Читать книгу A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time - Various - Страница 8
ОглавлениеTorrance, Rev. Robert, D.D., Guelph, Ontario, was born at Markethill, county of Armagh, Ireland, on the 23rd of May, 1825, and was the youngest of seven sons. His ancestor on his father’s side—M. Torrance—left Ayrshire, Scotland, during the times of the persecution, and settled in the north of Ireland, and their descendants have lived there, in the same locality, ever since. Robert Torrance, the subject of this sketch, went to school at an early age in his native village, and remained under the same tutor until he was ten years old, when he began the study of the Latin and Greek languages. In 1837, his parents removed to Glenluce, Wigtonshire, Scotland, and here Robert entered the school in this place, and continued the studies he had already begun before leaving Ireland, and began others preparatory to the life-work selected for him by his parents. In 1839, he was enrolled as a student in the Royal Academical Institution, Belfast, then or shortly afterwards affiliated with the London University; then he studied Greek and logic, and belles-lettres; mental and moral philosophy under Dr. Robert Wilson; mathematics under Prof. Young; natural philosophy, including astronomy and optics, and Hebrew under Professor Harte, assistant to Dr. Hincks, who was then an old man, and confined his attention to the senior class. This Dr. Hincks, was the father of the celebrated Oriental scholar, Dr. Hincks, and of the late Sir Francis Hincks, whose name is well known in Canada. After the completion of his art course and passing the usual examination by the Presbytery in whose bounds he resided, he entered on the study of divinity, in the halls of the United Secession Church in Scotland. His first session was spent in Glasgow, and the subsequent ones in Edinburgh. His course was completed in 1845, with the exception of one session, and, as there was great want at that time for missionaries to go out to Canada, he offered his services, and was accepted, it being agreed, under the circumstances, to exempt him from attending the last or fifth session on his furnishing testimonials as to fitness for the field and work. These having been produced to the satisfaction of the Committee on Foreign Missions, of which Dr. John McKerrow was convener, the Presbytery of Kinross was instructed to take him on trials for license, with a view to his proceeding to Canada. According to appointment, these trials were delivered in the church at Inverkeithing, a village in Fifeshire, about four miles south from Dunfermline. Having passed the Presbytery and been licensed, he preached two Sabbath days in Scotland, one for Rev. Dr. MacKelvie, in Balgedie, in whose family he had been tutor for three seasons; and the other for Rev. Mr. Puller, in Glenluce, where he had spent his boyhood. He then at once left for Liverpool, taking his parents with him, and from that port sailed, in a few days, for New York, which was reached safely after a voyage of four weeks. Without delay, he proceeded to Toronto, and there occupied the pulpit of Rev. Mr. Jennings for a few Sabbaths, Mr. Jennings being at the time in Scotland recruiting his health. Mr. Torrance spent one year as a probationer, travelling through the western section of Canada, from Toronto to Goderich and Detroit, as he had determined not to settle down in a charge till he had gone over a good part of the mission field, and given as much supply as in his power. Travelling in those days was far from possessing the conveniences and comforts now enjoyed. There were no railways; in several of the districts there were no stage coaches. The probationer was thus under the necessity of purchasing a horse, and making his journeys on horseback. In winter he was exposed at times to intense cold, and in summer to prostrating heat. He had to clothe himself for such changes of temperature. Roads were sometimes obstructed with snow, and he had to wait till parties turned out and made them passable, or opened up a way through adjoining fields; in spring and fall there was deep mud and often the horse had difficulty in getting through, and some of the stations were difficult of access from other causes, such as their recent formation. Accommodation when he reached his destination, was not always such as he had been accustomed to in the fatherland. But the people were uniformly kind and courteous; they gave the best they had ungrudgingly, often wishing it were better; and extended a cordial welcome. Many an event then befell him which interested him at the time and still lingers in his recollection. After receiving and declining calls from three or four congregations, he accepted a call from a congregation in Guelph, and was ordained and inducted on the 11th of November, 1846. He remained in this charge till January, 1882, when his resignation was placed in the hands of the Presbytery, and its acceptance pressed. Towards the close of the same month the pastoral relationship to his congregation was dissolved, the General Assembly giving permission to retain his name on the Roll of Presbytery. Since that time he has not had a stated charge, but has been frequently employed as moderator of sessions of vacant congregations in the bounds, and doing other work of a ministerial character. Shortly after his settlement in Guelph, he was appointed a trustee on the High School Board, and filled that position for a number of years. He succeeded for a time to the superintendence of the Common (now called Public) schools, in the south riding of the county, having the oversight of the townships of Erin, Eramosa, Guelph and Puslinch. Finding the labours too onerous in connection with his pastoral work, he resigned the position after two years occupancy to the hands of the County council. Previous to this, however, in 1855, he had been chosen by the Guelph Board of Trustees superintendent of the schools in the town, then only three or four in number. This situation he has since filled without interruption, and has seen the progress made up to this date, the number of schools having increased to twenty-six, and a class of buildings provided unsurpassed by any in Ontario. Shortly after the Rev. Mr. Torrance’s