Ball, George, Lumber Manufacturer, Nicolet, Quebec province, was born at Champlain, Quebec, 11th September, 1838. His parents were Reuben Ball and Flavia Fontaine. Mr. Ball is one of our many self-educated men, as in his early days schools were not as numerous as they are now, and he had to satisfy himself with a few months at a grammar school. In early life he decided to enter into mercantile business, in which he soon evinced marked ability, and his future success fully proved the wisdom of his choice. He is now one of the largest lumber manufacturers in the province of Quebec, his mills at Nicolet having a capacity of over 10,000,000 feet of lumber per annum. He has taken an active part in the municipal affairs of his town, and in 1885 was elected mayor, being re-elected to the same office in 1887, and is held in the highest esteem by his fellow-townsmen and all who know him. In politics Mr. Ball is a Conservative. He was married in 1864 to Eliza Thurbar.
Boulton, D’Arcy Edward, Cobourg, Ontario, Lieutenant-Colonel of The Prince of Wales’ Canadian Dragoons, headquarters at Cobourg, was born at York, Upper Canada, on the 2nd of February, 1814. He is the present surviving son of the late D’Arcy Boulton and Sarah Robinson, of The Grange, Toronto, nephew of Sir John Beverley Robinson, and grandson of the late D’Arcy Boulton, one of the judges of the Queen’s Bench of then Upper Canada, at that time a Crown colony, all of that party known as the Family Compact. Judge Boulton brought his young family to Canada in 1796, and on a voyage to England a few years after, the vessel he was in was captured by a French frigate after an engagement, in which Mr. Boulton received a cutlas wound, and was carried a prisoner of war to France, where he remained on his patrol of honor at Verdun for three years prior to Bonaparte’s march to Moscow. The wound on his arm grew so as to affect the circulation of the blood, so much so that he went to England in 1830, and an operation by Sir Benjamin Brodie removed the part, by cutting out a pound of flesh at the risk of life. He afterwards returned to Toronto cured of this trouble. The subject of this sketch was educated first under the late Bishop Strachan, and in 1829 went to complete his education in England, at Tiverton, Devon, in Blundell’s school. He returned to Canada in 1832, and adopted the profession of the law. He was made a barrister in 1837, and practised in the profession from that date at Cobourg, his place of residence. In 1836 he was elected a member of the board of police, and sat for years in it, and afterwards as a member of the town council; he was also a member of the county council. He was mayor of Cobourg in the year 1853 and three following years, and devoted himself to the promotion of harbor extension and the construction of gravel and plank roads leading from Cobourg into the country, east, west, and north to Rice Lake, and in 1855 carried through the legislature a charter to build the railway to Peterboro’, as a feeder to the Grand Trunk Railway. He was afterwards largely interested as shareholder and director in the Midland Railway, and for a period was president of the company. He was a commissioner of the Cobourg Town Trust, and in 1883 was appointed by the Dominion government one of a Royal commission with George M. Clarke, judge, and Frederick Broughton, manager of the Great Western Railway, to investigate numerous old standing claims by contractors against the Dominion government, amounting to several millions of dollars. This inquiry was very thorough, extending over a period of about two years, till every claim was disposed of. In 1854 he was engaged by Col. Sloo, possessor of a Mexican grant or charter, confirmed by treaty between Mexico and the United States of America, to procure English contractors to build a railway from Vera Cruz on the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific ocean, known as the Tehuantepec Railway, and to assist at Washington in getting a confirmation of the treaty by Congress. The result of his work was a contract with Messrs. Sykes, of England, to advance $600,000 to Mexico, the price of the charter, and to build the railway, for which service he was handsomely rewarded by the railway company, of which Colonel Sloo was president. The contract afterwards fell through, by the loss of the senior Sykes, with engineers and full staff, who were lost in the steamerArctic, which went down at sea with all hands. In 1854 Mr. Boulton was named by a Conservative convention to contest the West Riding of Northumberland, but was defeated by the corrupt expenditure of very large sums of money. He was a consistent Conservative, and president for several years of the Liberal-Conservative Association from its first organisation. At the beginning of the rebellion in 1837 he joined the order of Loyal Orangemen, and in 1846 entered the Masonic order and the order of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity, about the same period; and is now one of the oldest members of the Masonic and Orange fraternities, is one of the senior members of the bar, and is senior officer of the active militia service on duty. In 1837 he raised a company of infantry and volunteers, and as captain, was enlisted with his men—into the incorporated regiment of the Queen’s Own, under Colonel Kingsmill, and served in Toronto and on the Niagara frontier till the troubles were over. When the active militia was reorganised in 1855, Captain Boulton raised a volunteer cavalry troop, known as The Prince of Wales’ Canadian Dragoons, wearing the scarlet uniform of the English regiment. This troop was increased to a squadron in 1857, when the captain was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in November of that year, and in 1875 the corps was increased to a regiment, with head-quarters at Cobourg, and has always been efficient for duty. From his birth a member of the Church of England, he has served at different periods as churchwarden and delegate to the Synod. In 1826 he rode on horseback with his brother William from Toronto to Peterboro’ to visit the located site of the town, it being founded by his uncle, the Hon. Peter Robinson, commissioner of crown lands, who brought the first Irish emigrants as colonists to Upper Canada. At that time the townships north of Port Hope were receiving their first settlers, and a dozen or so log huts were erected on the banks of the Otanabee river to receive the immigrants prior to going upon their lands. Colonel Boulton in 1838 married Emily Heath, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Heath, of the East Indian Company’s service, who died in India when his three children were in childhood. His widow spent many years on the continent, in Italy and Paris, where she educated her children, and in 1836 brought them to Toronto, Canada. The mother died in 1874 at Cobourg. Her son, Charles Wallace Heath, of Toronto, and her two daughters, are still living. Colonel Boulton’s family consists of three sons and four daughters living. The eldest son, Major Boulton, entered the army, receiving a commission in the first organization of the Royal Canadian regiment. He was stationed at Gibraltar and Malta for some years, and returned with his regiment to Canada. He sold out, and joined the active militia; and in 1885, when settled in Manitoba, he raised and commanded the corps known as Boulton’s Scouts, and did good service quelling the Indian rebellion. After entering into the organization and business of railways, Colonel Boulton in 1865 ceased the practice of his profession, and devoted his latter life to agriculture. He organised the first Farmers’ Institute in his riding, over which he was elected to preside. He has been for years a member of the local Agricultural Association, and was one of the originators of that association in 1835 or thereabouts. He was a zealous supporter of the turf and the hunt, and is now a breeder of thoroughbred stock of horses, short-horns, and Shropshire Down sheep, and still pursues an active, busy life. Two sons and four daughters are married, and have families growing up.
Baptist, George, Three Rivers, Quebec. The late Mr. Baptist was born in the town of Coldstream, Berwickshire, Scotland, 7th January, 1808, and came to Canada, after arriving at the years of manhood. Being possessed of great natural talent and a practical machinist as well as a millwright, he was entrusted with the management of the Etchemin saw mills, owned by Sir John Caldwell, then the largest lumber merchant at the time in Canada. After spending some years as manager of those mills, he leased the Point Levi mills from the government, and here he continued till his final removal to the town of Three Rivers, in 1846. On his arrival there he bought the Cache mill situated on the river St. Maurice. Feeling that the amount of business being done at the mill was not nearly as large as the demand required, he went on a prospecting tour, and finding an eligible location for a more extensive business, built what was known as the grey mills, with a capacity of 12,000,000 feet of lumber. Finding that this mill was not large enough for his still growing trade, he built another mill adjoining the first, which enabled him to cut double the quantity produced by the first mill; this mill was however destroyed by a freshet in 1873. He then built a steam saw mill on Baptist Island, with a capacity of 15,000,000 feet of lumber annually. In consequence of the large volume of business transacted in connection with the mills established by Mr. Baptist necessitating the employment of a large staff of men and material, the present location which is still in possession of his sons—a place which was once a barren wilderness—has been transformed by his enterprise and industry into a well populated district of villages and fine cultivated farms. From the time of Mr. Baptist’s first settlement on the St. Maurice his business progressed with remarkable rapidity, and is still another proof of what can be accomplished by perseverance, joined with industry and shrewdness, aided by a thorough practical knowledge of the mechanical part of his business acquired in his native land. He founded a lumber business in the province of Quebec, which still rivals that of any in Canada, and to-day his son, Alexander, is one of the largest dealers and exporters on the continent. Mr. Baptist was married at Point Levi, in the year 1834, to Isabella Cockburn, who was born in the same town as himself. Mrs. Baptist was of great assistance to her husband in his efforts to achieve the success which he so successfully won. In politics he was a Liberal-Conservative. He always took an active part in local contests, and at one time contested the Senatorial division of Shawinigan in opposition to the Hon. Dr. Malhiot. Mr. Baptist was a member of the Presbyterian church. He died on the 11th May, 1875, well beloved by his fellow townsmen for his genial, reliable, and strictly upright character. His family consists of two sons and five daughters. The property left by Mr. Baptist to his heirs amounted to half a million dollars.
Klein, Alphonse Basil, Barrister, Walkerton, Ontario province, was born on the 11th of September, 1851, at the town of Berlin, county Waterloo, Ontario. His father was John Klein, a well-known newspaper writer, and his mother was Ludovika Lang, and were both natives of Baden, Germany, who settled in Canada many years ago. Mr. Klein was educated by his father and in the Berlin Grammar School, and speaks and writes the German language. He commenced to study law in 1868, was admitted to practise as attorney and solicitor in May, 1874, and called to the bar in 1879. He began practice in 1874 in Walkerton, in partnership with W. Barrett, now junior judge of Bruce. The same year he joined the 32nd battalion, Bruce Volunteer Militia, and received the commission of paymaster in the same battalion in June, 1881. During the North-West rebellion, in 1885, his battalion was called out, but after laying at Southampton for a week, it was ordered to return home. Mr. Klein was public school trustee for Walkerton from 1876 to 1883, and was chairman of the board in 1882. He was elected mayor of Walkerton for 1883, and re-elected by acclamation to the same office in 1884. He has been president of the Walkerton Horticultural Society for the last four years. Is a member of Branch 46, C.M.B.A., located at Walkerton. Was president of the South Bruce Liberal-Conservative Association in 1884, 1885, 1886; and secretary-treasurer from 1874 until 1884, of the same association. He received the unanimous nomination of the Liberal-Conservative party to contest South Bruce in the local elections in 1886 against Mr. O’Connor, the Liberal candidate, but failed to secure his election. In politics Mr. Klein is a Liberal-Conservative, and in religion a Roman Catholic. He was married on the 9th September, 1879, to Sophia A. Klein, daughter of the late Richard Morden, one of the first settlers in Brant township, near Walkerton. Her father’s family were U. E. loyalists, and are of Welsh descent, and in former times were Quakers. Her mother was born in England. The fruit of this marriage has been one daughter.
Honey, John Sleep, Montreal, Joint Prothonotary of the Superior Court of Quebec, and Joint Clerk of the Circuit Court of the same province, was born in the borough of Callington, county of Cornwall East, within three miles of the river Tamar, on the borders of Devonshire, England. His father was a master builder, and for many years was extensively engaged as such. He was a man distinguished for his industrious habits and high probity of character. At the age of thirteen John S. Honey entered the office of a distinguished lawyer in his native borough as clerk, and continued in this employment for four years. In the month of July, 1832, the family sailed from Plymouth for Canada, and fortunately arrived in Montreal in the month of September, just as the cholera, which had been so fatal that year, had begun to abate. Mr. Honey was favored when leaving the office of his patron in Callington, and through his influence, with a kind letter of introduction from Sir William Pratts Call, baronet, to Lord Aylmer, then governor of Lower Canada. In December following his arrival, Mr. Honey had the good fortune to find employment in the office of Monk & Morrough, the joint prothonotaries of the then Court of King’s Bench. He was first employed as enquette clerk, and at the end of the engagement, which lasted only about a week, he became clerk in the inferior term of the Court of King’s Bench, whence, after two weeks’ service in this office, he was promoted to the permanent staff of the Court of King’s Bench. In six months after his promotion he was articled for five years as a law student in the office of the prothonotaries, who were both lawyers, and at the end of his term was duly admitted to the bar, but as his services in the department were considered valuable by the prothonotaries, and his salary having been handsomely augmented, he declined to enter upon the practice of his profession. In the course of four years Mr. Honey’s administrative capacity effected many important changes in the office, which continue in operation to the present period. The most valuable of these improvements was the introduction of the Court Book, known as the “Repertoire,” in which he embodied particulars of the cases which had been instituted since 1827. This laborious work was performed after office hours, and extended over a period of twelve months. It was presented to the prothonotaries on the 1st of January, 1837, and was so highly appreciated by the authorities of the court, the bar and even the mercantile community, that a handsome gift in money was handed by the prothonotaries to Mr. Honey. In 1850 the fees of the court in Lower Canada were ordered by law to be funded. About the same period, under another enactment, further decentralization of the administration of justice took place, which, by establishing several courts in new localities, so reduced the fees in all the old districts that the government was obliged to pay from the general revenue a large amount annually to meet deficiencies. In order to remedy this defect in the working of these several courts, Mr. Honey submitted to the government in the year 1860 a re-adjustment of the Montreal tariff of fees for the Superior Court, which was adopted in 1861, and extended uniformly to all the districts. As a result of this change, instead of a deficiency in the district of Montreal of $5,932 in the year 1857, there was an annual surplus, the amount of the year 1874 not being less than $6,825. In the year 1862 Mr. Honey rendered important services to the legal profession by the publication of a “Table of Fees and Disbursements Payable to Attorneys and Officers of the Courts in Suits at Law”; also “Rules of Practice of the Court of Queen’s Bench, and Tariffs of Fees for Registrars, Advocates, and Officers of the Courts, including Schedule of Taxes upon Proceedings in Courts of Civil and Criminal Jurisdiction in Lower Canada.” In the year 1834, on the death of Mr. Morrough, he was appointed deputy prothonotary of the Superior and Circuit Courts, and so continued till the year 1865, when, upon the demise of Mr. Monk, he received the appointment of joint prothonotary, and this office he still continues to fill.
Dessaint, Major Alexander, LL.B., Kamouraska, Quebec province, M.P. for Kamouraska, was born at Kamouraska, on the 16th July, 1847. He received the beginning of a first-class collegiate training in the College at St. Anne’s, whence he graduated to the larger and more advanced institution at Three Rivers, proving himself an apt scholar. His parents determined to fit him for the practice of the law, and he entered upon the reading for that profession at Laval University. He completed his college course in Victoria University. He was called to the bar of his native province when but twenty-one years of age, and began practice in Kamouraska. In 1873 he married Marie Blanche Henriette Paradis. His father, having been a prominent merchant of Kamouraska, Mr. Dessaint, from his entrance upon man’s estate was one of the leading citizens of the place, and his natural abilities enabled him to improve the advantages of his position. Having a taste for military affairs, he connected himself with the 88th battalion, of which, he soon became major, which rank he still retains. He has been over and over again elected mayor of Kamouraska, and is a commissioner of the Superior Court for the county. Being a public-spirited citizen, he naturally took an interest in public affairs. He allied himself with the Liberal party, of which he soon became one of the leading spirits for the district. The county had for a long time been a close one, and the contests were proportionately arduous. In 1882, Mr. Blondeau, a Conservative, was elected and sat out his term; but when the general election of 1887 was called, Mr. Dessaint was nominated as the Liberal standard-bearer. Being successful in the contest, he entered parliament with theéclatof one who had “redeemed” a seat from the opposing party. In his brief parliamentary career, Mr. Dessaint has proved himself one of the most scholarly and thoughtful members of the Liberal opposition. He is an able speaker also, as was shown by his contribution to the debate on unrestricted reciprocity with the United States, which took place during the session of 1888.
Honan, Martin, Barrister, Three Rivers, Quebec province, was born in 1845, at Fermoy, Cork county, Ireland. His parents were Kernon Honan, and Mary Burns. His father was a corporal in the 94th regiment of foot, and served for twenty-one years in the army. The parent pair with their three children, Patrick, Martin and Margaret, all under eleven years of age, emigrated to Canada in 1848. A short time after their arrival in Montreal—having been taken sick on the boat while on the passage from Quebec to that city—father and mother and little sister died, and Patrick, eleven years of age, and Martin, the subject of our sketch, three years of age, were left to the tender mercy of the world. They were at first taken to the hospital, and afterwards conveyed by a Catholic priest (now Monsignor Marquis of St. Celestine, county of Nicolet, P.Q.) to Becancour, in the latter county. The little party taken to the country at this time consisted of fourteen orphans, and all were adopted by French-Canadian farmers. Patrick was adopted by Nazaire Comeau, and Martin by Olivier Tourigny. He remained three years and three months at Nicolet College, and on the 1st of May, 1862, having completely forgotten the English language, he went to St. Patrick’s Hill, in the township of Tingwick, county of Arthabaska, and settled in the midst of an Irish settlement to pick up again his native language. Here he hired as a clerk in a store, where he remained four months. He then resolved to adopt a profession, and in July, 1861, began to study for the position of notary public. In 1863, having been retained by the late Mr. Parker, a celebrated lawyer of his day, to take notes of the evidence in a celebrated murder trial then going on, he was so impressed with Mr. Parker’s eloquent address to the jury, that he decided to abandon the notaryship and begin the study of law. But having had only three years of a classical course, he found he could not be admitted to study without further education. Nothing daunted he bought a lot of books, and perused his studies alone, and when he thought he could pass an examination he went to a person authorised by our law and passed his examination. Having received from him the necessary certificate of qualification, he went to Quebec, passed his examination before the Board of Examiners, of which Mr. Parker was a member, and was admitted to the study of law. He studied hard, and had the satisfaction of being admitted to the bar of Lower Canada on the 5th of August, 1867, and began the practice of his profession at Arthabaskaville, where he remained until the 2nd of October, 1872, when he removed to Three Rivers, where he now successfully does business. Mr. Honan was deputy registrar of deeds at Arthabaskaville, in the county of Arthabaska, from the 7th September, 1862, to December, 1865, and from the latter date to October, 1866, clerk in the prothontary’s office. From this time to June, 1867, he followed the law lectures at St. Mary College, Montreal, and studied under the Hon. Senator Trudel. He is a Liberal in politics, and has taken part in all political contests since 1867. He was married on the 6th September, 1868, to Marie Louise Annabella Stein, second daughter of Adolphus Stein and Marie Genevieve Buteau. Mrs. Honan’s father emigrated from Germany when only seventeen years of age.
Gilmour, Lieut.-Col. Arthur H., Banker, Stanbridge East, province of Quebec, was born at “The Manor,” Nicolet, Quebec. His grandfather was the late Assistant Commissary-General Gilmour; and his father the widely-known Dr. Gilmour, master of surgery, F.R.H.S., Glasgow, Scotland, and now located as a practising physician and surgeon at Waterloo, Quebec. His mother was a de Cressy, daughter of the late Michael de Cressy, seignior, of Nicolet. His parentage, therefore, is half Scotch and half French. Colonel Gilmour, the subject of the present sketch, received his education principally in the French College, Nicolet, and is equally conversant with the French and English languages. In 1864 he entered the Military School in Quebec city, where he took a full course of instruction, and passed a highly creditable examination, receiving a first-class diploma, and was immediately gazetted as captain in the militia service of Canada. The following year he received his commission of lieutenant in the 52nd (Brome and Shefford) battalion, in which he served about four years, during which time he was called to the front with his company on the occasion of a threatened invasion by Fenians. He was afterwards transferred to the 60th (Missisquoi) battalion, with the rank of senior major, and was shortly afterwards elevated to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, a position which he now holds. Colonel Gilmour also holds a prominent position in the Masonic order, having entered the Sussex Encampment, Dunham, in 1874, and was installed and proclaimed knight-preceptor of the Order of the Temple in 1877, and past eminent preceptor in 1883. He is a director of the Montreal and Vermont Junction Railway Company, and secretary-treasurer of the board. He is also vice-president of the M. P. and B. Railway, and, besides, holds several important local positions, such as president of the Stanbridge Agassiz Association, president of the Missisquoi County Ploughing Association, and vice-president of the 60th battalion Rifle Association. In June, 1885, the two latter associations united in a grand demonstration in his honor, to show their appreciation of the valuable services he had rendered these bodies during his connection with them. The event was one long to be remembered by the hundreds who participated in it, and was the grandest affair of the kind ever held in the township. Colonel Gilmour is now the owner of the most valuable real estate properties in Missisquoi county, having in his possession about one thousand acres of extra tillable land. He is also the proprietor of theMissisquoi Recordnewspaper, published in Stanbridge East, a journal established June 5th, 1885, and devoted to the interests of the Eastern Townships of Canada. His banking institution was established in 1867 by J. C. Baker, his late father-in-law, to which he succeeded in 1880. Since Colonel Gilmour assumed control of its affairs the business of the bank has nearly doubled. Although a private and non-incorporated institution, “Gilmour’s Bank” is known far and wide, and its numerous customers are among the best and most prominent people and firms in the province.
Deschenes, Geo. Honore, St. Epiphane (oû Viger), province of Quebec, M.P.P. for Témiscouata, was born at Cacouna, on the 16th August, 1841. He is a farmer and takes an active interest in public affairs. He has been for thirteen years secretary-treasurer of his municipality and of the school board of the parish. He is also a director of the St. Lawrence & Témiscouata Railway Co. He has always taken a part in the management of the Agricultural Society of Témiscouata county, and is its vice-president. In 1875 he was returned to represent Témiscouata in the Legislative Assembly, and was re-elected in 1882 by acclamation. He was again elected at the last general election. In politics he is a Conservative, and in his county is held in high esteem. On 26th January, 1864, he married Susan Michand.
Duchesnay, Lieutenant-Colonel Henri Jules Juchereau, was born in Quebec on the 6th July, 1845, and in his unexpected and untimely death, not only those who know him lost a true friend, but the parliament of Canada lost a member who, had he lived, would doubtless have taken a leading part in the councils of the nation. He was a descendant of some of the most distinguished French families of the province of Quebec, the Duchesnays having settled in Canada in 1645, and held several seigniories, including Beauport, Gaudarville and others. His father was a member of the Dominion senate, and the mother of the present sketch was of the famous Taschereau family, which has given to Canada its first cardinal and one of its greatest politicians and most able judges. Young Duchesnay received a liberal education, studying both at Laval and McGill Universities, after having passed through a sound preliminary training in the Seminary of Quebec. After reading a course in law, he was, at the age of twenty-one years, called to the bar of the province of Quebec. Being in a position to do so, he gave a great part of his time and attention to public affairs and to great public enterprises. He identified himself with the 23rd (Beauce) battalion of the active militia, and became lieutenant-colonel of the regiment, a position which he was eminently fitted to hold. In 1869 he married Caroline Tetu, daughter of C. Tetu, a well-known member of the old family of that name. He served several terms as mayor of St. Mary, Beauce, and also as warden of Beauce county, in which positions he qualified himself to engage in the higher legislative duties which he was afterwards elected to perform. He was for a time president of the Levis and Kennebec Railway Company, of which enterprise he was one of the most active promoters. In the general election of 1877 he was nominated as the nationalist Conservative candidate, and succeeded in defeating his opponent by about five hundred majority. During the short time he was in parliament he made many friends, and his untimely death, a short time after the session of 1878, was a subject of general regret among his fellow-members.
Duclos, Silas T., of the firm of Duclos & Payan, St. Hyacinthe, is the third living son of Antoine Duclos, J.P., and Julie Philibothe, of St. Pie, county of Bagot, province of Quebec, and was born the 23rd of May, 1846. He went through the elementary schools of his parish, then was sent to the mission school of Pointe aux Trembles, and for one year attended the commissioners school, in Montreal, with a view of learning English and qualifying himself for business, for which he showed an early disposition. In 1864 he became a clerk with Mr. Williamson, dry goods merchant; later on he entered the establishment of Henry Morgan & Co., Montreal; then he went to H. Vallee’s store in Ogdensburgh, New York state. In 1868 he returned to Montreal, and again found employment with Henry Morgan & Co. Finding that little money could be made in clerking, and having no means to start business as a drygoods merchant, he resolved to seek some other means of earning a livelihood. Several of his friends and acquaintances were doing well in the bark business, so he made a temporary arrangement with J. Daigneau, then largely engaged in this line of business. When the engagement expired, he visited Europe, and on his return entered into partnership with Paul F. Payan. They soon got tired of the risky bark business, not having enough capital to exert an influence on the market. In 1873 they decided to go into the tanning business, secured a lot, and put up a building 75 feet long. During their first few years in business they suffered heavy losses by the failure of some of their customers, and the capital with which they started was considerably reduced. But they worked steadily on, nevertheless, having adopted the motto, “Honesty is the best policy.” Mr. Payan devoted all his attention to the shop, and Mr. Duclos to the finances, and they soon got out of difficulty. In 1876 their goods got a first prize at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. In October of the same year, Mr. Duclos was married to Elizabeth Finley. Better days began to dawn on him and the firm he belonged to. In steering safely through the hard times, without wrecking, while so many apparently stronger were failing on all sides, they won for themselves the enviable reputation of an honest and well managed firm. In 1875 they bought a rival tannery of V. Coté, and in 1882 they doubled the size and tripled the capacity of their own tannery. With the property came the influence in local affairs. In 1880 Mr. Duclos was elected councillor, which position he has held ever since to the great satisfaction of the electors. During his effective administration the city of St. Hyacinthe underwent several important improvements; a public park was created, a fine police station built, an effective fire service organized, the granite mills, and a large boot and shoe factory started, and a gas company put on a working footing. Thanks to his influence, a tannery for the manufacture of morocco leather was started in St. Hyacinthe, and its proprietors are now doing a good business. Mr. Duclos was brought up a Protestant, his parents having seceded from the Church of Rome in 1840. He and his family belong to the Presbyterian church.
