Alexander James Whiteford McNeilly (August 7, 1845 – October 9, 1911) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born lawyer and political figure in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. He represented Bonavista from 1873 to 1878,

Twillingate and Fogo The Isles of Notre Dame, formerly called Twillingate and Fogo, is a defunct provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2011 the district had 6,990 eligible voters. The district was abolish ...

from 1878 to 1882 and

Bay de Verde Bay de Verde ( 2016 population: 392) is an incorporated town in Conception Bay on the northern tip of the Bay de Verde Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The first recorded inhabitants at Bay de Verde arrived in 1662. Bay de Verde b ...

from 1885 to 1889 in the

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Build ...

. He was born in

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

, the son of Isaac McNeily and Olivia Whiteford, and came to Newfoundland with his brother and widowed mother in 1849. McNeilly studied at

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

in Ireland, articled in law with Hugh William Hoyles and was called to the bar in 1870. In 1878, he married Jessie Emma Sutcliff, the daughter of

James Johnstone Rogerson James Johnstone Rogerson (March 21, 1820 – October 17, 1907) was a businessman, political figure and philanthropist in Newfoundland. He represented Burin from 1859 to 1861 and Bay de Verde from 1870 to 1882 in the Newfoundland and Labrador ...

. McNeilly was named

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1880. He was

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

for the Newfoundland assembly from 1879 to 1882 and from 1886 to 1889. He served as registrar for the

Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador is the superior court for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals in both criminal and civil matters from the Provincial Court and design ...

from 1889 to 1900. He died in St. John's at the age of 66.

References

Speakers of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly 1845 births 1911 deaths British emigrants to pre-Confederation Newfoundland Canadian King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel Newfoundland Colony people {{Newfoundland-politician-stub