Tartre, Joseph Raphael, Notary Public, Waterloo, province of Quebec, was born at St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, on the 3rd October, 1843. His father, Charles Tartre, was a farmer and bailiff, of Roxton Falls, Quebec, and a son of Charles Tartre and Marie LegrosditSt. Pierre, who settled on the south side of the Yamaska river during the first years of the present century. His mother, Marie Adelaide Beaudry, is a descendant of the Beaudry family which settled in St. Jean Bte. de Rouville, Quebec, early in the present century. His father was settled first in St. Pie, county of Bagot, and moved thence to Roxton Falls, in September, 1851. The subject of this sketch is the second of eleven children, the oldest being a grey nun (called in religion Sister Ste. Elizabeth), since 1858. He was educated at St. Hyacinthe College, from 1856 to 1861. When twenty-one years of age, on account of ill-health, he was admitted, on the 13th May, 1864, a bailiff of the Superior Court, and settled at Waterloo on the 24th May, 1864. While practising as a bailiff, he began the study of the notarial profession on the 15th June, 1866, and was admitted to practise on the 3rd May, 1871. He was acting deputy registrar of the county of Shefford, from May, 1874, to August, 1876; and was secretary of schools for the township of Shefford, Waterloo included, for 1872 and 1873. He has been secretary-treasurer of the municipality of the county of Shefford since the 11th June, 1879; and a member of the Roman Catholic school board of examiners of the district of Bedford since 1875; also secretary-treasurer of the Roman Catholic schools of Waterloo since April, 1883, the date of their organization; and a commissioner of the Superior Court since 1872. He has also been secretary-treasurer of the Waterloo Imperial Building Society since the 1st May, 1877. He has always taken a moderate part in politics, and in municipal matters, and was mainly instrumental in having the parish of St. Joachim de Shefford erected into a municipality, and was one of the many who helped in starting the newspaper in Waterloo, calledThe Independent. He is a staunch Roman Catholic in religion. He was married, on the 29th January, 1866, to Malvina, second daughter of Gabriel Hubert and Justine Marchessault, of Contrecœur, Quebec, and has had issue ten children, eight of whom are still living. The eldest, C. U. R. Tartre, twenty-one years of age, has just completed his classical course at the St. Hyacinthe College, and is now studying the notarial profession with his father. Mrs. J. R. Tartre is now (March, 1888,) a candidate in the election of popularity, the object and proceeds whereof are to erect, if possible, a commercial college in Waterloo. This election closes on the 2nd July, 1888.
Edgar, James David, Barrister, Toronto, M.P. for West Ontario, was born in the Eastern Townships, Quebec province, on the 10th August, 1841, where he received his early educational training. He is descended from the elder branch of the Edgars of Keithock, Forfarshire, Scotland, a family which has impressed its name on the annals of that country. Mr. Edgar adopted law as a profession, and having gone through the usual course of study, was called to the bar of Upper Canada, in Michaelmas term, 1864. Since then he has successfully practised his profession in Toronto, and is at present the head of the firm of Edgar, Malone & Garvin, barristers, solicitors, notaries, etc. He first presented himself for parliamentary honors at the general election of 1872, when he was elected, and sat in the House of Commons at Ottawa until the general election in 1874, when he was defeated. In 1872 he unsuccessfully contested Centre Toronto, but on the 22nd August, 1884, upon the resignation of the sitting member, he was elected by the Reformers of West Ontario to represent them in parliament. At the last general election he was again chosen by the same constituency, and continues to sit in the House of Commons as their representative. In 1874, Mr. Edgar was sent by the Dominion government to British Columbia to arrange terms for the postponement of the construction of the Canada Pacific railway. He is of a literary turn of mind, and, apart from his books on law, such as “Insolvent Act of 1864, with Notes, Forms,” etc., published in 1864; “An Act to Amend the Insolvent Act of 1864, with Annotations, Notes of Decisions,” etc., published in 1865, he frequently contributes to the columns of our daily press and periodicals. Indeed, he has entered the realm of poetry, and a couple of years ago published a no mean volume on a Canadian subject. He is a director of the Confederation Life Association, of theGlobePrinting Company, and of the Midland Railway Company. In politics he is a staunch Liberal, and in religion belongs to the Episcopal church. In September, 1865, he was married to Matilda, second daughter of the late T. G. Ridout, of Toronto.
Price, Herbert Molesworth, Timber Merchant, Quebec, was born on the 31st of August, 1847, at Benhall, Ross, Herefordshire, England. His father was William Price, gentleman. He was educated at private schools at Hereford, and Norwood, near London, where he made rapid progress, English and mathematics being his principal studies. Having at an early age evinced a predilection for banking, a position was secured for him in the West of England and South Wales District Bank, at Ross. He entered on his duties in 1864, and remained in the service of that institution until January, 1869, when he relinquished his situation for a higher post in the Bank of British North America, London. He was soon after transferred to the Montreal branch of that bank, and successively filled positions at the following branches, viz., St. John, N.B., Halifax, N.S., New York and Hamilton, Kingston, Brantford, and Dunnville, Ont., and Quebec. After serving at the latter branch as accountant for four years, with great acceptance to the board, he resigned his office and entered the Merchants Bank of Canada, Quebec, as manager. This responsible position he held from 1879 until March, 1884, when he retired from banking, after a continuous service of twenty years, and joining the important firm of Hall Brothers & Co., in connection with the Montmorency mills, embarked into business. His firm is now composed of Peter Patterson Hall, and H. M. Price. Their operations are confined to two mills besides those of Montmorency. The firm makes 300,000 logs per annum on the rivers Chaudière, Gentilly, Nicolet, Bécancour, Duchene, and Montmorency, employing in the work a large number of men. In politics, Mr. Price is a Conservative of independent and broad views. A member of the Church of England, he has always taken a deep interest in religious thought and movement, and his active mind has found expression in the conduct of the temporal affairs of his church, where for some years he has been a member of the select vestry of the English cathedral. He has held several prominent offices, among which may be named those of the first vice-president of St. George’s Society; provisional director of the Quebec Railway Bridge Company; member of the council of the Quebec Board of Trade; member of the Central Board Church Society, and member of the council of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec. In this latter position his literary, historical, and antiquarian tastes find ample development. He is a qualified justice of the peace. Mr. Price has always taken considerable interest in athletic sports and pastimes. He has been captain of the Quebec Cricket and Football clubs, and was a member of a Football team for Canada which played against the Harvard University Club of Cambridge, Mass., in Montreal, in 1875. J. M. LeMoine has given an interesting sketch of Mr. Price, and of his summer residence, Montmorency cottage, in his late book, “Monographies et Esquisses.” In March, 1877, Mr. Price was married to S. A. Martha Hall, daughter of the late George Benson Hall, of Montmorency Falls, P.Q., a lady of fine social qualities and culture.
