Gilmour, John Taylor, M.D., M.P.P. for West York, residence West Toronto Junction, was born in the township of Clarke, county of Durham, Ontario, on the 3rd March, 1855. His father was a farmer and manufacturer of lumber, and his mother, was descended from the United Empire loyalists. He received his education at Port Hope High School, and after leaving this institution he practised the profession of teaching for two years. Tiring of this, he resolved to adopt the medical profession, and entered Trinity Medical College, Toronto, from which college he graduated in 1878. He then opened an office in Durham county, and continued his practice here until 1884, when he removed to West Toronto Junction, county of York, and here he has since resided, and has met with a fair measure of success. Early in 1886 Dr. Gilmour was chosen by the Reformers of West York to become their candidate, and when the general elections came on in December of that year he succeeded, with the aid of his friends, in redeeming the riding for the Liberals. In politics he is strongly democratic, and is destined to make his mark in the political arena. He is an adherent of the Methodist church. He was married on the 18th March, 1878, to Emma Hawkins, of Canton, Ontario; but death claimed this estimable lady on the 18th March, 1886.
Williams, Rev. William, D.D., Pastor of the Division Street Methodist Church Cobourg. The Rev. Mr. Williams is the eldest son of William and Margaret P. Williams, and was born in Stonehouse, Devon, England, January 23rd, 1836. His mother was a daughter of Robert Pearse, of Camelford, Cornwall, England. In 1842 the subject of this notice removed with his parents to Toronto. During the four years of his residence in that city he attended school, and the latter part of the time he was engaged in preparing to enter Upper Canada College. Before he had completed his preparatory studies he removed with his parents to Weston, and some time later to the township of Holland, where his father settled upon a farm. Though removed from school at a comparatively early age, he steadily pursued a carefully prepared course of reading and study, and in his nineteenth year he entered the ministry of the Methodist New Connexion church. His record in that community was that of a successful minister of the gospel. Before the union he was during four years chairman of a district; was one year president of the Methodist New Connexion Conference, and was acting president during the greater part of the following year, filling the place left vacant by the lamented death of the president, the Rev. Samuel P. Gundy. The Rev. W. Williams took an active part in promoting the union of the New Connexion and Wesleyan Methodist churches in this country, being on both committees; and in 1874 he was sent by his conference, with the late Robert Wilkes, M.P. of Toronto, as a deputation to the New Connexion Conference of England to obtain the consent of that body to the contemplated union in Canada. In this he and his companion were completely successful. Not only was the requested consent given, but Mr. Wilkes and Mr. Williams were heartily thanked for the manner in which they had presented the matter before the conference. In 1875, after this union had been consummated, and while he was in charge of the church in Simcoe, Rev. Mr. Williams was sent with W. H. Gibbs, of Oshawa, by the Central Board of Missions as a deputation to attend the missionary services in the leading Methodist Churches in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. In 1876, in response to the special request of the Centenary Church, Hamilton, Rev. Mr. Williams was sent to that charge, then the largest and most influential in the London conference. He remained there for the full term of three years. A leading member of that church speaks of his ministry in that place:—“His discourses showed him to be a man of culture, of extensive reading, of careful thought, and of sound judgment. The Centenary Church never, I believe, had a better expounder of the Word of God, or a more faithful preacher of the gospel. Conscientious in the discharge of his duty, whatsoever he seemed to feel should be said he spoke boldly whether it was likely to please or displease. At the same time he evinced such qualities of heart, such sympathy, such desire to do his people good, as secured for him their affection, and made him very influential. As a man, Mr. Williams was liked by all who knew him. He was pleasant and unassuming, easy to approach, and was ready to lend a helping hand.” In 1879 Rev. Mr. Williams became pastor of Norfolk Street Church, Guelph. He remained there during the full term of three years, was acceptable and useful, and during his ministry there the membership of the church and congregation was largely increased; the debt upon the building in which they worshipped reduced by several thousand dollars; and the financial condition of the church greatly improved in other respects. He was also chairman of the Guelph district during the three years of his pastorate in that city. The following three years were spent by him in Woodstock, where he ministered to a very large congregation in one of the finest church edifices in the province. The first year of his pastorate in Woodstock was marked by his elevation to the presidency of the London Conference. This position he filled with acceptance and ability. He was chairman of the Woodstock district during the full term of his ministry in that rapidly rising town. At the request of the Cobourg (Division street) Church Rev. Mr. Williams was, in 1885, transferred to the Bay of Quinté conference, and appointed to Cobourg. There he preaches to a large and intelligent congregation, comprising, in addition to the general hearers, the principal, professors and students of Victoria University. Mr. Williams is also chairman of the Cobourg district. In May, 1887, the senate of Victoria University conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.
Glackmeyer, Charles, City Clerk, Montreal, was born in Montreal on the 22nd June, 1820. He is of German extraction, and belongs to a family noted for its longevity, his father, Frederick Glackmeyer, having died in 1875, aged eighty-four years. His mother was Sophie Roy Portelance, a French-Canadian lady, who died about 1854. His grandfather came to Canada as bandmaster with one of the British regiments, and settled in the city of Quebec, where he was a professor of and taught music for many years, and died at an advanced age. Charles was educated at the Montreal College, taking a full course, and afterwards studied law with Peltier and Bourret. In 1843 he was admitted to the bar, and after practising his profession for three years, entered the service of the City Corporation as assistant city clerk. This position he held until 1859, when he was elected city clerk, and this office he still holds. Mr. Glackmeyer is a model official, is rarely absent from his post, and one in whom the citizens have the fullest confidence, and whom they delight to honor. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and people who know him best speak most highly of his moral and religious character and the purity of the life he leads. On the 30th May, 1848, he was married to M. R. Josephine Duvernay, of Montreal, eldest daughter of Ludger Duvernay, founder of theMinervenewspaper, and of the St. Jean Baptiste Society of Montreal. The fruits of this marriage has been ten children, only three of whom now survive.
Gilpin, Edwin, jr., Deputy Commissioner of Public Works and Mines, and Chief Inspector of Mines for the Province of Nova Scotia, Halifax, was born at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on the 28th of October, 1850. His father, the Rev. Edwin Gilpin, D.D., is the senior canon of St. Luke’s Cathedral, and archdeacon of Nova Scotia (see sketch of Archdeacon Gilpin in another part of this volume), and his mother is Amelia McKay, daughter of the late Hon. Justice Haliburton. Edwin Gilpin received the rudiments of his education at the Halifax Grammar School, and then entered King’s College, Windsor, where he graduated A.B., in 1871. He then took the arts course, with special courses in mining, geology, and chemistry, and received the degree of A.M., in 1873, and at the same time won the “Welsford,” “General Williams,” and “Alumni” prizes. After leaving college he began the practical study of mining-engineering in Nova Scotia, and especially in the Albion collieries of the General Mining Association in Pictou county, and extended his observations in the leading mining districts in Great Britain. On the 1st of March, 1874, he was elected a fellow of the Geological Society of London, England; and in April, 1873, a member of the Nova Scotia Institute of Natural History. On the 21st of April, 1879, he was appointed by the government of Nova Scotia, inspector of mines for the province, which position he now occupies. In September, 1881, he was appointed a member and made secretary of the Board of Examiners of Colliery Officials; and in September, 1885, was elected a member of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. In October, 1886, he received the appointment of deputy commissioner of Public Works and Mines for the province. Mr. Gilpin is one of the original members of the Royal Society of Canada. For a number of years he has acted in the capacity of consulting engineer in the Maritime provinces, and has done good service to his county in this direction. He is the author of a popular work on the “Mines and Mineral Lands of Nova Scotia,” published in Halifax in 1883; and has also contributed valuable papers on the “Sub-marine Coal Fields of Cape Breton;” “Nova Scotia Iron Ores;” “The Manganese of Nova Scotia;” “The Carboniferous and Gold Fields of Nova Scotia;” “The Geology of Cape Breton;” and various other papers on the geology and economic mineralogy of Nova Scotia, which have been published in the Transactions of the following societies: The North of England Institute of Mining Engineers; The Geological Society of London; The Nova Scotia Natural History Institute; The Royal Society of Canada; and The American Institute of Mining Engineers. He has also written several annual reports to the government of Nova Scotia, on the progress and development of the Crown minerals of the province. Mr. Gilpin takes no particular part in politics; but in religious matters, he is a staunch adherent of the Church of England. He was married on June 29th, 1875, to Florence Ellen, daughter of Lewis Johnstone, surgeon, Albion Mines, Nova Scotia. Mrs. Gilpin’s father is a nephew of the late Equity Judge Johnstone, and provincial grand master of the Masonic order. Three children have been born of this union.
