Chapter M: C. Baillairgé, Quebec (4)

=Macpherson, Henry=, Braeside, Owen Sound, Ontario, Judge of the County Court of the county of Grey, Local Judge of the High Court of Justice, Surrogate Judge of the Maritime Court, was born 17th August, 1832, at Picton, county of Prince Edward, province of Ontario. He was son of Lowther Pennington Macpherson, late of Picton, barrister-at-law, and of Eliza Isabella Louisa McLean, his wife. Lowther was the son of Lieut.-Colonel Donald Macpherson, of the 10th Royal Veteran Battalion, who commanded at Kingston at the commencement of the war with the United States in 1812; and was afterwards ordered to Quebec, where he remained till the close of the war in 1814, when he returned to his property of Cluny, near Kingston. Colonel Macpherson was the son of Evan Macpherson, chief of the clan Macpherson, who joined the standard of Prince Charles Edward Stuart at the time of the rebellion in Scotland in 1745. Lowther was born on shipboard, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, when his father was coming out to Canada with his regiment, and died at sea near the West India Islands, where he had gone for his health in 1836. Eliza Macpherson was the youngest daughter of Lieut.-Colonel Allan N. McLean, of “The Grove,” Kingston, and who practised law there. In 1812 he closed his office, and was greatly instrumental in raising the Incorporated Militia, which regiment he commanded until he was superseded by an officer of the line. One of his sons was a lieutenant in the Glengarry Fencibles, and was killed at Queenston Heights, and his son-in-law, Captain Walker, commanded a company of the Incorporated Militia, and was killed at Lundy’s Lane. Colonel McLean represented the county of Frontenac in the Provincial parliament for many years, in the early part of the present century, and was for sixteen years Speaker of the House of Assembly. Eliza Macpherson died in 1885 in her eightieth year. Henry Macpherson was educated at the Grammar School, Kingston, and afterwards at Queen’s College, where he graduated as Bachelor of Arts in April, 1851. He studied law in the office of Thomas Kirkpatrick, Q.C., of Kingston, who was afterwards M.P. for the county of Frontenac. He was admitted as an attorney in Easter term in 1854, after which he entered the law office of George A. Phillpotts, of Toronto, afterwards Junior Judge of the county of York, where he remained until called to the bar, in Hilary, term 1855. In March of that year, he commenced the practice of his profession at Owen Sound, in the county of Grey, where he continued until appointed judge of the County Court of that county in January, 1865. Owen Sound was at that time a portion of the township of Sydenham, but in 1856 it was incorporated as a town, having a population of about 2,000. It was the county town of the county of Grey, which, with the adjoining county of Bruce, was then comparatively a new settlement, the population of Grey, according to the census of 1852, being something over 13,000 and that of Bruce being between 2,000 and 3,000. The peninsula north of Owen Sound, between Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, was then a wilderness and not yet surrendered by the Indians. The roads through the counties were in a very bad condition, and until the opening of the Northern Railway to Collingwood in the winter of 1854-5, everything had to be brought to Owen Sound by vessel from Coldwater, or teamed up from Guelph. A few years after this, the county of Grey expended $200,000 in building about 180 miles of gravel roads through the country, on which no toll gate was ever placed, and the county of Bruce a few years after followed the example thus set of building a number of leading gravel roads through the county without placing toll gates on them. The population of the county of Grey at the last census, in 1881, was over 75,000, and that of Bruce over 65,000. A number of railways are now running through the counties, the Canadian Pacific Railway having a lake terminus at Owen Sound, which has a population of about 6,000, a dry dock capable of receiving very large steamers (the first built in Canada above the Welland Canal), an excellent system of waterworks, is lighted by electric lights, and to and from its harbour a large fleet of steamers (including the Canadian Pacific Railway’s steel steamships), and sailing vessels run to all the various ports on the upper lakes. Besides the position of county judge to which Mr. Macpherson was appointed in 1865, he holds the position of local judge of the High Court of Justice, to which he was appointed in March, 1882; of surrogate judge of the Maritime Court of Ontario, to which he was appointed in February, 1879, and of revising officer of the North Riding of Grey, to which he was appointed in October, 1885. Judge Macpherson has long taken a great interest in Freemasonry, into which he was initiated in June, 1857, in the city of Toronto, and in the fall of that year, assisted by other brethren, he opened a lodge in Owen Sound under a dispensation from Sir Allan Napier MacNab, grand master of the Ancient Grand Lodge of Canada, and of which lodge he was the first worshipful master. He is the only survivor of the original members of that lodge. The Ancient Grand Lodge was in July of the following year merged in the Grand Lodge of Canada. He has been a regular attendant at the meetings of the Grand Lodge, and in 1863 was elected grand senior warden. He has been, with the exception of two years, continuously a member of the Board of General Purposes since its formation in 1861, has frequently been and is at present vice-president of that board, and is also chairman of the sub-committee on jurisprudence. He is also the representative of the Grand Orient of Uruguay, and of the Grand Lodge of Maryland, near the Grand Lodge of Canada. He has also taken an active part in Capitular Masonry. He was exalted in February, 1858, and in 1866, assisted in the formation of a chapter in Collingwood, of which, in 1867, he became first principal. In 1873, he assisted in the formation of a chapter in Owen Sound, of which, at the commencement he was first principal. In Grand Chapter, after filling the chairs of 3rd and 2nd principal, he was, in 1883, elected grand first principal, which office he held two years. He is also representative of the Grand Chapter of California, near the Grand Chapter of Canada. He has also been instrumental in the formation or carrying on of many local and other societies. Judge Macpherson was the first secretary and afterwards president of the Mechanics’ Institute. He has been president of the North Riding of Grey Agricultural Society, and has been several times and is now president of the Horticultural Society, and has been vice-president of the Fruit Growers’ Association of Ontario. He was the first captain and several years president of the Cricket Club, was several years president and is now patron of the Curling Club, and has been president of the Ontario branch of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club. He also, in 1874, assisted in the formation of a joint stock company to build a curling and skating rink, of which he was the first president. This was the first company formed for this purpose under the Ontario Act. He has also been president of the First Canada Rifle Club, of the Gun Club, and of the Fish and Game Protection Society, and is now chairman of the managing committee of the Owen Sound Club. In this age of locomotion his travels can hardly be considered important, yet he has travelled through Canada from Manitoba to Newfoundland, and through all the great lakes. He has been through most of the states east of the Mississippi from Minnesota to Florida; and has visited a number of cities of the United States from St. Paul and Minneapolis to New Orleans, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi. He was at the Paris Exhibition of 1867, the Centennial Exhibition held at Philadelphia in 1876, the Colonial Exhibition at London, and the International Exhibition at Liverpool in 1886. He has visited the Bahama Islands, and last winter travelled by sea from New York to New Orleans, up the Mississippi to Memphis, and across home by rail, paying visits to the different cities on the way, and also visiting the mammoth cave of Kentucky, his journey being nearly 5,000 miles. He has also visited most of the important cities and other points of interest in England and Scotland, including the islands of Skye, Staffa, Iona, Man, Wight, etc. During last summer, he also visited Egypt, including the Suez Canal, the Nile, Cairo, the Pyramids, the battle field of Tel-el-Kebir, etc., going by way of the Mediterranean and calling at Gibraltar and Malta, travelling in all nearly 15,000 miles. He is a member of the Church of England. In May, 1875, he married Eliza McGill McLean, second daughter of Allan N. McLean, formerly of Toronto, now of London, England, and grand-daughter of the late John McLean, formerly sheriff at Kingston, who was a brother of the late Hon. Chief Justice McLean, of Toronto; Mrs. Macpherson died in April, 1880, leaving two children, only one of whom still survives.

