Richard John Uniacke

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Richard John Uniacke (November 22, 1753 – October 11, 1830) was a lawyer, politician, member of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly and Attorney General of Nova Scotia.

Born in Castletownroche in County Cork, Ireland, he studied law in Dublin, articling to an attorney there but prematurely abandoning his studies to travel. In 1774 he arrived in Philadelphia after having first gone to the West Indies. In Philadelphia, he formed a partnership with Moses Delesdernier, a Huguenot trader from the Cumberland district of Nova Scotia. After their return to Hopewell Township (now Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick), on May 3, 1775 he married Delesdernier’s daughter Martha Maria, then aged 12. They would have six sons before her death in 1803.

In 1776, Uniacke was imprisoned for taking part in the Eddy Rebellion. He was tried for treason but he was later released. In 1777, he returned to Ireland to complete his legal training.

After returning to Nova Scotia he was admitted to the Bar in 1781 and appointed solicitor later the same year. In 1783, he was elected to the House of Assembly representing Sackville Township. He was also elected clerk of the house. The influence of the ruling United Empire Loyalists caused the partitioning of New Brunswick from Nova Scotia in 1784, and with it the abolition of the township system and the loss of Uniacke’s constituency). By now residing most of the time in Halifax, he ran for and won a seat in Halifax County in 1786. He became Speaker in 1789.

He became Attorney General in 1797. He later earned a fortune by collecting fees as advocate general of the Vice-Admiralty Court during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. He was married for a second time in 1808.

His substantial estate is preserved as a provincial park and museum at Mount Uniacke. His son James Boyle Uniacke was the first Premier of Nova Scotia. Another son, Richard John Uniacke, Jr. was a lawyer, judge and political figure who represented Cape Breton County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1820 to 1830.