Bégin, Rev. Louis Nazaire, D.D., Principal of the Laval Normal School, Quebec, member of the Academy of the Arcades of Rome, and of the Royal Society of Canada, was born at Levis, on the 10th January, 1840. His father, Charles Bégin, farmer, died in August last, 1887, in his ninety-first year; his mother, Luce Paradis, died about eighteen months ago, in her eighty-second year. After attending the Levis Model School, then under the direction of M. N. Lacasse, at present a professor at the Laval Normal School, Rev. Abbé Bégin followed, for one year, the mathematical course of the Commercial College of St. Michel (Bellechasse). That course was ably given by Professor F. X. Toussaint. His parents sent him, in 1857, to the Little Seminary of Quebec, to follow the classical course of that institution. As he had already commenced to study Latin with M. Lacasse, he was enabled to terminate his course in five years, in 1862. He then obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Laval University, and was the first to carry off the Prince of Wales prize. He resolved to adopt a religious life, and entered the Grand Seminary of Quebec, in September, 1862, where he studied theology, while teaching the class of syntax at the Little Seminary. The Seminary of Quebec was at that time thinking seriously about organizing a faculty of theology in connection with Laval University, and it was the earnest desire of the authorities that all the professors of that faculty should be educated in Rome itself. In May, 1863, his Eminence Cardinal Taschereau, then superior of the Seminary of Quebec, and rector of Laval University, proposed to Abbé Bégin to go and pass a few years in Rome, in order to study theology, take his degree, and then return to Quebec as professor of its university. This proposition was accepted, and on the 4th September of the same year, Abbé Bégin left Quebec to take his passage at Boston. He had as travelling companions Abbés Louis Pâquet and Benjamin Pâquet (now Domestic Prelate to his Holiness Leo XIII.), who were also sent to Rome to study the sacred science. Abbé Bégin was absent five years and returned to Quebec only in July, 1868. He followed the course of the Gregorian University of the Roman College, including dogmatic and moral theology, sacred scriptures, history of the church, canonic law, sacred oratory, and the Hebraic language. His professors were the Rev. Fathers Ballerini, Cardella, Sanguinetti, Patrizi, Angellini, Armellini, Tarquini and Franzelin; the two last named became, a short time afterwards, cardinals of the holy Roman Church, and died a short time ago. He received all the minor and major orders in Rome, and was ordained a priest in the Major Basilica of St. John de Latran on the 10th of June, 1865, by His Eminence Cardinal Vicar Patrizi. In the following year (1866), he succeeded in obtaining the degree of Doctor in Theology at the Gregorian University. The Seminary of Quebec granted the request of Abbé Bégin, and gave him permission to remain some time longer in Rome to make a special study of ecclesiastical history and Oriental languages: the Hebrew, the Chaldean, the Syriac, and the Arabic. The scholastic year 1866-67 was given to these interesting occupations. While at Rome he resided at the French Seminary,via Santa Chiara. After the great Roman festival in connection with the centenary of the death of St. Peter and the canonization of the saints, in 1867, he went to Innsbruck, in the Austrian Tyrol. During the summer holidays of the preceding years he had visited Italy, Savoy, Switzerland, Prussia, Belgium, and chiefly France, but he spent the summer of 1867 in studying the German language, so rich in scientific works on history and holy scripture. On the 30th September of the same year he started for Palestine, in order to get thoroughly acquainted,—as he had long desired,—with certain biblical and historical facts. He spent more than five months in this trip through Austria, Hungary, Roumania, Servia, Bulgaria, the two Turkeys, the islands of Tenedos, Lesbos, Rhodes and Cyprus, Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, Phœnicia, Palestine, Egypt, and Sicily. He then returned to Innsbruck to continue his studies in history and languages at the Catholic University, under the celebrated Professors Wenig, Jungmann, Hurter, Kobler, Nilles. He left Tyrol on the 2nd July, 1868, crossed France and England, and arrived at Quebec on the 27th of the same month, by the steamerMoravian, of the Allan line. He brought with him several Egyptian mummies and archæological curiosities he had acquired for the museum of the Catholic University of Quebec. In September he commenced to teach a portion of dogmatic theology and ecclesiastical history, as professor of the Faculty of Theology of Laval University. He taught from 1868 until 1884, having also, during the last seven or eight years, charge of the pupils of the University, or of those of the Little or Grand Seminary; he was also prefect of studies of the Little Seminary. During four or five winters he gave numerous public lectures at Laval University on the most controverted and interesting questions of the history of the Church. A select gathering filled the hall to hear these lectures given every week from the Christmas vacation till Easter. The first year (1870) he spoke about the prerogatives of Papacy, and refuted the objections raised, at the time of the Council of the Vatican, against the infallibility of the Pope, considered from an historical standpoint. These lectures were published in a volume of over 400 pages, entitled, “La Primauté et l’Infaillibilité des Souverains Pontifes.” In 1874 he published a second work entitled “La Sainte Ecriture et la Règle de Foi.” This work was translated into English: “The Bible and the Rule of Faith,” in 1875, and printed in London by Burns & Oates. In the same year (1874) an eulogy of Saint Thomas Aquinas was published. Abbé Bégin had delivered it at Saint Hyacinthe, in the church of the Rev. Dominican fathers, on the occasion of the sixth centennial anniversary of the death of Dr. Angélique. In 1875 he published another work entitled “Le Culte Catholique.” After passing six months (October, 1883, to April, 1884) at Pont Rouge, Portneuf county, to recruit his health, Abbé Bégin accompanied to Rome the Archbishop of Quebec, who was going to sustain the rights of Laval University and the division of the diocese of Three Rivers, before the Holy See. The voyage was prosperous, and lasted over seven months. On his return from Rome, on the first of Dec., 1884, he found his friend, Abbé Lagacé, dangerously ill. Death carried away, five days later, this distinguished priest, who had consecrated the best part of his sacerdotal career to the education of youth. Abbé Bégin was chosen by the Catholic Committee of the Council of Public Instruction to occupy the important post of principal of the Normal School, hitherto filled by Abbé Lagacé, and this choice was ratified by an order-in-council on the 22nd January, 1885. Since that time Abbé Bégin has fulfilled the functions of principal of the Normal School, comprising the department of male and female pupil teachers. Last year (1886) he published a small “Aide-Mémoire,” or “Chronologie de l’Histoire du Canada,” designed, as indicated by its name, to help the memory of pupils and facilitate their preparations to the examinations on the history of our country.
Anderson, Capt. Edward Brown, Sarnia, was born at Oakville, in the county of Halton, Ontario, on the 24th January, 1838. His father, Edward Anderson, was born at a farm known as “Stenrie’s Hill,” near the town of Moffat, in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and died at Oakville, in December, 1840. His mother, Sarah Ann Williams, was born at Port Dover, Lake Erie shore, and died at Barrie, in January, 1878. Captain Anderson’s father having died before his son had reached his third year, very little schooling fell to his lot, as he was in consequence obliged to face the world at a very early age. When only about ten years old he commenced sailing on the lakes, and from that time to this he has steadily risen in his profession, and has now the proud satisfaction of knowing that he is considered second to none as an inland sea navigator and is in command of one of the finest steamers—theAlberta—of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, on Lake Superior. Previous to his taking charge of theAlbertahe commanded for seven years the steamerQuebec, of the Beatty Sarnia & Lake Superior line, and for two years was captain of theCampana, of the Collingwood line, and for the last four years he has sailed theAlberta. Captain Anderson left Oakville in 1875, and took up his residence in Sarnia, where he has made his home ever since. In 1867 he joined the Freemasons, and since then has taken a deep interest in that ancient organization. He crossed the Atlantic and spent the winter of 1885-6 seeing the sights in Europe. The captain is a Presbyterian, and is a firm supporter of his church; but in politics he takes very little interest. In August, 1885 he was married to Lucretia Waggoner, whose parents at that time resided in Oakville, but in 1860 they removed to Ballard, Kentucky, where they both died.