settlement in Guelph, a new presbytery was formed, called the Presbytery of Wellington, and of this he was chosen clerk, and this office he filled till the union of the churches, which took place in 1861, when Mr., now Rev. Dr. Middlemiss, who had been clerk of the Free Church Presbytery, was chosen clerk of the united one. In 1870, Mr. Middlemiss resigned, and was succeeded by Mr. Torrance, who still occupies the office. The church with which he was connected was known in his early days as the “United Secession,” a name afterwards changed to “United Presbyterian,” when the union between the Relief and Secession churches was effected. For some years he filled the position of convener of their committee on statistics, and also of their committee on the supply of vacancies and distribution of probationers. In 1874, his name appears for the first time as convener of the committee of the united church on statistics, and he was continued in the office at the farther union, which took place in 1875, and still occupies it. For some time the supply of vacancies and allocation of probationers were under the charge of the Home Mission committee, but they chose a sub-committee for the purpose, and for a few years the burden of the work fell to him with the other members. Ultimately a distinct committee was appointed by the General Assembly, to whom this service was assigned, and he was chosen convener. In 1880 he was chosen moderator of the Synod of Toronto and Kingston, which met in St. James’ Square Church, Toronto, and occupied the office for the usual period of one year. In 1883, he tendered his resignation, when Rev. Mr. Laidlaw of St. Paul’s Church, Hamilton, was chosen to succeed him. The scheme fell out of use, and it was considered unnecessary to continue the committee after 1884, till 1886, when the want of it having made itself felt, a new committee was appointed under a revised scheme, of which Rev. Mr. Laidlaw was appointed convener by the Assembly, and Mr. Torrance clerk by the committee, Mr. Laidlaw feeling that he could not carry on the work of the committee in connection with the weight and responsibility of his labours as the minister of an important city charge. In 1884, Mr. Torrance was chosen a life member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at its meeting in Montreal. In 1885, he was installed as a member of the Canadian Postal College of the natural sciences, and in September of the same year, he was constituted a life member of the Canadian Short-Hand Society. For several years he has been a member, by the appointment of the General Assembly of the Board of Examiners of Knox College, Toronto, and the senate of that institute conferred upon him, in 1885, the honorary degree of D.D. In 1851, he revisited Scotland, for the restoration of his health, which had become impaired through the labours that had been undergone; and again in 1881 he visited the old country, accompanied by his wife. On this occasion he travelled over the greater part of Scotland, visited Ireland and its chief cities, with the lakes of Killarney, and crossed over to Paris, where a week was spent amid the scenes of that gay and enchanting city. Rev. Mr. Torrance’s religious views are Presbyterian; these he says he acquired from his parents and is satisfied with their scriptural character, and has not changed his mind since boyhood. Rev. Mr. Torrance may now be considered as having retired from very active duties. In 1857, he purchased ten acres of fine land in the neighbourhood of Guelph, and having built thereon for himself a comfortable house, he resides there and devotes his spare time to gardening and the cultivation of flowers, having gone to the expense of importing from Scotland, and even China, some very rare flower seeds. In August, 1854, he was married to Bessie Dryden, of Eramosa, whose father and mother had come from the neighbourhood of Jedburgh, in Scotland, and took up land in that township soon after it was thrown open to settlers. Four children, two sons and two daughters, were born, all of them now grown up; two of them married, one of the latter, a daughter, having gone with her husband to China, under an engagement for four years at the close of which they have returned.
Moore, Paul Robinson, M.D., Sackville, New Brunswick, was born on the 30th of March, 1835, in Hopewell, Westmoreland county, New Brunswick. (Since the county was divided, Hopewell is in Albert county). His father, Thomas Benjamin Moore was a lawyer in Albert and Westmoreland counties, and died in Moncton, Westmoreland county, April, 1875, aged sixty-eight years. His mother’s maiden name was Apphia Robinson, daughter of Deacon Paul C. Robinson, of Hopewell. She bore thirteen children, six sons and seven daughters, of whom three sons and four daughters still survive, the subject of this sketch being the third child. His paternal grand-father was John W. Moore, sergeant of the 1st battalion of Royal Artillery, and died a pensioner in Ballymena, Ireland, at eighty-five years of age. His paternal ancestors resided in the north of Ireland, and it is a family tradition that at the siege of Londonderry there were seven brothers Moore, engaged in the fighting, five of whom were slain in one attack. The remaining two survived the perils of the siege, and their descendants are still for the most part settled in the north of Ireland. His father was five years old when he came to this country in 1813, when the regiment to which his grand-father belonged was ordered out to defend Fort Cumberland. Paul Robinson Moore received a mathematical and classical education at the Mount Allison Institution, in Sackville, New Brunswick, up to the age of fifteen, when on account of ill health his studies were abandoned. Three years later, having regained his health, he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Wm. T. Taylor, of Philadelphia, U.S., but had to give it up at the end of the first year, on account of another serious attack of illness which threatened to end in phthisis. He then returned to New Brunswick, and after recruiting his health, took a clerkship at the Albert mines in Hillsborough, New Brunswick, for eighteen months, and afterwards he was employed as bookkeeper and pay-master of the Boudreau stone quarries in Westmoreland county for a year. His health being then perfectly restored, he went to New York, and resumed his medical studies at the university of the city of New York, receiving private instruction at the same time from Dr. Gaillard Thomas. He graduated in March, 1859, and was appointed house physician and surgeon of Brooklyn City Hospital the following May, which position he held till May, 1860, when he returned to Albert county, New Brunswick, and commenced the practice of his profession. In January, 1875, he removed to Sackville, and entered into a professional co-partnership with Dr. Alexander Fleming, which continued till April, 1881, when Dr. Fleming removed to Brandon, North-West Territory, since which time Dr. Moore has been attending closely to his professional duties in Sackville. He was appointed coroner for Albert county in 1866, and magistrate for the same county in 1873. The doctor has taken an interest in various companies, and is at present a stockholder in the Moncton Cotton Company, the Sackville Music Hall Company, and the Baptist Publishing Company. He joined the Howard lodge of Free Masons in 1867, and Sackville division of the Sons of Temperance in 1875; became honorary member of the Glasgow Southern Medical Society in 1880, and president of the New Brunswick Medical Society in 1885. He is also a member of the Medical Council. He has never taken an active part in politics, but supports a Liberal government, and is an uncompromising Prohibitionist. He has travelled in England, Ireland, France, Scotland, and the United States. He has been a member of the Baptist church since 1865. On the 12th of December, 1866, he was married to Rebecca, eldest daughter of John Weldon, of Dorchester, Westmoreland county, by whom he has had nine children, four boys and five girls, of whom one boy and five girls survive.
Archambault, Urgel-Eugène, Principal of the Catholic Commercial Academy, Montreal, was born at L’Assomption, on the 27th of May, 1834. His parents were Louis Archambault, farmer, and Marie-Angélique Prud’homme, belonging to a very old family of the province of Quebec. The Archambault family came from France and settled on the Isle of Montreal about the year 1650, thence off-shoots established themselves in different parts of the province of Quebec, especially at L’Assomption, from which place three or four members of this family were, at various times, elected to the Canadian parliament. Urgel-Eugène having attended school at Saint-Jacques de l’Achigan and at L’Assomption, became a teacher at the age of seventeen years (1851), taught during six years at Saint-Ambroise de Kildare, L’Assomption, Chateauguay, and finally completed his own studies at the Jacques-Cartier Normal School, from which institution he received an academic diploma. In 1858, he taught at Saint-Constant, and the following year he became head-master of the Catholic Commercial Academy of Montreal, the principal work of his life, and which he still directs. This school, established in Coté street, was transferred to the Plateau in 1871; it has become one of the principal educational institutions of the city, and even of the province of Quebec. In 1873, Mr. Archambault was named local superintendent of all the schools controlled by the Catholic Board of School Commissioners. The interior plans of the Plateau, Belmont and Olier schools are the work of his hands. This same year, 1873, he laboured successfully to bring about the foundation of an institution destined to form civil, mining, and industrial engineers. This was the Polytechnic School of Montreal, founded by the Catholic school commissioners and the Honorable Gedéon Ouimet, superintendent of education for the province of Quebec. Intended principally for Catholics, it was annexed to the Laval University in January, 1887. The university, which retains Mr. Archambault as principal of the Polytechnic School, has named him titular professor of the arts faculty. Much of the success attending the Jacques-Cartier Normal School conventions has been due to the active interest which he has taken in them. He is the author of the Teachers’ Pension Fund Bill, which became law in 1880, and was amended in 1886. In 1870, Mr. Archambault visited Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond (Virginia), and became acquainted with the best educators in the United States. Since then he has kept himself informed of their methods of teaching and management. With the same object in view, he visited the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, in 1876. In 1878, Mr. Archambault was sent to the Paris Exhibition, to represent the Educational department of the province of Quebec; and while in France he was named member of the International Educational Jury, and was the first Canadian ever decorated with the Palmes Académiques, and honored with the title of Officier d’Académie. On this occasion he was commissioned, by the Minister of Public Instruction in France, to deliver the Palmes Académiques to Dr. J. B. Meilleur, and to the Honourable P. J. O. Chauveau and G. Ouimet, who, each in turn, had directed the Educational department of the province. To allow him to fulfil his mission at the Paris Exhibition, he was granted a seven months’ leave of absence, during which time he gathered an ample store of pedagogic ideas, which he has since utilized for the benefit of his country. In 1883–4, he made a second trip to Europe and to Northern Africa, during a six months’ leave of absence granted to him on account of his health. These voyages brought him into communication with several eminent persons, and with different societies. Already a member of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste and of the Historical Society of Montreal, he became a member of the Geographical Society of Paris; in 1882, he received the title of Knight of the Sacred and Military Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and in 1886 he was named honorary member of the first degree of the Universal Humane Society of Knight-Saviors. In 1860, Mr. Archambault married Marie-Phélonise Azilda, daughter of Dr. Robitaille, of Saint-Roch de l’Achigan. Of the eleven children born to them, six, a son and five daughters, are still living (1887).
