“’Tis true our province faces heavy odds:
Of regulars but fifteen hundred men
To guard a frontier of a thousand miles;
Of volunteers what aidance we can draw
From seventy thousand widely scattered souls.
A meagre showing ’gainst the enemy’s,
If numbers be the test. But odds lie not
In numbers only, but in spirit too—
Witness the might of England’s little isle!
And what made England great will keep her so—
The free soul and the valour of her sons;
And what exalts her will sustain you now,
If you contain her courage and her faith.
So not the odds so much are to be feared
As private disaffection, treachery—
Those openers of the door to enemies—
And the poor crouching spirit that gives way
Ere it is forced to yield.”
Brock’s first step on the outbreak of the war was to ask the House of
Assembly to suspend the _Habeas Corpus_ Act, which they refused to do by
a majority of two votes. He therefore prorogued the House and took
prompt measures to resist General Hull, who, with an army of two
thousand five hundred men, had invaded the province at Sandwich. The
militia were called out, a few disaffected people were ordered out of
the country, and at the head of a small force of regulars and Canadian
volunteers, only seven hundred in all, with a force of nine hundred
Indians under the celebrated chieftain, Tecumseh, Brock crossed the
Detroit river and captured Detroit with General Hull’s whole force. His
movements were wonderfully rapid. He left York on the 6th of August,
1812, embarked at Long Point on the 8th in small boats for Amherstburg,
a distance of two hundred miles, where he arrived on the 13th at
midnight. On the 14th he moved to Sandwich; on the 15th demanded Hull’s
surrender; opened fire from batteries erected that day; crossed the
river during the night, and before mid-day on the 16th Hull surrendered
with two thousand five hundred men, thirty-three cannon, a brig-of-war,
and immense military stores. This prompt and vigorous action of General
Brock was the turning point of our Canadian fortunes. The success was so
complete, so brilliant, that it produced an electrical effect throughout
Canada. It was the first enterprise in which our militia were engaged,
and it aroused the enthusiasm of the loyal, inspired the timid, fired
the wavering, and over-awed the disaffected. From that moment Brock
became the idol of the Canadian people, and on his return to York, which
he reached after an absence of only nineteen days, he was received with
heartfelt acclamations. Shortly after, Brock went to Fort George, on the
Niagara frontier, where a large hostile force was being gathered to
invade the province. On the morning of the 13th of October, 1812, the
enemy effected a landing at Queenston Heights. Brock hurried at once to
the spot with a very small force he had hurriedly gathered, and with
that impetuous and indomitable energy which was his most striking
characteristic, made a vigorous attack upon the enemy without waiting
for the reinforcements which were hurrying up to his support. He was
killed while gallantly leading a charge up the heights. Although this
for the moment checked the advance, the loss so roused the feelings of
his troops that in a few hours a second attack was made, and one of our
most glorious victories won, the whole force of the enemy being killed,
wounded, or captured. This ended the campaign in the west, and still
further encouraged our people and made possible the final result of the
war. No man was ever so mourned by the Upper Canadians as General Brock.
A handsome monument was erected to his memory on the field where he gave
up his life for Canada. This was destroyed by an act of vandalism on the
17th of April, 1840, but has been replaced by a far more imposing and
stately monument which was completed in 1859, and now stands one of the
most striking features of the Niagara frontier. General Brock was
forty-three years old when he died. He was tall, erect, and well
proportioned. In height about six feet two inches. His fine and
benevolent countenance was a perfect index of his mind, and his manners
were courteous, frank, and engaging, although both denoted a fixedness
of purpose which could not be mistaken. As an evidence of the high
opinion formed of him by the Canadians, the following extract is quoted
from a letter of the late Chief Justice Robinson, who knew the general
personally, and served under him at Detroit and Queenston:—
“I do most sincerely believe that no person whom I have ever
seen could so instantly have infused, under such discouraging
circumstances, into the minds of a whole people the spirit
which, though it endured long after his fall, was really caught
from him. His honesty, firmness, frankness, benevolence, his
earnest warmth of feeling, combined with dignity of manner, and
his soldier-like appearance and bearing, all united to give him
the ascendancy which he held from the first moment to the last
of his command. It seemed to be impressed upon all, and at once,
that there could be no hesitation in obeying his call, and that
while he lived all was safe. The affection with which the memory
of General Brock has ever been regarded in this province is as
strong as the feeling of admiration, and these feelings still
pervade the whole population.”
* * * * *
=Johnson, Hon. Francis Godschall=, Judge of the Superior Court of the
Province of Quebec, and senior Judge for the district of Montreal, with
duties of Chief Justice at the court in Montreal, was born at Oakley
House, in Bedfordshire, England, on the 1st of January, 1817. His
father, Godschall Johnson, was an officer in the 10th Royal Hussars
(then known as the Prince of Wales regiment), and his mother Lucy
Bisshopp, was a daughter of Sir Cecil Bisshopp, a prominent man in his
day, and a sister of Colonel Cecil Bisshopp, who lost his life in the
war with the United States in 1812-14, and was buried at Niagara,
Ontario, where his grave can now be seen. The Hon. Judge Johnson
received his education at St. Omer, in France, and at Bruges, in
Belgium, and came to Canada in 1834. He studied law in the office of the
Hon. Justice Day, and was called to the bar in 1839. He began the
practice of his profession in Montreal, and in 1846, before he was
thirty years of age, was appointed a Queen’s counsel. While practising
at the bar this learned judge was noted for his eloquence, and while
acting as Crown prosecutor, his splendid talents showed to the best
advantage. In 1854, he was appointed recorder of Rupert’s Land, and
governor of Assiniboine (now Manitoba), and took up his residence at
Fort Garry, where he resided until 1858, when he returned to Montreal.
Here he resumed the practice of his profession and continued until 1865,
when he received the appointment of judge of the Superior Court, in
which position his fine abilities continue to be shown. Being peculiarly
fitted for the task in consequence of his previous acquaintance with the
country, he was, in 1870, selected by the Dominion government to go to
Manitoba, to assist in the organization and establishment of a regular
system of government there. He did good service to the state, and
remained for about two years—special leave of absence from Quebec
province having been given him—acting as recorder of Rupert’s Land,
until new courts were established, and as commissioner in hearing and
determining the claims made for losses caused during the Riel rebellion
of 1869-70. He returned in 1872, and was appointed lieutenant-governor
of Manitoba, but declined the honour, considering the position
incompatible with the retention of the office of judge. During the time
Judge Johnson was practising in Montreal, he held several offices, and
was secretary of the commission that revised the Statutes of Lower
Canada. He is a member of the Church of England; and was married in
September, 1840, to Mary Gates Jones, daughter of Nathaniel Jones, of
Montreal. This lady died in July, 1853, and left three children. His
second marriage was in March, 1857, to Mary Mills, daughter of John
Melliken Mills, of Somersetshire, England, by whom he has also a family
of three children. Judge Johnson resides in Montreal.
* * * * *
=Desjardins, Dr. Louis Edouard=, Montreal, was born at Terrebonne, on
the 10th of September, 1837. According to the “Dictionnaire
Généalogique” of l’Abbé Tanguay, his ancestors came to the country more
than two hundred years ago. He married Mademoiselle Emilie Zaïde Paré,
second daughter of Hubert Paré, a partner in the large commercial firm
founded by F. Souligny, one of the most important firms of Montreal at
that period. Dr. Desjardins entered upon his classical studies at the
College Masson, Terrebonne, and terminated them at the Seminary of
Nicolet. After practising medicine in Montreal during seven or eight
years, he took a first trip to Europe to study ophthalmology. On his
return, a year after, he established at the Hôtel-Dieu, of Montreal, a
special department for the treatment of eye diseases. In 1872, he made a
second voyage to Europe to complete his ophthalmic studies. He followed
the clinics of Bowman and Critchett, in London; and of Giraud-Teulon,
Wecker, Sichel and Meyer, in Paris. During his sojourn in London, he was
admitted a member of the International Congress of Ophthalmology. When
he returned to Montreal in 1873, he founded the ophthalmic institute of
the Nazareth Asylum, for the gratuitous treatment of the poor suffering
from diseases of the eye, and at the same time to give clinics on those
diseases to the medical students. It is the first institution of the
kind founded in Montreal. He was one of the founders of the “Société
Médicale,” and of the journal _L’ Union Médicale_, to which he was a
contributor for many years. This year (1887), in concert with the Hon.
Dr. Pâquet, Dr. Hingston, and Dr. Beausoleil, he founded the _Gazette
Médicale_, of Montreal. Since 1870, he has been surgeon-oculist to the
Hôtel-Dieu, and professor of ophthalmology at the School of Medicine and
Surgery of Montreal. He is one of the founders and one of the supporters
of the newspaper, _L’Etendard_. He advocated, and was chiefly
instrumental in bringing about, the nomination of a Royal Commission, in
1883, to institute an inquiry into the affairs of the Catholic schools
of Montreal; and before that commission he energetically took the
defence of the fathers of families against the encroachments of the
school commissioners of that city. In the difficulties which arose
between the School of Medicine (Victoria) and Laval University, from
1876, he took an active part in the struggle the school had to sustain
for the maintenance of its rights. In consequence of an erroneous
interpretation of the decrees of Rome, in relation to the establishment
of Laval at Montreal, the Archbishop of Quebec (now Cardinal Taschereau)
and nearly all the bishops of the province of Quebec, undertook to
destroy the School of Medicine, in order to give more scope to the Laval
branch. The school tried, but vainly, to defend its cause with the
episcopacy; and in June, 1883, Mgr. Taschereau fulminated against this
institution his famous sentence of rebellion against the church. Dr.
Desjardins was then delegated to Rome, to appeal from the sentence.
Despite this, the bishops of Montreal, St. Hyacinthe, and Sherbrooke in
their turn hurled sentences of excommunication against the professors
and pupils of the school, and even against the parents who should
continue to send their children to it. Once in Rome, Dr. Desjardins was
enabled to lay his appeal at the feet of the Holy Father, and obtained a
favourable judgment. The order “_Suspende omnia_,” was sent by a
telegram of the Cardinal-Prefect of the Propaganda to the Bishop of
Montreal, on the 24th of August, 1883. In the month of September
following, Mgr. Smeulders was delegated by Leo XIII., as Apostolic
Commissioner to Canada, with power to definitely settle the difficulties
existing between Laval and the school. At the present day the School of
Medicine is doing its noble work as in the past, and has more than two
hundred pupils.
* * * * *
=Dickson, William Welland=, M.D., Pembroke, Ontario, was born on the 9th
of January, 1841, at Pakenham, county of Renfrew. His father, Samuel
Dickson, and mother, Catherine Lowe, were both natives of Ireland. When
but eighteen years of age, Mr. Dickson, sen., came to Canada, and like
many a young man in those days, was without money, but possessed of a
great deal of faith in his own right arm. Shortly after his arrival he
married and began to make for himself a home in the township of
Pakenham, in Lanark county. Things succeeding, he commenced the
manufacture of square timber, and after a while became a successful
lumber manufacturer and exporter. He lived and died in the township in
which he first settled. William received his education at the Perth
Grammar School, Ontario, at Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, Quebec, and
pursued his medical studies at McGill College, Montreal, where he
graduated. He began the practice of his profession at Portage du Fort,
in June, 1863, and in 1866 removed to Pembroke, where he has since
resided, and succeeded in building up a paying business. He is also
principal in the business conducted by the Dickson Drug Company in the
same place. From 1870 to 1874, Dr. Dickson held the position of captain
of No. 7 company, 42nd Battalion of Volunteers, and from 1873 to the
present time, he has acted as coroner for the county of Renfrew. During
the years 1877, ’78, ’79, he had a seat in the town council of Pembroke,
and in 1880, ’81, ’82, he was mayor of the same town. From 1881 to 1886,
he was one of the examiners of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Ontario. Dr. Dickson’s parents were Presbyterians, and he has followed
in the same safe path. In 1869, he was married to Jessie Rattray,
daughter of D. M. Rattray, of Portage du Fort, province of Quebec.
