Alexander Campbell DesBrisay (1828 – April 8, 1873) was a French Canadian

French Canadian

French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...

 businessman and politician in the Province of New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

. The son of Solomon DesBrisay, and his wife, Mary Campbell, he was a descendant of Captain Théophile de la Cour DesBrisay (1671–1761) whose Huguenot

Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

 family fled religious persecution in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and settled in Dublin, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 before emigrating to Canada.

Alexander DesBrisay was born in Bathurst, New Brunswick

Bathurst, New Brunswick

Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....

 and educated at a public school. As an adult, he was a successful businessman in both the lumber

Lumber

Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....

 and fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 industries. He married Jane Finnis with whom he had six sons and three daughters.

A supporter of the Province of New Brunswick joining the proposed Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...

, in the February 21, 1865 New Brunswick general election, DesBrisay was voted into office as the Confederation Party

Confederation Party

Confederation Party was a term for the parties supporting Canadian confederation in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland in the 1860s when politics became polarised between supporters and opponents of Confederation. The Confederation parties were accordingly opposed by Anti-Confederation...

 representative for Restigouche County

Restigouche County, New Brunswick

Restigouche County is located in north-central New Brunswick, Canada. The county is named for the Restigouche River which flows through the county and is famous for its salmon pools, which have attracted wealthy American and Canadian tourists to the region's summer colonies for decades...

 in an election won by an Anti-Confederation Party

Anti-Confederation Party

Anti-Confederation was the name used in what is now Atlantic Canada by several parties opposed to Canadian confederation.-Nova Scotia:In Nova Scotia, the "Anti-Confederates" were led by Joseph Howe. They attempted to reverse the colony's decision to join Confederation, which was initially highly...

 made up of a coalition of Conservatives

Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick

The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right political party in New Brunswick, Canada. It has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granting of responsible government to the colony...

 and Reformers led by Albert J. Smith.

DesBrisay was reelected in the 1866 New Brunswick general election

New Brunswick general election, 1866

The New Brunswick general election of 1866 was held in May and June 1866 to elect 41 members to the 21st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly. This was the 21st general election for the British colony of New Brunswick, but is considered the 1st general election for the Canadian province of New...

 won by his party. On August 16, 1867, Premier

Premier of New Brunswick

The Premier of New Brunswick is the first minister for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive....

 Andrew Wetmore

Andrew Rainsford Wetmore

Andrew Rainsford Wetmore was a New Brunswick politician, jurist, and a member of a prominent United Empire Loyalist family....

 appointed Desbrisay to the Cabinet

Executive Council of New Brunswick

The Executive Council of New Brunswick is the cabinet of that Canadian province....

 as a Minister without Portfolio

Minister without Portfolio

A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...

. He held this appointment until May 25, 1870, when the Administration was re-organized under the leadership of the new Liberal-Conservative Party

Liberal-Conservative Party

The Liberal-Conservative Party was the formal name of the Conservative Party of Canada until 1873, although some Conservative candidates continued to run under the label as late as the 1911 election and others ran as simple Conservatives prior to 1873...

 Premier, George E. King

George E. King

George Edwin King was a New Brunswick lawyer, politician, jurist, and the second and fourth Premier of New Brunswick in the Canadian Confederation....

.

Alexander DesBrisay was returned to office again in the 1870 provincial election

New Brunswick general election, 1870

The 2nd New Brunswick general election was held in June and July 1870, to elect 41 members to the 22nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada...

. That fall he resigned his seat in order to run in the November 25 Federal bye-election for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 for the constituency of Restigouche

Restigouche (electoral district)

Restigouche was a federal electoral district in New Brunswick, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1917 and from 1968 to 1997....

 to replace William Murray Caldwell

William Murray Caldwell

William Murray Caldwell was a New Brunswick businessman and political figure. He represented Restigouche in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal member from 1868 to 1870....

 who had died in office. Unsuccessful in his bid for federal office, DesBrisay returned to private business but died a few years later from smallpox

Smallpox

Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

 at Dalhousie, New Brunswick

Dalhousie, New Brunswick

Dalhousie is a Canadian town located in Restigouche County, New Brunswick.- History :Dalhousie is the shire town of Restigouche County and dates European settlement to 1800. The Town of Dalhousie has been through some very distinct periods between its founding in 1825 and today...

. He is buried in the Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Bathurst.