Part 46

=Whidden, Charles Blanchard=, ex-M.P.P. for Antigonish, Nova Scotia, was born at Antigonish, on the 5th June, 1831, and still resides in the place of his birth. He is the youngest son of John Blair Whidden, who was born in Stewiacke, Colchester county, N.S., in 1791, and great grandson of James Whidden, who immigrated from New Hampshire and settled in Truro in 1760. His mother, Harriet Elizabeth Symonds, was a daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Symonds, who came from New Hampshire in 1804, and were among the first settlers in Antigonish. Mr. Whidden, sen., when a lad of ten years of age, having lost his father, spent some years with an elder sister in the district of St. Marys, and afterwards came to Antigonish in 1807, where he purchased a small property in what is now the town of Antigonish, and in December, 1816, married the mother of the subject of this sketch, the lady alluded to above. C. B. Whidden’s father was ordained to the Baptist ministry in 1834, and continued to labour for that denomination in the destitute parts of Nova Scotia until his death, which occurred on the 19th July, 1864. His wife survived him a number of years, and passed away to the higher life in May, 1878, wanting only two months of reaching her eightieth year. Charles was educated at the Grammar School and at the Academy in Antigonish. After leaving school, he continued on a farm for some time; but in 1863 he began business on his own account on a small scale, and devoting all his energies to what he had undertaken, soon became independent. He at one time was largely interested in shipping, and is still to a limited extent. In 1883 he retired from active business pursuits in favour of his two sons, David Graham and Charles Edgar. Mr. Whidden is a member of the Baptist church, and in politics a Liberal-Conservative. He ran as a candidate for a seat in the House of Commons at Ottawa in 1878, but was defeated by a small majority. Again, in June, 1882, he made another attempt to gain a seat in the Commons, but met with defeat. However, in September of the same year, he became a candidate in the local election, and was chosen to represent his native county in the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia. In this house he sat for four years, until the general election in 1886, when he suffered defeat on presenting himself for re-election, in consequence of the repeal cry, he being opposed to any change in the political status of his province so far as the Dominion is concerned. In 1866 and 1867 he showed himself strongly in favour of the confederation of the provinces, and worked hard in its favour. He is a strong believer in our common country, and predicts a great future for it. He always places country above and beyond all minor interests. In December, 1856, he was married to Eunice C. Graham, second daughter of the late Captain David Graham, and Mary Bigelow, his wife. The fruit of this marriage has been seven children, four of whom have been carried away by death. Two of his sons, as will be seen above, have succeeded their father in business, and his youngest son, Howard P., is now taking a college course at Wolfville.

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=Cuthbert, Edward Octavian J. A.=, Seignior of Berthier, ex-M.P. for the county of Berthier, province of Quebec, was born at the Manor House, Berthier (_en haut_), on the 3rd December, 1826. His father, the late Hon. James Cuthbert, was a scion of the Cuthberts of Castle Hill, Inverness-shire, Scotland; seignior of Berthier, province of Quebec; for many years a member of the Special Council of Lower Canada; and in his lifetime rendered valuable service to the state. His mother was Mary Louise A. Cairns. His grandfather, the first Hon. James Cuthbert, was seignior of the seigniories of Lanoraie, Berthier, and Maskinongé, and in his early days served in the Royal navy as a lieutenant. He was on board the flagship at the bombardment of Carthagena, and was selected to carry home to Britain the tidings of the capture of that stronghold. On his retirement from the navy he was appointed to the command of one of the independent military companies formed in Inverness, which afterwards was called the “Black Watch,” and is now known as the 42nd Highlanders, and for some time served in that regiment. While in Inverness he was presented with a handsome piece of plate by the citizens for special services. He afterwards joined the 15th regiment of foot, and assisted at the taking of Louisburg. He was also with General Wolfe at the battle of the Plains of Abraham, and had the honour of being selected by General Murray, to whom he acted as _aide-de-camp_, to carry to Britain the news of the fall of Quebec. On his return to Canada he again joined General Murray’s staff, and in this position he remained until peace was fully restored, when he retired from the army. He was then appointed by Lord Dorchester one of the members of the first Legislative Council formed after the conquest, and became one of the first permanent British settlers in Lower Canada. During the American revolutionary war he was particularly active in suppressing insurrection, and instilling into the minds of the Canadians sentiments of loyalty and attachment to the British Crown. Edward, the subject of our sketch, received his first education at the Berthier Academy, and then at Chambly College, at Chambly. Soon after leaving college he began to take an interest in public affairs, and was afterwards elected mayor of Berthier, and president of the County Agricultural Society. In 1867 Mr. Cuthbert entered the field of politics, and at the general election held in 1872 he ran in the Conservative interest, but was defeated. A few years afterwards his political opponent, Mr. Pâquet, having been called to the Senate, he again presented himself to the electors, and was returned by them as their representative in the House of Commons at Ottawa. From this time until the dissolution of the house in 1886 he occupied a prominent position in the legislature, when he was forced, through failing health, to abandon political life, and retire to his quiet home at Berthier. Mr. Cuthbert took a lively interest in the construction of the North Shore Railway; and has also done a good deal to improve the live stock in his native county. In politics he always sided with the Conservative party; and in religion is a member of the Roman Catholic church. On the 1st December, 1853, he was married to Mary, eldest daughter of Augustus Bostwick, who in his lifetime was an advocate and Queen’s counsel at Three Rivers, province of Quebec, and Georgiana Cuthbert (Mr. Cuthbert’s cousin), who was a daughter of the late Hon. Ross Cuthbert, seignior of Lanoraie and Maskinongé. Mrs. Cuthbert died in February, 1885, leaving two sons and twin daughters.

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=Baby, Hon. Judge Louis François Georges=, Judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench of the Province of Quebec, was born in the city of Montreal, on the 26th August, 1834, and is descended from one of the oldest and most respected families in Quebec province. The founder of the family in Canada was Jacques Baby de Ranville, a nobleman from the south of France, who was an officer of the celebrated regiment of _Carignan-Salieres_, and arrived here in 1662. By the family records and papers it can be traced up to 1375 without interruption. Representatives of the family have distinguished themselves on the battle-field, as well as in the councils of the state both here and in France. Several of them have been knights of Malta and of St. John of Jerusalem. The last governors under the French régime, had many a time occasion to call the special attention of the king of France to the meritorious deeds and gallant actions of members of this notable family. Several of the distinguished men who bore this name were killed in these early days in battle. The grandfather of Judge Baby was the Hon. François Baby, an executive and legislative councillor of the province of Quebec, and in 1775, adjutant-general of the same province, who with his brother-in-law Charles Tarieu de Lanaudière, then _aide-de-camp_ to Lord Dorchester, took a very active part in the stirring events of the time. His grandmother was Marie Anne de Lanaudière, a descendant of M. de Lanaudière, governor of Montreal in 1664, and of Madelon de Verchères, the heroine of “La Nouvelle France.” Judge Baby’s father was Joseph Baby, a colonel in the militia and long a notary public and prominent citizen of Joliette, where he died in 1871. His mother, Caroline Guy, was a daughter of the Hon. Louis Guy, in his lifetime king’s notary, and a member of the Legislative Council of the province of Quebec. The subject of our sketch, Judge Baby, was educated in St. Sulpice College, in his native city, and also at Joliette College. After leaving school, where he had attained high distinctions, he chose the law as a profession, and studied in the office of Drummond and Loranger, of Montreal, both of whom became ministers of the Crown and were afterwards made judges. However, previous to his admission to the bar, he entered the civil service of Canada, in the attorney-general’s department for Lower Canada and for several years occupied the position of clerk, under the government, but was invited by the late Sir G. E. Cartier to relinquish this position for a more extended field of usefulness. He was a particular friend of the late Chief Justice Harrison, who was also a clerk in the civil service at the same time as he. In 1857 he was called to the bar, and practised his profession in Montreal, in partnership with the Hon. Louis T. Drummond, when his health becoming impaired, he removed to Joliette, where