Richard Uniacke
(1753-1830):

Uniacke was born in Ireland; he died at Mt. Uniacke, Nova Scotia. He was articled to a Dublin attorney. Coming to Philadelphia in 1774, he, with a partner from Nova Scotia, went into the trading business. At 22 years old, he married his partner's 12 year old daughter. He may have had something to do with the "Eddy" rebellion, at any rate, he was arrested and brought to Halifax; but Uniacke had "Irish connections," - and he was soon freed. Uniacke was a man who, throughout his life, was always ready and able to cash in on his connections: he, in turn, became a member of the bar; in 1781, was appointed solicitor general for the province; in 1783, elected to the House of Assembly; in 1784, the advocate general of the Vice-Admiralty Court (his activities in this court made Uniacke a very rich man). His fortunes changed, however, when Governor Wentworth took over in 1791, "during the 1790s Uniacke clashed with Wentworth on several issues." Over Wentworth's head Uniacke was appointed the attorney general in 1797. Being quite conscious of the excesses of the French revolution, Uniacke predicted there would be problems in America should atheism and democracy spread, it would "destroy the principles of true religion and ... subvert the rules of civil government." In 1805 he had published a consolidation (1758-1804) of the provinces statutes, it became known as Uniacke's Laws, a standard reference work used by lawyers and judges and used up to 1851.