Robert Young (November 11, 1834 – February 3, 1904) was a businessman and political figure in

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who was significant in the economic and political development of the city of Caraquet and in the province of

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

Personal background

Young was born in

Tracadie, New Brunswick Tracadie is an unincorporated place in New Brunswick, Canada. It is recognized as a designated place by Statistics Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Tracadie had a population of 5,349 living in ...

, the son and grandson of

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immigrants. He was the oldest of James Young and Ann Ferguson's eleven children. Young was educated in Chatham, where in 1857 he married Sarah Hubbard. The Young family was part of a ruling class of powerful English-speaking capitalists in majority French-speaking Gloucester County. His sister Helen married pioneer physician Dr. Alfred Corbett Smith and his brother James Young also became a political figure.

Business activities

Young took over the operation of the Caraquet branch of his father's

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

and

canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...

business, James Young and Sons, in 1851. The firm was one of the largest

exporters An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ' ...

of dried fish and they also canned fish, lobster, and blueberries. After his father's death in 1866, Young took over the operation of the company and expanded the firm's activities in lobster trapping and canning. In 1882 he owned a lobster cannery at Caraquet and another at Black Point in Shippagan. When he retired, his son Frederick Temple Blackwood Young took over the business.

Political career

Young held various offices in the provincial administration both before and after

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

. Young represented Gloucester County in the Legislative Assembly of the Colony of New Brunswick from 1861 to 1867. He was commissioner of lighthouses and buoys for the port of Caraquet and represented Gloucester County on the Board of Agriculture. Despite being an anti-confederate, in 1867 the government of

George Edwin King George Edwin King (October 8, 1839 – May 7, 1901) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, second and fourth premier of New Brunswick, and puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. King was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and attended Wesl ...

appointed him 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 ...

, for which he served as President until 1883.Morgan, Henry J. ''The Canadian Parliamentary Companion''. C.W. Mitchell (Ottawa), 1876, p. 549. Because most of his constituents were

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

, Young supported translating the proceedings of the provincial assembly into French. He also presented a study to the house examining the feasibility of publishing public notices in French newspapers. As a legislator, Young opposed the Common Schools Act of 1871. The act established a non-secular English

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system that was supported by a province-wide

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. The Acadian population considered the bill a threat to the French

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system and to their cultural traditions. Young supported the establishment of

lazaretto A lazaretto ( ), sometimes lazaret or lazarette ( ), is a quarantine station for maritime travelers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. In some lazarets, postal items were also disinfected, usu ...

s in the province. In 1849 and in 1853, he and his father had built the first two lazarettos in New Brunswick on land that his father later sold to the province. Young also regularly advocated for the business interests of Gloucester County. Young was initially a

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member, but later affiliated with the

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and the Conservative Party.

Caraquet riots of 1875

Despite having opposed passage of the Common Schools Act, as the President of the Executive Council, Young had to implement and enforce the law and found himself on the other side of the issue. In November 1874, members of the Acadian population in Caraquet, most of whom boycotted the school tax, held a meeting to elect parish officials. The minority

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

population was not included in the meeting and thus questioned the legality of the vote. In political retaliation, Young convened a meeting on January 4 where three Protestants were elected instead. Young's appointments, rather than the Acadian appointments, were then quickly approved by the quarter sessions of Gloucester County. Soon following, a January 14 public meeting about the school tax ended with a scuffle between attendees.Stanley, G. F. G. ''The Caraquet riots of 1875''. Acadiensis (Fredericton), 1973, p. 21–38. The next day, an Acadian mob, many of whom were intoxicated, caused significant property damage in a

riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

in Caraquet. The mob also went to Young's store and then to his home where they threatened the lives of Young's employees and his wife (Young was in Frederickton at the time). On January 26, Young ordered 10

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s to arrest those involved in the January 15 riot. Additionally, the police were joined by 20 more volunteer

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

men who were recruited by Young and dubbed "Young's Army". When the militia attempted to force entry into an Acadian home on January 27, an exchange of gunfire resulted where Constable John Gifford and Acadian Louis Mailloux were both shot and killed.Laxer, James. ''The Acadians: in search of a homeland''. Doubleday Canada, 2006, p. 139. Calm was subsequently restored, and nine of the Acadian protesters were arrested for being responsible for the death of Gifford. After two highly publicized trials, the accused Acadians were freed. The Acadians eventually received political concessions. Many in the Acadian community fault Young for the conflict.

Local political dynasty

Young continued to sit as a member of the Legislative Council until it was abolished in 1892. Young ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the

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in 1896. He died of heart disease at home in Caraquet at the age of 69. Young's son, F.T.B. Young, represented Gloucester County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick as did his grandson, Frederick C. Young. Young is also the great-uncle of Doug Young who served in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, in the Canadian House of Commons, and as Minister of several of the ministries in the

Cabinet of Canada The Canadian Ministry (Canadian French, French: ''Conseil des ministres''), colloquially referred to as the Cabinet of Canada (), is a body of Minister of the Crown, ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the t ...

in the 1990s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Robert 1834 births 1904 deaths People from Gloucester County, New Brunswick Businesspeople from New Brunswick New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs New Brunswick Liberal Association MLCs 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick