A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose
1863. The capitular degrees were received in the New Brunswick Royal
809 words | Chapter 32
Arch Chapter. He was the first of, and the most prominent among, those
who advocated the erection of an independent Grand Lodge in and for New
Brunswick; promoting the movement by his voice and pen, particularly by
the latter in the columns of the _Masonic Mirror_, the organ of the
order, and of which he was the editor. At the formation of the Grand
Lodge, October, 1867, he was unanimously elected deputy grand master, in
which position he continued up to 1870, when he was elected grand
master, and occupied the latter office for two years. Although the
removal of his residence to his villa at Hampton, Kings county, and the
prosecution of his judicial functions have drawn him away from active
participation in the work of the craft, nevertheless he continues to
retain his membership in the lodge, and to preserve a warm interest in
the prosperity of the brotherhood. The editor of the _Parliamentary
Practice_ thus refers to him when he was provincial secretary:—“Upon
the floor of the House he was a leading spirit; eloquent and
argumentative, a keen debater, and a master of sarcasm.” Judge
Wedderburn is married to Jeannie, daughter of the late C. C. Vaughan, of
St. John, New Brunswick.
* * * * *
=Steeves, James Thomas=, M.D., Superintendent of the Provincial Lunatic
Asylum, St. John, New Brunswick, was born at Hillsborough, Albert
county, N.B., on the 25th of January, 1828. He is a brother of the late
Hon. W. H. Steeves, senator, and one of the delegates or founders of
Canadian confederation; and is of German ancestry. His great-grandfather
was born in Osnaburgh, Germany, whence he removed to Philadelphia, and
his grandfather, the Rev. Henry Steeves, removed thence to Albert
county, N.B., about the beginning of the present century. Dr. Steeves is
a Baptist in religion, as all his fathers were; in fact “his fathers”
were the pioneers in disseminating Baptist doctrines over a large
portion of the province. His literary education was obtained at the
Grammar School at Hillsborough, at Sackville Academy, and finally at the
Baptist Seminary, Fredericton, under the late Dr. Spurden. After the
completion of his literary course, he entered upon the study of medicine
at the Pennsylvania Medical College,—attracted by the famous surgeon,
Valentine Mott,—the following year he matriculated at the University of
New York, and graduated in the class of 1853. From the medical faculty
of the university he received a certificate of honour for proficiency
and for having pursued a more extended course of instruction than that
required by the college curriculum. In June, 1854, the doctor
established himself in Portland, St. John, N.B., and entered upon the
practice of his profession. After the lapse of a few weeks Asiatic
cholera made its appearance there in all its terribleness, spreading
dismay and death on every hand. During the prevalence of this fearful
scourge, extending over a period upwards of four months, Dr. Steeves, by
his unswerving fidelity to his professional duties under every
circumstance, and his good measure of success, fairly placed himself
among the leading physicians of New Brunswick. In 1864 he removed to the
city of St. John and erected the fine block of four brick and stone
buildings situated on the corner of Wellington Row and Union street,
which escaped the great fire of 1877, and still stand as a monument to
his success and enterprise, and where he resided until 1875. On the
opening of the General Public Hospital in 1864, the doctor was appointed
upon the staff of visiting surgeons, and was the last of the original
staff retiring. When the late Dr. J. Waddell was about retiring from the
superintendency of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, Dr. Steeves was
recommended by his professional brethren almost as a body, as a suitable
successor for the position. Under the management of Dr. Waddell the
asylum for the insane had attained a high position for successful work;
and since under the present administration it has not lost a whit, but
has kept fully abreast with the various modern improvements incident to
asylum treatment everywhere. Dr. Steeves is a strong advocate for
segregation, pavilion accommodation, and employment for the insane. By
means of his advocacy with pen and voice, he has induced the government
of New Brunswick to purchase a large farm, and to erect thereon a group
of pavilions for the care and employment of a suitable number and class
of the most healthy, indigent and pauper insane. The establishment is in
full working condition, and is regarded as a complete success, in that
it is far better than the old hospital system for this class of
patients, giving them more freedom and out-door work, and that it is far
more economical both in buildings and maintenance. Dr. Steeves was
elected a member of the first medical council of New Brunswick on the
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