Phelan, Cornelius J. F. R., M.D., C.M., Waterloo, Quebec, was born on the 10th of May, 1840, at St. Columbin, county of Two Mountains, Quebec. His father, John Phelan, was born 10th June, 1787, at Kilkenny, Ireland. He was major of militia, mayor and magistrate. As magistrate he generally settled disputes amicably and to the perfect satisfaction of the litigants, thus saving acrimony and heavy law costs; he was also a merchant and farmer, and did a very extensive business; he was generous to a fault, always the poor man’s friend, and died the 9th April, 1862, deeply mourned by all who knew him far and near. Dr. Phelan’s mother, Mary Phelan, was born on the 15th August, 1798, and died on the 26th July, 1874. She was a pious woman, a loving mother, and a devoted and industrious wife. The late Bishop Phelan, of Kingston, was her brother. He was a first-class administrator, a general favorite alike among Protestants and Catholics, and his untimely death was universally regretted. The subject of this sketch was educated at the seminary of Ste. Therese de Blainville, Quebec, taking a full classical course, afterwards pursuing his medical studies at McGill College, Montreal, and graduating therefrom in 1865. In the spring of 1865, he began to practise at Iberville, and in November of the same year removed to Knowlton, Brome, Quebec, where he remained until January 8th, 1880, when he went to Waterloo, his present home. As he took up the study of medicine from pure love of the profession, it is not strange that his success has been far above the average; and that the older he grows the more he is in love with his calling. He is a member of the district of Bedford Medical Association; a leading member of the Board of Health of Waterloo; medical examiner for several leading Life Insurance companies and has been physician to the Maple Wood Convent since 1881. This is one of the finest institutions of the kind in the province, and is under the direction of the Sisters of J.M.J., of Hochelaga. The house was formerly the residence of the Hon. A. B. Foster, and is a splendid edifice surrounded by beautiful and well-kept grounds. Dr. Phelan has been secretary of the St. Patrick’s Benevolent Society of Shefford, and also president of the St. Joseph Society of Waterloo. He has always been a Conservative, but the duties of his profession have prevented him from taking any active part in politics though often strongly urged to do so. In 1864 he travelled through the United States, making a prolonged stay at Washington to visit the military hospitals there, they being such excellent schools for surgery. In religion he is a Roman Catholic. He was married on the 8th November, 1864, to Mary Eledeanne M. Guindon, of Montreal, a cousin-german of Judge Ouimet; she was educated in the Congregational convent there. They have one daughter who is now pursuing her studies at Maple Wood Convent.
Bernier, Michel Esdras, St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Notary, J.P., and M.P. for St. Hyacinthe, was born at St. Hyacinthe, on the 28th September, 1841. His ancestors came from France, and settled in the county of L’Islet, Quebec, removing afterwards to St. Hyacinthe. He is the youngest son of the late Etienne Bernier, farmer, and Julie Lussier, his wife. The subject of this sketch was educated at the St. Hyacinthe Seminary, afterwards studying law under H. St. Germain, notary and registrar for the county of St. Hyacinthe, and was admitted to practise as a notary in June, 1867. He was a member of the volunteer force from 1862 to 1865, and held the rank of captain. He served as a member of the notarial board for the district of St. Hyacinthe, from 1867 to 1870, and for the provincial board from 1873, and president for the same from 1882 to 1885, and is still a member of the board; was secretary-treasurer of the municipal council and school commissioners of the parish of St. Hyacinthe, from 1864 to 1878, and of the municipal council of the county of St. Hyacinthe from 1864, and still holds that position; also official assignee for the county of St. Hyacinthe from 1869 to 1874, and for the district of St. Hyacinthe from 1874 to 1880. He has been a director of the St. Hyacinthe Agricultural Society from 1881, and its president since 1884, and holds that position to-day. He is a director of the Bank of St. Hyacinthe; also of the St. Hyacinthe Manufacturing Company, owners of the water powers, flannel mill, grist mill, and carding mill, at St. Hyacinthe; of the St. Hyacinthe Gas and Electric Light Company; of the St. Hyacinthe Macadamizing Company, and of the United Counties Railway Company. He is the head of the firm of N. Bernier & Co., grain and flour dealers; of the notarial firm of Bernier, Morin & Bordua; is a commissioner for the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and a commissionerper Dedimus potestatem; is also engaged in farming, and owns the “Bellevue farm,” near the city limits. Mr. Bernier is a staunch Liberal in politics, and has taken an active part in political movements since 1867; was offered, but refused, the candidature for the county of St. Hyacinthe for the House of Commons, in 1878, and for the Quebec house in 1879; but in June, 1882, he accepted the nomination of the party for the House of Commons, and was elected, his opponent being the Hon. L. Tellier, now a judge of the Superior Court. Mr. Bernier ran again in 1887, and was again successful. His interest in agricultural, industrial, and commercial pursuits has been of the most active character. In religion, he is a Roman Catholic. He was married, on the 28th November, 1865, to Alida, a daughter of the late Simeon Marchesseault, one of the chiefs of the rebellion of 1837, and who was afterwards exiled to the Bermudas. Two daughters were born of this marriage, the eldest being married to Dr. L. V. Benoit, physician and apothecary at St. Hyacinthe.
d’Orsonnens, Lt.-Col. the Count Louis Gustave d’Odet, was born at L’Assomption, April 17th, 1842. He is a descendant of a Swiss patrician family of the Canton of Fribourg, who, according to Blanc de Charney, in his history of the patrician families of Fribourg, “came towards the end of the fourteenth century to settle in that city, and continue there itslustre.” The General Lexicon of Switzerland, by Leu, published at Zurich, in 1758, mentions the d’Odet d’Orsonnens with honor. Later, in 1789, Jean Jacques Holtzhalb, in his supplement to the Lexicon or Dictionary of Leu, has also continued its history. The first member of this distinguished family who came to this country, was Prothais d’Odet d’Orsonnens, patrician of Fribourg, who came to Canada about the year 1810, with the famous Meuron’s regiment, as captain of the grenadier company. After the disbandment of his regiment, Captain d’Orsonnens went to the Red River with a strong party, and took Fort William for Lord Selkirk, who was the governor of the Hudson Bay Company. The conduct and bravery of Captain d’Orsonnens on this occasion was highly commended by his superiors. He finally settled at St. Roch de l’Achignan, where he built a house in the style of the manors of that time, and which he named “La Chaumière Suisse.” He died suddenly of heart disease on the 16th March, 1834, leaving two sons and two daughters to mourn his loss. The eldest, Thomas Edmond d’Orsonnens, was born at St. Roch de l’Achignan, on 30th October, 1818, and was for many years president of the medical faculty of the Victoria University in Montreal, knight of St. Gregory, etc. His eldest son, Louis Gustave, the subject of this sketch, upon whom the family nobility and titles were recognised with the title of count, by his holiness Pope Pius IX., was educated for the army, and was to have joined the Swiss regiment at Naples, in which his cousin was captain, when the kingdom of Naples was overthrown by the revolution. He joined the 1st battalion of rifles as ensign, on the 17th of November, 1859; in 1860, he exchanged into the 2nd troop of cavalry, being gazetted a cornet; was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 3rd June, 1861, and commanded the troop for nearly a year. He resigned his command to study law, and was soon called to the bar. He then re-entered the service and joined the 4th battalion of Canadian Chasseurs, and was gazetted lieutenant on the 15th December, 1865. He served on the frontier at Niagara, in 1866, as ensign and adjutant, and was promoted to rank of captain in the 4th Chasseurs on the 8th of March, 1867. His subsequent promotions are brigade-major, 3rd January, 1868, and lieutenant-colonel, 19th February, 1869. In 1871, he held the temporary command of the 6th military district at the divisional camp of Laprairie. Lieutenant-Colonel d’Orsonnens holds certificates from all the schools, as follow: Infantry school, 1st class, 24th August, 1864; gunnery, 1st class, 4th July, 1868; cavalry, 1st class, 27th March, 1869. Towards the close of the year 1869 he went to Switzerland, where, upon the invitation of the president of the Confederation he joined the federal staff at Berne, and followed the army in its autumn manœuvres. In 1874, inspired, doubtless, by the remembrance of the manœuvres of the Swiss army, he published a pamphlet on the military organization of the Canadian Confederation. He also was the first who, in 1867, suggested the idea to his co-religionists to send military aid to the papal See, and was instrumental in the decision of the movement which sent to Rome more than 600 Canadian Zouaves. This expedition, which resembled, in more respects than one, that of the first crusades, has, it is affirmed, contributed more to make Canada known to Europe than many other things. In 1883 he was sent, along with the other commandants of the infantry schools, to England, by the Dominion government, to study the organization of and follow the Imperial service, preparatory to taking command of one of the infantry schools now in existence in Canada. Like many other old families, the d’Odet family retains many souvenirs and marks of appreciation from distinguished personages, such as autograph letters from kings, princes, and others; amongst some of these in their possession is a letter dated 8th of March, 1670, signed by Emmanuel, Duc of Savoie, and King of Cyprus, in which the duke invites the family to ask for favors in return for services rendered him. The Count d’Odet d’Orsonnens was married in 1870, to Marie Louise Adèle Desbarats, and has issue four sons and one daughter. The eldest, Viscount George Joseph Gustave was born in 1872.Arms: Azure, a lion, or, rampant, holding a horn of plenty, of the same.Count’s Coronet;Motto:Certa fides, certa manus.
