Lewis Morris Wilkins (ca 1768 – January 3, 1848) was a lawyer, judge 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 Lunenburg County 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 ...
from 1799 to 1817. Wilkins was
speaker for the Nova Scotia assembly from 1806 to 1817.
He was born in
Morrisania
Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 161st Street to the south, and Webster Avenu ...
(later part of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
) the son of the
Isaac Wilkins and Isabella Morris, who was the sister of
Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continen ...
, and came to
Shelburne, Nova Scotia
Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada.
History
Shelburne lies at the southwest corner of Nova Scotia, at roughly the same latitude as Portland, Maine in the United States. The Mi'kmaq call the large and well-sheltered ...
with his family in 1784. Wilkins became a lieutenant in the
Lunenburg township militia in 1793. He admitted to the Nova Scotia bar around 1798. In 1799, he married Sarah, the daughter of
John Creighton. He was sheriff of
Halifax County from 1798 to 1804. Wilkins then entered the practice of law in
Halifax,
Lunenbrug County and Pictou district. In 1816, he was named an assistant judge in the
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia and resigned from the assembly the following year. Wilkins died at home in
Windsor, Nova Scotia
Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Highway 101.
The community has a history dating back to its use by the Mi'kmaq Nation for seve ...
in 1848.
His sons
Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continen ...
and
Martin Isaac both went on to serve in the Nova Scotia assembly.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Lewis Morris
1848 deaths
Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs
Speakers of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly
Year of birth uncertain