Saint John County

M.L.A.

CURREN, Levi Murray (M.D.) (1873 – 1945)

Born, December 16th 1873, at Highfield, Queens County, N.B.  Of Irish and English ancestry.  Son of William Curran and his wife, Mary Steele.  Father of Irish, mother of English ancestry. (Farmer)

Educated at the public school; and at the Provincial Normal School, Fredericton, N.B.  Taught school for a number of years, and then entered into the study of medicine.  Attended Mount Allison University, Sackville, N.B.; and McGill University, Montreal, P.Q., graduating from the latter in 1902, with the Degree of M.D.C.M.

Located at Lancaster, N.B., where he engaged in the practice of his profession from 1902 – 1911.  Moved to East Saint John, where he continued to carry on a very successful practice as a Physician & Surgeon.  Was appointed to the staff of the Saint John General Hospital in May, 1913, and later became Senior Staff Surgeon.  From April – July 1924; and April – Jul, 1932, he did post-graduate study in London, England.  Was President of the N.B. Medical Association in 1927.

Served on the Saint John County Council, as Councillor from his parish from 1909 – 1911.  Was Chairman of the Saint John Board of School Trustees from 1924 – 1945.

Married (1st), April 29th, 1903, to Miss Mabel Virtue, daughter of James Virtue, Montreal, P.Q.  By this marriage there was a family of three sons, and two daughters.  She died August 31, 1927.

Married (2nd), October 10, 1928, to Mrs. Elizabeth M. Smith MacLean, Saint John, N.B.  By this marriage there was no issue.

First elected to the House of Assembly of N.B., as one of the members for Saint John County, at the G.E. of October 9th, 1920, and sat that Legislature until its dissolution in 1925.  At the G.E. of August 10th, 1925, he was defeated, and subsequently retired from active political life.

On July 8th, 1936, he was appointed Chief Medical Officer of the N.B. Workmen’s Compensation Board, vice Dr. G.G. Corbett, deceased, and held that position until his decease.

He died, December 11th, 1945, in Boston, Mass, U.S.A., after a lengthy illness, aged seventy-one years.  Buried in Fernhill Cemetery, Saint John, N.B.

Survived by his wife, three sons, and two daughters.

Mrs. Curran died _________________.

In Politics:  a Liberal                                                    In Religion: United Church of Canada

FAMILY:

  1. Son: William Murray – Saint John, N.B. – Accountant (retired)
  2. Son: Donald Massie – Saint John, N.B. – Invalid (Unmarried)
  3. Dau: Muriel Virtue – Mar. July 18th, 1941 to Walter H. Fultz, Saint John, N.B. & Omaha, Nebraska.  Interior Decorator. D. Sept. 1967
  4. Son: Charles Lee – Saint John, N.B.  303 Douglas Ave. – Manufacturer’s Representative
  5. Dau: Betty Jean – Mar. Richard B. coates, Montreal, P.Q. – Real Estate, Ottawa, Ont.