he continued his practice with considerable success, in partnership with the late Hon. L. A. Oliver, who was appointed a judge in the superior court, in 1875, having been previously a legislative councillor and a senator, and was also mayor of that place for four or five terms. Though long deeply interested in politics, Mr. Baby did not enter public life until 1867, when he became a candidate for Joliette in the Dominion parliament. At this time, however, through the over confidence of his friends and supporters, he failed to be elected. Five years later, at the general election of 1872, he was returned by acclamation; was re-elected in 1874; unseated on petition on the 28th October of that year; was re-elected on the 10th December following, by a much larger majority; and again, at the general election in September, 1878, he was returned by a still increased majority. On the 26th of the next month, on the return of the Conservatives to power, he entered the cabinet with his friend the Hon. L. R. Masson, and was made minister of Inland Revenue. During the time he held this portfolio, he displayed great tact and firmness, and gave great satisfaction to the public. In 1875 he had the honour of introducing the bill for the abolition of the death penalty in cases of assault with intent to commit rape—a bill which was subsequently taken up by the Hon. Mr. Blake, the then minister of Justice, and carried through parliament. During his term of office, he successfully carried through the House of Commons acts for the consolidation and amendment of the weights and measures, the excise laws, stamp act, tobacco laws, etc., and took generally a very active and patriotic part in the affairs of the nation; in 1880 he retired from political life, and was made judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, and subsequently, in September, 1881, promoted to the Court of Queen’s Bench, which position he fills with dignity, and is very much respected by his _confrères_ on the bench. Among the many praiseworthy deeds of Judge Baby’s life is the valuable assistance he rendered in the founding of the Montreal Historical Society, of which he has been an efficient member since its formation. He is himself a historian of some repute, having, like the late Chief Justice Lafontaine, devoted a good deal of his time in researches of a historical character, particularly with reference to Canada, and has brought together, not however without considerable expense and trouble, one of the finest collections of Canadian manuscripts in existence, and the historical department of his extensive library is especially rich and attractive in Canadian literature. He is an honorary member of the Institut-Canadien of Quebec, and also of Ottawa, and a member and the president of the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal. For this last branch of study Judge Baby seems to have a passion,—having devoted more or less time to it for a number of years—and his collection of coins and medals, foreign and domestic, is one of the best in Canada. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, a prominent and much respected citizen, and a notable figure in literary and religious circles, and appears never to forget his family motto, “_Dire vrai; faire bien_.” In July, 1873, he was married to Maria Helene Adelaide, daughter of the late Dr. Berthelet of Montreal (knight of the order of St. Sepulchre of France), and Dame Helene Guy. They have no children.

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=Ritchie, Hon. Joseph Norman=, Judge of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, Halifax, was born on the 25th May, 1834, at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. His parents were Hon. Thomas Ritchie, judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Nova Scotia, and Anne, daughter of I. N. Bond, M.D., Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Judge Joseph Norman Ritchie was educated at King’s College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, where he took the degree of M.A. He afterwards studied law, and was called to the bar of Nova Scotia on the 30th November, 1857; was made a Queen’s counsel on 26th September, 1872; and was raised to the bench as a judge of the Supreme Court on the 26th September, 1885. For several years previous to his elevation to the bench he acted in the capacity of recorder for the city of Halifax. In 1859, on the organization of the volunteer militia in Nova Scotia, Judge Ritchie joined the force and continued in it and the active militia of Canada until 1879. He holds a lieutenant-colonel’s commission, bearing date 17th March, 1876. For several years he was also one of the directors of the Merchants Bank of Halifax. In religion the judge is and always has been an adherent of the Church of England. He has for wife Mary, daughter of John Cochran, of Newport, U.S.

