Joseph Wightman (1806 – February 6, 1887) was a Scottish-born farmer, merchant and political figure on Prince Edward Island. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1838 to 1839 and from 1843 to 1862 and from 1867 to 1874 and in the Legislative Council of Prince Edward Island from 1874 to 1882 as a Liberal.
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Sharing a border with England to the southeast, Scotland is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, by the North Sea to the northeast and by the Irish Sea to the south. In addition to the mainland, situated on the northern third of the island of Great Britain, Scotland has over 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
Prince Edward Island is a province of Canada consisting of the Atlantic island of the same name along with several much smaller islands nearby. PEI is one of the three Maritime Provinces. It is the smallest province of Canada in both land area and population, but it is the most densely populated. Part of the traditional lands of the Mi'kmaq, it became a British colony in the 1700s and was federated into Canada as a province in 1873. Its capital is Charlottetown. According to the 2016 census, the province of PEI has 142,907 residents.
The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, along with the Queen of Canada in Right of Prince Edward Island, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island, forms the parliament of the province. The General Assembly meets at Province House, which is located at the intersection of Richmond and Great George Streets in Charlottetown.
He was born in Dumfriesshire, the son of John Wightman and Margaret Ray Armstrong, and was educated in Scotland, attending Lockerby Academy. He came to Prince Edward Island with his family in 1823. The property on which they settled was originally leased from Sir James Montgomery but the family purchased the land in 1857. Besides farming and raising livestock, Wightman was also involved in fishing and shipbuilding. His goods were exported to England and he also traded with American fisherman. Wightman married Margaret McDonald in 1838. He was a justice of the peace and served in the militia, reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Wightman also served as high sheriff for Kings County. He was speaker for the assembly from 1867 to 1870 and in 1872. He also served as president for the legislative council in 1876 and 1877. Wightman was a minister without portfolio in the province's Executive Council from 1854 to 1859 and from 1879 to 1882. Wightman retired from politics in 1882 due to health problems. He died in Lower Montague in 1887.
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs.
Kings County is located in eastern Prince Edward Island, Canada.
His daughter Mary Armstrong married James R. McLean. [1]
James Roderick McLean was a merchant, notary public and political figure in Prince Edward Island. He represented 1st Kings in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1869 to 1879 and from 1883 to 1900 as a Liberal member.
