Fonds MS-2-126 - Richard C. Weldon fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Richard C. Weldon fonds

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  • Graphic material
  • Textual record

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Fonds

Reference code

MS-2-126

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Date(s)

  • 1864-1890 (Creation)

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Physical description

8 cm of textual records

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Name of creator

(1849-1925)

Biographical history

Richard Chapman Weldon, QC, was a lawyer, educator and politican. He was born in Sutton, New Brunswick, to Richard Weldon and Catherine Geldart. He received his BA and MA in political science from Mount Allison Wesleyan College before attending Yale College in New Haven, where he studied constitutional and international law and graduated with his doctorate in political science. For a short time he pursued further studies in law at the University of Heidelberg.

In 1875 he accepted a professorship in mathematics and political economy at Mount Allison, and by 1880 had apprenticed himself to a Sackville lawyer. He was called to the Nova Scotia bar shortly after being appointed dean of the newly formed Faculty of Law at Dalhousie University, where he also became the first full-time professor of law in post-confederation Canada (1883-1914). He served as a Conservative MP from 1887-1896, representing Albert, New Brunswick, where he owned land. Appointed a dominion QC in 1890, he acted as counsel to the firm of Harris, Henry, and Cahan from 1897.

Weldon married Sarah Maria Tuttle in 1877 in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, and they had four sons and one daughter. Shortly after Sarah's death in 1893 he married Louisa Frances Hare in Halifax, with whom he had seven children. He died in 1925 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

In 2018 Richard Weldon was named one of 52 Dalhousie Originals, a list of individuals identified as having made a significant impact on the university and the broader community since Dalhousie's inception in 1818. https://www.dal.ca/about-dal/dalhousie-originals/richard-chapman-weldon.html

Custodial history

Records were accessioned by the Dalhousie University Archives in 1971. The custodial history is unknown. With the exception of the textbook, which was donated in 1985 by Professor James A. MacDougall.

Scope and content

Fonds consists primarily of correspondence from the period during which Weldon was a Member of Parliament, and includes personal and business letters. There are also telegrams, bills, invoices, and a geometry textbook from Weldon's studies at Mount Allison. Also included are prints of family photographs, circa 1870's-1890's.

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Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Language and script note

English

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Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

There are no access restrictions on these materials. All materials are open for research.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Materials do not circulate and must be used in the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room. Materials may be under copyright. Contact departmental staff for guidance on reproduction.

Finding aids

Generated finding aid

Associated materials

The Francis B.A. Chipman fonds (MS-2-582) contains notes from shipping law lectures given by Weldon at Dalhousie Law School.

See also the records of the Dalhousie Faculty of Law (UA 13).

Related materials

Accruals

Further accruals are not expected.

General note

Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Richard C. Weldon fonds, MS-2-126, Box [box number], Folder [folder number], Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

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