Patrick Blake

BLAKE, PATRICK, merchant, butcher, and exporter; b. 8 March 1846 in Charlottetown, son of John Blake and Catherine Keoughan; m. first 20 February 1870 Annie Bell Inman, and they had four children, Ethel W, Frank, Florence, and one other daughter; m. secondly 15 April 1901 Emma Gertrude Quirk, and they had no children; d. 20 November 1909 in Charlottetown. Blake, a Conservative, was first elected to the House of Assembly in the general election of 1882 for Charlottetown Royalty. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1886 and 1890. On 27 March 1890, Blake was appointed Speaker. In 1891 he resigned from the Assembly and was defeated in the House of Commons by-election in Queen's County held that year. In his early political career he was elected to the municipal council of Charlottetown in January 1880, and was re-elected for two years in 1881. Blake attended the public schools in Charlottetown. At an early age, ca. 1856, he served as a librarian for the Catholic Young Men's Literary Institute in Charlottetown. In 1865 Blake and his brother Maurice joined their father in partnership in his successful butchering business. Later he became a senior partner in the firm Blake and Brothers Wholesale Merchants, exporters of cattle to Great Britain. Blake served as a judge at the Provincial Exhibition and as a director. Blake was a founding member of the Charlottetown Board of Trade and served as vice-president from 1893 to 1896. In 1901 he was a member of the Board of Trade's Council. In 1902 Blake left the Island to live in Sydney, Nova Scotia. There he established a provisioning firm, P. Blake and Company. When he left the province, the respectful send-off given him demonstrated that he was appreciated not only as a politician but as a valued citizen. Patrick Blake died 20 November 1909 in Charlottetown. Blake's parents were born in Ireland. His father was from Tipperary County. Annie Blake, the daughter of William Inman of Desable, England, was born ca. 1845.