William Muirhead (April 4, 1819 – December 29, 1884) was a merchant, shipbuilder 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 served in the

Legislative Council of New Brunswick The Legislative Council of New Brunswick was the upper house of the government of the British colony and later Canadian province of New Brunswick between 1785 and 1891. Members were appointed by the New Brunswick governor. Council chambers Th ...

from 1867 to 1873. In 1873, Muirhead was named to 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 ...

for Chatham division 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 ...

and served until his death in 1884. He was born in

Pictou, Nova Scotia Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Glasg ...

, the son of John Muirhead, a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

immigrant, and was educated at

Miramichi, New Brunswick Miramichi () is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay. The Miramichi Valley is the second longest valley in New Brunswick, after the Saint John River ...

. He settled in

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

and married Annie Gray. Muirhead was involved in shipping goods, owning his own ships and mills. He was president of the Miramichi Shipbuilding Company and of the Miramichi Warehousing and Dock Company. He was also a director of the Maritime Bank of the Dominion and of the Northern Western Railway.

References

*
''The Canadian parliamentary companion and annual register, 1877''
CH Mackintosh 1819 births 1884 deaths Canadian senators from New Brunswick Canadian people of Scottish descent Liberal Party of Canada senators New Brunswick Liberal Association MLCs {{NewBrunswick-politician-stub