A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose
1878. He sold his life insurance policy, some real estate, and, in fact,
5602 words | Chapter 101
everything which he could convert into cash, for a few thousand dollars,
proceeded to Ottawa, where he took up house and passed the session of
1879, in order to keep the Lower Canadian members united, and finally
succeeded in carrying a point considered as irretrievably lost after the
refusal of the Marquis of Lorne to sign the dismissal of the Hon.
Letellier de Saint-Just. In the same year he employed the same tactics
in Quebec and brought about the fall of the Joly ministry. In politics
Mr. Sénécal has played a prominent part. He was the mainspring of the
Conservative party in the Quebec provincial election in 1881, and again
in the Dominion election of 1882, and it is mainly due to his efforts
that the party gained such brilliant victories at that time. He was an
admirable organizer, and possessed the talent to infuse his own courage
into others. His iron will, his energy, and the quickness of his
movements carried the day every time. When he had once made up his mind
to do a certain thing, it was done. Hon. J. A. Chapleau, who has the
reputation of knowing how to gauge a man at his proper worth, and
deservedly so, knew the ability of this man of large heart and energy,
and honored him with his entire confidence. The secretary of state, who
also remembers services and rewards merit when the occasion presents
itself, never missed an opportunity to render homage to his valor and to
the eminent services he had rendered. He did not hesitate to give him a
substantial proof of his gratitude as soon as he found himself in a
position to do so, by calling him to the senate, the highest distinction
in the gift of the government. In 1882 the French government sent to Mr.
Sénécal the cross of a commander of the Legion of Honor. Before giving
his allegiance to the Conservative party Mr. Sénécal had been a Liberal,
and he was elected as such to the Legislative Assembly for the county of
Yamaska, which he represented from 1867 to 1871; at the same time he had
been elected for Drummond and Arthabaska to the House of Commons, in
which he sat from 1867 to 1872. He is the only man in the country who
has been elected in two separate constituencies for two separate
chambers in two separate elections. In 1874 he had formed the project,
with Hon. Mr. Cauchon, to unite the two political parties, and had
almost succeeded, when Mr. Joly, then leader of the opposition,
destroyed the _entente_ in a speech delivered at a banquet in Montreal.
He then abandoned the Liberals, and the chiefs of the party have often
expressed their bitter regrets at losing such a man. On the other hand
the Conservatives expressed the same regret, when he was forced to
abandon the Conservative government at Ottawa on the Riel question. In
1850 Senator Sénécal married Delphire Dansereau, daughter of
Lieutenant-Colonel Dansereau, merchant, of Verchères. Several children
were the fruit of this marriage, two of whom only survive: Madame Judge
Gill, and Madame W. E. Blumshart. Senator Sénécal was a brother-in-law
to Dr. Hercule Dansereau, of Thibodeau, La., Hon. Felix Geoffrion,
Captain St. Louis, the late Cyril Archambault, barrister, and uncle to
F. X. Archambault, Q.C.
* * * * *
=Sweeny, Right Rev. John=, D.D., Roman Catholic Bishop of St. John, New
Brunswick, was born in Fermanagh, Ireland, in May, 1812. His parents,
who belonged to the farming class, were James Sweeny and Mary Macguire.
The family emigrated to Canada, and settled in St. John in 1828, taking
up land for farming. Bishop Sweeny received his literary education in
schools in New Brunswick, and studied theology in the Grand Seminary in
Quebec city. In 1844 he was ordained priest by Archbishop Turgeon. He
was then appointed to missionary work, and returned to St. John and
entered upon his labors. Subsequently he was engaged in similar mission
work at Chatham and Shediac, until 1851, when, on the death of the Right
Rev. Dr. Dollard, he became administrator. A little later he was
appointed vicar-general under the Right Rev. Thomas Connolly, bishop of
St. John; and in 1860, on the elevation of Bishop Connolly to the
archbishopric of Halifax, he was made bishop. During the many years
Bishop Sweeny has occupied his high and responsible position he has done
good work for his people, irrespective of his spiritual administration.
He has built the St. Vincent Convent and Orphan Asylum; the Convent of
the Sacred Heart; the Episcopal residence; the side chapels and spire of
the cathedral, and a considerable portion of the cathedral itself; a
large brick structure for school purposes; St. Malachi and St. Joseph
halls, and an Industrial School near St. John city. His lordship has a
large diocese which includes the southern half of New Brunswick,
embracing the counties of Westmoreland, Albert, Kings, St. John,
Charlotte, Queens, Sunbury, York, Carlton, and the larger part of Kent.
On this immense diocese he keeps a vigilant eye, and is ever careful of
his people’s spiritual wants. As a preacher his discourses are eminently
practical; and whenever he expounds any of the doctrines of his church,
he never fails to clearly point out how they should affect the lives of
the thousands who listen to his voice. His style is plain, simple, and
unaffected, so that a listener is at once impressed with the idea that
his aim is rather to instruct than to make a display. In the
administration of his diocesan affairs he keeps quietly at work, and
every year shows an improvement in all its branches. He seldom
undertakes anything that he does not finish; and seems to know not the
import of the word “fail.”
* * * * *
=Pidgeon, J. R.=, Justice of the Peace, Indiantown, New Brunswick. Mr.
Pidgeon was born where he still resides, in April, 1830, and is
consequently in his fifty-eighth year. His father and mother, who are
still living at the age of 83, were among the earliest settlers, and
tell many amusing anecdotes of life in New Brunswick in the early part
of the century. Our subject received his education in the Common and
Normal schools of his province, and at the age of eighteen began the
study and practical education of lumber surveyor. At the age of
twenty-five he obtained what was termed a “warrant” qualifying him to
practice his profession as surveyor which he did until his 42nd year.
That year he received the appointment of railway mail clerk on the
Intercolonial Railway which appointment he still holds being one of the
oldest employés of the postal department on that road. It is however in
connection with the temperance reform that he is best known, having
espoused the principles of total abstinence as long ago as 1848. He has
held the highest offices in the gift of the various temperance societies
of his native province, and there are few platforms in the maritime
provinces that have not at one time or other resounded with his eloquent
voice. In religious belief Mr. Pidgeon is a Baptist, having united with
that body in 1864. He is also a member of the Masonic craft of long
standing, and has often occupied positions of eminence therein. For some
years he has been in the commission of the peace for New Brunswick, a
distinction well merited in his case, to say the least. As a speaker,
Mr. Pidgeon is forcible, logical, and eloquent, abounding in anecdote
and bubbling over with fun. Politically he is a Prohibitionist through
and through, and his whole life seems to be to educate the people up to
his standard. To the Independent Order of Good Templars in New Brunswick
he has been and still is a tower of strength, and wherever he is known
enjoys the respect of all and the hatred of none.
* * * * *
=Worthington, Edward D.=, A.M., M.D., F.R.C.S. (Edin.), Sherbrooke, P.Q.
The subject of our sketch is one of the oldest physicians and surgeons
in the District of St. Francis, having been in practice nearly fifty
years, and gained for himself the reputation of being the leading
surgeon in that part of Canada. He was born in Queen’s county, Ireland,
on the 1st December, 1820. His parents, John Worthington and Mary Dagge,
left Queen’s county on the 11th April, 1822, and after a short stay in
Dublin, sailed from that port for America on the 2nd May, and reached
Quebec on the 23rd June. Here they remained until 1828, when Mr.
Worthington was induced to remove to Upper Canada. Taking his family
with him, he started from Quebec on the 28th April of that year, and
reached Queenston on the 12th May. This journey proved a most disastrous
one, for the whole family suffered from fever and ague, and other
misfortunes, and within a few days of one year they returned to Quebec.
Here Mr. Worthington remained until his death, he and his wife having
resided over fifty years in the city where they first landed after
having left their native country. Their bodies now repose in Mount
Hermon cemetery, on the banks of the St. Lawrence, surrounded by the
graves of seven of their children. The subject of this sketch and his
brother John, a druggist in Brooklyn, New York, being all who are left
of a large family. In 1834 Dr. Worthington was indentured for seven
years to the late Dr. James Douglas, of Quebec, who at that time
occupied the foremost rank in his profession in Canada, he and the late
Dr. Valentine Mott, of New York, being considered the most accomplished
surgeons in America. After serving over five years, Dr. Douglas relieved
him from the balance of his indenture, to enable him to accept an
appointment as staff-assistant-surgeon in the British army. An
assistant-surgeoncy in the army, however, in those piping times of
peace, with its “7s. 6d. sterling per diem, and rations,” presented few
attractions, so, after serving two years, he left the army, and went to
Edinburgh, where he spent two years in attending lectures and “walking”
the hospitals. While in Edinburgh he was awarded the medal of the Royal
College of Surgeons, and also won the friendship of many of her eminent
men, with some of whom he still keeps up a friendly correspondence.
Among the students at that time from this side of the Atlantic, were the
present Sir Charles Tupper, M.D., C.B.; the Hon. Dr. D. McNeil Parker,
of Halifax; and the late Dr. R. H. Russell, of Quebec. On his return to
Canada he received, on the 1st August, 1843, the license of the Montreal
Medical Board, and immediately settled in Sherbrooke, Eastern townships,
where he soon built up an extensive practice, and where he has since
continued to reside. He has the fullest confidence of the community in
his skill as a physician, and for over thirty years has had nearly all
the surgical practice in his district of country. He has the full
confidence of his _confrères_, who frequently send for him from long
distances for consultations. Dr. Worthington, it will not be out of
place to say here, was the first surgeon in Canada who performed a
capital operation under ether as an anæsthetic, and was also among the
first to use chloroform. On the 10th March, 1847, he amputated below the
knee, under ether; and in January, 1848, three cases under chloroform,
one being excision of bone. In 1854 the University of Bishop’s College,
Lennoxville, conferred upon him the degree of M.A., _honoris causa_; and
in 1868, McGill College, Montreal, that of M.D.C.M., _ad eundem_. He is
also a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh;
corresponding member of the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Montreal, and
of the Gynæcological Society of Boston, Massachusetts; member of the
Canada Medical Association, having been, in 1877, vice-president for the
province of Quebec; and for many years one of the governors of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Quebec, for the District of St.
Francis. The doctor has received several substantial marks of public
favor, among others, a solid silver tea-service, for his gratuitous
attendance on the poor; and a gold watch and chain for his energetic and
successful efforts to prevent the spread of that most loathsome of all
diseases in Sherbrooke, the small pox. In the years 1837-8, Dr.
Worthington served as a private in Captain Le Mesurier’s company of the
Quebec regiment of Volunteer Light Infantry, the adjutant being the late
Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Wily. The doctor is a warm supporter of the
volunteer movement in Canada, and has served in the 53rd Battalion since
its formation. He was on active service in both Fenian raids, and
retired in 1887, retaining his rank as surgeon-major. He has written a
good deal for medical periodicals, and especially for the _Canada
Medical Journal_, published in Montreal, and some of his papers have
been copied into the medical journals of Great Britain and the United
States. Among the many papers he has contributed to the Canadian press
are: “A new method of bed-making in fractures” (1871); “Glue bandage in
fractures” (1872); “Case of gun-shot wound in abdomen, with perforation
of stomach” (1876); and “Acute fibrinous bronchitis, with expectoration
of tube casts” (1876). Dr. Worthington is a member of the Church of
England, and has been a delegate to the Provincial Synod. In politics he
is a Conservative. On the 16th October, 1845, he married Fanny Louisa
Smith, eldest daughter of the late Hon. Hollis Smith, the first member
elected to the Legislative Council for the Division of Wellington. Mrs.
Worthington died on the 17th April, 1887, aged fifty-nine years. Of her
eight children, five are now living, two daughters and three sons. The
younger daughter is married to Major Antrobus, superintendent of the
North-West Mounted Police. Of the sons, Edward Bruen, aged twenty-seven,
is senior captain in the 53rd battalion; an LL.B. of Bishop’s College
University, and in successful practice in Sherbrooke, as a notary
public. Arthur Norreys, aged twenty-five, graduated in medicine at
McGill College University in 1886, and after spending some time in
Europe, settled in Sherbrooke. He was recently gazetted surgeon to the
53rd battalion, on his father’s retirement from the volunteer service.
In September, 1887, he married, at Toronto, Emma May, daughter of H. H.