* * * * *
=Stockton, Alfred Augustus=, Barrister-at-Law, D.C.L., Ph.D., LL.D.,
M.P.P. for the city and county of St. John, New Brunswick, residence,
St. John, was born November 2nd, 1842, at Studholm, Kings county, N.B.
His father is William A. Stockton, of Sussex, Kings county, N.B., and
his mother, Sarah, daughter of the late Robert Oldfield, who came to
this country from Stockport, England. He is descended on the paternal
side from Richard Stockton, who emigrated from Cheshire, England, some
years prior to 1660, settled for a short time in Long Island, New York,
and afterwards removed to Princeton, New Jersey, where he became the
grantee of extensive tracts of land. His great-great-grandfather was
Richard Witham Stockton, who was born at Princeton, N.J., in 1733, and
was a cousin of his namesake who signed the Declaration of Independence.
Richard W. Stockton served under the Crown with the rank of major during
the war of the revolution. His son, Andrew Hunter Stockton (Mr.
Stockton’s great-grandfather), also served under the Crown, with the
rank of lieutenant, throughout the revolutionary war, and at its close
they both, with other members of the family, came with the U. E.
loyalists to St. John, then known as Parr Town. They were among the
original grantees of that city. They subsequently removed to Sussex,
Kings county, and became grantees of extensive tracts of land there. His
great-grandfather, Lieutenant Andrew Hunter Stockton, was married at St.
John (Parr Town) on the 4th day of April, 1784, to Hannah Lester. It was
the first marriage which took place at Parr Town. Alfred A. Stockton was
educated at the Academy and at the University of Mount Allison College,
Sackville, N.B.; graduated B.A. there in 1864, being the valedictorian
of his class, and M.A. in 1867. He also graduated LL.B. at Victoria
University, Cobourg, Ontario, in 1869; Ph.D., on examination at Illinois
Wesleyan University in 1883, and received the degree of D.C.L. from the
University of Mount Allison in 1884; also LL.D. in course from Victoria
University in 1887. He studied law with his uncle, the late C. W.
Stockton, and was admitted to the bar of New Brunswick in Trinity term,
1868, and was for some years senior member of the law firm of A. A. and
R. O. Stockton, of St. John, N.B. This legal firm having been dissolved,
he is now practising law on his own account. As an advocate and as a
speaker, Mr. Stockton stands high, and has done good service for his
profession in compiling the rules of the Vice-Admiralty Court of New
Brunswick, and editing in 1882, with very extensive notes, “Berton’s
Reports of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick.” He is an examiner for
degrees at the University of Mount Allison in political economy and
constitutional history, and in law at Victoria University; is also
registrar of the Court of Vice-Admiralty of New Brunswick; a director of
the Provincial Building Society of New Brunswick, and legal adviser of
the same; a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Mount
Allison College and secretary of the Board; president of the Historical
Society of New Brunswick; a member of the Council of the Barristers’
Society of the province; a director of the Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals, and also its legal adviser and prosecuting counsel.
He was at one time a director of the St. John Mechanics’ Institute and
corresponding secretary of that corporation. In July, 1883, a vacancy
having occurred in the New Brunswick Assembly, in consequence of the
death of the Hon. Wm. Elder, LL.D., the provincial secretary, on the
23rd of August following, Mr. Stockton was elected to the House of
Assembly to represent the city and county of St. John, to fill the
vacancy caused by Mr. Elder’s death. He was returned again for the same
constituency at the last general election in April, 1886. He was
appointed in June, 1887, by the government of New Brunswick, an advisory
and honorary member of the commission to report upon the amendment of
the “Law and Practice and Constitution of the Courts of that Province.”
Mr. Stockton was opposed to the confederation of the provinces under the
terms of the Act of Union, but favoured a union of the Maritime
provinces. Having been brought up in the old school of New Brunswick
Liberals, he is naturally opposed to the policy of protection so-called.
