A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose
1885. In September, 1883, he went to Europe, and in the course of his
3272 words | Chapter 141
tour visited the principal cities and places of interest in France,
Belgium, and Italy. He is a Roman Catholic in religion. On the 13th
July, 1866, he was married to Marietta, eldest daughter of Francis Carr,
a well-to-do farmer of the township of Compton, about twelve miles from
Sherbrooke, and who had become a Catholic some time before her marriage,
her family being Protestant.
* * * * *
=Botsford, Hon. Bliss=, Moncton, N.B., was born on the 26th November,
1813, at Sackville, N.B. The Botsford family have taken a prominent part
in New Brunswick and Canadian history. He is the seventh son of the late
Hon. William Botsford, who was speaker of the New Brunswick Assembly,
and one of the judges of the supreme court of the province. His
grandfather, Amos Botsford, was a United Empire loyalist, from Newton,
Conn., and was the first speaker of the New Brunswick Assembly after it
became a separate province, and held that office for twenty-eight years.
Hon. Lieut.-Col. Amos E. Botsford, senator from New Brunswick, is an
elder brother of the subject of this sketch. Hon. Bliss Botsford was
educated at King’s College, Fredericton; studied law with the late
William End, of Bathurst; was admitted as an attorney in 1836; called to
the bar of New Brunswick in 1838; and practised his profession at
Moncton from 1836 to 1870. During those thirty-four years he had a fair
share of criminal as well as an extensive civil practice, and gained
well-merited distinction at the bar of his native province. He was
brought into special prominence by the celebrated Albertite suit, in
which he was the defendant’s attorney, and won the case. While at the
bar, his vigorous, earnest, and persuasive style of delivery always made
a favorable impression on a jury, being, like most of the members of his
family, of commanding presence, with a personal magnetism that was often
irresistible. He sat for Westmoreland in the New Brunswick Assembly,
from 1851 to 1854, from 1857 to 1861, and from 1865 to October 24th,
1870, when he was elevated to the bench. As a judge, he is held in high
esteem by the profession, being very painstaking, carefully weighing in
his mind all cases presented for his consideration, and is logical and
concise in his charges to the jury. He is not over-exacting in his
requirements of younger members of the profession, generally allowing
them considerable latitude and freedom; but when called upon to decide
any point of a relevant or irrelevant character, he is prompt and firm
in his decision. He was appointed surveyor-general in 1865, and was a
member of the executive council during the administration of the late
Hon. Sir Albert Smith, and speaker from 1867 until the general election
in 1870, his politics being Conservative. Judge Botsford was married in
1842, at Moncton, to Jane, daughter of John Chapman, from Cumberland,
England, and has had five children, three daughters and one son living,
all married, and another son who died. Sarah L., the eldest daughter, is
the wife of William J. Croasdale, civil engineer, Moncton; Eliza is the
wife of George C. Peters, son of Dr. George Peters, deceased, St. John;
Robert L. married Emily C., eldest daughter of Lewis Carroll, and is a
physician and surgeon, practising at Richibucto, N.B.; and Florence is
the relict of the late Thomas Byers, Moncton.
* * * * *
=Bain, James William=, St. Polycarpe, Quebec, M.P. for Soulanges, was
born at St. Polycarpe, Quebec, on the 22nd June, 1838. Mr. Bain is one
of that very large class of French Canadians who, though thoroughly
identified with their fellow-countrymen, are partly of Scottish blood.
The father of the subject of this sketch was Daniel Bain, from
Caithness-shire, a thorough Scot, having all the best characteristics of
his race. The mother was Adelaide Lantier, a descendant of an old French
Canadian family, sister of the late J. P. Lantier, M.P. for Soulanges.
The son has the Scottish cast of countenance, and might readily be
mistaken for a native of the “land of the mountain and the flood.” He
was educated in his native town, where he has ever since resided. On
arriving at man’s estate, he entered business with his father, who
carried on a large trade as a merchant in Polycarpe. Though taking an
active and prominent part in public affairs in his own district from an
early age, he has continued to devote his attention to his business,
extending it in every way, until it has brought him a large amount of
worldly prosperity. Mr. Bain first devoted attention to school affairs,
and when elected to the school board was soon made president of that
body, a position which he has retained for ten years. At the death of J.
P. Lantier, in 1882, the Conservatives of the county chose Mr. Bain as
their candidate in the election which was to follow. The contest was a
keen one, and resulted in the election of his opponent, G. R. S. De
Beaujeau, by a majority of two votes. Mr. Bain protested the election,
and an appeal being made to the Supreme Court, Mr. Beaujeau was
unseated. A new election followed in February, 1885, and Mr. Bain was
returned by a majority of twenty-six votes, and took his seat in the
House of Commons at Ottawa. The lot of the French Conservative member of
parliament was not altogether a happy one during the contest in 1887,
owing to the prejudice stirred up in relation to the unfortunate Riel
affair; but Mr. Bain did not shrink from the contest, and again accepted
the nomination of his party. The struggle was one of the keenest ever
known in the district; but the people had faith in their old
representative, and so he still sits in the house as the representative
for Soulanges. Though differing from the younger school of French
Canadian politicians, in that he lays little claim to being an orator,
and makes no effort to shine in the theatrical way so many of them
affect, Mr. Bain performs the duties of a representative of the people
faithfully and well. He is strictly regular in his attendance, and
brings to bear upon the legislation of the house practical experience in
business affairs, and good common sense. In 1877 Mr. Bain married
Georgiana, daughter of the late J. O. Lantier, well known in Montreal
for many years as a prominent merchant.
* * * * *
=Chisholm, Mrs. Addie=, Ottawa, President of the Women’s Christian
Temperance Union of Ontario, is a native Canadian, having been born in
the city of Hamilton, Ontario. Her early life was spent there, excepting
a few years devoted to study in the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima,
New York, where she was distinguished for diligence, aptitude, and
general proficiency. Both before and after her marriage she was known as
an enthusiastic worker in every religious and charitable movement, and
many benevolent institutions had the advantage of her wise counsel,
gentle sympathy and bright encouragement. As an infant class teacher in
one of the Methodist Sunday schools of Hamilton, she was remarkably
successful in developing on right lines the tender minds that were
entrusted to her care, and here she passed through just the training to
fit her for the broader sphere of usefulness that was waiting her riper
talents and attainments. Sympathizing very deeply with the temperance
reformation, she could not but be drawn strongly towards the crusade
work which was so successful in the United States some years ago, and
when that great uprising of loving, ill-treated womanhood, was
crystalized into the effective and permanent form—the Women’s Christian
Temperance Union organization, Mrs. Chisholm at once came to the front
as one of its enthusiastic supporters, warmest advocates, and most
efficient directors. Mrs. Yeomans was the first president of the Ontario
Union, and was succeeded by Mrs. Chisholm, several years ago, and has
held the position up till to-day, being annually reinstated by the
unanimous vote of her appreciative sisters. Her success in this sphere
of responsibility must be judged by the facts already so well known in
regard to the results attained by this great organization—results that
were only possible through the united, prayerful, determined work of
many loving hearts and heads, as well as a skilful leadership possessed
of the faculty to govern, and guided and blessed by the wisdom and
strength without which all labor is in vain. Not merely in the many
organizations with which she has been connected, chief among which, of
course, is the Union, has Mrs. Chisholm shown her genius and skill. For
near four years she has been publisher and editor of the _Woman’s
Journal_, the Canadian organ of the White Ribbon Army. She has also
written tracts and pamphlets that have blessed and helped the temperance
cause everywhere. She has visited, spoken, organized, and worked with an
untiring energy that could only come from deep sympathy and fervent
zeal; while every act has been characterized by Christian gentleness and
kindness, that won where more openly aggressive methods would be sure to
fail. We earnestly hope that our good sister may long be spared to aid
with her tongue, her pen, and her brain, the cause that is so near to
our heart, and that under the management and direction of such as she,
and “the blessing that maketh rich and addeth no sorrow,” the Women’s
Christian Temperance Union may continue a mighty power for good, until
the end for which it was organized has been fully attained.
* * * * *
=Noyes, John Powell=, Q.C., Advocate, Waterloo, Quebec province, was
born at Potton, county of Brome, Quebec, on the 15th September, 1842.