Robertson, Norman, Treasurer of the County of Bruce, Walkerton, Ontario, was born on the 27th June, 1845, in Belleville, Ontario. His father, Peter Robertson, merchant, was born in Scotland; and his mother, Sarah Ross, was born in England. His grandfather on the paternal side was David Robertson, a Presbyterian minister; and his mother’s father was one of those who entered England with Prince Charles Edward Stuart in 1746. Norman Robertson, the subject of our sketch, was educated at the Belleville Grammar School, where at an early age he gave evidence of the talent and ability which afterwards distinguished him in commercial pursuits. He left school when only eleven years of age; and from 1856 to 1863 was engaged in his father’s shop at Kincardine; from 1863 to 1869 with Lewis, Kay & Co., wholesale dry goods, Montreal; from 1869 to 1874 with John Birrell & Co., London, Ontario, as English buyer; from 1874 to 1877 English buyer for Robertson, Linton & Co., of Montreal, and from 1877 to 1887 he carried on business on his own account in Kincardine. He became a member of the Kincardine company of volunteers at the time of theTrentaffair; and in 1866 joined the Victoria Rifles of Montreal, and went to the front with them that year. Mr. Robertson commenced his present official duties on May 6th, 1887, prior to which he resided in Kincardine, and sat for three years at the School Board. He was president of the Board of Trade there for two years, one year town councillor, and was also superintendent of the Sunday school for nine years. In all of these capacities he acquitted himself with perfect satisfaction to all concerned. In politics he was a Reformer until the initiation of the national policy, in 1878, but since then he has been a supporter of this policy. As buyer for the two wholesale dry goods houses noted above, he frequently visited the British markets, and has, during his lifetime, crossed the Atlantic no less than twenty-four times. He is thoroughly familiar with Canada and its needs, having during his commercial career visited nearly every town in it from Sarnia to Halifax. In religion he is a Presbyterian. Comments on the career of Mr. Robertson are needless, as the above facts speak for themselves, and he ought to be proud of being, in the true sense of the word, “the architect” of his own fortunes. He was married in Montreal on August 3rd, 1871, to Lilla May Warren, daughter of S. R. Warren, organ builder, afterwards of Toronto, and has a family of four children, two girls and two boys.
Gibsone, William Cuppage, Advocate, Quebec, is a leading member of the Quebec bar, in large practice. He was born at Quebec on the 12th March, 1841, and is a son of the late George Farar Gibsone, merchant, of that city, and his wife, Elizabeth Cuppage. On the father’s side he is of Scotch, and on the mother’s Welsh descent. He was educated classically at the Quebec High School under the late Doctors William Stewart Smith and Wilkie, and studied law in the office of Campbell & Kerr. On his admission to the bar, in 1862, he entered into partnership with his patron, Mr. Archibald Campbell, now one of the prothonotaries of the Superior Court at Quebec, and rapidly rose to distinction in his profession as much by his industry and application as by his talents and high character. On the retirement of Mr. Campbell, he formed a new partnership with the late Mr. Leveson Lewell, and on the death of the latter, with his present associate, T. C. Aylwin, a nephew of the late Judge Aylwin, and one of the city councillors of Quebec. His practice is now one of the largest in the Quebec district, and he enjoys in a high degree the regard of his colleagues of the bar, and the esteem and confidence of the public. He has been a member of the council of the Quebec bar for a number of years, and has in addition filled the offices of syndic and delegate of the same. He is an active member of the Church of England; and in politics, an Independent Liberal. In September, 1871, he married Elizabeth Primrose, and has had issue eight children, all of whom are still young.
Farrell, Edward, M.D., Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a native of Halifax, where he was born about forty-five years ago. He is the son of Dominick Farrell, of Dartmouth, N.S. His boyhood was spent in Halifax, where he received his early education at St. Mary’s College of that city. Having resolved to devote his life to the profession of medicine, he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, and achieved great distinction in his studies. He is especially remarkable for sureness of touch, great strength of nerves, and cool self-reliance and good judgment in critical cases. He graduated as M.D. from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York in 1864; was two years on the house staff of Bellevue Hospital, New York, and commenced practice in Halifax in 1866, where he rapidly came to the front as a leading physician, and worked up for himself an extensive and lucrative business. His office for some years was in Argyle street, a central part of the city; but he now lives in a handsome residence in South Park street. His wife was Miss Walsh, daughter of the late Thomas Walsh, of Halifax, and they have several children. In religion he is a member of the Roman Catholic church. Politically he is a staunch Liberal, and is a strong believer in the policy of home rule for Ireland and repeal for Nova Scotia. When the provincial government was reconstructed, and the Hon. P. C. Hill became provincial secretary and premier, Dr. Farrell was induced by his friends to come forward as a candidate at the election of 1874, the ticket being P. C. Hill, Dr. Farrell and Donald Archibald, now high sheriff of Halifax county. They were opposed by the Hon. W. J. Almon, now Dominion senator; Robert Sedgewick, afterwards recorder of Halifax, and now deputy minister of justice at Ottawa; and Martin J. Griffin, then of Halifax, now librarian of parliament at Ottawa; but Messrs. Hill, Farrell and Archibald, succeeded in winning the battle at the polls. From 1877 to 1878 Dr. Farrell was a member of the Hill administration without office. This was an era of vigorous railway-building in Nova Scotia, the government giving liberal help to the Eastern Extension Railway running from New Glasgow, Pictou county, through Antigonish and Guysborough counties to the Strait of Canso; the Western Counties Railway, and the Nictaux and Atlantic Railway. The great seal question, involving the question of the validity of documents which had been stamped since confederation with the great seal in use previous to confederation, also challenged much attention in the house and the law courts at this time. Dr. Farrell frequently addressed the Assembly, always forcibly, and was listened to with attention and respect. During this time he had several passages at arms with Douglas B. Woodworth, member for King’s county, who has since figured in the House of Commons at Ottawa. At the close of the parliament previous to the general election of 1878, Dr. Farrell, although strongly urged to again accept a nomination, declined to do so on the ground that parliamentary work interfered too seriously with his medical practice. But before he retired to private life, he, however, addressed to the electorate a strong letter on the situation, advising them to support the Liberal ticket. He also advocated in the public press the doctrine of repeal previous to the Dominion general election of February, 1887.
Henderson, David, Acton, Ontario, M.P. for Halton, was born on the 18th February, 1841, in the township of Nelson. His father, John Henderson, one of the pioneer farmers of the county, came from Roxburghshire, Scotland, in 1832, and settled in the township of Milton. David was educated at the Milton Grammar School and the Normal School, Toronto. Mr. Henderson has been reeve and councillor of the village of Acton for about fifteen years. He was appointed to the office of deputy registrar of the county of Halton in 1866, which position he held until 1873. He then commenced business by opening a general store, which he still carries on. In connection with this he has a private bank, which he opened in the autumn of 1881. This institution was one that the citizens of Acton greatly needed, as they had no banking office nearer than Guelph. In politics Mr. Henderson is a Liberal-Conservative, and was elected during the bye-election in 1888 to represent Halton in the House of Commons. He is an adherent of the Presbyterian church. He married on Christmas Day, 1865, Alison Christie, daughter of Charles Christie, late of Nassagaweya, and has a family of six sons and one daughter.
Payzant, John Young, M.A. (Acadia College), Barrister, Halifax, N.S., is a native of Falmouth, Hants county, where he was born on the 9th February, 1837. He is the descendant of a prominent Huguenot, who fled from Caen, France, on the revocation of the edict of Nantes. The family came to Nova Scotia, under Governor Cornwallis, in 1754. After the death of the great grandfather in the Indian wars of that period, his widow and children were carried captives to Quebec, and were present at the fall of that fortress after the heroic attack of Wolfe. They subsequently returned to Nova Scotia, two of the sons, Louis and John, becoming eminent preachers in said province. He received his early education at the Academy and College of Acadia at Wolfville, N.S., his family being Baptists. Having finished his classical course and graduated at Acadia, he went to Halifax, N.S., and studied law with the late Hon. James W. Johnston, afterwards judge in equity of the Supreme Court. He was admitted to the bar of Nova Scotia 7th December, 1864, and at once began to practise in Halifax, where his excellent reputation and family connections enabled him to work up a good business. He has a large conveyancing and real estate business. He has been for many years the solicitor of the Nova Scotia Building Society, which carries on an extensive business in Halifax. He is also an executor of the will of the late John Young, a leading broker and commission merchant, whose only daughter is the widow of Sir Albert J. Smith, ex-minister of marine, and who left a large estate. He married a daughter of William C. Silver, of Halifax, the well-known dry goods merchant, and has several children. His two eldest sons are taking the arts course at King’s College, Windsor. Some years ago Mr. Payzant took exception to certain regulations and practices of the Baptist church, and published a pamphlet explanatory of his reasons for severing his connection with it. He then connected himself with the Church of England and worships in St. Paul’s Church, in Halifax. He takes a strong interest in all matters pertaining to the Anglican church. He is a frequent lecturer in Halifax and other places in his native province. Mr. Payzant began his active political career in the bye-election of 1884, having reluctantly accepted the nomination of the Conservative party, opposing Hon. W. S. Fielding, provincial secretary and premier, who ran for Halifax county, this gentleman having undertaken to form a government when Hon. W. T. Pipes, of Amherst, the former premier, retired from the position. Hon. Mr. Fielding was elected by a majority of about two hundred and fifty. Mr. Payzant, however, stood so well with the people that his party determined to nominate him, together with W. D. Harrington, ex-M.P.P., and Alderman James N. Lyons, at the general election of May, 1886. Mr. Payzant was absent from Halifax city at the time of this caucus, and again reluctantly took the field. The question of repeal was the main issue before the country, and the Conservatives were unable to make much headway, although they conducted their campaign with great spirit and assiduity. The returns were a complete victory for Hon. Mr. Fielding’s government. In Halifax the vote stood, Fielding, 4042; Roche, 3931; Power, 3822; defeating Harrington, 2981; J. N. Lyons, 2866; Payzant, 2816. The result was similar throughout the province. Mr. Payzant took his defeat in good part, and was somewhat consoled by the better showing of his side at the Dominion election of 1887. In private life he is a popular man, a keen sportsman, and a scholarly writer. Besides attending to his large and lucrative practice, he is surrogate and judge of Probate at Halifax. In 1883 he was appointed lecturer on “Torts” in the Law School, Dalhousie University, a position which he still holds.