Robb, Alexander, Iron Founder, Amherst, Nova Scotia, was born at Leicester, Cumberland county, Nova Scotia, on the 4th of March, 1827. His parents, Alexander Robb and Annie Brown, were natives of Bangor, Ireland, and settled in Nova Scotia a great many years ago. Alexander was only about eight years of age when he came to Amherst, and received his education in the public schools of the place. After leaving school he acquired a knowledge of the tin and sheet metal business. In 1848 he commenced business on his own account, and was among the first to introduce cast-iron stoves into the country. In 1866 he built a foundry and machine shops, and his business has grown steadily ever since, until his works, including salesroom and offices, now cover a space of about two acres. In outside industries, Mr. Robb has taken a great interest, having assisted in the development of the Boot and Shoe Tanning Company, which is now the most extensive manufactory of its kind in the province; and previous to his health breaking down in 1872, he was an active promoter of the Spring Hill collieries. Mr. Robb has always been a strong advocate of total abstinence, and has the honour of being one of the original members of the Amherst Division of the Sons of Temperance, the pioneer temperance organization in Nova Scotia. He took an active interest in the passage of the Free School Act for Nova Scotia, and was also an advocate of the confederation of the provinces. He had strong faith in the benefits to be derived from these measures for some years previous to their enactment, arising from a conversation he had had with the late Hon. Joseph Howe. Mr. Robb is a Presbyterian, and for the past twenty-five years has been a consistent member of that church. In 1855 he married Emeline Logan, daughter of David D. Logan, of Amherst Point, whose father, Hugh Logan, originally came from the North of Ireland, and was one of the first settlers of the county. His surviving children are:—David W. and Frederick B., who have managed the business of the firm of A. Robb & Sons since the failure of their father’s health in 1872; Walter R., who is associated with his father in farming and other private business; Maggie A. and Aubrey G., who are both at home, the latter still pursuing his studies. Mr. Robb has won for himself the character of being a man of perseverance and strict integrity, and is greatly respected by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.
McNeill, John Sears, Barton, M.P.P. for Digby, Nova Scotia, was born at St. Mary’s Bay (now called Barton), in the county of Digby, N.S., on the 15th June, 1829. His parents were John McNeill and Freelove Sabean. His great grandfather,Neil McNeill, emigrated from the north of Ireland to New York, where he married a Miss Sears, an American lady, and engaged in mercantile business. After the close of the revolutionary war he and his family came, with other U. E. loyalists, and settled in Long Island, then in the county of Annapolis, now in the county of Digby. John Sears McNeill attended the public school in his native place, but only at intervals, where he learned the rudiments of reading, writing, arithmetic, and English grammar. He spent his youthful days on a farm, and had, when a mere lad, to work in the fields with the farm labourers and do his share of hard work. On his sixteenth birthday he gave up farming, and entered the store of George Bragg, of Digby, as a clerk, and in this situation he continued for three years, when he returned to Barton, and commenced business on his own account. His capital was very small, but he determined to succeed, and consequently worked hard to increase his means. After a few years, having succeeded remarkably well, he resolved to extend his operations, and in the fall of 1867 opened another store at Maitland, Yarmouth county, in connection with Cyrus Perry, to whom he sold out his share in the business a few years afterwards. In 1871, in connection with several other gentlemen, he engaged extensively in the tanning business, but this venture not proving a success, in a few years it was abandoned. In 1875, in company with some others, he engaged in the manufacture of shingles and lumber at Berwick and Factorydale, in the county of King, N.S., but this, from lack of personal oversight, proved unremunerative, and was given up. In the fall of 1878 he handed over his business at home to his eldest son, and since that time has devoted all his energies to public affairs. Mr. McNeill was appointed a justice of the peace in May, 1864, and a commissioner of schools in 1867. On the 17th January, 1873, he was made a member of the Board of Health. He was clerk and treasurer of Poor District No. 2, Weymouth, from its creation into a separate district in 1851 until 1865, and re-appointed in 1868, and still holds the position (1887); and he has also been county treasurer for the years 1881, 1883, and 1884. He took the temperance pledge in 1842, when he was only thirteen years of age, and became a member of the Total Abstinence Society. On the introduction of the order of the Sons of Temperance into Nova Scotia, he joined Union Division, No. 6, Digby, on the 30th January, 1848, and continued in this division several years, when he transferred his membership to General Inglis Division, on its institution at Barton, in March, 1859. He has held nearly all the offices in the gift of his division. In 1860 he was initiated into the Grand Division of Nova Scotia, at its session held at Yarmouth, in 1860, and ever since then has been a faithful member of the order. Mr. McNeill’s father was a staunch Conservative, and his son received his political training in that school of politics. During the election contests held in 1851 and 1855 he worked and voted with that party; but in 1859 he gave his vote to the Liberals. He was opposed to the confederation of the provinces, and disapproved of the manner in which Nova Scotia was forced into the union, contending that a vote of the people should have been taken before the compact was entered into. In 1867 he was urged to allow himself to be nominated as a candidate for the Nova Scotia legislature, but declined the honour. He, however, presented himself for parliamentary honours at the general election in June, 1882, and was elected to a seat in the legislature of his native province, and was again returned to the same house in 1886. Mr. McNeill was brought up in the Episcopal church, and adhered to that church until 1862, when he united with the Methodist church, and has remained in that communion ever since. In politics Mr. McNeill is a Liberal and a Repealer, but, above both, a lover of his country, and a gentleman who has done a good deal to foster its industries and improve the social condition of its people. He was married, first at Barton, on 25th December, 1852, to Ann Eliza, daughter of William Thomas. This estimable lady died 1st October, 1869. His second marriage was solemnised at Bloomfield, Digby county, 24th January, 1870, when he united with Alice Maria, second daughter of Edwin Jones. His family consists of two sons and two daughters living, all of whom are married, except the youngest son, who is attending college at Sackville, New Brunswick.
DesBrisay, Theophilus, Q.C., Bathurst, New Brunswick. The subject of this sketch is a son of the late Theophilus DesBrisay, naval officer of Miramichi and the eastern ports of New Brunswick, and grandson of the Rev. Theophilus DesBrisay, graduate of Magdalen College, Oxford, and the first rector of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, who died in 1824. He is of Huguenot descent, his ancestors having fled from France to Ireland at the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes; the pioneer in the Dominion of Canada being Thomas DesBrisay, captain Royal Artillery, who, was sent out as lieutenant-governor of Prince Edward Island, in 1777. The mother of our subject, before her first marriage, was Lucy Wright, daughter of the Hon. Thomas Wright, first surveyor-general of Prince Edward Island, and was the widow of Captain and Adjutant Colledge, who died in the first decade of this century while in the service of the king at the fortress of Quebec. Mr. DesBrisay was born at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on the 13th of December, 1816, educated at the Grammar School, Miramichi, studied law with the late Hon. John Ambrose Street, at Newcastle; was admitted an attorney in 1839, and to the Charlottetown bar at Hilary term, 1841, and has ever since been in practice in all the courts in New Brunswick and also as barrister of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. He was appointed clerk of the peace for the county of Gloucester, N.B., in 1850; and is also clerk of the County Court and clerk of the Circuits. He was created a Queen’s counsel by the Dominion government in 1881, and appointed Judge of Probates for the county of Gloucester in 1883. Mr. DesBrisay is a past master of St. John’s lodge of Freemasons, Bathurst. He is a member of the Church of England, and has served as warden of St. George’s Church, Bathurst, for many years, and also as delegate to the Diocesan Synod. He is a lawyer of excellent moral character as well as legal standing. He married, in 1851, Jemima Swayne, daughter of David Swayne, of Dysart, Scotland, and has five children—four sons and one daughter. Lestock, the eldest, is a clergyman and rector of Strathroy, Ontario; Andrew Normand, is in mercantile business in Minneapolis; T. Swayne, is an attorney and barrister practising with his father; Charles Albert is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Kingston (class 1880, the first that graduated), and a civil engineer now practising his profession in Minnesota, and Lucy Isabella is at home.
Simcoe, John Graves, Lieutenant-General, the first Governor of Upper Canada, was born in the town of Cotterstock, Northamptonshire, England, in 1752, and was the eldest son of Captain John Simcoe, commander of H.M.S.Pembroke, who was killed at Quebec, in the execution of his duty, in the year 1759, while assisting Wolfe in his siege of that city. On young Simcoe first going to school, at Exeter, at a comparatively early age, he attracted considerable notice from all with whom he came in contact for his proficiency in everything that the school taught; and he was, undoubtedly, theduxof the school. At the age of fourteen he was removed to Eton, where he acquired new honours. After remaining at Eton a short time, he was removed to Mereton College, Oxford. From college, in his nineteenth year, he entered the army, either he or his guardians having selected that profession for him. He was appointed to an ensigncy in the 35th regiment of the line; and as hostilities had already commenced with the United States of America, he was despatched to the seat of war to join his regiment. He arrived at Boston on the day of the battle of Bunker Hill, and took an active part afterwards, as may be seen, in the great American war, when the American colonists threw off their allegiance to Great Britain, and declared themselves independent. Ensign Simcoe, having served some time as adjutant to his own regiment, purchased the command of a company in the 48th, with which he fought at the battle of Brandywine, and where he displayed (although very young) his courage and professional attainments by the active part he took in the day’s proceedings. Unfortunately he was severely wounded at this engagement. Captain Simcoe was always a soldier in his heart, and attentive to every part of his duty. He already saw that regularity in the interior economy of a soldier’s life contributed to his health, and he estimated the attention of the inferior officers by the strength of a company or a regiment in the field. His ambition invariably led him to aspire to command; and even, when the army first landed at Staten Island, he went to New York to request the command of the Queen’s Rangers (a provincial corps then newly raised), though he did not obtain his desire till after the battle of Brandywine, in October, 1777. The Queen’s Rangers, under command of Simcoe, acquired new laurels, and were justly celebrated, as was their leader, for their several gallant deeds and exploits. During the rest of the American war, or until their disbandment, they bore part in nearly every engagement which took place; but, unfortunately, being situated at Gloucester Point, opposite Yorktown, when the latter place was besieged by the allied French and American army, the Rangers, as well as the other portions of the British army under Lord Cornwallis’s command, were surrendered by that nobleman to the victorious insurgents. With the surrender of Gloucester Point the active existence of the Rangers terminated. The officers were afterwards put upon half-pay, and their provincial rank retained to them in the standing British army. The war for independence virtually ceased with the capture of Yorktown, and Colonel Simcoe returned to England, greatly fatigued by his late arduous duties, and greatly impaired in his constitution. The king received him in a manner which plainly shewed how grateful his Majesty was for the great services he had rendered; and all classes of society received him with the most affectionate regard, and shewed him every demonstration of their attachment. Not long after his return he entered into the marriage state with Miss Guillim, a near relation to Admiral Graves, a distinguished officer engaged in the American war. He was elected to represent, in 1790, the borough of St. Maw’s, Cornwall, in the House of Commons, which place he continued to represent, with equal honour to himself and his county, until the passing of the bill dividing the province of Quebec into two provinces, to be called Upper and Lower Canada, when he was selected as the first governor of Upper Canada, whither he proceeded, in 1791, with his wife and family, and took up his quarters at Niagara, then called Newark, where he held his first parliament in September, 1792. Upper Canada was then in a comparative state of wilderness. We cannot picture to ourselves a more dismal or a more thoroughly dejected colony than was the province at the time of which we speak. Governor Simcoe, however, entered upon his duty with a resolute heart. Newark, now Niagara, was made the seat of government, which consisted of a Legislative Assembly and Council, the former containing sixteen members only, while the latter was still smaller; and a parliament was convened so early as the 17th September of the same year. He also appointed an Executive Council, composed of gentlemen who had accompanied him out, and some who already resided in the province. He had the whole country surveyed and laid out into districts, and invited as much immigration as possible, in order to swell the population. For this purpose, those parties who so nobly adhered to the cause of Britain in the revolted colonies, and which are chiefly known by the sobriquet of United Empire loyalists, removed to Canada, and received a certain portion of land free. Also, discharged officers and soldiers of the line received a certain portion of land gratuitously; and all possible means were employed to further the projects of the governor. A provincial corps was raised, by command of the king, and Colonel Simcoe was appointed colonel of it. This corps he called the “Queen’s Rangers,” after his old regiment. Becoming dissatisfied with the position of Newark as the provincial capital, he travelled westward as far as Detroit, and back, without having come to any fixed conclusion. He resolved to inspect the northern shore of Lake Ontario, and for that purpose set sail from Newark on Thursday, the 2nd May, 1793, and on the morning of Saturday, the 4th, entered the harbour of Toronto. A short distance from the entrance to the harbour were several wigwams, inhabited by Mississaga Indians. This was the “town” of Toronto, which Governor Simcoe determined was to be the future capital of Upper Canada. He quartered a number of the Queen’s Rangers there, and improved the site and vicinity of the projected city to a great extent. Roads were constructed, so that a proper communication could be kept up between town and country. A schooner ran weekly between Newark and York, and couriers were sent, overland, monthly to Lower Canada. Of course the population increased, and the young province began to consider itself wealthy. In 1794, Simcoe was promoted to the rank of major-general; and in 1796 he was appointed to be commandant and governor of the important island of St. Domingo. Thither he, with his family, proceeded, and there he held the local rank of lieutenant-general. Though he remained only a few months, he greatly endeared himself by his kind and considerate government of the island, not only to all the residents, but to the natives themselves; and a contemporary justly remarks that, “short as was his stay, he did more than any former general to conciliate the native inhabitants to the British government.” In 1798 he was created a lieutenant-general; and in 1801, when an invasion of England was expected by the French, the command of the town of Plymouth was entrusted to him. We do not hear of him again until 1806, when the last scene in this great man’s life was to come to a close. France had long been suspected of a design to invade Portugal, and, the affair being apparent to England, public attention was called to the critical situation of that country; and as Portugal was the only surviving ally of Britain upon the continent, means must necessarily be employed to assist her. In this critical juncture, Lieutenant-General Simcoe and the Earl of Rosselyn, with a large staff, were immediately sent out to join the Earl of St. Vincent, who, with his fleet, was in the Tagus; and they were instructed to open, in concert with him, a communication with the court, so that they would ascertain whether danger was very imminent, and, if so, employ means to guard against it. But, alas, in such a glorious undertaking, which probably would have crowned him with fame and honours, Simcoe was never destined to participate to any extent. On the voyage thither he was taken suddenly ill, and had to return to England, where he had only landed when his eventful life was brought to a close. He breathed his last at Torbay, in Devonshire, at the comparatively early age of fifty-four, after having honourably served his country during many years in a variety of occupations—regretted by all, from the simple soldier whom he had commanded to the friend of his heart and his boon companion.
Robb, David W., Manager of the Foundry and Machine Shops of A. Robb and Sons, Amherst, Nova Scotia, was born at Amherst on the 9th May, 1856. His father, Alexander Robb, the founder of the works he manages, is a gentleman very much respected by his fellow citizens. His mother is Emmeline Logan, daughter of David D. Logan, of Amherst Point. David received his educational training at the County Academy at Amherst, and had begun the study of mechanical engineering when his father’s health gave way in 1872, in consequence of which he had to assume business responsibilities, and since that time has been actively employed in the foundry and machine business, which has now grown to large proportions under his careful management. Mr. Robb is a member of the order of Freemasons, having joined this organisation in 1882. In 1881 he reorganized the fire department in his native town, and has been its chief engineer ever since. He is a member of the Liberal-Conservative Association of Amherst, and an active supporter of Sir Charles Tupper, minister of finance, who represents the county in the Dominion parliament. Mr. Robb, like his father, is a member of the Presbyterian church, and, like him, a public spirited gentleman. He was married on the 15th June, 1872, to Ida S., daughter of Dr. Nathan Tupper, and niece of Sir Charles Tupper. The fruit of this marriage is three children—two boys and a girl. Frederick B., second son of Alexander, we may add, is the financial manager of the firm of A. Robb and Sons.
Fraser, Hon. Judge John James, Q.C., Fredericton, New Brunswick, was born in Nelson, Northumberland county, N.B., on the 1st of August, 1829. His father, John Fraser, was a native of Inverness, Scotland, who emigrated to New Brunswick in 1803. He first settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and remained there until 1812, when he moved to Miramichi, New Brunswick, where he went into business as a lumber merchant and shipbuilder on Beanbear’s Island, and carried on these branches of trade for a number of years. He was also extensively engaged in the exportation of salmon, which at that time was a very profitable enterprise. John James Fraser received his early educational training at the Newcastle Grammar School, and adopted law as his profession. In October, 1845, he entered the office of the late Hon. John Ambroise Street, and in 1850 passed his examination as an attorney. In January, 1851, on the appointment of the Hon. Mr. Street to the office of attorney-general, Mr. Fraser removed to Fredericton, and remained with that gentleman until 1854. He was admitted to the bar in 1852, and made a Queen’s counsel in 1873. Mr. Fraser devoted his attention closely to his profession until 1865, when he entered the political arena, and was returned to the Provincial parliament as representative for York county, in conjunction with Messrs. Allen, Hatheway, and Needham, as champions of the anti-confederation movement, confederation being the then burning question of the day. In 1866, the Smith government having been compelled to resign, a general election ensued, and on Mr. Fraser presenting himself for re-election, a strong feeling was manifested against him, and at the close of the poll he found that his opponent had carried the day. In June, 1871, he was appointed a member of the Legislative Council and president of the Executive Council in the Hatheway-King administration, and held both positions until the death of the Hon. Mr. Hatheway in 1872, when he resigned. He was afterwards offered the position of provincial secretary to the government led by the Hon. Mr. King, and this he accepted. He then again appeared before his constituents, and was re-elected by acclamation, and the county of York he continued to represent until May, 1878, when the Hon. Mr. King retired from provincial politics. Hon. Mr. Fraser then became attorney-general and leader of the government, and this position he held until the 24th May, 1882, when he resigned, and offered himself as a candidate for the representation of York in the House of Commons, but was defeated. In December, 1882, he was, on the decease of Mr. Justice Duff, appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. He was married in September, 1867, to Martha, eldest daughter of the late Alexander Cumming, a merchant of Fredericton, and had by her two children, both of whom are dead. Mrs. Fraser died in March, 1871. In May, 1884, he was married to Jane M. P., daughter of the late Mr. Justice Fisher, of Fredericton.
Green, Harry Compton, Postmaster, Summerside, Prince Edward Island, was born at North Street, Eleanor, P.E.I., on the 30th April, 1817. He is the second son of the Hon. Samuel Green, and Elizabeth, his wife, who emigrated to Prince Edward Island from London, England, in 1808. Henry received his first educational training in the village school, and afterwards studied in the Charlottetown Academy, under Professor Brow Waddle. After leaving school he devoted himself to farming, and from 1839 to 1856 he farmed extensively on his freehold estate on North Street, Eleanor. In 1841 Mr. Green was appointed road commissioner and commissioner of small debts, and in 1842 he was created a justice of the peace. In 1851 he was appointed high sheriff of Prince county. In 1857 he went into mercantile business, and continued in this line until 1866, when he was appointed collector of customs for the port of Summerside. From 1858 to 1868 he occupied the honourable position of mayor of Summerside; and in 1871 he was appointed postmaster, which position he still holds. He joined the ancient and honourable order of Freemasons in 1858, and has been treasurer of his lodge, King Hiram, for nearly seven years. He was brought up and has always continued to be an Episcopalian in his religious views, and has frequently held the office of churchwarden, both in St. John’s Church, Eleanor, and St. Mary’s Church, Summerside. In March, 1850, he was married to Elizabeth C. Ellis, daughter of Robert Ellis, formerly of Bideford, Devon, England.
Fogo, Hon. James, Pictou, Nova Scotia, Judge of Probate for the county of Pictou, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on the 30th June, 1811. His father, James Fogo, senior, came to Pictou in 1817, and died there in 1868, aged eighty-one years. His mother was Elizabeth McClure, who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and died in Pictou, in 1879, aged eighty-nine years. Judge Fogo received his education at the Pictou Academy, under the tuition of that celebrated teacher and educator, the Rev. Thomas McCulloch, D.D., and was the classmate of Governor Archibald, Sir William Ritchie, now chief justice of the Dominion of Canada, and other gentlemen who have attained celebrity in different walks of life. He studied law in the office of Jotham Blanchard, then one of the most eminent practitioners at the bar in eastern Nova Scotia, and was admitted as an attorney of the Supreme Court in May, 1837, along with Charles Young, now the Hon. Dr. Young, LL.D., judge of the Surrogate Court for the province of Prince Edward Island, both of whom obtainedoptimeson their examinations. This, therefore, is the year of Judge Fogo’s professional jubilee. In 1838, according to the practice then existing, he was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court. Judge Fogo obtained the judicial appointment which he now holds on the 30th December, 1850, and has ever since, with the exception of a short interregnum which took place on a change of government in 1864, discharged the duties of his office with marked ability and satisfaction to the public. He is well read in the learning of his profession, and his judgments have almost invariably been sustained by the Supreme Court in cases of appeals from his decisions. In 1851 he was offered the solicitor-generalship of an adjoining colony, but an indisposition to sever his connection with Nova Scotia induced him to decline the acceptance of the offer. In his early years, before accepting his judicial position, Judge Fogo was an active politician in the Liberal interests, and on several occasions was urged by his friends to accept a nomination as a candidate for the representative branch of the legislature, but a regard to his personal interests prompted otherwise, as he preferred the active duties of his profession to the turmoil and uncertainty of political life. He was at one time connected with the provincial militia, and on the 23rd July, 1864, obtained the commission of major, having previously held the commission of first and second lieutenants in the service. He was created a Queen’s counsel by the Local government in 1878, his commission giving him precedence as such in all courts of the province over all other Queen’s counsels appointed after 23rd October, 1833. He was also, on the 27th July, 1879, appointed a master in Chancery, now called a master in the Supreme Court. On the 11th October, 1880, he obtained the appointment of Queen’s counsel from the Dominion government, when such appointments were ruledultra viresof the Provincial government, and since the date of his commission he has been appointed by the presiding judge to conduct the criminal business at each and every sitting of the Supreme Court at Pictou. Judge Fogo was first married in December, 1846, to Jane, daughter of the late Rev. John McKinlay, A.M., of Prince Street Presbyterian Church, Pictou, who died in 1848, leaving one daughter, Charlotte Jane, who, on the 27th of April, 1870, was united in marriage to the Hon. John F. Stairs, then of Dartmouth, now of Halifax, and ex-M.P. of the House of Commons, and who, to the great grief of her family and friends, died of that dreadful malady, diphtheria, on the 28th May, 1886, leaving five children, her son Walter, of the age of two and a half years, or thereabouts, having, two days previously, fallen a victim to the same disease. This dispensation of Providence naturally inflicted much mental suffering to the subject of our sketch, as his daughter was an only child, gifted with superior abilities, of a joyous and happy disposition, and consequently a great favourite in the social circle wherever she moved, and though the healing salve of time may cicatrize the wound occasioned by her early and unexpected death, the scar will still remain. The judge was married the second time to Elizabeth Ives, daughter of the late James Ives, of the city of Halifax, architect. The judge has the comforts of life in a liberal measure, and the mind and heart to enjoy them. He is said by his friends to be a pleasant and effective speaker. His mode of address is full of life and animation, and being gifted with a luxuriant imagination and playful fancy, his public exhibitions afford gratification to his auditors. He is a member of the Presbyterian church. Though advanced in life, his age rests lightly upon him, and none, to look at him and mark his quick and agile step, would dream that he is now in the seventy-sixth year of his age. He has a delightful residence at Belleville, opposite the railway station on the Pictou side of the harbour, and which is thus described in “Meacham’s Illustrated and Historical Atlas of the County of Pictou”:—“The building represented to our view is a classical villa, after the Tuscan manner, and was built by its proprietor in 1854. It is very beautifully situated, and affords a most commanding view of the surrounding country. The scene which is presented to the spectator on a summer day, when shipping in the harbour is brisk, and vessels of all descriptions are plying to and fro upon its waters, is one of an exceedingly pleasing and animated character, and presents a panorama which is rarely equalled, and difficult to surpass. The property is noted for the valuable free stone in which it abounds, and which is now commanding an extensive sale beyond the limits of the county, many thousands of tons having been disposed of to rebuild the bridges on the Intercolonial Railway, by a gentleman to whom the owner sold a few acres some years ago, leaving untouched, however, extensive areas of superior stone for building purposes, which brisker times would soon call into requisition.”
