Henry O'Leary (May 13, 1832 – November 7, 1897) was an Irish-born businessman and political figure in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada. He represented Kent County in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick () is the deliberative assembly of the New Brunswick Legislature, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The assembly's seat is located in Fredericton. It was established in Saint John ''de jure'' ...

from 1873 to 1878. He was born in Castledown in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, the son of Theophilus O'Leary and Ellen Power. O'Leary came to North America in 1852, settling in

Richibucto Richibucto is a former town in Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada. It held town status prior to 2023 and is now part of the town of Beaurivage. Geography The town is situated on the Richibucto River where it discharges into the Northumberl ...

three years later. He married Mary Ann Brittain. In 1859, he bought a store and a wharf there. In 1864, he purchased land nearby where he built a canning plant for

lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...

and

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

. O'Leary acquired additional canneries until he had at least 30 in New Brunswick and several in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. He exported his products to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He also owned

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s and was involved in shipbuilding. He was first elected to the provincial assembly in an 1873 by-election held after the death of William Shand Caie. As a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, he opposed the 1871 Common Schools Act and lobbied to have the act repealed. In 1875, he married Mary O'Leary after the death of his first wife. O'Leary ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons in 1878. He died in Dorchester at the age of 65. After his death, control of the business passed to his sons Richard and Frederick. His son Henry Joseph became an archbishop and his son Louis James became a bishop in the Catholic Church. His daughter Christina married

George Valentine McInerney George Valentine McInerney, (February 14, 1857 – January 12, 1908) was a lawyer and politician in New Brunswick. He represented Kent in the House of Commons of Canada from 1892 to 1900 as a Liberal-Conservative member. He was born on Val ...

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Henry 1832 births 1897 deaths 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Canadian Roman Catholics Politicians from County Cork Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation New Brunswick Colony of New Brunswick people