Brecken, John

• DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: H. T. Holman, “BRECKEN, JOHN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/brecken_john_7E.html
• DCB profile notes:
  • Businessman, politician, and office holder; b. 23 Feb. 1800 in Charlottetown, elder son of Ralph Brecken and Matilda Robinson; m. there 20 June 1826 Margaret Leah de St Croix, and they had three sons, including Frederick de St Croix Brecken, and one daughter; d. there 2 Nov. 1847.
  • John Brecken’s grandfather was a loyalist of the same name who had come to St John’s (Prince Edward) Island from Shelburne, N.S. in 1784. He soon prospered as a merchant, and took John’s father into the firm. Ralph died when John was only 13, leaving an estate of almost £25,000, most of which was in the form of debts owing to the business. Periodic divisions of income and capital from the estate were to be made by the Probate Court until Matilda died in 1842. Of the seven children, John received the largest share of these distributions which, combined with an income left him in 1827 by his grandfather, seems to have provided a fund of capital that he sustained and possibly added to.
  • Using both his own resources and those controlled by his mother, Brecken began acting as a banker for many in the colony. He served as deputy treasurer of the colony for a number of years and on several occasions was acting treasurer. He was named resident director of the Bank of British North America in 1836.
  • Besides financial well-being Brecken inherited a relatively high place in the Island’s social structure. His mother was a daughter of Joseph Robinson, a politician, and when John was married it was to the only child of Dr Benjamin de St Croix and his wife, Margaret, a granddaughter of Thomas Desbrisay, a former lieutenant governor. Most of John’s sisters made equally advantageous and prestigious marriages, so that by 1840 an economic and social web had been woven, at the centre of which was Matilda Brecken. The web had political strands as well as social and economic ones.
  • Ralph Brecken had been a member of the House of Assembly for some years, serving as speaker in 1812. John’s political activity began in 1829 when he won a Charlottetown by-election; he retained his seat the following year.
  • In spite of evidence that a true “family compact” existed in the colony there is little to suggest that Brecken engaged in concerted action for direct personal advantage, and his period of public service was without major incident.
• Grandson of Proven United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=844
• Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136426874/john-brecken