James Buchanan Macaulay
Encyclopedia
Colonel Sir James Buchannan Macaulay, CB
(December 3, 1793 – November 26, 1859) was a Canadian lawyer and judge.
Macaulay, born at Newark, Upper Canada, 3 December 1793, was the second son of James Macaulay
by his wife Elizabeth Tuck Hayter. His father was posted from England
to Canada
in 1792, attached to the Queen's Rangers
, and was afterwards the Chief Medical Officer of Upper Canada
, under the patronage of his friend John Graves Simcoe
, the first Governor-General of Upper Canada.
Macaulay served as an ensign in the 98th regiment. In 1812, he joined the Glengarry fencibles as a lieutenant, and fought during the war with America at Ogdensburg, Oswego, Lundy's Lane, and at the siege of Fort Erie. At the close of the war in 1815 his corps was disbanded, and after studying law he was admitted to the Canadian bar in 1822.
. He was first appointed a temporary judge of the Court of Queen's Bench, and a permanent judge in 1829.
On the first establishment of the Court of Common Pleas in December 1849 he was made the Chief Justice, and continued to preside there until his retirement on a pension in 1856, but afterwards became judge of the Court of Error and Appeal. As chairman of the commission appointed to revise and consolidate the statutes of Canada and Upper Canada, Macaulay helped to reduce the whole statutory law of the country from its conquest to his own time into three volumes, a work of great labour and corresponding value, which he just lived to see completed. He was gazetted C.B. 30 November 1858, and knighted by patent 13 January 1859.
, Wickham Lodge, which he named after the English village of Wickham
where two of his maternal aunts lived with their respective husbands: Admiral Thomas Revell Shivers (1751-1827) and Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Dorsett-Birchall (d.1836). He left his home and $40,000 to his wife. His wife, who he'd married in 1821, was Rachel Crookshank Gamble, daughter of John Gamble (1755–1811), a Loyalist Surgeon with the Queen's Rangers
. They were the parents of three daughters. Lady Macaulay died in England
on 17 July 1883, at the home of her son-in-law, Edward Henry Bennett (1822–1897) J.P., of Sparkford
Hall, Somerset
. Another daughter, Catherine McGill Macaulay, married Benjamin Homer Dixon (1819–1899) of Homewood, Toronto, Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
He was a brother of John Simcoe Macaulay
and the uncle of John Beverley Robinson
. His brothers-in-law included Christopher Alexander Hagerman
, John William Gamble
and John Solomon Cartwright
.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(December 3, 1793 – November 26, 1859) was a Canadian lawyer and judge.
Macaulay, born at Newark, Upper Canada, 3 December 1793, was the second son of James Macaulay
James Macaulay
James Macaulay was the Chief Medical Officer of Upper Canada.-Military career:In 1759, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of a clergyman. He gained a commission into the army as a surgeon and served with the Queen's Rangers during the American Revolution. In 1785, he joined the 33rd Regiment...
by his wife Elizabeth Tuck Hayter. His father was posted from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1792, attached to the Queen's Rangers
Queen's Rangers
The Queen's Rangers was a military unit who fought on the Loyalist side during the American War of Independence. After the war they moved to Nova Scotia and disbanded, but were reformed again in Upper Canada before disbanding again, in 1802, a decade prior to the War of 1812.-French and Indian...
, and was afterwards the Chief Medical Officer of Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, under the patronage of his friend John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...
, the first Governor-General of Upper Canada.
Macaulay served as an ensign in the 98th regiment. In 1812, he joined the Glengarry fencibles as a lieutenant, and fought during the war with America at Ogdensburg, Oswego, Lundy's Lane, and at the siege of Fort Erie. At the close of the war in 1815 his corps was disbanded, and after studying law he was admitted to the Canadian bar in 1822.
Judicial career
He rose rapidly in his profession, and was an executive councillor during the administration of Peregrine MaitlandPeregrine Maitland
Sir Peregrine Maitland, KCB, GCB was a British soldier and colonial administrator who played first-class cricket from 1798 to 1808....
. He was first appointed a temporary judge of the Court of Queen's Bench, and a permanent judge in 1829.
On the first establishment of the Court of Common Pleas in December 1849 he was made the Chief Justice, and continued to preside there until his retirement on a pension in 1856, but afterwards became judge of the Court of Error and Appeal. As chairman of the commission appointed to revise and consolidate the statutes of Canada and Upper Canada, Macaulay helped to reduce the whole statutory law of the country from its conquest to his own time into three volumes, a work of great labour and corresponding value, which he just lived to see completed. He was gazetted C.B. 30 November 1858, and knighted by patent 13 January 1859.
Family
Macaulay died 26 November 1859, at the home he had built on his father's land in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Wickham Lodge, which he named after the English village of Wickham
Wickham
Wickham, formerly spelled Wykeham, is a small historic village and civil parish in Hampshire, southern England, located about three miles north of Fareham. It is within the City of Winchester local government district, although it is considerably closer to Fareham than to Winchester...
where two of his maternal aunts lived with their respective husbands: Admiral Thomas Revell Shivers (1751-1827) and Lieutenant-Commander Thomas Dorsett-Birchall (d.1836). He left his home and $40,000 to his wife. His wife, who he'd married in 1821, was Rachel Crookshank Gamble, daughter of John Gamble (1755–1811), a Loyalist Surgeon with the Queen's Rangers
Queen's Rangers
The Queen's Rangers was a military unit who fought on the Loyalist side during the American War of Independence. After the war they moved to Nova Scotia and disbanded, but were reformed again in Upper Canada before disbanding again, in 1802, a decade prior to the War of 1812.-French and Indian...
. They were the parents of three daughters. Lady Macaulay died in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on 17 July 1883, at the home of her son-in-law, Edward Henry Bennett (1822–1897) J.P., of Sparkford
Sparkford
Sparkford is a village and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Weston Bampfylde....
Hall, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
. Another daughter, Catherine McGill Macaulay, married Benjamin Homer Dixon (1819–1899) of Homewood, Toronto, Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
He was a brother of John Simcoe Macaulay
John Simcoe Macaulay
Colonel The Hon. John Simcoe Macaulay was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada. In 1845, he donated the land on which the Church of the Holy Trinity was built.-Early Life:...
and the uncle of John Beverley Robinson
John Beverley Robinson
John Beverley Robinson was elected mayor of Toronto in 1856. He was the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario between the years 1880–1887....
. His brothers-in-law included Christopher Alexander Hagerman
Christopher Alexander Hagerman
Lt.-Col The Hon. Christopher Alexander Hagerman was a Canadian militia officer, politician, and judge.Known as 'Handsome Kit', he was born at the Bay of Quinte, Adolphustown, the son of United Empire Loyalist Major Nicholas Hagerman J.P., and his wife Anne , sister of Judge Alexander Fisher M.P.,...
, John William Gamble
John William Gamble
John William Gamble was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West.He was born in York in 1799 and grew up in Kingston. He operated a store with his brother William. He settled in Etobicoke Township, but later moved to Pine Grove in Vaughan, Township, where he set up a...
and John Solomon Cartwright
John Solomon Cartwright
Lt.-Col. The Hon. John Solomon Cartwright QC was a businessman, lawyer, judge, farmer and political figure....
.