Stewart, Rev. Wm. James, Minister of the Baptist Church, Portland city, St. John county, New Brunswick, was born at Second Falls, St. George, Charlotte county, New Brunswick, on the 22nd of April, 1850. His parents, David and Agnes Stewart, were born in Newtownards, county Down, Ireland. They came to America with their parents, and were married in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, soon after their arrival. Shortly after this event they removed to Second Falls, where they lived happily together and raised a family of eleven children, William being the youngest. In February, 1857, his mother was removed from her family by death, and laid to rest by loving hands in the village church-yard. His father married again, his second wife being a Mrs. Manzer, a widow lady, who still survives him. He had no issue by this wife. In July, 1876, his father was called to his reward, and buried beside his first wife. Both were consistent members of the Baptist church. William James Stewart, the subject of this sketch, was not a very rugged boy, and was therefore kept constantly at school from his earliest boyhood. At the age of sixteen he finished the studies in the primary schools, and as there was no high school near his home, he was allowed to drop his studies for a few years. In the meantime he went on a visit to his brother and sister, both of whom were married and lived in the State of Minnesota, and after a year and a half he returned home a young man of twenty years, with no very definite idea of life or what he should do in the future. Not long after this, however, there came a change into his life which decided the future for him. The sermons of Rev. Edward Hickson, then pastor of the Baptist church in his native place, made a very deep impression on his mind. His father was a deacon of that church, and a very godly man, his life and influence being in perfect accord with the truth preached from the pulpit; and so after a good deal of anxiety of mind and earnest prayer to God, William was led to give his heart to the Saviour, and experience in his life that “peace which passeth all understanding.” On the 16th of June, 1872, he was immersed in the name of the Trinity by the Rev. E. Hickson, and received into the fellowship of the Second Falls Baptist church. He at once felt a desire in his heart to do something for Him who had done so much for the world, and his first work was to organize a Sunday school in connection with the church of which he was then a member. He also resolved to take up his long neglected studies and prepare himself for a life of usefulness, in the world. In October, 1872, he entered the Baptist Collegiate School in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He did not at that time have the ministry in view, but not long afterward it was pressed upon him with such weight that he could not rest day or night until he yielded to the voice of God in his soul, and began to shape his course with this in view. On 21st May, 1874, he received a license from the church of which he was a member, signed by George Allen, clerk, to preach the gospel according to the faith and practice of the Baptist church. He spent the vacations of each year of his student life in preaching the word as opportunity offered. The vacation of 1876 he spent at Musquash, near St. John, New Brunswick, and God poured out His Holy Spirit wonderfully upon the people and many precious souls were saved. There was no minister near to baptize, and he consented to be ordained, although he was but a student. His ordination took place on the 23rd day of May, 1876, in the Carleton Baptist church. In May, 1877, he finished his studies at Acadia College, and received a unanimous call to the churches at St. George and Second Falls, the latter of which he was a member. He at once entered upon his work, and was greatly blessed in his labours among his own people. On 1st July, 1878, he was married to Lillie S. Hanson, daughter of Vernon and Helen Hanson, in the city of Boston, by the Rev. Dr. Lorimer. After a pastorate of about four years in his native place, he received and accepted a call to the Baptist church in Parrsborough, Nova Scotia. He spent one year with this church, and then received and accepted a call to the Baptist church in Portland city, St. John county, N.B., and on 1st June, 1882, he entered upon his duties in the church of which he is at present (1887) the pastor. About two hundred souls have been added to this church since he took up the work, and God is now very graciously blessing it. The church edifice has been improved at a cost of about fifteen hundred dollars, and a fine parsonage purchased since he began his ministry in it. The outlook for the future is very hopeful. To God be all the praise. Rev. Mr. Stewart has had two children, a boy and a girl. The eldest is now a bright boy of seven years. The little girl, too sweet and pure for earth, was taken at the age of four by Him who said, “Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
Bayly, Richard, B.A., Q.C., Barrister-at-law, London, Ontario, was born in Dublin, Ireland, on the 25th of May, 1834. He is the son of Rev. Benjamin Bayly, and Cassandra Henrietta Bayly, who, previous to coming to Canada, resided in Dublin, Mr. Bayly’s ancestors having resided in or near that city for over three hundred years. The Rev. Mr. Bayly occupied the important position of principal of the London Grammar school (afterwards the London Collegiate Institute) for over thirty-five years, until the 17th January, 1879, when he died, greatly respected by all who had the honour of his acquaintance. Richard received his education at the London Grammar school, in London, and at the University of Toronto, where he graduated with the degree of B.A. He then studied law in the office of the Hon. John Wilson (afterwards Justice John Wilson), and became a barrister and solicitor in 1857, and has successfully practised his profession in London ever since. He occupied a seat on the London Board of Education from 1876 to 1885 inclusive, and was chairman of the board for one year, and chairman of the School Management Committee for four years. For nine years Mr. Bayly was a warden of St. Paul’s Episcopal church, and for several years a delegate to the Diocesan and Provincial synods. In politics, he belongs to the Liberal-Conservative party, and for many years has taken an active interest in political issues. He was brought up in the Episcopal fold, and has seen no reason to change his religious belief. On the 22nd June, 1864, he was married to Eliza, eldest daughter of the late Dr. Chas. G. Moore, of London, and the issue of this marriage has been ten children, eight of whom survive—five boys and three girls.