Guilbault, Edouard, Joliette, Quebec, Mayor of Joliette, was born at d’Aileboust, county of Joliette, on the 14th April, 1834. He is the son of Charles Guilbault, and Marie Blanchard, whose ancestors came from Normandy, France, in 1697, and were among the first settlers of Charlesbourg, Quebec. The subject of this sketch was educated at the College of Joliette, where he took a commercial course. He sat in the Joliette town council for twenty years; was elected mayor in 1875, and has continued to fill that responsible position since, having been re-elected on the 10th January, 1888, for a further term of three years. He is a Conservative in politics; is now president of the Conservative Association, and has long taken an active interest in political affairs. He was first returned to parliament at the general election, in 1882; but resigned, and was re-elected, 7th December, 1882, and again, at the general election of 1887. He organized the Agricultural Society of the county in 1854; filled the position of secretary for twenty-five years, and is now the president. He is the proprietor of several large farms, in which he takes a deep interest, always working hard to improve agriculture. In 1871 he formed a company which engaged in the lumber business, and he continues as director of this company still; he is also a director in a large foundry and agricultural implements works. In 1865 he established a boot and shoe factory, which he conducted under his own name, and which he superintends personally, and has succeeded in building up an extensive trade in that line. In the year 1884 he formed a company to enter into the manufacture of Canadian tobacco, and is president of this company, to which he gives considerable attention. This is an industry which will bear a great deal of development. In 1885 he visited Europe, and made an extensive tour, with the object of acquiring information as to trade and agriculture. He is a Roman Catholic, but believes in liberty of conscience. He was married, in 1858, to Marie Hermine Lemaitre Auger, daughter of Major Desire Lemaitre Auger, of Louisville.
Dawson, Sir J. William, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S., Principal of the McGill University, Montreal, was born at Pictou, Nova Scotia, on October 13th, 1820. His parents had come from Scotland several years before, and, if the Biblical knowledge of their son is any criterion, they were doubtless good examples of that high piety and religious education which distinguish the Scottish people. Young Dawson seems to have shown an early interest in natural history and geology, and the opportunity for an intellectual career was placed within his reach. He attended the school and college at Pictou, and was then sent to Edinburgh University, where he took the degree of M.A. at the age of twenty-two. Natural history and practical chemistry occupied his attention chiefly at Edinburgh; and it may be supposed that he listened with deep interest to the fading echoes which would be heard then regarding the respective claims of the Wernerian and the Huttonian hypotheses in geology. Here he made his first attempts at authorship, which were published in Edinburgh newspapers. He returned to Canada in 1842, and accompanied Sir Charles Lyell in his geological exploration of Nova Scotia. He entered into the work with characteristic enthusiasm, and the valuable assistance which he was able to render to the great English geologist was not unrecognised. Sir Charles Lyell has paid many tributes to the abilities of Sir William Dawson as a geologist. He was then appointed to the direction of a geological survey of the coal fields in that province, and his report to the government proved a very valuable one. In 1850 his attention was taken, so far as the business of his life was concerned, from geology to education. He was appointed superintendent of education for Nova Scotia. It was a reforming period in educational matters in that province, and the new superintendent was entrusted with the work of putting a new School Act into operation. His interest in education, to judge from the articles which he published at that date, was not less pronounced than his interest in science. The work was, therefore, congenial, and the experience afforded in the task of administering the affairs of the Nova Scotia schools doubtless proved valuable to the future principal of McGill. His appointment to the principalship of McGill in 1855 marks the beginning of an epoch in Canada’s intellectual development. It is not a matter of ordinary course that McGill should be the university she is to-day, or that she should wield the influence that she does. It is a matter of surprise. The conditions which fifty and a hundred years ago favored the advancement of great institutions of learning in the American republic have ever been absent from Canada. The wealth which poured into the treasuries of American colleges has only been represented in Canada by dribbling subscriptions and small legacies. Our colleges have struggled up with the aid of trusty and generous, but seldom very wealthy, friends. The fortunes of McGill were at a low ebb in 1855, and Principal Dawson had an extensive work before him. The work of a college principal and president is supposed to be limited to the duties of administration, but the financial condition of McGill at that time made it necessary for the new principal to undertake several laborious professorships as well. His influence, however, soon began to make itself felt throughout the country, and the fortunes of the university steadily advanced. Its stability is now assured, and from being a matter of anxiety to Montrealers it has become an object of pride. That the result is largely due to the vast energy and administrative abilities of the principal there can be no question; and it is a significant fact that when the university came in sight of the horizon of prosperity he annually contributed to its resources by still retaining arduous and unpaid work which he had taken upon his shoulders at the outset. Leisure might seem to be an unknown experience in the midst of labors indicated by the foregoing, but in addition to many pamphlets on educational matters, and some excellent text-books on geology and zoology, Sir William Dawson has published the following volumes: “Archaia,” (1860); “Air Breathers of the Coal Period,” (1863); “The Origin of the World,” (1869); “The Story of the Earth and Man,” (1873); “Fossil Men and Their Modern Representatives” (1880). As indicated by their titles, the three latter volumes deal more particularly with the vexed questions concerning the nature of man’s first appearance upon the earth, and the apparent conflict between Biblical history and the result of modern scientific research. If his treatment of the subject is not in all respects satisfactory to the present schools of scientific thought, it is at least independent and earnest. Whether his interpretations of the archæological facts bearing upon prehistoric man will stand the test of time or not, time only can show. At present he stands alone with regard to that subject, as far as his scientific peers are concerned. The fact, however, has not prevented the scientific worlds of Britain and America from recognizing and honoring him for his many and valuable contributions to the science of the day. These have comprised an extensive amount of original research in biology, chemistry, mineralogy and microscopy, which has been distinguished not only for its high scientific merits, but for the attractive literary form in which it has been presented to the world. For many years he has been an active and esteemed member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and was elected president of that learned body for 1886. It was also through his instrumentality that the British Association met in Montreal in the summer of 1884, and it was at the opening meeting in the Queen’s Hall that Lord Lansdowne announced the honor of the knighthood. The American Association testified to its appreciation of his scientific labors by electing him to the presidency in 1883. The recognition which Sir William Dawson’s scientific attainments have received abroad, however, should not withdraw attention from the valuable services he has rendered, and is rendering, to Canada’s intellectual development. With this every Canadian is more or less practically concerned. The fact that a united nationality can never be built up in this Dominion without an educational foundation has been recognized by a good many of our public men, but by none more earnestly than by Sir William Dawson. He early took a broad view of the duties and privileges of a university as an intellectual centre. Besides taking an active part in scientific and other societies in Montreal, he has paid close attention to the interests of struggling schools and colleges in the province, and for many years has been perhaps the most active worker in connection with elementary education. This latter subject has all the importance, in Quebec province especially, which he attaches to it, and his efforts should be more generally seconded. Like Principal Grant, he is also a strong advocate for the higher education of women, who are now admitted to McGill, thanks to the generosity of Sir Donald A. Smith. This sketch would be incomplete without a reference to the annual excursions of the Montreal Natural History Society. It is on occasions like these that Sir William Dawson’s qualities as a teacher are well displayed. The members go by rail to some point likely to be interesting to varied scientific tastes, and then disperse for the purpose of collecting whatever specimens, mineralogical, geological, or botanical, the district will afford. A few hours generally suffice to bring in a large heap of “booty,” which is placed before the president, usually Sir William Dawson, who explains the nature of the specimens in clear and simple language. These excursions have been the means of awakening an interest in natural science in the minds of many who have been inclined to think that “the long, learned names of agaric, moss, and fern” were invented chiefly as a form of modern torture. Sir William Dawson is a pleasing speaker, and it is a tribute to the real taste of the day to say that he is always listened to with interest in spite of the fact that he does not indulge in the cheap fire-works of oratory. The charm of his address lies in this, that he conveys clear and definite ideas in clear and definite language. His pronouncements at convocation are always awaited with interest, and seldom fail to have a weighty effect upon the deliberations of the governing board of the university, or upon educational matters of the province when these are touched upon. His university lecture, a short time ago, on the question of examinations for the learned professions, was awaited by the friends of Protestant education in the province of Quebec with as much interest as British politicians await a premier’s speech at the Mansion House banquet. This question, which affects not only the interests of the Protestant universities of the province of Quebec, but the rights of the English minority, is doubtless familiar to all who take an interest in education. The action of the Council of the Bar of Quebec bears with great severity upon McGill, and the Council is supported by the immense power of the Catholic majority; but Sir William Dawson has opened the battle for the Protestant universities in such a manner that there can be no question about the ultimate removal of the difficulties. He is relying upon a determined use of the weapons of irrefragable logic and appeal to the highest courts of the empire for victory. The battle will be a severe one, and it will result not only in winning security for the universities, but in establishing the principle that the rights of the minority in Quebec must be recognized. At such a crisis in the history of Quebec education, it is a matter for the deepest congratulation that such a man as Sir William Dawson should be leading the fight of liberty and justice. Canada, indeed, is fortunate in having able, broad-minded, and progressive men at the head of her principal universities. No other circumstance can tell so strongly in the future for the building up of all that is best and lasting in the nation. Like all growth, the effect of educational work is imperceptible to the observer watching its progress, but the growth and effect are there. When the historian in the next century takes account of the elements concerned in the development of Canada during this century, he will not neglect to mark the broad and solid lines of our educational progress attributable to Sir William Dawson.
