Robert Sympson Jameson

Robert Sympson Jameson (1796 – August 1, 1854) was a lawyer and politician in Upper Canada, and later in the Province of Canada. He served as the first Speaker of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada from 1841 to 1843.

Robert Sympson Jameson
Speaker of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada
In office 1841–1843
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Peter McGill
Member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada - Canada West
Incumbent
Assumed office 1841
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for Leeds
In office 1834 – 1834 (Election invalidated)
Preceded by	Matthew Munsel Howard
Succeeded by	Ogle Robert Gowan
Personal details
Born	1796 Harbridge, England
Died	August 1, 1854 Toronto, Upper Canada
Resting place	St. James Cemetery, Toronto (vault of friend Joseph Wells)
Spouse	Anna Murphy 1825–1837; annulled
Residence	Toronto
Alma mater	Middle Temple

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 England. 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

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• "Robert Sympson Jameson". Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 1979–2016.