Thomas Edward Millidge

Thomas Edward Millidge

Thomas Edward Millidge, vessel owner and builder (b probably at Saint John 18 Dec 1814; d there 5 Aug 1894). He was the principal 19th-century registrant of newly built tonnage at Saint John Port of Registry. His mother, Sarah Simonds, and his cousins, the Gilberts, linked him to 2 of the leading families of the town. Although Millidge began acquiring vessels during the 1830s, the bulk of his tonnage was registered in the 1850s. While carrying on a lumbering business, he served as president of the Bank of New Brunswick (to 1858) and also invested in railways and ferries. By the 1860s Millidge was operating the family shipyard on the Kennebecasis River. From that point, his commercial pursuits tapered off. At his death he had no heir to carry on the family business.