Cockburn, George Ralph Richardson, Toronto, M.P. for Centre Toronto, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, 15th February, 1834. He received his education in the High School and University of his native city, where he graduated in 1857, with the highest classical honors, carrying off the Stratton prize. He subsequently prosecuted his classical studies in Germany under the celebrated Professor Zumpt. On his return home he engaged for several years as a teacher at Merchiston Castle Academy and at Montgreenan House Academy. In 1858 he came to Canada and began his career here as rector of the Model Grammar School, having been appointed to this position by the Council of Public Instruction for Upper Canada. Some time afterwards he was commissioned by the government of Canada to inspect the higher educational institutions of the province of Ontario, and the results of this investigation, which extended over a period of two years, were given to the public in two comprehensive reports, in which the condition and modes of higher education were carefully and elaborately set forth. Mr. Cockburn then visited a number of the principal institutions of learning in the United States, in order to make himself familiar with their methods. In 1861 he was appointed principal of Upper Canada College, and a member of the Senate of Toronto University. For over twenty years he had a successful career as an instructor of youth, and his able management of Upper Canada College raised the institution high in public estimation both for the thoroughness of its teaching and the excellent moral influence which prevailed within its walls. After the resignation of the rectorship, Mr. Cockburn travelled for two years in Europe, making himself acquainted with the various systems of government on that continent. There are few men in Canada who have done more than Mr. Cockburn for the cause of education. The celebrated Dr. Schmidt, of Edinburgh, said of him that he was no ordinary scholar, but a thorough philologist, possessing a good insight into the structure, the relation and affinities subsisting between the ancient and modern languages of Europe, and always characterized him as one of the best Latin scholars that Scotland has produced. Mr. Cockburn takes an interest in all public questions, and is one of the live citizens of Toronto. He is president of the Toronto Land and Investment Company; a director of the London and Canadian Loan and Agency Company, the Building and Loan Association, the Glasgow and London Assurance Company, and of the Ontario Bank. He was a member of the Senate of the University of Toronto for over twenty years. At the general election of 1887 Mr. Cockburn presented himself to the electors of Centre Toronto for parliamentary honors, when they returned him by a large majority—his opponent being Mr. Harvey. In religion he is a Presbyterian; and in politics a Conservative. He is married to Mary, daughter of Hampden Leane, of Kentucky, United States.
Prior, James, Manager of the Lybster Cotton Mills, Merritton, Ontario, was born in Toronto, on the 12th November, 1849. His father, Richard Prior, was a British soldier, who settled in Canada about the year 1847. James was educated in the common schools of his native city. Shortly after leaving school he went into a grocery store, where he served about four years, and then into the warehouse of Gordon, Mackay and Co., wholesale dry goods merchants, Toronto. Here he remained about a year, when in 1868 he was transferred to that firm’s cotton mills at Merritton. Here he began his upward career, and worked in a subordinate position until 1878, when he was appointed manager. Since then he has steadily devoted himself to the business, and we can say there is now not a more competent manager of a cotton mill in the Dominion. For several years Mr. Prior has travelled through the New England States to visit the New England mills, and pick up all the new ideas introduced, and by this means he has been able to produce in the Lybster mills the finest cotton fabrics in the Canadian markets. Mr. Prior has been a temperance man from youth, and has in consequence exerted a good influence among the employees in the mill and in the neighborhood in which he resides. He has in his day taken a lively interest in the Liberal-Conservative cause, especially in its protective policy; does not favor commercial union with the United States. In religion he is an adherent of the Episcopal church. He was married in October, 1878, to Sara Ann, daughter of Alexander and Mary Winslow, of Thorold, Ontario, and has a family of four children, two boys and two girls.
Lemieux, François Xavier, Barrister, M.P.P. for the county of Levis, province of Quebec, is the leading criminal lawyer of the district of Quebec, and well-known throughout the Dominion as the principal counsel for the defence in the Riel case, in which he was associated with Messrs. Fitzpatrick, of Quebec, and Greenshields, of Montreal. His connection with this greatcause célèbre, and the popular excitement to which it and its tragic sequel gave rise throughout the country, but especially in the province of Quebec, made his name very familiar at the time. Mr. Lemieux was born at Levis, on the 9th of April, 1841. His parents were of the farming class, but his uncle, the late Hon. François Lemieux, was a man of great public note in his day, a leading member of the Quebec bar, member for Levis county in the Legislative Assembly of Canada, and one of the commissioners of crown lands and public works before confederation. His memory is still warmly cherished by the people of Levis. Our subject was educated at the Levis College and Quebec Seminary, and studied law at Quebec with Hon. M. A. Plamondon, then a prominent practitioner and now resident judge of the Superior Court in the Arthabasca district, whose daughter, Diana, he afterwards married. Called to the bar in 1872, he soon distinguished himself, especially as a criminal pleader, and his fame in that branch of the profession has since risen to such a pitch that no prisoner arraigned for trial before the criminal courts of the Quebec and surrounding districts considers his interests at all safe unless Mr. Lemieux has been retained for the defence. This popular confidence in his abilities is undoubtedly warranted by his wonderful success in the great majority of the cases with which he has been connected. It has almost passed into a proverb among the French Canadians of the Quebec district, that if any man can cheat the gallows of its due, François Xavier Lemieux is the man to do so. Indeed, as in the Boutel poisoning case, he has been known to save his client from the last penalty of the law, even after the gallows had been actually erected and within a few hours of the time fixed for the execution. A man of rare eloquence and knowledge of human nature, deeply versed in the criminal jurisprudence of the country and always armed at all points for the fray, and endowed with marvellous energy and versatility, he may be said to have no equal, and certainly no superior in his specialty at the Lower Canadian bar to-day. The secret of his forensic triumphs must unquestionably be looked for in his skill in cross-examination and his power to sway juries, and it was these characteristics which pointed him out as the fit and proper person to lead for the defence in the Riel case at Regina. It was thought in Lower Canada that if any one could snatch the half-breed leader from his perilous position, Mr. Lemieux was the man, and, when he volunteered his services for the purpose, his offer was accepted with an enthusiastic burst of gratitude from a great body of his fellow-countrymen. For these hopes on the occasion, the result of the trial proved disastrous, but the effort he made to save Riel from the scaffold, as well on the trial as afterwards, only served to increase Mr. Lemieux’s popularity and to intensify the bitterness of the agitation which followed the rebel leader’s execution. In that agitation Mr. Lemieux took a most active and prominent part, figuring and speaking with his impassioned eloquence at nearly all the great meetings at Quebec, Montreal, Levis, etc., to protest against Riel’s hanging and the oppression of the half-breeds. In fact, few men contributed more to the success of the so-called national movement, which overthrew the Ross administration and brought the Liberals and Conservative bolters into power under Hon. H. Mercier in the province of Quebec after the general election of October, 1886. For some years before the Riel trial, Mr. Lemieux had been a member of the Quebec Legislature. He had been an unsuccessful candidate for Bonaventure during the Joly administration in 1878, and again for Beauce at the general election of 1882; but in November, 1883, on the resignation of Hon. T. Paquet to accept the shrievalty of Quebec, he was returned after a hard contest as the representative of Levis county, and re-elected for the same constituency at the last general election, when he passed over with his friends from the Opposition to the treasury benches in the Legislative Assembly on the defeat of the Ross and the formation of the Mercier government, during the session of 1887. In the house, Mr. Lemieux is a ready debater, and few of his adversaries care to cross swords with him. He belongs to the Roman Catholic faith; and in politics is a Liberal.
