Samuel George William Archibald (February 5, 1777 – January 28, 1846) 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 Halifax County from 1806 to 1836 and Colchester County from 1836 to 1841 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 ...

. He supported the

Royal Acadian School The Royal Acadian School was a school developed for marginalized people in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The school was established by British officer and reformer Walter Bromley on 13 January 1814. He promoted the objectives of the British and Foreign S ...

. He was born Samuel George Washington Archibald in

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Mi'kmaq: ''Wagobagitik''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Truru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at ...

, the son of Samuel Archibald and Rachel Todd. His grandfather David Archibald, an immigrant from

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, was one of the founders of Truro, and raised the boy after the death of his father in 1780. At the age of 15, he went to

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

for further education, returning four years later. After his return, he studied law with

Simon Bradstreet Robie Simon Bradstreet Robie (1770 – January 3, 1858) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Truro Township from 1799 to 1806 and Halifax County from 1806 to 1826 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Born in ...

. In 1802, he married Elizabeth Dickson, daughter of Charles Dickson and Amelia Bishop, the sister of

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, Thomas Dickson. Later that year, he became probate judge for Colchester and

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Gla ...

districts. In 1805, Archibald was admitted to practice as an attorney and barrister. Archibald was named

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1817. In 1818, he was surrogate general for the colony's

vice admiralty court Vice Admiralty Courts were juryless courts located in British colonies that were granted jurisdiction over local legal matters related to maritime activities, such as disputes between merchants and seamen. American Colonies American maritime act ...

In 1819, he unsuccessfully prosecuted

Richard John Uniacke, Jr. Richard John Uniacke (June 6, 1789 – February 21, 1834) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Cape Breton County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1820 to 1830. He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia ...

who took part in the last fatal duel in Nova Scotia, which led to the death of merchant William Bowie. Archibald set up an oat mill in Truro in 1822. Archibald also served as Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island from 1824 to 1828, although he never resided on the island. He was

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

for the legislative assembly from 1824 to 1841. In 1826, he was named solicitor general for Nova Scotia. In 1830, Archibald was named acting attorney general after the death of

Richard John Uniacke Richard John Uniacke (November 22, 1753 – October 11, 1830) was an abolitionist, lawyer, politician, member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and Attorney General of Nova Scotia. According to historian Brian Cutherburton, Uniacke was " ...

. He married Joanna Brinley in 1832, two years after the death of his first wife. He suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 1836 which left him for a time with paralysis of his facial muscles and difficulty speaking. In 1841, he was named master of the rolls and resigned his seat in the assembly. Archibald died in Halifax in 1846 of a severe stroke. His son Charles Dickson also served in the legislative assembly and his son

Edward Mortimer Edward Mortimer (22 December 1943 – 18 June 2021) was a UN civil servant, journalist, author and academic. He was Distinguished Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, from 2013. From 2001 to 2006, he was the Director of Communications in the ...

became a lawyer and office-holder in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Nova Scotian artist William Valentine painted Archibald's portrait.Portrait of Archibald by Valentine
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archibald, Samuel George W 1776 births 1846 deaths 19th-century British North American people 19th-century Canadian politicians Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent Judges in Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs People from Truro, Nova Scotia Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Speakers of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Canadian King's Counsel Colony of Prince Edward Island judges Colony of Nova Scotia judges Attorneys General of the Colony of Nova Scotia