A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose
1886. He is also a member of the Board of Management of the Church
7548 words | Chapter 69
Educational Society, and lay treasurer of the fund for supernumerary
ministers. In 1886 he was elected vice-president for the province of New
Brunswick of the American Institute of Christian Philosophy. Dr. Inch
was married in 1854 to Mary Alice Dunn, of Keswick, York county, and has
one daughter, now the wife of Prof. Sidney W. Hunton, of Mount Allison
University.
* * * * *
=Evanturel, Francis Eugene Alfred=, LL.B., St. Victor d’Alfred, M.P.P.
for Prescott, was born at Quebec, on 31st August, 1849. He is the eldest
son of the Hon. Francis Evanturel, who was minister of agriculture in
the Macdonald-Sicotte administration in 1862. His grandfather, François
Evanturel, after serving in the French army under Napoleon Bonaparte,
when he took part in some of his great battles, emigrated to Canada and
settled in Quebec, where he died. Mr. Evanturel received his education
at the Seminary of Quebec, and after completing his classical studies at
that institution, followed the law course of Laval University, graduated
B.A. and LL.B. in 1870, and was admitted to the bar of the province of
Quebec in January, 1872. He then entered into partnership with the late
Judge McCord, and they practised for a year under the firm name of
McCord & Evanturel. At that period he was offered a position in the
civil service at Ottawa; he accepted and removed to the latter city,
where he remained for several years. During his residence in Ottawa he
took a prominent part in the organization of the Institut-Canadien and
St. Jean Baptiste Society. He was elected school trustee in 1874, for
the most important ward—Wellington—of Ottawa, and held the position
for two years. In 1878 he resigned his position in the civil service and
removed to Prescott county, where the French population was fast coming
to the front, and had no interpreter before the public and the courts.
In 1883 he presented himself to the electorate of the county of
Prescott, for the Provincial legislature, against Mr. Hagar, the old
member, and was defeated by a few votes. At the last general election,
however (December, 1886), he again entered the field against James
Molloy, and was elected by a majority of 200, as a supporter of the
Mowat administration. Mr. Evanturel had always been a supporter of the
Tory party until that period, but the savage attacks of the _Mail_ upon
the French Canadians and the Catholics of the country, coupled with the
intolerance and bigotry displayed by a certain portion of the population
of Ontario, caused him to sever his connection with the Conservatives,
and become an out-and-out Liberal. He did effective work in the county
of Ottawa during the by-election held in that county in September, 1887,
and it was largely due to his exertions that Mr. Rochon, mayor of Hull,
was elected to the legislature of Quebec by an immense majority (over
1,200), as a supporter of the Mercier cabinet. Mr. Evanturel, who is a
distinguished English scholar, and an eloquent and forcible speaker, had
the honor to be chosen by the Hon. Mr. Mowat to second the address in
reply to the speech from the Throne, at the opening of the session of
1887, of the Ontario legislature. The speech he delivered on this
occasion was highly praised, even by the newspapers which are the
bitterest foes of the race he so ably represents in the legislature. A
couple of obscure sheets tried to cast aspersions on his able effort,
and yet the manly and independent stand he took forced the admiration of
all, and he was accorded “British fair play,” in the broadest sense of
the term, by almost the entire community of Ontario. He was also greatly
admired for his attitude on the _home rule_ question when it was brought
up in the legislature during the same session. Having inherited the
chivalrous nature of his ancestors, he could not see a people oppressed
without raising his voice on their behalf. Mr. Evanturel has a bright
future before him, and the capabilities he displayed on the threshold of
his parliamentary career will soon bring him to the front rank of the
able politicians of the country, and he will thus enjoy the pre-eminence
attained by his father in Canadian politics. He was invited by the
French societies of the counties of Essex, Russell, Glengarry, etc., to
deliver orations on important occasions. As a writer, Mr. Evanturel is
well known, having contributed several articles on political topics to
the English and French press, and at the present time he is
editor-in-chief of _L’Interpréte_, a newspaper published at Alfred,
Ontario, in the interests of the French population of Eastern Ontario.
In 1873 he married Louisa Lee, granddaughter of the late Justice Van
Felson, judge of the Superior Court for the district of Montreal, by
whom he has issue two children, one son and one daughter.
* * * * *
=Jolliffe, Rev. William John=, B.C.L., Methodist Minister, Quebec city,
was born in Liskeard, Cornwall, England, on the 22nd December, 1846. His
father, John Jolliffe, who was born in Liskeard, was reared in the
Church of England, but when a young man joined the Methodist
denomination. His mother, Ann Berbeck Vyvyan, was a native of Plymouth,
in Devonshire, England. She died in 1873. The Rev. Mr. Jolliffe’s
father, intending his son to follow business, educated him in the public
and private schools of his native place, the former of which he left
when thirteen years of age. But young Jolliffe, having a strong
impression that he would some day enter the ministry, and, being very
fond of reading, his further studies were pursued with that end in view.
On his eighteenth birthday he preached his first sermon. While preparing
to enter the ministry in England he was induced by the late Rev. Mr.
Saunders, then of Oshawa, Ontario, who was at that time on a visit to
Britain, to come out to Canada. Accordingly he left his native land, and
landed in Quebec in November, 1868. Proceeding west he was appointed a
junior preacher in the Bowmanville circuit, the Rev. Richard Whiting,
now an ex-president of the Montreal Conference, being his first
superintendent. He was ordained in London, Ontario, in June, 1873, the
Rev. Dr. Rice being the president of the conference. While stationed in
Montreal the Rev. Mr. Jolliffe entered McGill University as a law
student, and graduated in 1882 with the degree of B.C.L. For some time
he was stationed at Coaticooke, a growing town in the Eastern Townships,
province of Quebec; and is now pastor of the Methodist Church in the
ancient capital. He is also chairman of the Quebec district. The Rev.
Mr. Jolliffe, we have no hesitation in saying, is a minister of very
superior abilities, “rightly dividing” and clearly expounding the Word
of God. He has been highly esteemed in every station he has occupied,
and may be considered in every respect a fine example of what a
Christian minister should be—faithful to duty, and most courteous in
his intercourse with all classes of the community. He has been active in
all good works, especially in the temperance movement, and been
connected with the Sons of Temperance and the Good Templars. In politics
he has always voted for the _man_ and not the _party_. While in England
he was allied with the Liberal party, and would still be if he were
residing there, but in Canada his sympathies incline to the Conservative
party. Rev. Mr. Jolliffe has two brothers in the Methodist ministry: the
Rev. C. E. Jolliffe, now stationed in England, and the Rev. E. Jolliffe,
a missionary in British Honduras. While a strong believer in the
doctrines of the Methodist church, the Rev. Mr. Jolliffe is in favor of
the extension of the pastoral term, and believes, as many others also
do, that it would be in the interests of the church as a whole if the
time-honored system of frequent changes were abolished. He was married
on the 8th of July, 1874, to Clara Robinson, fifth daughter of Isaac
Robinson, of Toronto.
* * * * *
=Armstrong, Hon. James=, Q.C., C.M.G., Sorel, province of Quebec, son of
Charles Logie Armstrong, descendant of a United Empire loyalist, and of
Marjory Ferguson, daughter of Alexander Ferguson, of Restigouche,
district of Gaspé, was born at Berthier, province of Quebec, in 1821. He
was educated at Berthier and Sorel academies, and called to the Quebec
bar, 1844. Mr. Armstrong was appointed Crown prosecutor for the district
of Richelieu in 1864, and as such conducted the trial of Provencher, for
the murder of Joutras, poisoned by strychnine, being the first case
actually tried for such an offence in Canada, and when the “color test”
of Messrs. Girdwood & Rogers was established. The _Evening Telegraph_ of
the 15th April, 1867, referring to the celebrated trial, said: “The
crime was clearly proved on a trial of unusual length. We mention the
matter particularly now to express in a marked manner our appreciation
of the way in which the case was got up and conducted throughout for the
Crown. Having followed it day by day, and carefully gone over the
evidence since, we feel justified in saying that there has not been
these twenty years in Lower Canada a criminal case of the magnitude and
difficulty so carefully and thoroughly prepared, and so completely and
convincingly placed before the jury. If it lacked the fire-work flashes
of eloquence, to which too many criminal lawyers trust, it showed at
every step of its long course the true genius, intelligence directing
patient labor in mastering every difficulty, seeking for, finding, and
welding into one chain the many far scattered and deep hidden links of
evidence.” He was appointed chief justice of St. Lucia, West Indies,
1871, where the old French law was in force, and in 1880 to the chief
justiceship of Tobago, which he held, conjointly with that of St. Lucia.
He was created a companion of the most distinguished order of Saint
Michael and Saint George in 1879. He is author of a “Treatise on the Law
of Marriage of the Province of Quebec,” and of the “Law of Intestacy of
the Dominion” (1886). In conjunction with Sir George William Desveaux,
then governor, he prepared the civil code of St. Lucia, based in a great
measure upon that of Quebec in civil matters, and succeeded in having
laws passed by the legislature, enacting that the laws of England should
prevail in commercial and criminal matters. He afterwards prepared a
code of civil procedure. He received the thanks of the Legislative
Council of St. Lucia “for the great service rendered by him in the
preparation of the codes.” He resigned office in December, 1881. The
governor, in announcing this to the Legislature, said: “He regretted to
have to inform the Council that he had received a despatch from the
Secretary of State, notifying him of the retirement of Chief Justice
Armstrong, which he considered would be a serious loss to the colony.”
The Legislature passed a vote of thanks embodying the opinion of the
governor. In a despatch to the Earl of Kimberley, the governor wrote: “I
cannot close this despatch without placing on record my appreciation of
the invaluable services rendered to the colony by Mr. Armstrong during
his term of office of chief justice,” and after mentioning Mr.
Armstrong’s labors on the code and revision of the statutes, added:
“Measures such as these will stamp Mr. Armstrong’s term of office as one
which, whilst reflecting the greatest credit upon himself, will be
remembered in this island as the inauguration of a new and more simple
machinery for the administration of law and justice.” Mr. Armstrong was
appointed, in 1886, by the Dominion government, a member of the
commission for the purpose, among others, of inquiring into and
reporting upon the subject of labor, its relation to capital, and to
inquire into and report on the practical operations of courts of
arbitration and conciliation in the settlement of disputes between
employers and employees, and the best mode of settling disputes. He is
married to Charlotte, daughter of the late Major Hercule Olivier, who
was wounded in the engagement at Plattsburg, in 1812.
* * * * *
=Steeves, Chipman Archibald=, Barrister, Moncton, New Brunswick, was
born at Hillsborough, N.B., on the 28th of January, 1880. His father,
Joseph A. Steeves, was descended from a German family, formerly called
“Steiff,” a common name in Germany, who, after leaving Fatherland,
resided for some time in Pennsylvania, and then made their home in New
Brunswick a few years before the arrival of the U. E. loyalists. His
mother, Rebecca Taylor, is of Irish descent, her people having come from
the north of Ireland. Mr. Steeves was educated at the public schools in
Albert county, and at the Baptist Seminary in Fredericton; and studied
law with the present Judge Palmer, at St. John, N.B. He was admitted an
attorney on the 21st October, 1876. In September, 1878, Mr. Steeves was
appointed by the Mackenzie government official assignee under the
Insolvency Act of 1875, for the county of Westmoreland, and this office
he held until the repeal of the law. At present he is one of the school
trustees for the town of Moncton, and is also a member of the Moncton
town council. From early youth he has been connected with the temperance
movement, though at this moment he is not a member of any of the
existing temperance organizations. Mr. Steeves has travelled,
accompanied by his wife, through portions of the United States and
Europe, and has visited Rome and Naples, and been up Vesuvius and down
into the Catacombs. He was brought up in the Baptist faith, and is a
member of the Baptist church. On the 15th November, 1877, he was
married, at St. John, N.B., to a daughter of Dr. W. Y. Theal, formerly
of that city. This lady has a number of brothers and sisters, one of
whom, George M. Theal, resides in, and fills a government position at,
Cape Town, South Africa, and has written and published several works on
the history, geography, and folk-lore of Africa, which have been adopted
and used in public schools. Mr. Steeves has two brothers, who are
masters of British iron steamers, and one sister, who is married, and
resides in St. John, N.B.
* * * * *
=Bourinot, John George=, LL.D., Ottawa, Honorary Secretary of the Royal
Society of Canada, Fellow of the Statistical Society of London, Honorary
Corresponding Secretary of the Royal Colonial Institute, Clerk of the
House of Commons, Canada, and author of several important works and
essays, was born at Sydney, Nova Scotia, on the 24th of October, 1836.
He is a son of the late Hon. J. Bourinot, senator of the Dominion, and
grandson of Judge Marshall, of Nova Scotia. His mother was a daughter of
the late Judge Marshall, well-known as an advocate of temperance, and
for his works on religious and social topics. His father’s family came
originally from Normandy, were Huguenots, and settled in the Island of
Jersey. The Marshalls were Irish originally. The father of Judge
Marshall was a captain in the British army, and a loyalist. In his early
days Mr. Bourinot received his intellectual training under the tutorship
of the Rev. W. Y. Porter, at Sydney. The preceptor saw much promise in
the lad, and often spoke highly of his quickness and perception, and of
the strength of his intellectual grasp. When this period of tutorship
was over, his father conceived the idea of sending him to the University
of Trinity College, Toronto. At college young Bourinot distinguished
himself, and he always was a prominent figure in his class. His industry
frequently called forth admiration; and he secured the Wellington and
other scholarships. When he left college he could not easily decide upon
a calling. It was with the young graduate as it has been with all men
possessed of a pervading literary instinct. He was restive, and looked
with dissatisfaction at any course of life that promised only a drudgery
and a routine, removed from the dear aspiration that was in him. The
newspaper press has always afforded a sort of escapement for literary
yearning; and as was quite natural to expect, to the newspaper press the
young man attached himself in the meantime. He became parliamentary
reporter and editor, continuing in such position for some time.
