John Percival "J.P." Burchill (February 6, 1855 – December 18, 1923) was a merchant and political figure in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada. He represented Northumberland 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 1883 to 1886, from 1887 to 1903 and from 1908 to 1912 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member. He was born in Miramichi, New Brunswick, the son of

George Burchill George Burchill (May 8, 1820 – June 18, 1907) was a shipbuilder, lumberman and merchant in New Brunswick. He was born in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland, the son of Thomas Burchill and Catherine Murphy, and came to New Brunswick with his par ...

, an Irish-born lumber merchant, and Bridget Percival. With his brother, George Jr., he joined his father's firm in 1881. In 1882, he married Eliza Bacon Wilkinson. He served as a member of the council for Northumberland County from 1878 to 1882, serving as county warden in 1882. Burchill was defeated in a bid for reelection to the provincial assembly in 1886 but then was elected in an 1887 by-election held after Michael Adams ran for a seat in the federal parliament. He served as speaker for the legislative assembly from 1893 to 1899. He was defeated in 1903. In 1904, he took over the operation of the company when his father retired from business. Burchill was also president of the Miramichi Steam Navigation Company and helped found the Miramichi River Service Limited which succeeded it. He was a prominent

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and a past master of the Sons of Temperance. He died in Newcastle at the age of 68. His son George Percival later became president of George Burchill and Sons and went on to serve in the Canadian senate.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''''The Canadian parliamentary companion, 1897'', JA Gemmill
1855 births 1923 deaths Businesspeople from New Brunswick New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs New Brunswick municipal councillors People from Miramichi, New Brunswick Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Canadian people of Irish descent {{NewBrunswick-MLA-stub