A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose
1844. He is of an old English family, his grandfather, whose name he
803 words | Chapter 102
bears, last of Nantyr Hall, Denbighshire, barrister of the Inner Temple,
and recorder of Chester. The subject of this sketch was educated at
home, under private tutors, until well advanced in the rudimentary
branches, and at Barrie Grammar School. He was sent to France to
complete his education in the best college there. He spent some years as
a collegian at Dinan and Rouen, returning to Canada at the age of
eighteen. He engaged in farming, and having the advantage of health,
education, and capital, besides an enthusiastic liking for the
profession, he has been successful. At the age of twenty-six Mr.
Tyrwhitt married Emma Whitaker, second daughter of the former provost of
Trinity College. At an early age Mr. Tyrwhitt took an interest in
military affairs, and joined the Simcoe (35th) Battalion. In 1864 he
took a first-class certificate at the military school, Toronto; in
January, 1865, attended the cadet camp at Laprairie, and in 1866 served
on the Niagara frontier, during the Fenian raid, as lieutenant. He also
took a first-class certificate at the cavalry school, under Colonel
Jenyns, in 1870. He soon attained the rank of major, with the brevet
rank of lieutenant-colonel; is now lieutenant-colonel of the 36th Peel
battalion, and commanded the Wimbledon team in 1886. On the death of W.
C. Little, who had represented South Simcoe for years,
Lieutenant-Colonel Tyrwhitt was nominated by the Liberal-Conservatives
as a candidate for the House of Commons, and was returned by a majority
of 900. The Redistribution Act of 1882 so changed the boundaries of
South Simcoe that, instead of being, as it had formerly been, a
Conservative stronghold, it became a most evenly balanced constituency.
Nevertheless, Lieutenant-Colonel Tyrwhitt’s personal popularity, and his
clean record, won for him a second time the confidence of the electors.
In parliament he proved himself a most painstaking and conscientious
representative. When the second North-West rebellion broke out,
Lieutenant-Colonel Tyrwhitt was among the first to offer his services to
the government to assist in suppressing the outbreak. Though doubtless,
had he so desired, he might have been named to the command of a
battalion, he proved that his sole desire was to serve his country and
not to gain applause, by acting as second in command of the York-Simcoe
battalion, of which his parliamentary colleague, Lieutenant-Colonel
O’Brien, was in command. His soldier-like conduct during the campaign
won for Lieutenant-Colonel Tyrwhitt the praise of his superiors in rank,
and the enthusiastic regard of his men. In the general election of 1887,
so great was the popularity of Lieutenant-Colonel Tyrwhitt that not only
was he nominated to contest his own riding of South Simcoe, but he was
deemed the strongest man to contest North York against Mr. Mulock, one
of the ablest and most popular men on the Liberal side. Though he was
unsuccessful in North York, Lieutenant-Colonel Tyrwhitt carried his own
riding by a majority of 1050. There is no man in the House of Commons
who is regarded by both friends and foes as more fair-minded,
independent and patriotic than Mr. Tyrwhitt. Though a strong partisan,
all believe that his course is dictated by conscientious conviction, and
an earnest desire to serve the best interests of the country.
* * * * *
=Smith, Robert Herbert=, of the city of Quebec, is the eldest son of the
Rev. Robert Hopton Smith and Jane his wife, who was a daughter of Robert
Chapman, of London, England. Mr. Smith was born in the year 1825, at
Little Berkhampstead, England, and had the advantages of a private
education. In 1851 he came to Canada, and six years afterwards was
admitted as a partner into the lumber shipping firm of Benson & Co.
Three years later the name of the firm was changed to Roberts, Smith &
Co., and again, in 1880, to Smith, Wade & Co. Six years later, Mr. Smith
retired from business. In 1869 Mr. Smith was appointed by the Dominion
Government a member of the Board of Protestant School Commissioners for
the city of Quebec, and in 1870 he received the appointment of warden of
the Trinity House in the same city. Mr. Smith has taken an active
interest in many benevolent enterprises. Chief among these is St.
George’s Society, of which he is a life member, and of which society he
was president during the years 1883 and 1884. In 1857 he was married to
Amelia Jane, fourth daughter of Henry LeMesurier, of Quebec. He is a
member of the Church of England, and at present fills several important
public and other offices. He is a member of the Quebec Harbour
Commission, a director of the Quebec Bank, and is also chairman of the
Quebec Gas Company.
* * * * *
=Jennings, Rev. John=, D.D., was born at Glasgow, Scotland, in October,
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