Thomas Clair (1856-1917) (am_2139)

Thomas was the son of Peter Clare and Ann Underwood, Irish immigrants who came to live not far from the mouth of the Fish River on the north side of the St. John River, today called Clair. Since verbal communication was predominant at the time, the name Clare became Clair, from the French spelling. In 1880, Thomas married Georgiana Lévesque (1852-1922); they had eleven children. In 1882, he built a general store. He also looked after the lumbering in northern Maine and Madawaska and was the owner of two mills in the Narrows (Les Étroits) region in the Québec province. Between 1888 and 1906, Thomas Clair he was active as a member of the Madawaska County Council and, in 1903, he became one of two representatives of his District in the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly. Photo around 1900. PC1-98, collection CDEM, ShM.