Canadian politician (1854–1935)
Thomas Gifford (June 1, 1854 – February 19, 1935) was a politician in British Columbia, Canada.
Born in 1854 in Lockerbie, Scotland, the son of William Gifford and Margaret Stewart,[1] he was educated there and apprenticed as a jeweller. He opened his own store in Lockerbie around 1876. In 1877, he married Annie Stoddart.[1] Thomas and his wife, along with sons William (b. 3 Jul 1878[citation needed]) and Thomas Stuart (b. 3 Jun 1880[citation needed]), emigrated to St. Paul, Minnesota in 1881.[1] Here, they had a daughter Margaret (b. 6 Apr 1882[citation needed]) and another son, James Stoddart (b. 26 Sep 1888[citation needed]), before moving again to New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, where Gifford opened a jewelry store.[1] They had three more children - Julia Stuart (b. 8 Aug 1888[2]), Hugh Wilson (b. 29 May 1892[3]), and John Jardine (b. 25 Nov 1893[4]) - and lived the rest of their lives in New Westminster. Gifford served as an alderman for New Westminster, as well as a member of the school board, hospital board and Board of Trade.[1]
Thomas was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in a 1901 by-election held after John Cunningham Brown was named to cabinet, and was re-elected in 1903, 1907, 1909 and 1912.[5] 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.[6]
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