It is to be regretted that your holy office should prevent you
from occupying in the enterprise the position to which your
efforts and influence entitle you. I know, however, that the
satisfaction of having accomplished a good work on behalf of
your countrymen will reward you sufficiently, from your own
standpoint, for the important help you have given us from the
beginning.
To-day the road is completed, and whoever is entitled to merit should
receive it. Everyone knows that in consequence of unforeseen
difficulties the future of the road was threatened even after the work
had been undertaken. Father Labelle had arranged to get one million
dollars voted by the city of Montreal, and he induced the ministry of
the province to take the road under its control and to complete it. It
is also said that the idea of getting the “Grand Trunk of the North”
built by the government originated with him. The part he had taken in
these events was recognized in a measure by the commissioners who named
one of the first engines placed on the line, “Rev. A. Labelle.” On the
fiftieth anniversary of Father Labelle’s birthday, at a dinner given at
St. Jerome, on the 29th November, 1884, were gathered together
ministers, journalists, members of parliament, aldermen and
representative men from all parts of the province, and all with common
accord applauded the work he had done. And we may say here that the tact
he displayed in the circumstance justified what had been said of him on
a previous occasion by a citizen distinguished among his English and
Protestant brethren: “Father Labelle,” he said, “should be prime
minister of Canada instead of _curé_ of St. Jerome.” The following is an
extract of a speech delivered on that eventful occasion:—
Father Labelle to-day can look back on thirty years of feverish
and unceasing activity; thirty years of courageous and plodding
energy; his career has been stormy rather than peaceful, and has
already borne more abundant fruit than many ordinary existences.
His physical health is good, but requires a rest which the will
instinctively refuses on account of this fever of labor and
activity which unceasingly devours and consumes. The mind is
ever vigorous and keenly perceptive, while the intellect and
judgment have ripened under the influence of work and time, and
to-day the results are most abundant and precious. The nature of
our good _curé_ is so full of vigor and exuberance that in his
fiftieth year he spreads movement, activity and life everywhere
around him; his character is so essentially expansive that his
ideas, his projects, his hopes, so clearly elucidated, pervade
those who come in contact with him. He carries so much
conviction that one must needs yield to him. Is it astonishing
that he should have wielded, in all spheres, an influence often
dominating and decisive? The grandeur of conception, the vigor
displayed in the execution of the most difficult enterprises,
his proverbial disinterestedness, his sound judgment constantly
seconded by deep and varied studies, an astonishing memory, a
character bending itself to the most dissimilar circumstances,
unassailable honesty of purpose, an openness of heart which has
always proved to him the best of policies, are certainly, among
others, enough qualities to make him, perhaps, the most popular
and most enlightened man of our country. His influence has been
felt everywhere. His counsels have ever been wise and cautious.
His practical mind was never embarrassed by the most difficult
problems of theology or social and political economy. His
courage has ever been undaunted, either before obstacles or
adversaries, and his honesty has never flinched or given way to
the wiles of a corrupt world. The holy robes he wears have never
been soiled, and at the present time they are as immaculate as
on the day the young Levite donned them to devote himself to the
service of the Divine Master. As the drop of water, slowly and
patiently wending its way through the obstacles which men and
accidents may throw on its passage; as the impetuous torrent
upsetting all obstacles in its mad race, Father Labelle has
succeeded in all his enterprises; but then these enterprises
were great, they were national, they were undertaken in the
interest of religion and for the welfare of the country, and
only those who were traitors to their religion and their country
were opposed to their execution. Is it to be wondered at, under
such conditions, that he was enabled to occupy the most
difficult positions and master fortresses, until his advent
thought impregnable? He was never known, however, to soil his
hands with the booty of the vanquished, to take a share of the
spoils of the victor, or impose hard and unjust conditions under
the assumption that might is right. He never exalted his
victories over the weakness of those he disarmed. He always
looked forward to the triumph of truth and justice and the
greatness of our country; not to the humiliation of men and the
