James O'Brien was a blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

 and political figure in New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

, Canada. He represented Charlotte County

Charlotte County, New Brunswick

Charlotte County is located in the southwestern portion of New Brunswick, Canada.In most of the county, fishing and aquaculture dominate the local economy, although the town of St. Andrews is a tourist mecca and St...

 in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...

 from 1892 to 1903 as a Liberal member.

He was born in Windsor, Nova Scotia

Windsor, Nova Scotia

Windsor is a town located in Hants County, Mainland Nova Scotia at the junction of the Avon and St. Croix Rivers. It is the largest community in western Hants County with a 2001 population of 3,779 and was at one time the shire town of the county. The region encompassing present day Windsor was...

, the son of John O'Brien, an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 immigrant, and Susan Sivewright, of Huguenot

Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

 descent. O'Brien married Statira E. Nutter. He served as Scott Act

Canada Temperance Act

The Canada Temperance Act was an Act of the Parliament of Canada in 1878, which provided for an option for municipalities to opt-in by plebiscite to a prohibitionary scheme...

 inspector for the county. O'Brien lived in Saint George, New Brunswick.