Subsequently, in 1860, he established the Halifax _Reporter_, and was
chief editor of that journal for a number of years. From 1861 to the
year of confederation, Mr. Bourinot was likewise chief official reporter
of the Nova Scotia Assembly. In 1863 he was appointed to the Senate as
shorthand writer, and this office he retained until appointed second
clerk assistant of the House of Commons, in April, 1873. In February,
1879, he was appointed first clerk assistant, and on the 18th of
December, 1880, he became chief clerk of the House of Commons. Through
the greater part of his life Mr. Bourinot has been a tireless literary
worker, and his articles are remembered by all who take an interest in
the discussion of important public questions. His essay on the
“Intellectual Development of Canada,” which appeared in the pages of the
“Canadian Monthly,” was a careful, elaborate and valuable treatise on
the intellectual development of the colonies as an unwedded brotherhood,
and of Canada subsequent to the union. He has contributed to many
leading papers of this continent, to the Toronto _Mail_ in its
inception, and to the New York _World_. He was for years one of the best
known contributors to the “Canadian Monthly.” His desire has always been
to create a love for Canadian subjects. He has contributed papers to the
Royal Colonial Institute, which have attracted much attention. One of
these papers, which referred to the federation of the empire, was deemed
so important that Justin McCarthy devoted a whole chapter of his
“History of our Times” to its consideration. An article in “Blackwood”
(to which he has been one of the very few Canadian contributors), on the
“Progress of the New Dominion,” was reviewed by the London _Times_ as
“the best article that has yet appeared on the subject in a British
periodical.” He has also written other papers in the “Westminster
Review,” the “London Quarterly,” the “Scottish Review,” and other
leading British periodicals, with the view of making Canada better known
to the British world. A monograph on “Local Government in Canada,” which
appeared in 1886, attracted much attention in England and Canada, and
was reprinted in the series of historical and political science, which
is published by the Johns Hopkins University, Maryland. Of late years he
has devoted his leisure time for the most part to constitutional and
parliamentary studies, and has written a large work on “The Practice and
Procedure of Parliament, with a review of the origin and growth of
parliamentary institutions in the Dominion of Canada,” which has been
most favorably reviewed in England and Canada, and has already been
accepted as a constitutional authority in every dependency of the Crown.
The London _Times_, in a three-column review, wrote most approvingly of
the work, and the Australian press has also noticed it in very
eulogistic terms. Mr. Bourinot is an advocate of the grand idea of
Imperial Federation, and a member of the executive committee appointed
at a public meeting in Montreal, in May, 1885, with the object of
promoting the scheme. In April, 1887, Mr. Bourinot received the honorary
degree of LL.D. from Queen’s University, Kingston. Mr. Bourinot was
married in October, 1865, to Emily Alden Pilsbury, daughter of the
American consul at Halifax, who was distinguished for her remarkable
beauty and many accomplishments. She died in September, 1887, amid the
regrets of a very large circle of friends. She belonged to a well-known
family of Maine, which is connected with that of the famous Governor
Endicott, who played so important a part in the annals of the old
colonial times of New England.
* * * * *
=Moles, Robert George=, Arnprior, Ontario, was born in the township of
Yonge, county of Leeds, on the 7th October, 1845. He is the youngest son
of the late Edward Moles, Leeds county. Mr. Moles received his education
in the public school of his township; and in 1866 he began business as a
photographer in the city of Hamilton, and remained there until 1868,
when he removed to Arnprior, in which place he has since resided and
built up a good business. In 1873 he established the Art Union Copying
Company, of which he was manager for several years; and did a large
business throughout Canada in copying and enlarging portraits for the
trade. In 1874 Mr. Moles took an active part in the establishment of
Vivian lodge, No. 146, Independent Order of Oddfellows, of which he was
a charter member, and was four times elected to represent it in the
Grand Lodge of Ontario. He is also an active Freemason, and for several
years held the position of master in Madawaska lodge, No. 196. Mr. Moles
has been a member of the Arnprior Board of Education for the past
fifteen years; and in 1884 and 1885 occupied a seat in the municipal
council. In January, 1886, he was chosen reeve of Arnprior, and occupied
the position with honour to himself and credit to the town. He has
always been closely identified with every enterprise which has had for
its object the improvement and advancement of the place in which he
resides, and his fellow-citizens duly appreciate his work. In politics
Mr. Moles is a Conservative, and is secretary of the South Renfrew
Conservative Association. On the 20th March, 1866, he was married to
Mary, youngest daughter of John Burgess, Hamilton, and has a family of
six children, four daughters and two sons.
* * * * *
=Doney, Charles=, Merchant, Ottawa, province of Ontario, was born at
Lannevet, in Cornwall, England, on the 10th March, 1854. His father,
William Doney, was one of the earliest railway contractors in Great
Britain, and aided in the construction of most of the trunk lines in the
west of England. He is at present one of the twenty-five individuals who
receive a life pension from the Railway Association of Officers in Great
Britain as a reward for distinguished railway services. This pension is
granted by a majority of votes from the railway officers throughout the
kingdom. His mother, Elizabeth Hawke, is descended from one of the
oldest families and landed proprietors of Cornwall; her father being
Thomas Hawke, of Tintagel, whose father was Thomas Hawke, of St. Kew.
They owned estates in different parts of the county, and carried on
business at (1) the Pollard Tucking Mills, weaving blankets; (2) the St.
Tudy flouring mills; (3) the Polrade farms and the Soloden’s farm in the
parish of St. Tudy; (4) the Trevilla farm in the parish of St. Teath;
(5) the Fenteonadel farm, in the parish of St. Brewevard; (6) the Tippen
farm, in the parish of Tintagel, near King Arthur’s castle; and (7) the
Beslow farm, in the parish of Tintagel. Mr. Doney’s parents now reside
in Plymouth, England. Charles Doney, the subject of our sketch, being of
an adventurous and speculative turn of mind, decided against his
parents’ wishes, to leave his native land, and sailed for America.
Arriving in Canada on the 2nd of February, 1874, he went direct to the
city of Ottawa, where he filled a humble position until November of the
same year, when he decided to prepare himself for a commercial career.
Entering the Ottawa Business College, after three months’ study, the
shortest on record, he graduated, receiving a diploma. He then received
the position of book-keeper and assistant manager of the Clarendon
Hotel, Ottawa. He remained here nine months, and then was appointed,
through the introduction of the late Hon. James Skead, caterer to the
Senate of Canada. At the same time he received the appointment of
steward of the steamer _Queen Victoria_, of the Ottawa River Navigation
Company, which gave him employment during the summer months. Two years
after the _Queen Victoria_ was destroyed by fire, and then he made use
of his time by travelling through the Western States and Canada, and
spent some months studying the French language in the College of Ste.
Thérèse, in the province of Quebec. In 1881 he resigned his position as
caterer to the Senate for the purpose of entering into business as a
retail shoe merchant, and opened a store at 65 Sparks street, Ottawa,
where after three years he removed to his new and handsome store in the
Scottish Ontario Chambers, 52 Sparks street. Within six years after this
he placed himself at the head of the shoe business in Ottawa, being now
president of the Ottawa Shoe Company, and proprietor of the store in the
Scottish Ontario Chambers, which is recognized as being the leading shoe
establishment in Ottawa. As a merchant, for his years, and without any
other aid or capital to start him in his Canadian career, save youth and
energy, he has certainly been remarkably successful; but as a writer he
stands out unique. The talents which make a successful trader and those
which tend to success in the field of literature are generally supposed
to be diametrically opposed to each other, and they really are; yet he
has demonstrated beyond dispute that he is possessed of both. In 1881 he
started out in his career as a trader; in 1887 he is the recognized
leader in his city of his particular line of trade. In May, 1886, he
entered the field of “trade” literature in the United States. To-day,
1887, he is recognized and has fairly earned the recognition of being
the first and best writer throughout the continent of America among shoe
merchants. In the early part of 1886 the publishers of the _Boot and
Shoe Recorder_, of Boston, the leading shoe paper of the United States,
offered three prizes, first, second, and third, for the best essays from
shoe merchants, on “How to Manage a Retail Shoe Store.” Mr. Doney was
the first to reply, sending in his essay within four days after the
prizes were offered. The _Recorder_ acknowledged the receipt of the
essay with many compliments, and decided to publish it in their next
issue, May 19, 1886. From this day it can be fairly claimed that Mr.
Doney has been famous throughout America as a writer upon shoe topics,
and his name is continually in the ascendency. This competition went on
for over five months, and although all the other writers had the
advantage of reading Mr. Doney’s essay, and the president of the Shoe
Dealers’ Association of the United States was among the competitors, yet
by vote throughout the United States and Canada, the shoe merchants
awarded Mr. Doney the first prize, giving to their president the second.
The _Boot and Shoe Recorder_ on June 8, 1887, forwarded to him a
beautiful silver tea and coffee service of six pieces in recognition of
first prize. Inscribed on the coffee pot are the words, “Presented to C.
Doney for Prize Essay, 1886.” Mr. Doney is the only known shoe merchant
holding a prize for a similar effort or for any other production in the
field of literature throughout America. In his youth he always found
pleasure in writing upon subjects beyond his years. When a boy of
fourteen he wrote for self-amusement an essay upon the “Lord’s Supper,”
which obtained quite a circulation among his private circle. During the
time he held the position of caterer to the Senate, about 1877, he wrote
a small temperance novel of one hundred pages, and published it some
five years after it was written, its title being “John the Flunky.” This
little work has many faults, some of them slightly ridiculous; but the
book, as a boy’s mere free will effort, shows the bent of the author’s
mind and undoubted mental capacity. He has completed a second novel
which he intends to publish in 1888, and as G. W. Bengough has consented
to illustrate it, we may infer that it is at least creditable. It will
make a book of 244 pages, and with illustrations by Mr. Bengough, will
become a volume of 275 pages. Its title is “David Morrice; or the
Reunion of the Races.” Mr. Doney is a constant contributor to the _Boot
and Shoe Recorder_, of Boston; the _Shoe and Leather Review_, of
Chicago, and occasionally to _The Merchant_, of Toronto, and _Leather
Gazette_, of St. Louis. The _Review_, of Chicago, pays him regularly for
editorials for its shoe dealers’ department. As an inventor he is the
possessor of two patents; one for a plate for the heel of a rubber shoe
which it is generally conceded will bring him good returns. It is a
simple device, but being a universal want in a climate such as Canada
possesses, it has the merit of being an excellent commercial idea. The
other is a plate for the heel of a leather boot or shoe. This plate will
also in all probability become much used, as it is decidedly the best of
its kind ever invented. We think it is not too much to predict for Mr.
Doney a successful career.
* * * * *
=Longworth, Hon. John=, Q.C., Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of
Prince Edward Island. The Hon. Mr. Longworth, who died at Charlottetown,
on the 11th of April, 1885, in the seventy-first year of his age, was
born in Charlottetown, on the 19th September, 1814, and was a son of
Francis Longworth, who came to the island when a young man, and during
his residence there held many important and responsible offices. He was
a member of a highly respectable Irish family, and married Agnes Auld, a
native of Prince Edward Island, her parents being from Ayrshire,
Scotland. Hon. Mr. Longworth received his education at the old Central
Academy, Charlottetown, and studied law with Sir Robert Hodgson, when he
was attorney-general of the province. He was admitted as an attorney of
the Supreme Court in the autumn of 1837, and was called to the bar in
the autumn of the next year. He went to England for a year, and
returning to Charlottetown, opened a law office there in 1840, and was
created a Queen’s counsel on the 23rd of May, 1863. He served as a
deputy judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court of the province, a member of
the legislature for twelve years, a member of the government for eight
years, at various times, as Queen’s counsel, and as attorney-general,
with credit to himself and advantage to the country. The administration
of which he was an influential member, first led by the Hon. Edward
Palmer, now chief justice of the province, afterwards by the Hon.
Colonel Gray, C.M.G., was a strong and able one, and during its
existence many measures of great importance to the well being of the
province were carried into effect. Amongst them was the purchase by the
government of the Selkirk and Cunard estates, two of the largest and
most valuable estates in the province, made upon terms highly favourable
to the interests of the government and tenantry; and as a mark of the
Queen’s approval of the general policy of the administration, Mr.
Longworth and his colleagues, on their retirement in May, 1867, received
Her Majesty’s special sanction and authority to retain the rank and
title which they held as members of Her Executive Council. Mr.
Longworth’s politics were Conservative, but it is well known that the
acts and legislation of the present Dominion government, especially in
connection with the Pacific Railway, and its trade or national policy,
did not meet his approval, this policy being especially, in Mr.
Longworth’s opinion, highly detrimental to the most vital interests of
Prince Edward Island and the other Maritime provinces. The deceased
gentleman was well known as a consistent and devoted member of St.
Paul’s, Church of England. He was a man of sound Christian character,
generous impulses, a kind friend to the unfortunate, and his career as a
public and private member to the community, won for him the warm respect
of all who had the pleasure of being intimately acquainted with him. He
married in March, 1847, Elizabeth W. Tremaine, daughter of Richard
Tremaine, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and by her had six children, of whom
three died. He left a widow, two sons and one daughter to mourn his
loss.
* * * * *
=Hossack, William=, of Mount Pleasant, Quebec, was born in the ancient
capital, on the 12th January, 1814, and has continued to reside there
ever since. He is the eldest of twelve children of the late William
Hossack, who for so many years was engaged in the grocery trade in
Quebec. The Hossacks came to Quebec from Morayshire, Scotland, about the
middle of last century, though their origin is Danish. For several
generations the name has been a prominent one in Quebec in connection
with the grocery trade, the family business being still in the hands of
a member of the family, George Hossack, of Garden street. The subject of
our sketch, after receiving a good English and commercial education at
old Mr. Thom’s Academy, became associated with his father in business,
and continued with him until he was in a position to start in life for
himself. His first venture was in the leather trade, but the great fire
of Quebec in 1845, which destroyed millions worth of property, destroyed
Hossack’s tannery and warehouse, involving the young and enterprising
owner of it in what seemed at one time the commercial ruin of the city.