abasement of character. Richelieu once said: ‘I never undertake
anything without mature reflection; but my resolution once
taken, I go straight to the end I have in view; I break all
obstacles and I cover the whole with my purple robe.’ In his
case the prince of the church gave way to the statesman. In the
latter respect, it was not Richelieu who was the model of Father
Labelle. But let us change the scene; we will transport
ourselves to a more genial climate, far from the tainted
atmosphere of the court of Louis XIII., far from the bloody
fields of battle, of murder and assassination, where Richelieu
had to play his rôle of statesman, and we will find, from the
Canadian standpoint, a great similarity of character and works
between the great French minister and the humble Canadian priest
who, in the course of a few years, will change the face of a
considerable portion of this province. The former contributed in
large measure to the foundation of the colony; the latter, when
his colonization scheme will be realized in all the grandeur of
its conception, will have doubled the value, the wealth, the
power of our province; both will have had the same energy and
the same courage; on a different theatre, they will have
obtained wonderful success. Let me add that the life of Father
Labelle is an illustrious example to those who aim at being true
patriots: to serve God and country. He is one of the most
accomplished types of that hardy Franco-Canadian race which is
called upon to accomplish grand and noble deeds, provided its
descendants remember the history of its origin, its struggles
and its triumphs; and rise to the height of the mission assigned
them by Providence. To attain that end they must set aside the
cruel broils of politics, the rancour of partyism we witness
to-day, and they must work together for the common good of our
common country, and, following the example of the beloved
pastor, take as a motto: ‘Energy, faith in God, and hope in the
future.’ The true Franco-Canadian race, the French-Catholic
race, has become incarnate in the large heart of Father Labelle,
and even to-day a monument might be raised to him bearing the
inscription dedicated to the heroes of all times and all climes:
‘To Father Labelle, a tribute of love from a grateful country.’
Father Labelle’s winning affability is proverbial, and in the midst of
his enormous labors he always finds a moment to speak on any subject
that might be of interest to his listeners. Ever ready to help the
humblest of his parishioners, his generosity often oversteps the limit
of his means, for he has not the leisure to figure up his fortune. The
following incident is an example of his charity, which we publish at the
risk of raising his ire: During a very severe winter the price of
cordwood had risen in the city of Montreal to the fabulous figure of $20
a cord, owing to a “combine” of men who would have been insulted had
anyone dared to assert that they were not honest. Father Labelle called
on his parishioners, in the name of charity, to help the poor of
Montreal in their sore need of fuel, and the result was that an immense
procession of sleds loaded with cordwood, the good _curé_ leading, was
seen wending its way from St. Jerome to Montreal (a distance of
thirty-three miles), and there distributed to the most needy and
deserving poor of the city. This generous action was repeated the
following winter. Besides his railroad undertakings, Father Labelle has
been the means of a college being built in St. Jerome; a three-story
brick building, having a frontage of eighty feet, with a lateral chapel,
where the youth of the surrounding district receive a commercial,
agricultural, and religious education under the direction of the Rev.
Fathers of the Holy Cross. As soon as the railroad was completed to St.
Jerome, Father Labelle undertook to supply the necessary traffic. He is
convinced that the Laurentian range contains considerable mineral
wealth, and geological reports prove his assertions. With the view of
working and developing these mines, he immediately applied at every door
to raise the necessary capital. His parishioners subscribed a few
thousand dollars; but the resources are so slender, and the expenses so
heavy to start on a solid basis, that he must receive more substantial
help. It may be said, by the way, that minerals being one of the
greatest sources of wealth of a country, there is no reason why the
government should not give grants to the energetic men who undertake to
search for those treasures in a practical manner. His many and varied
occupations do not interfere with the exemplary regularity of the
exercise of his holy ministry. His sermons are always remarkable for
their characteristic clearness and practical common sense. Thoroughly
orthodox, he never deviates from the strict doctrines of his church,
which he believes accords with progress; as a result, in his parish,
church and state go hand-in-hand, to the satisfaction of all parties.
