Joshua Upham (November 3, 1741 – November 1, 1808) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. He served as a member of the New Brunswick Council. He was born in

Brookfield, Massachusetts Brookfield is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Brookfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. The population was 3,439 at the 2020 census. History Brookfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660 and was offici ...

, the son of Dr. Jabez Upham and Katharine Nichols, and graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1763. He practised law in Brookfield. In 1768, he married Elizabeth Murray. In 1777, when, as a lawyer, he was required to take an oath of allegiance to the American state, he declared himself a loyalist and left for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to join the British. (He was subsequently named in the

Massachusetts Banishment Act The Massachusetts Banishment Act, officially named the "Banishment Act of the State of Massachusetts", was passed in September 1778 "to prevent the return to this state of certain persons therein named and others who have left this state or either o ...

of 1778.) Upham was an officer, ending the war as a major in the King's American Dragoons. He was named a judge in the

Supreme Court of New Brunswick The Court of King's Bench of New Brunswick (in Canadian French, French: ''Cour du Banc du Roi du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the superior court, superior trial court of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Structure The Court of King's Bench o ...

in 1784. After the death of his first wife, he married Mary Chandler, the sister of

Samuel Chandler Samuel Chandler (1693 – 8 May 1766) was an English Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist minister and pamphleteer. He has been called the "uncrowned patriarch of English Dissenters, Dissent" in the latter part of the reign of George II ...

and sister-law of

Amos Botsford Amos Botsford (January 31, 1744/1745 – September 14, 1812) was a lawyer, judge, land owner and political figure in New Brunswick. He represented Westmorland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1786 to 1812. He was bo ...

, in 1792. Upham, a slave-owner, voted to uphold the legality of slavery in New Brunswick in 1800 in ''

R v Jones ''R v Jones'', 9862 S.C.R. 284 is an early leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the freedom of religion under section 2(a) of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' and the right to security of person under section 7. Backgrou ...

''. He died at the age of 66 in

London, England 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 ...

, where he had gone to lobby the British government to make the salaries of Supreme Court judges in New Brunswick comparable with those in Upper and Lower Canada. His daughter Sarah married

John Murray Bliss John Murray Bliss (22 February 1771 – 22 August 1834) was a Canadian jurist, politician and administrator. Biography Father John Murray Bliss was born in Massachusetts, the son of Massachusetts loyalist Daniel Bliss, a lawyer and British sold ...

and his daughter Frances married

John Wesley Weldon John Wesley Weldon (ca 1809 – 1885) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. He represented Kent County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1828. He married Frances Chandler, the da ...

References

* 1741 births 1808 deaths Harvard College alumni Colony of New Brunswick judges Members of the Legislative Council of New Brunswick {{NewBrunswick-politician-stub