Sir William Johnstone Ritchie (October 28, 1813 – September 25, 1892) was one of the first judges appointed to the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

. He became the second Chief Justice of the court, and the second-longest serving Chief Justice to date.

Life and career

Ritchie was born in

Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the ne ...

to Thomas Ritchie and Elizabeth Wildman Johnstone. He graduated from the

Pictou Academy Pictou Academy (PA), founded in 1815 by Dr. Thomas McCulloch, is a secondary school in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Prior to the twentieth century, it was a grammar school; a liberal, nonsectarian degree-granting college; and then a secondary school. Pic ...

and went to study law in Halifax in the office of his brother, John William Ritchie. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

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 ...

in 1837 but moved to

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of ...

, and was called to the bar of that province the following year. In 1846 he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

. In keeping with his pledge to resign if a fellow Liberal candidate failed to win a by-election, he gave up his seat in 1851, only to be re-elected three years later. In 1855 he left politics to accept an appointment to the

Supreme Court of New Brunswick The Court of King's Bench of New Brunswick (in French: ''Cour du Banc du Roi du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the superior trial court of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Structure The Court of King's Bench of New Brunswick consists of a C ...

, and 10 years later he was named

Chief Justice of New Brunswick The Chief Justice of the Province of New Brunswick, Canada holds the highest office within the Province's judicial system. The Chief Justice is a member of the Court of Appeal, the highest court in the Province which includes five other judges plus ...

. He was appointed to the newly established Supreme Court of Canada on September 30, 1875 and became its chief justice on January 11, 1879. He served on the Supreme Court for 17 years until he died on September 25, 1892. Ritchie was twice married. He was first married at Rothesay on September 21, 1843 to Martha Strang. She was the daughter of John Strang, a shipping merchant from St. Andrews. Martha Ritchie died in 1847. A son and a daughter were born to this marriage. Ritchie's second marriage was at Saint John, New Brunswick on May 5, 1856 to Grace Vernon Nicholson (1838–1911). She was the daughter of the late Captain Thomas L. Nicholson and his wife Amy (née Vernon) and stepdaughter of Vice-Admiral

William Fitzwilliam Owen Vice Admiral William Fitzwilliam Owen (17 September 1774 – 3 November 1857), was a British naval officer and explorer. He is best known for his exploration of the west and east African coasts, discovery of the Seaflower Channel off the co ...

, R.N. Seven sons and five daughters were born to this marriage. Sir William and Lady Ritchie are buried in Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa. Ritchie's great-nephew, Roland Ritchie, served as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court.''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'': Ritchie, William Bruce Almon
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References

External links

Supreme Court of Canada Biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, William Johnstone 1813 births 1892 deaths Canadian Anglicans Canadian Knights Bachelor Chief justices of Canada Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs Colony of New Brunswick judges Burials at Beechwood Cemetery (Ottawa)