John Wesley Weldon (ca 1809 – 1885) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in the

Province of 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 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 1828. He married Frances Chandler, the daughter of judge

Joshua Upham Joshua Upham (November 3, 1741 – November 1, 1808) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in New Brunswick. He served as a member of the New Brunswick Council. He was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts, the son of Dr. Jabez Upham and Kathari ...

. Weldon practiced law in

Richibucto, New Brunswick Richibucto is a town in Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada. Geography The town is situated on the Richibucto River where it discharges into the Northumberland Strait. History Richibucto had been the location of an annual Mi'kmaq summer coas ...

. He served as speaker for the legislative assembly from 1843 to 1850. In 1848, he married Susanna Lucy Anne Haliburton, the daughter of

Thomas Chandler Haliburton Thomas Chandler Haliburton (17 December 1796 – 27 August 1865) was a Nova Scotian politician, judge, and author. He made an important political contribution to the state of Nova Scotia before its entry into Confederation of Canada. He was the ...

, after the death of his first wife. They later moved to Saint John. In 1865, he was named judge in the Supreme Court of New Brunswick and moved to

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

Weldford Parish, New Brunswick Weldford is a civil parish in Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada. For governance purposes it is divided between Richibucto 15 Indian reserve and the local service district of the parish of Weldford, which is a member of the Kent Regional Serv ...

formed in 1835, is partly named in honour of the Weldon family. The place named Weldford is a combination of the surnames Weldon and Ford. It was named for Supreme Court Judge, John Wesley Weldon who was the first Member of the Provincial Legislature for the County of Kent after separation from Northumberland County in 1826. He was sole member for quite some time until a second representative was added. This man was J.P. Ford of Halifax, Nova Scotia and he constructed the Ford Mill near the mouth of the Coal Branch River in the year 1828. His son

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include " And Can It Be", " Christ the Lord Is Risen ...

later served in the Canadian House of Commons.

References

''The Canadian biographical dictionary and portrait gallery of eminent and self-made men ...'' (1881)
Entry for Charles Wesley Weldon * 1885 deaths Lawyers in New Brunswick Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Year of birth uncertain Colony of New Brunswick judges {{NewBrunswick-MLA-stub