Part 177

=Thomas, Newell Wood=, Coaticook, Quebec province, was born at Barnston, on the 25th June, 1842. His father was a native of Barnston and carried on farming. He was also a mail contractor, being the first person who carried her Majesty’s mails out of the town of Coaticook. He was for many years a councillor, and afterwards warden of the county of Stanstead. His mother, Orissa A. Norton, was also born in Barnston. Newell W. Thomas, the subject of our sketch, received his educational training in the common school of his native place. On leaving school he went into the establishment of the late John Thornton, as a clerk, and here he gradually rose, step by step, until he finally became a partner in the business. Some years afterwards, on the retirement of Mr. Thornton, he assumed the whole business and carried it successfully on alone for a period of twenty-four years, when he retired from active mercantile life. Mr. Thomas is one of the original founders of the Cascade Narrow Fabric Manufacturing Company, and is now vice-president of the company. This undertaking was begun in 1886, and has proved very satisfactory to its shareholders. In politics he is a Liberal-Conservative, and in religion belongs to the Methodist church. On the 20th of October, 1868, he was married to Katie Barry, and the fruit of the union has been three sons (one of whom is now a banker), and one daughter.

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=Bethune, Robert Henry=, Manager of the Dominion Bank, Toronto, was born at Cobourg, Ontario, on the 5th of May, 1836. His father was the beloved and highly respected Bishop A. N. Bethune, D.D. (the successor of Bishop Strachan in the Toronto Episcopate), who died in 1879. The subject of our sketch was educated at Upper Canada College and at other schools of the province. Early in life he took to banking as a vocation, and for the long period of now thirty-five years he has been closely and honorably connected with banking institutions, and has become one of the most respected and trustworthy, as well as perhaps the best known and most successful, Bank managers of Toronto. For several years he has been the cashier of the Dominion Bank, and, during this period, thanks to his prudent and able management, no institution in the country has had a more satisfactory record, or to-day stands higher in the confidence of the commercial and financial community of Canada. Mr. Bethune’s life, though it has been uneventful, has not been without incident or devoid of importance. Nor has it been lacking in the kind or quality of service which, in the course of a long career of responsibility and duty, a trusty and competent Bank officer renders to the corporate body whom he represents and to the public at large. In the course of this career, Mr. Bethune has seen banks rise and fall, looked on the barometer of finance in sunshine and storm, been confronted with all sorts of commercial vicissitudes, and, like other old Bank managers, been at times threatened with mercantile and financial panic. Yet has he held bravely on his course, with a firm hand on the interests with which he has been charged, and has faithfully and successfully done his duty. Mr. Bethune, for the first twelve years of his business life, was connected with the Bank of Montreal, and served that institution in various towns and cities of the province, from junior clerk in 1853 to manager in 1865. In 1853, for instance, we find him acting as junior clerk in Brockville; in 1854 as teller in Cobourg; in 1859 as assistant accountant in Toronto; in 1861 as accountant at New York; in 1862 as accountant at Hamilton; and finally, in 1864, as manager at St. Catharines. At the close of 1865 he severed his connection with the Bank of Montreal, on being appointed inspector of the Quebec Bank, and in the following year was made manager of the Toronto branch of that institution. Here he remained until 1871, when he received the appointment which he now holds, that of Cashier and Manager of the Dominion Bank. Personally, Mr. Bethune is not only highly respected, but is much beloved; and he enjoys the esteem and confidence of the whole community. He is conservative in his ways, and is what is known as an eminently safe banker, as may be predicted from the stability and success of the institution which he has long guided and controlled. In politics he is a Liberal-Conservative; in religion, a member of the Church of England. In 1862 he married Jane Frances Ewart, eldest daughter of the late J. B. Ewart, of Dundas, by whom he has six children.

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=McLeod, Hon. John David=, M.L.C., Pictou, Nova Scotia, is a native of Pictou county, N.S., being descended from an ancient Highland family. He is about forty-seven years of age. He received his early education in Pictou, and having finished his academic course he entered upon the study of the law. Having completed his four years’ apprenticeship he was admitted to the bar of Nova Scotia on 5th December, 1866. He carried on the practice of his profession with great success in Pictou for upwards of twenty years. Being a man of great social popularity, he has been several times before the people as a candidate for legislative honors, being considered the strongest man the Liberals could put in the field. In the local general election of 1886 he polled 2,514 votes, but failed being elected, Pictou being one of the strongest Conservative constituencies in the province. In the general election for the House of Commons, February, 1887, he again entered the field but was unsuccessful. In local affairs he has met with more success, and has been three times mayor of Pictou. He is a fluent and ready speaker, and is possessed of a fine presence. The local government recognized his services to the party by appointing him, 10th March, 1887, a member of the Legislative Council, and on 15th March he was made a member of the executive, in which, until his retirement, he sat without portfolio, but holding the position of Liberal leader in the council. In the following summer failing health led him to seek a residence in a warmer climate, and with his family he removed from the province and settled in Southern California. Previous to his leaving Pictou his friends honored him with a public banquet, and presented him with a complimentary address.

