William Dummer Powell

William Dummer Powell (November 5, 1755 - September 6, 1834) was a Loyalist lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. Early life and education Born at Boston, Massachusetts, he was named for his grandmother's brother William Dummer, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. He was the eldest son of John Powell (1716-1794), a prosperous merchant who for thirty years held the contract for provisioning the Royal Navy before fleeing to England after the revolution. His mother, Janet (1728-1795), was the daughter of Sweton (or Suetonius) Grant (1702-1744), of Newport, Rhode Island. Grant was a member of the Grant Baronets of Dalvey and Gartenbeg, who was probably involved in the slave trade and started a gunpowder business in Boston. Ironically, Grant was killed by an explosion. Powell studied in Boston before being sent to England under the care of his maternal relative, Sir Alexander Grant, who sent him to board at Tonbridge School. Having in four years excelled at nothing other than cricket, he was next sent him to live with a merchant at Rotterdam where he was to learn French and Dutch while gaining a first-hand experience in business. Having returned to Boston in 1772, two years later he started his legal career in the offices of Jonathan Sewell, Attorney General of Massachusetts. After his marriage, he returned to England in 1775 where he studied law at the Middle Temple. Career As a Loyalist, Powell went to Quebec in 1779, entering private practice in Montreal. In 1783, he went to England to petition with other delegates against the Quebec Act. His formal call to the English bar, delayed because of finances, was finally arranged in 1784 and, later that year, he returned to Boston to attempt to recover his father's property which had been confiscated after the American Revolution. Unsuccessful, he returned to Montreal in 1785.