Mowatt, Rev. Andrew Joseph, Pastor of St. Paul’s (Presbyterian) Church, Fredericton, New Brunswick, is a native-born Canadian, having first seen the light on the 11th of February, 1838, in the town of Woodstock, Carleton county, N.B. His father, Thomas Mowatt, and mother, Elizabeth Scott Moffatt, emigrated from Great Britain to New Brunswick, and settled in Woodstock in 1837, where they remained for about two years, and then moved to Harvey, York county, where Andrew, the subject of our sketch, was brought up, and whose early recollections of the place is a little log hut in the forest, and a small log school-house where he received a common school education. After leaving this school, he went for two winters to the Collegiate school in Fredericton, then in charge of Dr. George Roberts, and afterwards he spent three terms at the Presbyterian college at Truro, Nova Scotia, taking the regular arts course there. He then studied theology under Rev. Dr. King, at Gerrish Theological Hall, Halifax, N.S., and completed his studies in 1866. On the 2nd of May of the same year, he received a license to preach the gospel from the Presbytery of Pictou, was called to the new congregation of Sharon church, Albion Mines, now Stellarton, and was ordained pastor on the 5th of June following. The Rev. Mr. Mowatt retained the charge of this church for seven years, and then left on receiving a call from St. John’s church, Windsor, N.S., and was inducted its pastor by the Presbytery of Halifax on the 8th of July, 1873. Here he laboured in the Lord’s vineyard for six and a half years. He then was called to the pastorate of St. Paul’s church in Fredericton, and was inducted into this charge on the 8th of January, 1880, by the Presbytery of St. John; and here he has laboured ever since. This church has greatly prospered under Mr. Mowatt’s able ministration, and, on the 10th of January, 1886, the congregation abandoned their old church edifice and moved into a fine stone building, which is an ornament to the town. Rev. Mr. Mowatt was brought up in the faith as taught by the Presbyterian church, and has so far seen no reason to change his opinion with regard to it. He has spent his life in his Master’s service, and he has the satisfaction of knowing that he has done something to advance His kingdom in this world, and, under God’s grace, fitted many a poor soul to enter the Father’s home of many mansions. He was married to Louisa Jane Annand, of Gay’s River, Colchester county, N.S., on the 30th of June, 1868. Her brother, the Rev. Joseph Annand, is a missionary on the island of Espiritu Santo, in the New Hebrides. Rev. Mr. Mowatt has a family of nine children.
Mitchell, Hon. James, St. Stephen, New Brunswick, was born at the Scottish Settlement, York county, N.B., on the 16th March, 1843. His father, William Mitchell, was a native of Inverkip, Renfrewshire, Scotland, and came to America in 1827, settling in York county, N.B. His mother, Ann Dobie, was a native of Dumfries, in Scotland. James Mitchell received his education first in the public school, then in the Collegiate Institute, and latterly in the University of New Brunswick, at Fredericton, where, in 1867, he graduated with the degrees of B.A., and M.A. He afterwards studied law, and was called to the bar in October, 1870, and has since practised his profession at St. Stephen, Charlotte county, where he now resides. Mr. Mitchell was inspector of schools for Charlotte county from 1872 to 1875, and from 1877 to 1879, and during these years exercised a very material influence on the educational affairs of his town and county. He occupied the position of Census commissioner in 1881. He is at present a member of the Senate of the University of New Brunswick, and a member of the Alumni Society; also a member of the Lunatic Asylum Commission and of the Board of Education of the province of New Brunswick. At the general election in 1882 his fellow-citizens of Charlotte county chose him to represent them in the New Brunswick parliament; and, on the 3rd of March, 1883, he was appointed a member of the Executive Council, and surveyor-general of the province. On his presenting himself for re-election, he was returned by acclamation. He was again elected at the general election in 1886. Hon. Mr. Mitchell is a Liberal-Conservative in politics, having always identified himself with the party of progress in the country, and is an active promoter of railways, manufactures, and other public works. As a barrister he stands high at the bar of his native province. He is a past-master of the Free and Accepted Masons, and past-principal Z of the Royal Arch Chapter. He has followed in the footsteps of his parents, and is a consistent adherent of the Presbyterian church. On the 17th December, 1873, he was married to Miss Ryder, of St. Stephen.
