Carvell, Jedediah Slason

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Peter E. Rider, “CARVELL, JEDEDIAH SLASON,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/carvell_jedediah_slason_12E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Businessman, politician, and office holder; b. 16 March 1832 in Newcastle, N.B., son of Jacob Carvell and Isabella Henderson; m. 19 June 1861 Alice Caroline Hanford in Saint John, and they had three sons; d. 14 Feb. 1894 in Charlottetown.
    • Jedediah Slason Carvell was born into an old loyalist family of Dutch origin. Following his education in Saint John and at the Fredericton Collegiate School, he went to live in Australia. Returning to North America in 1855, he resided in California, in Portland, Ore., where he was engaged in the lumber business, and then in New Brunswick, where he worked with contractors building the European and North American Railway. In 1860 he moved to Charlottetown and became a general merchant.
    • Carvell’s marriage the following year to a niece of Samuel Leonard Tilley cemented his links with what was to become the pro-confederation faction in New Brunswick. His Island contacts were normal by-products of his burgeoning import and export business, Carvell Brothers, which he managed with the intermittent assistance of his brothers Jacob and Lewis. Although export of oats to England constituted the largest portion of the business in the 1860s, the firm also acted as retail merchants, auctioneers, and shipping agents.
    • Carvell lent his support and the services of the Examiner to advocates of union with Canada and also to reform elements campaigning for improvements in social services. Carvell’s appointment to the Senate on 18 Dec. 1879 for Kings County prompted a storm of protest. He did not reside in the area and was regarded by some Islanders as a complete outsider who had contributed little to public life while obtaining preferment through personal contacts.
  • Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=1337
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/196943306/jedediah-slason-carvell