He is a Liberal in Dominion politics, and in favour of manhood suffrage,
and thinks the lieutenant-governors of the different provinces should be
elected by the people of the province at large, and that the Senate of
Canada should be elected for a specific term either by the direct vote
of the constituencies or by the Provincial legislatures. He has always
taken an active interest in higher education, and has written
considerable for publication on different subjects. At one time was one
of the editors of the _Maritime Monthly_, since ceased publication, and
also a correspondent of _La Revue Critique_ of Montreal, which has also
stopped publication. Mr. Stockton for a number of years took an active
interest in military affairs, and held a commission as captain in the
militia of the province at the time of the union in 1867. He is a past
master of the Masonic order, and a member of the Grand Lodge of New
Brunswick. He is also prominently identified with the temperance reform
movement. In religious matters he is a member of the Methodist
denomination, and has always belonged to that church, and at present is
one of the trustees of the Centenary Methodist Church in St. John. He
was married on the 5th September, 1871, to Amelia E., second daughter of
the Rev. Humphrey Pickard, D.D., of Sackville, N.B., who was for over a
quarter of a century president of the educational institutions at
Sackville, and one of the most prominent educationists of the Maritime
provinces of Canada.
* * * * *
=Cram, John Fairbairn=, Wool Merchant and Farmer, Carleton Place,
Ontario, was born on October 13, 1833, in the township of Beckwith,
county of Lanark, Ontario. His grandfather, Peter Cram, in the year
1820, with his wife, five of his sons and two daughters, left their
native village of Comrie, in Perthshire, Scotland, and set out for
Canada, to seek their fortune as farmers. After a tedious journey by sea
and land, extending over two months, they reached the township of
Beckwith, in Lanark, Ontario, where their eldest son John had settled
two years before, and had prepared for them a primitive shanty in the
woods. Here the family took up their temporary abode, and shortly
afterwards, the father and several of his sons selected lands in the
eleventh concession of Beckwith. The lots they selected were of good
quality, and though heavily timbered, these sturdy Scotch pioneers did
not feel the least dismayed, but soon succeeded in making a clearing in
the forest, and establishing a comfortable home for themselves. In 1830,
James, one of the sons of Peter Cram, and the father of the subject of
our sketch, married Janet, daughter of John McPhail, of the township of
Drummond, and settled on a lot adjoining his father’s farm, and in
course of time this worthy couple were blessed with a family of six sons
and three daughters, all of whom are still living, though they and their
descendants are now scattered throughout Canada and the United States.
The old couple passed away a few years ago, Mr. Cram at the age of
eighty-seven years, and Mrs. Cram about ten years younger, both greatly
respected and regretted by their numerous relatives and neighbours. John
Fairbairn, who was the second eldest son of James Cram, was at the age
of seven years sent to a school about three miles from home, and was
able to attend pretty regular until May, 1846, when unfortunately his
father’s dwelling house, with barn and all other outbuildings, were
destroyed by fire, when he had to give up attending school and go to
work on the farm. After this he had few opportunities presented him in
the way of school learning; and at the age of seventeen left home and
apprenticed himself to John Murdock, of Carleton Place, as a tanner, for
three years. He honourably served his apprenticeship, and in the spring
of 1853, joined in a partnership with his brother, Peter, when they
built for themselves a tannery at Appleton, about three miles from
Carleton Place. The brothers carried on the tanning business pretty
extensively for about sixteen years, when John sold out his interest in
the business to Peter, and removing to Carleton Place, erected a wool
and pelt establishment for himself. In 1872, Mr. Cram was elected a
member of the Board of Education of Carleton Place, and was re-elected
continuously for the following twelve years. He occupied a seat in the
Municipal Council of the village for eleven years, three of which he
presided as reeve. At the end of this period, finding the position too
onerous, he declined re-election. Mr. Cram is a total abstainer, and has
been connected with the order of the Sons of Temperance, the Good
Templars, and the County Temperance Alliance. In religious matters, he
is an adherent of the church of his fathers—the Presbyterian church.
