Bliss Botsford (November 26, 1813 – April 5, 1890) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in the

Province of New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) 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. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada. He represented Westmorland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1851 to 1854, from 1856 to 1861 and from 1866 to 1870. He was born in

Sackville, New Brunswick Sackville is a town in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It is home to Mount Allison University, a primarily undergraduate liberal arts university. Historically based on agriculture, shipbuilding, and manufacturing, the economy is now driven ...

, the son of

William Botsford William Botsford (April 29, 1773 – May 8, 1864) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in the pre-Confederation Province of New Brunswick, Canada. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut Colony, the son of Amos Botsford and Sarah Chandl ...

and Sarah Lowell Murray who was the daughter of

William Hazen William is a masculine given name of Norman French 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 conques ...

. He studied at

King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom: *King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge *King's College London, a constituent of the University of London It ca ...

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

but did not receive a degree. Botsford then studied law with

William End William End, (1798 – December 14, 1872) was an Irish-born lawyer and politician in New Brunswick. He represented Gloucester County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1830 to 1850 and from 1854 to 1861. He was assassinated ...

, was called to the bar in 1838 and set up practice at the Bend of Petitcodiac (incorporated as

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

in 1855). In 1842, he married Jane Chapman. Botsford was named mayor of Moncton in 1862 and promptly had the town's incorporation act repealed so that its municipal debt would be spread across the county. Moncton was later incorporated again in 1875 after becoming a major railway centre for the province. Botsford was an opponent of Confederation. He served as speaker for the Legislative Assembly from 1867 to 1870 and as a member of the Executive Council of New Brunswick, was

Surveyor General A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post. The following surveyor ge ...

from April 5, 1865 to April 14, 1866. In 1870, Bliss Botsford was named judge for the court for Westmorland and Albert counties. He was also a major in the county militia and an active

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 ...

. Botsford died in Moncton at the age of 76 after collapsing while descending a flight of stairs and then falling out through a window.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''''The Canadian parliamentary companion'' HJ Morgan (1869)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Botsford, Bliss 1813 births 1890 deaths Lawyers in New Brunswick Judges in New Brunswick Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Mayors of Moncton Canadian people of English descent People from Sackville, New Brunswick