Thomas Chandler Haliburton (17 December 1796 – 27 August 1865) was a

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

, and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

who was the first international best-selling fiction author from what is now

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and who served as a Conservative Member of Parliament in England. He was the father of the British civil servant Lord Haliburton and of the anthropologist Robert Grant Haliburton.

Life

Thomas Chandler Haliburton was born on 17 December 1796, in

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Nova Scotia Highway 101, Highway 101. The community has a history d ...

, to William Hersey Otis Haliburton, a judge and politician, and Lucy Chandler Grant. His mother died when he was a small child. When Thomas was seven, his father married Susanna Davis, the daughter of

Michael Francklin Michael Francklin or Franklin (6 December 1733 – 8 November 1782) served as Nova Scotia's Lieutenant Governor from 1766 to 1772. He is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church (Halifax). Early life and immigration Born in Poole, England, ...

, who had been

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. He attended

University of King's College The University of King's College is a public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and ...

in Windsor, from which he graduated in 1815 to become a lawyer who practiced at

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal is a town in and the county seat of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The community, known as Port Royal before 1710, is recognised as having one of the longest histories in North America, preceding the settlements at Plym ...

. Between 1826 and 1829, Haliburton represented

Annapolis County Annapolis County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia located in the western part of the province located on the Bay of Fundy. The county seat is Annapolis Royal. History Established August 17, 1759, by Order in Council, Annapolis ...

in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

. Haliburton's fame came from his writings on history, politics, farm improvement, and from his ''The Clockmaker'' serial, which first appeared in the ''

Novascotian The ''Novascotian'' was a newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It became one of the most influential voices in the British North American colonies in its nearly one century of existence. The paper was founded as the ''Nova Scot ...

'' and was published throughout the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, that described the humorous adventures of

Sam Slick Sam Slick is a character created in 1835 by Thomas Chandler Haliburton, a Nova Scotian judge and author. With his wry wit and Yankee voice, Sam Slick of Slicksville put forward his views on "human nature" in a regular column in the '' Novascot ...

Relations with English Burton family

Thomas Chandler Haliburton resided in England from 1837,Davies, p. 71 where he was hosted and entertained in London by his cousins

Decimus Burton Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and Reg ...

, Jane Burton, James Burton, the Egyptologist, Septimus Burton, the solicitor, Octavia Burton, and Jessy Burton.Davies, p. 72 Thomas asked James Burton, the Egyptologist, to check the proofs of his work ''Letter Bag of the Great Western'', with which Burton was unimpressed, in 1839, and those of the third series of ''The Clockmaker'' in 1840.Davies, p. 73 The pair travelled together to Scotland to investigate their common ancestry, and intended to tour Canada and the United States of America together. Thomas Chandler Haliburton's daughter, Susannah, was impressed by James Burton, the Egyptologist: she wrote, in 1839, "''Mr James I admire very much. He is one of the most well-bred persons I saw &... decidedly the flower of the flock''".

Retirement and subsequent life

In 1856, Thomas Chandler Haliburton retired from law and moved to England. In the same year, he married Sarah Harriet Owen Williams. In 1859, Haliburton was elected the Member of Parliament for Launceston,

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, ...

as a member of the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

minority. He did not stand for re-election in 1865. Haliburton received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

for his services to literature. He continued writing until his death on August 27, 1865 at his home in

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a suburban town in the London Borough of Hounslow, West London, England. It lies immediately east of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's original area of ...

, where he is buried in its All Saints' Churchyard.

Family

Mrs Louisa Haliburton wife of Thomas Chandler Haliburton

Thomas Chandler Haliburton married Louisa Neville, who was the daughter of Captain Laurence Neville of the Eighth

Light Dragoons The Light Dragoons (LD) is a cavalry regiment in the British Army. The regiment has a light cavalry role and specialises in mounted and dismounted reconnaissance. The Light Dragoons recruit mainly in Northern England, from County Durham, Northu ...

, and returned to

with her. Louisa's story before marriage is related in the "Haliburton Chaplet," which was edited by their son, Robert Grant Haliburton (Toronto: 1899). The couple had three sons and five daughters: * Susannah Lucy Anne (later Weldon) (1817 –1899) who was a well known ceramic collector *Thomas Jr. was an accomplished musician who became ill with an “original defect of mind” and died in an asylum in Massachusetts at the age of 26. *Augusta - Mrs. A. F. Haliburton who married an ironmonger *Emma - Mrs. Bainbridge Smith who married an Anglican Clergymen *Amelia (25 Jul 1829 – 14 Jan 1902), a landscape artist, married the Rev. Edwin Gilpin, Dean of Nova Scotia, in 1849; by whom she had four sons and one daughter,Morgan, p. 128 including Edwin Gilpin (1850–1907), an author * Robert Grant Haliburton,

Q.C. QC may refer to: Places * Quebec, a Canadian province ** Quebec City, its capital * Quezon City, Philippines * The Quad Cities, an American metropolitan area along the Mississippi River * QualiEd College, a Hong Kong high school Arts and entert ...

D.C.L. (1831 – 1901), a lawyer and anthropologist *Laura Charlotte, artist, who married William Cunard, the son of the shipping magnate Sir

Samuel Cunard Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet (21 November 1787 – 28 April 1865), was a British-Canadian shipping magnate, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who founded the Cunard Line, establishing the first scheduled steamship connection with North America. ...

at Windsor, Nova Scotia, 30 December 1851, by whom she had three sons and one daughter. She exhibited her pictures at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

and at the Gallery of British Artists.Morgan, p. 67 *Arthur (1832–1907), later 1st Baron Haliburton

G.C.B. The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

, who was a British civil servant and the first native Canadian to be raised to the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

Legacy

Haliburton promoted immigration to the colonies of British North America, and one of his first written works was an emigrant's guide to Nova Scotia that was published in 1823, ''A General Description of Nova Scotia; Illustrated by a New and Correct Map'' The community of Haliburton, Nova Scotia was named after him. In Ontario,

Haliburton County Haliburton is a county of Ontario, Canada, known as a tourist and cottage area in Central Ontario for its scenery and for its resident artists. Minden Hills is the county seat. Haliburton County and the village of Haliburton are named after Th ...

is named after Haliburton in recognition of his work as the first chair of the Canadian Land and Emigration Company. In 1884, faculty and students at his ''alma mater'' founded a

literary society A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newslet ...

in honour of the College's most celebrated

man of letters An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the world of culture, either ...

. The Haliburton Society, still active at the University of King's College, Halifax, is the longest-standing collegial literary society throughout the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The mention "hurly on the long pond on the ice", which appears in the second volume of ''The Attaché, or Sam Slick in England'', a work of fiction published in 1844, has been interpreted by some as a reference to an ice-hockey-like game he may have played during his years at King's College. It is the basis of Windsor's disputed

claim Claim may refer to: * Claim (legal) * Claim of Right Act 1689 * Claims-based identity * Claim (philosophy) * Land claim * A ''main contention'', see conclusion of law * Patent claim * The assertion of a proposition; see Douglas N. Walton * A ri ...

to being the town that fathered hockey. In 1902, a memorial to Haliburton and his first wife was erected in Christ Church,

, by four of their children: Laura Cunard, Lord Haliburton, and two surviving sisters. Nova Scotian artist William Valentine painted Haliburton's portrait. His former home in Windsor is preserved as a museum.

Works

*''A General Description of Nova Scotia'' - 1823
''An Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia'' - 1829
*''The Clockmaker'' - 1836 *''The Clockmaker, 2nd Series'' - 1838 *''The Bubbles of Canada'' - 1839 *
A Reply to the Report of the Earl of Durham
' - 1839 *''The Letter-Bag of the Great Western'' - 1840 *''The Clockmaker, 3rd Series'' - 1840 *''The Attaché; or Sam Slick in England'' - 1843 *''The Attaché; or Sam Slick in England, 2nd Series'' - 1844 *''The Old Judge, Or Life in a Colony'' - 1849 *''The English in America'' - 1851 *''Rule and Misrule in English America'' - 185
vol 1vol 2
*''Sam Slick's Wise Saws and Modern Instances'' - 1853 *''The Americans at Home; or, Byways, Backwoods, and Prairies'' - 1855
''Nature and Human Nature''
- 1855 *''The Season-Ticket*'' - 1860 *''Maxims of an Old Stager'' Not by Haliburton, but pseudonym may be "Sam Slick"

References

External links

*
The Haliburton Club
(archived 27 September 2007)

(archived 24 April 2011)
Haliburton House Museum
(archived 19 November 2011)

Electronic editions

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haliburton, Thomas 1796 births 1865 deaths 19th-century Canadian novelists 19th-century Canadian historians Canadian humorists Canadian male novelists Canadian people of Scottish descent Colony of Nova Scotia people Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Historians of Atlantic Canada Judges in Nova Scotia Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Launceston 19th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly People from Windsor, Nova Scotia Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Hants County, Nova Scotia UK MPs 1859–1865 University of King's College alumni Novelists from Nova Scotia