Joshua Gordon MacArthur
In collections
Description
MACARTHUR JOSHUA GORDON. carpenter and farmer; b. 19 October 1911 in Poplar Grove, son of George Percy MacArthur and Caroline Alice Adams; m. first 29 May 1933 Edna Noye, and they had 10 children, George (d. 30 January 1973), Joyce, Arnold, Nita, Wilfred (d. 2 June 1987), Wyman, Verna, Audrey, Eric, and Ivan; m. secondly 30 August 1969 Vera Janette Smallman (nee Phillips), and she had one child, Herman Smallman; Presbyterian; d. 23 July 1980 in Tyne Valley. MacArthur, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1970 for 2nd Prince. He was re-elected in the general election of 1974. He resigned due to ill health in 1976. On 13 April 1970, he won the Liberal nomination for the councillor position in 2nd Prince on the second ballot over three other competitors, in an unusual twist, MacArthur moved the nomination of the candidate who proved to be his main competitor for the nomination. A few weeks later, MacArthur won the councillor’s seat in the 1970 general election by a mere eight votes over his cousin and then-Leader of the Conservatives, George Key. MacArthur worked as a farmer and a carpenter. Prior to being elected to the Legislative Assembly, MacArthur was employed as a carpenter by the Lennox Island Band Council. He served as a school trustee and was a member of the hospital board of the Stewart Memorial Health Centre in Tyne Valley. He contributed to the establishment of the Ellerslie area senior citizens club. MacArthur was a member of the Freeland Presbyterian Church, where he served as an elder and Sunday School superintendent. Joshua MacArthur died 23 July1980 at the Stewart Memorial Health Centre.Edna MacArthur, the daughter of Wallace and Ella May Noye of Enmore, died 23 October 1967. Vera MacArthur, who now resides in O’Leary, is the daughter of Forrest W. Phillips*, a Member of the Legislative Assembly, and Gertrude MacArthur of Mount Royal., CPG 1976, 1977; Elections PEI; Guardian 11 July 1972, 25 July 1980; Journal-Pioneer 13 April 1970, 14 April 1970; Personal Interview: Ivan MacArthur.