MacFarlane, Foster, M.D., Fairville, St. John, New Brunswick, was born in the parish of Studholm, Kings county, N.B., on the 12th December, 1834. His father, Matthew MacFarlane, was born in the parish of Dramore, county of Tyrone, Ireland, and was a descendant of a family of that name, who, with others, sought refuge from the persecution then prevailing in the Highlands of Scotland. The record of the family dates back to the beginning of the thirteenth century. The family name of “MacFarlane” took its origin from a grandson of the Earl of Lennox, named Bartholomew, the Gaelic of which is “Pharlan,” whose son was named MacFarlane (or son of Bartholomew). The seat of the Earl of Lennox was Dumbarton castle, which was held by his descendants the MacFarlanes, at intervals, and for six centuries they held possession of their original lands, the principal seat of which was Arrochar, at the head of Lochlong. The MacFarlane clan fought, and distinguished themselves, in the battle of Langside, May 13th, 1565, their valour mainly contributing to decide the fortunes of the day, and the defeat of Mary, Queen of Scots. For their bravery they received from the Regent their crest and motto which has ever since been inscribed on their family escutcheon, “This I’ll defend.” Chief among the descendants of this ancient family may be mentioned Walter MacFarlane, of MacFarlane, who is justly celebrated as the indefatigable collector of the ancient records of his country, and whose historical writings, according to Mr. Skeen, “form the best monuments to his memory; and as long as the existence of the ancient records of the country, or a knowledge of its ancient history remains an object of interest to any Scotchman, the name of MacFarlane will be handed down as one of its benefactors, which monument will be found more enduring than the barbaric splendour of his warlike countrymen, which has long since faded away, thus showing that it is not the destroyer but the benefactor of his fellow-creatures who is secure of immortality.” In 1815, when but a lad of twelve years of age, Matthew MacFarlane, accompanied his father, James MacFarlane, and other members of the family, to America, and on their arrival settled at Rockland, in Kingston, Kings county, N.B. Some years afterwards, and when the family had grown up, Mr. MacFarlane, sr., left his eldest son, Charles, on the homestead, and removed, with Matthew and his other sons and daughters, to Studholm, in the same county. About the year 1827, being amongst the pioneer settlers of that part of the country, Matthew MacFarlane married Sarah Foster, whose father, Ezekiel Foster, came from New England during the American war. One of his brothers fought at the battle of Lexington, and died in defending what he considered his rights, having espoused the cause of the colonists. Foster MacFarlane, the subject of our sketch, was the fifth child of this marriage, and first saw the light in a log cabin, the common abode of the pioneer farmers of those days. His earliest education was received in the parish school, and was limited to the rudiments of an ordinary English education. At the age of twenty, having passed the required examination before the local board then existing, he received a license to teach in the public school. After teaching for a time, he entered upon a course of study at the Baptist Seminary, Fredericton, and afterwards took a special course for a time at the University of New Brunswick. After leaving the university, he pursued a course in medicine at Harvard University, Cambridge, United States, and was privileged to sit at the feet of such men as Professor Agassiz, Jeffries Wyman, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and E. Brown-Sequard, of Paris, graduating in 1868. He first practised medicine in his native parish for two years and a half. During this time he was appointed by the government a coroner for Kings county. He then removed to Fairville, St. John, N.B., where he has ever since practised his profession. He has been a member of the Senate of the University of New Brunswick since the spring of 1883, and a director of the Union Baptist Education Society since its incorporation. He was one of the promoters of the Dominion Safety Fund Life Association, filling for a number of years the position of director, and is now its medical superintendent. He united about thirty years ago with the Sons of Temperance, and has since belonged to other temperance organizations, being now a member of the Independent Order of Good Templars. He was brought up in connection with the Methodists, but in the year 1858 his views underwent a change, and he united with the Baptists, and is at present a member of the Fairville Baptist church. On July 20, 1868, he was married to Elizabeth A. Babbitt, daughter of Samuel Perry and Phœbe Babbitt, of St. John, N.B. He has five children—one son and four daughters.
