Meet Oliver Jones, Moncton's 'universally loathed' 19th-century Scrooge
Nathalie Sturgeon | CBC News | Posted: December 24, 2017 10:00 AM | Last Updated: December 24, 2017
Oliver Jones was a shipbuilder, the mayor and even helped start the city's first bank
Oliver Jones was a big-time developer in Moncton in the early 1800s, but he wasn't exactly well-liked by locals.
He was a shipbuilder, the mayor for a year and helped establish the city's first bank.
James Upham, who is in charge of public programming at Resurgo Place, said he was considered the Scrooge of the city.
"He's just so universally loathed," Upham told CBC's Information Morning Moncton.
Upham said unlike the actual Scrooge or the Grinch, Jones' heart didn't grow three sizes.
"He did so much to build Moncton, but he was such a total cutthroat, ... mean dude," said Upham.
Separating fact from fiction
Upham said there are many stories about Jones, but it's hard to distinguish between what is fact and fiction.
Jones moved to Moncton when he was 18 from Petitcodiac.
When Jones arrived in Moncton, there were three two-storey buildings.
Upham said Jones bought a hotel and was rumoured to have murdered a man in it to rob him.
Jones later sold the hotel and developed in the area that is Mountain Road today.
He's just so universally loathed. - James Upham, public programming at Resurgo Place.
He even built a mansion for himself.
"This was an opulent massive building with these huge wrought-iron gates and fences," said Jones.
"This was an opulent massive building with these huge wrought-iron gates and fences," said Jones.
3 wives, 22 children
The building no longer exists, but in its day, it was home to Jones's three wives and 22 children.
Jones apparently had five children with his first wife, Elizabeth Steeves, six children with his second wife, Catherine Simpson, and 11 children with his third wife, Elizabeth Beer.
According to Upham, Jones may have killed his first wife with arsenic.
Even though Jones was a major contributor to Moncton's infrastructure, there is only one piece of stone that bears his name — his crypt.