John Butler Dight (Butler) (c. 1760 – July 2, 1854) was a merchant and political figure in

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 ...

. He represented Cumberland County in 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 ...

from 1785 to 1793. He was born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the son of Colonel Joshua Dight and Elizabeth Butler. and came to Nova Scotia in 1773. Dight served in the commissariat at

Fort Cumberland A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

. He later moved to Halifax where he established himself as a general merchant. He also served as a captain in the Halifax militia. In 1787, he married Ameliora Burgess Morden. In the 1790s, he changed his name to John Butler Butler when he inherited the estate of his uncle

John Butler John Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American banjo performer; may have been used by a number of performers * John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist * John Butler (author) (born 1937), ...

, a condition of the will. In 1792, he was named justice of the peace for Halifax County and, in 1804, he was named 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 ...

. Butler served as a commissary in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

's army during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. He later settled in England but died at his property in Windsor, Nova Scotia during an extended visit to the province.

References

* * ''A Directory of the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1758-1958'', Public Archives of Nova Scotia (1958) 1760s births 1854 deaths 18th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Year of birth uncertain {{NovaScotia-MLA-stub