About John William Ritchie:
John William Ritchie was a Father of Confederation. He was a Nova Scotia delegate to the London Conference in 1866. A lawyer, John William Ritchie served as the law clerk of the Nova Scotia Legislative Council for over 20 years. He later sat on the Nova Scotia Supreme Court and was also a member of the new Canadian Senate.
Confederation Conferences Attended:
London Conference 1866
Birth and Death:
- Born March 26, 1808 in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
- Died December 13, 1890 in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Profession:
Lawyer, senator, judge
Political Party:
Conservative
Career of John William Ritchie:
- John William Ritchie was appointed law clerk of the Nova Scotia Legislative Council in 1837. He held the position until 1860.
- In 1850, John William Ritchie was a member of a commission to revise the statutes of Nova Scotia.
- John William Ritchie was named a Queen's Counsel in 1858.
- He was appointed to the three-man commission investigating the Prince Edward Island land question in 1859.
- John William Ritchie was appointed to the Board of Governors of Dalhousie University in 1863.
- A sympathizer of the Confederate cause in the American Civil War, John William Ritchie defended three men involved in the Chesapeake Affair.
- In 1864, John William Ritchie was appointed to the Nova Scotia Legislative Council and became Solicitor General.
- He replaced Robert Dickey as government leader in the Upper House, and guided the legislation dealing with Nova Scotia's entry into Confederation. Charles Tupper then appointed him to attend the London Conference in 1866 at which the terms of the union were decided.
- John William Ritchie was appointed to the Canadian Senate in 1867.
- In 1870, John William Ritchie was appointed to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court as a puisne judge. He became an equity judge in 1873.
- John William Ritchie retired from the Nova Scotia bench in 1882.