Nothing daunted, however, the young merchant set to work to recruit his
fallen fortunes. A short time after the terrible calamity which befell
his native city, he once more took to his father’s line of business, and
soon forgot his first commercial drawback in the prosperity which began
to smile on his new enterprise. After many years of close attention to
his business, he eventually found himself in a position to retire on a
competency. His inclinations had always been those of a careful reader
of books and events, and now, when he found leisure on his hands, even
while he had but yet attained to the prime of life, he determined to
travel in Europe and Egypt, where for months he passed from city to
city, visiting the scenes of historic interest, and deepening the
impressions gained of such by desultory study. Even while busily engaged
with his daily occupations as a business man, he was known to be one who
was fond of what people call heavy reading; and he was now able to
mature his native intelligence within the broader and deeper light of a
personal experience with the scenes of which he had read. On his return
to Quebec he began to take an active part in public affairs. For eight
years he represented St. Louis ward in the city council, and was at the
end of that period chosen mayor of Quebec, an office, however, which he
held only for a short period, on account of some legal technicality in
connection with his residing beyond the city limits. In addition to this
high honor conferred upon him by his fellow councillors, he was for some
time president of the St. Andrew’s Society, president of the Eastern
Townships Colonization Society, and vice-president of the Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Few men have been more highly
respected as a public man. Straightforward in his dealings, he has
easily won and retained the confidence of those associated with him in
conducting public business. At present he is president of the Quebec
City Mission; vice-president of the Literary and Historical Society, and
chairman of the Protestant Board of School Commissioners. These offices
he has held for a long period of years. For fifteen years he fulfilled
the duties of treasurer of Chalmers’ Church, Quebec, a congregation in
which he is one of the most highly-respected members and adherents.
Indeed, in every good work Mr. Hossack is always to be depended upon to
take his share. In 1868 he married Helen, daughter of the late Philip
Peebles, of Quebec. His youngest sister is married to William Cassils,
one of Montreal’s most prominent citizens.
* * * * *
=Smith, Robert Barry=, Barrister, Moncton, New Brunswick, was born at
Portland, St. John, N.B., on the 15th May, 1852. His father was the Rev.
William Smith, Wesleyan minister, who came to Nova Scotia from
Nottingham, England, as a missionary, in 1827, and who died at St.
Andrew’s, N.B., in 1862. His mother, Ellen Barry, was the fourth
daughter of Robert Barry, who went to Virginia in one of the king’s
ships, and having procured his discharge, settled there, and when the
revolutionary war began left a very valuable property and emigrated to
Nova Scotia, settling near Shelburne, and afterwards removing to
Liverpool, N.S., where he died in 1839, greatly esteemed. Mr. Smith was
educated at Mount Allison College, Sackville, N.B., and went through the
arts course, but left without taking any degree. He studied law with A.
A. Stockton, LL.D., now member of the New Brunswick legislature for St.
John city and county. He was admitted an attorney in 1874, and called to
the bar in 1875. In 1880 he removed to Dorchester, and practised in
partnership with J. B. Beck, then clerk of the courts. In 1881 he,
however, returned to Moncton, and has since been engaged in nearly every
important case tried in the county. In 1885 he argued the “Scott Act
Scrutiny” case before the Supreme Court of Canada at Ottawa, in the
interests of the liquor dealers, in which, after six months’
consideration, a majority of the court gave an adverse opinion. In 1886
he argued before the same court against an appeal taken by the town of
Moncton from the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, which had decided that
the mode in which the town carried on its tax-sales of land was illegal,
and was successful. He was counsel in the Cadby extradition case, in the
interest of the United States, and succeeded in obtaining the prisoner’s
extradition after much delay and argument. In this case he was
associated with W. F. MacCoy, Q.C., of Halifax, and C. A. Palmer, of St.
John, leading on the arguments. Mr. Smith is thought to be successful in
criminal trials, and is generally employed for the defence. In 1884 he
was appointed clerk of the circuits for Westmoreland county, and in the
same year a police judge for Moncton, and holds these offices still. In
1886 he entered into a professional partnership with James Kay, and the
firm is now doing a large business. Mr. Smith is a strong Liberal in
Dominion politics, and supporter of the present local government. He has
taken an active part in politics, both in canvassing and speaking
throughout the constituency. In municipal politics he offered, in March,
1887, as a candidate for councillor in the 2nd ward, but was defeated by
a small majority, on account of his opposition to the Scott Act. In
religious matters he inclines to Methodism in most points, but is
generally opposed to creeds and dogmas. He was married on the 29th June,
1875, to Miss T. W. Knapp, daughter of Charles E. Knapp, clerk of the
peace for Westmoreland county, and a great-granddaughter of Major
Dickson, who was a sturdy Indian fighter, and who commanded Fort
Beauséjour (Cumberland) for some time. She was also a direct descendant
of U. E. loyalists who settled near the fort.
