TWEEDIE, FREDERICK MORRISON (1877-1943)

TWEEDIE, FREDERICK MORRISON, foundry owner and MLA; mayor of Chatham, 1913-15; b. Chatham, 20 Oct 1877, s/o Lemuel John Tweedie and Agnes Loudoun; m. 1908, Frances Agnes (Watt) Ritchie, d/o of George Watt and Elizabeth G. Habberly, and wid/o Dr Allison A. Ritchie; d. Chatham, 5 Jun 1943.

In 1896 Frederick M. Tweedie was described as a "coming civil engineer." In 1898 he passed examinations for admission to the study of law. In 1901 he was employed "in connection with the coalfields in Queens County." In 1903 he took over management of a gold mine on Princess Royal Island in British Columbia, and he was still occupying the position in 1906. He was back in New Brunswick in 1908 and was installed the following year as manager of the former Ruddock foundry in Chatham, which was bought by his father, Lemuel J. Tweedie, with James Robinson as partner. The operation of this plant became his life's work. The business was incorporated in 1923 as Miramichi Foundry Machine Works Ltd, with him as president.

Tweedie was elected to several terms on the Chatham Town Council and served for two years as mayor. In 1925 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Legislative Assembly. He was also a defeated candidate for the Liberal party in the federal election held that year. He was successful, however, in the provincial election of 1930 and retained his seat in the legislature for the remainder of his life.

Tweedie served as president of the Miramichi Exhibition Association from 1920 to 1922. In 1925 he was among the founding directors of the Miramichi Golf and Country Club. In the same year he was one of the founders of Calvin Presbyterian Church in Chatham. In 1927 he was president of the Highland Society. He was also a member of the Masonic order. He was survived in 1943 by his wife, Frances A. (Watt) Ritchie, four daughters, three of whom were nurses, and a son, Frederick J. Tweedie, MD, of Montreal.