Biographies of Members of the Legislative Assembly
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- William Henry Dennis
- DENNIS, WILLIAM HENRY, carriage builder, trader, and farmer; b. ca. 20 January 1864 in Port Hill, son of William Henry Dennis, Sr., and Mary Anne Sharpe; m. 14 March 1885 Mary Ann Ellis, and they had seven children, Melbourne, Thomas C., Iva, Milton W., Dana G., Robert C., and J. G.; Presbyterian; d. 15 July 1946 in O’Leary. Dennis, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1915 for 2nd Prince. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1919, 1923, 1927, 1931, 1935, 1939, and 1943. He was appointed Minister of Agriculture on 14 January 1936 and served in that ministry until 1943. Dennis believed in working alongside neighbours and members of the community to help them help themselves. Dennis was educated in the local school. For the most part he worked as a carriage builder, but also traded in agricultural machinery, horses, buggies, wagons, and a variety of other items. Dennis, who did some farming, stayed in close contact with farmers all his life because of his involvement in trading and carriage-building. William Dennis died 15 July 1946. Mary Dennis, the daughter of John and Margaret Ellis, was born 24 November 1864 and died in 1953., CPG 1920, 1940, 1945; Maritime Advocate and Busy East. 31(8) March 1941; Patriot 16 July 1946; PARO: RG Marriage License Vital Statistics Box M, 1884; MNI-Census 1891; Census 1901; O'Leary United Church Records; Bloomfield United Church Cemetery Records.
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- William Hooper
- HOOPER, WILLIAM. farmer, tanner, innkeeper, and officeholder; b. 23 July 1824 in Northleigh, England, son of Joseph Hooper; m. 1847, Luiza Maria Esperanza, and they had nine children, Mary Esperanza, William Charles, Samuel, Emma, Frederick, Percilla, George, Sophia, and Joseph; Methodist; d. 5 January 1899. Hooper, a Liberal, was first elected to the House of Assembly in the general election of 1870 for 2nd Kings. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1872, 1879, and 1882. He was defeated in the general elections of 1876 and 1886. Educated in Horiton, England, Hooper served as Her Majesty’s Commissariat in Bermuda from 1847 to 1850, when he resigned to settle in Prince Edward Island. Hooper was the chairman of the Board of Railway Appraisers from 1872 to 1873. He was also a farmer, a tanner and an innkeeper, and lived in Marie Bridge. William Hooper died 5 January 1899., CPG 1873. 1883. 1889; Elections PEI; Meacham's Atlas; PARO: MN1- Census 1881. 1891; MNI-Hutchinson’s p. 158; Hooper Family File.
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- William Hubert Howatt
- HOWATT, WILLIAM HUBERT, farmer and businessperson; b. 7 September 1867 in New Village, son of Nelson Howatt and Catherine Platts; m. 2 July 1890 Mahala Bell, and they had three children, Pope, Marion, and Wilfred; Presbyterian; d. 9 January 1919 in St. Eleanors. Howatt, a Liberal, was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1915 for 5th Prince. He was defeated in the general election of 1912. His grandfather, Cornelius Howatt*, had been the Island’s most ardent opponent of Confederation. Howatt studied at Summerside High School. Following school he became a farmer. Howatt was the director of Willow Hill and Radium and Pavilion Silver Black Fox Companies. He was a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Masons, and the Oddfellows. William Howatt died 9 January 1919 at his home, while a Member of the Legislative Assembly. Mahala Howatt, the daughter of Andrew Bel! of Bloomfield, was born in 1866 and died 17 November 1953., CPG 1916; Patriot 9 January 1919; PARO: Summerside People's Protestant Church Records.
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- William James MacDougall
- MACDOUGALL, PH.D., REVEREND WILLIAM JAMES, clergyman and professor; b. 8 May 1944 in Kentville, Nova Scotia, son of James Lorn MacDougall and Gertrude Isabel MacLean; m. 22 July 1966 Patricia Ann Campbell, and they had three children, Shane William Lorn, Christiana Kate, and Charity Jill. MacDougall, a Conservative, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1978 for 4th Prince. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1979 and 1982. He was appointed Deputy Speaker on 18 May 1983. In1985 MacDougall resigned and left the province, with his family, in order to become minister at a United Church pastoral charge in Middleton, Nova Scotia. “Bill” MacDougall received his secondary education at the Summerside High School and later attended Prince ofWales College in Charlottetown, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts. He then attended the Pine Hill Divinity Hall — now the Atlantic School of Theology — in Halifax where he earned a Master of Divinity. MacDougall did further study at New College, University of Edinburgh, where he earned a Doctor of Philosophy. While in Scotland, he served a congregation for one year. In1973 MacDougall returned to the province, where he was a minister in Freetown, Lot 16, and North Bedeque. He also taught a course at the University of Prince Edward Island in the Department of Religious Studies. Bill MacDougall was a member of the Summerside Christian Council and several community groups. Rev. Dr. William MacDougall and his wife Patricia live in Middleton, Nova Scotia., CPG 1985; Guardian 25 January 1978, 3 April 1985; Journal-Pioneer 25 January 1978.
