Thomas Killam (February 8, 1802 – December 15, 1868) was a

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

shipbuilder and political figure. He represented Yarmouth as an Anti-Confederate member from 1867 to 1868.

Biography

Early life

He was born in

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Yarmouth is a port town located on the Bay of Fundy in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. Yarmouth is the shire town of Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia, Yarmouth County and is the largest population centre in the region. History Originally inhab ...

in 1802, the son of a shipbuilder there, and built his first ship, a

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

, in 1839. He built a number of ships for the fisheries and owned or part-owned about 60 ships by 1865. He was also involved in the trade of goods between North America and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. In 1837, Killam became a director of the Yarmouth Marine Insurance Association; he was also a director of the Bank of Yarmouth from 1863 to 1868 and of the Yarmouth Academy.

Political career

He was elected to the

General Assembly of Nova Scotia The General Assembly of Nova Scotia is the legislature of the province of Nova Scotia. It consists of one or more sessions and comes to an end upon dissolution (or constitutionally by the effluxion of time — approximately five years) and an ens ...

for

Yarmouth County Yarmouth County is a rural county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It has both traditional Anglo-Scottish and Acadian French culture as well as significant inland wilderness areas, including over 365 lakes and several major rivers. It com ...

in 1847 as a Reformer and served on the public accounts committee as a member and later chairman. He opposed public ownership of utilities; he was part of a private group that took over ownership of the Nova Scotia Electric Telegraph Company and opposed

Joseph Howe Joseph Howe (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer h ...

's plans for a government-funded railway in the province. In 1851, Killam was reelected as a Reformer opposed to the Reform government's policies and, in 1855, he was elected to the assembly as a Conservative. He supported the development of municipal government in the province; Yarmouth incorporated in 1856, but then requested that its active of incorporation be repealed in 1858 because of higher taxes. He opposed railway expansion within the province and opposed

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. In 1867, Killam was elected to the House of Commons; he supported the removal of Nova Scotia from the union and remain fixed in that opinion until his death in

Digby Digby may refer to: Places Australia * Digby, Victoria, a town Canada * Digby (electoral district), a former federal electoral district in Nova Scotia (1867–1914) * Digby (provincial electoral district), a provincial electoral district ...

in 1868.

Personal life

Killam was married twice: to Sophia Corning in 1823 and to Elizabeth Gale Dudman in 1841. His son Frank was elected to his father's seat in the House of Commons as a Liberal in an 1869 by-election.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Killam, Thomas 1802 births 1868 deaths Nova Scotia Anti-Confederation Party MLAs Anti-Confederation Party MPs Politicians from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Nova Scotia Canadian shipbuilders 19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 19th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly