Fonds MG 2, vol. 731-782; MG 1, vol. 3362-3364; microfilm reels 11,158 (journal) - William Young fonds

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William Young fonds

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NSHP MG 2, vol. 731-782; MG 1, vol. 3362-3364; microfilm reels 11,158 (journal)

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6 m of textual records

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Biographical history

William Young, lawyer, politician, judge, and philanthropist, was born at Falkirk, Scotland on 8 September 1799, the son of John and Agnes (Renny) Young. He was educated at the University of Glasgow. Young emigrated with his family to Nova Scotia in April 1814 and worked at his father's business, John Young and Company, as an agent in Halifax and later New York. In 1815 he entered into an auction and commission business in Halifax with James Cogswell. From 1820 to 1823 Young apprenticed in the law firm of Charles Rufus and Samuel Prescott Fairbanks; he began his own practice in Halifax when he was admitted as a barrister in 1826. From 1834 to the 1850s he maintained a legal partnership and insurance business with his brother George. In 1832 he was elected MLA for Cape Breton County (later Inverness) and also represented Cumberland County, 1859-1860. Young also served as speaker of the House of Assembly, 1842-1854; member of the Executive Council, 1842-1843; premier and attorney general 1854-1857; and premier and president of the council, 1860. He was appointed chief justice from 1860 until his retirement in 1881. Young was also a great benefactor to the City of Halifax and Dalhousie University. He received a Knight Bachelor in 1869 and honourary degrees from Queen's and Dalhousie. He died at Halifax on 8 May 1887. His wife was Anne Tobin, daughter of Hon. Michael and Margaret (Lanigan) Tobin, whom he married on 10 August 1830; they had no children.

Custodial history

The source of most material is unknown. Records in volume 765 donated by Mrs. B.S. Hutcheson of Cairo, Illinois in April 1961. William Young's journal was borrowed by the Public Archives of Nova Scotia for microfilming in January 1966 from T. Kenneth Young of Homestead, Florida. The journal was later donated in 1973.

Scope and content

Fonds consists of correspondence and other records documenting Young's law practice, political offices, and his family and personal business affairs. Includes letters to and from Young regarding political matters, such as elections, fisheries, roads, and the Windsor-Annapolis Railway; and legal opinions and cases dealt with including the estate of Hon. Michael Tobin. Letters between Young and his father and brothers George and Charles concern personal news and family business matters. Other records in the fonds include Young's summaries of cases heard before him in the Supreme Court, Court of Vice Admiralty, and the Court of Marriage and Divorce, ledgers, day books, financial statements and accounts, drafts of speeches, newspaper clippings, law books, personal diary, and journal of a trip to England. Fonds also contains correspondence, legal documents, and other items concerning the estate of William Young and others, 1887-1919.

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Available on microfilm. Typescript of the journal also available.

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Detailed summary of box contents, partial item list, and file list available.

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Other records relating to William Young and the Young family are found in the John Young fonds and George R. Young fonds.

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William Young journal is printed in Appendix B of the Report of the Public Archives of Nova Scotia, 1973.

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