A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose
1874. Upon his removal to Orillia, he set to work to erect the handsome
5914 words | Chapter 43
presbytery in which he now resides. Subsequently he built a solid,
well-planned, well-appointed separate school-house, and a tasteful brick
church in the village of Warminster. He not only attends to the
elementary instruction of the children under his care, but takes a deep
interest in higher education. Four years ago he was appointed by the
county council of Simcoe trustee of the High School Board, and on that
board he has held the position of chairman for the four years that he
has been a member thereof. Father Campbell has left his imprint for good
in the various important positions he has held, and we hope he may be
long spared to bless mankind.
* * * * *
=Bruce, Rev. George=, B.A., Pastor of St. David’s (Presbyterian) Church,
St. John, New Brunswick, is a Scotchman by birth, having been born near
Aberdeen, Scotland, on 6th of September, 1837. His parents were John
Bruce and Elspeth Cadger. The family is an old one and can be traced far
back in the annals of Scotland. The Simpsons (Sir George and Thomas), of
Hudson Bay notoriety, were relatives, and Mr. Bruce, sen., remembers
when young George Simpson came to bid them good-bye before leaving for
America. Alexander Bruce, the eldest brother of John Bruce, was educated
in King’s College, Aberdeen. When the Rev. George Bruce was only four
years of age he was brought to Canada. The family settled in Markham,
near Toronto, and there they have been extensively engaged in various
kinds of business ever since, chiefly, however, in farming and milling.
George, the subject of this sketch, after receiving the usual public
school training, attended the Normal School in Toronto for some time;
and in 1863 he went to Whitby, where, under Thomas Kirkland, now
principal of the Toronto Normal School, he prepared himself for the
university. In September, 1864, he matriculated in the University of
Toronto, and four years afterwards he graduated from the same
institution. While attending the university he devoted himself to
general study, principally, however, in the direction of mathematics,
metaphysics, political economy and natural science (especially in regard
to its more modern developments, in which he took an exceptional
interest). He then entered Knox College, in the same city, and from this
college he graduated in 1871. While a student, Mr. Bruce became deeply
impressed with the great loss sustained by the church through the
frequent removal of student missionaries from their fields, on account
of their return to college every winter to pursue their studies, leaving
the fields unsupplied to the manifest and serious loss of the interest
and organization which had resulted from the labours of the missionary
during the summer. As licentiates were almost always settled in
congregations at once upon the completion of their studies, the smaller
and more sparsely settled mission fields were left almost entirely to
the student supply in the summer vacation. It seemed to him that the
only relief for this lay in getting students to give from one to two or
more years of voluntary work to these fields after they were licensed,
so as to bring them up to a stable and self-sustaining position. He
wrote a considerable number of articles calling attention to this
matter, and brought it before the General Assembly. In order to make
practical trial and do, himself, what was recommended, he took such work
for four years after he was licensed, declining to be ordained, though
he is not sure of the wisdom of that part of his course now, as
ordination gives additional fitness for the work falling to the hand of
the missionary. The system, however, gradually gained favour, and is now
almost universally put in practice in such fields, as far as young men
can be found willing to undertake such work. Rev. Mr. Bruce’s field lay
in the region of Newmarket and Aurora, Ontario, which, though old and
prosperous settlements, had suffered very much so far as the
Presbyterian church was concerned, from the system he had spoken of. Two
brick churches were built during the four years he resided there, and
the congregations were separated soon after and are both prosperous. In
September, 1876, he was ordained over the First Presbyterian Church in
St. Catharines, Ontario, where he remained seven years. This charge had
been one of the congregations established by the American Church, and
retained its name as such and its connection with the Presbytery of
Buffalo till immediately before his ordination. He was, therefore, the
first minister in the new relation, although it was a very old
congregation. During his ministry a brick church, the one now in use,
was erected. Rev. Mr. Bruce was for six years convener of the Home
Mission Committee of the Presbytery of Hamilton, and member of the
General Home Mission Committee of the church. In 1881 he was sent out
with the Rev. Dr. Cochrane by the Home Mission Committee to visit the
churches in Manitoba, and to meet with the presbytery and arrange for
the designation of the Rev. James Robertson as superintendent of
missions, as well as for the settlement of various other questions which
had been before the committee. On his way up to fulfil this appointment
he was on the steamer _City of Winnipeg_ when she was burnt at Duluth.