Macpherson, Alexander, Hardware Merchant, Montreal, was born at Lancaster, county of Glengarry, Ontario, 10th August, 1830. His parents were Kenneth Macpherson and Mary Rose. Mr. Macpherson received his education in the schools in Lancaster, and in May, 1850, he went to Montreal, and found employment in the establishment of the late John Henry Evans, hardware merchant, where he remained for about five years. He commenced business in May, 1855, in partnership with the late Walter Benny, and on the death of this gentleman, Robert Benny, a brother of the deceased, joined the firm, which has continued to do business up to this time under the style first adopted, namely, Benny, Macpherson & Co., and is now one of the leading hardware firms in Montreal. In politics Mr. Macpherson is a Conservative, but being of a retiring disposition he has never taken any prominent part in local contests. In religion he is a Presbyterian, and takes an active interest in church matters. He has been an elder in St. Paul’s Church, Montreal, for many years, and on several occasions was appointed a commissioner to the General Assembly. Mr. Macpherson has devoted himself strictly to business, and to being upright in his dealings, may be attributed his success in life. He has been joint executor of some important estates. He is married to Jessie, daughter of Jacob Oldham and Jane Cochrane.
Cooke, Right Rev. Thomas, late Bishop of Three Rivers, Quebec, was born at Pointe du Lac, the 9th February, 1792, and was the son of Thomas Cooke, miller, formerly of Lisle, Ireland, and Isabel Gray, of Pointe du Lac, Canada. He was ordained and entered holy orders September 11th, 1814, was vicar and secretary to Bishop Panet at Rivière Ouelle, and afterwards, in 1817, became curate of Caracquette. On 1st March, 1824, he became curate of St. Ambroise, and in 1835 was appointed to the curacy of Three Rivers, with the title of vicar-general. On 8th June, 1852, his Holiness Pope Pius IX. appointed him first bishop of the diocese of Three Rivers, and he took possession of his bishopric on the 18th October of the same year, the day of his consecration. He was a prelate of commendable piety, indefatigable zeal, and consummate prudence. In 1858 he had the good fortune to make the imposing and solemn consecration of his beautiful cathedral, and in 1860 he founded the College of Three Rivers, which he placed under the special patronage of St. Joseph, to whom he paid remarkable devotion. Bishop Cooke died on the 30th April, 1870, aged 78 years. The record of the late bishop is without blemish. His whole life was devoted to the advancement of his religion, the strengthening of his church, and he never became wearied in doing good to all, both rich and poor. His virtues and talents were of the first order, and place him for all time to come in an enviable light.
Prefontaine, Raymond Fournier, B.C.L., Barrister, Montreal, M.P. for Chambly, was born at Longueuil, province of Quebec, on 16th September, 1850. He is a descendant of one of the oldest and most honorable families in the province, his ancestors having settled in what was then New France, in 1680. Having the advantage of a good education, and with natural abilities to enable him to make good use of the knowledge he had gained, he was singled out by those who knew him, even in early life, as one of the coming men of Lower Canada. He graduated from the Jesuits’ College, in Montreal, and was called to the bar in 1873, receiving the degree of B.C.L. the same year from McGill College. He made a brilliant success in the practice of law, and is now partner in one of Montreal’s best known legal firms. Like so many young lawyers, he early devoted a great deal of attention to politics, and became known not only as an exceedingly active worker in the various campaigns, but as a speaker of unusual power in influencing the people. In the Quebec general election of 1875 he was nominated as the Liberal candidate for Chambly, and carried the county in spite of the fiercest opposition. He had apparently entered upon a career of great credit and usefulness in the local house, when he was relegated to private life, being defeated in the general election of 1878. The check was only temporary, however, for the successful candidate was unseated and Mr. Prefontaine was re-elected in June, 1879. But he was again unsuccessful in 1881 when the Conservative government swept everything before them. During his membership in the house he was elected mayor of Hochelaga, and was re-elected in successive years, until 1884. He became an alderman of Montreal a year later, his legal practice being in that city. The eyes of the Dominion were turned to him in the memorable contest in Hochelaga in 1886, during the Nationalist agitation succeeding the execution of Louis Riel, the government having opened this constituency apparently to test its strength. The contest was one of the most fiercely fought that have ever been known in Canada. Mr. Prefontaine succeeded in carrying the county against all opposition, and the rejoicing of the Nationalists on the occasion was great. At the general election in 1887, the struggle was almost again as great, but he succeeded in retaining the seat. In the house he shows himself full of vigor. He speaks in trenchant style, and his manner is affable and pleasant, and he ranks high among the popular members of the house. He is a Liberal and a Nationalist. He was married on the 20th June, 1876, to Hermine, daughter of the late Senator J. B. Rolland, of Montreal.
Piché, Eugene Urgel, Barrister, Berthierville, Quebec province, was born 13th July, 1824, at St. Sulpice, county of L’Assomption, and was the son of Bonaventure Piché, an old and highly respected merchant, and Emilie Lefèbre. He received his classical education at the College of L’Assomption, and was admitted to the bar of Montreal, 13th March, 1846. He was chief magistrate, and then member for the county of Berthier, in the Provincial Parliament of Canada for four years, from January, 1858. He was made a Queen’s counsel, 28th June, 1867, with precedence immediately after the Hon. G. Ouimet, ex-premier of Quebec. Deputy of the attorney-general, Sir George Cartier, and the Hon. G. Ouimet, and representative of the crown before the court of Queen’s Bench from 1864 to 1871, in five districts, Montreal, Joliette, Beauharnois, Terrebonne and Arthabaska. In 1869, he was appointed a school trustee by the Council of Public Instruction of the province of Quebec; and in 1871, one of the twelve commissioners for the taking of the census. In March, 1873, he was made clerk-assistant of the House of Commons; and on the 7th of March, 1874, appointed a special commissioner by the governor-general to swear in the members of parliament, and swore in Louis Riel as a member for Manitoba. Some time after, on receiving a pension, he retired from the House of Commons, and returned to the practice of his profession in Montreal, and afterwards in the district of Richelieu, where he resided the first fourteen years of his career, and where he is still practising. In September, 1872, he was admitted a member of the bar of Manitoba. October, 1886, he was a candidate as “National Independent Conservative” against Robillard, Conservative, and Sylvester, Liberal, at the provincial election for Quebec, the Liberal carrying the election. Space will not permit us to enumerate the many important cases Mr. Piché has conducted successfully: the most celebrated, however, being that of the ladies Dambourgés, daughters of the brave and gallant Col. Dambourgés, who gallantly defended Quebec against the invasion of theBastonnaisin 1775. The legal contention was with one of the most opulent families of the country, having at its head the eminent Chief Justice Sir L. H. Lafontaine. The contest lasted for twelve years, several lesser cases growing out of the original, and occupied the attention of the whole jurisdiction of the province, especially of Montreal and Quebec. Mr. Piché defended the case alone against twelve able lawyers employed by his adversaries, and vanquished them successively, until finally they appealed to the Privy Council of England; but were again defeated by the subject of our sketch, who wrote a clever letter to the clerk of the Privy Council, which proved so convincing, that without any unnecessary delay, the case was decided in favor of his clients. The justly deserved praise and admiration of the public was lavishly bestowed upon Mr. Piché, as well as the private recognition of the highest legal authorities of the Dominion, among the latter being the then minister of justice, Sir John A. Macdonald. As a member of parliament, our subject has been equally distinguished, and in 1858, at Toronto, having defeated the Macdonald government on the amendment against Ottawa becoming the capital of Canada. The encomiums of the press have fully testified and endorsed Mr. Piché’s remarkable ability and talent, as well as sound practical judgment, in whatever public position he has occupied. He was married October 18th, 1846, to Marie Nina Marion, daughter of Captain Louis G. Marion. There is scarcely any position, political or legal, that Mr. Piché’s remarkable talents do not fit him for.
Guevrement, Hon. Jean Baptiste, Sorel, Senator of the Dominion of Canada, was born at La Visitation, Isle du Pads, P.Q., on the 4th September, 1826. He is a farmer, and has always taken an active part in the politics of the country. In 1854 he was elected to represent Richelieu in the Canadian Assembly, which he did till 1857, when he was defeated at the general election that year. In 1858 he was chosen to represent Sorel in the Legislative Council of Canada, which position he filled till confederation. In 1867 he was a candidate for Richelieu in the Quebec Legislature, but was defeated. In the same year he was called to the Senate of Canada by royal proclamation. The Hon. Mr. Guevrement is a Conservative in politics. On May 2nd, 1848, he married Marie Anne Parelhus.
