Article

James Glenie

Published Online January 29, 2008

Last Edited July 24, 2015

James Glenie, army officer, politician (b at Fife, Scot 1750; d at London, Eng 23 Nov 1817). After service in Québec during the AMERICAN REVOLUTION Glenie resigned his army commission and settled in New Brunswick (1787).

Glenie, James

James Glenie, army officer, politician (b at Fife, Scot 1750; d at London, Eng 23 Nov 1817). After service in Québec during the AMERICAN REVOLUTION Glenie resigned his army commission and settled in New Brunswick (1787). Already he had a reputation as an opinionated and prickly officer, yet blessed with intellectual ability and engineering talent. His involvement in the masting trade and frustration over several land schemes brought him into conflict with Lieutenant-Governor Thomas CARLETON and the LOYALIST élite.

First elected to the NB Assembly in 1789, Glenie, part of the Assembly rights faction, became an outspoken critic of the governor and Council, and contributed substantially to the political deadlock of 1795 to 1799. While Glenie's attacks did make the Loyalist political culture more accommodating, his abrasive and relentless opposition alienated friends as well as foes. By the early 1800s moderate assemblymen had come to terms with Carleton and the Council but Glenie's criticisms continued, although frequently lacking majority support in the Assembly. By 1805 Glenie withdrew to England to eke out a living through various appointments and then by employing his considerable talents as a mathematician, but he died in poverty.