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=Wilmot, Hon. Robert Duncan=, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Hon. Mr. Wilmot, late Lieutenant-Governor of the province of New Brunswick, was born at Fredericton, N.B., on the 16th October, 1809. His grandfather was the late Major Lemuel Wilmot. His father, the late John M. Wilmot, represented St. John county for many years in the New Brunswick legislature; and his mother, Susan Harriet, was a daughter of the late Samuel Wiggins, a prominent merchant of St. John. When about five years of age the future lieutenant-governor removed with his parents to St. John, where he received his education. On reaching manhood he entered into business with his father, who at that time was a prominent merchant and shipowner. In 1833 he was married to Miss Mowatt, of St. John, and shortly after this event removed to Liverpool, England, where he resided for five years. On his return he began to take an interest in municipal affairs, and for some time he sat as alderman in the city council, and afterwards became mayor of the city. In 1846 he entered the arena of politics, and on presenting himself for parliamentary honors was elected to represent the county of St. John in the New Brunswick legislature, and this constituency he continued to represent, with the exception of one term, until the confederation of the provinces. He was appointed surveyor-general of New Brunswick in 1851, and held the office until 1854. In 1856-7 he was provincial secretary, and became premier of the government formed in 1865. He was also a member of the government of 1866-7. This year he was a delegate to the conference held in London, England, to discuss matters relating to confederation. On the 1st of July, 1867, he was called by royal proclamation to a seat in the Senate of the Dominion of Canada. Upon the formation of Sir John A. Macdonald’s government, in 1878, he was sworn in a member of the Privy Council without portfolio, and shortly afterwards was appointed speaker of the Senate, as successor to the Hon. David Christie. This office he held until the time of the death of Lieutenant-Governor C. B. Chandler, when he resigned the speakership, and on the 11th February, 1880, was appointed lieutenant-governor of his native province. In this position he faithfully served his country until the 11th November, 1885, when he was succeeded by Sir Leonard Tilley. In 1851 the Hon. Mr. Wilmot left the city of St. John to reside in Sunbury county, on a farm known as “Belmont,” owned by his grandfather and father, and on the expiration of his term of office at Fredericton, he again selected Belmont as his home, and here he now resides. In politics, he is a Conservative, and for many years was a leader of this party in New Brunswick. In religion, he is a member of the Church of England. Few men are more respected than the Hon. Mr. Wilmot, and all hope he may be long spared to enjoy the honors he has earned, and of which he is most deserving.

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=Rogers, Lieutenant-Col. Robert Zacheus=, Grafton, Ontario, is a younger brother of Henry C. Rogers, who is referred to at length on page 147. He was born at Grafton, Northumberland county, Ontario, 29th March, 1842. His education was completed at Upper Canada College in 1859, and soon afterwards he was entrusted with the management of the farm and business of his father, whom he succeeded. He was among the first to take advantage of the military training offered by the School of Instruction established by the government at Toronto in 1864, and subsequently took an active part in the volunteer movement of 1866, serving as a lieutenant during the Fenian raids of that year. After nineteen years’ service as a captain in the 40th Northumberland battalion V.M., he assumed the command of the same in compliance with the request of his brother officers, some of whom were senior to him. In politics, he has always taken an active part on behalf of the Conservative party, and for eight years was the chosen leader of the county organization in support of the government of Sir John A. Macdonald. In the spring of 1880 he organized an expedition to colonize and develop the valley of the Souris river, in the Canadian Northwest, which had been partly surveyed the previous season and most favorably reported on. The point selected as the business centre was called Millford, near the mouth of the Souris—at which place he started a saw mill in June of that year, and erected the first frame building west of the old province line, range 13 west of Winnipeg, and south of the present main line of the C. P. Railway. The following year he added the pioneer flour mill of the district to his establishment, and for five years carried on an extensive business, and in many ways took an important part in promoting the advancement of that very promising agricultural district. This enterprise, however, did not prove a financial success, and Mr. Rogers was forced reluctantly to abandon the idea of making that his future home. In September, 1867, he married Isabella, eldest daughter of the late Sheriff Waddell, of Chatham, Ontario, and granddaughter of the late Captain William Waddell, of the 1st Royal Dragoons, a veteran of Waterloo fame.