Allan, Hon. George William, D.C.L., Toronto, Speaker of the Senate of Canada, Chancellor of the University of Trinity College, Toronto, was born at Little York, now Toronto, on the 9th of January, 1822. His father, the late Hon. William Allan, was a pioneer settler who took up his abode in York, during Governor Simcoe’s term of office, and resided in Toronto till his death in 1853. This gentleman, in his day, held a very prominent place in public esteem, and being possessed of more than ordinary ability and a good education, he enjoyed advantages not so common in those early days as now. He was the first postmaster for York, and the first custom collector for the port. During the war of 1812-15 he served in the militia as lieutenant-colonel, and his son has still in his possession the flags of his old regiment. He figured prominently, too, in commercial life, and was the first president of the Bank of Upper Canada. He also held a seat in the Legislative Council of old Canada for several years, and a seat in the Executive during the administrations of Sir Francis Bond Head and Sir George Arthur. Our subject’s mother was Leah Tyreer, whose father was Dr. John Gamble, who belonged to a U. E. Loyalist family, and was a surgeon in the Queen’s rangers. His corps was raised in Upper Canada after the arrival of Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe. George William was educated by private tuition during his earlier years, and was afterwards sent by his father to Upper Canada College. When the rebellion, headed by William Lyon Mackenzie, broke out in 1837, young Allan, then in his sixteenth year, left U. C. College, and entered as a private “the Bank Rifle Corps,” of which the present Chief Justice Hagarty, Judge Galt, and some others still living were also members. He returned to the college at the end of the following year, and remained there until he went up for his examination as a law student which he passed in the “senior class,” in Easter term, 1839. He was articled to and began his studies in the office of Gamble & Boulton, and was subsequently called to the bar of Upper Canada, in Hilary term, 1846. Before entering upon the active practice of the law, young Allan was sent by his father to travel abroad, and in addition to a very extended tour throughout Europe, he visited many countries which, in those days, were not quite as accessible as they are now. He went up the Nile to the borders of Nubia, and afterwards travelled through Syria and the Holy Land, Asia Minor, Turkey and Greece, meeting with not a few exciting adventures, arising more particularly from the lawless and unsettled condition, at that time, of many parts of Syria and Asia Minor. He was elected, not long afterwards, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society of England. Mr. Allan early took a part in municipal affairs, his name appearing as one of the aldermen for St. David’s Ward in 1849. In 1865 he was elected mayor of the city and served in that capacity throughout the year. In May, 1856, before again leaving Canada for a lengthened tour abroad, he was presented by his fellow-citizens with a very complimentary address. It was done up in neat book form, and is now a most interesting document, as it contains the signatures of men of all ranks, parties and creeds, a large proportion of whom have now passed away. Mr. Allan, in the autumn of 1858, in response to a requisition from the electors of the York division, for which he was returned by a very large majority, took his seat for that division in the Legislative Council of old Canada, which he retained until confederation. Mr. Allan took a prominent part in the business of the Legislative Council, and filled the office of chairman of the Private Bills Committee in that body for many years. In May, 1867, he was called to the Senate by Royal proclamation, and has ever since taken an active share in its deliberations, as well as in the business of the Committee of the House, having been chairman, first of the Private Bills Committee, and subsequently of the Standing Committee on Banking and Commerce, which he has now filled for many years. In politics he is a Conservative. Mr. Allan has always taken a deep interest in the promotion of literature and science in his native country. He was one of the original members of the Royal Canadian Institute, and has filled the chair as president, besides being a contributor to the Journal of the Institute. He has always been a warm friend to the cause of higher education, and has been closely connected with Trinity College University (of which he is now the Chancellor, and from which he received his degree of D.C.L.), ever since the founding of that Institution in 1852. In all matters connected with Canadian art Mr. Allan has ever evinced a lively interest. He is the president of the Ontario Society of Artists, and chairman of the Art Union of Canada, and is the possessor of a large and valuable collection of paintings by a Canadian artist, the late Paul Kane, illustrating Indian life and customs, and the scenery of the great North-West. Attached to horticultural pursuits himself, Mr. Allan has labored as president of the Horticultural Society of Toronto, for more than twenty-five years, to foster a taste for the study and cultivation of flowers and fruits among his fellow-citizens, and it was with that object that he presented to the Society, in 1857, the five acres of land which, with the subsequent addition made fifteen, now forming the Society’s Gardens. As we have already mentioned, Mr. Allan performed his first military duty at a very early age. He has always taken a warm interest in all matters connected with the Volunteers and Militia, and is himself Lieut.-Colonel of the Regimental Division of East Toronto, and an honorary member of the Queen’s Own Rifles. A member of the Church of England, Mr. Allan has for many years borne an active part in the Synod and other assemblies of his church. He has also filled the chair as president of the Upper Canada Bible Society for more than twenty years. In business affairs Mr. Allan fills more than one post of considerable responsibility and importance. He has been for many years chief commissioner of the Canada Company as well as president of one of our largest and most successful loan companies, the Western Canada Loan and Savings Company. In 1888, on the death of the Hon. Josiah B. Plumb, Speaker of the Senate, the Hon. Mr. Allan was elected to the office. While in his twenty-fourth year he married Louisa Maud, third daughter of the late Honourable Sir John Robinson, Bart., C.B., chief Justice of Upper Canada, and she died while sojourning at Rome, in 1852. He married again, in 1857, Adelaide Harriet, third daughter of the Rev. T. Schreiber, formerly of Bradwell Lodge, Essex, England, and has a family of six children, three sons and three daughters.
Futvoye, Isaac Booth, Railway Superintendent Northern Division Central Vermont, and Waterloo and Magog Railway, St. John’s, Quebec province, was born in London, England, on the 28th November, 1832. His father was Lieutenant-Colonel George Futvoye, who was for many years deputy minister of militia, and a resident of Ottawa. The subject of our sketch, Isaac Booth Futvoye, received his education at the High School of Quebec, and entered the railway service 1st May, 1857. From that time until 1st May, 1859, he served in the capacity of roadman (Engineer corps), on the Stanstead, Shefford and Chambly Railway, when he was appointed station agent at St. John’s, P.Q. From February, 1865, to May, 1876, in conjunction with this office, he also acted as agent for the Montreal and Vermont Junction Railway, at the same place. From 24th May, 1876, to the present, he has acted as superintendent of the Stanstead, Shefford and Chambly and the Montreal and Vermont Junction Railways. These two railroads are now operated as the northern division of the Central Vermont Railroad. On the 1st January, 1878, he also became superintendent of the Waterloo and Magog Railroad. Mr. Futvoye is considered one of our best authorities in his particular sphere, and is respected and esteemed by all for his sound, practical judgment in matters pertaining to railways. In religion, he is a Protestant, belonging to the Episcopal church. He married, October 20th, 1860, Mary Anne Doyou, of Granby, P.Q.
Leblanc, Pierre Evariste, Montreal, M.P.P. for Laval, was born at St. Martin’s, in the county of Laval, 10th August, 1853. His ancestors came to L’Isle Jesus from Acadia in 1757, after the conquest and dispersion of its inhabitants by the British army. His father was Joseph Leblanc, and his mother Adéle Belanger. The subject of our sketch commenced his education at the Academy of St. Martin’s, leaving it to enter the Jacques Cartier Normal School, from which he went to McGill University. He entered into the study of law, deciding to make it his profession, and was called to the bar of the province of Quebec 11th July, 1879. Mr. Leblanc has always taken an active part in the politics of his country; and in 1882, when the Hon. L. O. Loranger was elevated to the bench, he was elected in his place to represent the county of Laval in the Quebec legislature. The election being protested, he was unseated on petition, but was re-elected, and was again elected at the last general election. In politics he is a Conservative, and is held in high esteem by his many friends. On the 12th January, 1886, he married Hermine, daughter of the late Theodore Beaudry, of Montreal, and Catharine Valée.
Davis, Donald Watson, Merchant, Macleod, district of Alberta, M.P. for Alberta, North-West Territory, was born in the town of Londonderry, state of Vermont, United States, in 1849. His father and mother were both natives of the state, but of English and Scotch descent. He received his education in his native town. He came to Canada, and settled in Macleod about 1870, where he conducts business as a merchant and general stock dealer. He was elected to the House of Commons as representative for Alberta at the last general election, and is a supporter of the Conservative party. In 1887 he was married to Lillie, daughter, of James Grier, J.P.
