Hewitt Bernard, (1825 – 24 February 1893) 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, militia officer, editor, and civil servant.

Life and career

Bernard was born in

Spanish Town Spanish Town ( jam, label=Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. Th ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. He was educated in

Bath, England Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the ceremonial counties of England, county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 1 ...

, and practiced law education in Jamaica until the death of his father in 1850. He came to Canada in 1851 to establish himself in law practice and settled in Barrie, Upper Canada, where he became part of local society. In 1854, he brought his mother and sister Agnes to live with him. About that time, he joined the local militia and eventually gained the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Bernard 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 Ionic Lodge, No. 25 (Ontario) of Toronto, resigning when he left to work in Quebec in 1859. Bernard was a successful lawyer and co-editor of the ''Upper Canada Law Journal'' when he became the private secretary of Attorney General

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 ...

in 1857. He soon became chief clerk, and he was the recording secretary at 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 ...

in 1864. In February 1867, Bernard's sister Agnes married John A. Macdonald, who became the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

a few months later. Bernard was a very good friend of Macdonald before he became Macdonald's brother-in-law. After

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, Bernard served as the private secretary to the Prime Minister between 1867 and 1873. He was also the Deputy Minister of Justice from 1868 to 1876. Bernard was succeeded in that position by Zebulon Aiton Lash. Some historians, such as P. B. Waite, consider Bernard to be a

Father 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 ...

. In 1872, he was made a Companion of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

References

External links

*
''Ontario Historical Plaques - Hewitt Bernard''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, Hewitt 1825 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Canadian lawyers 19th-century Canadian civil servants Jamaican people of English descent Emigrants from British Jamaica to Canada Canadian newspaper editors Canadian Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 19th-century Canadian journalists Canadian male journalists 19th-century male writers People from Spanish Town Colony of Jamaica people Canadian Freemasons Burials at Beechwood Cemetery (Ottawa) 19th-century Jamaican lawyers