Part 21
=Wild, Rev. Joseph=, M.A., D.D., Pastor of Bond street Congregational Church, Toronto, was born at Summit, Littleborough, Lancashire, England, on the 16th of November, 1834. He was the youngest of five children. His father, Joseph Wild, was one of the best of men—a thorough practical Christian, who was respected by all classes of the community in which he lived. It was a notable fact that no one passed from time to eternity without the prayers of Joseph Wild first being sought, and no funeral was considered complete without his being present at the ceremony. He dressed plainly, following the style of Bourne and Clowes, and other noted founders of the Primitive Methodist church. In manner he was simple, easily approached, kind, sympathetic, generous, and affectionate. His greatest concern seemed to be for children and aged people, and on all occasions he had a kind word to say to them as he passed through the streets or from his home to the chapel. As a preacher he was plain and conversational, his object seeming to be to show the best and nearest way to Heaven without the interposition of too many stiles. When he died his funeral was the largest ever seen in the village, and to this day his memory is revered. Rev. Dr. Wild’s mother was a kind and quiet woman, and lived to do her duty to God and her household, set her children a good example, and died in the favour and affection of her neighbours and kinsfolk. Coming from such a stock, we need not wonder that the doctor should now possess such a power in the pulpit and among the people. At an early age he began to earn a livelihood, and was apprenticed to the business of iron moulder and machinist. It is perhaps in consequence of the knowledge acquired in the workshop that he is now enabled to give occasionally such plain and practical illustrations, as the following will show: While he resided in Belleville, a fire having broken out, the fire engine would not work, and every one in the neighbourhood got alarmed and feared an explosion of steam—even the engineer deserted his post, and left the machine to its fate. The doctor, however, felt no alarm, and going to the engine made an examination and found that the piston rod had stuck, and at once put it to rights amidst the applause of the multitude, and for this the mayor and corporation passed him a hearty vote of thanks. Rev. Dr. Wild, although he had not all the educational advantages the young people of this country have, yet he was always considered sharp and intelligent, and when first licensed as a local preacher, was able to give the people something worth listening to. He was possessed of indomitable perseverance, and early adopted the motto, “What man has done, man can do again.” Possessed of an active brain, quick perception, a strong physical constitution, and a warm heart, England became too contracted for him, and he felt that Canada alone would be sufficient to satisfy his wishes and desires for thorough usefulness in the cause of God and humanity. Therefore, in 1855 he left fatherland, and made his home among strangers. Few men have landed in America under more unfavourable circumstances. He had no friends to meet him, and very little money in his pocket when he landed in New York. Shortly after his arrival he started on a tramp through some of the western and southern states, and having satisfied his curiosity with regard to those places, he resolved to see what Canada was like, and visit some friends who had lately arrived from the old country. With this desire he started, and soon reached the country of his successes and his triumphs. Here he became the subject of impressions convincing in their tendency, that it was his duty to thoroughly consecrate himself to the work of the ministry, and from that time he resolved to devote himself to the preaching of the gospel. He was denominationally connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada, and received from it his first station in the city of Hamilton. After having served about a year in this place, he began to feel the great importance of the “high calling”—wished to be a minister of power, “rightly dividing the word of truth,” and believed that God’s work was a grand work calling for good, holy, and educated men. Being poor, he had not the means at his disposal to enable him to carry out his aspirations, but a friend kindly aided with money. He then made all the necessary arrangements, and went to the Boston Theological Institute, where he remained several years, and completed his course of literary, classical, and theological studies, graduating from that institution. On leaving college, he made arrangements to enter the Methodist church, South, but in consequence of the breaking out of the southern rebellion he was forced to abandon the idea. He then returned to Canada, and after having preached at Goderich for a year, he sailed for Europe, determined to gather up information from the various learned institutes of the eastern continent, and thereby prepare himself for a wider sphere of usefulness. In England, after his return there, he lectured and preached on many occasions, and was a wonder to the friends who had known him before he went to America. On his return from Europe, he received a station at Orono, where he preached for two years, and from this place he moved to Belleville, the seat of Albert University, where he remained about eight years. At this time the Genesee College conferred upon him the degree of M.A., and the Ohio Wesleyan University that of D.D. While stationed at Belleville, Rev. Dr. Wild did double work, acting as pastor of the Methodist Church and professor of Oriental languages in the university. At the time he went to Belleville the university was greatly embarrassed for want of funds, but he undertook the position of treasurer, and through preaching and lecturing succeeded in raising $20,000, and put the institution on a firm footing. During the years he was engaged at this work he refused to take one cent as remuneration for his services as professor or treasurer. Belleville to this day remembers him with pride, and the poor of the place with gratitude for the many kindnesses he showed them while he went in and out among them. Too close application to his many duties, and the loss of his valuable library and manuscripts by fire, wrought heavily on his mind, and he resolved to leave Belleville and re-visit Europe. In 1872, while preparing to leave, he was appointed a delegate from the Church in Canada to the conference of the Methodist church of the United States, which was to be held in the city of Brooklyn the same year. While attending this conference the doctor was invited to preach in the Seventh avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, and having done so, the congregation decided on giving him a call, which he accepted. Having served them three years, he then accepted a call from the Union Congregational Church, remaining with them for nearly six years. During the years he occupied the Brooklyn pulpit he was honoured with overflowing congregations. In 1880 he was invited to take charge of the Congregational Church, Bond street, Toronto, and decided once more on making Canada his home. When the Rev. Dr. Wild took charge of this work the congregation was small, an immense debt was on the handsome edifice which graces the corner of Bond street and Wilton avenue, and things generally wore a very discouraging aspect, but he had no sooner put himself at the head of affairs than a new impulse was given, and to-day it is one of the most thriving churches in Toronto—having a membership of nearly eight hundred, about a thousand seat-holders, the Sunday night congregations numbering often three thousand souls, and the debt on the sacred edifice reduced to a minimum. Without doubt the Rev. Dr. Wild is the most popular preacher at this moment in the Queen City of the West, and it is wonderful how he succeeds in holding the attention of the great numbers of people who come to hear him. The grand secret, however, is that the doctor never enters his pulpit unprepared. He honours his audience by refusing to foist on them a subject at hap-hazard. His very tread indicates confidence in his preparations, and his voice and gesture indicate the force of his own convictions upon himself. Rev. Dr. Wild is a little above the medium height, is very strongly built, has an erect and dignified carriage. His face is a remarkable one, and his features easily play to the run of his thoughts. He has a large brain, and a high and prominent forehead, and with his hair worn long and his flowing whiskers, he presents the picture of a man of careful thought and great physical endurance. He loves his friends, and is most kind, free and open to all, and, it may be added, he is the friend of all and enemy of none.
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=Kelly, Thomas=, Judge of the County Court of Prince county, Summerside, Prince Edward Island. His Honour Judge Kelly is of Irish parentage, and was born at Covehead, in Queens county, Prince Edward Island, in 1833. His parents were Thomas Kelly and Mary Grace, who emigrated from the county of Kilkenny, Ireland, about the year 1824. Judge Kelly received his education in the old Central Academy of his native place, and at St. Dunstan’s College, Charlottetown, and pursued his law studies with His Honour Judge Watters, in St. John. He was called to the New Brunswick bar in Trinity term, 1865, and to that of Prince Edward Island the same year, and immediately thereafter began the practice of his profession as barrister and notary public at Summerside, where he has since resided. While a law student, he was for two years president of the Irish Friendly Society of St. John, N.B. Before accepting a position on the bench, Judge Kelly for many years took an active interest in the politics of his native province, especially in connection with the party controversies arising out of the education, railway, and confederation questions, as they existed in Prince Edward Island. He was twice elected a representative from Prince county to the Island legislature. In 1870 he was appointed a master in Chancery, and in 1871, a Railway commissioner, to which office he was again elected in 1872, but resigned it a few weeks subsequent to the overthrow of the Pope administration. In 1873 he was offered the chairmanship of the Railway board, and in 1874 the speakership of the House of Assembly, both of which positions he declined in consequence of a misunderstanding on the school question. In 1876 he retired temporarily from public life; but in a couple of years thereafter he again entered it, and in 1879 was an unsuccessful candidate for the legislature, at the general election of that year. For several years Judge Kelly was a director of the Summerside Bank, and afterwards became solicitor for that institution. He was elected license commissioner in 1877, and the same year was chosen recorder for the town of Summerside. He is a commissioner for Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, for taking affidavits for use in those provinces, and is also commissioner _dedimus_ to administer oaths of office to Dominion appointees. He was appointed to the bench, as successor to the late Judge Pope, on the 24th October, 1879, and revising officer under the Electoral Franchise Act on the 26th October, 1886. Judge Kelly is a Roman Catholic, and was married, first, in September, 1867, to Mary Emeline, daughter of Henry Eskildson, of New York (she died October, 1868); and, secondly, in November, 1871, to Marianne H., daughter of the late William A. Campbell, barrister, Toronto, Ontario. Judge Kelly’s family consists of four children—one boy and three girls.
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=Reddy, John=, M.D.—This distinguished medical man, who successfully practised his profession in Montreal for over thirty years, was born on the 31st of March, 1822, at Athlone, county of Roscommon, Ireland, and died on the 23rd of January, 1884. In accordance with the custom of that day, he was apprenticed to a local surgeon in the year 1839, and remained with him until 1842. In April, 1847, he appeared before the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, and received their license in April of that year. Owing to some demands which he considered unreasonable, he would not go up for the degree in Dublin, but preferred crossing to Glasgow, at which university he received the degree of M.D. in 1848. It was now the intention of Dr. Reddy to enter upon the career of an army surgeon, and he was actually gazetted to a commission in the line. His regiment was just at this time, however, ordered to the Gold Coast for service; and the young surgeon believing that he had not been born only to fill a premature grave in that most unhealthy station, at once resigned. He then for a short time held some dispensary appointments in Ireland, and came to Canada in 1851. Through the influence of some friends in Montreal he had been appointed house surgeon of the Montreal General Hospital, and immediately entered upon the duties of that office. He remained in the hospital for three years, fulfilling the responsibilities of this position to the great satisfaction of the then medical officers, Drs. Crawford, Arnoldi, Jones, and others, and on leaving the hospital, he began private practice in the city. The year 1854 will be remembered as the last during which a severe epidemic of Asiatic cholera swept over this country. Dr. Reddy at once devoted himself with unremitting attention to the care of the many sufferers who were falling on every hand. His unvarying kindness to his patients, his cheerful, warm-hearted Irish manners, his already considerable skill and experience soon led to his finding himself surrounded by a large and daily increasing _clientèle_. During Dr. Reddy’s thirty years’ practice of his profession in Montreal, his perseverance and assiduity knew no rest; he was constantly and busily employed from morning till night, and very often from night till morning, until 1883, when to the regret of his many friends, it was observed that his health was beginning to fail. He went to Europe for change of air, and the much needed rest, but unfortunately no return to health was to come to him, and he died in Dublin on the 23rd of January, 1884. Dr. Reddy held many offices of the highest trust and honour in this community. In 1856 he was appointed one of the attending physicians of the Montreal General Hospital, which post he held until he retired upon the consulting board. In 1856 he received the degree of M.D. _ad eundem_ from McGill College, and for many years served as representative fellow in medicine in the corporation of that university. He was a constant attendant at the meetings of the Medico-Chirurgical Society and was elected president, and he was a long-service officer in the volunteer militia, having been surgeon of the Montreal Garrison Artillery. His was a quiet, unostentatious, busy, blameless life. His high moral character and strict professional integrity, his broad benevolence and universal goodness of heart, with kind and obliging manners, procured for Dr. Reddy the respect and esteem of all his professional friends and _confrères_, his numerous patients, and the general community. His memory will long be cherished and his character and good deeds held in warm remembrance. He was married on the 1st July, 1851, to Jane Fleming, daughter of William Fleming, of Cloondra, county Longford, Ireland, and when he died he left six children, three sons and three daughters, the eldest of whom, H. L. Reddy, B.A., M.D.C.M., L.R.C.P., London; L.S.A., London; L.R.C.S., Edinburgh; professor of obstetrics in the medical faculty, Bishop’s College University, physician accoucheur to the Western Hospital, Montreal, succeeds him in his practice. His second son, William B. S. Reddy, B.C.L., is a notary public practising in Montreal.