Twenty-seven years ago he became a member of this church, and for the
last eighteen years has been one of its managing committee, and six
years ago was elected a deacon of the church. In politics, he is a
staunch Reformer, and is president of the Reform Association of Carleton
Place. Mr. Cram has been fairly successful in business, and although
like many another self-made man, has had his trials and difficulties,
yet he can afford to look back on his struggles and say that with the
help of God and an indomitable will, I have succeeded in making enough
of this world’s goods to enable me to spend the remainder of my days in
comfort. In 1865, Mr. Cram was married to Margaret, only surviving
daughter of William Wilson, of Appleton. This estimable lady died on the
21st of November, 1886. The fruit of the union was one daughter
(deceased) and three sons.
* * * * *
=Ross, Alexander Milton=, M.D., Montreal, the eminent Canadian
philanthropist, scientist and author, has had a career of striking
interest. He was born on December 13th, 1832, in Belleville, Ontario.
His father, William Ross, was a grandson of Captain Alexander Ross, an
officer of General Wolfe’s army of invasion. Captain Ross took part in
the battle on the Plains of Abraham, which resulted in the defeat of the
French and the conquest of all Canada. He subsequently received a grant
of lands from the Crown, and settled in Prince Edward County, Upper
Canada, where he lived until his death, which occurred in 1805. Captain
Alexander Ross was a grandson of Alexander Ross, laird of Balnagown,
Ross-shire, Scotland, who descended in a direct line from Hugh Ross, of
Rariches, second son of Hugh, the sixth and last Earl of Ross, of the
old family. Dr. Ross’s grandmother, on his father’s side, was Hannah
Prudence Williams, a descendant of Roger Williams (1595-1683), the
famous liberal preacher, and apostle of freedom, of Rhode Island. His
mother, Frederika Grant, was the youngest daughter of John Grant of the
British army, who died from wounds received at Niagara, in the war of
1812-1814. His maternal grandmother was Mary Jenks, a daughter of Joseph
Jenks, colonial governor of Rhode Island. Governor Jenks has left a
famous record of public services. He was speaker of the House of
Representatives of Rhode Island, from Oct., 1698, to 1708; deputy
governor from May, 1715, to May, 1727; governor from May, 1727, to May,
1732. He was a staunch and persistent friend and advocate of political
and religious liberty. In his boyhood Dr. Ross made his way to New York
city, and after struggling with many adversities, became a compositor in
the office of the _Evening Post_, then edited and owned by William
Cullen Bryant, the poet. Mr. Bryant became much interested in young
Ross, and ever after remained his steadfast friend. It was during this
period that he became acquainted with General Garibaldi, who at that
time was a resident of New York, and employed in making candles. This
acquaintance soon ripened into a warm friendship, which continued
unbroken down to Garibaldi’s death in 1882. It was through Dr. Ross’s
efforts in 1874 that Garibaldi obtained his pension from the Italian
government. In 1851 Dr. Ross began the study of medicine, under the
direction of the eminent Dr. Valentine Mott, and subsequently under Dr.
Trall, the celebrated hygienic physician. After four years of
unremitting toil, working as compositor during the day and studying
medicine at night, he received his degree of M.D. in 1855, and shortly
after received the appointment of surgeon in the army of Nicaragua, then
commanded by General William Walker. He subsequently became actively and
earnestly engaged in the anti-slavery struggle in the United States,
which culminated in the liberation from bondage of four millions of
slaves. Dr. Ross was a personal friend and co-worker of Captain John
Brown, the martyr. Although Dr. Ross’s sphere of labour in that great
struggle for human freedom was less public than that of many other
workers in the cause, it was not less important, and required the
exercise of greater caution, courage and determination, and also
involved greater personal risks. Senator Wade, vice-president of the
United States, said, in speaking of the abolitionists:—“Never in the
history of the world did the same number of men perform so great an
amount of good for the human race and for their country as the once
despised abolitionists, and it is my duty to add that no one of their
number submitted to greater privations, perils or sacrifices, or did
more in the great and noble work than Alexander Ross.” He has received
the benediction of the philanthropist and poet, Whittier, in the
following noble words, which find their echo in the hearts of
thousands:—