It has been too long a custom to regard as proper subjects for
biographical literature only persons who have figured in political life.
In preparing the present work, any man or woman who has, in any
conspicuous way, contributed to the moral, intellectual, industrial or
political growth of the country, has been deemed a suitable person for
these pages. To the heroism and uncomplaining industry of the men who
hewed out homes in the wilderness, and little by little overcame the
obstacles of nature, are we indebted now for our thriving cities, and
for our wide stretches of cultivated lands; and to omit a record of
their labors, and select only for permanent record the deeds of those
who came upon the scenes when the rugged work was done, would be
singularly unjust. We have had, and still have amongst us, men of great
genius in engineering skill, and in mechanical contrivance; and it was
fitting that a brief record of their lives, and what they accomplished
for the community, should be handed down in the history of our common
country. The same may be said of men prominent in every branch of
commerce, of our notable divines, our eminent judges, our great lawyers,
our talented medical men, and those who have contributed to the
educational growth of the country. These it was considered were worthy
of place side by side with the men who chose political careers, and have
won more or less distinction therein. There is to be said in
justification of all these records, that even the history of the man in
an obscure village is a portion of the history of the country, and the
aggregate record of “Representative Canadians” may be regarded in a
young country like Canada, as a full historical account, in every sense,
for the period covered by the biographical matter in the volume. Men are
forever drifting down the slow stream, and most of their deeds like
themselves, pass into oblivion; it is well while the opportunity is at
hand to save as much of the record as possible for posterity. The labor,
the time, and the pains spent in securing data for the sketches herein
contained have been greater than would be believed; and the more so
since accuracy of statement of fact, and the chronological order of
incidents, have been so rigidly aimed at. Dates and facts have all been
verified either by reference to the best published authorities, or to
the persons themselves. For the most part, the call for the coöperation
of the public in furnishing data for the records has been cordially
responded to. As for the literary portion of the work, no pains have
been spared to make that equal to the other features. To make the volume
complete in the historically “representative” sense, memoirs of the most
illustrious of the dead of this country will be found in its pages. The
enterprise has been tedious, laborious and expensive; but if it will
supply a record that the country should not let die; if it preserves the
names of worthy men and women whose deeds deserve to be remembered, it
surely will have well repaid the time, the anxiety, and the pains that
have been expended upon it. A work of this kind could not be else than
tedious; and, therefore, since its commencement, several changes have
taken place: some of the persons in its pages have died; others have
passed from one office to another, and dropped from public places; but
with these latter exceptions and some other minor ones, each memoir, it
is believed, will be found to be an accurate record up to the present
date.
GEO. MACLEAN ROSE.
TORONTO, March, 1888.
Transcriber’s Notes can be found at the end of this eBook.