Part 52
=McRitchie, Rev. George=, Minister of the Methodist Church, Prescott, Ontario, was born in Dundee, Scotland, in 1827. His parents, James McRitchie and Elizabeth Miller, with their family of three children, came to Canada in 1844. The Rev. Mr. McRitchie received his primary education in Mr. Gilbert’s academy in Dundee; and after coming to this country entered Victoria College, Cobourg, where he studied literature and theology, and laid a foundation for future usefulness. He received his early religious training in connection with the Presbyterian church, until he reached his sixteenth year, when he began to change his theological views, and in September, 1847, joined the Methodist denomination, shortly after coming to this country. In 1850 he entered the ministry of the Methodist church as a probationer, and was ordained in Belleville, in 1854, since which time he has worked hard in the Lord’s vineyard. He has been chairman of the Kingston, Brantford, Brockville and Perth districts successively; and is now superintendent of Prescott circuit and chairman of the Brockville district. The Rev. Mr. McRitchie was a member of the committees on union in the years 1874 and 1883; in 1879 he was president of the Montreal Conference; and he has been a delegate to each general conference since he entered the ministry. In 1855 he was married to Eliza Eakins, of Newburg; she died in Brockville in 1876. He was again married in 1877, to Jamesena Dunlap, widow of the late C. D. French, of Pembroke, Ontario.
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=Graveley, Lieut.-Colonel John Vance=, Fortieth Regiment of Canadian Militia, Cobourg, is a Canadian by birth, having been born at Cobourg, on the 17th December, 1840. He is the eldest son of William and Margaret Christiana Graveley. The former was born at Knasboro’, Yorkshire, England, and was the son of John Graveley, a celebrated surgeon, who was mainly instrumental in the discovery of the murder of Daniel Clark by Eugene Aram, and on which Lord Lytton’s celebrated novel was founded. His grandmother was a Locock, and closely related to Sir Charles Locock, physician to Queen Victoria. His mother was the youngest daughter of the late Hon. Captain Walter Boswell, R.N., one of the first settlers in Cobourg, and who named the place. Lieut.-Colonel Graveley was educated at Upper Canada College, entering in the first and going out in the sixth form; and studied law, first in the office of the Hon. Sidney Smith, Cobourg, and next in the office of Cameron and Moss, Toronto, the firm at that time consisting of Hector Cameron, Q.C., and the late Chief Justice Moss. He afterwards practised his profession in Cobourg for many years. Having a strong liking for a military life, he first served as a trooper in Colonel D’Arcy Boulton’s troop of dragoons, where he soon rose to the rank of sergeant-major, and was then given an ensign’s commission in the Cobourg Rifles in 1864, having held from the sixteenth year of his age command as an ensign in the sedentary militia. In 1866 he entered the Military School at Toronto, and was attached to her Majesty’s 47th regiment, under Colonel Lowrey, and received a second class certificate the same year. His corps having been called on for active service in consequence of the Fenian invasion in June of that year, he served during the whole campaign, and earned his promotion to a lieutenancy. On the formation of the fortieth regiment of infantry, he was gazetted captain No. 1 company, and on the 14th November, 1876, was made the brevet lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. During the Fenian raid in 1870 he was again on active service. He has always taken a deep interest in rifle-shooting, and has served on various occasions as brigade musketry instructor for the 3rd district; and at present he is a member of the Council of the Dominion Rifle Association, and is president of the Cobourg Rifle Association. He was elected to the town council of Cobourg for the years 1876-7; mayor, by acclamation, in 1880, and held the office for six consecutive terms until 1885, when he retired, although urged to occupy the position for a longer period; and for these years he was also commissioner of the Cobourg town trust. He was nominated by the Conservative party for the Ontario legislature, but failed to secure his election in the contest that took place in December, 1886. Lieut.-Colonel Graveley has always been a Liberal-Conservative in politics, is an earnest supporter of all measures having for their object union and progress, and as a native Canadian is thoroughly loyal to his country, and expects a great future for her. He is a Master mason, a member of St. John lodge, No. 13, and takes a lively interest in Masonic work. He has travelled a good deal in his day, and spent some time in England, Ireland, and France. He was married in 1870 to Mary Jane Angell Campbell, eldest daughter of Thomas Clifford Angell, of London, England, and his wife, Charlotte Elson, of Hertfordshire, England, and adopted daughter of the late Major David Campbell, of her Majesty’s 63rd regiment, who was for many years on the staff. He with his brother, Lieut.-Colonel Robert Campbell, of H.M. 52nd regiment, were the first settlers in Seymour, and founded what is now the flourishing town of Campbellford, taking its name from its founder. They both had high records for military service, but the latter Colonel Campbell was famous as the leader of the forlorn hope at the storming of San Sebastian in the Peninsular war, for which, and other brilliant services during the campaign recorded in Napier’s History, he was mentioned in Lord Wellington’s despatches, and received a gold medal and clasp and his majority. Only three such medals were ever issued, and were only given for special service. Colonel Campbell died of his wounds at Campbellford; his brother, the major, survived him many years, dying in 1881 at the advanced age of ninety-seven. Four bullets received at San Sebastian, and taken from the colonel’s body after death, are preserved with the gold medal and clasp, sabre and epaulets, with highly commendatory and friendly letters from the Duke of Kent, the Duke of York, the Duke of Richmond, Lord Palmerston, and the Prince Regent, are preserved as sacred relics, and afford interesting study of departed greatness. “_Sic gloria transit mundi._”