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- William Joseph Parnell MacMillan
- MACMILLAN, O.B.E., K.C.S.G., Q.C., M.D. (C.M.), F.R.C.S., F.I.C.S., FAC.S., LM.C.C., S.G., HONOURABLE WILLIAM JOSEPH PARNELL, physician and surgeon; b. 24 March 1881 in Clermont, son of Joseph MacMillan and Mary L. Hogan; m. first 12 January 1909 Mary B. Macdonald, of Boston; m. secondly 3 May 1922 Letitia Macdonald (nee Roberts) of Boston, and they had six children, Mary Dorothea, Catherine Bernadette, Joseph, Stephen, Nora, and Allan; Roman Catholic; d. 7 December 1957 in Charlottetown. MacMillan, a Conservative, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1923 for 5th Queens. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1927, 1931, 1939, 1943, 1947,and 1951. He was defeated in the general elections of 1935 and 1955. On 5 September 1923, he was appointed as a Minister without Portfolio in the government of J. D. Stewart. He was sworn in as the province’s first Minister of Education and Public Health on 14 August 1931. After assuming office, he was re-elected by acclamation. During the illness of Premier James Stewart’1', MacMillan served as acting Premier. Upon Stewart’s death in 1933, MacMillan became Premier as well as Provincial Secretary Treasurer on 13 October, and served as premier until 1935. He served as Leader of the Opposition from 1935 until he resigned from that position on 26 June 1950. “Doctor W. J. P.,” as he was known, entered politics “not with a political motive but to try and obtain a grant for his favourite charity,” the Red Cross Society. However, he remained in the Legislature after he achieved this objective and served continuously until 1955, except for the period when the Liberals, under Walter M. Lea*, won every seat in the 1935 general election. In 1957 MacMillan was appointed to the post of Lieutenant-Governor, but passed away two weeks after his appointment and before he was sworn in. The ceremony was to take place on 16 December. MacMillan’s government was associated, unavoidably, with the effects of the Great Depression. The harsh economic realities of this period contributed to the defeat of his government in 1935. Furthermore, MacMillan entered politics and the provincial government at a time “when finances were strained as a result of two fires which destroyed Prince of Wales College and Falconwood, the then provincial Mental Hospital.” He had both buildings rebuilt and, at the same time, elevated Prince of Wales to junior college status. Perhaps MacMillan’s greatest success was his procurement of a Carnegie Foundation endowment for establishing the provincial library system that still serves the Island. He also obtained money from the Carnegie Foundation for Prince of Wales College and St. Dunstan’s University. MacMillan received his early education in Clermont. He attended Kensington High School and Prince ofWales College. Upon graduation from McGill in 1908 with a medical degree, he received the Holmes Gold Medal and, in 1915, received an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the same institution. MacMillan chaired the Medical Board of the Charlottetown Hospital and served as president of the Children’s Aid Society, the Red Cross Society, the Cancer Society, the Anti-tuberculosis League, and the Prince Edward Island Medical Association. He was City Health Officer and served on the Charlottetown School Board. For 22 years, MacMillan was a member of the Canadian Medical Council. He was a fellow and member of the board of governors of the American College of Surgeons and was also a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and the International College of Surgeons. MacMillan was a long-time member of the Charlottetown Rotary Club, held high office in the Knights of Columbus, and was honourary chieftain of the Caledonia Club. He was awarded an Order of the British Empire for his work on the home front during the Second World War. W. J. P. MacMillan died 7 December 1957 at the Charlottetown Hospital. Mary B. MacMillan and Letitia MacMillan were the daughters of Hugh S. Macdonald of South Boston, Massachusetts. Mary Dorothea MacMillan, a daughter, married Alban Farmer’’, and Catherine Bernadette MacMillan, another daughter, married Charles St. Clair Trainor*., CPG 1953; Premiers* Gallery: Patriot 7 December 1957.