The fire took place at night and five lives were lost, the others
escaping with difficulty. Besides church work he has always had a deep
interest in educational matters, and has written a good deal in
connection with our system from time to time. In January, 1883, he was
inducted into his present charge, St. David’s Church, St. John, New
Brunswick. The congregation was one formed at the disruption as the Free
Church, and is a large and active one. Here as formerly he has taken a
deep interest in home mission work. Within the bounds of the large
presbytery there is a vast field. He is convener of an “Augmentation
Committee” for enlarging the salary of ministers in weak charges. Rev.
Mr. Bruce’s travels have not been great, although somewhat extended on
this continent, and almost incessant at times in church work. His trip
in 1881 to the North-West was an interesting experience of the “trail
and tent” life, as the Canadian Pacific Railway was only commenced, and
he passed the men at work several times. They had then attained a rate
of one mile per day, which was considered a wonder, although this speed
of track-laying was afterwards increased to three or even four miles per
day. His religious views have continued much the same in general
principles. He is a Presbyterian, and therefore, of course, a Calvinist
in doctrine. He has gone over all the ground carefully in connection
with scientific difficulties and other new phases, and with a mind, so
far as he knows, open to receive impressions and conviction. He believes
much enlargement has come from the study of Science in connection with
Religion, but has seen nothing to cause him to change his faith in the
“old doctrines.” It has been, he thinks, man’s narrow, mistaken, and
prejudiced construction of Bible teaching which has been the source of
the weakness, wherever there has really been a weakness. What is needed
is practical adaptation of teaching, preaching, and modes of work to the
requirements of the age. Broad sympathy and charity is the very pith and
marrow of the Gospel, and unswerving loyalty to the truth where it is
perceived. He has read extensively in rationalistic literature, the “new
theology” and evolutionary theories of revelation and man. He admires
the scientific spirit and patient research, but is deeply impressed with
the rash and superficial nature of much of the theorising so confidently
asserted. It is unscientific and unreliable. On the 18th June, 1884,
Rev. Mr. Bruce was married to Catherine Emily, third daughter of the
late John R. Dickson, M.D., president of the Royal College of Physicians
and Surgeons, Kingston, Ontario, and medical superintendent of the
Asylum for the Insane there. Dr. Dickson’s name is widely known in the
medical profession. He was especially celebrated as a surgeon, and in
the midst of a very extensive practice he found time to keep himself
abreast of the scientific progress of the age, and to take an active
interest in many matters of moral beneficence and religion. He came from
Ireland when quite young, part of the family remaining at home.
* * * * *
=Stewart, John=, Superintendent of the Northern Division of the New
Brunswick Railway, Woodstock, New Brunswick, was born at St. Andrews,
N.B., on the 2nd February, 1845. His father, Duncan Stewart, was in
early life a colour-sergeant in the rifle brigade, and afterwards became
an officer in the Customs department, and served in that capacity at St.
John and at St. Stephen. John was educated at the St. Stephen and Calais
High schools. Some time after leaving school he entered the Customs
service, and acted as weigher and gauger at St. Stephen in 1864-5, when
he was appointed to the position of conductor on the New Brunswick and
Canada Railway, and acted as such until 1874, when he was promoted to a
superintendency. In 1882, after the consolidation of the line with the
New Brunswick Railway Company, he was appointed to and filled the office
of general superintendent until 1885, and then was made superintendent
of the Northern division, which office he now fills. Having a taste for
military affairs, he joined the volunteers when a mere youth, and held
the rank of captain in the St. Stephen Infantry School, and saw a good
deal of active service during the Fenian invasion of our frontiers. In
1872 he was made a Freemason, and has ever since taken an interest in
the order. Mr. Stewart is a member of the Presbyterian denomination. In
1874 he was married to Susan A. Haddock, daughter of J. Haddock, of St.
Andrews, and has a family consisting of three children.
