William Renwick Riddell
William Renwick Riddell | |
---|---|
Justice of the Supreme Court of Ontario | |
In office 1906–1925 | |
Justice of the Court of Appeal for Ontario | |
In office 1925–1945 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Hamilton Township, Canada West | 6 April 1852
Died | 18 February 1945 Toronto, Ontario | (aged 92)
Spouse | Anna Crossen |
Education | Victoria College |
Occupation | Jurist, historian |
William Renwick Riddell (6 April 1852 – 18 February 1945) was a Canadian lawyer, judge, and historian.
Early life and education[edit]
Riddell was born on 6 April 1852 in Hamilton Township, Canada West, and attended a public school in Hamilton Township, Cobourg Collegiate Institute, and Victoria College (then located in Cobourg).[1] He received a BA from Victoria College in 1874.[1]
Legal career[edit]
Riddell was called to the bar in 1883 and conducted a law practice in Cobourg until he moved to Toronto in 1893. Riddell was named a queen's counsel in 1899.[2] In 1892, he attempted to prevent the Law Society of Upper Canada from admitting Clara Brett Martin to the bar of Ontario.[3]
Riddell was appointed as judge to the Supreme Court of Ontario in 1906.[4] He was the trial judge in Sero v Gault, where Eliza Sero, a Mohawk woman, argued that her fishing net had been illegally seized by Thomas Gault, a government fisheries inspector, because the Haudenosaunee were sovereign over the land on which she lived.[5] He dismissed Sero's claim.[6]
He was elevated to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in 1925 and remained in office until his death in 1945.[7]
Writing[edit]
As a historian, he published numerous works of legal, medical, and social history, including biographies of William Kirby and John Graves Simcoe.[7] Riddell wrote more than 1,200 articles on history, law, and other subjects.[2]
Riddell was the president of Crossen Car Manufacturing Company and married Anna Crossen, daughter of the company's founder.
Personal life and views[edit]
Riddell had an interest in the history of slavery in Canada and abolition, as well as the history of various Indigenous peoples.[8]
He was known for biting, sarcastic remarks,[9] and was an "ardent imperialist".[10] Riddell was not well-liked: William Mulock thought him a "terrible man", while according to John Josiah Robinette, "everyone hated the old boy".[11]
Riddell died at his home in Toronto on 18 February 1945.[12]
Works[edit]
- Some Early Legislation and Legislators in Upper Canada (1913)
- Constitution of Canada in Its History and Practical Working (1917)
- Old Province Tales (1920)
- Travels of La Rochefoucauld in Canada 1795 (?)
- First Judge at Detroit and His Court (?)
- First Law Reporter in Upper Canada and His Reports (?)
- Magna Carta (?)
- The Legal Profession in Upper Canada in Its Early Periods (1916)
- The Life of Robert Fleming Gourlay (?)
- William Kirby (1923)
- John Richardson (c1926)
- Upper Canada Sketches (?)
- The Bar and the Courts of the Province of Upper Canada (1928)
- The Life of William Dummer Powell... (1924)
- The Life of John Graves Simcoe (1926)
- British Courts in Michigan (?)
- Michigan Under British Rule (1926)
- Joseph Willcocks: Sheriff, Member of Parliament and Traitor (1927)
- The Courts Of Ontario, (?)
- The Bar Of Ontario, (?)
- The Works of Fracastorius on Morbus Gallicus (?)
- A Philadelphia Lawyer in Canada in 1810 (?)
- Civics (?)
- The Constitution of Canada in Form and in Fact (?)
- Canadian Abridgement [edited] (?)[13]
Arms[edit]
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References[edit]
- ^ a b Fraser, Alexander (1907). "Hon. William Renwick Riddell". A History of Ontario: Its Resources and Development. Toronto: The Canada History Company. pp. 717–719. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b Backhouse 2010, p. 122.
- ^ Backhouse 2010, p. 124.
- ^ Blackwell, John D. (16 December 2015). "William Renwick Riddell". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ^ Backhouse 2010, pp. 104, 121.
- ^ Backhouse 2010, p. 126.
- ^ a b Moore 2014, pp. 268–269.
- ^ Backhouse 2010, p. 122–123.
- ^ Backhouse, Constance; Backhouse, Nancy L. (2004). The Heiress vs the Establishment: Mrs. Campbell's Campaign for Legal Justice. University of British Columbia Press; Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History. pp. 200. ISBN 0-7748-1052-1. OCLC 54774642.
- ^ Backhouse 2010, p. 121.
- ^ Moore 2014, p. 90.
- ^ "Mr. Justice W. R. Riddell Dies at 92". Windsor Star. Toronto. 19 February 1945. p. 10. Retrieved 12 July 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Herbert George Todd (1915). Armory and lineages of Canada. p. 77.
Sources[edit]
- Backhouse, Constance (2010). Colour-Coded: A Legal History of Racism in Canada, 1900–1950. University of Toronto Press; Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History. ISBN 978-1-4426-8768-4. OCLC 632170342.
- Moore, Christopher (31 December 2014). The Court of Appeal for Ontario: Defining the Right of Appeal in Canada, 1792–2013. University of Toronto Press. doi:10.3138/9781442622470. ISBN 978-1-4426-2247-0. JSTOR 10.3138/j.ctt1287q35.
External links[edit]
- Works by William Renwick Riddell at Faded Page (Canada)