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- William Keir Clark
- CLARK, WILLIAM KEIR merchant; b. 30 May 1910 in Mount Stewart, son of Russell Charles Clark* and Marion J. McKay; m. 17 June 1940 Anna I. McLaren of Georgetown, and they had three children, Gwen, Marion, and Marjorie; United. Clark, a Liberal, and later an Independent Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1947 for 3rd Kings. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1951, 1955, and 1966. He was defeated in the general election of 1959. He was appointed as a Minister without Portfolio on 6 June 1951. On 11 June 1953, he was named Minister of Education and served in that Ministry until 1959. From 1954 to 1955, Clark served as Provincial Treasurer, and, from 28 July 1966 to 7 February 1969, he was Minister of Health and Municipal Affairs. He resigned that position on 7 February 1969 because he “did not agree with certain programs in the provincial government’s multi-million dollar development program, and the delegation of government responsibility to the Economic Improvement Corporation, a government-appointed body, charged with the implementation and operation of the plan.” Clark did not resign as a Liberal Member and continued sitting in the Legislature. On 3 March 1970, he crossed the floor of the Legislature to sit as an Independent Liberal, stating, “I am no longer connected to the party of the plan.” He was referring to the Comprehensive Development Plan administered by the Economic Improvement Corporation. Clark’s switch to Independent Liberal ended the Liberal majority, leaving the Legislature with 16 Liberals, one of whom was Speaker, 15 Conservatives, and one Independent. Premier Alexander Campbell* called a general election shortly thereafter, in which the Liberals won 27 seats and the Conservatives five. Prior to his time in provincial politics, Clark was elected Mayor of Montague in 1940. Clark’s father served in the Legislative Assembly from 1927 to 1931 and from 1935 to 1959. Thus, father and son served in the Legislative Assembly concurrently from 1947 to 1959. Clark attended Prince of Wales College. In 1934 he graduated from Dalhousie University with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and that same year opened a store in Montague. Clark was a merchant until 1979. He was also a director/owner of Clark Bros, and, with his family, had interests in Clark Brothers in St. Peters Bay and Mount Stewart. Clark was born in Mt. Stewart, into a family involved in the general merchant business for more than 100 years. William Keir Clark resides in Montague. Anna Clark was the daughter of William W. McLaren and Flora MacKenzie of Georgetown., CPG 1956, 1960, 1970. Eastern Graphic 4 July 1979; Guardian 8 February 1969, 4 March 1970, 7 March 1970, 18 March 1970.
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- William Laird
- LAIRD, WILLIAM, farmer; b. 5 June 1835 in New Glasgow, son of Alexander Laird, Sr., and Janet Orr; m. 22 February 1866 Eliza Jane Bradshaw, and there were no children; Presbyterian; d. 13 February 1911 in New Glasgow. Laird, a Liberal, was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1908 for 2nd Queens. He was defeated in the general election of 1882. In 1911, due to failing health, Laird resigned his seat. His brother Alexander* served in the House of Assembly, the Legislative Council, and on Executive Council, under various premiers. Another brother, David*, served as a Member of the House of Assembly and as a Member of Parliament. David was also Lieutenant-Governor of the North West Territories and an advisor to the federal government on aboriginal matters. Laird received his education in the public schools in New Glasgow, after which he took up farming in the area. He spent some time in the militia, where he achieved the position of Captain, and continued to serve at that rank until the company was disbanded. He was a longtime member and elder of the Presbyterian Church. William Laird died 13 February 1911. Eliza Laird died 20 February 1907., CPG 1883, 1910; Elections PEI; Patriot 14 February 1911; PARO: MNI-Census 1881. 1891; New Glasgow Community Cemetery Records.
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- William Marshall Gallant
- GALLANT, WILLIAM MARSHALL, air force officer and credit union manager; b. 20January 1915 in St. Charles, son of Leo and Judith Gallant; m. first 25 October 1941 Lucy Irene Long, and they had four children, Louise, Wilma, Mary, and Blair; m. secondly Frances Gritfen, and there were no children; Roman Catholic; d. 21 July 1988 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Gallant, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1970 for 3rd Prince. He was re-elected in the general election of 1974. On 14 June 1973, he was appointed Minister of Community Services and Minister of the Environment and Tourism. Gallant served in these Ministries until 1974, and retired from provincial politics in October 1975. Gallant was educated in New Acadia. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force for 25 years. During this time, he held the position of recruiting officer. Upon retiring from the Canadian Air Force, Gallant became the civilian manager of the Credit Union on CFB Summerside. He also served as a director of the Prince County Family Services Bureau and the Prince Edward Island Alcoholic Foundation. He was a member of the Rotary Club, the Royal Canadian Legion, the Knights of Columbus, and the Summerside Chamber of Commerce. After ending his political career, Gallant and his family moved to Woodstock, New Brunswick. They spent their winters in Jensen Beach, Florida. William Gallant died 21 July 1988 at the Veterans Wing of the Victoria Health Centre in Fredericton., COR p. 62; CPG 1974; Patriot 21 July 1988.