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=Lorrain, Right Reverend Narcisse Zephirin=, Bishop of Cythera and Vicar Apostolic of Pontiac, with his residence at Pembroke, Ontario, was born the 13th June, 1842, at St. Martin, county of Laval. His father, Narcisse Lorrain, is a descendant of that sturdy stock of pioneers who settled the northern district of the province of Quebec, and have representatives in the counties of Terrebonne, Two Mountains, Argenteuil, etc., and is considered one of the well to-do farmers of the rich county of Laval. Mr. Lorrain, sr., was married to Sophia Goyer. In 1855 Mgr. Lorrain was sent to the seminary of Ste. Thérèse, in the county of Terrebonne, where he commenced his classical studies. That institution, which had been founded some forty years before by the Rev. Messire Charles Ducharme, a venerable priest whose memory will for ever live in the hearts of the people of that district, was then under the direction of Messire Dagenais, superior, and Messire Nantel (an elder brother of the M.P.P. for Terrebonne), as prefect of studies. Messire Nantel is well known as a _littérateur_ of no mean order, one of his principal works being a translation into French of Ollendorf’s English Grammar. These gentlemen soon discovered that the youth was an unusually bright pupil, and they resolved to spare no endeavour to further his studies, thinking, and not without good grounds, that in the future he would be an honour to the seminary. The career of Mgr. Lorrain has proved that they were not wrong, as he has taken a prominent place among the scores of other men of note who have graduated at that institution; among others the Hon. Théodore Robitaille, ex-lieutenant-governor of the province of Quebec; Hon. Gédéon Ouimet, superintendent of public instruction, Quebec, and many members of parliament and senators, besides many lawyers and doctors. To a quick and perceptive mind, Mgr. Lorrain joined a sound judgment, with more than his share of energy, the latter quality being in fact one of the distinguishing traits of his character. It is to the knowledge of the writer of this sketch, who was a school mate of Mgr. Lorrain, that at the end of each month, when the notes were read by the director of the seminary, his conduct was always marked down as “exemplary.” One year he carried eighteen prizes in his class. He entered on the study of theology at the end of his classical course, teaching a class at the same time, and was beloved by the pupils under his charge on account of his kindly disposition and gentle manners, which were not, however, without an admixture of firmness. He knew how to instil the love of discipline which he himself possessed in such an eminent degree. In 1864, Mgr. Lorrain graduated at Laval University, where he received the degree of Bachelor of Sciences, and he was ordained priest on the 4th of August, 1867, being then appointed assistant director at the Seminary of Ste. Thérèse, which position he filled until the 15th of August, 1869, when he was appointed pastor to the congregation of Redford, Clinton county, in the state of New York. On the 3rd of August, 1880, he was promoted and appointed vicar-general of the diocese of Montreal. His appointment caused some surprise to a great many people who did not know him intimately; but the ability he displayed in the management of the affairs, and in the liquidation of the debts of the episcopal corporation, then in financial troubles, soon justified the choice the bishop of the diocese of Montreal had made of his person for such an important position as that of vicar general. And the surprise changed to wonder when two years later, being barely forty years of age, on the 21st of September, 1882, he was consecrated titulary bishop of Cythera and vicar apostolic of Pontiac, with place of residence at Pembroke, he being the first bishop of that diocese. In this new field of labour Mgr. Lorrain has distinguished himself, doing his utmost to concentrate the scattered elements of his extended but sparsely-settled diocese, and the energy and strong will which had characterised his student life were displayed on a larger scale, an instance of which may be cited from the fact of his having travelled, in 1884, a distance of 1,500 miles, in a bark canoe. And here we cannot do better than reproduce the account of this trip, which appeared shortly after his lordship’s return, in the Pembroke _Standard_, and is of great interest: