Thomas Reid Cullen

CULLEN, THOMAS REID, farmer; b. 19 January 1904 in Hope River, son of Timothy Peter Cullen and Frances Etta Landrigan; m. 20 February 1928 Pearl Burke, and there were no children; Roman Catholic; d. 9 December 1984 in Charlottetown. Cullen, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1943 for 2nd Kings. He was re-elected in the general election of 1951. He was defeated in the general election of 1947. On 15 February 1944, Cullen was chosen Deputy Speaker, and, on 17 March 1944, became Speaker, serving in that role for four legislative sessions. In 1949 he was appointed Clerk of the General Assembly and acted as Clerk for 13 sessions until 1959. He was reappointed Clerk of the General Assembly in 1966 and remained in this position for 11 sessions. Cullen's brother Eugene* served in the Legislative Assembly, representing 3rJ Queens from 1944 to 1959. Cullen received his early education at Central Royalty School and later attended Prince of Wales College and St. Dunstan's College. He taught school in West Devon and Suffolk ca. 1921. For the majority of his adult life, Cullen was a farmer. He began farming with his father on the family's dairy farm in Central Royalty, which was later known as Sherwood. In 1928 Cullen moved to Midgell after purchasing a farm on Church Road, and he farmed there until several years before his death. Thomas Cullen died 9 December 1984 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. Pearl Cullen, the daughter of William P. Burke, was born in Charlottetown.