Gloucester County

M.L.A.

CONNOLLY, Joseph Edward (1887 –

Born December 3rd, 1887 at Bathurst, NB.  Of Irish ancestry.  Son of Edward Connolly, General Contractor and Granite Products, and his wife, Hannah Hussey.

Educated at Bathurst Public School.

Located at Bathurst, N.B. and engaged in the contracting business.  Was partner in the first of J.E. & D.P. Connolly, Contractors.  President of the Bathurst North Mink Fur Farms Ltd.  Was Pres. Of the Dominion Council of Canadian Fur Breeders.

Served on the Bathurst Town Council as Alderman for several terms, and was Mayor of Bathurst, 1931-1932; 1937 – 1938; and 1943 – 1944. Served on the Gloucester County Council for several terms.

Was Pres. Of the Indian Falls Fishing and Hunting Club.  Member of the K. of C.; Rotary Club.  Was a curler of note, and was a member of the Connolly Rink which represented N.B. in the Dominion Curling Championship on several occasions.  Was honored by being chosen a member of Curlers of Scotland in 1950.

In 1958, St. Thomas Univ. conferred upon him the Hon. Degree of B.C.L. and in 1952, he was made a Freeman of the Town of Bathurst.

Married, October 15th, 1919, to Miss Nelda Clifford, daughter of Timothy Clifford, Esq., Bathurst, N.B.  y this marriage there was a family of three sons and three daughters.

First elected to the House of Assembly of N.B., as one of the members for Gloucester County, at the Bye-Election held August 19th, 1949, to fill the vacancy created by the death of the sitting member, F.T.B. Young (q.v.).  Was re-elected at the G.E.’s of August 28, 1944, June 28, 1948, Sept. 22, 1952, and June 18, 1956, and sat as member until the dissolution of the Legislature in 1960, when he retired from active politics.

On January 18th, 1957, he was elected Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.

From September, 1948, until Sept., 1952, he was a member of the N.B. Electric Power Commission.

Address: 195 Main St., Bathurst, N.B.

In Politics:  a Liberal                In Religion: a Roman Catholic

FAMILY:

  1. Son: Donald – Pilot Officer, R.C.A.F. Killed Overseas 1941. (aged 21 years)
  2. Son: William C. – Pres. Connolly construction Ltd., Bathurst, N.B.
  3. Dau: Eleanor – Mar. Paul Delicaet, chief Eng., Connolly Construction Ltd.
  4. Dau: Margarite Patricia – Mar. Alfonse Buzas, M. Sc., Geologist, Bathurst, N.B.
  5. Son: John Gerard – (M.D.) (Tor. 1949) – F.R.C.S. (Urology), Kingston, Ont.
  6. Dau: Mary Noreen – R.N. Hotel Dieu Hosp., Bathurst, N.B.