Cook, M.P. for Simcoe East. The youngest son, Hugh Standish, is now at
Bishop’s College Grammar School, Lennoxville. Arthur Norreys served
through the North-West rebellion in the Field Hospital Corps, and so
greatly distinguished himself for his humanity and bravery as to receive
the following notice in the official report of Dr. Bergin,
surgeon-general:
Many of these young men did noble work, regardless of danger.
Where the bullets fell thickest, with a heroism that has never
been exceeded, they were to be found, removing the wounded and
the dying to places of shelter and of safety in the rear. Some
cases of individual heroism are reported to me, which I feel
call for more than a passing remark; and embolden me to say that
amongst these non-combatant lads, and the staff to which they
belonged, are to be found some of the greatest heroes of the
war. At Batoche I am told that during the fight a flag was
thrust from the window of the church, and was observed by a
surgeon and a student who were under shelter from the fire at a
couple of hundred yards distance. The student, immediately he
perceived it, proposed that a party should at once go to the
relief of the one demanding succor. No one appeared willing to
second his proposal. To go to the church through the open under
such a terrible fire as was being poured from the Half-breed
pits, seemed to be like proceeding to certain death; but
persisting, the surgeon said: “if you are determined to go, and
we can find two volunteers to assist us in carrying a stretcher,
I am with you.” Two men from the Grenadiers of Toronto at once
stepped forward; and the four started upon their perilous
journey—crawling upon their bellies—taking advantage of any
little inequality of ground to cover them, and to shield them
from the bullets of the Half-breeds. They reached the
church—the bullets tearing up the earth all around
them—without a scratch, and, breathing a short prayer for their
deliverance thus far from death and danger, they looked around
for him whom they had risked, and were still risking, their
lives, to succor and to save. They found him in the person of a
venerable priest, who had been wounded in the thigh, and they at
once proceeded to remove him, after administering temporary aid.
To remain in the church was to court certain death. To return to
their corps seemed to be no less perilous; but they chose the
latter. When they sortied from the church, so astonished were
the Half-breeds at their daring that they ceased their fire for
a moment. This time, returning, they had no cover, and were
obliged to march erect. Bullets flew thick and fast; but the
condition of the wounded man precluded anything like hurry, and
they hastened slowly. God watched over them and protected them,
and they reached their comrades in safety, their wounded charge
also escaping without further harm. Such conduct deserves
recognition, and I beg respectfully to call attention to it in
this official way. I have not yet been able to obtain the names
of the two noble fellows belonging to the Grenadiers, but I hope
this notice of it will bring the information I desire. The other
two are Surgeon Gravely, of No. 1 Field Hospital, and Mr.
Norreys Worthington, from the same hospital. The manner in which
Captain Mason was rescued and brought in by, I believe, Dr.
Codd, of the 90th, and one of the young dressers (Mr. Norreys
Worthington), was an exhibition of marked courage by members of
the medical staff. Other instances well deserving of
commendation have been reported to me, and I would respectfully
suggest inquiry into all such cases, and if they be found as
reported to me, that honorable recognition of them be made.
Mr. Worthington claimed descent through Bruen Worthington, of Ashton
Hayes, in the county of Chester, and of Philpotstown, in the county of
Meath, clerk in the Irish House of Commons, in 1734; from Hugh
Worthington, of Worthington, in the county of Lancaster, and of the
Manor of Adlington, in Standish parish. He held the lordship of
Worthington in the 13th year of Edward IV., A.D. 1474.
* * * * *
=Vaughan, William=, St. Martins, N.B., was born in 1843, in Liverpool,
England, and is consequently in his forty-fifth year. He is the son of
the late Captain William Vaughan, of St. Martins, and it is by a mere
accident that he claims Liverpool as his birthplace. He received his
earlier education in a private school, and afterwards attended the Model
school of St. John, N.B., and the Horton Academy at Wolfville, N.S. At
the age of seventeen Mr. Vaughan was placed in the office of Farnworth &
Jardine, a large shipping firm, of Liverpool, staying there for two
years, getting his initial knowledge of business life therein. Returning
home, he, in 1866, commenced business on his own account in St. Stephen,
N.B. This he continued successfully until 1873, when, in partnership
with another gentleman, he established the West India produce house of
Vaughan, Clerke & Co. of St. Stephen. On the incorporation of the town,
Mr. Vaughan was elected a member of the first town council, and was
re-elected as such for the two succeeding years. In 1876 he commenced
operations in St. Martins as shipbuilder, building vessels of the larger
class. In 1878 the subject of our sketch sold out his interest in the
St. Stephen firm, and again made his residence in his boyhood’s
home—St. Martins. In 1882, in consequence of the failure of a Liverpool
house which were large clients of his, and also in consequence of the
depreciation which took place in wooden ships, Mr. Vaughan was compelled
to relinquish business. Soon afterwards he was appointed manager of the
Government Savings Bank at St. Martins, which position he still holds.
In religious belief Mr. Vaughan is a prominent member of the Baptist
church, being admitted to fellowship therein in 1857. He has held many
positions of honour in this connection, all of which he has filled with
credit to himself and with satisfaction to the denomination. Mr. Vaughan
is also prominent in Masonic circles, being a past master of Sussex
Lodge, St. Stephen; past principal of St. Stephen R. A. Chapter; and
past eminent commander of St. Stephen Encampment K.T. In 1867 the
subject of our sketch married a daughter of John Marks, of St. Stephen,
and has a family of three boys and two girls. Mr. Vaughan has been a
life-long total abstainer, not even knowing the taste of alcoholic
liquors. At the present writing (1887) he is the grand chief templar of
the Independent Order of Good Templars in New Brunswick, and has held
the position for two years. Politically, Mr. Vaughan is a Conservative,
although, as between the question of prohibition and party, if
necessary, the latter would have to bow to the former. A man of good
physique and energetic character, Mr. Vaughan is one of the many of her
sons of whom his province, and, in fact, his country, may be proud.
* * * * *
=Fraser, Hon. Duncan C.=, B.A., Barrister, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, was
born at New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, on the 1st of October, 1845. His
parents were Alexander Fraser and Annie Chisholm. He received his
primary education at the Normal School, and graduated B.A. at Dalhousie
College in 1872. He also took a course of instruction in the Military
School. He chose law as a profession, and has succeeded in building up a
large and lucrative business. Mr. Fraser has taken an active interest in
municipal affairs, and for some time was town clerk, and a school
trustee. He was then elevated to the mayoralty of his native town, and
occupied the office for two terms. In provincial politics, he has also
participated, and during the administration of the Hon. P. C. Hill,
which held the reigns of power from 1875 to 1878, he was a member of the
Legislative Council, and held a position in the government without a
portfolio, but he resigned his seat in the council and returned to
private life. In politics he is a Liberal, and a pronounced free trader.
He has been long connected with the temperance reform, and takes a deep
interest in all societies having for their object the extermination of
the traffic in intoxicating drinks. At present he is the chief of the
Independent Order of Good Templars in Nova Scotia. He is connected with
Masonic and Oddfellows orders; and has been a deputy-grand master of the
Masonic body. Mr. Fraser is familiar with the Maritime provinces, and
has twice taken a trip to the Pacific coast. He is an adherent of the
Presbyterian church, and occupies the position of elder. On the 24th of
October, 1878, he was married to Bessie G. Graham, daughter of William
and Annie Graham, of New Glasgow.
* * * * *
=Matheson, Colonel Roderick.=—The Honorable Roderick Matheson, Senator,
was born in the parish of Loch Carron, Ross-shire, Scotland, in
December, 1793. He was descended from the last recognized Chief of Clan
Mathan, Dugald Matheson, of Balmacara, Loch Alsh, Ross-shire, who joined
Earl Seaforth in the Jacobite rebellion, and was killed in the action of
Glen Shiel, Glenelg, on 10th June, 1719. Dugald Matheson left four sons.
The three younger brothers went out to India, and did not return; the
eldest, Roderick, remained at home and married Christina, daughter of
Kenneth Mackenzie, with issue John, Dugald, and a daughter. John married
Flora, daughter of Donald Macrae, of Strath Conan, who also fought in
the Jacobite cause at Culloden, and was obliged to leave Scotland for
some years after the rebellion. John Matheson had issue two sons, one of
them the subject of our sketch, and three daughters. Col. Matheson’s
father died while he was a boy, and while attending school at Inverness;
he was brought out to Canada at the age of twelve, by his elder brother,
and completed his education at a school in Lower Canada. When the war of
1812 broke out, a regiment was raised by the Imperial Government, called
the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles, and on the 6th Feb., 1812,
Roderick Matheson was gazetted senior ensign, and in 1813, he was
appointed lieutenant and paymaster. During the war he saw a great deal
of active service, being present at the actions of York, Sackett’s
Harbor, Cross Roads, Fort George, Lundy’s Lane, and Fort Erie, and in
nearly all the engagements on the Niagara frontier. He was twice
wounded, once very severely at Sackett’s Harbor, where he was in command
of his company. After the war, he was allowed a year’s leave on full pay
on account of his wound, and in December, 1816, on the reduction of the
army, he was retired on half-pay. In 1817, with a large number of his
comrades in arms, he settled at the town of Perth, Ont., then founded,
and continued to reside there up to the time of his death, on 13th
January, 1873. During the rebellion of 1837, he volunteered with five
hundred men for service in Lower Canada, and, as Colonel commanding the
First Military District of Upper Canada, he took an active interest in
the organization of many of the present volunteer companies in the
Ottawa Valley from 1855 to 1863. In 1847, Col. Matheson was appointed a
life member of the Legislative Council of Canada, and, on the
confederation of the provinces in 1867, he was appointed a Senator of
the Dominion. Previous to the appointment of county judges, he was also
Chairman of the Quarter Sessions. He married first, Mary, daughter of
Captain Robertson, of Inverness, Scotland, who died in 1825; second, in
1830, Anna, daughter of the Rev. James Russell, minister of Gairloch,
Ross-shire, Scotland, by whom he had a large family. In politics Col.
Matheson was a staunch Conservative.
* * * * *
=Peters, Simon=, J.P., Builder and Architect, Quebec, was born in
Youghal, county Cork, Ireland, on the 18th September, 1815. His father,
who died in 1837, had been color-sergeant in H. M. 1st Battalion 60th
Regiment, and had seen active service in the memorable battles of
Salamanca, Vittoria, and Pampalona. The family had come to Canada some
years before the father’s death, and settled in Quebec. The subject of
this sketch had but slight educational advantages, being entirely
self-taught until over twenty years of age. He was apprenticed to the
building trade at the age of sixteen, developing marked talent as a
mechanic. In 1836 he left Quebec for New York, where he remained for
four years. In 1838 he married Eliza Jane Lamoreux, daughter of the late
Abraham Lamoreux, high constable of New York. In the same year he
secured his first schooling in the form of a six months’ course of
drawing lessons, during which he proved himself an apt and interested
scholar. In 1840 he returned to Quebec, where winter was just setting
in. Though possessed of little of this world’s goods, Mr. Peters was not
dismayed, but by dint of natural ability and hard work, soon made a
place for himself. In the winter of 1841-42 he finished his scholastic
education with a season’s course in the night classes of the
British-Canadian school, under the late Mr. Geggie. He also employed his
evenings, for seven years, learning vocal music, and attained a good
reputation as a tenor singer at St. Patrick’s Church, and also at
concerts for charitable objects. He found good friends in the late
Alexander Simpson, cashier of the Bank of Montreal, and Rev. Mr.
McMahon. His worldly affairs prospering, he was able to take charge of
his widowed mother, sister and four brothers. The brothers became in
turn apprenticed to him at the building trade. In 1853 he built a steam
sash, door, and blind factory, the first ever built in Quebec. This
factory worked continuously until 1864, when it was destroyed, together
with a large quantity of lumber. The proprietor’s loss was very heavy,
as there was little insurance. Two years later he built the present
works on the corner of Grant and Prince Edward streets, known as the St.
Charles Steam Saw and Planing Mills, blind, door, sash, box, and car
factory, a large and important industry. He constructed the joiner work
of the first steamer _Quebec_, and the steamer _Union_, plying on the
river St. Lawrence. Mr. Peters has reached the topmost round of success
in his profession, having been engaged in the construction of a great
variety of works, many of them most important. A mere catalogue of some
of the chief ones will serve to indicate the wide range of contracts he
has undertaken:—Upper Town market-house, gas works, St. Paul street
market-house, Wesleyan church, St. Peter’s church, St. Sauveur church,
Sisters of Charity church and buildings, Masonic hall, Lévis Episcopal
church, music hall, jail and court house at St. Hyacinthe, and also at
St. Thomas, Montmagny; Wellington barracks, at Halifax, Nova Scotia;
hotel at Tadousac, and the Earl of Dufferin’s house, at the same place.
He restored Quebec custom house after the fire; built the wharf and
light-house at Point St. Laurent Island of Orleans; also the outer
ballast wharf, and the Louise embankment connected with the same, at the
mouth of the St. Charles river; the Allan wharf; also a large number of
dwellings; notably, Hamwood, Cataraqui, Elmsgrove, Bandon Lodge, Bijou,
Sans Bruit, and Sir George Stephens’ elegant house, at Grand Metis,
lined and finished inside with British Columbia cedar, brought over by
the Canadian Pacific Railway for the purpose. Of fourteen children born,
four sons and four daughters remain, all the daughters and two of the
sons being married. In religion, Mr. Peters is a Roman Catholic. He has
been for years vice-president of the Quebec and Lake St. John Railway
Company, as well as a member of the council of the Quebec Board of
Trade. He has been a member of St. Patrick’s Society for over
twenty-five years, and was its president for the year 1878-1879. He has
won his success not by adventitious aids, but is emphatically a
self-made man, an honor to Canada, and to the race from which he sprung.
* * * * *
=Lawson, John A.=, Manager Post Office Money Order Department,
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, was born July 23rd, 1842, at
Covehead, in that province, and belongs to one of its oldest families.
His great-great-grandfather, David Lawson, settled there, coming from
Scotland about 1770, his business being the management of the Montgomery
estate. David left two sons, and from these spring the Lawsons of Prince
Edward Island. The subject of this sketch is the son of William David
Lawson, and who lived on the original homestead of the family, where
also our subject was born. William David married Isabella, daughter of
John Auld, of Covehead, also of Scotch extraction, and the issue of this
union was six boys and three girls. Four of the former are now living,
the eldest being Rev. S. G. Lawson, a minister of the Presbyterian
church and also well known in newspaper circles; Charles Lawson, a
merchant of Charlottetown; James D. Lawson, in the civil service, and
our subject. John A. received a good English education in the Common and
Normal schools of his native province, and upon reaching the age of
twenty-one years commenced the arduous life of a teacher, which
profession he followed till about twenty-four years of age. The next
five years he was engaged in mercantile pursuits, at Mountstewart,
relinquishing them only to accept the position which he still holds
under the Dominion Government, and which he has filled for fifteen
years. In 1864 Mr. Lawson joined the Independent Order of Good Templars,
and has always been an energetic and consistent member of that
organization. He has held the highest positions in the gift of that
body, being Grand Secretary from 1872 to 1884 inclusive. In 1885 he was
elected Grand Chief Templar and re-elected to that position in 1886. He
is a member of the Masonic craft, being initiated in Victoria Lodge,
Charlottetown, in 1876, and for six or seven successive years being its
secretary. Politically, Mr. Lawson is a Prohibitionist, although
originally belonging to the Conservative party. In religious matters Mr.
Lawson has for many years taken an active interest, being identified
with the church of his fathers, viz., the Presbyterian, and is an elder
in the church he attends. Our subject married in 1865 Sophia, daughter
of Charles Coffin, of Savage Harbour, of United Empire Loyalist stock,
the family settling in Prince Edward Island about 1780. His family
consists of nine children, two boys and seven girls, none of whom have
yet arrived at man’s or woman’s estate. Mr. Lawson is a man of kindly
disposition, quiet habits, and generous hospitality, consequently he is
a general favourite with all who know him.
* * * * *
=Tyrwhitt, Lieut.-Col. Richard=, Bradford, Ontario, M.P. for South
Simcoe, was born in Simcoe county, Ontario, on the 29th of November,
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