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=Bourgeois, George A.=, M.D., C.M., Three Rivers, was born at St. Grégoire, county of Nicolet, P.Q., on the 1st of October, 1822. His father was Jacques Bourgeois, a farmer, and his mother Magdeleine Bourke. He took a classical course at the Seminary of Nicolet. He adopted the medical profession, received his license to practise on the 1st of March, 1844, and began his professional career in his native parish, where he practised from that year till 1867, inclusively. He then entered the civil service and was deputy commissioner of crown lands for the province of Quebec from the 2nd of November, 1867, to the 2nd of October, 1869, during which period he resided in the city of Quebec. He was director of the cadastral operations in the district of Three Rivers, from the 1st of August, 1870, to the 1st of September, 1878. He was inspector of the post offices of the Dominion of Canada in the postal division of Three Rivers, from the 26th of July, 1879; and also in the Quebec postal division from the 12th of February, 1886, to the 12th of July, 1887. He has been a resident of Three Rivers since May, 1872. Dr. Bourgeois travelled in Europe during the years 1869 and 1870, and visited England, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy. On the 27th of April, 1886, he was created Knight Commander of the religious and military order of the Holy Sepulchre, and also an honorary member of the order of the Chevaliers Sauveteurs des Alpes Maritimes, on the 11th of July of the same year. In May, 1885, he received from the Victoria University the degrees of M.D. and C.M. He was married on the 24th of September, 1844, to Mary Esther Lucinda Whitney, who died on the 14th of September, 1868. He was again married to Mary Malvina Ernestine Rivard Dufresne, on the 22nd of October, 1870. In religion Dr. Bourgeois is a Roman Catholic.

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=Brooks, Hon. Edward T.=, Sherbrooke, Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, was born at Lennoxville, county of Sherbrooke, on the 6th of July, 1830. His father, Samuel Brooks, was a native of Massachusetts, and a member of the Brooks family with which the Adamses of that state are connected. He was a member of the Canadian assembly for Sherbrooke for many years, the last term being from 1844 until his death in 1849. His mother was Elizabeth Towle. The subject of this sketch was educated at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1850; studied law with Judge J. S. Sanborn, of Sherbrooke, and Andrew Robertson, Q.C., of Montreal; was admitted to the bar of Lower Canada in 1854, created a Queen’s counsel in 1875, and elected _bâtonnier_ of St. Francis bar the same year. He has always had an honorable stand at the bar of his district, and has done a highly remunerative and straightforward business. In ability he stands in the front rank in his part of the province. He was vice-president of the International and Waterloo, and Magog Railways; president of the Sherbrooke Rifle Association; the Fish and Game Protection Society, and the Plowmen’s Association; solicitor for the Eastern Townships Bank, the head-quarters of which are at Sherbrooke, and trustee of Bishop’s College, Lennoxville. He is a man with a great deal of public spirit and very highly prized as a citizen. He was first elected to parliament for his present seat by acclamation in 1872, and was re-elected in the same manner in 1874, and again at the general election in September, 1878. He was the author of the amendment to the law of libel, passed in 1874, and seconded Sir John A. Macdonald’s motion condemning the act of Lieutenant-Governor Letellier, of the province of Quebec. He was a Conservative, and a steadfast and earnest supporter of the policy of that party, believing the best interests of the country are promoted by protecting home industries and encouraging internal improvements. These were his views, as many of his friends know, long before they were embodied in the so-called “national policy,” and were made a distinct party issue. Mr. Brooks was elevated to the bench of St. Francis district on the 1st October, 1882. He was married in 1856, to Sarah Louise, daughter of Eleazer Clarke, revenue inspector and high constable, Sherbrooke, and they have three children.

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=Cooke, Richard S.=, Advocate, Three Rivers, was born at Three Rivers, province of Quebec, on the 23rd of January, 1850. He is the son of the late John Richard Cooke, a saddler by trade, and Marie Emilie Cloutier, and nephew of the late Right Rev. Thomas Cooke, first bishop of the diocese of Three Rivers. Mr. Cooke received his early education at the Christian Brothers’ School, and went through a regular course of classical studies at the St. Joseph College, taking first prizes every year at both institutions, and distinguishing himself among his schoolmates by his talented application. He was admitted to the bar in July, 1874, and has practised his profession without interruption since then, making a specialty of commercial law business. From 1874 to 1879 he practised with the Hon. H. G. Malhiot (then a member of the Quebec government, and now mayor of Three Rivers), under the name and title of Malhiot & Cooke. Mr. Cooke was an alderman of the council of Three Rivers from 1880 to 1885, and was chosen as pro-mayor and president of the finance committee. He has been connected with nearly every amateur association of his native city, and founded the Three Rivers Fish and Game Club, duly incorporated and holding fishing rights on Lake Archange and others in the province of Quebec. He has taken a prominent and very active part in all political and municipal matters, and has always been an independent supporter of the Conservative party, and an earnest advocate of progress in municipal affairs. Mr. Cooke is an eloquent and impressive speaker, and as such is highly appreciated and generally considered to be an undoubted authority on financial matters. He has visited nearly every important place in Canada, the United States and Europe. He belongs to the Roman Catholic church, of which he is a strict member, but thoroughly liberal in his views, and in no way given to bigotry. Mr. Cooke married on the 23rd August, 1877, Louisa Lajoie, only daughter of the late J. B. Lajoie, first mayor of Three Rivers, but unfortunately lost both his wife and newly-born child the following year. His efforts and energy greatly assisted in the building of the Lower Laurentian Railway, extending from the Piles branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway towards Lake St. John, on part of which trains are running through the parishes of St. Tite and St. Thècle. Still in the prime of life, and possessing an unusual amount of energy and talent, Mr. Cooke will no doubt occupy a prominent position in the affairs of his country.

