The Works of Flavius Josephus - John Longworth

Biography

John Longworth (19/09/1814 - 11/04/1885)

The Works of Flavius Josephus

John Longworth was born on September 19th of 1814 to his parents Francis Longworth and Agnes Auld. Coming from a well-off family, John was given a good education, first attending Alexander Brown’s Grammar School in Charlottetown, after which he also received the tutelage of Robert Hodgson who was Attorney General for PEI at the time. Under him, he studied law, and by 1837 John Longworth was admitted into the supreme court of PEI as an attorney. He would have been twenty three by that point.

Longworth continued to rise in the legal world and only a year later he opened his own law firm, taking on jobs as an agent for British and American insurance firms. He was becoming very well known as a land conveyancer on PEI. Perhaps it was for this reason that when he went into politics in 1846, his constituents were mostly rural tenant farmers. Though his party was an urban & proprietor focused conservative party, he still cared about the issues of his district. This put him in an awkward position when the debates of responsible governance arose from 1847 - 1849 which would have given a stronger voice to the tenants.

John lost the following election in 1850 when a liberal government was elected. Despite the party he fought for, the winning party had tried to bring him over to their side. Eventually, he accepted the position of solicitor general, but under the conditions that it was a non-political role and that he did not have to attend the executive councils. He won his previous district back in the 1858 election, but lost again in the 1866 election, leaving politics behind afterwards.

Longworth still had an active professional life after politics; taking on several cases in the supreme court, appointed as the chairman in the Charlottetown Board of School Trustees in 1878, working as an aide-de-camp for several lieutenant governors from 1863 - 1879. His career ended in 1882 when the Bank of PEI collapsed under his presidency. The stress of this caused a great detriment to his health.

John Longworth would marry Elizabeth Tremaine on August 31st, 1847. Together they would raise six children, two of which were Richard John Augustus Longworth who followed in his father’s footsteps and entered into law, later becoming involved with a local militia. Isabelle Cogswell Longworth who married former PEI premier Alexander Warburton. Two other siblings were Jack and Arthur Longworth, though not much is known of them.

John Longworth had a colorful career of law and politics. He was well connected through his family, occupation, and constituency. No matter what side someone was on, he was someone they wanted backing them.

Sources:

“LONGWORTH, JOHN.” n.d. Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Accessed December 6, 2024.

“Bank of Canada Museum.” n.d. Bankofcanadamuseum.Ca. Accessed December 6, 2024.

“Longworth, John A. - Memory PEI.” n.d. Gov.Pe.Ca. Accessed December 6, 2024.

“John A. Longworth Fonds - Memory PEI.” n.d. Gov.Pe.Ca. Accessed December 6, 2024.

“Longworth Family - Archives PEI.” n.d. Archives.Pe.Ca. Accessed December 6, 2024.

Driscoll, Fred. n.d. “Canadian Parliamentary Review - Article.” Revparl.Ca. Accessed December 6, 2024.

Photo:

Province of Prince Edward Island, and Canada. n.d. “Public Archives and Records Office.” Gov.Pe.Ca. Accessed December 6, 2024.

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