1878. The manufacturing company, of which he is president, is a large

institution, and doing a variety of business—carding wool, manufacturing flannels and cloths, flour for custom market, etc. It is such enterprises as this that have helped to build up the city of St. Hyacinthe; and in efforts made in that direction no man has done more than the subject of this sketch, whose energies and business tact and talent are thoroughly devoted to the interests of his native city. He is connected with the Catholic church, and was at one time president of the St. Jean Baptiste Society. His moral character is unblemished. Mr. Dessaulles was first married, in 1857, to Emma Mondelet, third daughter of the Hon. Dominic Mondelet, of Three Rivers, she dying in 1864, leaving one son and two daughters; and the second time, in 1869, to Frances Louise Leman, daughter of Dr. Dennis S. Leman, an English physician, and by her has two daughters and two sons. * * * * * =La Roque, Gedeon=, M.D., Quebec. Sergeant-at-Arms of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, is not only a conspicuous contemporary figure in that province, but a gentleman who has taken an active part in its politics, and contributed in no slight degree to the development of its resources and material prosperity. He was born at Chambly, in the province of Quebec, on the 22nd December, 1831. He springs from a stock as remarkable for its fruitfulness and attachment to the soil, as for the eminent positions to which some of its members have attained. Originally from France, in the early days of the colony, and mostly farmers, his ancestors were among the pioneers of settlement and civilization in Chambly county, P.Q., locating along the banks of the little river “Montreal,” about a mile from Chambly basin, tilling the soil, raising large families, and laying the foundations of what is to-day one of the most populous and thriving agricultural communities in Lower Canada. The family of Dr. La Roque’s paternal grandfather, composed of eleven brothers and three sisters, nearly all occupied adjoining farms in the parish of Chambly. His uncle, the late Monseigneur Joseph La Roque, formerly Roman Catholic coadjutor bishop of Montreal, and afterwards bishop of the diocese of St. Hyacinthe, who died in November, 1887, was the last survivor of a family also composed of fourteen members. Another deceased bishop of St. Hyacinthe, Monseigneur Charles La Roque, previously for many years parish priest of St. John’s, P.Q., was also a near relative of the subject of this sketch. Both these prelates were in their day men of high standing, great learning and marked ability, and their names are still venerated as among the most illustrious in the Lower Canadian hierarchy. Dr. La Roque began his classical education at Chambly College, so ably presided over at the time by its zealous founder, Rev. P. Mignault, parish priest of Chambly. Subsequently young La Roque was entered at the St. Hyacinthe College, where he continued and completed his studies under the immediate eye of his uncle, Rev. Joseph La Roque, the superior of the institution, and afterwards bishop of St. Hyacinthe. On leaving college he decided to study medicine, and was accordingly indentured for the purpose to another of his uncles, Dr. Luc Eusebe La Roque, of St. Jerome, Terrebonne, P.Q., now the parish of Father Labelle, the great apostle of colonization in the province of Quebec. It was while pursuing his medical studies that young La Roque first became interested in the cause of colonization, to the advancement of which he has so patriotically devoted so much of his subsequent career. His uncle, Dr. L. E. La Roque, who had then but lately returned from the gold fields of California, and who was one of the few survivors who had crossed (both ways) the deadly swamps of the Isthmus of Panama, had become largely interested in the settlement of the wild lands in the upper part of the River du Nord, in the county of Terrebonne, and in the fall of 1851 young Gedeon La Roque was despatched by him, in charge of a squad of men, to open up a settlement at _Lac à la Truite_, some forty miles from St. Jerome. The youthful pioneer and his companions only succeeded in reaching their destination, after enduring the greatest hardships and suffering. It took them two days to accomplish the last twelve miles of their fearful journey through the wilderness, but the result must be regarded as a fitting reward of the heroism displayed on the occasion. To-day the beautiful and populous parish of St. Agathe des Monts, in the county of Terrebonne, surrounds the spot where young La Roque and his men felled the first trees, and erected the first log hut on the western shore of _Lac à la Truite_. To the late Hon. A. N. Morin, then provincial secretary for Lower Canada, under the newly formed cabinet of Hincks-Morin, and Dr. Luc Eusebe La Roque, undoubtedly belonged the honor of being the instigators of the first great movement of colonization in that section of the country, but the credit of actually opening up the first settlement in the township of Abercrombie (Terrebonne) must be awarded to Gedeon La Roque, who, after this incident, resumed and completed his medical studies at the School of Medicine and Surgery at Montreal, finally passing as a licentiate in medicine on the 9th October, 1855, before the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Lower Canada, of which the late Dr. Fremont was then president, Drs. Landry and Pelletier, secretaries, and Dr. Jones, _actorum custos_. After his admission, Dr. Gedeon La Roque settled down to practise his profession at Longueuil, opposite Montreal, where he met with early and gratifying success. By 1863 he had so grown in the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens, that in that year he was elected mayor of Longueuil, after a hard contest with Mr. F. X. Valade, N.P., and was subsequently re-elected three times to the same office without opposition. He also filled the responsible position of warden of the county Chambly during four years. At the time of confederation, in 1867, Dr. La Roque was pressed by his many friends to accept the candidature of the county for the Quebec Legislative Assembly, in the interests of the Conservative party, but, though he declined the honor for himself, he worked and secured the election, for the party, of Mr. J. B. Jodoin, against Mr. F. David, who was not only supported by the Liberal party, but by his brother-in-law, Mr. L. Betournay, a man of great influence in the county, and a member of the same legal firm as the late Sir George E. Cartier (Cartier, Pominville & Betournay). At the general elections of 1871, Dr. La Roque, being again solicited by his friends to stand for the county for the Local House, decided to come forward, and was put in nomination against Mr. P. B. Benoit, M.P. This was before the abolition of dual representation. Dr. La Roque was supported both by Conservatives and Liberals, and elected by a large majority, his opponent resigning after the close of the first day’s polling. His parliamentary career was marked by much independence of thought and action, especially during the Chauveau and Ouimet Administrations, when he spoke and voted against the Government on the questions of the lease of Beauport asylum, dual representation, and some matters concerning teachers and education. After the so-called Tanneries’ scandal, and the resignation of the Ouimet ministry, the member for Chambly, believing that a vigorous railway policy was essential to the opening up and development of the province, gave an unhesitating support to the railway programme of their successors the De Boucherville cabinet, and was invited by the premier, Mr. De Boucherville, to move the address in reply to the speech from the throne, on which occasion he was very ably sustained by the member for Huntingdon, Dr. Cameron, as seconder of the resolution. As a friend of colonization, Dr. Larocque was an ardent advocate of railway building, and as such the proposals of the De Boucherville government in the house regarding the construction of the Northern Colonization (so called at the time) and the North Shore Railroads, not only met with his warm approval and active support, but during 1874 and 1875 he even gave his services as agent to the contractors of the Northern Colonization road, Messrs. McDonald & Abbott, in order to purchase the right of way from River des Prairies to Aylmer. On the 15th June, 1875, a vacancy having occurred in the position of Sergeant-at-Arms of the Legislative Assembly, he was appointed to fill it, and this important and responsible appointment he still continues to hold with general acceptance, enjoying not only the confidence and regard of succeeding ministers and parliaments, but the respect of the public as well, for his tact and firmness in the discharge of the regular duties of his office, as for the energy, ability and taste with which he has at different times supervised and carried out works that had to be executed at short notice, including the fitting up and decorating of both Houses of the Legislature on such occasions of mark as the receptions of the Marquis of Lorne and H.R.H. the Princess Louise, in 1878, of the lieutenant-governors of the province, of the speakers of the Legislative Assembly, and last, but not least, of Madame Mercier, wife of the premier of the province, on the occasion of the Interprovincial Conference, in October, 1887, and in honor of the delegates to that important congress, of which Dr. La Roque was also named accountant. Another distinctive feature of his life-work, and one which does infinite honor to his intelligence and patriotism, is the ardor which he has ever shown in endeavouring to ameliorate the system of agriculture pursued in his native province. In and out of the legislature, no man has done more to advance that important cause in Lower Canada, both by preaching and personal example. His published treatises on agriculture and horticulture have become handbooks among his fellow countrymen, and his valuable little work on “The Culture of Tobacco,” has contributed largely to the promotion and improvement of that industry in the province of Quebec. He also owns a large farm at Beaumont, below the city of Quebec, which is actually under the management of his son, and is deservedly regarded as a model establishment of its kind. Dr. La Roque was married three times—firstly, on the 30th June, 1856, to Miss Marie Felicity Thibault, a sister of the late Rev. Messrs. George and Amable Thibault, parish priests respectively of Longueuil and Chambly, in the diocese of Montreal; secondly, in May, 1870, to Miss Rosalie Brauneis, of Montreal; and lastly, in January, 1874, to Miss Marie Asilda Davignon, daughter of Simon Davignon, N.P., of Belœil, P.Q. By these three marriages he has had eighteen children, of whom ten are still living. * * * * * =Robillard, Alexander=, M.P.P., Russel, was born in the township of Gloucester, county of Russel, in 1843. He comes of the best French-Canadian stock, his father having been a man of extensive business as a contractor in Ottawa. His father died at the ripe old age of 87 years, his mother being still alive and in the enjoyment of good health at an equally advanced age. Young Robillard had the benefit of a sound commercial education at St. Joseph’s College, Ottawa, and this education he has used to such advantage that he is now one of the heaviest operators in contracting work and quarrying. He was the contractor for the construction of the Model School, one of the most substantial buildings in the city, which was put up by the Ontario Government. His career in business has been one of steady advance, his record having been throughout such as none could find fault with. Being of adventurous disposition, Mr. Robillard has travelled extensively and in places which, when he saw them, were new and strange. He made extensive tours in the West, especially on the Pacific coast from Panama to British Columbia. He has crossed the Isthmus of Panama twice and has been through a great portion of South America. He has also visited Europe several times, making it a point to see all the out-of-the-way places his time would permit him to visit, and has crossed the Pacific to the Orient twice. These travels have been undertaken at various times and the effect of them is plainly to be seen in his toleration of opinions differing from his own and his great knowledge of foreign lands. Mr. Robillard was married at the age of twenty-two, to Miss Sophia Lafleur, who died in May, 1885. The children of the union are seven in number, of whom six are boys. Political affairs have always had great attraction for Mr. Robillard, and he has taken an active part in all the municipal and political contests of his district since he was entitled to vote. His record as a municipal councillor is a long and honorable one, he having been elected Deputy Reeve of Gloucester for five years and afterwards Reeve for three years. In 1886 he was elected to represent his native county in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. In that capacity he has served only one session, but he enters upon his career with the confident belief on the part of his constituents that he will certainly make his mark. He is a Liberal in politics. * * * * * =Rexford, Rev. Elson Irving=, B.A., Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction, Quebec, was born at South Bolton, Brome County, P.Q., on the 17th June, 1850. He is the eldest son of Orrin Rexford, (who married Eliza Dimond), and a grandson of one of seven brothers who came from the shores of Lake Champlain about 1790, and settled in the County of Stanstead, on the shores of Lake Memphremagog. The Rexford family on this continent are descendants of Arthur Rexford, who was master of a trading vessel between England and the West Indies and the New England colonies, and who died in New Haven, Conn., in 1727. The Rev. Elson I. Rexford attended the elementary and superior schools of his native county until he was sixteen years of age, when he entered the McGill Normal School, Montreal, where he obtained a Model School diploma at the end of a two years’ course of training, taking first place and the Prince of Wales’ medal. He held the positions of assistant master in the model training school of the McGill Normal School and head master of one of the city schools under the Protestant Board of School Commissioners, Montreal, for three years. During this time he took an active part in the local association of Teachers, of which he held the position of Secretary for some time. He entered upon the Arts course of McGill University, Montreal, in September, 1871. He graduated with honors in mental and moral philosophy in 1876, having dropped out for one year when he entered upon the study of theology; this study he continued during the last two years of his arts course. He was ordained by the Right Reverend Ashton Oxendon in 1876, and immediately entered upon the charge of St. Luke’s Church, Montreal. This charge he was obliged to resign after a few months, in consequence of ill-health, by which he was deprived of the use of one leg for about two years. On account of this he returned to the work of teaching, first as head-master of his former school in Montreal, and afterwards as assistant head master of the Montreal High School. During this time he was President of the Local Association of Montreal Teachers, and Secretary of the Provincial Association of Protestant Teachers, Quebec. In 1882, he was called from the High School to fill the position of English Secretary of the Department of Public Instruction, Quebec, rendered vacant by the retirement of Dr. Miles, which position he still holds. He was elected several times Representative Fellow on the Corporation of McGill University, and on his removal to Quebec, he was appointed Governor’s Fellow of the University. In September, 1882, he married Louisa Norris, of Montreal. * * * * * =Derbishire, Stewart.=—If variety in the career of a man tend to render his life—other things being equal—more interesting than those of his fellows, who maintain an even tenor on their way, following the profession through life in which they have been brought up and educated, then will our readers find this element of interest not wanting in the life of the subject of the following sketch. Beginning life as a soldier, the late Mr. Derbishire soon turned to the study of the law, and though he found himself on the high road to distinction in this profession, he relinquished it for the more exciting pursuit of journalism, which led him to Spain during the Constitutional war, where he drew his sword on behalf of Queen Isabella. When however, the decisive action, which ended in the defeat of Gomez, placed the crown upon her head, he embarked in the very opposite mission of endeavouring to bring peace to a distracted country, in the train of Lord Durham. Unlike his master, however, he did not leave this country on the apparent failure of that nobleman’s truly humane and generous efforts on behalf of the people; but being drawn into the political life of the country, after executing some very delicate missions of a diplomatic character, he was elected the first member for Bytown, now Ottawa; which constituency he continued to serve in parliament for several years, until, after the passing of the Independence of Parliament Act, he gave up his seat, having become Queen’s Printer for united Canada in 1841. So slight are the causes to which we are sometimes led to attribute the direction given to our current of life, that Mr. Derbishire was often heard to say, that it was owing to his belief that the rebellion was by no means finally quelled, but that there would be another spurt before long, and wishing—to use his own words—“to see the fun,” that Canada finally became his home—a home to which he accorded a loyal affection and admiration, and whose fluctuating course, after he had retired from the political arena, he watched with anxiety and interest to the end of his life. Stewart Derbishire, born in London, in the year 1800, was the third son of Philip Derbishire, M.D., and Ann Masterton, daughter of Allan Masterton, of Edinburgh, an intimate friend and companion of Burns, whose verses he was fond of setting to music. Miss Masterton, who was gifted with great personal charms, and of more than average mental ability, was the subject of those lines by Burns, entitled “Beware o’ Bonnie Ann.” At the age of sixteen, Mr. Derbishire commenced life as an ensign in the Eighty-second regiment, but very soon afterwards, the peace having caused the reduction of the army to one half its strength, he became a student of law of the Honorable Society of Gray’s Inn, about the year 1824. He was engaged in several cases of much public interest, in the conduct of which he distinguished himself, and amongst which was that of the Dorsetshire labourers, prosecuted for machine-breaking in