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- William S. Stewart
- STEWART, K.C., WILLIAM SNODGRASS, lawyer and judge; b. 13 February 1855 in Marshfield, son of Alexander and Florence Stewart; m. 27 September 1892 Annie Augusta Beer, and there were no children; Presbyterian; d. 11 February 1938 in Charlottetown. Stewart. a Conservative, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1912 for 5th Queens. Before this he had been defeated in the 1893 general election for 3,d Queens, and in the 1908 general election for 2nd Queens. He was also defeated in the federal arena, in the 1900 federal election by L. H. Davies* in West Queen’s. Stewart served as a Minister without Portfolio in the Mathieson* Administration from 1912 to 1914, when he resigned his seat to accept an appointment as a Queens County Judge. Stewart received his early education at the district school in Marshfield. He attended Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, studied at Dalhousie University in Halifax for one term, then entered McGill University in Montreal where he earned a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours and the Chapman Gold Medal. He left McGill in1878 to study law under Frederick Peters* in Charlottetown, and was admitted to the Bar in 1883. That year he moved to Summerside, where he worked for several years as a partner in the Peters firm. Eventually Stewart moved back to Charlottetown to open his own practice. Stewart was made Judge of the County Court of Queens on 22 July 1914, and, on the death of the Honourable W. W. Sullivan*, became Judge of the Admiralty Court. He retired from the bench in February 1930. After his retirement, Stewart entered municipal politics and in 1932 became Mayor of Charlottetown. He served in this position until the election of 1934. Stewart was well-known and well-respected in the province. Late in life he continued to express his views through letters and opinion pieces in the Island press. William Stewart died 11 February 1938. Annie Stewart was the daughter of Henry Beer*, also a mayor of Charlottetown, and Amelia Ings. She died 11 February 1938., CPC 1897, 1901, 1909, 1914; Patriot 12 February 1938; PARO: MNI- Census 1881, 1891.
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- William Simpson McNeill
- MCNEILL, WILLIAM SIMPSON, farmer, fisherman, highways commissioner, debt commissioner, and justice of the peace; b. 17 March 1814 in Cavendish, son of William McNeill and Eliza Bliss Townsend; m. 23 January 1839 Ann Maria Jones, and they had nine children, Jennie, Euphemia, Collin, Ellen L. Mannie, Mary, Emma, Annie, and Oliver; Presbyterian; d. 2 April 1902 in North Rustico. McNeill, a Liberal, was first elected to the House of Assembly in 1866 for 2nd Queens. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1867, 1870, 1872, and 1873. He was defeated in the general election of 1876. Prior to Confederation, his father served in the House of Assembly for 25 years. McNeill attended Central Academy in Charlottetown. He was a farmer and fisher, and he resided at Birkentree Farm in North Rustico. He served as Commissioner of Highways for District No. 5, as Commissioner for Recovery of Small Debts, and as Justice of the Peace. He was vice-president of the New London Agricultural Society and a captain in the militia with the New Glasgow Rifles. William McNeill died 2 April 1902. Ann McNeill, the daughter of James Jones of North Rustico. She was born in London, England, in 1816 and died 30 November 1912., CPG 1876; Meacham's Atlas, Colonial Herald 26 January 1839 p. 3; Morning Guardian 2 April 1902; PEI Register 30 June 1829; Royal Gazette 7 February 1843; PARO: MNI-Census 1841. 1881; MNI- Hutchinson’s pp. 243, 275; McNeill Family File; Cavendish United Presbyterian Cemetery Records.
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- William Wade Hughes
- HUGHES, WILLIAM “WADE”. merchant; b. 3 July 1888 in Souris, son of James Joseph Hughes and Annie R. McWade; m. 27 September 1927 Ellen Keays, and they had nine children, Mary Doris, Eileen Gertrude, Helen Geraldine, James Joseph, Elizabeth Doreen. William Wide, Thomas Francis, Catherine Elizabeth, and John George; Roman Catholic; d. 11 November 1964. Hughes, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1935 for 5th Kings. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1939, 1943, 1947, and 1951. Hughes served as Provincial Treasurer from 1943 to 1948 and as Minister of Public Welfare from 1944 to 1948. On 25 May 1953, he was appointed Provincial Secretary. His father represented the riding of King’s in the House of Commons from 1900 to 1908, 1911 to 1917, and 1921 to 1925, and was appointed to the Senate on 5 September 1925. Wade Hughes’ daughter, Senator Eileen Rossiter, was appointed to the Senate on 17 November 1986. Wade Hughes was educated at the local school in Souris and at St. Dunstan’s College. Later he worked for his father’s large mercantile business, J. J. Hughes, in Souris, and became vice-president of the company. William “Wade” Hughes died in 1964. Ellen Hughes, the daughter of James Keays of Souris, died on 16 December 1961., CDP p. 282; CPG 1944, 1948, 1955; CWW 1948 p. 460; Maritime Advocate and Busv East May 1943.
