Ralph Brecken (1770 – July 1, 1813) was a merchant and political figure in Prince Edward Island. He represented Queens County in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a province of Canada consisting of the Atlantic island of the same name along with several much smaller islands nearby. PEI is one of the three Maritime Provinces. It is the smallest province of Canada in both land area and population, but it is the most densely populated. Part of the traditional lands of the Mi'kmaq, it became a British colony in the 1700s and was federated into Canada as a province in 1873. Its capital is Charlottetown. According to the 2016 census, the province of PEI has 142,907 residents.
Queens County is a county in the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is the largest county in the province by population with 82,017 (2016), land area, and highest average income. Charlottetown is the county seat of Queens County, and is the largest city and the capital of Prince Edward Island.
The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, along with the Queen of Canada in Right of Prince Edward Island, represented by the Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward Island, forms the parliament of the province. The General Assembly meets at Province House, which is located at the intersection of Richmond and Great George Streets in Charlottetown.
He was born in England, the son of John Brecken, an early member of the provincial assembly. Brecken served as speaker for the provincial assembly from 1812 to 1813, was also lieutenant in the county militia and served as a justice of the peace. Brecken married Matilda, the daughter of Joseph Robinson.
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north-northwest. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
John Brecken was an English-born United Empire Loyalist, merchant and political figure. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1785 to 1787.
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or puisne court, elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the same meaning. Depending on the jurisdiction, such justices dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions. Justices of the peace are appointed or elected from the citizens of the jurisdiction in which they serve, and are usually not required to have any formal legal education in order to qualify for the office. Some jurisdictions have varying forms of training for JPs.
His son John also served in the provincial assembly and his grandson Frederick de St Croix Brecken was a member of the assembly and also served in the Canadian House of Commons.
Frederick de St. Croix Brecken, was a lawyer and political figure in Prince Edward Island. He represented Charlottetown in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1873 to 1876 and Queen's County in the House of Commons of Canada from 1878 to 1882 and from 1883 to 1884 as a Conservative member.
Several of his daughters married members of the Legislative Council:
- Jane Rebecca married Thomas Heath Haviland
- Anna Matilda married Donald McDonald
- Barbara Leila Alice married James Ellis Peake