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=Roche, William=, jr., M.P.P., Coal and Commission Merchant, Halifax, Nova Scotia, was born in Halifax in 1842. His father, William Roche, is a merchant in Halifax, and his mother was named Susan M. Roche. His uncle, Charles Roche, represented Shelburne, N.S., in the Provincial Assembly from 1830 to 1835. The grandparents of Mr. Roche were loyalists, and moved from the state of New York in 1783 to Nova Scotia, and settled in Shelburne. The family is of Irish descent. William received his education at the Halifax, Dalhousie, and Free Church academies, and on leaving school selected commerce as a profession. He now carries on a large coal and commission business, and is agent for several steamship companies. For some years he was a member of the school board, and in 1886 occupied the position of chairman of that body. In politics Mr. Roche is a Liberal, and at the general elections held in 1886 was chosen, by a majority of 950, to represent Halifax in the Provincial Assembly, and is a firm supporter of the present government. He is a director of the Union Bank of Halifax. Mr. Roche is an adherent of the Episcopal church.
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=Mitchell, Samuel E.=, Bookseller and Publisher, Pembroke, Ontario, was born on the 8th of December, 1836, at Bury, Lancashire, England. He is a son of John Mitchell, J.P., formerly of Bury, but now of Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, senior member of the firm of John Mitchell and Sons, paper manufacturers, Primrose Paper Mills, Clitheroe. Samuel was educated at the Bury private and grammar schools. He came to Canada in 1858, and settled in Pembroke, where he has ever since resided. He commenced business in 1863, in company with John G. Cormack, as druggists, booksellers and stationers, which business partnership was dissolved in 1866, Mr. Cormack taking the drug, and he the books and stationery, and the latter he has carried on continuously to this time. Mr. Mitchell was appointed clerk of the county council of the county of Renfrew, in January, 1869, and has continued to hold this office ever since. He has never missed a meeting of council since his appointment, from illness or other cause. He was high and public school trustee of the town for several years, until his appointment to the above clerkship brought him under that law which says that no municipal officer shall be a school trustee. He was made a justice of the peace for the county of Renfrew in June, 1876; police magistrate in and for the town of Pembroke on the 17th April, 1884, and police magistrate in and for the county of Renfrew, on 1st June, 1887. As a magistrate Mr. Mitchell has been very successful, and has received high commendations from both political local newspapers. The Pembroke _Standard_ (Conservative) of the 20th November, 1886, thus spoke kindly of him:
The charge of murdering her husband brought against Mary Dunlop, of Mink Lake, was investigated last week before S. E. Mitchell, Esq., police magistrate, at great length, occupying five days and the half of the intervening nights. Many questions of an important nature had to be decided by his worship, and the ability and learning with which he disposed of them are shown by the fact that at the close of the evidence the counsel on both sides expressed their entire satisfaction and appreciation of the fairness shown to each by the bench. It is almost needless to say that no other justice of the peace for the county could have displayed as much ability and skill in the hearing of this important case. At the close his worship delivered a most eloquent and instructive address on the gradual development of our criminal law and the duties of the court on such a case arising. There was no evidence brought out that would point to the guilt of the prisoner. She was consequently discharged, and the matter remains as great a mystery as ever.
The same paper again, in its edition of the 25th January, 1887, thus alludes to Mr. Mitchell:—
There is an agitation on foot at present to get the county council . . . . to recommend the appointment of Mr. S. E. Mitchell as police magistrate for the county of Renfrew, with a view to the better enforcement of the Scott Act. Mr. Mitchell has made it a special study, and, so far as we have been able to learn, the decisions rendered by him since he has occupied the position of town police magistrate have not only been in accordance with the facts of the cases in question, but from a legal point of view have been eminently satisfactory to those who are versed in the law and understand its meaning. He is also a pronounced temperance advocate, and would no doubt render valuable assistance to the temperance people, who are anxious to see the Scott Act properly enforced.