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=Campbell, Rev. Kenneth A.=, Orillia, Ontario, was born in the township of Thorah, Ontario county, on the 30th of November, 1837. His father, Kenneth Campbell, was born in the county of Glengarry, Ontario, and was one of the earliest settlers in the township of Thorah, and rendered most valuable assistance to the Scottish immigrants, who afterwards settled in that and neighbouring townships. Mr. Campbell was captain of militia. Rev. Mr. Campbell received the rudimentary part of his education in a public school of his native section, and afterwards made a full course, preparatory to ordination, in St. Michael’s College, Toronto, and was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Lynch, in St. Joseph’s Church, Beaverton, on the 21st of September, 1854. He was appointed assistant to the Very Rev. G. R. Northgroves, in the parish of Barrie, and in April, 1856, he was appointed parish priest of Mara and Orillia. In this charge he laboured with zeal for eight years. He built a neat substantial brick church in the village of Brechin; attended to the wants of the settlers of his faith in the district of Muskoka, and discharged efficiently the duties of local superintendent of schools in the townships of Mara and Rama. In June, 1872, he built the Church of the Angels Guardian, in Orillia, a solid structure of fine architectural design, and an ornament to the town. The interest of the congregation of Orillia requiring a resident priest, the village was erected into a separate parish, and Father Campbell was appointed to the charge in 1874. Upon his removal to Orillia, he set to work to erect the handsome 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.

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=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.

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=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.

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=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.

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=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.

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=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.

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=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.

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=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.

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=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.

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=Smith, Rev. H. Percy W.=, Rector of St. Paul’s Church, Dunnville, Ontario, was born at Islington, London, England, on the 13th September, 1837. His parents, William and Mary Smith, are both alive, and residing in Canada. Rev. Mr. Smith received his early education at private schools in his birthplace, and when thirteen years of age entered a wholesale drapery establishment, where he continued for about seven years. This business not being entirely in accordance with his taste, he abandoned it, and entered St. Augustin’s College, Canterbury, to study for the ministry. In February, 1864, he bade farewell to England, and set sail on the _Bohemian_ steamship for Canada. When eighteen days out the _Bohemian_ struck the rocks near Portland, and became a total wreck, and through this mishap he unfortunately lost his library and outfit. Shortly after reaching Canada, in 1864, he was ordained deacon by the Bishop of Ontario, and two years afterwards, priest by the Bishop of Montreal. For the past ten years he has been rector of St. Paul’s Church, at Dunnville, and is very much respected by his parishioners. He was married in 1866 to Lizzie, third daughter of the late Colonel Edwards, of March, Ontario.