Jolicœur, Philippe Jacques, Q.C., Assistant Provincial Secretary, Quebec, is one of the prominent figures of official life at the ancient capital, and a gentleman who has made his mark in the profession of the law. He was born in Quebec, on the 30th April, 1829, and was educated in the classics at the Quebec Seminary, which has turned out so many eminent men in the church and the learned professions. On the completion of his classical course, in 1849, he began the study of the law under Sir N. F. Belleau, then a prominent practitioner at the Quebec bar, and afterwards first lieutenant-governor of the province of Quebec, and on his admission to the bar, in 1854, the two entered into a law partnership which was only dissolved in 1858, when Sir Narcisse entered actively into politics. Down to 1867, Mr. Jolicœur continued to divide his attention between his extensive law practice and his duties as a member of the city council of Quebec, in which he occupied a seat for a number of years with honor to himself and advantage to his fellow-citizens. During his career in the council, he was elected by his colleagues to act as pro-mayor for the city in the absence of the regular incumbent of that office, and gave public satisfaction in the position of chief magistrate. A sound lawyer and one of the most respectable and self-respecting practitioners, with talents rather of the solid than the brilliant order, he was elevated to the silk and created a Q.C. in July, 1867, and later on in the same month, on the organization of the provincial departments at Quebec, at the outset of confederation, he was offered and accepted the important post of assistant provincial secretary, which he still holds, though he has been tempted to accept more exalted appointments. The position of resident judge of the Superior Court at Gaspé was in this way tendered to him, but family bereavements and failing health compelled him to decline. As an official, Mr. Jolicœur is noted for his efficiency, urbanity, and assiduity and generally esteemed by all who come into contact with him officially or otherwise. Though he never took a very active part in politics before he entered the civil service, he was always an adherent and supporter of the Conservative party. In religion he is a Roman Catholic; and as a French Canadian he has ever taken a deep and intelligent interest in the advancement of his race, holding office for years in the St. Jean Baptiste Society of Quebec, and filling for some time, also, the position of president ofL’Institut Canadienof that city. In 1858, he married Honorine Matte, of Quebec, by whom he has had issue eleven children, all of whom except four boys were carried away by the hand of death while still young.
Cabana, Hubert Charon, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Prothonotary of the Superior Court for the province of Quebec, district of St. Francis, was born on the 14th of June, 1838, at Verchères, a parish situate on the south side of the St. Lawrence river, about thirty miles from Montreal. He is the son of Lambert Charon Cabana, a well-to-do farmer, of Verchères, and of Marie Louise Endfield, granddaughter of Colonel Thomas Endfield, who came direct from England to what is now the province of Quebec, in 1760, and died in 1812, being eighty-two years of age. The subject of this sketch was educated at the College of L’Assomption, in the town of L’Assomption, a classical college, incorporated as such over fifty years ago. He took a full classical course, leaving the college in June, 1858; entered on the study of the law in October, 1858; was admitted to practice on October 7th, 1862, at Sherbrooke, and practised there as advocate, solicitor, and attorney, until the 17th September, 1885, when he was appointed prothonotary. On the 3rd October, 1880, the degree ofLaw Licentiate Magisterwas conferred on him by Lennoxville University; has been professor of civil law at the Lennoxville University since 1880; made Queen’s counsel on the 26th June, 1883; electedbâtonnierof the bar, district of St. Francis, on the 1st May, 1884; elected member of the city council of Sherbrooke, for the first time, in January, 1876, and was continued in office until his appointment as prothonotary, which appointment rendered him by law unable to act any longer as councillor, when he was unanimously elected mayor of Sherbrooke, in January, 1880, and again in 1885. On the 13th October, 1866, he established thePionnier de Sherbrooke, it being now the oldest established French newspaper published in this part of the province of Quebec, known as the Eastern Townships, in partnership with L. C. Belanger, now practising in Sherbrooke as advocate. He bought out Mr. Belanger’s interest in the paper on the 24th July, 1874, and continued to publish it till April, 1878, when he sold it to “La Compagnie Typographique des Cantons de l’Est,” of which company he was chosen president, and continued to act in that capacity until September, 1885. In September, 1883, he went to Europe, and in the course of his tour visited the principal cities and places of interest in France, Belgium, and Italy. He is a Roman Catholic in religion. On the 13th July, 1866, he was married to Marietta, eldest daughter of Francis Carr, a well-to-do farmer of the township of Compton, about twelve miles from Sherbrooke, and who had become a Catholic some time before her marriage, her family being Protestant.
Botsford, Hon. Bliss, Moncton, N.B., was born on the 26th November, 1813, at Sackville, N.B. The Botsford family have taken a prominent part in New Brunswick and Canadian history. He is the seventh son of the late Hon. William Botsford, who was speaker of the New Brunswick Assembly, and one of the judges of the supreme court of the province. His grandfather, Amos Botsford, was a United Empire loyalist, from Newton, Conn., and was the first speaker of the New Brunswick Assembly after it became a separate province, and held that office for twenty-eight years. Hon. Lieut.-Col. Amos E. Botsford, senator from New Brunswick, is an elder brother of the subject of this sketch. Hon. Bliss Botsford was educated at King’s College, Fredericton; studied law with the late William End, of Bathurst; was admitted as an attorney in 1836; called to the bar of New Brunswick in 1838; and practised his profession at Moncton from 1836 to 1870. During those thirty-four years he had a fair share of criminal as well as an extensive civil practice, and gained well-merited distinction at the bar of his native province. He was brought into special prominence by the celebrated Albertite suit, in which he was the defendant’s attorney, and won the case. While at the bar, his vigorous, earnest, and persuasive style of delivery always made a favorable impression on a jury, being, like most of the members of his family, of commanding presence, with a personal magnetism that was often irresistible. He sat for Westmoreland in the New Brunswick Assembly, from 1851 to 1854, from 1857 to 1861, and from 1865 to October 24th, 1870, when he was elevated to the bench. As a judge, he is held in high esteem by the profession, being very painstaking, carefully weighing in his mind all cases presented for his consideration, and is logical and concise in his charges to the jury. He is not over-exacting in his requirements of younger members of the profession, generally allowing them considerable latitude and freedom; but when called upon to decide any point of a relevant or irrelevant character, he is prompt and firm in his decision. He was appointed surveyor-general in 1865, and was a member of the executive council during the administration of the late Hon. Sir Albert Smith, and speaker from 1867 until the general election in 1870, his politics being Conservative. Judge Botsford was married in 1842, at Moncton, to Jane, daughter of John Chapman, from Cumberland, England, and has had five children, three daughters and one son living, all married, and another son who died. Sarah L., the eldest daughter, is the wife of William J. Croasdale, civil engineer, Moncton; Eliza is the wife of George C. Peters, son of Dr. George Peters, deceased, St. John; Robert L. married Emily C., eldest daughter of Lewis Carroll, and is a physician and surgeon, practising at Richibucto, N.B.; and Florence is the relict of the late Thomas Byers, Moncton.
Bain, James William, St. Polycarpe, Quebec, M.P. for Soulanges, was born at St. Polycarpe, Quebec, on the 22nd June, 1838. Mr. Bain is one of that very large class of French Canadians who, though thoroughly identified with their fellow-countrymen, are partly of Scottish blood. The father of the subject of this sketch was Daniel Bain, from Caithness-shire, a thorough Scot, having all the best characteristics of his race. The mother was Adelaide Lantier, a descendant of an old French Canadian family, sister of the late J. P. Lantier, M.P. for Soulanges. The son has the Scottish cast of countenance, and might readily be mistaken for a native of the “land of the mountain and the flood.” He was educated in his native town, where he has ever since resided. On arriving at man’s estate, he entered business with his father, who carried on a large trade as a merchant in Polycarpe. Though taking an active and prominent part in public affairs in his own district from an early age, he has continued to devote his attention to his business, extending it in every way, until it has brought him a large amount of worldly prosperity. Mr. Bain first devoted attention to school affairs, and when elected to the school board was soon made president of that body, a position which he has retained for ten years. At the death of J. P. Lantier, in 1882, the Conservatives of the county chose Mr. Bain as their candidate in the election which was to follow. The contest was a keen one, and resulted in the election of his opponent, G. R. S. De Beaujeau, by a majority of two votes. Mr. Bain protested the election, and an appeal being made to the Supreme Court, Mr. Beaujeau was unseated. A new election followed in February, 1885, and Mr. Bain was returned by a majority of twenty-six votes, and took his seat in the House of Commons at Ottawa. The lot of the French Conservative member of parliament was not altogether a happy one during the contest in 1887, owing to the prejudice stirred up in relation to the unfortunate Riel affair; but Mr. Bain did not shrink from the contest, and again accepted the nomination of his party. The struggle was one of the keenest ever known in the district; but the people had faith in their old representative, and so he still sits in the house as the representative for Soulanges. Though differing from the younger school of French Canadian politicians, in that he lays little claim to being an orator, and makes no effort to shine in the theatrical way so many of them affect, Mr. Bain performs the duties of a representative of the people faithfully and well. He is strictly regular in his attendance, and brings to bear upon the legislation of the house practical experience in business affairs, and good common sense. In 1877 Mr. Bain married Georgiana, daughter of the late J. O. Lantier, well known in Montreal for many years as a prominent merchant.
Chisholm, Mrs. Addie, Ottawa, President of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of Ontario, is a native Canadian, having been born in the city of Hamilton, Ontario. Her early life was spent there, excepting a few years devoted to study in the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima, New York, where she was distinguished for diligence, aptitude, and general proficiency. Both before and after her marriage she was known as an enthusiastic worker in every religious and charitable movement, and many benevolent institutions had the advantage of her wise counsel, gentle sympathy and bright encouragement. As an infant class teacher in one of the Methodist Sunday schools of Hamilton, she was remarkably successful in developing on right lines the tender minds that were entrusted to her care, and here she passed through just the training to fit her for the broader sphere of usefulness that was waiting her riper talents and attainments. Sympathizing very deeply with the temperance reformation, she could not but be drawn strongly towards the crusade work which was so successful in the United States some years ago, and when that great uprising of loving, ill-treated womanhood, was crystalized into the effective and permanent form—the Women’s Christian Temperance Union organization, Mrs. Chisholm at once came to the front as one of its enthusiastic supporters, warmest advocates, and most efficient directors. Mrs. Yeomans was the first president of the Ontario Union, and was succeeded by Mrs. Chisholm, several years ago, and has held the position up till to-day, being annually reinstated by the unanimous vote of her appreciative sisters. Her success in this sphere of responsibility must be judged by the facts already so well known in regard to the results attained by this great organization—results that were only possible through the united, prayerful, determined work of many loving hearts and heads, as well as a skilful leadership possessed of the faculty to govern, and guided and blessed by the wisdom and strength without which all labor is in vain. Not merely in the many organizations with which she has been connected, chief among which, of course, is the Union, has Mrs. Chisholm shown her genius and skill. For near four years she has been publisher and editor of theWoman’s Journal, the Canadian organ of the White Ribbon Army. She has also written tracts and pamphlets that have blessed and helped the temperance cause everywhere. She has visited, spoken, organized, and worked with an untiring energy that could only come from deep sympathy and fervent zeal; while every act has been characterized by Christian gentleness and kindness, that won where more openly aggressive methods would be sure to fail. We earnestly hope that our good sister may long be spared to aid with her tongue, her pen, and her brain, the cause that is so near to our heart, and that under the management and direction of such as she, and “the blessing that maketh rich and addeth no sorrow,” the Women’s Christian Temperance Union may continue a mighty power for good, until the end for which it was organized has been fully attained.
Noyes, John Powell, Q.C., Advocate, Waterloo, Quebec province, was born at Potton, county of Brome, Quebec, on the 15th September, 1842. His father, Heman B. Noyes, was of English descent, coming to Canada from Tunbridge, Vermont, where six generations of the family are buried. His mother, Sarah Powell, is also of English descent, but was born at Potton, Quebec. The subject of this sketch was educated at Bangor, Franklin county, N.Y., and at Fort Covington Academy. In 1861 he settled at Waterloo, studied law first with Huntington & Lay, and afterwards with Hon. Mr. Laframboise; graduated at the law school connected with St. Mary’s College, Montreal; was admitted to the bar in October, 1866, and was created a Queen’s counsel in 1879. He has held the offices of secretary-treasurer of the township of Shefford and village of Waterloo, chairman of the Waterloo school board, special commissioner of Bolton lands,bâtonnierof the Bedford bar, and is at presentbâtonnier-generalof the bar of the province of Quebec. He has been secretary-treasurer of the Stanstead, Shefford, and Chambly Railway for more than ten years. In 1864 he became editor of the WaterlooAdvertiser, and continued to be so until 1875, making the paper a strong exponent of the principles of the Liberal party, as well as a very readable general newspaper. He is a leading member of the Masonic Order in his district; was worshipful master of his lodge for three terms; first principal of the R.A. Chapter; and grand Z. of Grand Chapter of R.A.M., of Quebec, for 1885 and 1886. He has taken part in all political contests, and in municipal affairs, since 1860; has been secretary, and later chairman, of Shefford County Reform Club for many years; and this has kept him in politics a great deal, as it has been remarked that this county seems to have a political contest always on hand. As if to make good our words, a contest is now (February, 1888) going on, and Mr. Noyes has been selected by the Reform or national convention of the county as its candidate; but in a county where the parties are so evenly divided, it is always difficult to tell in advance who will be elected. In religion, he is Protestant, and belongs to the Church of England; has often been a delegate to the Synod, and a valued member of various committees there. He was married, in November, 1867, to Lucy A., daughter of Joseph Merry, of Magog, Quebec, whose father was one of the early pioneers there, by whom he had issue six children, only four of whom are now living. Mrs. Noyes graduated before her marriage, at McGill Normal School, with academy diploma, and is at present provincial superintendent of the department of physiology and hygiene of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of the province of Quebec.