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=MacGillivray, Hon. Angus=, of Antigonish, N.S., was born at Bailey’s Brook, Pictou county, N.S., on the 22nd January, 1842. He is of Scottish extraction, his grandfather, Angus MacGillivray, having emigrated from Arisaig, in Inverness-shire, Scotland. His father and mother were named John and Catharine MacGillivray. When a mere lad, Angus removed, in 1845, with his parents to Antigonish, where he has since resided. He received his education at St. François-Xavier College, Antigonish—where his studies embraced the languages, mathematics, and philosophy—and from this institution he graduated with the degree of M.A. The counties of Antigonish and the eastern portion of the county of Pictou are largely peopled with Scotch Catholics, and a man of Mr. MacGillivray’s abilities would naturally possess a great influence among his coreligionists. The inhabitants of Pictou county are said to be more Scotch than the Scotch, no less an authority than the late Rev. Norman McLeod, the eminent Scottish divine, having pronounced them to be as tenacious of Scotch prejudice and national custom and turn of thought and speech as any section of the people in old Scotland. Gaelic is commonly spoken by all classes; original Gaelic poems are often to be seen in the weekly newspapers of Pictou and Antigonish; and Highland gatherings, those nuclei of national sentiment and national manly contests, are celebrated every year in either of the eastern counties or in Prince Edward Island. “Tigh-Dhe” (House of God) is the inscription cut in the granite over the portal of the great cathedral in Antigonish, which edifice is considered to be the largest and handsomest religious structure in Nova Scotia. After graduating, Mr. MacGillivray entered upon the study of the law in the office of H. (now judge) Macdonald, and finished in the office of Blanchard & Magher, Halifax, was called to the bar on the 22nd of July, 1874, and immediately afterwards formed a partnership with A. McIsaac (now judge of the County Court). A dissolution taking place on the elevation of Mr. McIsaac to the bench, Mr. MacGillivray formed another partnership, and is now head of the law firm of MacGillivray & Chisholm, barristers, etc. Being a most popular man in his professional and social relations, he was returned to the House of Assembly by acclamation at the general election in 1878, and was re-elected in 1882. In February, 1883, he was elected speaker of the house, and discharged the duties of that responsible office with great discrimination and acceptance until the dissolution in May, 1886. Being again nominated by his constituents, he contested the county at the general election on the 15th June, 1886, and was returned at the head of the poll, the vote standing—Angus MacGillivray, 1,378 votes; C. F. McIsaac, 1,273, defeating C. B. Whidden, 900; and R. McDonald, 487. He was appointed a member of the Executive Council in the Hon. Mr. Fielding’s cabinet, on the 28th June, 1886. Yielding to the urgent solicitations of his party, he resigned his seat in the Nova Scotia legislature in January, 1887, in order to run for the House of Commons at Ottawa at the general election, his opponent being the Hon. John S. D. Thompson, minister of justice. Even against so strong a man, the Hon. Mr. MacGillivray polled 1,207 votes, being defeated by only 40 votes. However, being again nominated for a seat in the local house, there was no one bold enough to take the field against him, and he was returned by acclamation on the 1st March, 1887. On the 7th March following he was reappointed a member of the government. Hon. Mr. MacGillivray was one of the commissioners appointed by the government in 1878 to investigate the claims of laborers and others against absconding and insolvent contractors on the Eastern Extension Railway; and in October, 1887, he was one of the delegates to the Inter-Provincial Conference held at Quebec. He is connected with improvements relating to agriculture, and takes part in the better encouragement of that industry. In religion he is a Roman Catholic, and in politics a Liberal. He married, on the 5th February, 1878, Maggie, daughter of the late Alexander McIntosh, of Antigonish. This lady died on the 8th September, 1879. On July 15th, 1884, he married May E., daughter of John Doherty, of New York.

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