Ridout, George

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Thomas H. B. Symons, “RIDOUT, GEORGE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 10, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ridout_george_10E.html
  • DCB profile:
    • Lawyer and judge; b. Quebec, 1791, second son of Thomas Ridout, surveyor general of Upper Canada, and of Mary Campbell; d. at Clinton, Ont., 24 Feb. 1871.
    • In politics Ridout was a moderate, in general supporting constitutional reform and the position of W. W. Baldwin and his son Robert; his family was connected with the Baldwins by marriage. He was defeated in his own attempts at office: in the elections for the legislature in 1816 when he sought to succeed his father as the representative of Simcoe and the East Riding of York and was beaten by Peter Robinson who had the support of Strachan; and in the elections for city council in Toronto in 1837 at the time of his dispute with the lieutenant governor.
    • Ridout was dismissed on 12 July 1836 from the offices of judge of the Niagara District Court, colonel of the East York militia, and justice of the peace by Sir Francis Bond Head, who “as Lieutenant-Governor, by the advice of my Council, deliberately selected him for punishment, as the most intemperate of my opponents.” The charges, which Ridout denied, were insult to the person and office of the lieutenant governor and disloyalty to the policies of the crown. The dismissal became a cause célèbre in the colony and at the Colonial Office, and it was one of the major political issues in Upper Canada during the subsequent 18 months leading up to the outbreak of rebellion in December 1837. 
    • Responding to a petition from Ridout, the colonial secretary, Lord Glenelg, ordered his reinstatement. Head declined and submitted his resignation rather than comply with this instruction, “it being utterly impossible for me to obey this order, and retain my authority in the province.” The resignation of the lieutenant governor, primarily on this issue, and on the related issue of his refusal to name Marshall Spring Bidwell a judge as Glenelg wished, was in fact accepted in a dispatch from London, dated 24 Nov. 1837, a week before the rebellion broke out in Upper Canada, where people were still unaware of this development. The dispute over Ridout’s appointments, rather than the rebellion, was thus the main cause of Head’s resignation, and, as such, a significant episode in Canadian history.
  • Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=1181
  • Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/90507173/george-ridout