| John A. Humphrey | |
| Birth Name: | John Albert Humphrey |
| Birth Date: | 23 December 1823 |
| Birth Place: | Southampton, Nova Scotia |
| Office: | MLA for Westmorland |
| Term: | 1872 to 1878 1883 to 1890 |
| Party: | Liberal-Conservative |
John Albert Humphrey (December 23, 1823 – November 3, 1895) was a mill owner and political figure in New Brunswick, Canada. He represented Westmorland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1872 to 1878 and from 1883 to 1890 as a Liberal-Conservative.
He was born on December 23, 1823, in Southampton, Nova Scotia. He was a son of William Humphrey and Mary (Trueman) Humphrey. Both of his parents were children of settlers from Yorkshire, England, his father having been born in Nova Scotia and his mother in Sackville, New Brunswick.
He was educated at Amherst, Nova Scotia and Mount Allison Academy.
He left school and ran a milling business for his father from 1845 to 1849, at which point he moved to the community then called The Bend (Later Moncton) where he purchased mills there.
Humphrey owned sawmills and woollen mills and was also director for several companies in Moncton.
His business operations were very profitable. By the 1890s, he was one of the richest men in Canada. He was among the largest stockholders in the Moncton Gas and Water Company, the Moncton Sugar Refining Company, and the Moncton Cotton Manufacturing Company, having been a director in all three companies.
Humphrey sat four terms as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick representing Westmorland County. He was first elected on the free schools issue in 1872 and served until 1878. He was re-elected in 1882 and 1886 before declining nomination in 1890.
During his tenure as MPP, some key events occurred:
Humphrey married Sarah Jane Harris,[1] daughter of John L. Harris who was one of the leading merchants and shipbuilders in the area. They had the following known children:
Humphrey was in failing health for a number of years prior to his death. In 1891, he went to England where he consulted a specialist but obtained no relief. He was able to fulfil his business duties until the last few weeks of his life. He passed away on November 3, 1895, at the age of 72 and was interred at the Elmwood Cemetery.
John Humphrey was described as a man of "splendid physique, with a mind of more than ordinary grasp, with an ingrained honesty and a purpose that never varied… a model man in almost every relationship of life."
A small settlement known as Humphreys Mills, now a neighbourhood of Moncton, grew up around his mills on Humphreys Brook, a tributary of the Petitcodiac River.[2]
As of 1996, the John A. Humphrey Residence located on Mill Road is now a historic property.[3]