Part 55

=Ruel, James Rhodes=, Collector of Customs and Registrar of Shipping at the Port of St. John, New Brunswick, was born at Pembridge House, Welsh Newton, Herefordshire, England, on the 22nd of October, 1820. His father was John Godfrey Ruel, a lineal descendant of the famous Dr. Johann Rühl, chancellor of the Cardinal Archbishop of Mayntz, the Elector Albert of Brandenberg, and also the favoured councillor and representative of Count Mannsfield in 1540 at the Diet of Nuremberg, and at other similar assemblies. Dr. Rühl was the brother-in-law of Luther, and stood boldly at his side in the great historic interview with Cardinal Cajetan at Augsburg. His devotion on this occasion drew from Luther the promise that he would never fail to reciprocate it to himself and to his children. He was one of the chief and most honoured guests at the great Reformer’s wedding, and was never addressed by him but with the profoundest expressions of official respect and brotherly affection. They appear to have lived together in the closest friendship. The family was of senatorial rank in the city of Heilbronn, and was related to the Counts Fugger of Kirchberg and Weissonhorn, the head of which at the present time is the Prince of Babenhausen, who is related to Queen Victoria through the house of Hohenlohe Langenburg. By a curious coincidence the Counts Fugger acted as the bankers of the Pope for the sale of those very indulgences against which Luther had opened the greatest crusade which was ever fought in Christendom. Gottfried Rüehl, a rich and distinguished member of the family, settled in London about one hundred and seventy years ago, and his grandson, John Godfrey Ruel, was born there; educated at Harrow, and served as an officer in the Royal marines in H.M.S. _Thetis_ and other ships with considerable distinction until the peace in 1815. He married, in 1817, Catherine B. Cléry, a daughter of a descendant of a French count of that name, and came to New Brunswick in 1833 with his family of six sons and three daughters. He returned to England in 1849, and died there in 1852, and his wife in April, 1887, aged 98 years. James R. Ruel, his second son, was educated at the High School in Monmouth, England, and at the Grammar School in St. John, N.B. He entered the service of the city corporation in the common clerk’s office in July, 1839, and became successively deputy common clerk and clerk of the peace, auditor of county and city accounts, chamberlain of the city, and on 1st November, 1870, was appointed by the Canadian government to the offices he now holds. In September, 1850, he was associated with the Rev. Dr. I. W. D. Gray in the editorial management of the _Church Witness_, a newspaper established to counteract the teaching of the High Church party, and in 1855 took the sole management of the paper until its publication was closed in 1864. Previous to 1845 he had espoused the views of the Tractarian school, and was an ardent supporter of them, but finding about that time that they were not in accord either with the scriptures, or the doctrines of the great teachers in the Church of England of the Reformation era, he abandoned them, and has held ever since with a firm grasp the doctrines of grace as taught in the Evangelical school. He has been connected with St. John’s Church since October, 1833, and on its erection into a separate parish in 1853, he was elected a vestryman and vestry clerk, and has been one of the wardens of it for the last twenty years. On the occasion of the movement for the confederation of the provinces, he was chairman of the British American Association, which was formed at that time to promote it. And in all questions or projects to advance the welfare of the city of St. John he ever took a deep interest. He married in 1854 Harriet, a daughter of John Kinnear, who died in 1859, leaving no issue; and in 1861, Sophia M., daughter of the Hon. Hugh Johnston, by whom he has three sons and one daughter now living.

