Thomas H. Haviland

HAVILAND, QC., HONOURABLE THOMAS HEATH, lawyer and landowner; b. 13 November 1822 in Charlottetown, son of Thomas Heath Haviland and Jane Rebecca Brecken; m. 5 January 1847 Anne Elizabeth Grubbe, and they had seven children, Edith Constance Alice, Eustace Heath, Frances Rebecca (died at nine weeks), Robert Arthur, Madeline Elizabeth, Eleanor Blanche, and Mary Emily Dundas (died at tour months); Anglican; d. 11 September 1895 in Charlottetown. Haviland, a Conservative, was first elected to the House of Assembly in 1846 for Georgetown Royalty. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1850, 1854, 1858, and 1866. He was elected in the general election of 1870 for 3,d Queens, and in the general election of 1873 for Georgetown Royalty. During his political career he served in mayor capacities. He served on Executive Council and was Colonial Secretary from 1859 to 1862, 1866 to 1867, and 1870 to 1872. In 1859 he served as Solicitor-General, and, from 1863 to 1864, Speaker of the House of Assembly. He was Leader of the Opposition from 1867 to 1870 and Provincial Secretary from 1873 to 1876. Haviland, a Father of Confederation, was a delegate to the Quebec conference in 1864, and in 1873 travelled to Ottawa to arrange the final terms of union. Haviland participated in debates on the land and school questions. As a proprietor and landlord, he was a spokesman for the landlords, proving a strong and able opponent of those seeking to purchase the properties of landowners at public expense in order to sell them to their tenants. Haviland was vocal in expressing opinions on the school issue, at one point arguing that denominational schools should be publicly funded, and insisting upon the importance of religion as an aspect of public education. Haviland was one of the strongest advocates for Confederation. He was the first president of the Union Association of Prince Edward Island, established in January 1870. He was an active participant at the Quebec conference in 1867 and during the final negotiations on the terms of union in 1873. Haviland felt that the province's best opportunity for prosperity and for protection from the United States would be with Canada. On 18 October 1873, Sir John A. Macdonald appointed Haviland to the Senate, where he remained until July 1879. He resigned to become the province's Lieutenant-Governor and served in that capacity from 19 July 1879 to 31 July 1884. Following the death of Charlottetown Mayor Henry Beer* in 1886, Haviland became mayor for the rest of Beer's term. In January 1887 Haviland was elected to the office, where he served until 1893, when he retired due to poor health. His early years were marked with the prominence and privilege that came about due to the positions held by his father, a wealthy businessman and landowner, as well as a prominent provincial politician. Haviland was privately educated in Brussels, Belgium. Upon his return to the Island in the early 1840s, Haviland studied law in Charlottetown with James Horsefield Peters, and was called to the Bar in 1846 at the age of 24. He was designated Queen's Counsel in 1865. For 19 years, Haviland was a member of the firm Haviland and Brecken. Thomas Haviland died 11 September 1895, predeceasing his wife and their five surviving children. Anne Haviland was the daughter of John and Sarah Anne Grubbe of Horsenden House, Buckinghamshire, England.