Far from feeling any pride in his successes, he makes them subservient
to the glory of God, the primary cause and author of all greatness. The
theological lore of Father Labelle is very profound, and he has had many
occasions to elucidate very intricate questions. His lordship, Bishop
Duhamel, honored him with his confidence, and delegated to him a part of
his power for the purpose of erecting canonical parishes in the southern
part of his diocese. Right Rev. Mgr. Conroy, delegated by the Holy See
to adjust certain differences which had arisen in Canada in connection
with the establishment of the branch of Laval University, at Montreal,
wrote the following letter to Father Labelle, on the 19th March, 1877:
“I reckon on your great and well-deserved influence. I shall always be
glad to see you, and I shall do my best to meet your wishes as far as I
possibly can do so.” After the decision of the Holy See in favor of
Laval, Father Labelle was one of the most energetic workers, and did no
small amount of work in connection with the establishment of the branch
university in Montreal. The late Bishop Bourget was ably seconded by
Father Labelle in the erection, for civil purposes, of the new parishes
of Montreal. After the Guibord case had been settled, a bill was passed
to prevent the recurrence of such difficulties and to meet the views of
her Majesty, Queen Victoria, as intimated by her to Lord Dufferin;
Father Labelle was entrusted with the drawing up of the bill. He was
also instrumental, and did more than his share of the work, both here
and at Rome, to obtain the division of the ecclesiastical provinces of
Montreal and Ottawa. Since 1883, he has been sent to France by the
Federal government for the purpose of making our country better known in
Europe and promoting more extended commercial relations. At the present
time (1887), he is engaged on the extension of the Montreal and Western
Railway to Lake Temiscamingue, and there are already seventy miles under
contract. He is also interested in a new cattle ranch at Wood Mountain,
near Regina, N.W.T., etc. We cannot conclude this imperfect sketch
without mentioning the charming _bonhomie_ which in Father Labelle’s
case, takes the place of the most refined courteousness. When his wine
cellar is empty, his smoking-room is abundantly supplied, and in either
case he receives the most illustrious men of the country with the
greatest ease. Let us add that his venerable mother, who presides over
the internal administration of his household, contributes, by her
politeness and kind attentions, to make the presbytery of St. Jerome the
most popular resort of the surrounding parishes. The priests of the
neighborhood and the notable men of the province frequently visit the
worthy pastor when in need of information, or in quest of rest and
relaxation from their onerous duties.
* * * * *
=Hale, Frederick Harding=, Lumber Merchant, Woodstock, M.P. for
Carleton, New Brunswick, was born at Northampton, in the county of
Carleton, N.B., on the 8th December, 1844. His father, Martin Hale, was
born in Ireland, and came to Canada, when a child, with his parents. His
mother was Hulda Dickinson, daughter of Harding Dickinson, a U. E.
loyalist. Mr. Hale received his education in the schools in Carleton
county; and afterwards turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, and
for the last twenty-five years has been heavily engaged in the
manufacture and sale of all kinds of lumber at Northampton and
Woodstock. A few years ago he entered the political arena, and at the
general election held in the spring of 1887 was elected to represent the
county of Carleton in the Dominion parliament at Ottawa. Mr. Hale is a
director of the St. John Valley Railway. He takes an interest in
Masonry, and is a member of the Woodstock lodge; and also a member of
the Woodstock Royal Arch Chapter. In politics he is a Liberal; and in
religion an adherent of the Free Baptist church. Mr. Hale has been twice
married. On the 20th June, 1869, to Rhoda, daughter of the late George
McGee; she died on the 16th June, 1870. And on the 17th June, 1873, to
Emma E., daughter of Moses Boyer.
* * * * *
=Nelles, Samuel Sobieski=, D.D., LL.D., who died at Cobourg, on the 17th
October, 1887, on his sixty-fourth birthday, was born of worthy
Methodist parents at Mount Pleasant, near Brantford, Ontario, on 17th
October, 1823. He attended the Lewiston Academy, New York, during 1839
and 1840, under the tutorship of the poet, J. G. Saxe, whose peculiarly
pungent wit the doctor often rivalled in after life. The year following
he entered the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, where he was converted and
where he connected himself with the Methodist church. Two years later he
became one of the two first matriculating students at Victoria
University, Cobourg, the institution that was afterwards to achieve
prosperity under his guidance, then presided over by Rev. Egerton
Ryerson, D.D. During the two subsequent years spent at Victoria College
he obtained a local preacher’s license, and distinguished himself, the
venerable Dr. Carroll says, for “intellect and eloquence.” Seeking his
degree at an older institution, he graduated at the Wesleyan University,
Middleton, Conn., in 1846, and spent the next year as head master of the
Newburgh Academy, whence he was recommended to the ministry by the
Napanee Quarterly Official Board. In 1847 he was received on trial at
Port Hope, and preached during 1848 and 1849 at Toronto East, in the old
Adelaide street church, which has since been replaced by the
Metropolitan, when he was received into full connection, ordained and
sent to London as colleague of Rev. John Carroll, D.D., for the first
quarter of 1850. It was then that the church wanted a man to take the
presidency of their connexional university at Cobourg, an institution
that had been founded in 1837 as an academy, had been created a
university in 1841, and was then fighting a hard battle for a precarious
existence. Samuel S. Nelles, M.A., was the man unanimously chosen, and
taken, sorely against his will, from the London charge early in 1850 and
installed as successor to the Rev. Alex. McNabb, D.D., in the
president’s chair of Victoria University. From this time forward the
career of Dr. Nelles is very closely identified with that of the college
to which he fully devoted his best energies, his keen intellect, his
marvellous power of management and his ripe culture. Finding the
institution financially feeble, he travelled the country with persistent
energy, appealing, and seldom in vain, to Methodists to support their
college, and its rapid growth and success in keeping abreast with the
times are largely due to his untiring labors. Together with the late
Rev. Dr. Punshon, he undertook to raise an endowment of $100,000 for the
college, and the best comment upon their faithful efforts is that they
succeeded in swelling that amount to $150,000. Some ten years ago this
indefatigable worker persuaded the people of Cobourg to erect a
magnificent science building, known as Faraday Hall. In 1861 he received
the honorary degree of D.D. from Queen’s University, which was followed
in 1872 by the degree of LL.D. He was elected General Conference
representative to the conference of the Methodist Episcopal church,
United States, in 1864; and associate representative to the Eastern
British American Conference in 1868; to the English Wesleyan Conference
with Rev. Dr. Dewart in 1873, and to the British Conference, held in
Newcastle, in 1883. The deceased was professor of moral and mental
philosophy, as well as president at Victoria College, since his first
connection with that institution; and in the University Act, passed at
the time of Methodist union, he was created chancellor of the
university. The doctor was one of the original framers of the University
Federation scheme, and gave it vigorous advocacy by platform and press,
but as the face of the scheme was changed, largely because of the
defection of other colleges, he withdrew his support. He was married
early in life to the eldest daughter of Rev. Dr. Wood, of Davenport, who
survives him. Four children have blessed the union, all of whom are
living. The only son is now practising law with Cameron & Co., at
Tilbury Centre; the eldest daughter is the widow of the late Kenneth
Dingwall, an eminent barrister of Hamilton, while the two youngest are
still unmarried.
* * * * *
=Drolet, Jacques Francois Gaspard=, Quebec, Auditor of the Province of
Quebec, was born at Quebec on the 23rd January, 1828. His parents were
Gaspard Drolet, advocate; and Marie Antoinette LeBlond, daughter of
Jacques LeBlond, advocate. He received a full and complete course of
classics at the Quebec Seminary. He entered the public service in 1862
in the department of Public Works of Canada; and was appointed auditor
of the province of Quebec in 1867, under section 20 of the Treasury
Department Act, 31 Vict., cap. 9, province of Quebec; 46 Vict., cap. 4,
section 3, 1883, which enacts “that the provincial auditor shall hold
office during good behavior, but be removable by the lieutenant-governor
upon an address of the Legislative Council and the Legislative
Assembly.” He was president of the Institut Canadien in 1859-60. In
1869, he, along with J. W. Dunscomb, collector of her Majesty’s Customs
at the port of Quebec, and François Vézina, cashier of La Banque
Nationale, were appointed a Board of Commissioners to enquire into and
report upon the civil service of the province. In 1875 he was on a
commission with J. G. Bossé, Q.C., and James Dunbar, Q.C., to enquire
into the settlement of the Quebec Fire Loan; and in 1883 he was
appointed a commissioner along with L. Tellier and Lieut.-Colonel A. A.
Stevenson, on an enquiry on the public service. He has taken an active
interest in the Volunteer movement; and during the _Trent_ difficulty
held the rank of captain in the 7th battalion of Chasseurs. Mr. Drolet
is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and holds the position of
church warden. He was married at Montreal, in August, 1850, to Marie
Louise Eugénie, daughter of the Hon. Jean Casimir Bruneau, judge of the
Superior Court, and niece of the Hon. F. P. Bruneau, one of the
Legislative councillors appointed by Lord Sydenham in 1841, and of Dr.
Bruneau, for a number of years professor and lecturer of McGill College,
Montreal. The living issue of this marriage is three sons and three
daughters. The eldest son is Joseph Eugène, advocate; Jean Casimir,
Roman Catholic priest; third son, Joseph Charles Gaspard, captain in the
9th battalion Quebec Rifles. Captain Joseph C. G. Drolet went through
the North-West campaign with his regiment, and is now adjutant of the
Royal School of Mounted Infantry at Winnipeg, Manitoba.
* * * * *
=Whitney, Henry A.=, Moncton, New Brunswick, Mechanical Superintendent
of the Intercolonial Railway, was born at St. Stephen, New Brunswick, on
the 11th February, 1834. His parents were Beriah Whitney and Lucy Hall,
and both were descended from very early settlers in America. The first
of the Whitney family emigrated from Wales, England, about the year
1640, and settled in the state of Connecticut. Of the mother’s
progenitors, the Howland branch came over with the Pilgrim Fathers in
1620; and the Hall branch emigrated from Hull, England, about 1650, and
made their home on Long Island. Henry A. Whitney received a common
school education at St. Stephen, New Brunswick, and at Calais, Maine. As
early as 1852 he began his connection with railways, and with the
exception of a short interval in the years 1853-4, has been in the
railway service ever since. During these thirty years he has occupied
various positions on government railways, such as foreman, engine
driver, shop hand, locomotive foreman, and is now mechanical
superintendent of the Intercolonial Railway. He has been obliged to
change his residence several times since he began his useful career,
having removed from St. Stephen to Moncton in 1857; to St. John in 1858;
to Shediac in 1861; and lastly to Moncton in 1872, where he has since
resided. In politics Mr. Whitney takes little interest; but in religion
he may be classed among the Universalists, having held, from youth up,
that our Heavenly Father will finally bring all his erring children home
to his house of many mansions. He was married on the 13th of December,
1861, to Margaret J. Lindsay, of St. John, New Brunswick. This lady died
on the 22nd May, 1872. On the 5th of May, 1874, he was married to his
second wife, Henrietta Elliott, of Moncton, New Brunswick.
* * * * *
=Fitch, Edson=, Manufacturer, Quebec, Grand First Principal of Royal
Arch Masonry in the province of Quebec, is a native of Glen’s Falls, New
York state, having been born there in 1838. He is a direct descendant of
Governor Thomas Fitch, who was governor of the colony of Connecticut, in
1756, under the reign of George II. The family is one of the oldest in
the United States. They were originally from Eltham, county of Kent,
England, and came to America, landing in Boston, Mass., in 1634. The
homestead of the governor, in Norwalk, Conn., is still in possession of
the family, being owned by the subject of this sketch and his sister.
Mr. Fitch received his educational training in his native parish. In
1861 he entered the American army as a lieutenant, and was at once sent
to the front on active service. During the winter of 1862-3 he received
a commission as captain, and was present with General McClellan during
the peninsular campaign, and took part in all the principal engagements
until the first day’s fight in the battle of the Wilderness, 5th May,
1864, when he was severely wounded, having been shot through the body.
This confined him to the rear for about three months, at the end of
which time he returned to his post, where he remained till the close of
1864, when, his time having expired, he was mustered out of the service.
He was on staff duty most of the time, having been in twenty-seven
engagements, fighting under Generals McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, Meade
and Grant. When he returned from the service he held the position of
acting assistant inspector-general and chief of staff of the first
brigade of the second division of the Second Army Corps. On that
occasion he received the following flattering letter:—
HEAD-QUARTERS 1ST BRIGADE
2nd Div. 2nd Army Corps,
Army of the Potomac, near Petersburg, Va.
Nov. 3, 1864.
Capt. Edson Fitch,
Brig. In. 2nd Brig. 2nd Div., 2nd A.C.,
CAPTAIN,—Having learned that you are about to retire from the
military service of the United States government, I avail myself
of what may be the only opportunity I shall have of
communicating to you an expression of the high regard I
entertain for you as a brave, competent, efficient and
gentlemanly officer, and of the regret that you are to be even
temporarily lost to the service which you have honored on so
many occasions by your gallant conduct. As chief of staff of the
brigade which I had the honor to command at the late battle at
Hatcher’s Run, you in no small degree contributed to that
success which won for our brave troops the encomiums of the
generals commanding. To the consciousness of having faithfully
discharged your whole duty, which you will carry with you to
private life, I desire to add the assurance that you also have
the confidence and kindest regards of your old comrades in arms,
who still hope, at no very distant period, to welcome you again
to the tented field.
I am, Captain, very truly yours,
JAS. M. WILLET,
Col. 8th N. Y. H. Art’y,
Comdg. 1st Brigade.
In 1867, Captain Fitch came to Canada with the intention of organizing
the business he is now engaged in, that of manufacturing match splints,
and settled at Montmorency, Quebec, but was burnt out there. He then
removed to Etchemin, county of Levis, where he established his business,
and has had a most successful career. Twice he has seen his factory
destroyed by fire, but his indomitable pluck and perseverance have
carried him through. The business of manufacturing match splints is one
the magnitude of which few outsiders can realize. The factory owned by
Mr. Fitch is the largest of its kind in the world, making nearly ninety
millions of matches in a single day To reach this almost inconceivable
result, five hundred hands are employed, and no less than twenty
millions of feet of timber are cut up in the course of a single year.
Early in life Mr. Fitch connected himself with Masonry, having, in 1861,
been initiated in Senate lodge, No. 456, G.R. of N.Y., held at Glen’s
Falls. In 1868, desiring further knowledge in Masonry, he applied for
the Royal Arch degrees to Stadacona Chapter, No. 2, G.R.Q., and was
exalted in that chapter on 22nd October, 1868. In 1873, he affiliated
with Tuscan lodge, No. 28, G.R.Q., held at Levis, and occupied the
worshipful master’s chair in that lodge in 1876 and 1877. In 1877 he was
elected grand senior warden of the Grand Lodge of Quebec, and in 1880
was appointed D.D.G. Master for Quebec and Three Rivers district, and
held that office two years and a half. In 1882 he was unanimously
elected deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge. In 1884, the Grand
Chapter of Royal Arch Masons chose him as their grand third principal;
in 1885 and again in 1886 as grand second principal, and at the last
meeting of the Grand Chapter, held in the city of Montreal, in January,
1887, he was placed, by the voice of the companions assembled, in the
exalted position of grand first principal. He was one of the charter
members of William de la More, the Martyr Preceptory of Knights Templars
at Quebec, with which body he is still connected. He has been chairman
of the Committee of Benevolence and Charity of the Grand Lodge since
1882. He is representative in Quebec of the Grand Lodge of California
and Grand Chapter of Indiana. And he has always taken an active part in
all matters pertaining to the craft in his district and province, and is
an ardent supporter of the principle of Grand Lodge sovereignty. In
politics Mr. Fitch is a Liberal; and in religion is an adherent of the
Baptist church. He was married to Mary A., second daughter of the late
James Bowen, of Quebec.
* * * * *
=Badgley, Rev. Prof. E. I.=, M.A., B.D., LL.D., Victoria University,
Cobourg.—Professor Badgley, of United Empire loyalist descent, was born
in Prince Edward county, which county was also the birth place of his
father and mother. At the time of the American revolution his
great-grandfather owned a large landed property in the state of New
Jersey, but having espoused the royalists’ cause, his property was
confiscated. Preferring citizenship under the British Crown rather than
in the Republic, he determined to find a home in the then wilderness of
Canada. Pursued as an enemy and a fugitive, he suffered many
hair-breadth escapes. For several days he lay concealed in his hayloft,
where more than once the enemy searched for him, repeatedly walking over
him as he lay buried beneath the hay. From this place of concealment he
escaped to find refuge for three days in a potato pit. After many
adventures scarcely less perilous, he finally was enabled to reach
Canada, whither his family in due time followed him. They settled about
six miles from Belleville, in what is now the township of Thurlow. Dr.
Canniff, in his work on the “Settlement of Upper Canada,” mentions him
and his sons as among the first settlers north of the village of
Cannifton. His wife’s name was Lawrence, whom he married in England, and
through that connection repeated efforts have been made to secure for
the heirs a supposed fortune lying to their credit, so far, however,
without any success. One of the sons, Professor Badgley’s grandfather,
finally settled in Prince Edward county, from which place he went to
Kingston to do service for his country, in 1812. By an exchange of
property the family removed to Thurlow, where his mother, whose maiden
name was Howard, still lives. With an ardent desire for a better
training than the public school could furnish, Professor Badgley left
the farm when seventeen years of age, and entered as a student at
Belleville Seminary, afterwards Albert University. He graduated with the
second-class in 1868, and immediately entered upon the work of the
ministry, in connection with the late Methodist Episcopal church. After
three years of successful labor, he returned to Albert College as an
adjunct professor in metaphysics and mathematics. Three years later, on
the election of Dr. Carman, president of the university, to the
episcopacy, Professor Badgley was appointed to the chair of mental and
moral philosophy, which he satisfactorily filled for a period of ten
years. While in the ministry, and during the period he served as adjunct
professor, he pursued a definite line of reading, and regularly
graduated in both theology and law. As a result of Methodist union,
Albert University was consolidated with Victoria, in 1884, since which
date he has held the chair of mental philosophy and logic in the latter
university. For several years Professor Badgley was a regular
contributor to the editorial columns of the _Canada Christian Advocate_,
and has frequently written for the “Canadian Methodist Magazine.” He was
a delegate to the Ecumenical Methodist Conference, in London, in 1881,
where he read an important paper on ministerial education. At different
times and places he has delivered several addresses on metaphysical and
philosophical subjects, the publication of which has been frequently
requested. In May, 1887, he delivered the tenth annual lecture before
the Theological Union of Victoria University, on “Faith, _vs._
Knowledge.” In 1870 he was married to Emma Bell, daughter of John S.
Bell, Napanee, whose father was an officer in the British army, and on
whose confiscated property a part of the city of Albany now stands. They
have three children, two sons and a daughter.
* * * * *
=McConnell, John=, M.D., M.C.P.S.O., Toronto, Lieutenant 12th Battalion
York Rangers, was born in the township of Scarboro’, on the 4th March,
1846. His father, John McConnell, served under Mr. Howard, of High Park,
in the defence of Little York (Toronto), during the time of the William
Lyon McKenzie rebellion. He was an adherent of the Methodist church, and
acted in the capacity of local preacher for about forty years; he was
also a justice of the peace, and a man greatly respected in his day. His
mother, Elizabeth McGaw, was a daughter of the late Andrew McGaw, of
Port Hope. Both families first settled in Scarboro’ about 1836. Dr.
McConnell’s father, after a residence of about ten years there, bought
the farm, lot twenty-three, second concession, of Markham, and removed
there in 1849. The subject of our sketch was the fourth son of the above
union, born in the old homestead in Scarboro’, and accompanied his
parents to their new home. He received his primary education in the
public schools of Markham, where he remained until 1859. Then he began
to entertain ideas of supporting himself, and hired out to a farmer at
$10 a month, for the summer season. This engagement completed, he
returned home, and his father sent him to the Grammar School, Richmond
Hill, then under the charge of the late Rev. John Boyd, B.A. Soon after
he entered this school, Mr. Boyd resigned, and was succeeded by L. H.
Evans, B.A., of Trinity College, under whose able tuition young
McConnell remained for three years. Early in 1863 he underwent an
examination, and succeeded in gaining a second-class A. certificate,
which gave him great satisfaction. He then applied for a situation as
teacher in a number of school sections, but owing to his youth, he did
not succeed until December of that year, when he obtained a school in
York township, with a salary of £67 10s. per annum, when he began his
real battle with the world. During the following year he undertook the
somewhat difficult task of preparing himself for a matriculation
examination in the Toronto University, and also to prepare for a
first-class certificate as a teacher. He succeeded in both, and
moreover, secured an advance of £10 to his salary for the next year,
which was of great use to him. During 1864 he commenced the study of
medicine. In 1866 he left York township and removed to Scarboro’, where
he secured a school at £90 a year. From here he was in the habit of
driving thirteen miles four days a week to prosecute his medical studies
in Toronto, and the following spring he matriculated in medicine. He
continued teaching until October, when he relinquished his school and
became a student in the Toronto School of Medicine. In the spring of
1867 he passed his primary examination at the University of Toronto, and
was admitted as an undergraduate in the Toronto Hospital, and also
placed in charge of the Burnside Lying-in Hospital, Sheppard street.
