William Bowie (1762-1819) was a prominent merchant of Halifax, Nova Scotia who was killed in the last fatal duel on record in Nova Scotia. [1] At age 20, William Bowie arrived in Nova Scotia in 1782 from Stirling, Scotland, the son of Alexander Bowie and Janet Murdoch. [2] He became president of the North British Society. Under the mentorship of Alexander Brymer, Bowie founded the firm Bowie & DeBlois and in a few years amassed a fortune and Bowie became a leading citizen in Halifax. [3] [4]
During a supreme court case in July 1819, Bowie's opposing lawyer was Richard John Uniacke, Jr. They both made insulting remarks to each other and Uniacke challenged Bowie to a duel. [5] William Bowie's name appears on a 1784 grant of land on today's Oak Island in Mahone Bay, along with several others. He owned lot #23 in 1784 and it is rumored that he built the slipway and storage facilities in Smith's Cove to offload the goods that privateers brought him. He and Uniacke met near the Narrows at 4:00 am on July 21. They marched twelve paces from each other. Then they fired two shots, after which Bowie was taken to a nearby barn where he died. He was age 47.
The duel and death of Bowie "shocked Halifax" and the flags of all the vessels in the harbour were hung at half mast. [6] This was the first important trial to happen in the court at Province House. [7] The grand jury trial proved to be "screaming farce." [8] Such a trial would have normally been prosecuted by Uniacke's father Richard John Uniacke who was the attorney general; however, he declined. The drama of the trial was captured by the Acadian Recorder :
- ... about 20 minutes past 11 o'clock, the Hon. Richard John Uniacke entered the Court, supporting his son on his right arm... He advanced to the Bench and stated to the Court, under feeling which evidently almost overpowered him, that he had an important and melancholy duty to perform that whatever his feelings might be upon the occasion, they must be subservient to the laws of the land, which he did not doubt would be administered with justice and mercy." [9]
Uniacke's only defense was his honour and the honour of his family and, as expected, he was found not guilty.
Michael Francklin or Franklin served as Nova Scotia's Lieutenant Governor from 1766 to 1772. He is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church (Halifax).
Province House in Halifax is where the Nova Scotia legislative assembly, known officially as the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, has met every year since 1819, making it the longest serving legislative building in Canada. The building is Canada's oldest house of government. Standing three storeys tall, the structure is considered one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in North America.
St. Paul's Church is a historically evangelical Anglican church in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia, within the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is located at the south end of the Grand Parade, an open square in downtown Halifax with Halifax City Hall at the northern end.
The Old Burying Ground is a historic cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road in Downtown Halifax.
Sir Brenton Halliburton was the eighth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.
Richard John Uniacke was an abolitionist, lawyer, politician, member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and Attorney General of Nova Scotia. According to historian Brian Cutherburton, Uniacke was "the most influential Nova Scotian of his day.... His faith in Nova Scotia's destiny as a partner in a great empire was only to be equalled by Joseph Howe." He devoted 49 years to public service in Nova Scotia. He fought in the American Revolution and later sought to emancipate Catholics and Black Nova Scotians who were slaves in Nova Scotia. He is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church. His substantial estate is preserved as the Uniacke Estate Museum Park at Mount Uniacke.
Samuel George William Archibald was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Halifax County from 1806 to 1836 and Colchester County from 1836 to 1841 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. He supported the Royal Acadian School.
Richard John Uniacke was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Cape Breton County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1820 to 1830.
William Nesbitt was a lawyer and political figure in Nova Scotia. He served as a member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1758 to 1783.
John Young was a Scottish-born merchant, author, agronomist, and agricultural reformer in Nova Scotia. He represented Sydney County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1824 to 1837. He supported the Royal Acadian School.
Henry Hezekiah Cogswell was a lawyer, political figure and philanthropist in Nova Scotia. He represented the town of Halifax in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1818 to 1820. He was president of the Royal Acadian School.
Jonathan Sterns was a Loyalist from Boston, Solicitor General for Nova Scotia and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Halifax County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1793 to 1798.
Norman Fitzgerald Uniacke was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Lower Canada and Nova Scotia. He represented William-Henry in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1824 to 1825.
Robert Field (1769–1819) was a painter who was born in London and died in Kingston, Jamaica. According to art historian Daphne Foskett, author of A Dictionary of British Miniature Painters (1972), Field was "one of the best American miniaturists of his time." During Field's time in Nova Scotia at the beginning of the nineteenth century, he was the most professionally trained painter in present-day Canada. He worked in the conventional neo-classic portrait style of Henry Raeburn and Gilbert Stuart. His most famous works are two groups of miniatures of George Washington, commissioned by his wife Martha Washington.
The Great Pontack was a large three-story building, erected by the Hon. John Butler, previous to 1754, at the corner of Duke and Water Streets in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was named after the famous Pontack Club in London. The first resident professional company in Canada was The American Company of Comedians, believed to have performed at The Great Pontack, Halifax, in the summer and fall of 1768.
The North British Society was founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1768, the oldest Scottish heritage society outside Great Britain. North British is an adjective used as an alternative to "Scottish".
Formally known as "His Majesty's Council of Nova Scotia", the Nova Scotia Council (1720–1838) was the original British administrative, legislative and judicial body in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Council was also known as the Annapolis Council and the Halifax Council. After 1749, when the judicial courts were established, the Nova Scotia Council was limited to administrative and legislative powers.
Uniacke Estate Museum Park is the historic home and preserved estate of Richard John Uniacke at Mount Uniacke (c.1813). The Uniacke Estate is part of the Nova Scotia Museum system.
Moses Delesdernier (c.1713-1811) was land trader and author who moved from Switzerland to Halifax, Nova Scotia (1750). In 1754, while at Pisiquid, he was the first Protestant to farm among the Acadians. He was also the truckmaster for trade with the Mi’kmaq (1760). He also held office in present-day New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Delesdernier met Richard John Uniacke in Philadelphia and encouraged him to settle in Nova Scotia (1774). Delesdernier became Uniacke's father-in-law (1775). The following year Delesdernier's son and son-in-law Uniacke became involved in the Eddy Rebellion and, as a result, Delesdernier fell into disfavour with the government.