* * * * *
=Workman, Joseph=, M.D., Toronto, was born in Ballymacash, near the town
of Lisburn, Ireland, on the 26th May, 1805. He is descended from an
illustrious ancestry, the first of whom is noticed by Neale in his
history of the Puritans, namely, the Rev. William Workman, who was
lecturer at St. Stephen’s Church, in Gloucester, England, from 1618 to
1633, and whom the historian describes as a man of great piety, wisdom
and moderation. About that time Archbishop Laud had assumed power, and
was addressing himself with great energy to stemming the tide of
reformation which had set in. The images and pictures were restored to
the churches, and the clergy had begun to array themselves in gorgeous
vestments, such as those used by the clergy of the Roman Catholic
church. The Rev. Mr. Workman could not brook this state of things; and
in one of his sermons stigmatized pictures and statues of the founders
of Christianity, the fathers, and other eminent persons, as unfit
ornaments for churches, and declared that to set up images of Christ or
of the saints in the private houses was according to the Homily unlawful
and tended to idolatry. This sermon having been reported to Laud, the
Rev. Mr. Workman was brought before the Court of High Commission, and
after a short trial was convicted of heresy, deposed and excommunicated.
He now opened a school in order to support his family, but as an
excommunicated person he was inhibited from teaching youth. He then
commenced the practice of medicine, in which he had some skill, but the
archbishop forbade, and the result was that not knowing where to turn to
support his family, he fell into a settled melancholy and died. These
circumstances eventually made a deep impression on his children; and
they eagerly joined the parliamentary army, in which William Workman,
from whom the Canadian Workmans spring, held a commission, and was one
of those who met the charge of Prince Rupert on the field of Naseby.
This William served until 1648, when he went over to Ireland with Oliver
Cromwell; and on the close of the Irish campaign he retired from
military life, receiving as a reward for his services a grant of the two
town lands of Merlacoo, and two sizeacks in the county of Armagh. Of
these lands the old soldier held possession for only a short time. He
was in the midst of a hostile population, different in race and
religion, with bitter memories of defeat, and a passionate hunger for
vengeance, born of what they considered great wrongs. During Tyrconnel’s
administration he removed to county Down, near Donaghadee, whence he was
obliged to flee and shelter his old age behind the walls of Derry, soon
to be invested by King James’ army. He must have succumbed to the
appalling privations of the siege, as his name does not appear in the
history of an event which is so familiar in all its details. When at
last the besieging army, a long column of pikes and standards, was seen
retreating up the left bank of the Foyle, William Workman’s two sons and
their wives emerged from the war-scarred walls of Derry and settled in
the county of Antrim. One of the brothers settled at Brookend Mills,
near Coagh, whence he removed to Monymore, to take charge of the mill
there, and for more than a century this mill remained in charge of
successive generations of Workmans. Joseph Workman, the father of the
subject of our sketch, was the last of the family who resided at the
Monymore mill. This gentleman having made a visit of three years to the
United States, returned to Ireland and took up his abode at Ballymacash,
near the town of Lisburn, where his family, nine in number, were born,
all of whom ultimately came to Canada, and have left their mark on its
history. As will be seen from the above, the father of Joseph Workman
was of English descent, but his mother, Catharine Gondy, was descended
from a Scottish family. Joseph received his English education from a Mr.
Shields, and he was taught classics by J. Nealy, in Lisburn, Ulster, and
studied medicine in McGill College, Montreal. In 1836 he came to
Toronto, where he successfully practised his profession until July,
1853, when he was appointed by the government as medical superintendent
of the Asylum for the Insane at Toronto. This position he filled with
entire satisfaction until July, 1875, when he asked to be relieved of
the responsibility. And here we may say, Dr. Workman deserves well of
his adopted country, for no one could possibly have done more to bring
the institution over which he presided for so many years to a
comparative state of perfection, and to make the unfortunates under his
care more comfortable and happy. Dr. Workman is of a literary turn of
mind, and has contributed largely to various journals in the United
States and Canada. He is an associate member of several scientific
societies in Britain, Italy, the United States and Canada. He was one of
the commissioners appointed by the government to enquire into the
affairs of King’s College and Upper Canada College in 1848-50. In
religion the doctor may be styled a progressive liberal, and is willing
that all should search out the truth for themselves. He has generously
supported the Unitarian Church in Toronto from its infancy. In
consequence of close devotion to duty he has not been able to travel
much, yet he is very familiar with all parts of Canada. On the 30th May,
1835, he was married to Elizabeth Wassridge, a native of Sheffield,
England. This estimable lady died 16th May, 1885. The fruit of this
union has been six children, of whom three sons and two daughters now
survive.
