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Dictionary of Miramichi Biography

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O'BRIEN, GERALD THOMAS (1885-1947)

O'BRIEN, GERALD THOMAS, businessman; mayor of Chatham, 1927-29; b. Fredericton, 11 Jan 1885, s/o Charles H. O'Brien and Margaret Long; m. 1912, Caroline Josephine Harriman, d/o Phineas Harriman and Margaret Isabella Murdoch, of Loggieville; d. Campbellton, 11 Jun 1947.

Gerald T. O'Brien attended school in Fredericton and entered the clothing business there as a young man. He first came to the Miramichi in 1906 and worked for a short time for the J. D. Creaghan Co. He returned in 1910 to open a men's wear store in Chatham, and he soon had a store in operation in Newcastle as well.

O'Brien was one of the province's earlier motoring enthusiasts, owning a 22.5-horsepower Ford touring car in 1912. He took an interest in team sports and was elected first vice-president of the New Brunswick Hockey League when it was formed in Fredericton in 1913. He was still on the executive in 1923. He was also involved in amateur theater and the activities of the Knights of Columbus.

O'Brien sat on the Chatham Town Council and was mayor of the town from 1927 to 1929. However, in 1934 he closed his Chatham store and moved to Dalhousie. The Newcastle store was closed in 1935. He conducted his business in Dalhousie under the name of G. T. O'Brien & Sons. In 1943 the firm reopened the Chatham men's wear store, as well as a dry cleaning establishment, under the management of O'Brien's son Arthur, but the Chatham premises were destroyed by fire in 1947, the year of O'Brien's death.

O'Brien and his wife, Caroline J. Harriman, had a daughter and four sons, all born in Chatham, most of whom made their homes in Fredericton. Their son Blake O'Brien became an orthodontist and their son Gerald A. O'Brien a professional engineer.

Sources

[b] O'Brien family data [m] Leader 13 Sep 1912 [d] Commercial World 12 Jun 1947 / Campbellton Graphic 19 Jun 1947; Commercial World 18 Nov 1943; Fraser (C); Leader 7 Jan 1910, 20 Jun 1947; Telegraph 17 Feb 1923; World 10 Oct 1906, 20 Dec 1913

Notes

Gerald Thomas O'Brien was baptized as Jeremiah O'Brien.


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