Notwithstanding these somewhat onerous duties, he attached himself to
the military school in connection with the 13th Hussars, a British
regiment of cavalry then stationed at the New Fort, Toronto, under the
command of the late Colonel Jennings, one of the heroes of the Light
Brigade, and from whom he received many evidences of respect and
kindness. He was attached as an officer of the Oak Ridge troop of
cavalry, to which he had belonged from 1860, when, on the occasion of
the visit of the Prince of Wales, it was stationed in Toronto, and was
with this troop, under arms, at Richmond Hill (headquarters) during the
Fenian troubles, in 1866. Before leaving the Military School, in the
autumn of 1868, he received from Colonel Jennings a first-class
certificate, which he is proud still to possess. He then returned to his
lectures in the university—still retaining his position in the
hospital—and worked hard both in and out of school, so that when the
examination came on in the spring, he passed a most critical
examination, and succeeded in securing the degree of M.B. He received
his diploma on the 11th June, 1869, and commenced to practise his
profession at Thornhill, township of Vaughan, York county, where he
practised for fifteen years, when he removed to Brockton, in 1882, then
a suburb of, and now part of, the city of Toronto. Shortly after taking
up his residence in Brockton, he was elected reeve of the village by
acclamation; and in 1884, when it was annexed to Toronto as St. Mark’s
ward, the doctor represented it in the city council. He is coroner for
the county of York, and has held the position of president of the West
York Reform Association, and also of the Reform Association of Vaughan.
In June, 1886, Dr. McConnell was gazetted second lieutenant of the 12th
Battalion York Rangers, and in June, 1887, was attached to “C.” Royal
School of Infantry, New Fort Barracks, Toronto, under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Otter, and was awarded a second-class certificate,
and received his commission as first lieutenant of the York Rangers. As
a professional man, he is endowed with a kindly disposition, and is
never slow to help any poor person-visiting his office for medical
advice or medicine. Dr. McConnell has been for four years attendant
physician to the Protestant Orphans’ Home, of Toronto, where two hundred
orphan children are supported by the charitable people of the city and
neighborhood, and his watchful care has not only been gratuitous, but
productive of the most gratifying results. Besides practising his
profession, he has interested himself in real estate, and is now one of
the largest property owners in the ward of St. Mark. His career points a
moral which our young men would do well to study, showing as it does
that perseverance and attention to duty is a greater requisite to
success in life than to be born to affluence. He was married previous to
his beginning his practice, to Miss Powell, of York township, and during
their residence at Thornhill, eight children were born to them, five
daughters and three sons, and of these, three daughters and one son
survive.
* * * * *
=Roberts, Charles George Douglas=, M.A., Professor of Modern Literature,
King’s College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, was born at Douglas, near
Fredericton, New Brunswick, on the 10th of January, 1860. His father,
the Rev. G. Goodridge Roberts, M.A., rector of Fredericton, was the
eldest son of the late George Roberts, Ph.D., a gentleman of English
descent, formerly headmaster of Fredericton Collegiate School, and
professor of classics in the University of New Brunswick. Our poet comes
of a line of ancestors more or less conspicuous as scholars, upon both
maternal and paternal sides. His mother, Emma Wetmore Bliss Roberts,
daughter of the late Judge Bliss, also of Fredericton, comes of an old
loyalist family, of which Emerson’s mother was a member. Mr. Roberts,
the subject of this sketch, was educated at Fredericton Collegiate
School, where he took the Douglas medal for classics. In 1877, while at
the University of New Brunswick, he took a classical scholarship, with
honors in Greek and Latin; in 1878, the alumni gold medal for an essay
in Latin; and in 1879 graduating with honors in metaphysics and ethics.
In this year he was appointed head-master of Chatham, New Brunswick,
Grammar School. In 1880 his first volume of verse, entitled “Orion and
other Poems,” was published by J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia; and
in 1881 he took his degree of M.A., and according to the ordinary
acceptation of the term, “finished his education,” though a man’s
education may never truly be said to be finished while he is an
inhabitant of this mortal sphere, and retains his faculties. Yet the
foregoing statements prove that Mr. Roberts had acquired much knowledge
at a very early age, and at a very early age was inspired by the soul of
song. No one can doubt this who has read the following extract, which we
take from his lines entitled “To the Spirit of Song”:
Surely I have seen the majesty and wonder,
Beauty, might, and splendor, of the soul of song;
Surely I have felt the spell that lifts asunder
Soul from body, when lips faint and thought is strong.
These lines are to be found on the first page of his volume, entitled
“Orion, and other Poems,” and unquestionably show genius in the boy
under twenty years of age, for it would have been impossible for any one
not possessed of the soul of song to have conceived them. Had the first,
third, fourth, eleventh, and thirteenth lines been equal to those we
have quoted, the concluding line—