James Bardin Palmer (ca 1771 – March 3, 1833) was an Irish-born

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate for a member of the nobility or landed gentry, supervising the farming ...

, lawyer and politician in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. He represented

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island () together with the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island form the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. The Legislative Assembly meets at ...

from 1806 to 1818. He was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, the son of Joseph Palmer. Palmer was admitted to practice as a solicitor in Ireland in 1791. He left for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

sometime before 1800. Unsuccessful there, he arrived on Prince Edward Island in August 1802 as a land agent for the Reverend Raphael Walsh of Dublin, who owned Lot 11. Palmer was admitted to the Prince Edward Island bar in November 1802. In 1803, he married Millicent Jones. Palmer was named to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

in June 1806. He resigned from the council in October that year and ran successfully for a seat in the legislative assembly. Palmer was associated with a group known as the Loyal Electors, a group critical of the island's ruling elite. He resigned from his seat in 1809, and in October of that year, was again named to the legislative council. He served as adjutant general for the militia, inspector of public accounts, master and registrar in Chancery and inspector of roads for the colony. After the death of

Peter Magowan Peter Alden Magowan (April 5, 1942 – January 27, 2019) was an American businessman. He was the managing general partner of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball from 1993 to 2008. He was the chief executive officer of Safeway Inc. ...

, the attorney general, in 1810, Palmer was considered as a possible successor but Charles Stewart was chosen instead. In 1812, Palmer resigned from his seat on the council and again ran successfully for a seat in the legislative assembly. Palmer was removed as a barrister in November 1816 after charges of professional misconduct were brought against him by John Hill; Palmer had been bringing forward charges of concealment of assets against Hill, who had declared bankruptcy in 1807. Palmer was reinstated as a barrister in 1819. He served as acting attorney general in 1824 while William Johnston was temporarily removed from that post. He was elected to the assembly again in an 1827 by-election but his election was overturned by the assembly. He ran again unsuccessfully in 1829 and 1830. With others, he helped establish a newspaper, the ''Phenix'', which pressed for reforms in the administration of the colony. He died in Charlottetown following a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 1833. His son

Edward Palmer Edward Palmer may refer to: * Edward Palmer (d.1624) (1555–1624), antiquary and projector of a university in Virginia * Edward Palmer (socialist) (1802–1886), American religious socialist * Edward Palmer (Canadian politician) (1809–1889), Pri ...

served in the province's assembly and, although opposed to Confederation, is considered one of the Fathers of Confederation.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, James B 1833 deaths Lawyers from Dublin (city) Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Prince Edward Island 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island Year of birth uncertain Members of the Legislative Council of Prince Edward Island Attorneys general of the Colony of Prince Edward Island