Motton, Robert, Q.C., Barrister, Stipendiary Magistrate and Judge of Civil Court of the city of Halifax, N.S., is of English extraction, and is a son of the late Robert Motton, also of Halifax, who did business there for many years. Mr. Motton was born in Halifax about the year 1831, and received his early education at the Grammar School in that city. Having mastered the classics, he decided to adopt the profession of the law, for which the keenness of his mind, his witty and eloquent tongue, and his knowledge of human nature eminently fitted him. He studied in the office of Peter Lynch, Q.C., and after pursuing his studies with diligence was called to the bar of Nova Scotia, on 7th December, 1856. He began to practise in Halifax, and speedily built up a large business, especially in criminal cases. He had great weight with juries, being a polished and eloquent pleader. As a cross-examiner he excelled. For years he was retained in the most important civil and criminal cases, and it was admitted that his presence in any of the courts of the province was an intimation that some important case was going on, and he was looked upon as a natural adjunct to either one or the other side. In politics he was for many years connected with the Conservative party, and rendered them yeoman service in many hard-fought battles. On the stump he was simply immense, his general humor, power of word-painting, and acquaintance with the ins and outs of the situation making him a complete master of his audience. In 1874 he opposed Captain John Taylor, who offered as candidate of the Liberal party, the Conservatives agreeing not to oppose, for one of the seats for Halifax rendered vacant by the death of that brilliant orator and lawyer, Hon. William Garvie. Mr. Motton represented the Young Halifax party, and being opposed by the whole weight of the Liberal local government and the Conservative vote, was defeated, but made, nevertheless, a gallant fight. He afterwards claimed the seat on the ground of his opponent’s disqualification, which he established before a committee of the House of Assembly composed of a majority of Liberals, but who refused him the seat because they were determined he should not enter the house to oppose the government. Mr. Motton may have thought that he did not receive that measure of support from his own party to which his services entitled him; but however, after this his affection for the Conservatives cooled, and he gradually became attached to the Liberal party, among whom he was warmly welcomed, they having a proper appreciation of his abilities. He was frequently employed in crown cases by the local government. He was always ready to help any good cause with the might of his tongue, and especially as an advocate of temperance. He distinguished himself when the late D. Banks McKenzie started the blue ribbon movement and the reform club in Halifax, in the summer of 1877. Mr. Motton came to his assistance, and at the mass meeting held in the rink addressed by such orators as Hon. P. C. Hill, provincial secretary and premier, Rev. Dr. George W. Hill, of St. Paul’s and others Mr. Motton made one of the happy efforts of the evening. He is a very popular lecturer on Reminiscences of the Bar, and other popular subjects, always drawing crowded houses attracted by his versatility, solid diction, relieved by fresh and racy incidents, creating roars of merriment and applause. In the Dominion campaign of February, 1878, when Hon. A. G. Jones defeated M. H. Richey in the Halifax bye-election, Mr. Motton was one of the ablest canvassers and hardest workers on the Liberal side. His name at this time was freely spoken of as a Liberal candidate for the local house. He resided at this time in Dartmouth, of which municipality he was stipendiary magistrate and recorder. He subsequently in 1879 resigned the position, as his increasing practice in Halifax rendered the step advisable. The acceptance of his resignation was followed by a most flattering and complimentary resolution, regretting his withdrawal. Upon the resignation of Dr. Henry Pryor, as stipendiary magistrate of Halifax city, a post which he had filled for many years, Mr. Motton was tendered by the provincial government and accepted the position, all parties agreeing the place could find no worthier incumbent. His appointment as stipendiary and judge of City Civil Court is the only one made by the government in Nova Scotia. It is for life, and removable in the same way as other judges. The secular and religious press, without any exception, endorsed the selection. On the occasion of his first presiding in the City Civil Court, the members of the bar present conveyed to him the gratification with which his legal brethren viewed his elevation, and tendering him their most hearty congratulations and best wishes. He has administered the laws of the city with good judgment, forbearance, and impartiality, and at the same time has made himself a terror to evil doers. He has exerted a powerful influence towards suppressing vice in its many forms. In religion he and his family, consisting of his wife and two sons, are Methodists. He was appointed Queen’s counsel by the local government in 1876. He was for some time a valued and progressive member of the city council, a commissioner of the supreme court, a member of the quarter sessions, and has been prominently identified with every movement of political and social reform calculated to benefit humanity.
Mara, John Andrew, Merchant, Kamloops, British Columbia, M.P. for Yale, was born at Toronto, and is the eldest son of the late John Mara of that city. He was educated at Toronto, and settled in British Columbia in 1862, where he has followed the business of a merchant. He has always taken an active part in politics, and sat in the Legislative Assembly for Kootenay, from the general election in 1871, till 1875, when he was returned to represent Yale. He was re-elected in 1878, and sat until the general election, of 1886, when he did not again offer himself as a candidate. He was speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 25th January, 1883, until the dissolution of the house in 1886. In 1887 he was elected by acclamation to represent Yale in the House of Commons, at Ottawa. Mr. Mara, in politics, is a Conservative. He is married to Alice Telfer, the only daughter of F. J. Barnard, ex-M.P.
Strange, Thomas Bland, Kingston, Major-General, retired, Royal Artillery, has been so conspicuous a figure on the Canadian scene and filled so large and honorable a place in Canadian history for the last seventeen or eighteen years that a work of this kind would be incomplete without a memoir of his gallant and distinguished career in both hemispheres. Major-General Strange comes of a race that has done good service to the Empire. Said the WeeklyGlobe(Toronto), of 24th April, 1885:—“In ‘The Scot in British America’ is an allusion to Robert Strange, afterwards Sir Robert, the father of English engraving, an art which he developed while in exile in Italy following the broken fortunes of the house of Stuart.[10]Having previously fought at the battle of Culloden, in the body-guard of the prince, he was attainted and sought refuge in the house of Miss Lumsden, his affianced bride. While with her, the ‘Seider Roy’ (red soldiers) appeared in the court yard, and the officer entered to seize the body of the ‘traitor Strange,’ as he was termed by proclamation. His fairfiancée, with womanly simplicity, lifted the enormous hoops which extended the dresses of the period, and placed her lover in safety beneath them, while she resumed her former occupation of playing loyal airs on the spinette. The direct descendants of Sir Robert Strange and Miss Lumsden have been gallant and distinguished sailors, soldiers, men of science and law, including Colonel Strange, Madras Cavalry, subsequently employed on the survey in India and inspector of scientific instruments; Admiral Strange, whose son, Lieutenant Vernon Strange, went down in the ill-fatedEurydice; Major Charles John Strange, R.A., distinguished in the Crimea, all sons and grandsons of Sir Thomas Strange (son of Sir Robert), judge in the Hon. East India Company’s service. This branch of the family remained in the mother country; but two collateral branches settled in Canada. Of one of these, the late Colonel M. W. Strange, who served in the Kingston Volunteer Rifles during the rebellion of 1837-38, and who was representative of that city in the Ontario parliament, police magistrate and district paymaster, as well as a brother-in-law of Sir A. Campbell, the present lieutenant-governor of Ontario, and Dr. O. S. Strange, ex-mayor, and now penitentiary surgeon, were the descendants. The last branch to settle in Canada has done so in the person of Major-General Strange. * * * * * He represents an old military family of Scotch origin, and, in the maternal line descent can be traced from Charles Martel and Charlemagne through a long line of warriors. * * * * Major-General Strange has in his possession an old Bible (1679) which contains the records of the birth of Sir R. Strange and of his father and others in the islands of Orkney. To this sketch, the following details of interest may be added respecting our subject and his family. Major-General Strange was born on the 15th September, 1831, in the cantonments of the 26th Cameronian regiment at Merut, East Indies. His father, the late Colonel Harry Francis Strange, served in the Cameronian regiment during the India and China wars, and subsequently commanded the 25th King’s Own Borderers. His mother, Maria Letitia Bland, was a daughter of Major Bland, of Lake View, Killarney, county Kerry, Ireland, and connected with the Herberts and other well known county Kerry families. His paternal grandfather, Captain Alexander Strange, served in the 13th Light Dragoons in India and at Waterloo, and his father’s brother, Captain Alexander Strange, 42nd Highlanders, carried the colors of the “Black Watch” through the battles of the Pyrenees, and died of wound, received at Toulouse; and Captain Thomas Strange served and died in the Royal Navy, leaving three sons, Captain Thomas Strange, who was killed in the Maori war in New Zealand, Colonel H. F. Strange, C.B., Knight of the French Legion of Honor, who served with distinction in the Crimea; and Captain Alexander Strange, of the Osmanli cavalry. Major-General Strange’s only brother, Major Alexander Strange, served in India in his father’s regiment, the King’s Own Borderers, and also with distinction during the war in New Zealand, but died on the homeward passage. Lastly, Major-General Strange’s own sons have been trained to the profession of arms. The eldest boy, Lieutenant Harry Bland Strange, is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Kingston, and after serving asaide-de-campto his father during the campaign in the Canadian North-West, obtained a commission in the Royal Artillery. The second son, Alexander Wilmot Strange, a graduate of the Ontario Agricultural College, was in the North-West on the Military Colonization Ranche near Calgary with which his father is connected, when the rebellion broke out, and true to the loyal and military instincts of his race, and like a lad of spirit, at once enrolled himself in the Alberta Mounted Rifles, with a detachment of which he served until the revolt was suppressed. So that