Wilkins, Lewis Morris

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Phyllis R. Blakeley, “WILKINS, LEWIS MORRIS (d. 1848),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/wilkins_lewis_morris_1848_7E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Lawyer, militia officer, office holder, politician, and judge; b. c. 1768 in Morrisania (New York City), N.Y., son of the Reverend Isaac Wilkins and Isabella Morris, sister of Lewis Morris, one of the signers of the American Declaration of Independence; m. 13 Aug. 1799 Sarah Creighton, daughter of John Creighton, in Lunenburg, N.S., and they had seven children, including Lewis Morris and Martin Isaac; d. 3 Jan. 1848 at the family home in Windsor, N.S.
    • From 1798 to 1804 Wilkins served as sheriff of Halifax County. He then resigned and practised as a lawyer, appearing between 1804 and 1814 in a steadily increasing number of cases in the Halifax courts. He also had a large practice in Lunenburg County and in the district of Pictou.
    • Wilkins’s political career began in 1799 with his election to the House of Assembly from Lunenburg Township, a district he represented for his entire career in the legislature. The members elected Wilkins on 20 November. Wentworth approved of the less controversial Wilkins and after the session reported to Lord Castlereagh, the colonial secretary, that Wilkins had “performed the dutys of his situation during the Sessions with impartiality, diligence and decorum.” Notwithstanding this praise, Wilkins collided with the lieutenant governor that session over an election in Annapolis Township which had been declared void by the assembly. Wentworth and the Council refused to issue new writs, claiming that the assembly had not the exclusive right to determine contested elections, and only after the English law officers had upheld the assembly’s claim did Wentworth issue the writs to Wilkins.
    • On 30 March 1816 Wilkins was elevated to the bench as third assistant judge in the Supreme Court, and he resigned from the assembly the following February. Whether because of the demands of Wilkins’s social position or those of his large family, by the late 1820s his fellow judge James Stewart commented that Wilkins was “very poor.” Stewart added that Wilkins was continually trying to have the judges’ salaries increased, and that he disagreed with nearly everyone because his financial difficulties made him want to show his independence.
  • Son of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=13730
  • Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/158863367/lewis-morris-wilkins