His father, Heman B. Noyes, was of English descent, coming to Canada
from Tunbridge, Vermont, where six generations of the family are buried.
His mother, Sarah Powell, is also of English descent, but was born at
Potton, Quebec. The subject of this sketch was educated at Bangor,
Franklin county, N.Y., and at Fort Covington Academy. In 1861 he settled
at Waterloo, studied law first with Huntington & Lay, and afterwards
with Hon. Mr. Laframboise; graduated at the law school connected with
St. Mary’s College, Montreal; was admitted to the bar in October, 1866,
and was created a Queen’s counsel in 1879. He has held the offices of
secretary-treasurer of the township of Shefford and village of Waterloo,
chairman of the Waterloo school board, special commissioner of Bolton
lands, _bâtonnier_ of the Bedford bar, and is at present
_bâtonnier-general_ of the bar of the province of Quebec. He has been
secretary-treasurer of the Stanstead, Shefford, and Chambly Railway for
more than ten years. In 1864 he became editor of the Waterloo
_Advertiser_, and continued to be so until 1875, making the paper a
strong exponent of the principles of the Liberal party, as well as a
very readable general newspaper. He is a leading member of the Masonic
Order in his district; was worshipful master of his lodge for three
terms; first principal of the R.A. Chapter; and grand Z. of Grand
Chapter of R.A.M., of Quebec, for 1885 and 1886. He has taken part in
all political contests, and in municipal affairs, since 1860; has been
secretary, and later chairman, of Shefford County Reform Club for many
years; and this has kept him in politics a great deal, as it has been
remarked that this county seems to have a political contest always on
hand. As if to make good our words, a contest is now (February, 1888)
going on, and Mr. Noyes has been selected by the Reform or national
convention of the county as its candidate; but in a county where the
parties are so evenly divided, it is always difficult to tell in advance
who will be elected. In religion, he is Protestant, and belongs to the
Church of England; has often been a delegate to the Synod, and a valued
member of various committees there. He was married, in November, 1867,
to Lucy A., daughter of Joseph Merry, of Magog, Quebec, whose father was
one of the early pioneers there, by whom he had issue six children, only
four of whom are now living. Mrs. Noyes graduated before her marriage,
at McGill Normal School, with academy diploma, and is at present
provincial superintendent of the department of physiology and hygiene of
the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of the province of Quebec.
* * * * *
=Pope, Hon. James Colledge=, was born at Bedeque, Prince Edward Island,
on the 11th June, 1826. He was the second son of the Hon. Joseph Pope,
and his mother was Lucy Colledge, daughter of Capt. Colledge, of the 1st
regiment of foot, who married a daughter of the Hon. Thomas Wright,
several times administrator of the government of the island, and who was
one of the commissioners appointed to administer the oath to the members
of the first parliament which met in Charlottetown in 1773. The subject
of this sketch received his early education on the island, and was
afterwards sent to England to complete it. In early manhood he entered
upon a mercantile career, as merchant, shipbuilder and shipowner, at
Summerside, P.E.I., where he lived for many years, and which he was
largely instrumental in building up. He was one of the passengers by the
brig _Fancy_ to California, when the gold fever broke out there in 1849.
In 1863 he took up his residence in Charlottetown, where he remained
until 1878, when his acceptance of the portfolio of minister of marine
necessitated his removal to Ottawa. The last three years of his life he
spent at Summerside, his old home, where he died on the morning of the
18th May, 1885; and was buried at St. Eleanor’s, in St. Mary’s
churchyard (Episcopal), where a very handsome granite obelisk, erected
as a tribute from his many friends, marks the last resting-place of one
of Prince Edward Island’s most gifted and patriotic sons. Mr. Pope
entered political life in 1857, and from that time onwards he was
engaged in a constant turmoil of political excitement, having his ups
and downs like most politicians. On the 10th September, 1870, he became
leader of a coalition government, which, however, only lasted two years;
but he was, on the dissolution of the house, triumphantly returned for
Charlottetown, although he failed to secure a majority in the new house.
On the 19th October, 1878, he was sworn a member of her Majesty’s Privy
Council for Canada, and received the portfolio of minister of marine and
fisheries, a position he held but a short time, when in 1881 he was
forced, to the inexpressible grief of his many friends, by a general
breaking up of his mental and physical powers, to retire from the active
duties of his office, never, as the sequel proved, to resume them again.
He always occupied a foremost place among those with whom his lot was
cast. In his early life he took a very active interest in the volunteer
movement, and passed through the various grades, retiring with the rank
of lieutenant-colonel. Besides being one of the most prominent
merchants, he was also one of the largest landholders on the island, and
farmed more extensively than any other man on it. He was also engaged in
fishing industries, besides being interested in many other business
ventures. He, however, attempted too much for his powers of endurance,
and thus brought a useful life to an early close. In everything that he
undertook, however, whether political, commercial or agricultural, he
had the interests of the island at heart, and his memory will ever be
revered by his countrymen, who possess monuments of his energy and worth
more enduring than brass. The Prince Edward Island Railway is a memento
of his public career that will ever serve to keep his memory green. In
1852 he married Eliza, second daughter of Thomas Pethick, of
Charlottetown, by whom he had issue eight children.
* * * * *
=Germain, Adolphe=, Barrister, Sorel, province of Quebec, was born in
St. Ours, in the same province, in June, 1837. His father was François
Germain, an old patriot of 1837-38. Mr. Germain received a classical
course of education at St. Hyacinthe College, Quebec province, and
afterwards studied law; and for over fifteen years he has successfully
practised his profession in Sorel, first alone, but latterly under the
firm name of Germain & Germain, his partner being his eldest son, S.
Adolphe Germain. In 1878 he was created a Queen’s counsel. He has been
frequently called upon to represent the attorney-general of Quebec
province in Crown cases, and was one of the joint counsel in the
celebrated Provencher trial, in which the accused was found guilty,
along with his paramour, of poisoning the latter’s husband, and
afterwards executed for the murder—the woman being sent to the
penitentiary for life. Mr. Germain has been mayor of Sorel, and is dean
of the bar of Quebec, for the district of Richelieu. He is a
public-spirited gentleman, and has identified himself with the leading
improvements—among others the fine public buildings recently
erected—in the thriving town in which he resides. He has also taken an
active interest in all the political movements of the country, and
stands high in the estimation of his fellow-citizens. In religion he is
an adherent of the Roman Catholic church; and in politics is a staunch
Liberal. In February, 1862, he was married to Marie Louise Demers, and
the issue of the marriage has been five children.
* * * * *
=Sears, James Walker=, Lieutenant South Staffordshire regiment, was born
in St. John, New Brunswick, on the 22nd January, 1861. He is a son of
John Sears, of St. John, N.B., and Ann, daughter of the Rev. William
Blackwood, of Nova Scotia, and grandson of Thatcher Sears, a United
Empire loyalist, of the former place. He received his primary education
in various private schools in his native city. He left St. John in 1877,
and after spending a year at the Collegiate Institute at Galt, Ontario,
became a cadet at the Royal Military College at Kingston. Here, on the
25th June, 1881, after a course of studies lasting for three and a half
years, and having passed a successful examination, he was awarded a
commission in the Canadian militia, and a commission in Her Majesty’s
38th South Staffordshire regiment of foot. In this regiment he served
throughout the Egyptian campaign of 1882, was present at the
reconnaissance in force at Kafr-el Dwar on the 5th August, the surrender
of Damietta by Abdulal, and the subsequent occupation of Cairo. For
those services he received a medal and the Khedive’s star. He visited
the Holy Land in April, 1883, and in May of the same year returned to
Malta from Egypt with his regiment. He was appointed Lieutenant in the
Infantry School corps by the Canadian government in December, 1883, in
which corps, at Toronto, he has since held the appointment of adjutant.
He served in the North-West rebellion of 1885 as brigade major of the
Battleford column, and was present at the battle of Cut Knife Hill, and
subsequently commanded the scout corps of the Turtle Lake column in the
pursuit of Big Bear. He was mentioned in despatches, and received the
medal and clasp. He became brevet captain in the Canadian militia on the
21st December, 1887.
* * * * *
=Proulx, Hon. Jean Baptiste George=, Nicolet, province of Quebec, was
born at Nicolet, on the 23rd April, 1809, and died on the 27th January,
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