it may be said that for five generations every male of this family has served in the army or navy, and the majority of them have died in the service. Major-General Strange’s own military record has been as stirring and eventful as any in the history of the family. As an artillery officer, he takes rank among the ablest in that arm of the profession, and, as a soldier maintaining the honor of his country’s flag on the field of battle, his personal gallantry and skill were so conspicuous as to be mentioned four times in despatches. Indeed, few officers in the British service seem to have served their Sovereign with greater loyalty and ardor, or to have taken greater pains to perfect themselves in their profession. A real love for that profession appears to have been the mainspring of his whole action from the moment when, on the 17th December, 1851, as a young man of barely twenty years, he received his commission as a second lieutenant of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Previous to this, he had been educated at the Edinburgh Academy and the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich—at the former classically, and at the latter in mathematical and military science. With his entry into the service, however, came no cessation of his studies. On the contrary, his life thenceforward for many years seems to have been one of unceasing application and downright hard work to perfect himself in all the details of his profession, and especially of that important branch of it with which he was more directly associated. Thus we find that between 1852 and 1865, when his opportunities from foreign or active service in the field permitted, he successfully passed through the following courses, for three of which he was specially recommended by the deputy adjutant-general, Royal Artillery, by the director of artillery studies, and by General F. C. Wilmot, commandant, and Colonel Fisher, R.A., chief instructor of the Shoeburyness School of Gunnery: Astronomical Observatory, Woolwich; Musketry Instruction, Department of Artillery Studies, Chemistry of War Stores, Royal Laboratory, Royal Gun Factories, Royal Carriage Department, Royal Waltham Powder Mills, Enfield Small Arms Factory, and Long Course School of Gunnery, Shoeburyness. The official record of his qualifications shows further that he carried off the prize at the Royal Military Academy for military topography and landscape painting; that he mastered the French, Spanish and Hindostani languages; and that he acquired the practice as well as the theory of his profession by serving as district adjutant and quartermaster at Sheerness from 1856 to 1857; as quartermaster to the artillery division on service, and as acting commissary of ordnance and acting adjutant and orderly officer in action from Benares to Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny, in 1857-8; as Hindostani interpreter at Moultan, from 1859 to 1860; and as superintendent and gunnery instructor of the Repository branch of the Woolwich School of Gunnery from 1866 to 1871. His record of foreign service covers two years and a half in garrison at Gibraltar, nearly two years in the West Indies, and about six and a half years in India, and a little over ten years in Canada, or a period of twenty-one years and eight months in all, making, with his home service of close upon ten years, a total of thirty-two years in the military employ of his Sovereign, during which his promotions took place as follows:—First lieutenant, 1853; second captain, 1858; first captain, 1866; lieutenant-colonel, inspector of Canadian artillery, with rank of deputy adjutant-general, 1871; major R.A., 1872; lieutenant-colonel in the army (local), 1875; lieutenant-colonel R.A., 1877; colonel, July, and major-general, retired, December, 1881. The breaking out of the terrible Sepoy rebellion in 1857 furnished to our subject his first experience of active service in the field, and though he was then only a lieutenant, his skill, daring and presence of mind were conspicuous. According to the “Army List,” he was present at the actions of Chanda, Sultanpore, Dhowrarah, and Moonshejunge, the siege and capture of Lucknow, under Sir Colin Campbell, the actions of Korsee, Nawab-gunge, Seraigunge, the affairs of the 22nd and 29th July, the passage of the Gumtee, Oude, including the engagements of the 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th August, and at Doudpoor on the 28th October. In all he served in thirteen engagements, was mentioned four times in despatches, and wears the medal and clasp for Lucknow. During the mutiny he also received his captaincy, and among the complimentary references to his gallant services in the field we note the following in official despatches:—“1st, at Moonshejunge, March 4th, 1858, Lieutenant Strange, R.A., assisted by Captain Middleton, 29th regiment, and other officers, enabled the commanding officer to carry off two captured guns under a heavy matchlock fire from the loopholes (videdespatch No. 3, as above). On the same day, after the engineer officer, Captain Innes, Bengal Engineers (now V.C.), was severely wounded in the attempt, Lieutenant Strange carried the powder-bag to the gate of the interior entrenchment, and with the assistance of Captain Middleton, 29th regiment, fired it. 2nd, on March 26th, 1858, at the capture of the Kaiser Bagh, Lucknow, Colonel Napier (now Lord Napier of Magdala), Bengal Engineers, being engineer directing the attack, Lieutenant Strange, with assistance, endeavored to empty a powder magazine in the great square while the adjacent buildings were on fire. An explosion left that officer the sole survivor (videthe death of Bombardier S. S. Lever, No. 3 company, 14th battalion, forwarded by General Dupuis, R.A., to adjutant-general, Horse Guards). 3rd, on 2nd October, 1858, at Doudpoor, Oude, while in command of right division Q field battery, R.A., and two guns R.H.A., under Lieutenant Lyon, Captain Strange captured two guns and sixteen horses, Brigadier-General Horsford commanding the force. Capture reported.”[11]To these may be added the testimony, of Lieutenant-General Sir Hope Grant, K.C.B., who wrote;—“Lieutenant Strange (now captain) was under my command in Oude, in 1858, during the mutiny, and rendered very efficient service at the crossing of the Goomtee in driving the enemy back and covering the crossing of the force. His two guns, which I sent on in advance, had to be taken in pieces across on rafts, and the horses had to swim the river. His duty was performed to my entire satisfaction. He was also staff officer to the artillery division under Colonel Carleton, at the battle of Nawab-gunge, when he made himself very useful.” Proofs of the same kind might be multiplied, but these suffice to show that our subject is not only an officer of skill and experience, but that he distinguished himself as much by his gallantry in the field as by his decision and coolness in the hour of danger. The removal of the Imperial garrisons from Canada in 1871, and the desire of the Canadian Government, in pursuance of a plan for the defence of the Dominion, to raise some batteries of artillery and to organise a scheme of artillery instruction, introduced him to a new sphere of honorable usefulness. Endorsed by the highest military authorities in England, including H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, commander-in-chief; Sir Hugh Rose, commanding the forces in Ireland; General Sir Hope Grant; General Adye, director-general of artillery, and others too numerous to mention, he came to Canada in that year as lieutenant-colonel and inspector of Canadian artillery, with rank as deputy adjutant-general, and a commission to form and command the 1st garrison of Canadian artillery at Quebec. How successful he was in this task is well known to all acquainted with the soldierly qualities and discipline of those fine corps, A and B batteries,[12]and especially to the people of the ancient capital, who had the best opportunity to witness the difficulties he had to contend with and overcome, and to appreciate, during his nine years’ residence in their midst as commandant of their historic citadel, his admirable qualities as a soldier and a gentleman. Referring to this phase of his Canadian career, the TorontoGlobeof the 24th April, 1885, during the height of the rebellion in the Canadian North-West, remarked:—“He established upon enduring foundations the schools of gunnery in which so many have been trained for service in different capacities, and especially as artillerists, and the efficiency of the batteries now at the front is largely owing to the fact that the Government has adopted the more important recommendations which, as inspector of artillery, he has seen fit to make.[13]He is a man of marked will-power, a disciplinarian, and yet one whose commands are not unkindly enforced. But once, while in command of B battery, was he called upon to act the soldier’s part in earnest, and that was during the labor and bread riots in Quebec, in 1878. He acted with a courage and coolness then which showed how well fitted he was for action in an emergency.” To this might be with justice added that on this occasion Colonel Strange also acted with an amount of self-control and humanity as honorable to him as a soldier as it was creditable to him as a man. To his firmness the ancient capital owed the prompt suppression of the trouble, and to his humanity that this stern but needful duty in the interests of law and order was discharged with the least possible effusion of blood. The local press, headed by the QuebecMorning Chronicle, were not slow to acknowledge this indebtedness in the handsomest terms, and the lieutenant-general commanding the Canadian militia, Sir Selby Smith, recognized it in flattering terms in his general order of 18th June, 1878. But it is pleasant to know that the citizens of Quebec have more agreeable recollections of Colonel Strange than those connected with him as the exponent of military force. During his residence of nine years amongst them, he and his officers and men intimately associated themselves with their daily life, and contributed largely to their entertainment and to the gaiety of the city.[14]It would require more space than could be afforded within the scope of this work to do justice to this phase of Colonel Strange’s career in Quebec, but an idea of it can be gathered from the celebration of the Montgomery centennial in 1875, which will ever remain an enduring memory with the Quebecers. On that occasion Colonel Strange thought it his duty to cement Canadian patriotism by reminding Canadians of both nationalities of their forefathers’ struggle to repel invasion. For this purpose, in addition to the valuable historical paper which, as vice-president of the Quebec Literary and Historical Society, he read before the society (on the defence of Quebec in 1775 against the attempt made by the Americans, under Generals Montgomery and Arnold, to capture the fortress), at thefêtein commemoration of the centenary of Montgomery’s defeat and death, held in the society’s rooms at the Morrin College, he organized one of the most unique balls imaginable, which came off with the greatest success at the citadel on the very centennial itself, the night of the 31st December, 1875. Of thisfêtethe following graphic account was published at the time: —