitor General in 1844. He served as a probate judge from 1842 to 1848, when he was named puisne judge in the

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia. The Supreme Court consists of 25 judicial seats including the position of Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice. At any given time there may be one or more addit ...

. He retired from the bench in 1873 and died at Cow Bay three years later at the age of 79. His son Murray later served in the Canadian House of Commons.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Edmund M 1797 births 1876 deaths Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs Colony of Nova Scotia judges