Fothergill, Rev. Matthew Monkhouse, Rector of St. Peter’s Church, Quebec city, was born in Cefnrhychdir, Monmouthshire, Wales, England, on the 11th November, 1834. His father was a leading agriculturist in South Wales, and frequently carried off valuable prizes at Lord Tredegar’s agricultural show for short-horns, thorough-bred horses, and mountain sheep. Rev. M. Fothergill received his education at Ottery St. Mary, Devonshire, King Edward’s Grammar School, Ely, and at St. Augustine’s College, Canterbury, England. In 1857 he came to Canada, and made Quebec his home, and here he was ordained by the late Bishop Mountain. He was then appointed travelling missionary, and did good service for the cause of the Master in this capacity. For twelve years he was a rural dean, and was the first incumbent of the new mission of Danville. After having built St. Augustine’s Church at Danville, he was called to Quebec city, and made rector of St. Peter’s Church, which position he now occupies. Rev. M. Fothergill is an active man, and outside his ministerial duties he has found time to help in other directions. For fourteen years he has held the position of secretary to the Church Society, is chaplain to the Marine and Emigrant Hospital, and Government inspector of public schools.
Longley, Hon. James Wilberforce, M.P.P., M.E.C., Attorney-General of Nova Scotia, Halifax, was born on the 4th January, 1849, at Paradise, Annapolis county, Nova Scotia. His father, Israel Longley, who was of English descent, was grandson of James Longley, a United Empire loyalist, who settled in Annapolis county at the end of the American revolutionary war. This gentleman took an active part in all the political questions of his day, and was twice a candidate in Annapolis for parliamentary honours in the Liberal interest, but failed on both occasions to secure his election. His mother, Frances Manning, was the youngest daughter of the Rev. James Manning, a pioneer Baptist minister, who came from the north of Ireland, and settled in Annapolis county, and laboured there in the cause of his divine Master until his death. Attorney-General Longley was educated at Acadia College, where, in June, 1871, he received the degree of B.A., and in 1875 the degree of M.A. In 1871 he began the study of law in Halifax, finished his law studies at Osgoode Hall, Toronto, Ontario, and was admitted to the bar of Nova Scotia 10th September, 1875. In 1875 he was appointed a commissioner of the Supreme Court, and a notary public, and in 1878 he was chosen law clerk of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia. On the 20th June, 1882, he was elected to represent Annapolis county in the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia, and in October of the same year he was made a commissioner for revising and consolidating the statutes of the province. In July, 1884, Mr. Longley was sworn in as a member of the Executive Council, and on the 25th June, 1886, was appointed attorney-general for his native province. On the 15th June, 1886, he again contested Annapolis county for a seat in the legislature, and was re-elected. Attorney-General Longley is a member of the Alumni of Acadia College, and an ex-president; has been an active member of all the liberal organizations in the province for the past fifteen years, and is ex-president of the Young Men’s Liberal Club of Halifax. He takes a great interest in literary matters, and since 1872 has been a regular contributor to the editorial columns of theAcadian Recorder, a regular daily Halifax paper, and also writes on political subjects in various magazines. In politics he is an ardent Liberal, and an uncompromising opponent of the government led by Sir John A. Macdonald. He believes in unrestricted trade relations with the United States as a substitute for the national policy; is opposed to Imperial federation for the reason that the interests of Canada are more closely identified with this continent, and is in favour of the complete abolition of the Senate and all second chambers whatever. In religious matters, though brought up in the Baptist faith, he prefers to give his adhesion to the Episcopal church, with no very high denominational preference. He was married on the 3rd September, 1877, to Annie Brown, of Paradise, and has issue four children, two boys and two girls.
Humphrey, John Albert, M.P.P. for Westmoreland, New Brunswick, Moncton, was born at Southampton, Nova Scotia, in 1823, and is the second son of William and Mary Trueman Humphrey. The father and mother of William Humphrey, the grandparents of the subject of this sketch, came from Yorkshire, England, in 1775, to Halifax, and purchased a farm at Falmouth, near Windsor, Nova Scotia, and remained there until 1797, when William Humphrey died. Three years afterwards his widow and five children removed to Sackville, New Brunswick, where William, her second surviving son, married in 1821, Mary, daughter of William Trueman, who emigrated from Yorkshire, England, in 1775, and settled at Pointe du Bute. The young couple resided at Sackville after their marriage until 1822, when they removed to Southampton, Nova Scotia, and here John Albert first saw the light. Here, and subsequently at Amherst, and at the Mount Allison Wesleyan Academy, Sackville, he received his education. After leaving school he went into business, and from 1845 to 1849 conducted a general milling business for his father, when he purchased what is now known as the Humphrey’s Mills, at Moncton, and removed there. In 1872 he was elected to represent Westmoreland county in the legislature of New Brunswick, and again in 1874 he was returned by the same constituency, but in 1878 he was defeated. He, however, again presented himself for parliamentary honours in 1882, and was elected, and at the general election in 1886 he was honoured once more by being made a member of the Provincial parliament. Mr. Humphrey is now, and from the inception has been, a director in and one of the largest stockholders of the Moncton Gas Light and Water Company, organized in 1878; is a director in and one of the largest stockholders of the Moncton Sugar Refining Company, organized in 1880, and a director and large shareholder in the Moncton Cotton Manufacturing Company, organized in 1883. Mr. Humphrey is also the chief owner of the Moncton woollen manufactory, at Humphrey’s Mills, started in 1884. In religion, he is an adherent of the Methodist church, as nearly all his father’s family have been for the past three generations. In politics he is a Liberal-Conservative, and a strong supporter of the school system, of the union of the provinces, and of the national policy. In 1855, Mr. Humphrey married Sarah Jane, eldest daughter of Michael S. Harris, shipbuilder and merchant, of Moncton.
