Richard Norton Wilkinson (??-1804) was a soldier, judge and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

. He was born in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. At the time of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, he was a merchant in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

and owned a ship. His ship and cargo were seized and he was imprisoned by the colonists. He escaped and served with Sir John Johnson's

King's Royal Regiment of New York The King's Royal Regiment of New York, also known as Johnson's Royal Regiment of New York, King's Royal Regiment, King's Royal Yorkers, and Royal Greens, were one of the first Loyalist regiments, raised on June 19, 1776, in British Canada, durin ...

. In 1778, he was appointed to the Indian Department. He served as captain in the Royal Canadian Volunteers until 1802. In 1788, he was appointed justice of the peace in the Lunenburg District. In 1794, he was appointed justice in the Eastern District court. He represented

Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the Parliament of the Province of Canada. The Province of Canada consisted of the former province of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East (now Quebec), and Upper Canada ...

from 1796 to 1800. He died at

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in 1804. His son Walter Butler was also a member of the Legislative Assembly but died only a few years after his father.

References

*''Becoming Prominent: Leadership in Upper Canada, 1791-1841'', J.K. Johnson (1989) 1804 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Year of birth unknown Upper Canada judges Canadian justices of the peace {{UpperCanada-politician-stub