Henry Robert Emmerson, (September 25, 1853 – July 9, 1914) was a Canadian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

who served as

Premier of New Brunswick The premier of New Brunswick ( (masculine) or (feminine)) is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The premier of a Canadian province is much like the prime minister of Canada. They are normally ...

from 1897 to 1900. Henry Emmerson was educated at

Amherst Academy Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of ...

, Mount Allison Academy, St. Joseph's College,

Acadia College Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondar ...

and earned a

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from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. He went on to a lucrative law practice and was heavily involved in business. He was involved in woollen manufacturing, was a director of the Maritime Baptist Publishing Company Limited, president of the New Brunswick Petroleum Company Limited, the Acadia Coal and Coke Company, and the Sterling Coal Company, as well as a director of the Record Foundry and Machine Company. He attempted to win a

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in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in 1887 but was unsuccessful. The next year he was elected to the provincial legislature then after the win was contested by his opponent and a new election contest ordered in 1889, Emmerson won the seat. In 1891 he was appointed to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

of the province and oversaw its abolition. He re-entered the House of Assembly and in October 1892 was appointed to the Executive Council, serving as Chief Commissioner of Public Works in the

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government of

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Andrew George Blair Andrew George Blair (March 7, 1844 – January 25, 1907) was a Canadian politician in New Brunswick, Canada. He served as the seventh premier of New Brunswick for 13 years and 136 days, the second-longest tenure in the province's history, behin ...

. As commissioner, Emmerson stopped the practice of building bridges out of wood and opted for more permanent, and more expensive, materials thus driving up the province's

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. He also supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. Emmerson became Premier in 1897. During his tenure, he briefly held the position of

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. His government tried to promote tourism and wheat farming and the development of natural gas and petroleum in the province. In 1899, he introduced legislation to grant women the right to vote but in a free vote, the bill was defeated. Emmerson left provincial politics in 1900 to become a

MP in the

. From 1904 to 1907 he was

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in the federal

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of Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

. Although he was regarded as brilliant, capable, and personable, his

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and reputation as a

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hampered his career. In 1906, an exasperated Laurier had Emmerson sign a pledge that he would "never . . . again taste wine, beer or any other mixed or intoxicating liquor" and that he would provide the prime minister with an undated and signed letter of resignation to be used should he fail in his promise. The letter of resignation was invoked in 1907 after

The Daily Gleaner ''The Daily Gleaner'' is a morning daily newspaper serving the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick, and the upper Saint John River Valley. The paper was printed Monday through Saturday, until dropping to Tuesday through Saturday in 2022 and anno ...

newspaper reported that Emmerson was thrown out of a

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hotel with "two women of ill repute". He denied the allegations but on April 1 submitted his resignation from Cabinet, which Laurier accepted. Emmerson filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the ''Daily Gleaner'' for defamation and libel. Henry Emerson remained a member of parliament for another seven years until his death in 1914. In his later years, Emmerson donated the money to build a new

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, named Emmerson Hall, at Acadia University in honour of his father, the Rev. Robert Henry Emmerson. His son,

Henry Read Emmerson Henry Read Emmerson (November 7, 1883 – June 21, 1954) was a Canadian business executive, salesman, and politician. Born in Dorchester, New Brunswick, the son of Henry Robert Emmerson and Emily Charlotte Record, he was defeated twice wh ...

, was also elected to the Canadian House of Commons and was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

. His great great grandson was

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell ( Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary lyricist for the rock music, rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a ...

, lead singer of

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

. His great great great grandson is professional ice hockey player

Noah Dobson Noah Dobson (born January 7, 2000) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 12th overall by the Islanders in the 2018 NHL entry draft. Playing career Dobson ...

Electoral record

By-election: on Mr. Emmerson being appointed Minister of Railways and Canals: , - ,

, Henry Emmerson , align="right", acclaimed

References

* *
Biography, Government of New Brunswick
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmerson, Henry Robert 1853 births 1914 deaths Acadia University alumni Boston University School of Law alumni Canadian Baptists Canadian suffragists Canadian women's rights activists Ministers of railways and canals of Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Mount Allison University alumni Businesspeople from New Brunswick Lawyers in New Brunswick People from Sunbury County, New Brunswick Premiers of New Brunswick St. Joseph's College alumni 19th-century Baptists 19th-century Canadian philanthropists 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada