William Boyd Kinnear was a 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 St. John County 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 1830 to 1834.

He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick

Dorchester, New Brunswick

Dorchester is a Canadian village and shire town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick.It is located on the eastern side of the mouth of the lush Memramcook River valley near the river's discharge point into Shepody Bay...

, the son of Andrew Kinnear

Andrew Kinnear

Andrew Kinnear was an Irish-born political figure in New Brunswick. He represented Westmorland in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1786 to 1792....

, who served in the first assembly for the province, and Letitia Boyd, both Irish

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...

 immigrants. Kinnear studied law with Charles Jeffery Peters

Charles Jeffery Peters

Charles Jeffery Peters was a lawyer, judge and politician in New Brunswick.He was born in Hempstead, New York, the son of James Peters, a United Empire Loyalist, and Margaret Lester. Peters came to Nova Scotia with his father in 1783. He studied law with Ward Chipman and was admitted to practice...

 and was called to the bar in 1819. In 1828, he was named recorder for Saint John

Saint John, New Brunswick

City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

. He married Janet Muir in 1830. In 1833, Kinnear was named a judge in the vice admiralty court

Vice admiralty court

Vice admiralty courts were juryless courts located in British colonies that were granted jurisdiction over local legal matters related to maritime activities, such as disputes between merchants and seamen. Judges were given 5% of confiscated cargo, if they found a smuggling defendant guilty...

 and he was named to the province's Legislative Council

Legislative Council of New Brunswick

The Legislative Council of New Brunswick was the upper house of the government of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, between 1785 and 1891. Members were appointed by the New Brunswick lieutenant governor.-External links:*...

 in 1839. In 1846, he was named solicitor general for the province. He later served on a commission charged with the revision of the province's statutes and reviewing judicial procedures. A change in government in 1854 meant the end of his tenure as solicitor general and he returned to Saint John where he served as clerk of the peace and probate judge. Kinnear also served as a member of the senate for the University of New Brunswick

University of New Brunswick

The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...

. He died in Saint John at the age of 71.