Hewitt Bernard 1825-1893
Born in Jamaica, Bernard immigrated to Canada and settled in Barrie, where in 1856 he established a law practice. He was chief clerk, 1858-66, in the office of the attorney-general for Canada West, John A. MacDonald, and later became his brother-in-law, Bernard accompanied MacDonald to the Charlottetown Conference (1864) and was the secretary of the Quebec (1864) and London (1866-67) Conferences, at which the groundwork was laid for Confederation. A Lieutenant-Colonel in the militia, he served as aide-de-camp to two governors-general, Viscount Monck and Baron Stanley of Preston. He also served as deputy minister of justice, 1868-76. Bernard died at Montreal in 1893 and is buried at Ottawa.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.