J. Leonard O’Brien was another famous Miramichi politician. He was born at South Nelson, New Brunswick. Nelson is a small village about eight miles upriver from Chatham. O’Brien was born on November 6, 1895. He was educated in the Nelson and Newcastle schools. He then graduated from St. Thomas College in Chatham.
He was first elected to the N. B. Legislature in Fredericton in 1925. From 1926 to 1930 he was the Speaker of the House. He later moved on to become a member of the Canadian government in Ottawa in 1940. He represented Northumberland County for five years. From 1958 to 1965 he served as Lieutenant-Governor of N.B. He retired from public office in 1965 at the age of 69.
As well as politics, Mr. O’Brien was active in the family business. The O’Brien Company Limited had been founded in 1867 by his father. He owned a large sawmill in Nelson. When John O’Brien died in 1917. Leonard O’Brien took over the company. Under his leadership the business quickly grew. But then the O’Brien plant burned down. The business was moved to Chatham at the W. and R. Walsh Company plant. In 1942 O’Brien also bought the South Nelson Lumber Company. Next, he started a new company called “Chatham Industries Limited.” The company employed almost one thousand people. In 1961, Mr. O’Brien decided to sell some of his mills. He was getting older and it was becoming too much for one man. From 1961 to 1968 he served on the Board of the Atlantic Sugar Refineries Company.
After many years of politics and business, J. Leonard O’Brien died in 1973. He left almost one million dollars to help New Brunswick students go to university. Some of his money was given to the poor. He gave Beaubear’s Island to the Canadian Government. Beaubear’s Island is now a historic park near Nelson.
In 1974, the O’Brien home was bought by Father C. J. Mersereau. It was soon renamed “The Governor’s Mansion.” Mr. O’Brien loved paintings and old Miramichi furnishings. These were also bought by Father Mersereau. Father Mersereau could not get the N.B. government to buy the house as a historic building. So, in 1978, he had to sell the paintings and special furnishings. The house is now used as a bed and breakfast hotel most of the year.
J. Leonard O’Brien was famous both in business and politics. But more importantly, he tried to keep Miramichi history and art alive. He will long be remembered for his years of service to the Miramichi.