John Collier Underhay

UNDERHAY, JOHN COLLIER. farmer, land surveyor, and justice of the peace; b. 15 January 1829 in Bay Fortune, son of William Underhay and Marianne Withers; m. 17 September 1856 Rosaline Craswell, and they had eight children, William H., Minnie, Frederick Withers, May Mary, Edward Whalen, Ada, Ethel Maude, and Lillian; Presbyterian (raised Anglican); d. 23 October 1919. Underhav, a Liberal in his early career and later a Conservative, was first elected to the House of Assembly in the general election of 1879 for 1" Kings. He was elected in the general election of 1886 for 2nd Kings, and re-elected in the general election of 1890. He was defeated in the general election of 1882 for 2'"' Kings. In 1874 he was defeated in the general election for Legislative Council for 1st Kings. Underhav believed in responsible government, free schools, and tenant land ownership. He eventually joined the Conservative party, as he felt it more fully represented the principles of the old Liberal party of Prince Edward Island. Educated at local schools, Underhay completed his studies with Robert Black Irving, then one of the Island's best mathematicians. He worked as a farmer and land surveyor in Bay Fortune. At the age of 24, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace, the youngest ever on the Island. Underhay was given credit for his assistance in implementing the Canada Temperance Act. Of the 50 judgements he made on the Act, not one was set aside or reversed by higher courts. He served as a Commissioner of the Court for the Trial of Small Debts at Bay Fortune, and acted as the presiding judge until the creation of the County Courts. Though raised an Anglican, Underhay joined the Presbyterian faith, serving as secretary- treasurer of the Bay Fortune Presbyterian Church and taking an active part in its construction. He was a longtime trustee for the area's school district. He became a member of the Order of Good Templars in 1868, and in 1870 became the Grand Chief of the Island. In 1884 he was a delegate to the Washington session of the Right Worthy Grand Lodge. Underhav was a leader in the temperance movement. John Underhay died 23 October 1919. Rosaline Underhay was the daughter of the Honourable Janies Craswell and Harriet Withers Heal. She was born in 1837 and died 23 June 1910.