* * * * *
=Campbell, George W.=, A.M., M.D., LL.D.—The late Dr. Campbell was born
in Roseneath, Dumbartonshire, Scotland, in 1810. He entered early on his
medical studies, which he pursued in the Universities of Glasgow and
Dublin. After graduating with distinction he came to Canada in May,
1833, and settled in Montreal. His marked ability soon placed him in the
front ranks of his profession, and gave him a large share of city
practice. The success following him naturally led to his being very
frequently called in consultation by his _confrères_, and for many years
before his death very few cases of any importance were treated in
Montreal without the advice of Dr. Campbell having been obtained. His
sound knowledge of pathology, and naturally clear insight into the
varying shades of distinction between clinical conditions apt to
resemble each other, made him an expert in diagnosis. Surgery was always
his _forte_, and his great reputation chiefly made by many successful
achievements in operative work. In 1835 Dr. Campbell was appointed to
the chair of surgery in McGill University, which position he continued
to hold with credit to himself and great advantage to the school until
1875—exactly forty years—when, owing to failing health, he resigned.
He was made dean of the faculty in 1860, taking then the place of the
late Dr. Holmes. The duties of this office he fulfilled even after his
resignation of the chair of surgery, and it was only in March, 1882,
that Prof. Howard was appointed acting dean in order to relieve him of
some necessary work and supply his place during temporary absences. For
nearly half a century Dr. Campbell’s name was identified with the
medical faculty of McGill University, and it was largely due to his
ability as a teacher of surgery that this school attained the high
degree of popularity which it has so long enjoyed. As its dean, he
always possessed the fullest confidence of his colleagues, and under his
able management its policy was always dignified and liberal, whilst
internal dissensions were entirely unknown. Dr. Campbell did not write
much for the medical journals. “Deeds, not words,” was his motto. But
his work as a successful teacher, and as a member of the corporation of
the university, led to the appropriate bestowal of the honorary degree
of LL.D. His style of lecturing was free from all oratorical effort, but
it was clear, forcible and impressive. Hundreds of practitioners
throughout this continent and elsewhere owe the foundations of their
surgical knowledge to Dr. Campbell’s early teaching. As the acknowledged
head of the profession in Montreal, he was often called upon to
entertain strangers and professional visitors, and most worthily did he
perform this duty. His house always held for such a true-hearted Scotch
reception, for he was a warm-hearted host, and his pleasant, cheery
manner, his sparkling reminiscences, his stores of learning always
bright, his animated conversation, made an evening spent in his company
always something to be remembered. He took great pleasure in seeing his
friends around him, and all know well the kindly and generous
hospitality which for years has been dispensed from his house by himself
and his talented family. For some years previous to his death Dr.
Campbell suffered from bronchitis, and was obliged to retire from active
practice and give himself more rest. He had also suffered from slight
attacks of pneumonia, and when in London, in 1882, on a visit, pneumonia
again set in, but being somewhat better, he went to Edinburgh, where,
however, more serious symptoms showed themselves, and he expired on the
30th of May of that year. The example of such a man as Dr. Campbell
cannot fail to be productive of great good. An accomplished physician
and skilful surgeon, an upright, honourable citizen, a kind and
considerate friend to the poor, a loved and honoured counsellor of the
rich, zealous in business but scrupulously honourable, a firm protector
of the dignity of his profession, and, above all, a thoroughly
consistent Christian gentleman.
* * * * *
=Coburn, George Hayward=, M.D., Physician and Surgeon, Fredericton, New
Brunswick, was born at Sheffield, Sunbury county, N.B., on the 10th
March, 1855. His parents were Moses Henry Coburn and Hepzibah Coburn. He
received his literary education at the Sunbury Grammar School, and at
the University of New Brunswick. Having chosen medicine as a profession,
he spent some years at the University of Pennsylvania, United States, in
study, with that end in view, and graduated from that institution with
honours in 1875. On his return to his native province he began the
practice of his profession, and has succeeded in building up a large
business. In 1883 Dr. Coburn was appointed health officer in
Fredericton, and still retains the position. In 1885 he was chosen a
member of the Board of Health for the same city; and in 1887 he was
chosen chairman of the board. During the same year he was appointed a
member of the Provincial Board of Health. In religion he is an adherent
of the Methodist church; and in politics is a Liberal. On the 19th June,
1878, he was married to Mary Gamble, of Philadelphia, U.S. Their family
consists of two children.
