James Gray Stevens was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

-born lawyer, judge and political figure in New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

. He represented Charlotte County

Charlotte County, New Brunswick

Charlotte County is located in the southwestern portion of New Brunswick, Canada.In most of the county, fishing and aquaculture dominate the local economy, although the town of St. Andrews is a tourist mecca and St...

 in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...

 from 1861 to 1865 and from 1866 to 1867.

He was born in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, the son of Andrew Stevens and Grace Buchanan Campbell, and was educated at the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

. Stevens came to St. Stephen, New Brunswick

St. Stephen, New Brunswick

St. Stephen is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River at .-Climate:...

 in 1840, studied law with Alexander Campbell and David Shanks Kerr and was called to the bar in 1847. In 1853, he married Elizabeth Helen Marks. He was named Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel

Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...

 in 1867. In the same year, he was named judge in the county courts for Charlotte, Carleton, Victoria and Madawaska. Stevens served thirty years as president of the St. Croix agricultural society and eight years as secretary for the provincial board of agriculture. He also served as chairman for the board of school trustees.

For a time, Stevens practiced law in partnership with James Mitchell

James Mitchell (Canadian politician)

James Mitchell was a politician in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to entering politics, Mitchell was a schoolteacher and a prominent lawyer in St. Stephen, New Brunswick....

who later served as premier for the province.