Jonathan Belcher (150)

Jonathan Belcher (23 July 1710– 29 March 1776) was the Chief Justice and lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, and a member of the American Philosophical Society via his 1768 election to the American Society.  Born in Boston, he was the namesake of his father, governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire (1730-1741) and New Jersey (1747-1757). Propelled by his father’s encouragement, wealth, and connections, Belcher attended and pursued his education on both sides of the Atlantic, earning degrees from Harvard College, Middle Temple, and Trinity College. He seems to have enjoyed his studies: he pursued a third master’s degree from the College of New Jersey later in life. Relocating to Dublin, Belcher spent five years there with family before he received the modest appointment of deputy secretary to the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Advancement materialized with his 1754 publication, An Abridgement of the Statutes of Ireland. Seemingly impressed, the chief justice of England appointed Belcher as the chief justice of Nova Scotia that same year. Further advancement beckoned with Belcher’s commission as lieutenant governor in 1761. His temperament, poor political decisions, and lackluster business sense, however, failed to impress or endear him to the region’s local merchant leadership. Though he would remain on the Supreme Court until his death, the Board of Trade removed him as lieutenant governor in 1763. Following his departure, he resumed his scholarly pursuits and other social interests, including attending St. Paul’s Church in Halifax, serving as a corresponding commissioner of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Nova Scotia, and acting as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Nova Scotia. When fighting began in New England in 1775, he organized a Loyalist Association in Nova Scotia. He died the following year. (PI)