Burns, Rev. Robert Ferrier, D.D., Pastor of the Fort Massey Presbyterian church, Halifax, Nova Scotia. This popular minister was born in Paisley, Scotland, on the 23rd of December, 1826. His father was Robert Burns, D.D., and his mother, Janet Orr, daughter of the first provost of Paisley. His mother’s sister, Susan, was mother of Sir Archibald Orr Ewing, baronet, M.P. for Dumbarton. His father had three brothers in the ministry of the Church of Scotland—namely, Rev. James Burns, who for forty years was minister of the parish of Brechin; Rev. William H. Burns, D.D., Kilsyth; and Rev. George Burns, D.D., first Presbyterian minister of St. John, New Brunswick, afterwards of Tweedsmuir and Corstorphine, Scotland—and two uncles in the service of their Sovereign—Major-General Islay Ferrier, the last governor of Dumbarton castle, and Sir William Hamilton, baronet, who commanded the marines that pulled the guns up to the Plains of Abraham, in 1759, at the taking of Quebec. Miss Ferrier, author, and friend of Sir Walter Scott, was a second cousin. Rev. Dr. Burns, sr., was pastor for thirty-three years of Dr. Witherspoon’s church (Laigh Kirk and St. George’s), Paisley, and moved to Toronto in 1845, and became the first pastor of Knox’s Church in that city, and professor in Knox’s College. He died at Toronto on the 19th of August, 1869; and his widow on the 22nd of August, 1882. Rev. Dr. Robert Ferrier Burns received his early education at the High school of Paisley, and then entered the University of Glasgow, where he remained four years, taking honours in Latin, Greek, logic, and moral philosophy. He studied theology in the New College (Free Church), Edinburgh, and Knox’s College, Toronto. In April, 1847, he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Toronto, and on the 1st of July following he was ordained pastor of Chalmer’s Presbyterian church, Kingston, Ontario. He was Presbyterian chaplain in the 71st Highland Light Infantry for a year. He remained in this charge for eight years, and, during his ministry there, succeeded in having built for his congregation a handsome church edifice. In July, 1855, he moved to St. Catharines, and was settled over Knox Presbyterian church of that place. A fine building was erected by his people for him. Here he ministered until March, 1867, when he accepted a call from the Scotch Presbyterian church in Chicago, United States, to become its first pastor, and, during his residence there of three years, a church was built. In 1866, the degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by Hamilton College, New York. In April, 1870, he was translated to Côté Street Presbyterian church (now Crescent street), Montreal, as successor to Principal MacVicar, where he did good work. On the 18th of March, 1875, he became pastor of Fort Massey Presbyterian church in Halifax, as successor to the Rev. J. K. Smith, M.A., now of Galt, who for two years had been first pastor of this influential congregation. In 1873, Dr. Burns occupied the position of moderator of the Synod of Montreal, and in 1883 he was moderator of the Synod of the Maritime provinces. During his residence in Montreal he was chairman of the Presbyterian College Board; and, for the past twelve years, has acted as chairman of the Halifax College Board. In 1880 he was sent as a delegate to the Raikes’ centenary celebration in London, and during the same year he represented the Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Canada in the Presbyterian Council at Philadelphia. In 1884 he was a delegate from the same church to the council held in Belfast, Ireland, where he read one of the papers presented to that body, and was appointed one of its executive committee. This year (1887) the doctor has been nominated for the moderatorship of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, which meets in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in June next. Rev. Dr. Burns takes a great interest in Sunday-school work, and was one of the first to advocate the establishment of Sunday-school conventions in Canada, which have done so much of late years to advance this branch of Christian work. As a platform speaker he stands high, and has often spoken on subjects, professional and otherwise, before large audiences. At present he is lecturer on theological themes in the Presbyterian College at Halifax. As a book-writer, too, he has done his share. His life of his father, a volume of nearly five hundred pages, published in Toronto in 1873, soon went through three editions. His other writings, “Sketch of Abraham Lincoln,” “The Presbyterian Church,” “Modern Babylon,” “The Maine Law,” “Christian Liberality,” “Confession and Absolution,” and a variety of sermons and tracts—have all been favourably received, and commanded a good sale. He has also contributed largely to the columns of the newspaper press and our periodicals. Dr. Burns has travelled a good deal, and has visited Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, and various other places in Europe, and is very familiar with Canada and the United States. He was married on the 1st of July, 1852, at Belleville, Ontario, to Elizabeth, second daughter of Rufus Holden, M.D., a much esteemed physician, and elder of the Presbyterian church, in Belleville. Dr. Burns has eight children—four sons and four daughters.
Bullock, Joseph, Oil Merchant, St. John, New Brunswick, is a native of Springfield, Ohio, and was born on September 6th, 1833. His father was William Bullock, a native of Staffordshire, England, who came to the United States a few years prior to the birth of Joseph. His mother’s maiden name was Ann Clark Peacock, she being of the Yorkshire family of that ilk. His mother’s parents came out to Ohio about the same time as Mr. Bullock, sr. Mr. Peacock went there to accept the position of engineer for the state of Ohio. Joseph Bullock’s parents removed to Hamilton, Ontario, in the spring of 1834, he then being only a few months old. Two years later they removed to what is now known as Bullock’s Corners, near Dundas, the place taking its name from his father. It was here Mr. Bullock spent his boyhood, and got what education could in those days be procured in the public school of the vicinity. On leaving school he helped his father in his business, which, by the way, was that of lumberman. During the time he was so engaged, he married when in his 25th year, Elizabeth, daughter of Isaac Duffield, a farmer of the township of Glanford, South Wentworth. Two years after his marriage, the lumber business declining, he commenced business as general store-keeper at Bullock’s Corners, which he continued for about three years. After this he settled upon a farm he owned in West Flamboro’, and worked it for two years. His father having died in the meantime, he left West Flamboro’ and took up his residence at the old homestead. Here he remained about three years, travelling occasionally for his brothers-in-law, Duffield Bros., of London, oil refiners. In the year 1869, Confederation being an accomplished fact, Mr. Bullock removed to St. John, New Brunswick, to engage in the oil business, which has now assumed such large proportions. His original intention was to handle Canadian oil exclusively, but as the years rolled on, American products had also to be handled, and he is now the largest dealer in oils in the maritime provinces. In politics, Mr. Bullock is thoroughly independent, voting more on the character of the man than from purely party motives. It is, however, in the religious world that Mr. Bullock is most conspicuous. As a boy he was identified more particularly with the Church of England, but at the age of about twenty years he became a member of the Methodist church, of which he is a consistent and earnest member. Prior to the great fire of 1877, Mr. Bullock was a trustee of the old German Street Methodist Church, the oldest church in the city, and after its destruction by that fire, was chairman of the building committee of the present Queen Square Methodist Church, and of which he still continues a trustee. It was largely to his energy and liberality that the erection of this church was due. He is also a member of the quarterly board of his church, and is one of the board of directors of the British and Foreign Bible Society for the city of St. John. He is a total abstainer, and has been for the most of his life, and is pronounced in favour of the prohibition of the liquor traffic. When Gen. Booth visited St. John, he was the guest of Mr. Bullock. Mr. Bullock has had a family of three children, one of whom is deceased, and the remaining ones, two sons, are associated with him in business.
