Thomas Gifford (June 1, 1854 – February 19, 1935) was a politician in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

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. Born in 1854 in

Lockerbie Lockerbie (, ) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, located in south-western Scotland. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town had an estimated population of in . The town came to international attention in December 1988 when ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the son of William Gifford and Margaret Stewart, he was educated there and apprenticed as a jeweller. He opened his own store in Lockerbie around 1876. In 1877, he married Annie Stoddart. Thomas and his wife, along with sons William (b. 3 Jul 1878) and Thomas Stuart (b. 3 Jun 1880), emigrated to

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in 1881. Here, they had a daughter Margaret (b. 6 Apr 1882) and another son, James Stoddart (b. 26 Sep 1888), before moving again to

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

, where Gifford opened a jewelry store. They had three more children - Julia Stuart (b. 8 Aug 1888), Hugh Wilson (b. 29 May 1892), and John Jardine (b. 25 Nov 1893) - and lived the rest of their lives in

. Gifford served as an alderman for New Westminster, as well as a member of the school board, hospital board and Board of Trade. Thomas was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

in a 1901 by-election held after John Cunningham Brown was named to cabinet, and was re-elected in

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and

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. He was defeated when he sought a sixth term in the Legislature in the 1916 provincial election. He died in New Westminster at the age of 80 in 1935.

References

1854 births Politicians from New Westminster Scottish emigrants to Canada British Columbia Conservative Party MLAs New Westminster city councillors 1935 deaths 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia {{Conservative-BritishColumbia-MLA-stub