| Alan R. Graham | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 20, 1942 Main River, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Residence | Richibucto, New Brunswick |
| Education | University of Moncton |
| Occupation | Farmer, businessman |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Religion | Anglican |
| Spouse | 1) Sharon Crothers 2) Constance Tramley |
| Children | 5 children |
| Parents | Harrison M. Graham & Nell H. Ross |
Alan Robert Graham (born June 20, 1942 in Main River, Weldford Parish, New Brunswick) is a retired politician in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada and he is the father of Shawn Graham, who was elected as Premier of New Brunswick in 2006.
Hon. Alan Graham, the longest serving consecutive term of anyone in the history of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is a son of Harrison Michael Graham born June 20, 1901, Rexton, Kent County, died 1983 burial at Richibucto Protestant Cemetery. His spouse is noted as Nellie Harris Ross, born July 24, 1900 she died in 1958 and was a daughter of Matilda Graham born May 29, 1866, died 1940, and William J. Ross. This Matilda Graham was a daughter of John Graham born 1824, England and Matilda Fearon born 1829, Prince Edward Island and also noted on census reports to be of English origin. This Graham family settled near Kouchiboucquac, New Brunswick.
Harrison Michael Graham's family was of Irish origin with roots going back to John Graham born May, 1796, Newry Co. Down, Ireland, died July 14, 1886 at Main River, Kent Co., NB. burial at St Andrew's Cemetery, Rexton, NB. According to this note from Daniel F. Johnson's transcript of New Brunswick Newspapers available at Provincial Archives New Brunswick where the following is recorded:
"July 21, 1886 County: Saint John Place: Saint John Newspaper: The Daily Telegraph - d. Main River (Kent Co.) 14th inst., John GRAHAM, age 92 years 2 mos., native of Newry, County Down, Ireland."
John Graham of Ireland came to Canada in 1817 and was married on December 26, 1818, at Miramichi, NB, to Ann Graham, born, June 15, 1798, Tyrone, Ireland. Their daughter, Jane was born November 4, 1819, at Richibucto, NB, and died January 5, 1821. The family moved to land granted along the Richibucto River, at a place that became known as Main River where they farmed and raised families for many generations before the birth of Alan Graham who became somewhat of a local hero and symbolic of co-operation between the local English, Scot's and Irish cultures whose historic relationship of the Irish being indentured servants to the English Shipyard owners and Scottish Merchants was recently highlighted in an essay by Stuart Donovan indicating:
"The great English historian, E.P. Thompson, in his first major study, a life of the artist and social reformer, William Morris, wrote the following comment, “The life of Victorian England was an intolerable life and ought not have been borne by human beings. The values of industrial capitalism were vicious and beneath contempt, and made a mockery of the past history of mankind.” Stephan Collini and others have suggested, that this is an authentic expression of a “great, raw, wrong” and that it “bears witness to a sense of class grievance about the introduction of a historically unprecedented level of exploitation, but it goes beyond that to encompass the moral condemnation of a whole civilization.” I quote Thompson here to give some perspective on the 19th century conditions of industrial England; now, imagine the conditions of its immediate colony to the east where there were no property rights and the vast majority of the population lived under what was an essentially non- industrial indentured servitude. The legacy of the infamous Penal Laws created the conditions where a vast peasant society was forced into a state of unprecedented dependency, and that dependency was both political and agricultural."..... "The timber industry, and its attendant jobs, shipbuilding and housing, remained the main stay of employment for Irish immigrants until 1830, when the nature of the immigration changed."
In the year 1835, the local farmers in the Main River area officially split off from the Parish of Richibucto and the stranglehold of the shipbuilding industry over their livilihood and formed the new Parish of Weldford and it was here that the Irish Graham's made their home, while the Scottish and English Graham's who were shipbuilders and merchants continued their work in nearby Richibuto and Kouchiboucquac.
One Captain Simeon Graham born 1796, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, died April 17, 1878 Richibucto, is recorded in Daniel Johnson's Transcripts at NB archives stating: "May 7, 1878 County Saint John Place Saint John Newspaper The Daily Telegraph - d. Kingston (Kent Co.) 17th ult., Capt. Simon GRAHAM, age 82, native of Kircudbrightshire, for many years inhabitant of that place". He is also recorded in the 1861 Census of Richibucto as a Master Mariner, with a son named Simon who is listed as a Merchant.