Pope, Hon. James Colledge, was born at Bedeque, Prince Edward Island, on the 11th June, 1826. He was the second son of the Hon. Joseph Pope, and his mother was Lucy Colledge, daughter of Capt. Colledge, of the 1st regiment of foot, who married a daughter of the Hon. Thomas Wright, several times administrator of the government of the island, and who was one of the commissioners appointed to administer the oath to the members of the first parliament which met in Charlottetown in 1773. The subject of this sketch received his early education on the island, and was afterwards sent to England to complete it. In early manhood he entered upon a mercantile career, as merchant, shipbuilder and shipowner, at Summerside, P.E.I., where he lived for many years, and which he was largely instrumental in building up. He was one of the passengers by the brigFancyto California, when the gold fever broke out there in 1849. In 1863 he took up his residence in Charlottetown, where he remained until 1878, when his acceptance of the portfolio of minister of marine necessitated his removal to Ottawa. The last three years of his life he spent at Summerside, his old home, where he died on the morning of the 18th May, 1885; and was buried at St. Eleanor’s, in St. Mary’s churchyard (Episcopal), where a very handsome granite obelisk, erected as a tribute from his many friends, marks the last resting-place of one of Prince Edward Island’s most gifted and patriotic sons. Mr. Pope entered political life in 1857, and from that time onwards he was engaged in a constant turmoil of political excitement, having his ups and downs like most politicians. On the 10th September, 1870, he became leader of a coalition government, which, however, only lasted two years; but he was, on the dissolution of the house, triumphantly returned for Charlottetown, although he failed to secure a majority in the new house. On the 19th October, 1878, he was sworn a member of her Majesty’s Privy Council for Canada, and received the portfolio of minister of marine and fisheries, a position he held but a short time, when in 1881 he was forced, to the inexpressible grief of his many friends, by a general breaking up of his mental and physical powers, to retire from the active duties of his office, never, as the sequel proved, to resume them again. He always occupied a foremost place among those with whom his lot was cast. In his early life he took a very active interest in the volunteer movement, and passed through the various grades, retiring with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Besides being one of the most prominent merchants, he was also one of the largest landholders on the island, and farmed more extensively than any other man on it. He was also engaged in fishing industries, besides being interested in many other business ventures. He, however, attempted too much for his powers of endurance, and thus brought a useful life to an early close. In everything that he undertook, however, whether political, commercial or agricultural, he had the interests of the island at heart, and his memory will ever be revered by his countrymen, who possess monuments of his energy and worth more enduring than brass. The Prince Edward Island Railway is a memento of his public career that will ever serve to keep his memory green. In 1852 he married Eliza, second daughter of Thomas Pethick, of Charlottetown, by whom he had issue eight children.
Germain, Adolphe, Barrister, Sorel, province of Quebec, was born in St. Ours, in the same province, in June, 1837. His father was François Germain, an old patriot of 1837-38. Mr. Germain received a classical course of education at St. Hyacinthe College, Quebec province, and afterwards studied law; and for over fifteen years he has successfully practised his profession in Sorel, first alone, but latterly under the firm name of Germain & Germain, his partner being his eldest son, S. Adolphe Germain. In 1878 he was created a Queen’s counsel. He has been frequently called upon to represent the attorney-general of Quebec province in Crown cases, and was one of the joint counsel in the celebrated Provencher trial, in which the accused was found guilty, along with his paramour, of poisoning the latter’s husband, and afterwards executed for the murder—the woman being sent to the penitentiary for life. Mr. Germain has been mayor of Sorel, and is dean of the bar of Quebec, for the district of Richelieu. He is a public-spirited gentleman, and has identified himself with the leading improvements—among others the fine public buildings recently erected—in the thriving town in which he resides. He has also taken an active interest in all the political movements of the country, and stands high in the estimation of his fellow-citizens. In religion he is an adherent of the Roman Catholic church; and in politics is a staunch Liberal. In February, 1862, he was married to Marie Louise Demers, and the issue of the marriage has been five children.
Sears, James Walker, Lieutenant South Staffordshire regiment, was born in St. John, New Brunswick, on the 22nd January, 1861. He is a son of John Sears, of St. John, N.B., and Ann, daughter of the Rev. William Blackwood, of Nova Scotia, and grandson of Thatcher Sears, a United Empire loyalist, of the former place. He received his primary education in various private schools in his native city. He left St. John in 1877, and after spending a year at the Collegiate Institute at Galt, Ontario, became a cadet at the Royal Military College at Kingston. Here, on the 25th June, 1881, after a course of studies lasting for three and a half years, and having passed a successful examination, he was awarded a commission in the Canadian militia, and a commission in Her Majesty’s 38th South Staffordshire regiment of foot. In this regiment he served throughout the Egyptian campaign of 1882, was present at the reconnaissance in force at Kafr-el Dwar on the 5th August, the surrender of Damietta by Abdulal, and the subsequent occupation of Cairo. For those services he received a medal and the Khedive’s star. He visited the Holy Land in April, 1883, and in May of the same year returned to Malta from Egypt with his regiment. He was appointed Lieutenant in the Infantry School corps by the Canadian government in December, 1883, in which corps, at Toronto, he has since held the appointment of adjutant. He served in the North-West rebellion of 1885 as brigade major of the Battleford column, and was present at the battle of Cut Knife Hill, and subsequently commanded the scout corps of the Turtle Lake column in the pursuit of Big Bear. He was mentioned in despatches, and received the medal and clasp. He became brevet captain in the Canadian militia on the 21st December, 1887.
Proulx, Hon. Jean Baptiste George, Nicolet, province of Quebec, was born at Nicolet, on the 23rd April, 1809, and died on the 27th January, 1884. He was the son of J. B. Proulx and Magdalen Hébert. His great grandfather was one of the oldest settlers of Nicolet, having settled there in 1725. The subject of this sketch was educated at Nicolet College. He was elected, in 1860, for De La Vallière, and sat in the Legislative Council until the union. In 1867, he was appointed to the Legislative Council for life. He was a Liberal in politics. He was one of the patriots of 1837; and was charged with having cast bullets, but was not arrested. He was married, on the 20th January, 1835, to Julia, daughter of Dr. Calvin Alexander, a graduate of Harvard, and had issue as follows:—Rev. M. G. Proulx, of Nicolet College, and Revs. Edward and Stephen Proulx, of the Society of Jesus.
Charlebois, Alphonse, Contractor, Quebec, is well known throughout the Dominion as an extensive and successful undertaker of great public works. A French-Canadian, he is endowed with more than the ordinary energy and versatility of his race, and his career furnishes an apt illustration of the triumph of tact and pluck over adverse circumstances. He was not of the fortunate class who are said to come into the world with “a silver spoon in their mouth.” His parents were simple Lower Canadianhabitants, and our subject was born of their marriage at the town of St. Henri, Hochelaga county, on the outskirts of Montreal, on the 15th December, 1841. His father, Arséne Charlebois, was a native of Pointe Claire, in Jacques Cartier county, P.Q., and his mother was Edwidge Chagnon, of Verchères, P.Q. On his father’s side he is closely related to the late Mr. Charlebois, M.P.P. for Laprairie; to the Rev. Mr. Charlebois, curé of Ste. Therese, and to the late Dr. Charlebois, of Bleury street, Montreal; and, on his mother’s, to the late Sir George Etienne Cartier, who owed his election for Verchères, then one of the most Liberal constituencies in Lower Canada (after his defeat in Montreal East by the present Chief Justice Sir A. A. Dorion), mainly to the exertions and influence of her brother, the late Paschal Chagnon, of Verchères. Young Charlebois was educated partly at the Christian Brothers’ School and partly at Maxwell’s Commercial School, both in Montreal, receiving a fair commercial training, in French and English. After leaving school he served about a year to the builder’s trade in Montreal, and then entered the hardware trade in that city as a clerk to the late Mr. Brewster, with whom he remained nine years down to 1865, when he bought out the business on the retirement of his employer. Two years later, he abandoned hardware, and boldly took up the lumber trade in Montreal, making advances to the lumberers on the Gatineau, and otherwise speculating in the great staple of the country with more or less success until 1872, when he took a new and still more enterprising departure. Since the days of the Hon. François Baby in Lower Canada, no French-Canadian had figured prominently as a public contractor. In that field, the English speaking element were virtually without competition. Mr. Charlebois pluckily resolved to enter it, and the results have more than justified this step on his part. He is to-day known from Halifax to Vancouver as a leading contractor, and the country is indebted to him for the successful execution of some of its most important public works. His first undertaking in this line was on the Lachine canal, and since then he has been connected with the contracts for the Dufferin improvements at Quebec, the graving dock at Levis, the Georgian Bay branch of the C.P.R., the construction of four sections of the same road in British Columbia, and the erection of the new parliament buildings at Quebec, and of the new departmental buildings on Wellington street, Ottawa. The two last mentioned structures remain as lasting monuments, as well to his taste and skill, as to his energy as a builder. He is a director of the Clemow syndicate for the construction of the Great North-Western Central Railway, Manitoba, and before his removal from Montreal to Quebec, which is now his residence, he was during three years an alderman, and afterwards, during four years, mayor of his native town of St. Henri. He belongs to the Roman Catholic faith, and during his residence in the Montreal district was elected people’s trustee for life of the Roman Catholic parish church of St. Henri. He has travelled exclusively in Canada and the United States, chiefly on business. In 1865 he married Marie Flore Charlotte Valois, daughter of the late Dr. Valois, of Pointe Claire, and at one time M.P. for the county of Jacques Cartier, P.Q., and by her has had issue four children, all of whom are still in their teens.
