Adam Thom was born in
Brechin, in the
Tayside region in
Scotland. His father was Andrew Thom, a merchant, and his mother Elizabeth Bisset. He entered the
King's College in 1819 and obtained a
Master of Arts in 1824. In 1840 Thom was awarded an lld by the same institution. He taught briefly at the
Udny Academy, in
Aberdeenshire and also in a school of
Woolwich where he settled. He published a grammar of
Latin entitled
The Complete Gradus in 1832. He emigrated to
Lower Canada in 1832 and settled in
Montreal. He began articling in the law office of
James Charles Grant. In January 1833, he became editor of the
Settler, or British, Irish and Canadian Gazette, where he intended to inform new immigrants of the problems they would face in British North America, until its closing on 31 December 1833. The Anti-Canadian opinions he expressed in his newspaper gave him the nickname of "Dr. Slop" in the
Vindicator and Canadian Advertiser edited by patriot
Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan. In November 1833, he was appointed secretary of the
Beefsteak Club, which gathered some of the richest merchants of Montreal. He went back to teaching at the
Montreal Academical Institution. He published a public letter addressed to Colonial Secretary
Lord Stanley in 1834. In January 1835, he became editor of the
Montreal Herald. He strongly opposed the policy of governor
Gosford, which he judged too conciliating toward the parliamentary majority. In February 1836, he published the
Anti-Gallic Letters, a collection of texts addressed to Gosford, which he originally signed under the pseudonym of Camillus in the
Montreal Herald between September 1835 and January 1836. He was admitted to the
Bar of Lower Canada in 1837. On 25 August 1838,
Lord Durham who replaced Gosford, appointed him assistant commissioner in the commission on municipal administration presided by
Charles Buller. He became the spokesman of Durham and the paper he wrote with fellow assistant commissioner William Kennedy was included in the
Report on the Affairs of British North America. In December, he embarked for England to help with the drafting of the final document. He left England for
Red River Colony to fill the position of recorder offered to him by
George Simpson, governor of the
Hudson's Bay Company. He was asked to reform the administration of justice, and to codify the laws of the colony. He arrived at Red River in the Spring 1839. In 1840, the King's College made him a
doctor of laws. His career as a jurist for the Hudson's Bay Company was animated. He refused to use the French language, which he knew, even though the duties of his office required it. In 1845, he condemned to death a
Saulteaux Indian by the name of Capineseweet, although according to the law, all capital cases had to be tried in Upper Canada. He entered in conflict with the
Métis, which were mainly French-speaking and Catholic, when he recommended the governor
Assiniboia,
Alexander Christie, to repress the business of small independent fur traders on the company's territory. In consequence of the measures taken by the government,
Pierre-Guillaume Sayer was tried before the court on 17 May 1849 and was declared guilty of illicit possession of furs by the jury. He was however unconditionally released and permitted to keep the furs in spite of the verdict, because the Métis who attended the trial,
Louis Riel Sr. at their head, made it clear they were not going to let it happen. The Métis submitted a petition to the governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, George Simpson, in which they asked for the resignation of Thom. During a special meeting on 31 May 1849, the
Council of Assiniboia arrived to a compromise with Thom, who agreed to make use of the French language in the performance of his duties. He however continued to displease a good part of the population of River Red and in the autumn of 1850, Louis Riel Sr. again requested his resignation. On 10 April 1851, Simpson informed Thom that he was relieved of his duties as recorder. Many of his duties were assumed by
John Black, his former deputy. He however kept the title of clerk of the Court of Assiniboia and even continued to receive the same annual salary of £700. He left Red River for Edinburgh in 1854. In 1865, he settled in London. He died in that city on 21 February 1890. His son, Adam Bisset Thom, inherited his fortune. == Works ==