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=Earle, Sylvester Zobieski=, M.D., St. John, New Brunswick, was born at Kingston, Kings county, New Brunswick, on the 7th August, 1822. His parents were Sylvester and Maria Earle. His paternal grandfather served as a captain in the royal army, during the American revolution, and on the proclamation of peace his company being disbanded, he came to New Brunswick where he settled. On the paternal side Dr. Earle is descended from John Zobieski, King of Poland. He received his education at the Kingston Grammar School, and then studied medicine under the celebrated Doctors Valentine Mott and Gunnay L. Bedford. He graduated from the University of New York, in 1844, and afterwards visited the several medical schools of Great Britain and the continent of Europe. He removed to St. John, in 1864, and began practice, and shortly afterwards was appointed surgeon to the 62nd St. John volunteer battalion, now the 62nd Royal Fusiliers. In 1845 he was made surgeon to the Kings county militia; and in 1846, in company with the late Colonel Saunders, raised the A troop of cavalry, which formed the nucleus of the present 8th cavalry, “Princess Louise Hussars.” During the Fenian raid in 1866, he was on active service with his regiment, the Fusiliers, at St. Andrews and at Campo Bello, and retired from the service in 1875, holding the rank of major. In 1867 he was appointed coroner for the city and county of St. John, and this office he still holds. In 1877 Dr. Earle was elected mayor of the city of St. John, the year of the great fire, and as a reward for the services he rendered on that trying occasion, was re-elected for another term by acclamation. He occupied the position of warden of the city and county during the same period; and in 1878 he was made a justice of the peace. He is a commissioner of the General Public Hospital, and a member of the St. John Board of Health. He has been a member of the Canada Medical Association since its formation, and is now its vice-president; is a past president of the New Brunswick Medical Association; is president of the New Brunswick Medical Council, and consulting physician to the General Public Hospital. He belongs to both the Masonic and Oddfellows’ orders, and occupies high positions in both organizations. The doctor has travelled a good deal, and is familiar with the leading cities in Europe and America. In politics he is Liberal-Conservative; and in religion is an adherent of the Episcopal form of worship. In 1847 he was married to Catherine McGill, daughter of Captain Allen Otty, R.N., and has issue four sons and two daughters. Thomas J. O. Earle, M.D., is practising medicine at Young’s Cove, Queens county; Allan O. A., barrister, practising in St. John; William Z., divisional engineer, Canadian Pacific Railroad; S. Z. Earle, also an engineer, Canadian Pacific Railway; two daughters, Eliza Crookshank and Marie.

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=Kennedy, George Thomas=, M.A., B.A.Sc., F.G.S., Professor of Chemistry, Geology and Mining, in King’s College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, was born on the 4th January, 1845, in the city of Montreal, Quebec province. His father was the late William Kennedy, builder, who was born in York, Yorkshire, England, on May 21, 1790, and died in Montreal, October 22, 1855. His mother, Ann Evans, was a native of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, born 3rd April, 1800, and died in Montreal, 13th August, 1870. This couple were brought up as members of the Church of England, and were married by the late Dean Bethune, of Montreal, and their children christened by the same clergyman; but they afterwards joined the Congregational body, and the family were brought up in that church. This worthy couple had a large family, five of whom still survive, two sisters and three brothers. The sons are, George Thomas, the subject of our sketch; William, a retired builder, who from 1873 to 1876 sat as alderman in the city council of Montreal, and is at present (1887) a member of the same body, and also holds a commission as lieutenant-colonel of the Montreal Engineers; and Richard A., M.A., M.D.C.M., who is a practising physician in Montreal. He is also emeritus professor of obstetrics and diseases of children in Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, and consulting physician to the Montreal Dispensary, physician to the Western Hospital, etc., Montreal. Professor Kennedy was educated in Montreal, first at a private school, then at the Church Colonial School, and at the McGill Model and High schools. He then entered the arts department of McGill University, in September, 1864, and graduated B.A., with first rank honours in geology and natural science, in May, 1868. During the winter of 1869-70 he attended the Sheffield Scientific School, in connection with Yale College, New Haven, U.S., and whilst in New Haven he took a select course of post graduate studies, including practical chemistry, mineralogy, mining, assaying, German, etc. After his return home in the winter of 1870-71 he became assistant to Sir J. William Dawson, LL.D., F.R.S., in the chemical laboratory and museum of McGill College. In the fall of 1871, Mr. Kennedy entered as a graduate student in the applied science department of McGill, and in May following received the degree of M.A. (in course). In May, 1873, he graduated