Jonathan McCully
Encyclopedia
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...
, Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and is thus considered one of the Fathers of Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
. He did much to promote union through newspaper editorials. For his efforts, he received a Senate appointment. He later became a judge of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court
Nova Scotia Supreme Court
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court is a superior court in the province of Nova Scotia.The Court comprises the Chief Justice , the Associate Chief justice, twenty-one judges and six supernumerary Justices, who sit in 18 different locations around the province.-Jurisdiction:As with all superior courts...
.
McCully was born at his family's farm in Cumberland County
Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
Cumberland County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-History:The name Cumberland was applied by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton to the captured Fort Beauséjour on June 18, 1755 in honour of the third son of King George II, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, victor at...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. He attended various local schools before going to work on the family farm. From 1828 to 1830, he taught school in order to fund his legal studies. One of his pupils was Sir Charles Tupper
Charles Tupper
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC was a Canadian father of Confederation: as the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He later went on to serve as the sixth Prime Minister of Canada, sworn in to office on May 1, 1896, seven days after...
. He was called to the Nova Scotia bar in 1837, and set up his practice in Amherst
Amherst, Nova Scotia
Amherst is a Canadian town in northwestern Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.Located at the northeast end of the Cumberland Basin, an arm of the Bay of Fundy, Amherst is strategically situated on the eastern boundary of the Tantramar Marshes 3 kilometres east of the interprovincial border with New...
. In 1842 he married Eliza Creed.
A confirmed Liberal by 1837, he expressed his views in frequent contributions to the Acadian Recorder
Acadian Recorder
The Acadian Recorder was a weekly newspaper published during the 19th century in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The newspaper was originally founded in 1813 by Anthony Henry Holland. He died in 1830 and the paper eventually came under the ownership of Hugh William Blackadar.- References :* * * * *...
. In addition, he was a contributor to the Halifax Morning Chronicle, the major Liberal newspaper of the province of Nova Scotia. Although he took a marginal role at the conferences at Charlottetown and Québec City he was an important promoter of union to Nova Scotians through editorials in both the Morning Chronicle and the Unionist & Halifax Journal. After the passage of the union resolution in 1866 McCully eased this newspaper crusade.
His support of Joseph Howe during the 1847 election earned him an appointment to the Legislative Council where he held various offices. When the Liberals were re-elected in 1860 he became solicitor general and railway commissioner. His policy of cost cutting over efficiency, and his lack of personal popularity, caused Joseph Howe to blame him for the 1863 Liberal election loss.
Despite being the Liberal leader in the Legislative Council in 1864 Jonathan McCully's name was not on the initial list of delegates to the Charlottetown Conference. After one of the other delegates withdrew Charles Tupper picked McCully as a replacement. Although Jonathan McCully was not previously a strong supporter of union he was converted at the Charlottetown meeting. He was a delegate to the London Conference but made few contributions to the proceedings.
For his support of Confederation, McCully was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1867. He was soon overshadowed by his more prominent colleagues Charles Tupper
Charles Tupper
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, GCMG, CB, PC was a Canadian father of Confederation: as the Premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He later went on to serve as the sixth Prime Minister of Canada, sworn in to office on May 1, 1896, seven days after...
, Adams George Archibald
Adams George Archibald
Sir Adams George Archibald, KCMG, PC was a Canadian lawyer and politician, and a father of Confederation. He was based in Nova Scotia for most of his career, though he also served as 1st Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1870 to 1872.Archibald was born in Truro to a prominent family in Nova...
and eventually even Joseph Howe
Joseph Howe
Joseph Howe, PC was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, and public servant. He is one of Nova Scotia's greatest and best-loved politicians...
. He supported the "better terms" offered to Nova Scotia in 1869. He resigned the Senate of Canada when he was appointed puisne judge of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in 1870. While his taste for efficiency was unpopular with lawyers, his personal popularity amongst Nova Scotians rose for the first time.
He died at his home in Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
on January 2, 1877 and was buried in that city at Camp Hill Cemetery
Camp Hill Cemetery
In 1844 Camp Hill Cemetery on Robie Street in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada replaced the city's first cemetery known as the Old Burying Ground that had been established almost 100 years earlier in 1749...
.