It is perhaps safe to assume these three Graham families shared common ancestors in the old countries before their immigration to Canada, however, with the next phase of Irish history in the province of New Brunswick and the huge influx of Irish Catholics to the region with the Irish Famine Migrations, the tensions began to grow and further strain relationships between Richibucto and Weldford as many of the new immigrants were befriended by the local Acadian population as a result of their common Catholic religion and this growth in local population meant there were fewer jobs.
As the economy struggled with the influx of new immigrants, the communities of Weldford and Richibucto became more isolated and associations such as the Orange Order took root and began to heavily influence local politics as discussed on the Kent County Regional Website under The History of Kent and also in the e-book River of Fire outlining the history of Richibucto and shipbuilding in the region. The subsequent fear and underlying tensions of the 1840s Irish Famine Migration to the province eventually boiled over after nearly a hundred years of struggle and in the 1960s the protests from the Acadian population in Richibucto and at University of Moncton finally resulted in the historic and momentous election of Premier Louis Robichaud, also from the Kent County region where multi-culturalism in all its tragedy and triumph had been a part of life since the 17th century when Richibucto was first placed on the map.
It all seemed to manifest in the quiet, peaceful spirit of Mr. Alan Robert Graham, a simple farmer with a long standing family history who had proved there was a better way beginning with those early Graham family marriages that paved the way for peace between the English, Irish and Scots and continued with Alan's election in 1967 to become the honoured community member he is today, having served the longest consecutive term of anyone in the history of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, being re-elected in 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1987, 1991 and 1995. With the support of their local farming and fishing communities Alan R. Graham and Louis J. Robichaud would change the face of New Brunswick forever, in particular, relationships between the French and English would begin to improve significantly for the first time in Canadian history, a topic fully explored under Mr. Robichaud's reign and historic accomplishments.
A Liberal, supporter of the government of Louis Robichaud from 1967–1970 and then served in opposition for 17 years until the Liberals returned to government by winning every seat in the 1987 election. Hon. Alan Graham served in the cabinets of Frank McKenna and Ray Frenette but resigned his seat in 1998 and in the subsequent Kent County by-election, the community continued to support the Graham family and his son Shawn Graham was elected as MLA in 1998 and would go on to become leader of the Liberals in 2002, and win the 2006 election.
Alan Graham was the Minister of Agriculture from 1987–1991, Minister of Natural Resources and Energy from 1991 to 1998 and served on Cabinet committees of Policy and Priorities, Board of Management, and Budget. From 1997-1998, he was Deputy Premier of New Brunswick. During his political career, Mr. Graham served on numerous Legislative Committees. While in opposition, he acted as critic for Agriculture, Natural Resources, Housing, Health, and Alcoholism and Drug Dependency. He was also Liberal Caucus Chairperson and Opposition House Leader. He was first appointed a member of the former Atomic Energy Control Board in 1999, and has since been reappointed a member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. He has been a Trustee of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, a member of the Board of the Atlantic Salmon Federation and an Honorary President of the Atlantic Canada Woodworking Centre of Excellence.
http://www.forestnet.com/archives/Nov_99/spotlight.htm Former New Brunswick Natural Resources Minister Alan Graham, on hand as chair of a $500,000 fund being raised for the New Brunswick Community College’s Woodworking Centre of Excellence, said he was “very impressed by both the efforts and the results”. “Value-added has always been close to my heart—that’s where the jobs are,” said Graham.
| Provincial Government of Ray Frenette | ||
| Cabinet Posts (1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| himself in McKenna government |
Minister of Natural Resources 1997-1998 |
Doug Tyler |
| Special Cabinet Responsibilities | ||
| Predecessor | Title | Successor |
| Ray Frenette | Deputy Premier of New Brunswick 1997-1998 |
Doug Tyler |
| Provincial Government of Frank McKenna | ||
| Cabinet Posts (2) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Morris V. Green | Minister of Natural Resources 1991-1997 |
himself in Frenette government |
| Malcolm MacLeod | Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development 1987-1991 |
Gerald Clavette |