Francis McPhelim (1811 – October 14, 1866) was an Irish-born merchant and politician. He represented Kent County in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

from 1850 to 1865. He was born in

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

, the son of Peter and Catherine McPhelim, and came to Buctouche, New Brunswick with his family in 1821. He went into business there as a merchant and shipper. In 1839, he married Rosanna McGuirk. McPhelim served in the province's Executive Council as postmaster general, becoming the first

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

member of the council. He supported the

Intercolonial Railway The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely ow ...

and did not support

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. After he was defeated in 1865, he was named high sheriff for Kent County. McPhelim died in Buctouche the following year.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1811 births 1866 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Canadian Roman Catholics Colony of New Brunswick people Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation New Brunswick {{NewBrunswick-MLA-stub