CRIPPS, DANIEL JOSEPH (1874-1961)

CRIPPS, DANIEL JOSEPH, mayor of Chatham, 1953-60; b. there, 16 Jan 1874, s/o Daniel Cripps and Hanorah Murphy; m. 1st, 1898, Margaret Dwyer, d/o Cornelius Dwyer and Bridget Shanahan, of St Margarets, and 2nd, Annie Moar McMahon; d. Chatham, 6 Jul 1961.

Daniel J. Cripps was a "longtime colorful figure" on the Miramichi who worked as a woodsman and longshoreman and once owned a prize racehorse named "Border Prince." He was involved in civic affairs for nearly forty years, being one of a number of labor candidates who won seats on the Chatham Town Council in the 1920s. Elected mayor in 1953, he served four two-year terms, until it was claimed that he was the oldest municipal leader in the country. The "old civic war horse," as he was dubbed by the press, was defeated in his bid for a fifth term, only a few months before his death.

In his later years Cripps was the owner and operator of a taxicab. His survivors were his second wife, Annie M. McMahon, three daughters, and three sons.