The Pembroke _Observer_ (Liberal) of 28th January, 1887, has also a good word to say in favour of Mr. Mitchell:—
The question of recommending the Ontario Government to appoint S. E. Mitchell, Esq., police magistrate for the county of Renfrew, will come before the county council now in session here. Every member of the council will, of course, admit that Mr. Mitchell is a gentleman in every way fitted for the position of county police magistrate. He is scholarly, and well versed in the law; and his appointment would be a gratification to the supporters of the Scott Act. It is said, however, that many of the councillors are opposed to the appointment, on the ground that it would entail considerable expense on the county. The committee will probably report on the matter to-day, and then we shall see how the matter stands. One thing is certain—Mr. Mitchell will bring eloquence, ability, and good judgment to the bench, should he receive the appointment.
Although the council, being decidedly anti-Scott Act, failed to recommend Mr. Mitchell for the office, nevertheless the Ontario government, to its credit, on the recommendation of the License Board and the county branch of the Dominion Alliance for the suppression of the liquor traffic, appointed him to the office. Mr. Mitchell has had a hand in almost every public and private movement inaugurated in Pembroke during his long residence of about thirty years. Among others, the establishment of the Pembroke Philharmonic Society; the building up of the Pembroke lodge, No. 128, G.R.C. Free and Accepted Masons, the mastership of which he held during the years 1870 and 1871; the Pembroke lodge of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, and temperance societies in general. He delivered an address on “Oddfellowship” at the anniversary celebration of the Renfrew lodge, which at the time was characterised by the Noble Grand as the finest presentation of objects of the order he had ever listened to, and after hearing Mr. Mitchell give a song, the same high dignitary said “Mr. Mitchell had proved himself as good a singer as he was an orator.” Mr. Mitchell is a staunch Reformer, and was for many years president of the Pembroke Reform Association, up until 1886, when he found the position somewhat incompatible with that of police magistrate, and resigned. He has always occupied a foremost place in the councils of his party in his district, and has on some occasions been spoken of as the coming man for legislative honours, but various considerations have prevented him from complying with the kind solicitations of his political friends. He was brought up in the Church of England, but in 1859 he joined the Methodist church of Canada, and has continued to be a member of that church over since. He has served on some of the most important of the church committees for about a quarter of a century, and was a member of the General Conference of 1878. Mr. Mitchell has been twice married. First, in 1860, to Mary Ann, daughter of D. B. Warren, of Allumettes Island, county of Pontiac, Quebec province, who died in 1868, leaving three children, who still survive. Second, in 1869, to Ellen Jane, daughter of John Deacon, J.P., of South Sherbrooke, county Lanark, Ontario, and sister of John Deacon, county judge of Renfrew, by whom he has two surviving children.
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=Beek, James Scott=, Auditor-General of the Province of New Brunswick, Fredericton, is an Irishman by birth, having been born in Bandon, county of Cork, on the 1st June, 1814. His parents, Joseph and Mary Beek, both natives of the same county, were born in Cork city. James came with his father, his mother having died in Ireland, to New Brunswick in 1823, and settled in Fredericton, where Mr. Beek, senr., held the office of registrar of deeds and wills at the time of his death. James Scott Beek attended for some time the public school at Fredericton, but most of his education was obtained by private study, he acting as his own tutor, both before and while serving as a merchant’s clerk. After this he went into business for himself in Fredericton, and for about twenty years he dealt in general merchandise, retiring in 1856. For the past thirty years or more Mr. Beek has been constantly in one or more offices connected with the municipality of the city of Fredericton, or of the province of New Brunswick. He was alderman for about a dozen years, mayor for three consecutive terms, commencing in 1859; judge of the Court of Common Pleas for several years; has been a justice of the peace for a long period; was librarian for the Legislative Assembly from 1864 to 1867, and from the latter year has acted in the capacity of auditor-general for the province. In this latter position he has proved himself a most painstaking official, as the reports he issues annually amply prove. His motto seems to be: “Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well.” Mr. Beek is a Liberal-Conservative in politics, and in his younger days was an energetic worker for his party. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and occupies the position in the order of master mason. In religious matters he is an adherent of the Church of England, and has on several occasions been a delegate from the Cathedral to the Church Society. He is a firm believer in total abstinence from the use of intoxicants as a drink, and of late years has done good service to the cause of temperance by working hard as a prohibitionist, and as the president of the United Temperance Association of New Brunswick, to suppress the liquor traffic, and as a Son of Temperance. He is a man of warm feelings and a true friend to his brother man. Mr. Beek has been three times married; first, to Margaret Barker, of Mangerville; second, to Mary Elizabeth Garrison, of St. John, both deceased; and then to Emma R. daughter of the Hon. John K. Partelow, of Fredericton. He has one child living by the first wife and one daughter by the second, and has lost children by both wives.