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=Harris, Christopher Prince=, Merchant, Moncton, New Brunswick, was born at Moncton, county of Westmoreland, New Brunswick, on the 29th of May, 1837. He is the third son of Michael Spurr Harris and Sarah Ann Troop. Mr. Harris, jr., received his education in his native town, and for the past thirty years has been a member of the firm of J. & C. Harris, general merchants. In 1877 he took an active part with his brother and partner, J. L. Harris, and others, in organizing the Moncton Gaslight and Water Company, and also in the construction of the works. He has held the position of a director and also treasurer of the company until the present time. In 1880 he took a similar part in the organization and erection of the works of the Moncton Sugar Refining Company, and has been its treasurer ever since. In 1882 he helped to promote the Moncton Cotton Manufacturing Company, and the construction of its works, and is now one of its leading directors. Although a busy mercantile man, he has found time to devote some of his leisure to Masonry, and has been connected with the order for over twenty-one years. He is a past-master and honorary member of Keith lodge; past-principal Z of Botsford Royal Arch Chapter; a member of the Union De Molay Commandery, of St. John, New Brunswick, and also of other Masonic orders. In religion Mr. Harris is an adherent of the Reformed Episcopal church; and in politics a Liberal-Conservative. He was married on the 8th of October, 1867, to Mary Landon Cowling, eldest daughter of Eben Landon Cowling, justice of the peace. Mr. Harris is a live business man, and has a bright future before him.
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=Beckwith, Adolphus George=, Civil Engineer, Fredericton, New Brunswick, was born at Fredericton, on December 28th, 1839. His parents were the late Hon. John A. Beckwith, M.L.C., and Maria A. Beckwith. (See sketch life of Hon. Mr. Beckwith, in another part of this volume.) Mr. Beckwith was educated at the Collegiate School, Fredericton, and took a partial course at King’s College (now University of New Brunswick), where he studied civil engineering, and received his diploma from Professor Thomas Cregan. He joined the volunteers as a private on their first formation in Fredericton, in 1858, was gazetted ensign in 1st York Battalion, under Lieut.-Colonel Minchin, in 1861, was lieutenant in 1863, and captain in 1867. He was appointed adjutant of the 71st York Battalion in 1867, and held that position, with the rank of major, from July, 1876, until the retirement of Capt. J. W. Smith, paymaster, in 1881, when he exchanged to the position of paymaster, which he now holds. He holds first and second class certificates from the School of Instruction. Mr. Beckwith is a deputy surveyor of Crown Lands, and was draughtsman in the Crown Lands office from 1866 to 1871, when he was appointed engineer of Public Works, which position he now holds. He performed the duties of Provincial government engineer for two or three years, in addition to his other works. Is at present City engineer of Fredericton. He joined the Free Masons in 1861, in Solomon’s lodge, No. 764, E.R., was master of the lodge in 1865, and secretary of the same, and Hiram lodge, No. 6, N.B.R., for ten years, and on retiring from that office, was presented with a handsome piece of plate by the members. He is also a frater of the encampment of Knights Templar of St. John; a past grand senior deacon of the Grand Lodge of New Brunswick, A. F. & A. M. Mr. Beckwith has travelled throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. He is a member of the Church of England. He was married at Brooklyn (New York), in 1865, to Mary Elizabeth, daughter of the late M. B. Marckwald, a merchant of New York. He has only one child living—Freeman Berton, who is in an office in New York.
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