Garneau, Hon. Pierre, Quebec, Member of the Executive Council, and Commissioner of Crown Lands for the province of Quebec, was born at Cap Santé, Quebec province, on the 8th May, 1823. His ancestors came from France in 1636, and were a family held in high estimation. Hon. Mr. Garneau received his education in his native parish, and shortly after leaving school removed to Quebec city, where he entered into business, and after some years became a leading merchant and public spirited citizen. In 1870 he was elected mayor of the city, and performed the high and important duties of the office so faithfully that on the expiration of his two years’ term he was unanimously re-elected for another two years. He was chief promoter, and became president, of the Quebec and Gulf Ports Steamship Company (now the Quebec Steamship Company); was president of the Quebec Street Railway for fifteen years, when he resigned in 1878; was a government director of the North Shore Railway for many years; and a member of the Canal Commission in 1870. He is a director of the Quebec and Lake St. John Lumber and Trading Company; of the Deléry Gold Mining Company; of La Banque Nationale; of the Quebec Fire Assurance Company; vice-president of the Quebec and Levis Electric Light Co.; and a member of the Quebec Board of Trade. In September, 1874, Hon. Mr. Garneau was appointed a member of the Executive Council, and became commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works for Quebec province; and shortly afterwards held the portfolio of Crown Lands. In March, 1878, the de Boucherville government, of which he was a member, having been defeated, he resigned with his colleagues. He was first elected to the Quebec legislature on the 11th March, 1873, for the county of Quebec, on the resignation of the sitting member; and was re-elected at the general election in 1875. He was an unsuccessful candidate at the general election of 1878, and remained out until 1881, when he was again returned by acclamation. At the general election, held in 1886, he was again forced to retire; but in January, 1887, he was appointed a member of the Legislative Council for De la Durantaye, and became commissioner of Crown Lands in the Mercier administration. Hon. Mr. Garneau was the head and only surviving partner of the well-known wholesale dry goods firm of P. Garneau et Frère, a firm that has been held in the highest repute for years throughout Canada and Europe, and is now senior partner of the firm of P. Garneau, Fils & Cie. In politics he is a Conservative, and in religion a member of the Roman Catholic church. In September, 1857, he was married to Cecilia Burroughs, daughter of the late Edward Burroughs, a well-known and highly respected prothonotary of Quebec. Two sons have been the issue of this marriage.
Beaton, Alexander H., Medical Superintendent of the Asylum for Idiots, Orillia. The province of Ontario makes generous provision for the part of its population that are unable to provide for themselves. The provincial asylums for idiots, for the insane, the deaf, the dumb, and the blind, are a credit to this young country. The proper management of these institutions entails heavy responsibilities, not only upon the government but upon the public servants who have them in charge. The subject of this sketch, Dr. Alexander H. Beaton, has for ten years occupied the position of superintendent of the Asylum for Idiots, at Orillia, and deserves a full share of the credit due to our asylum officials for the manner in which they discharge duties that are always responsible and often trying and difficult. He was born on the 20th of April, 1838, in the township of Pickering, county of Ontario, on the farm on which the village of Whitevale now stands. His father, Colin Beaton, emigrated from the Island of Mull, Scotland, in 1832, and was one of the pioneer settlers of what is now the splendid county of Ontario. His mother, Christina McKinnon, came from the same part of Scotland in 1820. In those early days Canadian boys usually worked on the farm during summer, and attended school in winter. Alexander H. Beaton was no exception to this rule. His parents, like many of the early settlers, could not afford to give their family a better education than that which could be obtained in their own school section. Fortunately for the Beaton family, the teacher in their section was generally one of the best in the township. Alexander and his younger brother, Donald, were among the best scholars in the school, and were usually found in a prominent place when the teacher wished to “put his best foot forward” on examination days. Both boys had resolved that farming was not to be their life work. At the age of eighteen Alexander obtained a second-class certificate and proceeded to take a place on that “stepping stone” about which so much used to be said by those who complained that many who are now among the most useful and prominent men in the province, merely taught school as a way into some other vocation. His first school was in the township of Vaughan, near Thornhill. In 1857 he taught at Duffin’s Creek, and in the following year entered the office of Ross, Crawford & Crombie, barristers, Toronto, with the intention of studying law. The way to the legal profession was, however, soon blocked. He had not sufficient means to maintain himself in Toronto for five years, and his father had suffered severely in the financial storm which swept over the country at that time. It became necessary to leave Toronto, mount the “stepping stone” again and earn more money. In 1860 and 1861 he taught in Claremont, in the township of Pickering, and in the following year in Ashburn, township of Whitby. During these years the intention of entering the legal profession was abandoned, and he prepared himself for the study of medicine. In the session of 1862 and 1863 he entered the Toronto School of Medicine, and attended the Rolph School in the summer of 1863, there being no summer session in the Toronto School. Continuing his studies in the Rolph School, he was graduated by that institution in April, 1864. Soon after graduation he began the practice of his profession, and continued in practice for twelve years. Nine years of the twelve were spent in Stayner, county of Simcoe, where he enjoyed a large and lucrative practice, when appointed by the Ontario government to his present position. By birth and choice Dr. Beaton is a Presbyterian. Though in favour of wise progress in all proper directions, he is at the same time wisely conservative in ecclesiastical matters, and would readily be classed among the many “solid men” of the Presbyterian family communion. He has for many years been an office-bearer of his church, and takes a deep interest in all matters affecting the welfare of Canadian Presbyterianism. He is liberal in his support of the educational and other institutions of his church, his contributions always ranking with the highest given in his locality. In all his church relations Dr. Beaton is vigorously assisted by Mrs. Beaton, who, along with the family to which she belongs, is devotedly attached to Presbyterianism. Previous to his appointment to his present position, Dr. Beaton took an active part in politics. By birth, training and conviction he is a Liberal. Having a natural aptitude for public speaking and no special dislike to the “roar around the hustings,” as the late D’Arcy McGee once happily put it, his services were always in demand at election times, and were freely given. He took an active part in the exciting contests of 1872 and 1874, and whilst in political life was always ready to do his full share of work and take his full share of responsibility. In January, 1877, he was appointed to his present position, the duties of which have been quietly but faithfully and efficiently discharged. For the proper discharge of these duties Dr. Beaton has many excellent qualifications. He is firm yet kind-hearted, and has the faculty of seeing and appreciating honest worth and real ability in his assistants. The success of an asylum superintendent often depends as much on his tact in dealing with his assistants as on his ability to care for the unfortunates placed under his charge. He readily recognizes real worth, however humble the position of the employee who manifests it, and nothing affords him more pleasure than to see faithfulness and efficiency in his subordinates. In his dealings with the patients under his care he is uniformly kind, his intercourse with them savouring more of the paternal than of the official. He holds the theory that almost any idiot can be educated, at least, to a certain extent, and that it is the duty of the government, which in Ontario simply means the people, to give the idiot population all the education they are capable of receiving. It is assumed, Dr. Beaton argues, that the province should provide a free education for the children that have the proper use of their faculties of mind and body. How much more urgent and binding is the duty of educating those who have impaired bodily powers and the mere germ of an intellect? It is expected that in the new asylum buildings now in course of erection at Orillia, ample provision will be made not only for the care, but also for the training of the patients. The superintendent will then have ample facilities for carrying out his theory, and the unfortunates under his care will, in addition to the comforts of a well-managed home, receive such an education as their faculties permit. In 1870 Dr. Beaton was united in marriage with Margaret Ann McNiven, daughter of Donald McNiven, then a resident of Bradford, county of Simcoe, but at present residing in Harriston, county of Wellington.
Ross, Hon. William, Collector of Customs, Halifax, was born at Boulardarie, Victoria county, Cape Breton, on the 27th December, 1825. His parents, John Ross and Robina Mackenzie, emigrated from Sutherlandshire, Scotland, in 1816, and settled in Pictou, Nova Scotia, and after remaining there five years removed to Boulardarie, Cape Breton. William received his primary education in the public school of his native place, and afterwards was sent to Halifax, where he completed his studies in the Normal School of that city. In 1848 he began business as a merchant in Englishtown, Cape Breton, and in this he continued until 1874. During this period he was extensively engaged in prosecuting the mackarel, herring, cod, and salmon fisheries, and also did a large business in the cattle trade between Cape Breton and Newfoundland. For several years he was postmaster of Englishtown. In 1861 he passed his military examination, and was appointed colonel of the 30th regiment Victoria Militia of Nova Scotia, and retired from active service in 1874. In 1859 Mr. Ross entered politics as a Liberal, and was returned, under universal suffrage law, as a member of the Nova Scotian legislature by a majority of 516. Again, in 1863, when the property qualification law came into force, he was elected by a large majority, and conscientiously opposed the Johnstone-Tupper government from that time up to 1867, when he retired from local politics, and was elected by acclamation for the county of Victoria, Cape Breton, to the House of Commons at Ottawa, after having sat for eight years in the Nova Scotian legislature. In 1872, on the occasion of a general election, he was again returned by acclamation by his native county; and on the downfall of the Sir John A. Macdonald administration in November, 1873, and on the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie assuming the government, Mr. Ross was made Minister of Militia. After his acceptance of this responsible office, and on his presenting himself for re-election, he was stoutly opposed by the Conservatives in his county, but, nevertheless, he was returned for the third time, in February, 1874, to the Dominion parliament by acclamation. Shortly afterwards the Hon. Mr. Ross retired from active political life, and was appointed collector of customs for the port of Halifax, and this important and responsible position he still continues to fill. In 1852 he joined the Masonic fraternity, and for two years was worshipful master of Virgin lodge, No. 3, Halifax; and was also twice in succession elected high priest of Royal Union Chapter of Halifax. He is now past deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia; and although he has been repeatedly nominated as grand master, he has refused the honour. He has occupied the position of vice-president and president of the North British Society. He has travelled through Newfoundland, part of the United States, and has visited every important point in Canada as far west as Lake Harno. Hon. Mr. Ross is an adherent of the Presbyterian church, and in politics is a Liberal. In March, 1855, he was married to Eliza H. Moore, daughter of P. H. Moore, of the firm of Gammell and Moore, of North Sydney. The fruit of this marriage was eight children, six of whom now survive.
Labelle, Captain Jean Baptiste, Montreal, M.P. for the county of Richelieu, was born at Sorel, province of Quebec, on 27th May, 1836. He is descended on the paternal side from a very old French-Canadian family, the first of whom came from France as a soldier, and after getting his discharge settled in the country. On the maternal side the family also came from France, and has been many years in the country. His father, Toussaint Labelle, was a navigator, and his mother was named Marguerite Genton Dauphine. Captain Labelle received his education in the parish school at Sorel; and as he grew up took to sailing craft on the St. Lawrence river. He soon became an expert navigator, and for over twenty-five years commanded one of the finest of the Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Company’s passenger steamers, sailing between Montreal and Quebec. In 1880 Captain Labelle gave up sailing, and received the appointment of passenger agent at Montreal, of the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway Company; and in 1883 he was made general manager of the Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Company, which position he still holds. In 1868, at the general election then held, Mr. Labelle presented himself as a candidate for the Quebec Legislature for Richelieu county, but was defeated by the small majority of nine against him. At the general election held in 1887, he again presented himself to the same constituency, and was returned as a member of the House of Commons at Ottawa. As a commander, Mr. Labelle was one of the most popular who ever sailed the St. Lawrence. He was noted for his courtesy and forbearance; his ability, and his coolness and intrepidity, which he exhibited on several occasions, especially during the inundation of the Island of Sorel in 1865, and on the occasion of the burning of the steamerMontreal, in 1857. In politics, Captain Labelle is a Conservative; and in religion, a member of the Roman Catholic church. In 1856, he was married to Delphine Crébassa, daughter of Narcisse Crébassa, notary, of Sorel, a remote descendant of a Spanish family that at first emigrated to Holland, and from thence came and settled in Canada.
MacCoy, William Frederick, Q.C., Barrister, M.P.P. for Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Halifax, is a native of Ireland, he having been born at Lysrian, in the county of Longford, on the 15th May, 1840. His father, Thomas MacCoy, emigrated to Nova Scotia when William was only eight years of age. His mother, of whom he has no personal knowledge, died a few hours after giving birth to her boy; and his father died about twenty-four years ago. William Frederick MacCoy commenced his educational studies at the National School in Halifax, and graduated at Sackville Academy, New Brunswick. He adopted law as a profession, and was called to the bar of Nova Scotia, in 1864. On the 11th October, 1880, he was appointed a Queen’s counsel. He practised his profession in Shelburne for about nine years, and then removed to Halifax, and is now the head of the firm of MacCoy, Pearson, Morrison, and Forbes, barristers, notaries and solicitors in Admiralty. The firm does a large and lucrative law business. He was elected one of the aldermen of the city of Halifax, in 1881, and in 1882 was offered the position of attorney-general in the Liberal government of that day, but declined the honour, considering that his colleague had a prior claim. Mr. MacCoy was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia at the general election of 1878, but at the next general election, he succeeded in securing his election by 247 of a majority, and in January, 1887, he was again elected to his old seat. He is a Liberal in politics, and in religion an adherent of the Methodist church. In 1864, he received a commission as captain in the militia, and takes a lively interest in our citizen soldiers. The year after he joined the Masonic order, and is now a past master of St. Andrew’s lodge, Halifax. He, we are glad to say, is a strong temperance man, and for years, has taken a deep interest in the advancement of temperance legislature, and is the author of the present Temperance Act of Nova Scotia. He is a member of the Independent Order of Good Templars, and his eminent legal knowledge renders him a very useful member of his lodge, when constitutional questions come up for discussion. In the legislature he has won a position of prominence, and has aided in shaping to a great extent the progressive measures introduced of late years, and is one of the recognized leaders of his party. On the 14th July, 1868, he was married to Maud L., daughter of Robert P. Woodill, merchant, Shelburne, and has a family of two children.
Whidden, Charles Blanchard, ex-M.P.P. for Antigonish, Nova Scotia, was born at Antigonish, on the 5th June, 1831, and still resides in the place of his birth. He is the youngest son of John Blair Whidden, who was born in Stewiacke, Colchester county, N.S., in 1791, and great grandson of James Whidden, who immigrated from New Hampshire and settled in Truro in 1760. His mother, Harriet Elizabeth Symonds, was a daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Symonds, who came from New Hampshire in 1804, and were among the first settlers in Antigonish. Mr. Whidden, sen., when a lad of ten years of age, having lost his father, spent some years with an elder sister in the district of St. Marys, and afterwards came to Antigonish in 1807, where he purchased a small property in what is now the town of Antigonish, and in December, 1816, married the mother of the subject of this sketch, the lady alluded to above. C. B. Whidden’s father was ordained to the Baptist ministry in 1834, and continued to labour for that denomination in the destitute parts of Nova Scotia until his death, which occurred on the 19th July, 1864. His wife survived him a number of years, and passed away to the higher life in May, 1878, wanting only two months of reaching her eightieth year. Charles was educated at the Grammar School and at the Academy in Antigonish. After leaving school, he continued on a farm for some time; but in 1863 he began business on his own account on a small scale, and devoting all his energies to what he had undertaken, soon became independent. He at one time was largely interested in shipping, and is still to a limited extent. In 1883 he retired from active business pursuits in favour of his two sons, David Graham and Charles Edgar. Mr. Whidden is a member of the Baptist church, and in politics a Liberal-Conservative. He ran as a candidate for a seat in the House of Commons at Ottawa in 1878, but was defeated by a small majority. Again, in June, 1882, he made another attempt to gain a seat in the Commons, but met with defeat. However, in September of the same year, he became a candidate in the local election, and was chosen to represent his native county in the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia. In this house he sat for four years, until the general election in 1886, when he suffered defeat on presenting himself for re-election, in consequence of the repeal cry, he being opposed to any change in the political status of his province so far as the Dominion is concerned. In 1866 and 1867 he showed himself strongly in favour of the confederation of the provinces, and worked hard in its favour. He is a strong believer in our common country, and predicts a great future for it. He always places country above and beyond all minor interests. In December, 1856, he was married to Eunice C. Graham, second daughter of the late Captain David Graham, and Mary Bigelow, his wife. The fruit of this marriage has been seven children, four of whom have been carried away by death. Two of his sons, as will be seen above, have succeeded their father in business, and his youngest son, Howard P., is now taking a college course at Wolfville.