* * * * *
=Foster, James Gilbert=, Q.C., Barrister, Halifax, was born on the 13th
of June, 1839, at Aylesford, Kings county, Nova Scotia. His father,
Rufus Foster, was descended from a family of the United Empire
loyalists, who took refuge in Nova Scotia at the time of the American
revolution; and his mother, Christina Foster, was of Scotch descent,
having come when about seven years of age with her parents from
Scotland, and the family settled in the same province. James Foster
received a common school education, and studied law with the Hon.
Alexander James. On the 10th of May, 1864, Mr. Foster was admitted an
attorney-at-law and barrister, of her Majesty’s Supreme Court of
Judicature; and the 20th of May, 1865, he became a partner with Mr.
James in his legal business, and this partnership continued until Mr.
James was elevated, in January, 1877, to the Supreme Court of Nova
Scotia, as judge in Equity, when a dissolution took place. Mr. Foster
then took his brother, William R. Foster, into partnership with him, and
now the old business is carried on by the new firm. On the 23rd
February, 1867, he was appointed a notary public; and on the 9th of
October, 1878, he was made a Queen’s counsel by the Nova Scotia
government. In September, 1863, Mr. Foster was appointed first
lieutenant of the 6th regiment, Halifax county militia; and on the 19th
of June, 1865, was promoted to the captaincy of the 5th company of the
same corps. He attended the Military School of Instruction at Halifax,
and passed an examination, taking a second-class certificate for
candidates for commissions in the active militia, November 12th, 1869.
In August, 1883, he was appointed major in the reserve militia, of the
Nova Scotia regimental division of the county of Halifax, from No. 7
company division. From May, 1879 to May 1882, he held the office of
recorder and stipendiary magistrate of Dartmouth; and on the 29th of
May, 1879, was appointed justice of the peace for the county of Halifax.
On the 6th of July, 1884, he was made a commissioner for arranging and
preparing for the press, and indexing the fifth series of the Revised
Statutes of Nova Scotia; and in August, 1886, was appointed registrar of
the Court of Probate for the county of Halifax. From June, 1877, to
March, 1886, Mr. Foster held the position of vice-consul for the
Netherlands, at Halifax. During the years 1880 and 1881, he negotiated
with several railway syndicates, for the purpose of carrying out the
scheme for the amalgamation and completion of the Nova Scotia railways,
proposed by the Local government of the time; and in 1881, he was
authorized by Cyrus W. Field and associates, who were large owners of
the Pictou coal mines, to negotiate proposals for that purpose with the
Local government and the late Sir Hugh Allan, then owner of the Eastern
Extension Railway in Nova Scotia—one of the railways in question. The
government was, however, pledged to what was known as the Plunkett
syndicate, which, finally fell through, and the government was defeated
in the general elections of the following year, 1882. The policy of the
succeeding government being averse to the scheme for railway
amalgamation, and railway interests becoming in the meantime much
depressed, Mr. Field and his friends did not care to renew their
proposals. Mr. Foster was brought up and has always been a member of the
Church of England. He has represented the parish of Dartmouth, as a lay
delegate in the Synod of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward
Island, since April 13th, 1874; and on the 23rd of April, 1879, was made
one of the executive committee of the Synod. During the years 1877,
1883, and 1886, he represented the same diocese, as one of its delegates
in the Provincial Synod of Canada. Mr. Foster is a Liberal in politics;
and at the general election in 1882, was a candidate for the House of
Assembly of Nova Scotia, but failed to secure his election, having been
defeated by a trifling majority.