Dupré, Rev. L. L., Sorel, province of Quebec, was born in Sorel, in 1841, and educated at the Seminary of St. Hyacinthe, P.Q. In 1868, he was ordained a priest, and placed as vicar in the Roman Catholic cathedral. In 1873, he was called as vicar to his native town, and in 1875 was appointed to the important post of curé of Sorel. Sorel being the most considerable place in the Roman Catholic diocese of St. Hyacinthe, requires the unremitting exertions and oversight of the pastor, and no one could perform the duties more zealously and unremittingly than does the present worthy incumbent. The rev. father has, in addition to his special duties, assisted in many ways in promoting the material welfare of his native town. As an instance, it may be mentioned that in 1880, by his exertions amongst his parishioners subscriptions were raised to an amount sufficient to build a large addition to the general hospital of Richelieu county, rendering that institution much more comfortable for the patients, and more suitable to the growing requirements of the town. He was also mainly instrumental in furthering the erection of the new college building, which is acknowledged to be the finest structure of the kind in the province. Since his incumbency, he has had the former parish of St. Peter’s divided into three distinct parishes—St. Peter’s, Ste. Anne, and St. Joseph. The parish of Ste. Anne, of which parish Mr. Dupré is the curé, is quite a populous one, and through his active exertions, a commodious stone church was soon built in the parish, on one of the finest sites of the St. Lawrence. That the curé possesses very superior administrative abilities is sufficiently proved by the foregoing, and is further attested by the manner in which he performs his onerous ecclesiastical duties. He has a remarkable memory, is a fluent speaker, and as a pulpit orator is unequalled by few. He is an ardent admirer of art, which he patronises liberally, and is possessed of a considerable collection of valuable and rare books, engravings, etc., proving a literary and cultivated taste. He is much esteemed by his parishioners and by the community of Sorel generally.
Tessier, Jules, Barrister, Quebec, M.P.P. for Portneuf, is one of the most conspicuous and popular figures in the legal, political and social life of the ancient capital. His distinguished father, Hon. U. J. Tessier, is a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench for the province of Quebec, and was formerly member for Portneuf in the Canadian parliament, commissioner of public works in the Macdonald-Sicotte administration, speaker of the Legislative Council before confederation, and at one time mayor of Quebec. Between the careers of the father and son there are many points of resemblance. The father was one of the most prominent members of the Quebec bar in his day; the son is a rising member of the same bar. The father represented Portneuf in the Canadian parliament; the son represents the same constituency in the Quebec legislature. Lastly, the father was a member of the city council and mayor of Quebec; the son to-day is one of the councillors for St. Louis ward of that city, and a prominent member of the civic body, though still quite a young man. He was born at Quebec, in 1852. His mother, now deceased, before her marriage, was a Miss Kelly, and a member of the Drapeau family, seigneurs of Rimouski. His maternal grandfather was of Irish extraction, but the remainder of his parentage is French-Canadian on both sides. Educated in the classics at the Quebec Seminary and the Jesuits’ College, Montreal, he afterwards studied law, and was called to the bar in 1874, and soon acquired a considerable practice, together with the confidence of the public and the esteem of his professional brethren. He is one of the editors of the ‘Quebec Law Reports.’ In politics, Mr. Tessier, like his father while in public life, is what is termed a moderate Liberal, but almost from his youth he has been actively identified with all the struggles of the Liberal party in the Quebec district. He was secretary of the National Convention held in 1880, and was elected president of the Quebec Liberal Club after its reorganization for the last provincial and federal electoral campaign, which office he still holds. As such, he was selected as the party’s candidate to oppose ex-Mayor Brousseau, of Quebec, in Portneuf county, for the Legislative Assembly of the province, at the general election of October, 1886, and defeated his adversary, who had been the sitting member, by a very heavy majority. In the house, he is recognized as one of the staunchest supporters of the Mercier government, and has proved himself a most useful member. To his exertions Quebec was mainly indebted for its selection for the holding of the Provincial Exhibition of 1887, which was so great a success. Mr. Tessier is a member of the Church of Rome; and for many years past one of the principal officers of the St. Jean Baptiste Society, of Quebec. He is a director of the Lake St. John Railway Company, and a member of the Provincial Board of Arts. He is married to a daughter of Edmund Barnard, the well-known Q.C., of Montreal, and his two sisters are the wives respectively of the Hon. Alexander Chauveau, who was solicitor-general in the Joly administration, and is now police judge at Quebec, and of Lieut.-Col. Duchesnay, deputy adjutant-general for the Quebec military district.
Aikins, Hon. James Cox, P.C., Lieut.-Governor of Manitoba and Keewatin Territory, was born in the township of Toronto, Peel county, Ontario, on the 30th of March, 1823. His father, the late James Aikins, emigrated from the county of Monaghan, Ireland, to Philadelphia, in 1816, and after a residence of four years there he removed to Upper Canada, and took up a quantity of land in the first concession north of the Dundas road, in the township of Toronto. The subject of our sketch was the eldest son, and was brought up on his father’s farm, and was early inured to the hardships of rural life in Canada in those primitive times. He united with the Methodist body at an early age. He attended the public schools in the neighborhood of his home, and afterwards spent some time at the Upper Canada Academy, at Cobourg, which subsequently developed into Victoria College and University. At the first collegiate examination, which was held in 1843, he figured as one of the merit students. After completing his education he settled down on a farm in the county of Peel, a few miles from his paternal homestead. In 1845, soon after leaving college, he married Mary Elizabeth Jane Somerset, the daughter of a neighboring yeoman. In 1851 he was tendered the nomination as the representative of his native constituency in the Legislative Assembly, and declined, but at the general election held in 1854, he offered himself as a candidate on the Reform side, in opposition to the sitting member, George Wright, and was elected. Upon taking his seat he recorded his first vote against the Hincks-Morin administration, and thus participated in bringing about the downfall of that ministry. He voted for the secularization of the clergy reserves, and his voice was occasionally heard in support of measures relating to public improvements. In the election of 1861, owing to his action on the county town question, which excited keen sectional opposition, he was defeated by the late Hon. John Hillyard Cameron. The following year he was elected a member of the Legislative Council for the Home Division, comprising the counties of Peel and Halton. He continued to sit in the council so long as that body had an existence; and when it was swept away by confederation he was called to the Senate of the Dominion. On the 9th of December, 1867, he accepted office in the government of Sir John A. Macdonald, as secretary of state, and has ever since been a follower of that statesman. During his tenure of office the Dominion lands bureau was established—which has since extended until it has become an independent department of state under control of the minister of the interior. The Public Lands Act of 1872, is another measure which dates from Mr. Aikins’ term of office. The disclosure with reference to the sale of the Pacific Railway charter resulted, in November, 1873, in the overthrowing of the government. Upon Sir John A. Macdonald’s return to power in October, 1878, he again accepted office as secretary of state, and retained that position until the month of November, 1880, when there was a readjustment of portfolios, and he became minister of inland revenue—which he held until his resignation, 23rd May, 1882. On the 22nd September, 1882, he was appointed lieutenant-governor of the province of Manitoba, and Keewatin Territory. He is major of the 3rd battalion Peel Militia, and chairman of the Manitoba and North-West Loan Company.