Henry A Connell

Early life

Connell was born on October 24, 1834 in Woodstock, New Brunswick to Isabella Harding and Henry Farmer Connell. At the age of 14, Connell left home to work at steam driving in northern Maine. He later moved to Bangor, Maine to train as a machinist. Connell returned to Canada and worked as an engineer on the steamship John Waring. He was unhappy with the drudgery and small pay of his job and decided to leave the county to find employment. Connell would work in Florida, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and China. While in South America, he managed a fleet of 55 steamers.

Business career

In 1870 he returned to Woodstock. He and his brothers, Charles and William, invested in the Vulcan Foundry, which became Connell Bros. Henry was the head and manager of the company. The company manufactured shingle machines, mill machinery, threshers, horse-powered sawing machines, pulpers, stoves, furnaces, steel plows, harrows, cultivators, and other agricultural implements. In 1904, Connell sold the company, which retained the Connell Bros. name.

Connell was also manager of the Tobique Valley Mining and Manufacturing Company.

Politics

Connell served as Mayor of Woodstock from 1885 to 1890. From October 22, 1892 to January 17, 1895 he was a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick for Carleton County. He was a minister without portfolio in the government of Andrew George Blair from 1892 to 1893.

Connell also served on the Woodstock School Board and was the Woodstock Electric Light Company's superintendent, manager, and purchasing agent.

Personal life and death

Connell married three times. In 1845 he married Harriet Ketchum. She died in 1873. The couple had one child who died in infancy. He married his second wife, Rebecca Barnes, on July 15, 1874 in St. John, New Brunswick. The marriage resulted in one child, Augusta Gertrude. Barnes died in 1882. His third wife, Ellen MacDonald, died in 1903. They had no children.

Connell died on May 28, 1917.