Edmund Fanning (colonial administrator)

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Edmund Fanning
Drawing of Fanning, 1952, by Benson John Lossing
Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia
In office
1783–1786
Lieutenant-Governor of St. John's Island
In office
1786–1805
Personal details
BornApril 24, 1739
Died28 February 1818(1818-02-28) (aged 78)
Signature
War of the Regulation

American Revolutionary War

Edmund Fanning (April 24, 1739 – February 28, 1818) was an American-born colonial administrator and military officer. Born in

War of the Regulation. When the American Revolutionary War broke out, he was driven from his home in New York, and joined the British Army, recruiting other Loyalists. He served during campaigns in New England and the South. At the end of the war in 1783 he became a United Empire Loyalist, settling in Nova Scotia
.

St Mary Abbots Church

Fanning was appointed lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia not long after his arrival, and helped oversee the resettlement of other Loyalist refugees in the province. In 1786 he was appointed lieutenant governor of Saint John's Island, which was renamed Prince Edward Island during his tenure. He served in that post until 1813. He retired to London, where he died in 1818.

Life

Edmund Fanning was born in the Town of

John Parr believed Fanning was, like Parr, a Protestant Irishman, and was from Ulster and owned great estates there.[2]

He graduated from

the movement was crushed by the army of the Sandy Creek Baptist Militia led by Tryon at the Battle of Alamance
on May 16, 1771.

Fanning followed Tryon to New York as his personal secretary. At the start of the

with other Loyalists, to Nova Scotia
in 1783.

Fanning became

lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia on 23 September 1783,[1] serving as deputy to Governor John Parr. On November 30, 1785, he married Phebe Maria Burns.[1] In 1786, he was appointed lieutenant governor of St. John's Island (which was later renamed Prince Edward Island) by the Home Secretary, Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney, a post which he held for almost 19 years, resigning in 1805. Prince Edward Island's Government House, the official residence of the lieutenant governor, is often referred to as "Fanningbank" on the island, though Fanning never dwelt there. He was promoted to general of the British Army in 1808. He retired to London
in 1813 and died there in 1818.

Despite having several children, Fanning had no grandchildren. He had two daughters, Lady Wood, who lived near London with her mother; the other daughter married a Captain Bentinck Cumberland, a nephew of

John Wickham. A great nephew was James Fannin
.

References

  1. ^ a b c Bumsted, J. M. (1983). "Fanning, Edmund". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. V (1801–1820) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
  2. ^ Memoir of Governor John Parr, page 56 Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Sibley's Harvard Graduates, Volume XIV, pages 160 and 161.

Bibliography

  • Powell, William, ed. (1996). Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.
    OCLC 256355918
    .
Government offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
1783-1786
Served under: John Parr 		Succeeded by
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