Ritchie, Thomas

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Allan C. Dunlop, “RITCHIE, THOMAS,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ritchie_thomas_8E.html
  • DCB profile:
    • Lawyer, politician, judge, office holder, and militia officer; b. 21 Sept. 1777 in Annapolis Royal, N.S., son of John Ritchie and Alicia Maria Le Cain (Le Quesne); m. first 30 June 1807 Elizabeth Wildman Johnston (d. 1819), daughter of Elizabeth Lichtenstein (Johnston), and they had five sons, including John William, and two daughters; m. secondly 20 May 1823 Elizabeth Best (d. 1825); m. thirdly 21 Sept. 1831 Anne Bond, daughter of Joseph Norman Bond, and they had one son and one daughter; d. 13 Nov. 1852 in Annapolis Royal.
    • He studied law in Annapolis Royal under Thomas Henry Barclay and, when Barclay became British consul general in New York in 1799, Ritchie inherited his lucrative practice. In 1815 alone he was involved directly in more than three-quarters of the 600 cases which went to law in Annapolis County. His ward, James William Johnston, received his legal training in Ritchie’s law office.
    • In 1806 Ritchie was elected by acclamation to the House of Assembly as member for Annapolis County. In subsequent elections until his resignation in 1824 he never faced an opponent, each time being re-elected “without a dissenting voice.”
    • On 10 March 1824 he became first justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for the western division, one of three such positions created by the assembly.
    • Throughout his life Ritchie was a power in the community. He served in such positions as trustee of the local grammar school and Annapolis Academy; president of the board of health; lieutenant-colonel in the local militia; custos rotulorum; and vestryman, clerk, and treasurer of St Luke’s Church (Anglican). A local saying opined, “Annapolis belongs to the Devil, the Church, and Judge Ritchie.” He was of untiring industry, possessed keen powers of analysis, and was known for his sound ideas and logic. The “old judge” and his descendants played a distinguished role in the political, judicial, and diplomatic life of Nova Scotia and Canada.
  • Son of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=7013
  • Find a Grave: Cannot locate.