Stephen Sewell was a lawyer and political figure in Lower Canada.
Background
He was born Stephen Sewall in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1770, the son of Jonathan Sewall who was the attorney general of Massachusetts, and returned to England with his family at the start of the American Revolution, where he attended Bristol Grammar School.
Career
Later in 1791, he moved to Montreal, qualified as a lawyer there and set up practice. Sewell served in the local militia, becoming captain in 1812. In 1809, he was named solicitor general for Lower Canada.
He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in 1809 for Huntingdon and was elected for Montreal East in 1810.
He was dismissed from his office as solicitor general in 1816 after it was revealed that he had submitted documents published in the Montreal Herald that were critical of Governor George Prevost"s administration. Sewell was named King"s Counsel in 1827.
He served as a commissioner during the construction of the Lachine Canal. Sewell helped found the Natural History Society of Montreal and served as its president
He was the first president of the Montreal bar library and also served as solicitor for the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning during the transfer of that part of James McGill"s property which became the site of McGill College.
He died of cholera in Montreal in 1832.
Membership
In 1815, Sewall was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.