* * * * *
=Kennedy, James Thomas=, Contractor and Builder, Indiantown, St. John,
New Brunswick, was born in 1809, at Westfield, Kings county, New
Brunswick. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Kennedy was born at Covent
Garden, London, Eng., and before he attained his majority sailed for
America in the frigate _Cumden_, which was laden with supplies for the
loyalists during the American revolution. This vessel was cast away on
the east end of Long Island, but the crew and passengers escaped with
their lives. Soon after this, James Kennedy joined one of his Majesty’s
foot regiments stationed near Boston, in which he served until the close
of the war, and was afterwards removed to Fredericton, where he got his
discharge. Here he married Elizabeth Belmain, who was born in
Londonderry, Ireland, May 27th, 1750, and settled in Westfield, Kings
county, where he died, leaving four children—James, Anne, John and
Joseph, all of whom are now dead. John Kennedy, the father of James
Thomas, was born at Westfield, June 27th, 1788, and was married to Mary
Trott in 1810, by Parson Scoville, rector of the Episcopal Church, at
Kingston, Kings county, by whom he had a family of twelve
children—John, James T., Elizabeth, Mary B., Joseph E., Kate A.,
William D., Polly S., Samuel P., Sophia R., Sarah C., and Moses R.,
seven of whom are now residing in California. On 1st November, 1819,
John Kennedy removed with his family from Westfield to the United
States, James T. being at this time about ten years of age. They set
sail from St. John in the fishing schooner _Bunk_, but as the war of
1812 had not yet been brought to a close, they were landed in a small
boat at the mouth of the Penobscot river, and shipped in the coasting
schooner _Seven Brothers_. The weather was cold and stormy, and on the
1st of December they were wrecked during a snowstorm on Cranberry
Island. Here they remained on the beach from eight o’clock in the
evening until two o’clock the following day. Mrs. Kennedy and the
children suffered great hardships, the passengers having been brought to
land by boats attached to a line. After a short delay on the island they
sailed for Castine in a fishing schooner, and on their arrival at this
place the unfortunate castaways were treated with great kindness by the
inhabitants. The family remained in Maine until 1822, when they returned
to New Brunswick and settled in Carleton county. James Thomas Kennedy,
the subject of this sketch, received his education in Westfield, and was
married on the 4th July, 1838, to Cynthia Waters, of Westfield, who was
of loyalist descent. This lady died on the 17th July, 1839; and on the
27th November, 1845, he married Eliza Lingley, also of Westfield. Miss
Lingley was a daughter of Abraham Lingley, a grandson of Jane Astor, a
sister of the late John Jacob Astor, of New York, who came with a party
of U. E. loyalists to New Brunswick in 1773. Her grandfather bore arms
through the revolutionary war, and at its close settled at Nerepis
Creek, Kings county, where he died in 1861, at the age of ninety-one
years, and was buried on the anniversary of his birth. His wife died
three weeks after him in the same place at the age of eighty-six years.
Early in life Mr. Kennedy displayed that aptitude in business which has
made nearly every enterprise in which he has engaged a success. In 1842
and 1843, we find him sailing a passenger steamer, and also in command
of a boat, towing logs from Fredericton to St. John. And about the same
time he erected two sawmills which he worked successfully. In 1841 he
removed his family from Westfield to Indiantown, St. John, where he took
up his residence. In 1843 he transported in boats from Spoon Island the
granite that was used in the construction of the North Wharf buildings
in St. John; and also conveyed from the same quarries the granite used
in the building of the custom-house on Prince William street, destroyed
by the great fire in 1877. This was one of the most imposing buildings
erected in the Maritime provinces previous to confederation. He also
transported the stones used in the fortifications about St. John,
including those at Partridge Island, the Hampton Jail, and for the
capital of the province at Fredericton. During the years 1878, ’79, ’80
Mr. Kennedy was engaged in the construction of the deep-water terminus
of the Intercolonial Railway at Lower Cove, St. John, which is one of
the most substantial structures of the kind on the coast of the
Dominion; and in 1882 he completed the St. Peter’s canal at St. Peter’s,
Cape Breton. It is half a mile in length, fifty-eight feet in breadth,
eighteen feet in depth, and has a lock two hundred feet long and
forty-eight wide. This canal—its usefulness being of great value—will
stand for centuries as a monument to its builder. He took a great
interest in the centennial celebration of the landing of the U. E.
loyalists in St. John, which was held on the 17th May, 1873; and on the
occasion presented to Portland an elegant freestone drinking fountain
for man and beast, in commemoration of the day, and in memory of his
only son, born 24th November, 1854, and who died on the 30th October,
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