MCEACHERN, JAMES ARCHIBALD (1862-1933)

MCEACHERN, JAMES ARCHIBALD, musician; b. Escuminac, 21 Jan 1862, s/o Angus McEachern and Margaret Preston; uncle of John McEachern; m. 1883, Mary Ann Shea, a native of Prince Edward Island; d. Chatham, 22 Jun 1933.

The son of a ship pilot, J. Archibald McEachern was a member of St Michael's Orchestra in 1879 when it was under the direction of Timothy Harrington, and he was a leading bandsman, musical entertainer, and music salesman in Chatham from that time onward. A violinist, he helped organize and reorganize a number of bands, including St Michael's Band in 1888, and town bands at Newcastle, Douglastown, and Loggieville. In 1897 he was engaged to reorganize the 73rd Battalion Band, and he was its leader for a time. He was best known, however, as leader of his own band, McEachern's Orchestra, which was supplying music for public events, dances, and parties as early as 1893.

McEachern had a family made up largely of sons, and as they came of age he recruited them for the orchestra. Notable public events at which they entertained included the opening in 1902 of the new Chatham Grammar School, and the opening on St Patrick's Day in 1908 of the Chatham Opera House, which was built by St Michael's Society. They played later in 1908 at the opening of the Touraine Hotel by Peter Archer. In 1914 they supplied music for a dinner and dance at the opening of the new courthouse in Newcastle. They played at many private events too, such as the invitational ball which was put on by Mrs James Robinson and her daughters in 1902 at their luxurious home at Millerton, and the Bachelors' Ball which was staged in 1913 at the Windsor Hotel in Moncton.

For many years McEachern was the musical director of Catholic church entertainment presented at the AOH Hall in Chatham, and later at the Opera House. During World War I he helped make music for different patriotic organizations. In 1932 he was presented with an award for having participated in fifty consecutive St Patrick's Day celebrations. A few of the Chatham musicians with whom he collaborated were John S. Martin, John Stapleton, and Joseph Cahill.

McEachern and his wife had eight children living at home in 1901, most of whom died during their childhood or youthful years. Their eldest son, William McEachern, who was an outstanding member of the family orchestra, died of tuberculosis in 1911, at age twenty-six. Archibald McEachern Jr, who played with both the family band and the Chatham Citizens' Band, died in 1915, at age twenty-four. Their last surviving child, John McEachern, died in the veterans' hospital in Halifax in 1949, at around age fifty. He had been a bandsman with the Canadian forces in Europe in World War I.