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=Mackay, Alexander Howard=, B.A., B.Sc., F.S.Sc. (Lond.), Pictou, Nova Scotia. Alexander Mackay, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, and the progenitor of a numerous family, many of whom are favourably known in Canada as members of the learned professions, was born in Sutherlandshire, Scotland, in 1762. He emigrated to Mount Dalhousie, in the county of Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1822, took up several hundred acres of land for farming, and in 1847 died, loved and revered by a large community who looked up to him as a patriarchal chief. His second son, John Mackay, was born in Sutherlandshire, in 1810, and emigrated with his father and the rest of the family in 1822. In 1836 he travelled through a portion of the United States of America, and Ontario, in Canada, where he took up some land; but finally settled down on the old homestead. In 1847 he married Barbara Maclean, who was born at Roger’s Hill, in the county of Pictou, in 1823. Her father, John Maclean, was born in the west of Scotland, about 1758, and died at Roger’s Hill in 1848. From this marriage came a family of seven boys and three girls. The eldest, Alexander Howard Mackay, was born on the 19th May, 1848. His father was a man of remarkable probity of character, of very superior intellectual powers, and enthusiastically patriotic. In addition to the farm, a mechanic’s shop, with a turner’s and cabinetmaker’s tools and machinery, supplied the ways and means. There was no luxury, however. Hard manual work, alternated with study, was used in developing the various and versatile powers of the whole man. The play of mechanical ingenuity, original constructive effort, and acute investigation, filled the hours of recreation. This family discipline was a perfect success. The father, John Mackay, died February 22nd, 1879. The mother is living in good health at the date of writing, August, 1887. Young Alexander could read and write before he went to the public school, which was two miles distant. The farm and the school divided his time; but the leisure hour found him constructing a sextant, theodolite, or transit instrument, which he never previously saw, and with which he made remarkably accurate measurements; or making some apparatus to demonstrate a law in physics or chemistry; or exploring the natural history of the picturesque glen running through the homestead. In 1865 the trustees of the school section pressed him to take charge of their school. Although he had no license, never having thought of becoming a teacher, he accepted the position. In 1866 he graduated at the head of his class from the Provincial Normal School at Truro. In 1867 he attended the Pictou Academy, and at the provincial examination of teachers following, won the first place. In the fall of 1869 he matriculated in Dalhousie College, and for four years was a leading prizeman in his classes. He graduated a B.A. in April, 1873, with special honours in mathematics and physics. He was also the valedictorian of his class, and was for the last three years of his undergraduate course an editor of the college paper, _The Dalhousie Gazette_. He also took classes in the School of Science in the Provincial Museum, under the provincial geologist, Dr. Honeyman; and in the Medical College, then affiliated with Dalhousie. After graduation he was appointed principal of the County Academy at Annapolis Royal, and a few months later received the unsolicited appointment to the principalship of the Pictou Academy and public schools of Pictou, which position he holds at present. He assumed charge of the Pictou Academy, November 1st, 1873, since which time the staff and attendance of the institution have been more than doubled. In 1874 he was elected president of the Education Convention of Nova Scotia, a position to which he was re-elected. From this time he has taken a very active and forward part in promoting educational reform through the press and otherwise. In 1876 he spent a portion of the year in studying the educational appliances in the leading cities of the eastern United States. His efforts culminated in 1881, in the erection of the present Pictou Academy, one of the finest and best equipped academic buildings in Canada. Its facilities for scientific teaching are greater than are those of many colleges. In 1880 he graduated a B.Sc. from the University of Halifax, with first class honours in biology. In addition to his educational work, he has also found time to engage in original scientific investigation. His papers or work may be found in the “Proceedings” of several scientific societies. His popular scientific writings have been numerous and widely diffused. In 1884 he was elected a member of committee of the Biological section of the British Association meeting in Montreal. In 1886 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Science, Letters and Art, London. And the same year he was elected president of the Alumni of Dalhousie College and University; and also, president of the Nova Scotia Summer School of Science. He knows no rest, for at the same time he is a member of a multitude of local societies, and in every sense an active citizen. He is a member of the Kirk Session of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Pictou; but also contributes to other denominations. He believes in a catholic union of all Christian effort, and a scientific expansion of religious philosophy. In local politics he independently supports educational reform. In Dominion politics he avows a preference for the policy of the Liberal-Conservative party. He is a Britisher, first, against the whole world; and a Canadian all the time, and will fight. He has just started the “Educational Review” (of which he is Nova Scotian editor), in company with G. U. Hay, Ph.B., of St. John, New Brunswick, and Principal Anderson, of the Prince of Wales College, Prince Edward Island. In 1882 he married Maude Augusta Johnstone, only daughter of Dr. George Moir Johnstone, M.R.C.S., London, and his wife, _née_ Sarah Mortimer Smith, of Pictou town.

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