
John George Pyke (4 January 1744 – 3 September 1828) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
-born merchant and political figure in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) 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. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native En ...
. He represented Halifax County from 1779 to 1793 and Halifax Township from 1793 to 1800 and from 1802 to 1818 in the
Nova Scotia House of Assembly
The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia
Each General Assembly of the ...
.
He also became head of the Police department. He survived the
Raid on Dartmouth (1751)
The Raid on Dartmouth (also referred to as the Dartmouth Massacre) occurred during Father Le Loutre's War on May 13, 1751, when a Miꞌkmaq and Acadian militia from Chignecto, under the command of Acadian Joseph Broussard, raided Dartmouth, ...
but his father Abraham did not.
Background
He was the only child of (John) Abraham Pyke and Ann Scrope of Yorkshire. He came to Nova Scotia with his parents on the Alderney in 1750, though he was educated in England. A year after his arrival in Canada his father was killed at
Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to:
Places
* Dartmouth, Devon, England
** Dartmouth Harbour
* Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States
* Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
* Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia
Institutions
* Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...
by the
Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nor ...
s. His father was buried in an unmarked grave in the
Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
The Old Burying Ground (also known as St. Paul's Church Cemetery) is a historic cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road in Downtown Halifax.
History
The Old Bu ...
. Two months later, John's mother married
Richard Wenman.
At St. Paul's, Halifax in August, 1772, Pyke married Elizabeth Allan, the daughter of Major William Allan by his wife Isabella, daughter of Sir Eustace Maxwell. Elizabeth Pyke was the sister of
John Allan. John Pyke inherited his stepfather's properties, including a brewery and land on Spring Garden Road, in 1781. Pyke also served as magistrate in charge of the police,
fire warden
Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter.
Firefighters typically ...
and colonel in the local militia. He was also Grand Master for the
Freemasons
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 ...
. Pyke was also a member of the
Charitable Irish Society of Halifax. He died in Halifax.
The Pykes were the parents of seven children:
George Pyke was the eldest son, and another son, Lieutenant Wincknatte Pyke (d.1813) of the
7th Royal Fusiliers, was killed at the
Siege of San Sebastian
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...
. One of their daughters, Anne, married
James Irvine. Their youngest daughter Isabella married the Honourable Charles Hill.
References
Further reading
* John George Pyke; Biographical sketch. Obituary. ''Novascotian, or Colonial Herald.'' 4 September 1828.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyke, John George
1828 deaths
Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs
1744 births