predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place party office birth_date term_start spouse image article_title term_end name
john cunningham brown david whiteside 19 february 1935 lockerbie , scotland new westminster , british columbia conservative member westminster city of legislative assembly of british columbia for new 01 june 1854 1901 annie stoddart thomas_gifford_politician . png thomas gifford -lrb- politician -rrb-
 1916 thomas gifford
thomas gifford -lrb- politician -rrb-

thomas gifford -lrb- june 1 , 1854 -- february 19 , 1935 -rrb- was a politician in british columbia , canada .
born in lockerbie , scotland , the son of william gifford and margaret stewart , he was educated there and apprenticed as a jeweller .
he opened his own store in lockerbie around 1876 .
in 1877 , he married annie stoddart .
thomas and his wife , along with sons william -lrb- b. 3 jul 1878 -rrb- and thomas stuart -lrb- b. 3 jun 1880 -rrb- , emigrated to st. paul , minnesota in 1881 .
here , they had a daughter margaret -lrb- b. 6 apr 1882 -rrb- and another son , james stoddart -lrb- b. 26 sep 1888 -rrb- , before moving again to new westminster , british columbia , canada , where gifford opened a jewelry store .
they had three more children - julia stuart -lrb- b. 8 aug 1888 -rrb- , hugh wilson -lrb- b. 29 may 1892 -rrb- , and john jardine -lrb- b. 25 nov 1893 -rrb- - and lived the rest of their lives in new westminster .
gifford served as an alderman for new westminster , as well as a member of the school board , hospital board and board of trade .
thomas was elected to the legislative assembly of british columbia in a 1901 by-election held after john cunningham brown was named to cabinet , and was re-elected in 1903 , 1907 , 1909 and 1912 .
he died in new westminster at the age of 81 .