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=Lord, Major Artemas=, Agent of the Marine Department, Charlottetown. Prince Edward Island, was born at Tryon, P.E.I., on the 10th May, 1835. His father, James Lord, and his mother, Lydia Lea, were both of English descent. His paternal grandfather was among the number of loyal Englishmen who, at the outbreak of the American revolutionary war, gave up all their worldly possessions, refused to fight against their rightful sovereign, left the state of Massachusetts and moved to Prince Edward Island, where they found a home more congenial to their tastes. Artemas Lord, having been deprived of the tender care of his mother, who died when he was only sixteen months old, was adopted by his uncle, W. W. Lord, who afterwards provided for all his wants and set him afloat in the world. When he was five years old his uncle and aunt removed to Charlottetown and took the boy with them. And here they sent him to a private school; next to the Central Academy (now the Prince of Wales’ College), and then to the academy at Sackville, New Brunswick, where he received a thorough mercantile training. At eighteen he left school, but finding his health considerably impaired through confinement and close study, he resolved to take a few sea voyages with the object of restoring his health, and for three years thereafter he sailed in one of his uncle’s ships trading between Charlottetown and England. In 1856 he entered into partnership with his uncle, under the firm name of W. W. Lord & Co., general merchants and shipowners, and this partnership lasted until 1864, during which time they built and owned ships which traded to the West Indies, to the southern cotton ports, to the River Plata, to Great Britain, and to the East Indies, when his uncle retired, and he continued the business under the old name, until 1878. In 1864 Mr. Lord joined the first battery of volunteer artillery, and in 1868 he was appointed to the command of the second battery, which position he held until 1873, when Prince Edward Island became part of the Dominion of Canada, at which time he applied to be, and was placed on the retired list, with the rank of major. When the question of providing Prince Edward Island with a railway was before the public Mr. Lord took a very active part in the agitation, and helped to carry the measure. He, too, was found among the ranks of those who went in for confederation; and when the people agreed to throw in their lot with the other provinces, he chose the party led by Sir John A. Macdonald, and has ever since supported it on patriotic grounds. In 1859 Mr. Lord joined St. John’s lodge, and has continued to keep up his connection with the Masonic order ever since. In 1881 he was appointed agent of the Marine department for the province, and retired from active mercantile life to attend to the duties of the office. His connection with the shipping business enabled him in his younger days to see a good part of the world; and he made no less than nineteen round trips across the Atlantic. He spent three winters in London, Liverpool, and other towns in England, and also visited the Highlands of Scotland, part of Ireland, and other places in the old land, combining business with pleasure. In political matters, as we have seen, he is a Liberal-Conservative; and in religious matters, though brought up in the Wesleyan Methodist fold, he saw fit, in 1876, to change to that of the Presbyterian church. In 1859, he was married to Carrie M. Rich, daughter of Lathley Rich, of Frankfort, Maine, who died in 1864, leaving a little boy who survived his mother only seventeen months. Four years after, in 1869, he married Margaret P. S. Gray, daughter of colonel the Hon. John Hamilton Gray, chairman of the first convention called in Prince Edward Island to consider the question of confederation. This gentleman, in 1869, held the position of adjutant-general for the province of Prince Edward Island, and at the time was well known throughout the Dominion as a large hearted, prominent public man. A few years ago he retired into private life. Mr. Lord has a family of three boys and two girls alive, and three boys dead. His uncle and aunt are still alive—his uncle being now (1887) eighty-nine years and his aunt eighty-seven years of age—and having been married over sixty years. This venerable couple are now enjoying the fruits of a happy life spent in each other’s society. They are highly respected by all in the city in which they have spent the greater part of their useful lives. They never had any children of their own, but many nevertheless bless them this day for assistance and counsel given them in the past. Hon. W. W. Lord, we may add, was for more than thirty years an active politician, and sat in the local legislature as representative for his native county, and took an active part in council with such leaders as Coles, Pope, Whelan, Mooney and others in all measures that had for their object the good of his country. Mrs. Lord is an active worker in the church, and prominent in all works of charity and mercy.
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