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James Edward Small, (February 1798 – May 27, 1869) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada and Canada West.

Small was born in York, Upper Canada in February 1798. His father was John Small, a clerk for the Upper Canada Executive Council. His mother was Eliza Goldsmith. He attended the Home District School with Robert Baldwin. During the War of 1812, he served as a midshipman on the ship St. Lawrence.

Duel
On July 12 1817, he was the second for John Ridout in a duel with Samuel Peters Jarvis. When Ridout fired his gun early at Jarvis, Small insisted that Ridout be allowed to re-load his gun. When Ridout was shot Small sought the assistance of George Playter.

Law Career
Small was a member of the 1st Regiment of the East York Militia. He became a captain of the regiment on May 2, 1820. He articled in law with William Warren Baldwin and was called to the bar in 1821. He became captain of the 1st Regiment on January 30, 1826. After the Types Riot in 1826, Bartemas Ferguson hired Small to be Mackenzie's attorney during the subsequent lawsuit. Small initiated the civil suit by serving writs to Jarvis for trespassing. Small communicated to Jarvis' lawyer James Buchanan Macaulay that the lawsuit could be settled for ₤2000. He rejected Macaulay's counterproposals and claim that the printing press was destroyed for morally righteous reasons.

In 1831 Small and his younger brother, Charles Coxwell Small, inherited their father's large house on the southwest corner of what is now Berkeley and King streets.

Political Career
In 1834, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada in Toronto and his term ended in 1836. On May 30, 1835, he became the Lieutenant Colonel of the 1st Regiment. He was elected in an 1839 by-election in the 3rd riding of York; he was reelected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1841. Small supported Robert Baldwin's call for responsible government; in 1842, he was named solicitor general for Canada West in the Baldwin-Lafontaine government. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1842. He resigned from his post as solicitor general in 1843. He was reelected in 1844 but was later disqualified and George Monro was declared elected.

Personal life
Small married Frances Elizabeth Ridout, John Ridout's sister. They had four sons.

Later life and death
In 1849, he was appointed judge in Middlesex County. He died in London, Ontario in 1869.

The Dictionary of Canadian Biography, while noting Small was born into a life of privilege, had nevertheless allied himself with relatively liberal figures, like his school chum, Robert Baldwin, Upper Canada's prime advocate for responsible government.