Shultz, Samuel

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SHULTZ, SAMUEL

SHULTZ, SAMUEL (1865–1917), Canadian jurist. Born in Victoria, British Columbia (B.C.), Shultz was the grandson of Judah P. Davies, one of the city's most important Jewish pioneers. He received a B.A. from the University of Toronto in 1888 and went on to earn a law degree. Returning to British Columbia in 1893, Shultz established a legal practice in Victoria and was for a time the vice president of Temple Emanuel. An avid sportsman, journalist, and musician, he was also a charter member of the Native Sons of B.C. and the Connaught Masonic Order. Shultz relocated to Vancouver in 1902, where he married in 1904, and in 1909–10 served a term as an alderman for North Vancouver and three terms as the president of the North Vancouver Conservative Association. In 1914 he was named to the Vancouver County Court, becoming the first Jewish judge in Canada and earning a high reputation for fairness and knowledge of the law. As an outspoken advocate of Jewish rights and a frequent contributor to discussions of public affairs and religious understanding, Shultz was also the founding president of the Vancouver B'nai B'rith lodge and the Vancouver Jewish community's first delegate to the national Zionist convention in 1917, where he was named to the board. He died suddenly several months later at the age of 52.

[Barbara Schober (2nd ed.)]

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