* * * * *
=Barker, Frederic Eustace=, M.A., D.C.L., Q.C., M.P., St. John, New
Brunswick. F. E. Barker is a native of Sheffield, in the county of
Sunbury, in the province of New Brunswick, where he was born on the 27th
December, 1838. His father, the late Enoch Barker, has been dead for
some years. The family settled in Sheffield at the time of the American
revolution, having before that resided in Massachusetts. Mr. Barker,
jr., was educated at the Sunbury Grammar School, principally under the
tuition of the Rev. George S. Milligan, M.A., now superintendent of
Education in Newfoundland. He matriculated at King’s College,
Fredericton (now the University of New Brunswick), in June, 1853, and
graduated as B.A. in June, 1856. At his degree examination the examiners
voluntarily recommended him for honours, which the College Council
accordingly granted. He was admitted to the degree of M.A. in June,
1858; B.C.L. in December, 1861; and D.C.L. in June, 1866. He took all
these degrees in regular course from the University of New Brunswick, an
institution in which he has always taken an active interest. Mr. Barker
was principally instrumental in the formation of “The Associated Alumni
of the University of N.B.,” was for some time president of that body,
and one of its representatives in the University Senate. He is also one
of the Civil Law Examiners for this University. In June, 1856, Mr.
Barker was entered as a law student with the late Justice Fisher, then a
practising barrister at Fredericton. In June, 1860, he was admitted an
attorney of the Supreme Court, and a year later he was called to the
bar; and in April, 1873, he was appointed a Q.C. by the Dominion
government. Mr. Barker commenced practice at Grand Falls, in New
Brunswick, but only remained there a few months, when he removed to the
city of St. John, where he has since resided and practised. In 1863, he
formed a partnership with the present Justice Wetmore (then one of the
leaders of the N.B. bar), which continued until that gentleman went on
the bench in 1870. In 1875, Mr. Barker was appointed by the Provincial
government one of the commissioners for consolidating the Statutes of
New Brunswick. Mr. Barker at one time took an active interest in militia
matters. In May, 1864, he was gazetted ensign; in August of the same
year lieutenant; in February, 1865, captain, and in July, 1868, major in
the St. John city Light Infantry. He has been for many years one of the
benchers and a member of the council of the Barristers’ Society of N.B.,
and a member of the council of the St. John Law Society. He is now
vice-president of the Barristers’ Society; president of the St. John
Bridge and Railway Extension Company, and one of the directors of the
St. John Gas Company. Mr. Barker has always belonged to what is now
known as the Liberal-Conservative party in politics. When the retirement
of Sir Leonard Tilley, in October, 1885, caused a vacancy in the
representation for the city of St. John in the House of Commons, Mr.
Barker was almost unanimously elected as the Liberal-Conservative
candidate by a large and influential committee nominated to choose a
candidate; and at the election which took place on 24th November, 1885,
he was elected to the House of Commons by a majority of 112, about the
same as that usually obtained by Sir Leonard, his predecessor. Mr.
Barker is a member of the Church of England. He has at times visited the
chief cities in Great Britain, United States and Canada. He was married
(first) at St. John, in October, 1865, to Elizabeth Julia, daughter of
the late Edward Lloyd, of the R. E. civil staff, who died in January,
1874; and (second) to Mary Ann, daughter of the late B. E. Black, of
Halifax, and niece and adopted daughter of the late Justice Wilmot, who
was the first lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick after confederation.
By the first marriage Mr. Barker has one son and two daughters, and by
the latter two daughters.
* * * * *
=Murphy, Owen=, Quebec, M.P.P. for Quebec West, was born at Stoneham, in
the province of Quebec, on 9th December, 1829. He is descended from a
long line of illustrious ancestors, as may be seen on referring to the
“Chronicles of Leinster.” This authority says; “The O’Murphys, the
O’Murchoes, or Murphy, are descended from Henry Feling, chieftain of the
Murroes, now called Macamores, in the Barony of Ballaghkeen, in the
county of Wexford. They were in possession of it before the English
invasion. This Feling was son of Cuma-Kinsellagh, King of Leinster, in
the fifth century. The head of the family, in 1634, lived in
Tubberlimmach. He was Connell O’Murchoe, gentleman, the eldest son of
Donnell More, ‘The O’Murchoe,’ son of Art, son of Tiege. This Connell
died in 1634, and was buried in Castle Ellis [the burial-place of Mr.
