Robert Sympson Jameson

Robert Sympson Jameson
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for Leeds
In office
1834  1834?
Preceded by Matthew Munsel Howard
Succeeded by Ogle Robert Gowan
Member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada - Canada West
Personal details
Born 1796
Harbridge, England
Died August 1, 1854
Toronto, Upper Canada
Resting place St. James Cemetery, Toronto (vault of friend Joseph Wells)
Nationality British
Spouse(s) Anna Murphy 1825–1837; annulled
Residence Toronto
Alma mater Middle Temple

Robert Sympson Jameson (1796 August 1, 1854) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada.

Early Years

He was born at Harbridge in the English county of Hampshire in 1796 and educated in Ambleside. He studied law at the Middle Temple and was called to the English bar in 1823. He practiced in London. He married Anna Murphy, a British author, in 1825. In 1829, he was appointed Puisne judge and Chief Justice of Dominica; his wife remained in Europe. In 1833, he returned to London after refusing the same post in Tobago.

Upper Canada

He was named Attorney General of Upper Canada in the same year and arrived in York (Toronto) in June. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for Leeds in 1834, but his election was later invalidated after an appeal; it was found that Ogle Robert Gowan's Orange supporters had intimidated voters. His wife finally joined him in 1836 but left him after less than a year. In 1837, he was named vice-chancellor of the Court of Chancery. He was appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada in 1841 and became its first speaker. He served on the councils for King's College and Trinity College. In 1842, he was named chief superintendent of education. He also was a member of literary clubs in Toronto and helped found the Toronto Society of Arts in 1847. In 1850, he retired from the Court and, in 1853, from the Legislative Council.

He died in Toronto in 1854 of tuberculosis and left his possessions to Reverend George Maynard who cared for him at the end of his life.

References

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