Isaac Deschamps (c. 1722 – 11 August 1801) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

judge, and politician. Born in Switzerland or England, Deschamps came to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

in 1749 and is believed to have been a bilingual

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

. Isaac and a son under age 16 years were mentioned in a list of settlers living within the Town of Halifax in July 1752; Deschamps was employed by

Joshua Mauger Joshua Mauger (April 1725 – 18 October 1788) was a prominent merchant and slave trader in Halifax, Nova Scotia (1749–60) and then went to England and became Nova Scotia's colonial agent (1762). He has been referred to as "the first great merc ...

, victualer to the navy at Halifax in 1751; by 1754 Deschamps was at Fort Edward (Windsor) as Clerk in Mauger's store; Deschamps acted as interpreter and translator for documents at the time of the expulsion of the Acadian French (1754). Halifax authorities replied to Capt. Alexander Murray, Commanding Fort Edward that his request to have Isaac Deschamps appointed a Notary Public could not be granted since the only person who could approve such a position was the Archbishop of Canterbury; it was felt that Deschamps could "do any little business the French Inhabitants want without any particular appointment". Col. Winslow was the commander of the New England Provincial troops at Grand Pre during the evacuation of the Acadian French; he used the services of Deschamps who at the time was a merchant at Fort Edward, as an interpreter and translator. He participated in the

Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) The Bay of Fundy campaign occurred during the French and Indian War (the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War) when the British ordered the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia after the Battle of Fort Beauséjour (1755). The campaign ...

at Fort Edward to remove the Acadians. He was elected to the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

for 1759 to 1760 for Annapolis County and represented Falmouth Township from 1761 to 1770 and Newport Township from 1770 to 1783. In 1761, he was appointed judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and judge of probate for Kings County. In 1783 he was appointed to the

Nova Scotia Council Formally known as "His Majesty's Council of Nova Scotia", the Nova Scotia Council (1720–1838) was the original British administrative, legislative and judicial body in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Council was also known as the Annapolis Counci ...

. From 1785 to 1788, he was the Chief Justice of the

Nova Scotia Supreme Court The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia. The Supreme Court consists of 25 judicial seats including the position of Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice. At any given time there may be one or more addi ...

. Many of his recordings are held at the Nova Scotia Archives.

Family

The name of Deschamps's first wife is unknown, but she was probably a daughter of William Saul of Liverpool, England. He had one son (George, b. 1746, probably in England). In 1758 he married Sarah Ellis in Halifax. He died 11 August 1801 in Windsor, Nova Scotia.

References

* * 1720s births 1801 deaths Year of birth uncertain Colony of Nova Scotia judges 18th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly {{Canada-law-bio-stub