Counties of York, Sunbury and Queen’s in the province of New Brunswick,
was born at Moncton, in the county of Westmoreland, N.B., on the 27th
March, 1818. His father was William Steadman, who was born in
Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, but settled in Moncton about the first of this
century. He married in 1803, Hannah Trites, also of Moncton. Judge
Steadman was educated at Moncton. He studied law in the office of the
present Judge Botsford, of Westmoreland county, and was admitted an
attorney in the month of February, 1844. For the next twenty-four years
he practised law at Moncton and then, in the year 1866, removed to the
city of Fredericton, where he has continued to reside up to the present
time. He was elected to the Provincial legislature in 1854, and, being a
prominent man, in May 1860, was sworn in as a member of the Executive
Council and Postmaster General of New Brunswick. These offices he held
until April, 1865. Judge Steadman, thus has seen the last days of
parliamentary life in his native province, days which produced such men
as the late Governor L. A. Wilmot, the late Judge Fisher, the late Sir
Albert L. Smith, Sir Leonard Tilley, Judges King and Palmer, and many
others whose eloquence enlivened the political campaigns and the
sessions of the legislature for many years. Between the years 1836 and
1845 the battle of Responsible Government was fought out in New
Brunswick. Those were stormy times in all of the provinces of British
North America. The visit of Earl Durham to the Canadas, and his famous
report upon the lines of which all the later political movements in the
provinces have proceeded, gave an extraordinary impetus to the popular
wish for a larger measure of political power. In all of the English
speaking provinces the Reform party were steadily and fiercely opposed
by small governing bodies variously known as “family compacts,” “council
of xii,” and other suggestive appellations. Another stormy period in
which Judge Steadman was himself a prominent figure, was the era just
preceding the Confederation in 1867. As we have said, during these years
he was a member of the Executive and Postmaster General. Party spirit
ran very high in New Brunswick, and the first time that the question of
Confederation was submitted to the people it was lost. In Nova Scotia
the people were never asked to sanction the measure until the British
North America Act had been passed and the union was consummated. After
twenty years the question is still keenly debated in both of the leading
Maritime provinces. Judge Steadman is connected with the Baptist
denomination. He has for many years been a strong temperance man, having
joined the order of Sons of Temperance in March, 1848. In 1865 he was
elected Grand Worthy Patriarch, and still maintains his connection with
this leading order. In June, 1887, he was appointed judge of the County
Court. Judge Steadman has seen his native town of Moncton from the
smallest beginning expand into a city of 9000 inhabitants, and become
the headquarters of the Intercolonial Railway, with streets lighted by
electricity, daily newspapers, an extensive and increasing trade, and
all the signs of outward and moral improvement.
* * * * *
=Macdonald, Lawrence George=, Q.C., St. John’s, province of Quebec, was
born at Chateauguay, Que., on July 30th 1831. His parents were born at
Fort Howe, N.B. His father, James Macdonald, was a second son of the
late Adjutant and Quarter-master, William Macdonald, late of the 104th
Regiment of the line, and his mother Eliza Holland, a daughter of
Captain E. Holland of the same regiment. Captain Holland served in Egypt
and saw the great Napoleon while a prisoner at Elba. Adj. Macdonald took
an active part in the war of 1812-14. Mr. James Macdonald was a merchant
for many years in Chateauguay, and was actively engaged on the Loyalist
side during the rebellion of 1837-38. The subject of this sketch
commenced his studies under the Rev. Dr. Black, of Laprairie, afterwards
attending two private schools, and finally taking a full classical
course at the High School, Montreal. While studying law he continued to
take private lessons from the Rev. David Robertson, chaplain to the
forces in Canada. After leaving school he studied law in the office of
Meredith, Bethune and Dunkin, of Montreal, and four years later was
admitted to the bar in December, 1852. In 1854 he removed to St. John’s,
where he has since resided. He was appointed a Queen’s counsel under the
Joly government in March, 1878, which appointment was afterwards
confirmed by the Dominion government. Mr. Macdonald has taken an active
part in military affairs, obtaining a first-class certificate on May
12th, 1865, when he was appointed cornet in the St. John’s troop of
cavalry, and was sent to the front during the Fenian raids. He was Crown
prosecutor for several years in the Court of Queen’s Bench, St. John’s,
district of Iberville. At present he is a director of the Richelieu
Bridge Co. He is a member of the Episcopalian church, and in politics is
a Conservative. He was married at St. John’s, in August, 1856, to Louise
Gertrude, second daughter of the late Deputy Commissary-General Lister.
Mr. and Mrs. Macdonald have one daughter, who is married to Dr. Robert
Howard, of St. John’s, and who has issue four children.
* * * * *
=McCaffrey, Charles=, Lumber Merchant and Steam Saw Mill Proprietor,
Nicolet, province of Quebec, was born at Drummondville, county of
Drummond, Quebec. He is the son of Hugh McCaffrey and Rose McEvay. His
father, Hugh McCaffrey, served as a soldier In the 27th British Regiment
of the line, obtained his discharge at Chambly, and located, together
with a number of other discharged soldiers, at Drummondville. The late
Colonel Harriette procured lands for them to settle upon, and also
obtained supplies from the government for them until they were able to
build homes and clear sufficient land to enable them to supply
themselves with the necessaries of life. During the time the government
furnished the provisions, the commissariat stores were under the charge
of Hugh McCaffrey, who was authorized to distribute the provisions to
all those entitled to receive the same. The great majority of the new
settlers, not being inured to farming life, or clearing the bush land
given them by the government, sold out their claims for a nominal sum,
and left for other parts. Hugh McCaffrey, however, settled down in his
new home, and commenced getting out lumber, which he supplied to Colonel
Harriette, who owned a saw mill near by, and his son Charles, the
subject of this sketch, has continued in the lumbering business for the
past forty years, with fair success. Apart from the regular annual
output of sawed lumber, he has shipped hundreds of thousands of tamarac
railway ties to Whitehall and Plattsburgh, N.Y., for the Delaware and
Hudson Canal Co., and has contracted with the same company to supply a
large number during the present season. He received his education partly
in the common schools and partly at the hands of private tutors, high
schools being at that time few and far between. In politics, he is a
Conservative, and wields considerable influence in his locality. He has
often been requested to allow himself to be put in nomination for both
the Federal and Provincial parliaments, and in municipal and town
councils, but has steadily refused to do so, or to accept any public
office. He has travelled through several of the States, both east and
west, also through the upper and lower provinces in connection with his
lumber business. In religion he is a Roman Catholic. He was married in
1860, to Ann McLeod, a native of Campbelltown, N.B., who is of Scotch
origin, and Presbyterian in religion. Mr. McCaffrey has resided in
Nicolet for twenty-five years, and is much respected by the residents.
* * * * *
=Seymour, James=, Collector of Inland Revenue, St. Catharines, was born
in Limerick, Ireland, in 1824, came to Halifax with his father four
years later, and died in St. Catharines on the 9th of January, 1888. Mr.
Seymour spent his boyhood in the maritime provinces, and after leaving
school learned the business of printer. He then came west and worked in
several offices, among others the Toronto _Globe_ and the Hamilton
_Spectator_. In 1856 he purchased from Mr. Giles the St. Catharines
_Constitution_, an influential weekly newspaper, which he continued to
publish until he received the appointment of collector of inland
revenue, and this office he held until the day of his death. In 1851 he
joined St. George’s Masonic lodge, and very soon, through his
faithfulness and zeal, became to be looked upon as one of the main
pillars of the order. In 1871 he was elected Grand Master of the Grand
Lodge of Canada, and this position he filled during the term of his
election with great credit. He was a member of the Scottish Rite, and a
P.G.M.G. of Royal and Oriental Freemasonry 33-96°⁂90°. He was buried
with Masonic honors.
* * * * *
=Tims, Frank Dillon=, Deputy Provincial Auditor of the Province of
Quebec, is a prominent figure in official life at Quebec, and few
members of the Civil Service enjoy a larger share of the public respect.
He is the youngest son of the late William and Catherine Dillon Tims,
and was born in Oldcastle, county Meath, Ireland, on 26th December,
1829. The family came to Canada in 1834, and settled in the city of
Quebec, where Mr. Tims, sr., died in 1836 and his widow in 1862. An
elder brother of the subject of this sketch, Thomas D. Tims, now
occupies the important position of Financial Inspector of the Dominion
of Canada, at Ottawa, and their sister, the Reverend Mother St.
Catherine, who entered the Monastery of the Ursulines at Quebec many
years ago, is still living, after having occupied for two consecutive
terms, the longest period permitted by the regulations, the high
position of Lady Superior. Our subject was educated at the Seminary of
Quebec and the Quebec High School, and subsequently studied law with
Charles Alleyn, Q.C., subsequently Provincial Secretary of Canada, and
now sheriff of Quebec. Seized with the “gold fever” in 1849, he gave up
the study of the law, and on the 12th November, 1849, sailed on the
barque _Rory O’Moore_, the first vessel leaving Canada bound for
California, by the way of Cape Horn, finally reaching San Francisco
after a five and a half months’ voyage. He remained in California,
engaged principally in mining, until the fall of 1851, when he started
on his homeward journey down the Pacific coast, stopping at San Juan del
Sur and Lake Nicaragua for some weeks and then proceeding to Panama,
where he crossed the isthmus and took steamer to New York from Chagres
in January, 1852. He reached Quebec in February of the same year, and on
the 23rd October following, was married at Sherbrooke, to Caroline
Dudley, youngest daughter of the late Captain John Fraser, of H.M. 76th
regiment, formerly town mayor of Quebec. He next removed to Upper
Canada, where he was principally engaged in mercantile pursuits down to
1857, when he went to Illinois, entered the lumber business for some
time, and while there in 1859, was licensed to practice as an attorney
and counsellor-at-law in that state. Returning to Canada in 1861, he
entered the employ of the late Hon. Jas. Skead, senator, then one of the
largest lumber producers of the Ottawa district, where he remained in
charge of the business until January, 1868, when he was appointed to the
Audit branch of the Treasury department of the province of Quebec, and
promoted to the office of Deputy Provincial Auditor in 1884, which he
still holds. In religion, Mr. Tims is a Roman Catholic. In 1856, he held
a commission as lieutenant and adjutant in the Waterloo (Ont.) Militia.
He is a past president of the St. Patrick’s Society of Quebec, and has
taken a prominent interest in the progress of the Geographical Society
of Quebec, of which he has been the secretary for several years. In this
last capacity, he was one of the principal promoters of the government
exploring expedition, which was sent out within the last few years to
endeavor to solve the mystery surrounding Great Lake Mistassini, in
north eastern Canada. By his marriage, he has had issue thirteen
children, seven of whom are living, four sons and three daughters. Of
the former, three are actually settled in the Canadian North-West, at
Swift Current and Beaver Lake, near Edmonton, where they are largely
engaged in commercial pursuits. One of them, F. F. Tims, had the honor
to be the first to erect a building at Regina, the present capital of
the province of Assiniboia. During the late rebellion this son rendered
valuable public service in freighting for the troops and in provisioning
the Battleford contingent and Mounted Police.
* * * * *
=Ostigny, Joseph Henry=, Manager of the Bank of Hochelaga, at Joliette,
Quebec, was born at St. Hilaire, county Rouville, Quebec, on the 5th of
January, 1849. His father, Zephirin Ostigny, was an agriculturist, and
lived for more than thirty years in the parish of l’Ange Gardien, county
Rouville. His mother’s name was Sophie Montplaisir. The subject of this
sketch, when fifteen years of age, told his father of his wish to give
up farming, and get his livelihood in some other way. For that he
required more education, and through the kindness of a father, who
sacrificed his own personal interests to promote those of his children,
he was sent to school at St. Césaire from 1863 to 1866, and from 1867 to
1869 at the Jacques Cartier Normal School, at Montreal. In the year
1870, he took the course at the Montreal Business College, and was for
nearly two years a professor of that institution. When the Bank of
Hochelaga commenced operations, April 6th, 1874, he entered it, and
since then has worked up to be manager, which position he has held since
January 25th, 1885. In religion he is a Roman Catholic. He was married
on February 9th, 1886, to Maria Georgiana Athala Piché, daughter of
Urgel Piché, broker, of Joliette.
* * * * *
=Ratcliffe, John=, was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, on the 9th
September, 1813. His father, Daniel Graham Ratcliffe, was a native of
Cumberland, England, but removed to Scotland in early manhood, married
Elizabeth Latham, a native of Hamilton parish, Lanarkshire, and spent
the remainder of his days mostly in Avondale parish. The father was
suddenly cut off in the prime of life, leaving a heavy burden to rest
upon the shoulders of his son John, the eldest of the family. Before he
had completed his twentieth year, in the spring of 1833, he sought the
shores of Canada, in the hope of securing a better home and portion for
the family. The township of Whitby, county of Ontario, was the part of
Upper Canada to which he was directed. He purchased from the government
the north half of lot 6, concession 6, where he settled. The following
year the family removed to Canada, where they found a home ready for
them. On October 31st, 1836, Mr. Ratcliffe married Margaret Hepburn,
eldest daughter of John Hepburn, a native of Lanarkshire, who also came
to Canada in 1833. To them were born seven sons and three daughters, all
of whom are still alive. The subject of this sketch was a man of more
than ordinary ability. Not having educational opportunities beyond a few
months in the parish school, his pathway was made more difficult, but
this loss was largely compensated for by extensive and careful reading.
Time for reading was not abundant in the life of a pioneer, but moments
were utilised, and to such good advantage that, having the misfortune to
break his leg, he was, during the time of enforced rest from work,
chosen to teach a school opened in the neighbourhood. When municipal
affairs began to demand attention, he was alive to every question that
agitated the public, and occupied a seat at the council board for many
years, presiding as reeve over its affairs during the greater portion of
the time. In the year 1863 he occupied the warden’s chair, thereafter
retiring from public municipal life. For many years he was an active
justice of the peace, and in the discharge of the magisterial functions
won the respect and confidence of the whole community. During the years
that East Whitby was without a township hall, his house was the
court-room in which most of the petty trials of the township had a
hearing. He always counselled a harmonious settlement of difficulties;
and many a quarrel was satisfactorily disposed of, without “going to
law,” by having the parties meet and talk over the trouble with him. In
politics he was a consistent and pronounced Liberal, and for many years
held the honorable and responsible position of president of the South
Ontario Reform Association. His name was frequently mentioned when a
candidate was to be selected, but he always declined the honor. In
religion he was a loyal Presbyterian. With all his interest in public
affairs, his relation to the church of Christ, and his responsibility to
its Head were never allowed to be interfered with. In the year 1856 he
was ordained to the eldership of the United Presbyterian church, which
office he adorned until called higher. Only ill-health or absence from
home ever kept him from his accustomed place in the house of God, or
from his class in the Sabbath school. He was a most successful teacher,
personally interested in every member of his class, and many were by his
instrumentality led to decide for Christ. In his home he was tender and
affectionate, yet firm, and his children remember with gratitude his
kindly, wise counsel, and, above all, his Christian instruction and
personal example. Suddenly, on March 9th, 1878, he was called to his
rest and reward.
* * * * *
=Torrington, Frederic Herbert=, Organist of the Metropolitan Methodist
Church, Toronto, Conductor of the Toronto Philharmonic Society and of
the great Toronto Musical Festival, 1886, and without doubt the most
prominent executive musician in Canada, was born at Dudley,
Worcestershire, England, October 20th, 1837. He commenced playing the
violin at the early age of seven years, and as he even then showed
marked ability, he was placed under competent musical instructors at
Birmingham, and articled, after the good old English fashion, to James
Fitzgerald, then organist and choirmaster of St. George’s and Mary’s
Churches, Kidderminster. At the age of sixteen he became organist and
choirmaster of St. Anne’s Church, Bewdley. In 1857 he left England for
Montreal, where he was, immediately on his arrival, appointed organist
of Great St. James street Methodist Church, a post which he occupied for
twelve years. During this period he founded several vocal societies and
the Montreal Amateur Musical Union Orchestra, and was for two years
bandmaster of the 25th regiment (regulars). Visiting Boston in
September, 1868, he gave a performance on the Great Music Hall organ,
which was warmly noticed in _Dwight’s Journal of Music_ and the Boston
daily press. Shortly after, at the invitation of P. S. Gilmore, he
formed the Canadian orchestral contingent for the first great Boston
jubilee. A few weeks after the close of the festival, Mr. Torrington
accepted the position of organist at King’s Chapel, Boston, and held it
for four years. During this period he was one of the regular solo
organists at the Music Hall, one of the first violins in the Harvard
Symphony Orchestra, a teacher of the piano at the New England
Conservatory of Music, and conductor of six vocal societies. On several
occasions he was solo organist at the concerts in Henry Ward Beecher’s
church, Brooklyn. In 1873 he came to Toronto, and was appointed organist
and choirmaster of the Metropolitan Church, and conductor of the
Philharmonic Society. This society was, at this time, in its infancy,
and in a languishing condition, but Mr. Torrington’s energy and the
enthusiastic music-lovers with whom he was able to surround himself
enabled him to develop it into the greatest factor in the musical world
of Canada, and into one of the greatest societies on the American
continent, as will be shown by a glance at the society’s performances in
fourteen years:—“Messiah” (4), “Elijah” (5), “Creation” (3), “Lay of
the Bell” (2), “Fridolin” (2), “St. Paul” (2), “Stabat Mater” (2), “May
Queen” (3), “Hymn of Praise” (2), “Walpurgis Night,” “Naaman” (2),
“Spring’s Message,” “Bride of Dunkerron,” “Judas Maccabæus” (2), “Gypsy
Life,” “The Last Judgment,” “Acis and Galatea,” “Preciosa,” “Redemption”
(2), “Rose Maiden,” march and chorus (Tannhæuser), “March Cortege”
(Reine de Saba), “Crusaders,” “Fair Ellen,” “Rose of Sharon,” “Mors et
Vita,” “Spectre’s Bride,” “Golden Legend.” To this imposing list of
choral works must be added numerous unaccompanied part songs, and the
following orchestral works:—Larghetto, Second Symphony (Beethoven),
Larghetto, Jupiter Symphony (Mozart), Surprise Symphony (Haydn), Hymn of
Praise Symphony (Mendelssohn), the Maritana, Martha, Oberon and Preciosa
overtures, Andante, First Symphony (Beethoven), G minor Concerto
(Mendelssohn), Beethoven’s Piano Concerto, Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto,
Arditi’s L’Ingenue Gavotte, and Delibes’ Valse lente e pizzicati, many
of these works being heard for the first time in Canada, and some for
the first time on this side of the Atlantic. The influence of the
Philharmonic Society is most strikingly reflected in the immense
improvement in the condition of church choirs throughout the city, and
in the establishment of other flourishing vocal societies. But Mr.
Torrington’s greatest work in the cause of music was undoubtedly the
initiation and successful performances of the great musical festival of
1886. In this a monster chorus of over nine hundred voices, accompanied
by an orchestra of one hundred skilled musicians, sang Handel’s “Israel
in Egypt” and Gounod’s “Mors et Vita” with a degree of musical splendor
that astonished every auditor. The soloists were of world-wide repute,
being Fraulein Lilli Lehmann, Mrs. E. Aline Osgoode, Mrs. Gertrude
Luther, Miss Agnes Huntington, Mr. Albert L. King, Mr. Max Heinrich, Mr.
D. M. Babcock, Mr. Frederic Archer, Mr. Otto Bendix, Mme. Josephine
Chatterton, Herr Henry Jacobsen, and Mr. Fred Warrington. Two
miscellaneous concerts were also given in which the soloists and
orchestra were assisted by a chorus of over one thousand three hundred
school children, in whose training he was ably assisted by E. W. Schuch
and A. P. Perrin. Mr. Torrington conducted these performances, which
have been unparalleled outside of four or five of the largest American
cities. The support and interest of the public were most gratifying, the
receipts being $13,561.48, yielding a net profit, after all expenses
were paid of $599.19, and entirely obviating the necessity of calling on
the immense guarantee fund of $35,000. In the respect of being
self-sustaining, the festival was unique, this rarely being the case,
even in the largest cities of the United States. The ability of the city
to provide such immense choral forces, and to support such an
undertaking so liberally, may clearly be traced to the confidence placed
in Mr. Torrington by the musical public, and to the great influence
exerted by his unwearied efforts to advance and popularise the cause of
true and pure music in Toronto. Mr. Torrington has laboured assiduously
to organise a permanent orchestra in Toronto, and his efforts have been
crowned with success; an efficient orchestra of sixty instrumentalists
being now one of the chief musical features of the city, and one of its
principal musical educators. Mr. Torrington’s wisdom in introducing the
amateur element into this orchestra is shown by the fact that a
well-balanced band, which is capable of performing oratorio
accompaniments, is now in active life in the city. His labors have
extended to Hamilton, where, as conductor of the Hamilton Philharmonic
Society, he has produced “The Lay of the Bell,” “Messiah,” “Elijah,”
“Hymn of Praise,” “Naaman,” “Rose of Sharon,” “The Three Holy Children,”
and “Samson.” As conductor of the University College Glee Club, he has
produced Mendelssohn’s music to “Antigone,” and Max Bruch’s “Frithjof.”
As a composer, he has produced several church services, hymn tunes,
organ voluntaries, secular choruses and songs. Mr. Torrington was
brought up a member of the Church of England, but has for many years
been connected with the Methodist church as organist. He is a Freemason,
being a life member of Ionic lodge, Toronto, and is a fellow and gold
medallist of the Society of Science, Letters and Art, London, England.
He has also been, for the past five years, director of the musical
department of the Ontario Ladies’ College, Whitby.
* * * * *
=Owens, John=, St. John, New Brunswick, an enterprising ship-builder and
shipowner, but better known in these latter days as a public spirited
and philanthrophic citizen, was born in St. John, New Brunswick, in the
year 1790, and died in his native city in the year 1867. The Owens Art
Institution of St. John is the outcome of his bequest “to be applied by
his executors for the purpose of establishing a gallery, or school of
art, for the instruction of young persons in drawing and other works of
art.” The fact of this institution having been created without any
outside assistance, and of its being operated with the view to be
self-sustaining through voluntary support on its merits alone, warrants
some reference to the circumstances which led up to its present
efficiency as a thoroughly equipped art educational establishment.
Hence, it may be said, the amount left for art purposes proving to be
quite inadequate to effect the object as set forth, led the executors to
believe the testator intended the amount so left to be merely a nucleus,
to be added to by other persons desirous of promoting a love for the
fine arts. From the outset the money was much sought after, but the fund
remained unapplied, in consequence of all propositions for its use being
destitute of the practical and financial accompaniments which the
executors deemed absolutely necessary for the accomplishment of the
object, in accordance with the terms of the will. A church property,
together with a limited endowment fund, formed another bequest, vested
in five trustees and their successors, the clergyman officiating in the
church to be of either the Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Independent
or Episcopal persuasion. By reason of a combination of restrictions and
limitations governing the trust, so much difficulty was experienced in
its administration that a cessation of the church services took place in
the year 1882, with little prospect of their early renewal. In this
state of the two interests it became the opinion of the then sole
surviving executor, Robert Reed, and the trustees of the church estate,
namely, Robert Reed, Francis Jordan, Thomas Jordan, John Hegan, and
Andrew D. Robertson, the latter having succeeded John Duncan, deceased,
who was Mr. Owens’ business partner for about forty years, under the
firm of Owens & Duncan, that if the several trusts were concentrated
upon art, that object which the testator had in view might possibly be
carried out; whereupon they joined in an application to the legislature
to change the trusts, which was done by an act passed in the session of
1884. Immediately thereafter steps were taken, by the same trustees, to
remodel the church edifice into what now appears to be a building
thoroughly adapted for the purpose of art education, with the view of
making the institution as attractive and as useful as possible under the
circumstances; thereby hoping to create a more general interest in the
fine arts, the trustees have put forth the whole strength of the means
at their command, resulting in the gallery walls being covered with high
class work, consisting mostly of examples from the brush of English
Royal Academicians and other eminent artists of the present and previous
two centuries, besides a very full and complete school outfit of casts
from the antique, and drawing examples by leading artists,
characteristic of the South Kensington schools. In consequence of the
funds being thus exhausted, the institution is now solely depending for
its income upon its school fees and a charge for admission to the
gallery, but its being thus sustained solely on its intrinsic merits, is
a problem now in course of solution. If the experiment succeeds in its
aims it will prove to be a new departure in the maintenance of
educational establishments of a kindred character. The school is in
charge of John Hammond, a native of Montreal, who, in addition to being
a professional artist of many years’ standing, has, since his connection
with the Owens Art Institution, spent two years in European art study,
and his works having been repeatedly hung in the annual exhibition of
the Royal Academy of London, and the Paris Salon, gives him rank as
among the leading artists of the day. In addition to the patronage from
the city and outlying districts of New Brunswick, the school has thus
far attracted pupils who have registered respectively from Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Maine and Massachusetts.
* * * * *
=Corning, Thomas Edgar=, Barrister, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, is of English
descent. His ancestors came to America in 1640, and settled in Beverley,
Massachusetts. His great grandfather removed in 1764, and was one of the
first settlers in Yarmouth. His father is Nelson Corning, of Chegoggin,
Yarmouth. Mr. Corning was born at Chegoggin on the 11th April, 1842. He
received his early education in Acadia College, Wolfville, Nova Scotia,
and graduated on the 6th June, 1865. Besides holding the degree of
bachelor of arts, he has been elected a scholar and member of the senate
of the University of Acadia. This latter event occurred in 1883. Having
finished his classical studies, Mr. Corning entered upon the study of
the law, and was admitted to the bar on 30th October, 1869. His
thoroughness and practical business turn of mind soon secured to him a
fair share of the legal business in Yarmouth, and he now enjoys the
reputation of being one of the best lawyers in Yarmouth county. He is
head of the firm of Corning & Chipman. In politics he is a
Liberal-Conservative, but resides in a constituency which has always
been intensely Liberal. However, at the general elections in 1882, Mr.
Corning was elected as a supporter of the then Liberal-Conservative
government led by the Hon. J. S. D. Thompson, now minister of justice at
Ottawa. This government resigned shortly after the elections, giving
place to the Liberal government first led by the Hon. Mr. Pipes,
afterwards by the Hon. Mr. Fielding. In the House of Assembly Mr.
Corning took a leading part in all the debates, and carefully considered
every question upon its merits, aiming to give an intelligent vote
always. Although staunch to his party, his candor and fairness made him
popular and respected by the dominant party. On the dissolution of the
house, in 1886, he was nominated by his party. But the secession
agitation had begun, and the Fielding ministry went to the country with
the cry of “Repeal.” To this issue Mr. Corning presented an unwavering
opposition, but the popular enthusiasm was too great for him, and he was
defeated in June, 1886, by a majority of one thousand. Since then he has
continued in private life, but his integrity and ability will, no doubt,
before many years bring him again to the fore in political matters. Mr.
Corning has never travelled much outside of his native province. He has
held the office of treasurer of the municipality of Yarmouth since 1874.
Although one of the largest towns in the province, Yarmouth has never
been incorporated, and is still managed in the old way. Nine of the
county councillors, elected in the limits of the polling district of
Yarmouth town, manage its affairs. Mr. Corning married, on the 25th
August, 1880, Jane Alden Baxter, daughter of John Baxter, of Yarmouth.
He is a Baptist in religion.
* * * * *
=Black, J. Burpee=, M.D., Windsor, N.S., was born at St. Martin’s, New
Brunswick, on the 15th August, 1842. Dr. Black is of Irish extraction,
his father, Thomas Henry Black, having been a native of county Armagh,
Ireland. His mother’s maiden name was Mary E. Fownes, and resided in St.
Martin’s. Dr. Black received his early education in St. Martin’s, and
continued his course in St. John, New Brunswick, and at the Mount
Allison Wesleyan Academy, Sackville, N.B. His family were Baptists, but,
owing probably to his educational associations, Dr. Black has for
twenty-five years worshipped with the Methodists, and has for some years
been an active member of their church. Having completed his studies at
Sackville, where he made the acquaintance of the lady who afterwards
became his wife, he studied medicine at Berkshire Medical College, in
Massachusetts, and received the degree of M.D., after finishing his
course at the University of Philadelphia. He commenced the practice of
his profession in the village of Hantsport, Hants county, N.S., but
after residing there for five years removed to Windsor, where he has
since resided, and has worked up one of the largest practices in Nova
Scotia. Hantsport has been in its growth one of the most prosperous
villages in Nova Scotia. It owes the greatest part of its success to the
business ability, integrity and enterprise of the Hon. Ezra Churchill,
who worked his way up from the humblest beginnings to the position of
M.P. in Nova Scotia before confederation, and a senator of the Dominion.
When he died, at Ottawa, in the spring of 1874, he owned a fleet of
upwards of forty ships of various sizes, and his property was estimated
at $800,000. He literally made Hantsport, most of the houses there
having been erected under his supervision. His daughter, Bessie, was
married to Dr. Black at Hantsport, on the 11th May, 1864. They have been
blessed with a family of ten children, nine of whom are living, and one,
the eldest, is married. Like his father-in-law, Dr. Black has always
been a Conservative in politics, and in some campaigns has taken the
stump in behalf of his friends. He has also been freely spoken of as a
possible candidate for legislative honors. He was elected a member of
the town council of the town of Windsor in October, 1882, and held the
position until his time of service expired in 1884, when he was elected
warden of Windsor without opposition. Windsor became an incorporated
town in the year 1878. Previous to this time its affairs had been
administered by justices of the peace sitting at quarter sessions. Its
public moneys were voted at a town meeting held once a year. The chief
officers were the town clerk, the commissioner of streets, and the
collector of rates. During Dr. Black’s period of service as councillor
the town was supplied with water from a reservoir on Fall Brook, a
stream of water running from lakes on the South Mountain, six miles in
rear of the town. The actual length of the water mains is about three
miles. The cost of this public work, the greatest yet undertaken by the
town, was $48,000, and $8,000 has since been expended in extending the
system. Debentures paying five per cent in two half-yearly instalments
were issued to raise this sum, which was readily procured, and has
proved to be excellent stock, the bonds now selling considerably above
par. All parts of the town are supplied cheaply and plentifully with
excellent water, while the pressure, 86 lbs., is so great that the town
has no need of fire engines, the supply from the hydrants being
sufficient to quickly extinguish any fire which has yet broken out. Dr.
Black was chairman of the water committee, and the works under his
management were constructed for a less cost than that estimated by the
engineer—a result very rare in public works. Dr. Black has also been
interested in most of the new manufacturing enterprises of the town. On
the expiry of his first term of service as warden, in 1884, he was
re-elected by acclamation, and held the office until he retired in 1885.
He is connected with no secret society except the Masonic fraternity. He
was made a Mason in Mount Lebanon lodge, R.E., Prince Edward Island, in
1866. He held the office of master of Poyntz lodge, at Hantsport, from
1867 to 1870. In 1873 he became high priest of Hiram Chapter, at
Windsor. He was also district deputy grand master of the Nova Scotia
Grand Lodge in 1883 and 1885.
* * * * *
=Bingay, Thomas Van Buskirk=, Yarmouth, N.S., was born in 1814, at
Shelburne, Nova Scotia. He comes of an old loyalist family. His mother,
Sarah Van Buskirk, was the daughter of Jacob Van Buskirk, who saw
stirring times during the American revolution. In the first American war
he held the position of major, and during the war of 1812 he was
colonel. Later on he became a judge of the old inferior court of Common
Pleas, of Nova Scotia, in the list of the judges of which court occur
some of the brightest names of Nova Scotians, such as Judge Haliburton
(“Sam Slick”), John G. Marshall, and Peleg Wiswell. Jacob Van Buskirk’s
father was Abraham Van Buskirk, who was colonel in the 4th battalion of
New Jersey Volunteers, and second in command to Brigadier-General Arnold
in his expedition to New London (being specially mentioned in his
despatches for active exertions), and who, at the close of the
revolutionary war, in 1784, settled in Shelburne. Shelburne was then a
city of some ten thousand inhabitants, and Abraham Van Buskirk was its
first mayor. Mr. Bingay is the eldest son of the late John Bingay, of
Shelburne, who for some years represented the county of Shelburne in the
provincial parliament, and who was deputy-sheriff of the county of
Yarmouth, and subsequently, in 1836, first high sheriff of the county,
which office he held until his death, which occurred in 1851. He was
educated at Church Point, in Digby county, with the venerable Abbé
Sigogne, for many years parish priest of the Acadian district of Clare,
in which settlement he exercised great influence, and where his name is
still held in great reverence. The abbé was a great friend of T. C.
Haliburton whilst that author practised law in Annapolis Royal and
represented the county of Annapolis in the House of Assembly. He was not
only a very learned man, but also a typical country clergyman, being
consulted by his flock on all occasions about affairs of every class.
Mr. Bingay subsequently attended school in Halifax. He began to study
law in Liverpool, N.S., but completed his term of apprenticeship in
Halifax, where he was enrolled as attorney in 1835. In those days, a
year elapsed before an aspirant for forensic honours after becoming an
attorney, could be admitted to practice at the bar of this province. In
1835, Mr. Bingay became a barrister and began the active duties of his
profession in Yarmouth. In 1839, he was appointed judge of probate, and
in the next year, master in chancery. He was also a captain of the
Yarmouth militia in 1839. In 1852 he left Yarmouth and made a voyage to
Australia. On his way home he stopped in California, where his son,
Thomas V. B., was born. He returned to Yarmouth in 1857, and has resided
there ever since. Mr. Bingay has lived through the most prosperous times
of Yarmouth. Has seen the rise, good times, and decadence of one of the
most enterprising shipbuilding eras of this province, and has been
professionally connected with most of the leading enterprises of his
town. His first wife was Lois, daughter of the late Joseph Tooker, by
whom he had two sons, who both died in early manhood, and a daughter who
died in infancy. His second wife was Margaret J., daughter of the late
James Budd Moody, who was a brother of the late Elisha W. B. Moody, and
grandson of Col. James Moody, of New Jersey. Col. James Moody, at the
close of the American war, settled in Weymouth, N.S. Of this marriage
there were eight sons and a daughter, of whom two sons and the daughter
died in infancy. Of his sons, the oldest three reside in Yarmouth. These
are James Wentworth Bingay, Q.C., revising barrister, and major of
Yarmouth county militia; George Bingay, barrister and captain of
militia, and Thomas V. B. Bingay, accountant in the Exchange Bank of
Yarmouth. All of these are men in first-rate standing. Mr. Bingay and
his two oldest sons constitute the legal firm of Thomas V. B. Bingay &
Sons. They are the solicitors of the following local corporations,
viz.:—The Bank of Yarmouth; The Western Counties Railway Company (James
Wentworth Bingay, sec’y.-treasurer); The Mutual Relief Society of Nova
Scotia (James Wentworth Bingay, director and trustee); and the Yarmouth
Water Company (George Bingay, sec’y.-treas.). Of the latter company
George Bingay was one of the three original corporators. From his family
antecedents, as well as his professional and social environment, as may
be supposed, Mr. Bingay’s sentiments lean strongly towards Conservatism.
He is the oldest representative of a family, which for a hundred years,
has held a very prominent position in the western counties of Nova
Scotia. His ancestors made great sacrifices for British connection. The
family are Episcopalians in religion.
* * * * *
=Shields, John=, of Toronto, was born at Crammond Bridge, nine miles
from Edinburgh, Midlothianshire, Scotland, on the 26th day of June,
1842. His father was Alexander Shields, a farmer from Fifeshire,
Scotland, and mother, Margaret West. They came to Canada in 1854, and
settled in the township of Markham, afterwards removing to the township
of the Gore of Toronto. The subject of this sketch commenced his
education at Edinburgh, and afterwards attended the Collegiate
Institute, Toronto, graduating with prize honours. He then passed a
regular examination which enabled him to take a position as head master
of a school in the township of Toronto, which occupation he continued at
for two years. He then successfully passed the civil service and excise
examination, taking a clerkship with John Morrow, who now holds the
position of inspector of Inland Revenue, Toronto. At the time excise
duty was put on petroleum he was sent to Petrolia and Sarnia by the
Dominion government to organize the staff for the Inland Revenue
department. After getting this branch of the service in active
operation, he resigned in 1872 and commenced the production of oil by
sinking a large number of wells on his own account. After a very short
time he became one of the largest Canadian oil operators, continuing in
this business a number of years. During this time his fellow operators
and the citizens generally having seen that his administrative talent
would be of great service to the town of Petrolia, they elected him in
1875 to the office of reeve, he being the youngest member ever elected
to the county council. This was his first experience in politics, and
from that time forth he took an active part in the interests of the
Liberal-Conservative party by fighting in that Reform stronghold the
Hon. Alexander Mackenzie and his brothers. From oil he gradually began
the formation of railway companies, and was largely interested with the
late F. C. Cline, in promoting and building the Kingston and Pembroke
Railway. About this time, while still reeve of Petrolia, he organized
the Erie and Lake Huron Railway, which was afterwards carried out to a
successful issue in 1876. He removed again to the city of Toronto, since
which time he has been actively engaged in building railways, canals,
bridges and other large works of a public character, among which may be
mentioned that most difficult engineering undertaking of the Canadian
Pacific Railway between Lake Superior and the city of Winnipeg. This
part of the line was considered the most inaccessible part of the road
between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He and his _confrère_ finished
this difficult task one year before the allotted time, much to the
surprise of the government, the officials of the board, and the public
generally. This unheard of result showed to great advantage his ability
in controlling a large body of men. After finishing the line, he
operated the same for traffic purposes for a year, and inaugurated the
first through train service, when it was taken over by the company.
During this time he saw the opportunity and necessity for a large
business in the lumber trade, in which he, with his usual enterprise, at
once embarked, and built the first saw-mill and the first house in
Brandon, Manitoba. He also built several other extensive saw-mills in
various parts of the province. In 1886-7 he rebuilt and enlarged the
Welland Canal, and also built a considerable portion of the St.
Catharines and Niagara Central Railway, being the sole contractor for
that line. In 1887 he commenced to build the Harvard bridge, between the
cities of Boston and Cambridge. This bridge will have twenty-six spans,
will be over half a mile long, and when completed will doubtless reflect
great credit on Mr. Shields as a builder, justifying the confidence his
American cousins have placed in him. He also owns and develops large
granite quarries on the coast of Maine, particularly at Deer Isle. Mr.
Shields is a consistent member of the Church of England, and was first
married on the 8th of October, 1870, to Essie Annis Smiley, of St.
Catharines, who died on the 20th July, 1881, at Rat Portage, leaving
four children to mourn her loss, two sons and two daughters. Mr. Shields
afterwards married a second time Matilda Esther Gould, at Rochester,
N.Y., on the 5th of November, 1884.
* * * * *
=Hale, Hon. John.=—The late Hon. John Hale belonged to an ancient and
distinguished family, and was a descendant of Nicholas de Hales, of
Hales Place, one of whose sons, Sir Robert, treasurer of England, prior
of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, temp. Edward III., 1381, was
killed by the insurgents in Wat. Tyler’s insurrection; and of Thomas
Hale, who, in 1400, held Codicote, the family seat in Hertfordshire,
England, as per inscription in the old mansion there, which was pulled
down and rebuilt in 1774; and of Richard Hale, of King’s Walden and
Stagenhoe, in Hertfordshire, temp. Elizabeth, 1567 and 1588. His father,
General John Hale, came to Canada with General Wolfe in 1758, and as
colonel commanded the 47th Regiment at the memorable battle on the
Plains of Abraham, September 13th, 1759, and was the one chosen by
Wolfe, during his dying moments, to carry home the despatches. We give
an extract from _The Literary Gazette_, London, December 11th, 1847:—
For a change of subject we proceed to an original notice of an
eminent native of Cleveland, General Hale, a companion of Wolfe
at Quebec, from the pen of an affectionate daughter, the eldest
representative of the family, which can hardly fail to be
interesting to readers:—
“My father, General Hale, was born in 1728. Being intended for
the bar, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, but becoming
associated with his brother Bernard, then in the Guards, he
finally determined to follow the profession of arms. He obtained
a commission in the 47th Regiment (then called Lascelles), and
in 1752 was ordered to join in the disastrous struggle in
America. The war with France in 1755 caused the attack, in 1758,
on Louisbourg and Cape Breton, which were taken by the army
under Wolfe. In the spring of 1759 Wolf attacked Quebec, whilst
Amherst attacked Montreal, and the battle of September 13th,
1759, decided the fall of the province. My father commanded the
47th on that day. I have heard him state that he remonstrated
with Wolfe for wearing a new uniform, as he thereby became
conspicuous to the Indian marksmen. My father was dispatched
home in the _Lowestoke_ frigate, with the news of that glorious
battle and the death of that brave commander, in the arms of
victory. For that Service he was rewarded with the sum of £500,
and an order to raise the 17th Light Dragoons, which regiment he
resigned on being appointed governor of Londonderry and Culmore
forts. (This regiment he raised at his own expense.) He married,
in 1764, on his return from the Havanna (where he went as
military secretary to Lord Albemarle, and received prize money
to the amount of £10,000), Mary, second daughter of William
Chaloner, Esq. Her dower was the estate of Tockett’s Hall,
afterwards called ‘Plantation,’ about a mile north-east of
Gisborough, where was an ancient house to which the General
added largely and made it his residence.”
Mrs. Hale was sister of Anne, Countess of Harewood, and was one of the
celebrated beauties of the day, her portrait having been painted by Sir
Joshua Reynolds as “Euphrosyne.” This life-size painting now forms the
centre picture in the gallery of the Earl of Harewood. The portrait of
her husband, the general, also painted by Sir Joshua, is now in the
possession of his great-grandson, Edward John Hale, of Quebec.
“Mrs. Hale died in 1803, and General Hale in 1806, and both are
buried in Gisborough Church, leaving issue ten sons and eleven
daughters; but of this large family not one is now to be found
in the Vale of Gisborough. ‘Plantation’ was purchased in 1809 by
Robert Chaloner, Esq., and again added to the Gisborough estate,
and the mansion demolished in 1829. In addition to the above, we
append the following particulars in a letter to the late Thomas
Small, of Gisborough, by the same writer:—‘I have read the copy
of your letter to my nephew, George Grote, M.P. (the historian),
and as I am now left the eldest member of the Hale family, being
sister of the late Mrs. Lewin, whose daughter Mr. Grote married.
I cannot but thank you for the faithful history of the late
General John Hale. With regard to my father being _aide-de-camp_
to General Wolfe, I think you are incorrect, for Wolfe’s words
were, after receiving his mortal wound, “I am aware it is the
_aide-de-camp’s_ privilege to carry the despatches home; but I
beg as a favor to request that my old friend, Colonel Hale, may
have that honour.” Also, General Hale’s portrait is not inserted
in that fine print of Wolfe’s death, and why? Because he would
not give the printer the sum of £100, which he demanded as the
price of placing on a piece of paper what his own country knew
so very well, viz.: that he (General Hale) fought in the hottest
of the battle of Quebec, whether the printer thought fit to
record it or not. In reply to another part of your letter
respecting the quantity of land granted to my father, for his
services at Quebec, the whole of it merged, through lapse of
time, to the Crown, and was never available to my brothers; but
my brothers possessed very extensive property there, and such
property is termed in Canada, seigniory, or what we should call
here a lordship. My eldest brother, Mr. Hale (the Hon. John),
died at Quebec last Christmas (1838), at the age of 73 years,
leaving the office of receiver-general to his second son,
Jeffrey.’”
The Hon. John Hale came to Canada as A.D.C. and military secretary to
his Royal Highness, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, in 1793. Returning to
England in 1798, he married, in April of that year, at St. George’s,
Hanover Square, London, Elizabeth Frances, the talented and highly
accomplished daughter of Gen. Wm. Amherst, and sister of Earl Amherst,
who was governor-general of India in 1825. In June, 1799, he returned to
Quebec as paymaster-general of the forces, which office he held until it
was merged into the duties of the commissariat. He was a member of the
Legislative Council of Lower Canada. He purchased from the De Lanaudière
family the seigniory of St. Anne de la Pérade, where he lived to a ripe
old age, at the manor house, on the best of terms with his tenants,
amongst whom he introduced many improvements. He returned with his
family every winter to Quebec, where he and Mrs. Hale were prominent
leaders in the social life of the ancient capital. In 1824 he was
appointed receiver-general of the province, which office he held up to
the time of his death, the duties being discharged during the
infirmities of his last illness by his son, Jeffrey Hale, who retired
from the navy and devoted his life to good works, and established in
Quebec the first savings bank, the first Protestant Sunday school, and
was the founder of the Jeffrey Hale Protestant Hospital. Mrs. Hale died
in June, 1826, and Mr. Hale in December, 1838; both are buried in Mt.
Hermon cemetery, Quebec. There were twelve children issue of this
marriage, eight sons and four daughters. Three died in their infancy. Of
the surviving seven the Hon. Edward, of Sherbrooke, was in public life;
Jeffrey, captain in the Royal Navy; Bernard, a barrister-at-law, in
London; Richard, captain in the 81st regiment; William Amherst, captain
in the 52nd regiment, and George Carleton remained at the seigniory of
St. Annes after the death of his father. Frances Isabella died
unmarried; Mary married Rev. Henry Hotham; and Elizabeth Harriot married
Admiral Orlebar. Mr. Hale was of the old school, with the usual
liberality and independence of an English gentleman. He had some strong
hereditary feelings about the duties of a public officer, which were
better securities than the strictest laws and superintendence in those
times when offices were frequently sought and obtained through intrigue
and popular favor. He neither gave nor asked for favors, but ever
prepared to do all that he was authorized to do. Both in public and
private life he carried out to the full the family motto, “_Vera
sequor_.”
* * * * *
=Trenaman, Thomas=, M.D., City Medical Officer, Halifax, N.S., was born
in Halifax, July 16th, 1843. He is a son of Samuel and Mary Ann
Trenaman, who settled in Nova Scotia from the West of England, about the
year 1835. Dr. Trenaman was educated at King’s College, Windsor, N.S. He
pursued his preparatory medical studies in the office of Hon. D. McN.
Parker, M.D., Halifax, and graduated in 1869 at the College of
Physicians and Surgeons, New York. The degree of doctor in medicine _ad
eundem_, was conferred by the University of King’s College, Windsor,
N.S., at its Ericœnia in 1887. From the date of the formation of the
66th Volunteer Battalion of Infantry—the Princess Louise Fusiliers—in
1869, to the spring of 1885, he was one of its surgeons. The pressing
nature of professional duties, which were continually increasing,
necessitated his retirement, at this date, from active service. In the
year 1876 Dr. Trenaman was chosen by acclamation to represent his fellow
citizens in the city council for ward two, the one in which he resides,
and was for three successive terms, of three years each, returned as
alderman for that ward. From 1879 to 1882 he was, a member of the Board
of School Commissioners of the city of Halifax, the last year of which
he was honored by his brother commissioners in being made chairman of
the board. Dr. Trenaman was elected county physician in 1881, and in
1883 was chosen by the city council, city medical officer, to fill the
vacancy caused by the death of the previous incumbent. Our subject is
also, at this writing, attending physician to the Victoria General
Hospital, visiting physician to the Poor’s Asylum, and also to the city
prison, as well as being police surgeon and surgeon to the fire
department. Dr. Trenaman was initiated into the mysteries of the Masonic
craft in St. Andrew’s lodge, No. 1, R.N.S., F. & A. M., in 1871. In 1877
was elected its worshipful master, and at the present time fills the
office of district deputy grand master for district No. 1, R.N.S., and
is also representative of the Grand Lodge of Connecticut, near the Grand
Lodge of Nova Scotia. Dr. Trenaman is a companion of Royal Union
Chapter, No. 1, R.A.M. The doctor is also a member of Mystic lodge, No.
18, I.O.O.F., and a patriarch of Halifax Encampment, No. 12, belonging
as well to the Manchester Unity of that order, being a member of Prince
of Wales lodge, No. 5291, and its surgeon, and that of Lansdowne lodge,
No. 6703. Dr. Trenaman is surgeon to the St. George’s Society of
Halifax, and is the medical examiner for some of the leading life
insurance companies doing business in Halifax. In June, 1881, our
subject was elected president of the associated alumni of King’s
College, Windsor, and has been continued in that office uninterruptedly
since that time. In 1883 he was selected by the Dominion government
statistical officer for the registration of mortuary statistics in the
city of Halifax. Dr. Trenaman has travelled extensively through Canada
and the United States, but has not as yet visited the old world. In
religious belief he is a Methodist. In 1871, he married Harriett Helen
Robinson, of Windsor, N.S. The doctor is, in the fullest sense of the
term, a busy man, yet he finds time, notwithstanding his large and
lucrative practice, to take an active interest in everything that
pertains to the welfare of his native city. He is an enthusiastic
supporter of its clubs for the development of aquatic and field sports,
and generally is a citizen of whom Halifax has a right to be proud.
* * * * *
=Machin, Henry Turner=, Assistant Provincial Treasurer, and Secretary of
the Treasury Board, Quebec, is one of the best known and most esteemed
citizens of the ancient capital. He is of English and Scotch extraction.
His father, the Rev. Thomas Machin, a clergyman of the Church of
England, came of an old Gloucestershire family; and his mother, Emily
Mackintosh Chisholm Fraser, a daughter of Simon Fraser, of Alvie,
Inverness-shire, who was a cousin of the distinguished statesman and
historian, Sir James Mackintosh. Mr. Machin was born at
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, on the 26th November,
1832, and came to Canada with his parents in 1840, the voyage from
Liverpool to New York being made in the steamship _Great Western_, one
of the first two passenger steamships that regularly crossed the
Atlantic. He was educated at the Brockville Grammar School, and at Upper
Canada College, Toronto. He entered business life in 1849, in the office
of the British American Land Company, at Sherbrooke, P.Q., the
commissioner of the company at that time being Sir A. T. Galt, and
remained in the company’s service until 1860, when he retired from it to
engage in commercial business in Portland, Maine. Respected by the whole
community, he was, on leaving Sherbrooke, presented with a farewell
address, to which the following reference was made at the time by the
leading local newspaper:
It affords us a sincere pleasure, which will be shared by the
numerous friends and admirers of Mr. Machin, who may peruse it,
to insert the following address and reply. Mr. Machin, though a
young man, has resided sufficiently long in Sherbrooke to
develop those qualities which have secured for him the esteem
and confidence of his numerous acquaintances and friends. On
Monday last Rev. Mr. Reid, accompanied by several of the most
respectable inhabitants, representing the signers of the
following document, waited on Mr. Machin, to perform the
pleasant duty of presenting him with a flattering, though only
just, testimony of the public appreciation of his character.
There is a feeling of regret at Mr. Machin’s departure from
Sherbrooke, but that feeling is joined to hearty wishes for his
future welfare and success. It must be a source of honest and
legitimate pride to this gentleman to reflect that last week he
was presented by his brother Free Masons with a testimonial of
their esteem, and that this week a more general expression of
the sentiment is spontaneously given by the public here.
In 1873, Mr. Machin returned to Canada, and in 1874 he was appointed the
first inspector of public offices of the province of Quebec. His
executive and financial abilities soon pointed him out for preferment,
and in October, 1874, he was elevated by the Quebec government to the
still more important and responsible position of assistant treasurer of
the province, which office he still holds. In his official capacity he
has been connected with all the financial operations of the province
since 1874, and in 1878 he was sent by the government to New York, where
he materially assisted in the successful negotiation of the provincial
loan for $3,000,000. He has been chiefly instrumental in bringing the
organisation of the treasury department to its present state of
efficiency. He has never taken a leading part in politics, but has had
the confidence and respect of every administration, whether Conservative
or Liberal, that has been in office since his appointment as a deputy
minister of the Crown. As one of the founders of the Quebec and Levis
Electric Light Company, of which he is a director, the city of Quebec is
indebted to his enterprise and spirit for a vast improvement in street
and interior lighting, the electric current being generated at the famed
Falls of Montmorency, nine miles from the city. Mr. Machin is a member
of the Church of England, is a Freemason, and has held a commission in
the militia. In 1863, he married Lucy Anne, daughter of the late Hon.
Edward Hale, of Sherbrooke, a member of the Legislative Council of
Quebec, and grand-daughter of the late Hon. Chief Justice Bowen, of
Quebec.
* * * * *
=Martin, Joseph=, LL.B., Advocate, Quebec, is one of the rising members
of the Lower Canadian bar, and a young man of considerable note and
influence in the politics of that province. He was born at Champlain, in
the Three Rivers district, on the 1st May, 1855, his parents being
Zephirin Martin and Sophie Vivier, both French Canadians. He was
educated at the Christian Brothers’ Commercial School, Three Rivers, and
the De La Salle Institute, Toronto, and studied law at the Montreal
branch of the Laval University, where he took his degrees. Admitted to
the bar of the province of Quebec, after a brilliant examination, on the
14th January, 1881, he practised law in Montreal till 1882, when he was
appointed one of the secretaries to the commission named to revise and
consolidate the statutes of the province, and took up his residence in
Quebec. A Conservative in politics, he separated from the party
represented by the Ottawa government on the question of the North-west
rebellion, and the execution of its leader, and took a very active and
prominent part in the Riel agitation and the formation of the National
party in the province of Quebec, besides contributing in no slight
degree by his exertions to the wave of popular opinion which carried the
present premier of that province, Hon. H. Mercier, and his friends, into
office at the general elections in October, 1886. In January, 1887, on
the eve of the general elections for the Dominion, Mr. Martin resigned
his position of secretary to the commission, on being chosen as the
National-Conservative or Opposition candidate for the important county
of Quebec, against the minister of militia, Sir A. P. Caron, and,
although almost a complete stranger to the constituency, was only
defeated by a very narrow majority. In religion, Mr. Martin has always
been a Roman Catholic. On the 9th May, 1883, he married Olierie de
Bondy, daughter of Dr. A. Douaire de Bondy, of Sorel, by whom he has had
three children.
* * * * *
=Mackay, William=, M.D., M.P.P., Reserve Mines, C.B., was born on 11th
Sep., 1847, at Earltown, in the county of Colchester, Nova Scotia. For a
sketch of his parents, John Mackay and Dolina Mackay, see “Paterson’s
History of the County of Pictou,” page 278. His father was one of the
pioneer settlers in Earltown, and took a prominent and leading part in
all the public affairs of the place from the time of settlement there
until his death, in 1869. A granite monument from his native hills,
Rogart, Sutherlandshire, Scotland, presented to the family by his Grace
the Duke of Sutherland, was shortly afterwards erected to commemorate a
life largely devoted to advancing the interests and ameliorating the
wants of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood in which he lived. His
mother is still living and among the few who can recall the incidents
relating to the early history, both of church and state in eastern Nova
Scotia, her residence being often the temporary home of churchmen and
statesmen. The subject of this sketch was educated at Truro, and
graduated at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, in 1873, and
after graduating he practised medicine for one year with his brother,
Dr. D. G. Mackay, at Little Glace Bay, Cape Breton. In May, 1874, he was
appointed resident physician to the Loway, Emery, and Reserve
collieries, in Cape Breton county, In 1879, Dr. D. G. Mackay removing
from Little Glace Bay, he received the appointment (in addition to the
former) of physician to the Little Glace Bay, Caledonia, and Ontario
collieries, and in 1885, was appointed physician to the old Bridgeport
mine, in addition to the above. The appointment to the Caledonia mine he
has since resigned. He was instrumental in organizing and perfecting a
system of quarantining of infectious and contagious diseases for the
mining districts which worked so satisfactorily that the municipal
council have caused it to apply to the whole county. He has been a
member of the board of health of Cape Breton county for the last five
years, and is also a member of the provincial medical board. He has been
twice elected president of the Cape Breton Medical Society, and is now
president of the Nova Scotia Medical Society; he is also a P.M. of
Tyrian Youth Lodge, No. 45, R.N.S., A. F. & A. M., and a past high
priest of Prince of Wales Chapter No. 10, R.A.M., of Nova Scotia. Dr.
Mackay is a Liberal-Conservative in politics, and was elected to
represent Cape Breton county in the local legislature of Nova Scotia at
the election in June, 1886. A liberal government being in power, and it
having been sustained at the election, Dr. Mackay was, at the first
meeting of the newly elected legislature, honoured with the position of
leader of the opposition. In religion, he is a consistent and honoured
member of the Presbyterian church. He was married on November 10th,
1875, to Catherine Campbell Sutherland, youngest daughter of Gilbert
Sutherland, of “the Falls,” Colchester county, N.S., by whom he has one
son and two daughters.
* * * * *
=Carson, Rev. W. Wellington=, Pastor of the Dominion Methodist Church,
Ottawa, Ontario, was born in the township of Osgoode, county of
Carleton, Ontario, on the 7th of January, 1845. He is a son of Thos. and
Maria Carson, who came to Canada from Ireland in the year 1833, and who
were among the pioneer settlers in that now prosperous part of Ontario.
The subject of this sketch attended the Ottawa Grammar School, and the
academy in Iroquois, being assistant teacher in the latter previously to
commencing a course of theological study. He was called to the ministry
of the Methodist church in 1867, and was received into full connection
and ordained by the late Rev. W. Morley Punshon, in 1871. After
ordination he held the pastorate of the First Methodist Church,
Hamilton; Brant Avenue Church, Brantford; the Woodstock Church, and
Centenary Methodist Church, Hamilton. He was missionary treasurer of the
London conference four years; examiner of ministerial candidates on
apologetics and hermeneutics, and also held the office of chairman of
district, 1884-5. He has travelled extensively over this continent, and
over nearly half the world, including, of course, various parts of
Europe, England, and France, all this being done with the view of
enlarging his knowledge of mankind, and the religious institutions of
other nations. His religions views may be known by his identification
with the Methodist church, but his credal beliefs are wider than those
of any denomination. His present charge is the Dominion Church, Ottawa,
where he is exceedingly popular and, what is better, useful. His
congregations are large, and the church prosperous. An intimate friend
of the reverend gentleman writes as follows: “I have known Mr. Carson
from the time of his commencing his theological studies, and his
entrance on the work of the ministry. He is one of the most devoted and
studious of the Methodist ministry, not confining himself to the
literature of his own sect, but making himself master of most lines of
modern thought. His firm and unwavering belief in the verities of Holy
Scripture guards him against the reception of every wind of doctrine
that blows from this or that point of the compass. In preaching, he is
calm at the beginning, energetic as he proceeds, fervent and eloquent in
his perorations. Hearing him frequently, it may be added that he is
progressive, and capable of grasping the highest and best form of
thought, distinct in annunciation, and clear in his modes of expressing
his conclusions.”
* * * * *
=Reed, Robert=, St. John, New Brunswick, was born in the north of
Ireland, on the 28th April, 1814. After a shipwreck on the Atlantic in
1820, he arrived with his parents at their original destination, St.
John, New Brunswick, in June of the following year. In January, 1830, he
became chief clerk in the shipping and steam-boat office of James
Whitney, who was then entering upon that fuller development of steam
communication on the Bay of Fundy and River St. John for which he
afterwards became famous. In 1835 Mr. Reed joined his brother in general
business, the partnership continuing until 1886, under the firm of J.
and R. Reed. The fact of this name having now, after a successful and
creditable career of half a century’s duration, passed from the arena of
commercial life with an honorable record for the strictest business
integrity, into a mere historical item, warrants more than a passing
notice. Hence it may be said the affairs of this house were from the
first of a progressive character, reaching to business relations with
nearly every important sea-port in the several oceans and seas, and thus
their operations as importers, as exporters, as manufacturers and as
shipowners became at times among the largest of a New Brunswick
character. And in order to show the business habits and precautionary
financial arrangements of its members, it may be mentioned that
throughout the many commercial panics and business convulsions which
occurred during the long period of the firm’s existence, its financial
engagements,whether at home or abroad, were in all cases duly met, free
from protest. Mr. Reed having had no aspirations towards political
distinction, holds no office or title in the gift of any government. His
political record is embraced in the following. In 1856 he consented to
be one on a ticket formed to run a provincial election in support of a
prohibitory liquor law passed the previous session; but the whole party
being defeated, a repeal of the law followed. This, and the acceptance,
during a temporary residence in England the following year, of a
government appointment in connection with the purchase of rails and
bridge material for the European and North American Railway, then under
construction, embrace his entire association with active political life.
But as a private citizen he has ever been noted for a generous public
spirit, willing to assist in any movement which he deemed for the
interest of the city and province of his adoption. He has travelled
much, coupled with observation, consequently his ideas, whether of a
private or public character, have always kept pace with the progress of
the age. He is president of the Owens Art Institution, of St. John, to
the development of which, as a leading art educational establishment, he
has, from its inception in 1884, devoted much of his personal attention.
His latest effort for the general good is set forth in a prospectus for
a first-class hotel, of large capacity, having in view making St. John
“a grand central rendezvous and diverging centre” for summer tourists
visiting the maritime provinces. For that purpose he proposes the
utilization of his private residence, with other and prospective
erections within a plot covering eight acres, situate on the summit of
an eminence overlooking the city and its surroundings as far as the eye
can reach. The scheme appears feasible, and got up with a due regard to
existing facts bearing upon its financial success. Its consummation
would undoubtedly be a benefit to St. John, and the province generally.
Mr. Reed, though well advanced in years, is at this writing still full
of energy, and bids fair to yet see many years of usefulness added to
his already full and useful life.
* * * * *
=Girouard, Theophile=, Quebec, is one of the most prominent,
enterprising and successful of the French Canadian businessmen of the
ancient capital, and its subsidiary districts. Born at Gentilly, Nicolet
county, on the 1st December, 1826, of the marriage of Joseph Girouard
and a French lady named de Cormier, he is essentially a self-educated
and a self-made man, and an admirable specimen of the class of his
fellow-countrymen who have done so much of late years to develop the
resources of their native province. As a lad, he laboured hard to
instruct himself, and thus succeeded in acquiring a good French and
English education. As a man, he has, with similar energy and
perseverance, striven to make his way in the world, and his efforts have
been crowned with equal success. His experience has been varied. In
1849, he was impelled by the gold fever to California, like many other
young and enthusiastic spirits of the time, but unlike not a few of them
he was fairly successful during his stay of four years there. Returning
to Canada, he engaged in the lumber business, in the province of Quebec,
and has been connected with it ever since. For a number of years the
principal seat of his operations was in the eastern townships, where he
also resided; but in 1872 he extended them to the region along the north
shore of the St. Lawrence below the Saguenay, where he founded the
outpost of Betsiamits for the purpose of manufacturing and shipping
lumber, and where he erected extensive saw mills at a cost of $152,000.
These mills are supplied with the raw material from 750 square miles of
limits, and the establishment employs from two to three hundred men. Mr.
Girouard has also been the promoter of some of the largest manufactures
in the province. Nor has he been without honours marking the respect and
confidence of his fellow citizens. He has been a captain of militia and
a justice of the peace, and the important municipality of Stanfold, in
the eastern townships, elected him its mayor during seven years. In
politics, he was a Conservative down to the time of the Riel affair,
when he seceded, joined the Liberal ranks, and became a Nationalist. His
travels have been extensive. Including his voyages to and from
California, he has crossed the ocean over thirty times, has visited most
of Europe, and by a singular coincidence which has happened in the lives
of few men, was carried by a gale of wind to latitude 62½° south below
Cape Horn, while he went on another occasion as far in the opposite
direction as 62½° north during his travels in Sweden and the Gulf of
Bothnia. In religion, he has always been a Roman Catholic. On the 9th
October, 1861, he married Alexneia Pacand, daughter of Charles Pacand,
of Arthabasca, by whom he has had issue five children. His eldest son,
Raoul, has distinguished himself as an electrician at Ottawa.
* * * * *
=Pacaud, Gaspard=, M.P.P., Windsor, Ontario, editor of _Le Progress_,
and M.P.P. for North Essex, was born at St. Norbert d’Arthabaska,
province of Quebec, on the 24th June, 1859. He was educated at St.
Joseph Grand Seminary, Three Rivers, P.Q., and graduated therefrom in
1880. He then entered the law office of his brother, Ernest Pacaud, well
known in Quebec city as a man of ability and learning, but the spirit of
activity within him was such as to induce him to forsake the law for the
equally honorable and more exciting profession of journalism, and
accordingly, in 1881, he became editor of _Le Patriote_, published in
Bay City, Michigan, by another brother, H. A. Pacaud. In 1884 he
returned to Canada, and took the editorial chair of _Le Progress_,
published in Windsor by still another brother, Aurèle Pacaud, and has
edited this paper ever since. _Le Progress_ is the only French paper
published in Western Ontario, and has a high standing among the reform
papers of the province. At the last general election Mr. Pacaud was
returned by the Reformers of North Essex as their representative in the
Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and there is no member of that body who
tries more to advance the interests of his constituents than he does. A
fact which may be taken as strong evidence of the magnetism and personal
popularity of Mr. Pacaud is this, that although such a young man—young
in years as well as in political life—and although resident but a short
time in a county which never before elected a Liberal, yet he defeated
Mr. Sol. White, who was so well known as the leader of the Opposition’s
first lieutenant. The attention which Mr. Pacaud has given to his
parliamentary duties, and the fluency of his speech when he has
addressed the house, are evidences to his friends that, although the
youngest member of the house, Mr. Pacaud is destined to make his mark,
and possibly to rise to a yet higher position in the future. Mr. Pacaud
is the son of Philippe Napoléon Pacaud, who so powerfully seconded
Papineau, in 1837 and 1838, by putting his life and his immense wealth
at the service of the great cause of his fellow countrymen, and is one
of five brothers, three of whom are journalists, and two lawyers. Every
reader of Canadian history knows the name of Pacaud, the bearers of this
name having distinguished themselves in many ways. The Pacaud family,
indeed, is well known as one of the oldest and most distinguished in the
province of Quebec.
* * * * *
=Mowat, Hon. Oliver=, Q.C., LL.D., Premier of the province of Ontario,
is descended of a stock that has given Canada many of its foremost men
in almost every public department in the land, namely, the
Canadian-Scotch. His father, John Mowat, was from Canisbay,
Caithness-shire, Scotland. He was a soldier who had seen stern service
during the Peninsular wars. His wife, Helen Levack, was also a native of
Caithness-shire. They came to Canada in 1816, and settled in Kingston,
where their son Oliver was born, on July 22, 1820. His education was as
good as the schools of that city afforded at that date. At about the age
of seventeen he entered the law office of Mr. (now Sir) John A.
Macdonald, who, a young man but five years his senior, had just been
admitted to the bar, and had settled down to practise his profession. At
the outset of his student life young Mowat was called on to serve as a
volunteer in the rebellion of 1837. It may well be supposed that the
state of parties and affairs in Canada to which his attention was thus
early and practically called must have afforded him food for thought,
and had much effect in shaping his after course. It is certainly
noteworthy, as indicating both mental independence and moral earnestness
of no common order, that, born as he was of Conservative parents,
surrounded with Conservative influences, and trained in the study of a
profession which is more closely related to politics than any other, in
the office and under the direct influence of a man whose brilliant
talents and personal magnetism have long been and still are the
strongest forces on the side of Conservatism in Canada, Oliver Mowat
should have chosen that broad-minded, moderate Liberalism, of whose
principles he has ever since been so able an exponent, and so steadfast
a promoter. He was called to the bar in 1842, and commenced his practice
in Kingston, but very soon afterwards came to Toronto, where he has ever
since resided. At a time when the line of demarcation between common law
and equity was much more clearly drawn than at present, Mr. Mowat chose
the latter branch. He rose quickly to eminence at the Chancery bar. In
1856 he was appointed by the government of which Hon. John A. Macdonald
was a member, as commissioner for consolidating the Statutes of Canada
and of Upper Canada respectively, a position which he held until 1859.
In 1857 he was elected to parliament as member for South Oxford, and
continued to represent that constituency until 1864. Upon the fall of
the Macdonald-Cartier government, in 1867, he was selected, though he
had been but one year in the house, to fill the office of provincial
secretary in the Brown-Dorion administration. He held the portfolio of
postmaster-general in the Coalition government formed by Hon. John
Sandfield Macdonald, in 1861, a position which he retained until the
defeat of that government, in 1864. He was also a member of the
memorable Union Conference which met at Quebec in 1864, and framed the
confederation scheme; but his acceptance, a few months later, of the
vice-chancellorship of Upper Canada deprived the framers of the
Confederation Act of his services in the subsequent deliberations. When
the Dual Representation Act compelled the retirement of Messrs. Blake
and Mackenzie from the leadership of the Ontario legislature, in 1872,
he was called on by the lieutenant-governor, acting no doubt on the
advice of the retiring premier, to form an administration. His descent
from the bench and re-entrance into political life gave occasion for a
good deal of discussion at the time, on the part of those who thought,
or affected to think, that the purity of the judicial ermine must be in
some way contaminated by the change. The answer, if any is needed, to
those who think that the position of head of the Provincial government
is one requiring either mental or moral qualifications of a lower order
than those of even the chancellor’s bench, is to be found in the record
of sixteen years of able, upright, and progressive government of the
affairs of Ontario. Those must be wilfully purblind who cannot now see
that the judicial temperament and habit, with all of mental training and
capacity, and of moral integrity they imply, furnish the very best of
qualifications for the responsible and honorable position of virtual
ruler of a great province. Sound discretion, marked ability, and
sterling integrity have characterised Hon. Mr. Mowat’s career in each
division of his professional and official life. As a lawyer, his talents
quickly gained recognition, and, reinforced by his clear judgment and
scrupulous conscientiousness, soon won for him a high place in the
confidence of the profession and of the court in which he practised.
Though not fluent, he was energetic, forcible, and convincing as a
pleader. His patience was admirable, his industry untiring, his
fertility in resources great. He was said to be endowed in large measure
with the power of “thinking out” a subject, and was believed to be
stronger in ability to go to the bottom of the subject than any of his
contemporaries. As a judge, he exhibited qualities of both head and
heart which, while they won for him respect and admiration, gained also
esteem and friendship in high degree. His great business and executive
ability quickly showed itself in the improved conduct and quicker
despatch of the business of the court. As the head of the government,
his record has long been before the people of Ontario. The mere
enumeration of the reforms that have been effected, and the beneficial
acts passed during his _régime_, would occupy more space than we have at
our disposal. The judicious settlement of the vexed question of the
municipal loan fund; the liberal and salutary provisions of the local
Railway Acts; the consolidation of the Provincial Statutes; the local
option principle reduced to practice in the Liquor Acts; the General
Incorporation Act, by which so much economy of time has been secured in
the Legislative Assembly; the well-considered and systematic aid to
public charities; the changes by which the education department has been
relieved of irresponsible and bureaucratic character, and put in charge
of a responsible minister; the progressive legislation in connection
with higher education and the University of Toronto; the introduction of
the ballot in political and municipal elections; the liberalising of the
franchise up to the verge of universal suffrage; all these, and many
other legislative reforms wrought under this _régime_, will be lasting
monuments of his statesmanship. Mr. Mowat’s legislation, though
uniformly Liberal and progressive, has never been sensational. His
opponents have sometimes charged him with timidity. That wise caution
that refuses to move blindly under irresponsible pressure, that waits to
look on all sides of a question, and goes forward only when the way is
made clear, is certainly his. But that cowardly fear of censure which
shrinks and hesitates on the brink of what is seen to be right and just,
for fear of consequences, cannot be laid to his charge. No really urgent
legislation in the interests of Liberalism and progress has been unduly
delayed through his fault. The manner in which he has met and
vanquished, not only in the local political arena, but in the highest
court of the realm, Sir John A. Macdonald, with all the power and
prestige of his own high reputation and the Dominion premiership at his
back, sufficiently attests his courage in doing what he deems the right.
The vindication of provincial rights in the matters of the Boundary, the
Rivers and Streams Bills, and the license question, are services
rendered by Oliver Mowat which will long be remembered by a grateful
province. As leader of the Ontario government, in the house and out, Mr.
Mowat’s address and tactics are admirable. Clear-headed and logical in
debate; cautious in committing himself, yet, when occasion demands,
prompt in decision and firm in action; uniformly courteous and affable,
yet ready and keen in retort, and often turning the tables on an
opponent most effectively; keeping himself thoroughly informed on all
important questions; exhibiting on all occasions a sound judgment,
combined with a ready wit, he inspires his colleagues and followers with
confidence, and generally holds at bay or discomfits his most eager
assailants. In some of these respects, notably in the extent and fulness
of his knowledge of the subjects under debate, and in the soundness and
acumen of his opinions on juridical and jurisdictional questions, his
record compares most favorably with that of his great antagonist, the
veteran leader of the Dominion government. To say that he may have
sometimes made mistakes in judgment and policy, and that he has not
uniformly steered clear of the dangerous reefs which abound in the
streams of patronage, is but to admit that he is human and consequently
fallible. Hon. Mr. Mowat has always taken a deep interest in social and
religious questions. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and was
for many years president of the Evangelical Alliance. Like most men who
have wrought earnestly and conscientiously for the public good in any
sphere, his philanthropy and integrity are, no doubt, deep-based upon
the firm foundation of religious principle. It has been sneeringly
insinuated that he has claimed for himself the high honor of being a
“Christian politician;” but it is unnecessary to say that the charge is
without foundation. It seems to have originated in a perversion of a
hypothetical allusion in one of his speeches to what might be considered
the duty of a Christian politician, in some specified case. To arrogate
to himself the distinctive title was farthest from his thought, and a
boast would be as repugnant to his good sense and taste as to the
modesty for which he is distinguished. That he is a faithful and devout
member of an influential Christian church is a crime which will be
readily forgiven him in view of the great services he has rendered to
society and the state.
* * * * *
=Desaulniers, Denis Benjamin William=, Nicolet, Governor of the College
of Physicians and Surgeons of the Province of Quebec, was born on the
5th of December, 1839, at St. Anthony de la Rivière du Loup, near
Maskinonge. His father, Antoine Lesieur Desaulniers, was an
agriculturist of Rivière du Loup. His mother was Maria Emelie Beland.
The Lesieur-Desaulniers were a numerous family, and inhabited a large
portion of the parishes of Yamachiche and Rivière du Loup. Our present
subject was brought up with his family until the age of thirteen, and in
the month of September, 1853, he entered the seminary of Nicolet, where
he made his classical course with great success. In the month of May,
1860, he obtained from the Board of Physicians his license for the study
of medicine, and studied two years under the patronage of Dr. Alexis
Milette. In 1862, in the month of September, he entered the Laval
University at Quebec to complete his course, and was the most solid and
substantial of all the students of his time. During his last two years
he carried off the first “Morin,” this prize having been only twice
offered to the pupils whilst pursuing his course. On the 10th October,
1865, he was admitted to the practice of medicine, after a severe
examination before the Provincial Board of Physicians, and the same year
he established himself in the parish of Rivière du Loup, now
Louiseville. A year after, in October, 1866, being equally successful in
the practice of his profession as well as literary pursuits, he was
called to Nicolet to take charge of the seminary there, the pupils and
all connected with this important institution, a post which he still
fills. Later, upon the establishment of the convent of the Sœurs de
l’Assomption at Nicolet, he was made physician to the institution. In
1886, when L’Hotel Dieu of Nicolet was inaugurated by the Sœurs Grises
of St. Hyacinthe, he was again selected as first acting physician to the
house. Dr. Desaulniers has been very fortunate in the practice of his
profession, but his great specialty has been midwifery. He has closely
followed the progress of medicine in its many branches, and therefore is
one of the foremost physicians of the day. His unprecedented success in
the past promises a brilliant future. On the 31st of August, in the year
1881, he was appointed coroner, in conjunction with Dr. S. Ed. Badeau,
for the district of Three Rivers, and occupied this office for two
years, when he was obliged to resign to fulfil the requirements of his
profession. Seven years after Dr. Desaulniers arrival at Nicolet, the
village was raised to a town, and it then became necessary to form a
town council, of which he was chosen and elected by a large majority
first mayor of Nicolet. Of course he had everything to do, and the
greater part of the rules and regulations now in force were passed
during his administration. At the completion of his term of office he
retired, and gave himself up entirely to the practice of his profession,
which had become very extensive. In 1877, he was elected governor of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of the province of Quebec for the
district of Three Rivers, and has held that position since that date. He
was born in the Roman Catholic religion, and has ever remained faithful
to his church principles. Dr. Desaulniers married on the 12th January,
1869, Marie Rose de Lima Proulx, second daughter of Hubert Proulx, of
Nicolet, and in May, 1879, his wife died, leaving three infant
daughters. He was married the second time, on July 13th, 1880, to Marie
Célanire Gagnon, widow of late Louis Ludger Richard, and daughter of
Antoine Gagnon, agent for the Crown lands at Arthabaskaville. In May,
1884, he again had the misfortune of losing his wife, who left an infant
daughter.
* * * * *
=King, James=, Quebec. Few men engaged in the staple trade of the port
of Quebec hold a more conspicuous position or enjoy a larger share of
public confidence and respect than the subject of this sketch, not only
for his business enterprise and success, but for his integrity in all
the relations of life. Mr. King is the Quebec member of the great
lumbering and lumber exporting firm of King Brothers and King Brothers &
Co., which are among the largest operators in the province, their
establishments being scattered all over, from the Eastern townships to
Gaspé. In fact, few commercial houses have been or are more powerful
contributors to Lower Canadian development. Their _chantiers_ and saw
mills at St. Jean Deschaillons, Lyster, Levis, River Ouelle, Cedar Hall,
Grand Pabos, and Robertson Station, give employment and support to
considerable communities, the products of whose industry, chiefly in the
shape of pine and spruce deals, are annually exported to the United
Kingdom and the continent of Europe. The firms, of which Mr. King is a
leading member, are also largely interested in the important asbestos
industry of the province of Quebec, being the proprietors of extensive
areas of asbestos-bearing lands in the eastern townships, and notably of
the “Hampden” and “Thetford Royal” mines in Thetford, Megantic county;
and Mr. King himself is a director and manager of the Asbestos Mining
and Manufacturing Company of Canada. He is further largely interested in
rural real estate, being the seigneur of the seigniories of St. Jean
Déschaillons and Lake Matapedia. He is the youngest son of the late
Charles King, of Lyster, Megantic, and was born at St. Antoine de Tilly,
in Lotbinière county, P.Q., on the 18th February, 1848. Educated at
Lennoxville, he took his degrees of B.A. in 1867, and of M.A. in 1873,
at the University of Bishop’s College, and during his university course
was a member of the college volunteer corps. In religion he belongs to
the Church of England, and has been a lay delegate to the Synod of the
diocese of Quebec. In politics he is a Liberal-Conservative, and has
frequently been pressed to offer himself for Parliamentary honors, but
has hitherto refused to accept nomination at the hands of his party,
feeling that his business engagements absorbed too much of his time and
attention. Nevertheless he has always taken a strong interest in
educational matters. His travels have extended to the United Kingdom and
the continent of Europe. He is unmarried, and a member of the Garrison
Club, Quebec.
* * * * *
=Davidson, Hon. Justice Charles Peers=, Montreal, was born at
Huntingdon, province of Quebec, where his family had long been prominent
in the development of the county, and defence of the frontier. His
grandfather, Colonel Davidson, came from Scotland, and was in command of
the Huntingdon volunteers, in which his father held a captaincy, and
which formed part of the brigade under the command of the late
Major-General Campbell. Colonel Davidson, at the commencement of the
troubles of 1837 and the following year, was sent for by the
commander-in-chief of the British forces in Canada, Sir John Colborne,
who requested him to raise a regiment. He accepted, and soon after his
return to Huntingdon, succeeded in enrolling about six hundred stalwart
men from among the farmers, most of whom were immigrants from the old
country. The regiment, which was called “The Huntingdon Frontier
Volunteers,” numbered in its ranks many men who afterwards became
prominent in political and social life. One company was stationed at
Russelltown, a second at Covey Hill, and the third as far as
Hemmingford. Colonel Davidson, for the first year, was in command, not
only of the regiment, but of the whole district; in the second year,
Colonel Campbell, subsequently major-general, assumed command of the
district, and the volunteers were enrolled in the brigade which was
afterwards under the gallant Sir George Cathcart, then only colonel, who
fell at the battle of Inkerman at the head of the 1st Dragoon Guards,
which he commanded. One company of this regiment was commanded by
Captain Reid, a veteran of Waterloo. In this company also was Sir John
Rose, the eminent statesman and financier, now of London, England. The
Huntington volunteers did good service, but were only in one action,
that of St. Regis. From the foregoing it will be seen that Justice
Davidson comes of a military family, his mother, Marion Peers, being the
daughter of the late Lieutenant Peers, of Her Majesty’s Dragoon Guards.
He went to the Huntington Academy, subsequently attended at Victoria
College, Cobourg, and thence passed to McGill University, from which he
received the degree of B.A. and M.A. in arts, and B.C.L. and D.C.L. in
law, and was for a number of years one of its fellows. Even while a
student he studied the public questions of the day, being a welcome
contributor to the press, and for a time was assistant editor on the
_Daily News_. Had he followed the profession of journalism, he would
have achieved marked success. The press proved a good training school,
and those who listened to Justice Davidson’s eloquent speeches gave him
a high place among public speakers. He studied with the present Justice
Cross, and subsequently entered that gentleman’s law firm as junior
partner. Several years ago he was created Queen’s counsel by the
Provincial government, but the Supreme Court holding that the provinces
were without authority to confer this title, he subsequently received a
new patent from the Dominion authorities. He has been a life-long
supporter of athletic exercises, having been for sometime president of
the Beaver Lacrosse Club, of the Montreal Snow-Shoe Club, and of the
Victoria Skating Club. During the _Trent_ affair in 1862, which
threatened to involve Great Britain in hostilities with the United
States, he was one of the first to enrol himself in the ranks of the
newly formed Victoria Rifles, and rose by successive promotions until he
became its commanding officer. His _bonhommie_ and dash render him very
popular in his regiment, while his pre-eminence in athletic sports and
engaging social qualities, make him as popular in society as his legal
attainments, quick perceptive faculties, convincing oratory, devoid of
florid ornamentation, did among the shrewd practical plutocrats of
Montreal. In politics Mr. Davidson was a Conservative, having been
president of the Junior Conservative Club for several years. In 1881 he
was a candidate for the Quebec parliament for Montreal Centre, but was
defeated by George Washington Stephens, a powerful opponent, by
ninety-eight votes. He married Alice, daughter of the late Wm. Mattice,
of Cornwall, who for a number of years represented Stormont in the
parliament of the united Canadas. Mr. Justice Davidson was called to the
bench of the Superior Court in June, 1887, upon the death of the late
Justice Torrance.
* * * * *
=Coursol, Captain Charles Joseph Quesnel=, St. John’s, Quebec, was born
17th August, 1856, at Montreal. His parents are Charles J. Coursol,
Q.C., M.P., and Helen Taché. The subject of this sketch was educated at
the Jesuits’ College, Montreal, taking a full classical course. He
received a commission as lieutenant in the Victoria Rifles of Canada in
October, 1877; was transferred to the 65th Batt. in November, 1880, and
promoted to a captaincy in April, 1881. He served for eighteen months
with A Battery, R.C.A., and also several months with H.M. 19th or
Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment, then stationed at Halifax. On the 21st
December, 1883, he received a commission in the Infantry School Corps,
now stationed at St. John’s, Quebec. In religion he is a Roman Catholic.
He was married on the 18th October, 1882, to E. F. Pearce Serecold,
daughter of the late Captain Pearce Serecold, of H.M. 66th regiment, and
Miss Duval, daughter of the Hon. Justice Duval. Captain Coursol is also
a grand nephew of the late Hon. F. A. Quesnel of the Legislative
Council.
* * * * *
=Pim, Richard=, Toronto. This gentleman, who was a resident of Toronto
for over fifty years, died on the morning of the 14th February, 1888, in
the seventy-eighth year of his age. He was a native of Herefordshire,
England, and spent part of his early life in Russia, whither his father
had gone to erect paper mills of the then most improved description for
the Russian government. Upon the death of his father, at Helsingfors,
near St. Petersburg, he returned to England, and married Mary Hargrave,
grand-daughter of William Lane, a poet of considerable local distinction
in Buckinghamshire. He emigrated to Canada in 1834, and during the
stirring political events of 1837, served in the militia called out to
repress the rebellion of that year, and was on guard below the Falls of
Niagara when the American steamer _Caroline_ was cut loose by a British
attacking party, and sent burning over the Falls. Mr. Pim led a quiet
life, and was well-known in Toronto.
* * * * *
=Irvine, Hon. George=, Q.C., D.C.L., one of the best known and most
eminent members of the Quebec bar, is the eldest son of the late
Lieut.-Colonel Irvine, principal A.D.C. to the Governor-General of
Canada, and grandson of the Hon. James Irvine, for many years a member
of the Executive and Legislative Councils of Lower Canada, and of the
Hon. Matthew Bell, of Three Rivers, P.Q., at one time member for St.
Maurice in the Legislature of Lower Canada, and afterwards a member of
the Legislative Council of that province. He was born at Quebec on the
16th November, 1826, and was educated at Dr. Lundy’s school in that
city. Having chosen the law as his profession, he was called to the bar
in 1848, after the usual course of study, and rapidly rose to
distinction, his services being retained in nearly every important case,
especially of a commercial nature. In partnership with the late C. G.
Holt, Q.C., afterwards judge of the sessions of the peace for the Quebec
district, and subsequently with E. H. Pemberton, he practised his
profession with steady success and honor, and in 1867 was created a Q.C.
in recognition of his leading position at the Quebec bar. Some years
previously to this, in 1863, the electors of Megantic county, P.Q., had
marked their appreciation of his abilities and exalted character, by
returning him at the general election of that year to represent them in
the Canadian House of Assembly, in which he continued to sit until
confederation, when he was returned for Megantic to the Commons, and
represented that county at Ottawa until the abolition of dual
representation and the general election of 1872, when he declined
re-election. He also represented the county in the Legislative Assembly
of the province of Quebec from confederation until January, 1876, and
during this period successively held the important Cabinet offices of
solicitor-general and attorney-general of that province in the Chauveau
and Ouimet administrations, being regarded as the leader of the English
element in those governments, and the special champion of the
English-speaking and Protestant minority in Lower Canada. In January,
1876, he resigned his seat in the Legislature, on being appointed one of
the railway commissioners for the province, which office he also
resigned in 1878, in order to present himself for re-election as a
supporter of Mr. Joly’s administration, in which he was offered, but
declined, a seat. At the general election of that year, he was again
returned to represent Megantic in the Legislative Assembly, and once
more at the general election of 1880, when he went with his leader, Mr.
Joly, into opposition to the Chapleau and Mousseau governments, until
June, 1884, when he resigned his seat on accepting the appointment of
judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court at Quebec. Throughout his public
career, Mr. Irvine was one of the most conspicuous men in the house and
before the country, and the organization and legislation of the province
of Quebec, under confederation, still bear the impress of his powerful
mind. A gentleman of wonderful tact and suavity of manner, a skilful
parliamentarian, and a man of rare executive ability, he wielded an
immense influence in the councils of that province, and on public
opinion. As a speaker and debater, he was not only remarkable for his
ready eloquence, but above all for his clearness, precision and logical
force. He was a host in himself, and the side which received his support
seldom failed to score a victory. As the representative of the
English-speaking minority, he retained the public confidence to the
last, as much by the independence and personal purity of his character
as by his commanding talents. A Conservative by tradition and instinct,
he nevertheless did not hesitate to separate himself from the party in
provincial politics when the acts of some of his colleagues in the
“Tanneries Land Swap” and other matters brought disgrace upon its
escutcheon, and his conduct was not only ratified by his own immediate
constituents of Megantic, but warmly approved by his fellow-countrymen
generally. During the Joly administration he was the “power-behind the
throne,” and afterwards, until his resignation of his seat in the house
for good, the most conspicuous figure in the Provincial Opposition, next
to the leader himself. Although actually the judge of the Vice-Admiralty
Court at Quebec, an Imperial appointment, the subject of this sketch
still practises his profession in the other courts, and is generally
found engaged in all the more important cases, both civil and criminal.
He was formerly professor of commercial law in Morrin College, Quebec,
and was also chancellor of the University of Lennoxville, P.Q., from
which he received the honorary degree of D.C.L., in 1875. He has also
been _bâtonnier_ of the Quebec bar and a vice-president of the Union
Bank of Canada, at Quebec, which he helped to found. In religion he is a
member of the Church of England, and has always taken a keen and active
interest in its affairs. He has travelled a good deal on public and
professional business, and has repeatedly crossed to England to plead
before the Privy Council in appeals of great importance. Has two
brothers living, the elder, Commissary-General Matthew Bell Irvine,
C.B., C.M.G., and the younger, Lieut.-Col. Acheson Gosford Irvine, a
member of the Council of the North-West Territories, and late
Commissioner North-West Mounted Police. He married, in August, 1856, the
third daughter of the late Henry Le Mesurier, a well-known merchant of
Quebec, and formerly an officer in H.M. 48th regiment, and by her has
had issue ten children.
* * * * *
=Cadman, James=, Civil and Mining Engineer, Quebec, is a good type of
the men to whose professional skill and energy the eastern section of
the Dominion is indebted for so much of its development by railways
within the last twenty years. An Englishman, by birth, he has all the
Englishman’s well known doggedness of character, and all the trained
engineer’s abiding faith in the invincibility of science and the power
of mind over matter. The word “impossible” has long since been erased
from his lexicon, as illustrated especially by the great undertaking
with which his name has been more prominently connected of late, the
construction of the railway from Quebec to Lake St. John through a
region of unparalleled difficulty from the engineering point of view.
Mr. Cadman was born in Dudley, Worcestershire, England, on the 31st
January, 1832, his father’s name being also James Cadman, and his
mother’s originally, Sarah Forrest Brown. He received a good plain
English education at the Blue Coat School, Dudley, and studied civil and
mining engineering under S. H. Blackwell, of Russell’s Hall Colliery,
Dudley, of which he was afterwards appointed resident engineer. He
subsequently distinguished himself in the same capacity in a number of
the other great English collieries and iron works until 1862, when he
came to New Brunswick as mining engineer for the New Brunswick Charcoal
and Pig Iron Company. In 1867, he became connected as resident engineer
with the European and North-American Railway, and in 1868 was appointed
assistant engineer of the Intercolonial Railway, in the location and
construction of which he took an active part until 1875, when he was
retained for the survey of the Newfoundland Railway. On his return from
Newfoundland, he was named locating engineer of the North Shore Railway,
in which position he continued to act until 1879, when he was raised to
the still more prominent and responsible post of chief engineer of the
Quebec and Lake St. John Railway, which he still holds with great
advantage to the success of that arduous and important enterprise. Mr.
Cadman is a member of the Church of England, and a Freemason. He has
never taken any part in politics in England or Canada, not even to vote.
In his early manhood, he was for three years a member of the South
Staffordshire Rifle Volunteers. In 1860, he married Margaret Doughty, a
niece of the celebrated mining engineer, John Yardley, of East
Worcestershire, by whom he has had a family of five children, three of
whom are still living.
* * * * *
=Kelly, Francis=, J.P., Joliette, Quebec province, is a native of
Ireland, having been born in Carlow, Leinster, on the 17th of March,
1819. His parents were James Kelly and Margaret Crosby, both natives of
the same place. When he came to Canada he took up his residence in
Montreal, where he received a commercial education. In 1845 he removed
to New York, where he remained till 1850, and then went to California,
and for some time worked in the gold mines. He spent four years
travelling through the far west, and also visited Mexico and Cuba.
Becoming surfeited with travel, he returned to Canada, and settled in
Joliette. Here he began the lumbering business, in which he succeeded,
and is now spending the remainder of his days in peace and comfort. In
religion Mr. Kelly is a member of the Roman Catholic church; and in
politics a Liberal. He was married on the 10th January, 1854, to Mary
Collins.
* * * * *
=Howe, Henry Aspinwall=, T.C.D., M.A., LL.D., Rector of the High School,
Montreal, province of Quebec, was born near Guildford, Surrey, England,
8th July, 1815. He is the elder and only surviving one of two sons of
the late Captain Aspinwall Howe, formerly of the war office, Somerset
House, latterly of her Majesty’s 88th regiment (Connaught Rangers), and
Mary, eldest and very beautiful daughter of Charles Wickens, of
Turnbridge, Surrey, England. The Howes are a branch of the Aspinwalls,
an old county family in Lancashire. The subject of the sketch was
educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey, and Trinity College, Dublin,
passing through both with high credit. He resided afterwards for some
years in France, where he acquired a complete knowledge of the French
language. Soon after leaving college he became private tutor to the
youngest son of the Earl of Ellesmere, in whose family he became
domesticated, and was indebted both to the Earl and his amiable Countess
for their kind consideration and firm friendship. Mr. Aspinwall Howe was
not desirous of making teaching his profession, but Lord Ellesmere
considering that he was peculiarly fitted for it, persuaded him to
accept the head mastership of the Montreal High School, which Lord
Colbourne and Professor Pillans, of Edinburgh University, offered him.
Thus, in 1848, he came to Montreal as rector of its High School, which
office he has held with eminent success since that date, very many of
his pupils having attained high and honorable positions in the Dominion,
in the Mother Country and elsewhere. On first entering, however, upon
his school duties, he had great cause for disappointment. The Board of
High School Directors received him with marked kindness, but the school
was undisciplined, and, still worse, in a bankrupt state. A regular
income with residence had been promised—the former could not be
realized from the funds of the school, the latter was a “mistake”—and
many years elapsed before the school was prosperous enough to pay its
rector a tolerably fair income. This proved a serious loss and trial,
and obliged the rector to draw assistance from his resources at home. In
the reconstruction of McGill College, some twenty-eight years ago, Dr.
Aspinwall Howe, while retaining his position in the High School,
occupied also the chair of mathematics and of natural philosophy in
McGill College, _without remuneration_, retiring from these with the
title of emeritus professor of three branches, when the university was
sufficiently re-established to pay independent professors. He is also a
fellow of the University, and has long been matriculation examiner to
the medical faculty of McGill College. He has likewise for some years
been president of the Board of Examiners for the preliminary examination
of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Province of Quebec. Dr.
Aspinwall Howe is a prominent member and liberal supporter of St. John
the Evangelist Church of England, in Montreal. His moral influence over
the many young people who come in contact with him in school and
elsewhere is excellent. Dr. Aspinwall Howe is an exception to most
highly educated scholars in that his attainments are varied; he excels
in classics as well as in mathematics, and has a taste for the arts and
for games of skill. He attained a high degree of perfection in drawing;
is an accomplished amateur musician, and is well known as a strong
player of the royal game of chess. In 1847 he married Louisa, daughter
of the late Rev. J. C. Fanshawe, formerly of Franklin Hall, near Exeter,
of Coelhaey’s Park, Devon, etc., and of Fanny Delia, daughter of
Chancellor Carrington, of Evington, in Devonshire, by whom he had issue
as follows:—Louisa Blanche Fanny, married to Hon. Henry, second son of
Right Hon. Lord Aylmer; Amelia Egerton; Catharine Maria Fanshawe Coke,
deceased; Henry South Leïdebach; Arthur Fanshawe Vernon, deceased;
Fanshawe Gardiner, deceased; and others. Mrs. Aspinwall Howe is also
Countess Nürenallen de Leïdebach, an honorable recognition given to her
branch of the family for valuable service, rendered during the
continental troubles of 1814-15.
* * * * *
=Guest, Sheriff Geo. Hutchinson=, Yarmouth, N.S., was born on 14th July,
1849, at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and is the son of Robert and Mary
(Utley) Guest. His grandfather, John Guest, was born in Waterford,
Ireland, and settled in St. John’s, Newfoundland, in the latter part of
the eighteenth century. He was for some years a leading merchant in St.
John’s. He married Dorothy Eustace, of Tor Bay. Robert Guest, the father
of the sheriff, arrived in Yarmouth, in the year 1827, and became
identified with the business of shipping, then, as now, the leading
industry of the place. Robert Guest died February, 1867. His wife, Mary
Utley, was a daughter of Nathan Utley, and grand-daughter of the Nathan
Utley who represented Yarmouth county in the Provincial legislature from
1800 to 1806. Mrs. Guest died in September, 1887. Sheriff Guest was
educated at the Yarmouth Academy. He engaged in the shipping business,
and is a shipowner. He was a director of the Yarmouth Marine Insurance
Association until it ceased to do business. In politics he is a Liberal,
and when T. B. Flint resigned the office of high sheriff of the county,
in January, 1887, Mr. Guest received the appointment from the local
government. He is connected with the Methodist church, holding the
position of a trustee of Providence Church. On the 11th of November,
1874, he married M. E. Lovitt, youngest daughter of the late John
Lovitt, who was a grandson of Andrew Lovitt, who settled in Yarmouth in
1766. The Lovitts have always been identified with the best interests of
Yarmouth. They have been prominently connected with the shipbuilding and
other industries, and the county is at present represented in the
Dominion House of Commons by one of the family.
* * * * *