Binney, Irwine Whitty, Collector of Customs, Port of Moncton, New Brunswick, was born on the 10th of July, 1841, at Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is a son of the late Stephen Binney, who for many years was a leading merchant in Halifax, and who, when the city was incorporated, was elected its first mayor. Mr. Binney, sr., acting as mayor, on the occasion of the birth of the Prince of Wales, visited England, and presented an address to Her Majesty the Queen, signed by a large number of the citizens. This gentleman was grandson of the late Hon. Hibbert N. Binney, who for a period of nearly forty years, filled the office of collector of customs and excise at Halifax, and was also a member of the Legislative Council; and great-grandson of the late Hon. Jonathan Binney, one of the first residents of Halifax, who was a member of the first Legislative Assembly (1758) of the province. He and Frederick des Barras met the Indian chiefs at Arichat, New Brunswick, in 1761, and concluded a lasting peace, and was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1768; second judge at St. John’s Island (near Prince Edward Island); and also collector of customs for the island. I. W. Binney, the subject of this sketch, is brother to William Pryor Binney, Her Britannic Majesty’s consul at Syra, Greece, and was educated at various schools, including the Sackville Academy, New Brunswick, receiving a commercial education. In his younger days he found employment as a clerk in several commercial houses; and from 1861 to 1864, he was in the old established and well known lumber firm of Gilmour, Rankin & Co., Miramichi, New Brunswick. He also carried on a wholesale business at Chatham, New Brunswick, for a few years, and afterwards engaged in mining operations in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, in company with the late Sir A. J. Smith and others. He was appointed a clerk in Her Majesty’s customs in 1874, and promoted to the collectorship at the port of Moncton, New Brunswick, in 1883. He joined the Freemasons in 1862; was made a Royal-Arch-Mason in 1866, and Knight Templar in 1870. At present he is a past master of Keith lodge of Moncton, New Brunswick. He is an Episcopalian in his religious views. Mr. Binney’s father moved to Moncton, New Brunswick, from Halifax, in 1845, and died there in 1872. Mr. Binney is unmarried, and his mother and widowed sister reside with him.
Berthelot, Hon. Joseph Amable, Judge of the Superior Court of Montreal. This learned judge was born on the 8th of May, 1815, at St. Eustache, county of Two Mountains, by the marriage of Joseph Amable Berthelot, notary, and Dame Marie M. Hervieux. Mr. Berthelot’s father was from Quebec, where he finished his classical studies in 1796, having been the classmate of the late Hon. Judge Thomas Taschereau, the father of his eminence the Cardinal, and also that of the late Hon. Judge Vanfelson, who died in Montreal. Judge Berthelot began his Latin course in 1824, and finished it on the 9th of June, 1832, when at the age of seventeen. The course that year was suddenly terminated, on account of the cholera, the professors having deemed it prudent to send back the scholars to their families in the month of June. In the month of October of the same year he began his legal studies, being indentured with the late Hon. Sir. L. H. Lafontaine, who had married his cousin in 1830. Sir George E. Cartier, who was his classmate at college, also commenced studying law in 1832, in the office of the late Etienne E. Rodier, advocate, M.P.P. for the county of l’Assomption. After being admitted to the bar in November, 1836, he became the partner of Mr. Lafontaine, and continued to practise his profession in such partnership until July, 1853, when Mr. Lafontaine was appointed chief justice of the province of Lower Canada on the demise of the late Sir James Stuart. A few days after, Mr. Berthelot entered into partnership with his friend, the late Sir George E. Cartier, and continued this partnership until he was appointed assistant judge of the Superior Court, succeeding the late Hon. C. D. Day, who was appointed codifier in February, 1859. On Justice Day’s resignation having been accepted by the government, in 1860, Judge Berthelot was immediately appointed permanent judge of the Superior Court. On this occasion, in December, 1860, the bar of Montreal held a meeting in order to express publicly their satisfaction of the appointment of Judge Berthelot to the bench, and adopted resolutions, copies of which were transmitted to the judge, and also published in the newspapers of the day, amongst others in La Minerve. These resolutions read as follow: