Sir William Campbell (2 August 1758 – 18 January 1834) was Chief Justice of the

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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 ...

and a resident of

York, Upper Canada York was a town and the second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the Old Toronto, old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location fo ...

. He also held political appointments in both

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 ...

and Upper Canada. He was born in

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in 1758. At the beginning 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 joined the 76th Regiment of Foot (MacDonald's Highlanders), went to North America and was taken prisoner at

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a town in York County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in Colony of Virginia, colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while ...

in 1781. In 1784, he settled at

Guysborough, Nova Scotia Guysborough, officially the Municipality of the District of Guysborough, is a Canadian district municipality in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. First inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, The area was colonized by France in the 17th century. Large numbers ...

. He studied law with his neighbour, Thomas Cutler, and began practicing as an attorney in 1785. A few years later, he was appointed justice of the peace and captain in the local militia. He was elected to the 8th General Assembly representing Sydney County in 1799, but did not take his seat until 18 June 1801, and his seat was declared vacant 17 Jan. 1806, apparently due to the press of his other duties. Also in 1799, he was appointed attorney general, superintendent of coal mines and a member of the Executive Council in

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

. In 1801, he took on a seven-year lease to operate the coal mines but, due to his inexperience, ownership was taken back by the Crown in 1804. In 1808, after a dispute with administrator Brigadier-General

Nicholas Nepean Nicholas Nepean (1757 – 18 December 1823) was a British Army officer and colonial official in Nova Scotia in the early 19th century. Born in Saltash, Cornwall, in 1757, he joined the Royal Marines in 1776 Nepean served with the British Army aft ...

, he was dismissed from his appointments and forced to go to

London 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 ...

to seek compensation. In 1811, Campbell was appointed to the Court of King's Bench in Upper Canada and arrived in York (now Toronto) later that year. In 1814, he assisted Chief Justice Thomas Scott by presiding over several of a series of trials known as the " Bloody Assize", which were held at Ancaster to prosecute those charged with treason during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. In 1825, he succeeded

William Dummer Powell William Dummer Powell (November 5, 1755 – September 6, 1834) was a Loyalist lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. Early life and education Born at Boston, Massachusetts, he was named for his grandmother's brother William Dumm ...

as Chief Justice and became a member of the Executive Council and speaker for the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. He retired in 1829 due to failing health; he was knighted in April 1829. In 1822, he built the

Campbell House Campbell House, or The Campbell House or variations, may refer to: ;in Canada * Campbell House (Toronto, Canada) ;in the United States :(sorted by state, then city/town) * Campbell House (Palmer, Alaska), in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, listed on t ...

on Duke Street at the head of Frederick Street. This house was later acquired by the Advocates Society of Ontario and moved to the north-west corner of Queen Street and University Avenue on 31 March 1972. In the early autumn of 1822, a group of Masons met at Campbell House to plan the formation of the new Freemason's Lodge on which the United Grand Lodge of England had conferred the name and style of St. Andrew's Lodge #1 on the Register of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Upper Canada and #754 on the English Register with Campbell as its first Master. This Lodge was later renumbered #16 on the register of the new Grand Lodge of Canada. Campbell died in Toronto in 1834.

External links

*
History of Mining in Cape Breton

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, William 1758 births 1834 deaths 76th Regiment of Foot officers Canadian Knights Bachelor Chief justices of Upper Canada Lawyers in Upper Canada and Canada West Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada 19th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly People from Caithness People from Guysborough County, Nova Scotia Politicians from Toronto Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Nova Scotia 19th-century Canadian judges