Sir Alexander Campbell
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Sir Alexander Campbell (March 9, 1822 – May 24, 1892) was an Upper Canadian statesman and a father of
Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...
.


Life

Born in
Hedon Hedon is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of Kingston upon Hull, Hull city centre. It lies to the north of the A1033 road at the cross ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, he was brought to Canada by his father, James Campbell who was a doctor, when he was one year old. He was educated in French at St. Hyacinthe in
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
and in the grammar school at
Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...
. Campbell studied law and was
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
in 1843. He became a partner in John A. Macdonald's law office. Campbell was a
Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
of St. John's Lodge, No. 3 (Ontario) of Kingston (now The Ancient St. John's No. 3). When the government was moved to Quebec in 1858, Campbell resigned. He was elected to the
Legislative Council of the Province of Canada The Legislative Council of the Province of Canada () was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known ...
in 1858 and 1864, and served as the last Commissioner of Crown Lands 30 March 1864 – 30 June 1867. He attended the Charlottetown Conference and the Quebec City Conference in 1864, and at Confederation was appointed to the
Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...
. He later held a number of ministerial posts in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and was the sixth
Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the representative in Ontario of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but i ...
from 1887 to 1892. Historian Ged Martin discussed the reasons why Campbell never achieved first rank as a politician; he was lame and suffered from epileptic seizures, and his estranged wife was a certified lunatic (see Family section below). In 1883, he built his home on Metcalfe Street, Ottawa, now known as "Campbell House". He died in office in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
in 1892, and was buried at Cataraqui Cemetery in Kingston, Ontario. Campbell Crescent in Kingston, a street in the Portsmouth municipal district, is named in his honour.


Family

In 1855, Campbell married Georgina Frederica Locke, daughter of Thomas Sandwith of
Beverley, Yorkshire Beverley is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Kingston upon Hull, Hull city centre. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the built-up area ...
, and a niece of Humphrey Sandwith III (1792–1874) of
Bridlington Bridlington (previously known as Burlington) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is on the Holderness part (Flamborough Head to the Humber estuary) of the Yorkshire Coast by the North Sea. The town is ...
. As Ged Martin has detailed in an article on Campbell's private life, the marriage was a failure and his estranged wife spent time in asylums as a certified lunatic. He left two sons (the eldest was Charles Sandwith Campbell) and three daughters.


References


External links

* * * Ged Martin, Alexander Campbell (1822–1892): The Travails of a Father of Confederation , https://www.gedmartin.net/published-work-mainmenu-11/249-alexander-campbell-1822-1892-the-travails-of-a-father-of-confederation. Published in Ontario History (Spring 2013) https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/onhistory/2013-v105-n1-onhistory03918/1050744ar/
Humphrey Sandwith
* * *
Alexander Campbell fonds
Archives of Ontario * Ged Martin, Alexander Campbell (1822–1892): Travails of a Father of Confederation https://www.gedmartin.net/published-work-mainmenu-11/249-alexander-campbell-1822-1892-the-travails-of-a-father-of-confederation {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Alexander 1822 births 1892 deaths Anglo-Scots Canadian senators from Ontario Leaders of the opposition in the Senate of Canada Canadian people of Scottish descent English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario English Anglicans Fathers of Confederation Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) senators Canadian Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Canadian King's Counsel Lieutenant governors of Ontario Members of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Hedon Politicians from Kingston, Ontario Postmasters general of Canada Anglophone Quebec people Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Immigrants to Upper Canada Canadian Freemasons