John William Ritchie was born in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, on March 26, 1808. His father, Thomas Ritchie, was a lawyer, judge, and politician; his mother was named Elizabeth Wildman Johnston. Ritchie was likely educated in Annapolis Royal, at Ichabod Corbett's school. Instead of going to college, he received at-home tutoring. Ritchie later studied law with his uncle, James William Johnston, in Halifax during the mid-1820s. In January 1831, he became an attorney; the following year, he became a barrister. Ritchie pursued further studies when his first decade of practice proved unsuccessful.[2]
