Mather Byles DesBrisay was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 lawyer, judge, politician, and historian in the Province of 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...

 whose collections form the DesBrisay Museum

DesBrisay Museum

The DesBrisay Museum is a museum showcasing the history of the town of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia and the surrounding area, including its inhabitants and architecture, whose collection is due to the efforts of Judge Mather Byles DesBrisay...

 in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia

Bridgewater, Nova Scotia

Bridgewater is a town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Canada, at the navigable limit of the LaHave River. It is the largest town in the South Shore region. While the majority of the South Shore's economy is based upon the tourist trade, Bridgewater is more a commercial and industrial centre and...

.

A descendant of Captain Théophile de la Cour DesBrisay (1671-1761) whose Huguenot

Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

 family fled religious persecution in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and settled in Dublin, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 before emigrating to Canada, Mather Byles DesBrisay was the great-great-grandson of Thomas DesBrisay, a Lieutenant-Governor of St. John's Island

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

 (now Prince Edward Island). He was born in Chester, Nova Scotia

Chester, Nova Scotia

Chester is an incorporated Canadian village located in and part of Nova Scotia's Chester Municipal District in the southeastern part of Lunenburg County.-History:...

 and was educated 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...

 and Dartmouth

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...

. Trained in law, in 1851 Mather DesBrisay was admitted to the Bar of Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

The Nova Scotia Barristers' Society is the statutory body charged with the regulation of the legal profession in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The Legislature of Nova Scotia has enacted the Legal Profession Act, which gives lawyers in Nova Scotia the powers of self-regulation, through the...

. He eventually set up a law practice in his native Chester but in 1865 made Bridgewater his home.

In 1867, DesBrisay entered provincial politics as part of the anti 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...

 movement and in the Nova Scotia general election

Nova Scotia general election, 1867

The 1st Nova Scotia general election was held on 18 September 1867 to elect members of the 24th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was the first general election in Nova Scotia after Confederation, and was won by the Liberal party....

 was voted to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

. Reelected in 1874

Nova Scotia general election, 1874

The 3rd Nova Scotia general election was held on 17 December 1874 to elect members of the 26th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Liberal party....

, the following year he was named Speaker of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia

Speaker of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia

The Speaker for the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia is the presiding Officer of the House of Assembly. Gordie Gosse is the current Speaker of the 61st General Assembly of Nova Scotia....

. After 1875 DesBrisay was out of politics and in 1876 he married Ada Adams Harley.

Mather DesBrisay served as a County Court judge for Lunenburg

Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg County is a county located on the South Shore of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, It ranges from Hubbards to the east and Vogler's Cove to the west.-History:...

, Shelburne

Shelburne County, Nova Scotia

Shelburne County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.-History:Shelburne County was founded in 1784 shortly following the influx of Loyalist settlers evacuated from the newly independent United States of America...

 and Queens counties until 1897. An avid historian, in 1870 he published his book titled "History of the County of Lunenburg." It marked what became a major pursuit of documentation that saw a revised edition of his book published in 1895. Following his death in 1900, the town of Bridgewater acquired his vast collection of papers and artifacts and established the DesBrisay Museum as a public community history museum.

Mather and Ada DesBrisay are buried together in the Brookside Cemetery in Bridgewater.

External links

• History of the County of Lunenburg, Google Books