Alexander Perley Barnhill, 1863-1935, was born at Saint John, New Brunswick, the son of William and Mary E. Barnhill. He graduated from Mt. Allison University in 1885 and later received an honourary Doctor of Common Law from there in 1910. Alexander read the law with Judge C.N. Skinner, was admitted as a lawyer in 1888, called to the bar the following year and appointed King's Counsel in 1903. He had been a partner in several law firms in the city: McKeown, Barnhill & Chapman, 1895-96; a partner with Charles F. Sanford, 1900-1903; Barnhill, Ewing & Sanford, 1903-1919; and Barnhill, Sanford & Harrison which was established in 1919.

Alexander Barnhill served as director of a number of prominent business firms, among them: T.S. Simms of Saint John, N.B.; Ganong Bros., St. Stephen, N.B.; and the St. John Iron Works of Saint John, N.B. He was vice president of James Pender & Company, the Union Club, and the Avaon Coal Co. Barnhill also was president of N.B. Electrical Telegraph Co. and the Acamac Land Co. Ltd. He served as chairman of the Joint International Commission between the United States and Canada respecting the St. John River from 1908-1911. Barnhill was appointed a member of theJoint International Commission between Great Britain and the United States regarding waterways that form international boundaries in August 1911. He was president of the Saint John Law Society in 1908, a director of the CNR in 1918, and the of the Canadian Merchant Marine in 1919, a member of the Knights of Pythias, St. George's Society, and the Union Club. Alexander Barnhill was a Liberal in his politics and a Methodist by faith.

Sources: Prominent People of the Maritime Province in Business and Professional Life