William Dummer Powell

William Dummer Powell
William Dummer Powell
	William Dummer Powell
Born	November 5, 1755; Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, British America
Died	September 6, 1834; Toronto, Upper Canada, British North America
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, judge and politician

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

Grant Baronets of Dalvey and Gartenbeg, who was probably involved in the slave trade and started a gunpowder business in Boston. Ironically, Grant was killed by an explosion.^{[citation needed}

]

Powell studied in

Attorney General of Massachusetts. After his marriage, he returned to England in 1775 where he studied law at the Middle Temple.^{[citation needed}

]

Career

As a

Loyalist, Powell went to Quebec in 1779, entering private practice in Montreal. In 1783, he went to England to petition with other delegates against the Quebec Act. His formal call to the English bar, delayed because of finances, was finally arranged in 1784 and, later that year, he returned to Boston to attempt to recover his father's property which had been confiscated after the American Revolution

. Unsuccessful, he returned to Montreal in 1785.

In 1789, he was appointed judge in the

Bloody Assize" which were held at Ancaster to prosecute those charged with treason

during the war.

When Chief Justice Thomas Scott was no longer able to chair the Executive Council in 1816, Powell took on that post, and also replaced him as Chief Justice later that same year.

He upset the province's administration by rejecting many of the charges brought by

William Campbell

as Chief Justice later that year. He died in Toronto in 1834.

Family

In 1775, Powell married Anne Murray, daughter of Dr John Murray (b.1720) and Mary Boyles. John Murray was born in Scotland and became a surgeon in the Royal Navy. He established himself with a private medical practice at Wells and then Norwich, before moving to Boston.

They were survived by two children. Their son, Captain John Powell of Brockamour Manor,

Æneas Shaw and they were the parents of John Powell, alderman and mayor of Toronto

.

Justice William Powell was described as a dedicated family man, sitting in the middle of his family in his pew at church. His daughter died in 1822 when a boat she was on sank. The packet ship, the Albion, was one of the finest class of ships that operated between Liverpool and New York. She was scheduled to come to York on the previous voyage, but missed it for an unknown reason.[4]

Legacy

Powell sold the north half of his Park Lot 12 to provide land for King's College (now the University of Toronto).^{[citation needed]}

References

^ Dummer, Michael (June 2005). "5: Richard and Early Days in New England". The Family of Dummer (7th ed.). p. 27.
^ "John Powell (1716-1794) - HouseHistree".
^ "Janet Grant (1728-1795) - HouseHistree".
^ Peppiatt, Liam. "Chapter 28: Justice Powell's House". Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto Revisited.

External links

Legal offices
Preceded by Thomas Scott 1806–1816	Chief Justice of Upper Canada 1816–1825	Succeeded by William Campbell

[Dummer-1] Dummer, Michael (June 2005). "5: Richard and Early Days in New England". The Family of Dummer (7th ed.). p. 27.

[2] "John Powell (1716-1794) - HouseHistree".

[3] "Janet Grant (1728-1795) - HouseHistree".

[4] Peppiatt, Liam. "Chapter 28: Justice Powell's House". Robertson's Landmarks of Toronto Revisited.

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