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- William Wilfred Sullivan
- SULLIVAN, Q.C., HONOURABLE SIR WILLIAM WILFRED, journalist, lawyer, and judge; b. 6 December 1843 in New London, son of William Sullivan and Mary McArthy, both of County Kerry, Ireland; m. 13 August 1872 Alice Maud Mary Newberry, and they had six children, Adele M. M„ Alice M. M„ W. F. Cleaver. WilfredC. P., Faustina M. L., and Louis Arthur; Roman Catholic; d. 30 September 1920 in Memramcook, New Brunswick, and was buried in Charlottetown. Sullivan, predominantly a Conservative, but a Liberal during his early career, was first elected to the House of Assembly in the 1872 general election for 1st Kings. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1873, 1876, 1879, 1883, and 1886. He was defeated in an 1869 by-election for 1st Kings, in the 1870 general election for 3,d Queens, and in another by-election for 1" Kings in 1871. He served on Executive Council in Premier Robert Poore Haythorne’s Administration from April to June of 1872, until resigning over a disagreement about the provincial railway. In 1873 he was appointed Solicitor-General in the coalition government of Conservative James C. Pope . When Pope's Denominationalists were defeated in the 1876 general election by the Free School Party of L. H. Davies*, Sullivan continued to oppose the Public Schools Act of 1877. From 1876 to 1879, he served as Leader of the Opposition. In the general election of 1879, Sullivan defeated Davies and became Premier and Attorney-General, a position he held until 1889. Sullivan was the first Island premier to win three consecutive elections. His 10-year term as premier was a record until Alex Campbell’s 12-year stint in the 1960s and 70s. Premier Sullivan was concerned primarily with provincial finances. The Davies government had been unable to balance the budget and, when it attempted to impose taxation through the Assessment Act of 1877, the electorate reacted angrily. Having joined Confederation for the financial stability and security it offered, Islanders were indignant at the possibility of direct taxation by the provincial government. In the 1879 campaign, Sullivan promised to do away with direct taxation and to deal with the province’s financial problems by requesting more support from the Federal government. This effort would allow him to balance the budget and eliminate the need for direct taxation in the province. His plan pleased the electorate, and Sullivan was elected with the largest majority ever recorded in the Assembly to that time. The Sullivan Administration made many changes to provincial spending patterns. Sullivan eliminated the secret ballot, reverted to statutory labour (compulsory) on the roads, cut the pay of Members of the Assembly, reduced the number of offices and the salaries in the civil service, eliminated some of the jurors on civil cases, and amalgamated the institutions of higher learning in the province. Despite his repeated appeals to the federal government for revenue supplements after he abolished the direct tax in 1882, Sullivan was unable to balance the budget. Unwilling to reintroduce the direct tax and unable to secure adequate funds from the federal government, the Sullivan Administration was forced to borrow large sums of money to cover the cost of its operations. Ultimately, Sullivan was able to gain an increased subsidy to the province from the federal government. In 1889 Sullivan left office to accept the appointment of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island on 13 November 1889. His brother John Sullivan* served in the House of Assembly from 1890 to 1893. Sullivan was educated at Central Academy in Charlottetown and at St. Dunstan’s College. Following his schooling, Sullivan was one of the editors at the Charlottetown Herald, and continued to w'rite for the newspaper in the early years of his law career. He completed his law apprenticeship with Joseph Hensley and was admitted to the Bar on 29 June 1867. He was a partner in the law firm of Sullivan and McNeill. He was also a partner in Sullivan and Morson. In 1876 Sullivan was designated as Queen’s Counsel. On 29 June 1914 Sullivan was appointed a Knight Bachelor. In 1917 he resigned his judicial positions due to ill health. William Sullivan died30 September 1920, while residing with one of his daughters. Alice Sullivan, the daughter of John Fenton Newberry and Adelia Travaglini of London, England, and Sienna, Italy, was born in 1846 and died in November 1908., CPG 1876; DCB X 1871-1880 pp. 981-83; Eminent Men. pp. 720-24; MWOT 1898 p. 985.