Thomas Temple (November 4, 1818 – August 25, 1899) was a farmer, lumberman, businessman and political figure in

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 ...

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 was born in

Bampton, Oxfordshire Bampton, also called Bampton-in-the-Bush, is a settlement and civil parish in the Thames Valley about southwest of Witney in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Weald. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,564. Bam ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of Charles Temple and his wife Hannah Spiers, and was educated in England. Temple came to New Brunswick in 1832 and served with the York Light Dragoons in the

Aroostook War The Aroostook War (sometimes called the Pork and Beans WarLe Duc, Thomas (1947). The Maine Frontier and the Northeastern Boundary Controversy. ''The American Historical Review'' Vol. 53, No. 1 (Oct., 1947), pp. 30–41), or the Madawaska War, wa ...

of 1838. He married Susannah Howe of

Southampton, New Brunswick Southampton is a Canadian rural community in York County, New Brunswick. The community is located on the east side of the Saint John River, 3.71 km south of Southampton Junction, a station located within the village of Nackawic-Millville ...

in 1842. Temple served as high sheriff for York County from 1864 to 1883. In 1868 he became president of the Fredericton Railway Company, which had been incorporated in 1866 in order to extend the line from Fredericton to the Western Extension of the

European and North American Railway The European and North American Railway (E&NA) is the name for three historic Canadian and American railways which were built in New Brunswick and Maine. The idea of the E&NA as a single system was conceived at a railway conference in Portland, M ...

. He retained that position until at least 1897. He was also managing director of the Fredericton and St. Mary's Railway Bridge Company, which was incorporated in 1885, and a director of the People's Bank of Fredericton and the Saint John Safety Fund Insurance Company. Temple was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

in an 1884

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held after the death of John Pickard. He was re-elected in the 1887 and 1891 general elections, and represented

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in the House of Commons from 1884 to 1896 as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

member. Temple went on to represent York division in the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

from 1896 to 1899. He died in office at the age of 80, having served over 15 years in the House of Commons and Senate. Shortly before his death he presented the city of Fredericton with a granite drinking fountain which became known as the Thomas Temple Fountain. His last public act as a Senator was to turn on the water at the fountain's unveiling ceremony in August 1899.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Temple, Thomas 1818 births 1899 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Canadian senators from New Brunswick People from Bampton, Oxfordshire