Murphy’s family in the county of Wexford.—ED.]. He left five sons:
Tiege was the eldest, he remained in Wexford; also James, who possessed
an estate in Killincoolly, taken from him by Cromwell. Art went to
county Louth in 1641; his descendants remained in the north. Another,
named Laughlin, lived in Ballyoughna.” The Murphys of Ballainonlart
House, in Wexford, have been known for generations as one of the most
popular families in that district, and we believe we are correct in
affirming that Owen Murphy’s father was the only member of the family
who settled in this country, which he did in the early part of the
present century. Many people still living in the city of Quebec remember
well the generous and liberal spirit that at all times actuated him, and
this, combined with his peculiarly rich attainments and cultivated mind,
rendered him a highly popular citizen, and when death came, caused him
to be greatly regretted. None the less eminent were his three brothers,
all of whom attained for themselves very high ecclesiastical honors and
dignity, one of whom being for many years bishop of Ferns, in Ireland.
Owen Murphy was educated under Robert H. Scott, of Edinburgh, a
gentleman of high culture, with a reputation far above ordinary as a
tutor. His commercial training was received in the offices of Ross,
Shuter & Co., and H. J. Noad & Co., two of the most important lumber,
ship-owning, produce and milling firms then in the city or province of
Quebec. Mr. Murphy’s aptitude and zeal in his profession gained for him
the commendation of his employers, and the result was that he soon
became not only a favourite with them, but with the public generally. He
was elected to serve in the city council, as representative for St.
Paul’s ward, the most important business section of the city, and for
several years faithfully served the citizens in that capacity. In 1874,
as a mark of the high esteem in which he was held, he was chosen mayor
of the ancient capital; and as a further mark of esteem he was again, in
1876, elected for another term of two years. During the period he
occupied the position of chief magistrate he exhibited such zeal for the
city’s welfare that on his retirement from office he carried with him
the esteem and best wishes of his fellow citizens. And here we may say
that the improvements suggested by Lord Dufferin, when he was
governor-general of Canada, and which have made Quebec one of the most
beautiful places for the tourist in which to spend a few days, were
suggested when Mr. Murphy was mayor, and through combined efforts they
were carried out to a successful conclusion. In August, 1875, while Mr.
Murphy was mayor of Quebec, he paid a visit to Britain, and of course to
the land of his forefathers. The Wexford _Independent_ thus kindly
alludes to the event:
THE MAYOR OF QUEBEC AT WEXFORD.—This respected functionary,
accompanied by the mayoress of Quebec, arrived here on Saturday
last from Dublin. His worship is staying at the West Gate Hotel,
and is a nephew of the late Right Rev. Dr. Murphy, the estimable
and lamented bishop of the diocese, the truly apostolic divine,
the scholar, and in every sense the well-bred Irish gentleman.
He is also a nephew of the _ci-devant_ pastor of Castlecomer, in
the diocese of Ossary, the late Very Reverend Lawrence Murphy,
and of the late Rev. Michael Murphy, for many years the zealous
collaborateur of Father Corrin in the pastoral charge of
Wexford. Although born on a foreign soil, Mr. Murphy ardently
loves the land of his ancestors—not with wild and misdirected
enthusiasm, but like his estimable uncles, with judgment,
discretion and sincerity; and in saying that he has inherited
many of their distinguished characteristics, we pay him the
highest compliment in our power to bestow. At the great
international banquet given by the corporation of London
(England) lately to the great municipal chiefs of the whole
civilized world, the mayor of Quebec was chosen to return
thanks, not only for the Dominion of Canada, but for the
municipalities of the United States, and the other rising
nations of the western world.
Mr. Murphy is a justice of the peace for the city and district of
Quebec; a director of the Quebec Central Railroad; has been president of
the St. Patrick’s Society; president of St. Patrick’s Literary Society;
for four years president of the Quebec Turf Club, and was one of the
committee of management of St. Patrick’s Church, prior to the change
being made in the temporal administration of that church. In 1880 he was
elected president of the Quebec Board of Trade, and the following year
was again unanimously elected for another term. At the general election
held in 1866 he was elected to represent Quebec West in the local
legislature. In politics he is a Liberal, but is in favour of the
national policy. In religion he is an adherent of the Roman Catholic
church. He was married in 1857 to Elizabeth, daughter of the late James
Loughry.
* * * * *
=Smith, Rev. H. Percy W.=, Rector of St. Paul’s Church, Dunnville,
Ontario, was born at Islington, London, England, on the 13th September,
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