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I love Canada because . . .31 May 2008
Queens County, New Brunswick, Canada
Credits:Courtesy of Rebecca, Triangle 4-H Club
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By the 1850s Samuel Leonard Tilley was a successful businessman in the bustling port city of Saint John, New Brunswick. This image of Market Slip, Saint John illustrates the activity of the busy harbour. Daily ships arrived from around the world carrying people and goods from far off lands, providing a window on the world to the people of Saint John and all of New Brunswick. The shipping and shipbuilding industries provided great wealth to New Brunswick, making the region one of the wealthiest centers in North America, and certainly the most prosperous area of British North America.3
Photograph: Market Slip, Saint John, New Brunswick1863
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Credits:New Brunswick Museum
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Given the proserous nature of Tilley's business, it is expected that he and his family enjoyed the privileges of a cosmopolitan society. Fine furniture, exotic foods, artists and photographers studios, theatre, societies, churches and fine schools were all available to the young Tilleys. Early on, however, Samuel Leonard Tilley exhibited a serious side and following in the footsteps of his Loyalist ancestors, he felt a duty to serve his fellow citizens and became engaged in a number of local activities including teaching Sunday School.5
Photograph: Samuel Leonard Tilley1864
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Credits:New Brunswick Museum
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In 1844 Samuel Leonard Tilley, inspired by his religious beliefs, joined the committee of the Portland Total Abstinence Society, working for legislation that would enforce prohibition. The story is told of a brutal murder in the city and Tilley was in the vicinity as a small girl ran for help. The girl's screams apparently haunted Tilley for the rest of his life since alcohol had been the cause of the murder. When the American Sons of Temperance organization established a chapter in New Brunswick, Tilley soon joined the cause. While not a radical agitator for prohibition, Tilley campaigned with logic and calmness, winning over many converts through his reason rather than passion.7
Jug from Thomas B. Buxton, Importer of Foreign Wines & Spiritsc. 1850
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Credits:Gift of Francis Johnson, 1975
Queens County Historical Society & Museum Inc.
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In 1850, on a reform platform that included prohibition, honest government, public schools and government control of public works, Tilley was elected to the Provincial Legislature of New Brunswick. Even thought the Tilley Drug Store continued in business, from this point forward, politics became Tilley's career. When the legislature was in session, Tilley travelled from Saint John to Fredericton on one of the many steam riverboats that connected the two cities via the St. John River.9
Steamboats at Frederictonc. 1900
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Credits:Queens County Historical Society & Museum Inc.
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Samuel Leonard Tilley soon adapted himself to the political arena. Part of a new generation that dared question the traditional Loyalist view of strict obedience to higher political officers, Tilley agitated for democratic reforms that would bring more control over provincial affairs to New Brunswick and its elected representatives.11
Photograph: Samuel Leonard Tilley1864
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Credits:New Brunswick Museum
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Tilley's successes and challenges in politics were tempered by the fact that his wife and family remained behind in Saint John. While in Fredericton, Tilley lived in rented quarters or with colleagues. In the 1850s, the distance between Saint John and Fredericton was at least a day's journey, perhaps more, and modern communcation like the telephone decades into the future. Therefore communication with close family and friends was at a premium and not that convenient. In what must have been a lonely existence, Tilley made the best of his time in the capital, exploring the streets and shops as time allowed.13
Stereograph detail: Queen Street, Looking West, Fredericton, New Brunswick1872-1877
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Credits:Gift of the Estate of Mary Caroline Ellis, 1922
New Brunswick Museum
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In 1854 Samuel Leonard Tilley became Provincial Secretary, a job that was the equivalent of managing the entire province, responsible for monetary management and distribution of all aspects of government policy from roads and bridges to schools and general trade. As a result of this position, Tilley suffered his first serious setback politically in 1855-1856. His prohibition bill promised sweeping reforms and severe penalties for violation including arbitrary arrest and detention. Opposition was so violent his home was attacked and serious threats were made upon his life. At that point the Lieutenant Governor John Henry Thomas Manners-Sutton dissolved the assembly. In the elections that followed, Tilley lost his seat.A year later, however, the provincial government fell yet again and Tilley and his colleagues were swept back to power. As a measure of confidence in his political career, he moved Julia and the children to Fredericton to be near him when the Legislature was in session. Tilley was once again appointed Provincial Secretary, a post he would hold for the next eight years and which would launch his career into heights he had never envisioned.
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