B.A.Sc. in civil and mechanical engineering in the same college. In the summer of 1873 he was elected professor of chemistry and natural science by the governors of Acadia College, Wolfville, N.S., and in October of the following year entered upon these duties. In 1881 he resigned the chair of chemistry in Acadia College; and in the fall of 1882, the chair of chemistry and geology in King’s College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, becoming vacant, he was offered the position by the late Dr. Binney, bishop of Nova Scotia, president of the Board of Governors, which he accepted, and entered upon his duties in January, 1883. In the spring of 1885, when the teaching staff of the college was re-organized, Mr. Kennedy was re-appointed to the same professorship. On the 29th June, 1887, the governors of the college elected him vice-president of the institution. In 1883 he was appointed librarian and scientific curator of the college museum, both of which positions he still holds. In November, 1876, Professor Kennedy was elected an associate member of the Nova Scotia Institute of Natural Science; in August, 1880, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; in December, 1883, a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, Britain; in August, 1884, a member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and before leaving Montreal he was a member of both the Natural History and the Microscopical Societies of that city. In the summer of 1869, Dr. G. M. Dawson, F.G.S., of the Canadian Geological Survey, and Professor Kennedy assisted Sir J. W. Dawson in the geological examination of the Devonian rocks of Gaspé Bay. And during a portion of the summer of 1871, in company with J. F. Whiteaves, F.R.S., palæontologist of the Canadian Government Survey, the professor also assisted in dredging, in the Canadian government schooner, for marine life in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. During the summer of 1832, Professor Kennedy commenced dredging the Basin of Minas, Nova Scotia, with the view of studying the marine life in that basin; and the work he is still carrying on. For several years past, as time permits, he has been examining the geology of Nova Scotia, and has also found time to contribute a series of articles to our scientific papers and magazines. He is an adherent of the Episcopal church. On the 17th July, 1878, he was married to Emma, daughter of John D. Longard, of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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=Adams, Hon. Michael=, Barrister, Newcastle, New Brunswick, was born at Douglastown, Northumberland county, N.B., on the 13th August, 1845. His parents were Samuel Adams and Mary Ann Adams, who were both natives of Cork, Ireland, and emigrated to this country. Mr. Adams received his education in the common school of the place of his birth. Having chosen law as a profession, he entered the law office of Hon. E. Williston in 1864, and continued to study under this gentleman until 1867, when he entered with the Hon. Allan A. Dawson, and in 1869 he was admitted to the bar of New Brunswick. The following year, 1870, he presented himself as a candidate for parliamentary honours, and was elected to represent Northumberland in the New Brunswick legislature. At the next general election he again offered himself for election, but the education question being before the county, and he being a strong supporter of the separate school system, he was defeated by about two hundred votes. Again, in 1878, he came before the electorate, and was returned by his old constituency; and in June of the same year he was made a member of the government, with the portfolio of surveyor-general. This necessitated another appeal to his constituents, when he was elected by acclamation. This office he held until 1882, when a general election took place and he was once more returned to parliament. In 1883, the government, of which he was a member, having suffered a defeat on a non confidence motion, he and his friends retired from office. At the general election held in 1886, the Hon. Mr. Adams was again returned; and in 1887 he resigned his seat in the local assembly to contest the county of Northumberland, in the interests of the Liberal-Conservative party, against the Hon. Peter Mitchell, an Independent Liberal, and was defeated. Since then Mr. Adams has been attending to his professional business, which is large and claims nearly all his attention. Hon. Mr. Adams visited Leadville, Colorado, some years ago, in the interest of a silver mining property partly owned by his brother, Samuel Adams, who is now State Senator for Colorado, and another, John J. Adams, United States Congressman for the city of New York, and who has a large interest in the Adams Manufacturing Company. As will be seen, Hon. Mr. Adams is a Liberal-Conservative in politics, has worked hard for his party, and we have no doubt that at no distant day he will be found in the House of Commons at Ottawa. He is an adherent of the Roman Catholic church. He was married in 1869 to Catherine L. Patterson, who died in 1881. He was married again on 29th November to Miss Nealis, daughter of Simon Nealis, Fredericton, New Brunswick.

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=Stephen, Sir George=, Baronet, Montreal, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway of Canada, was born at Dufftown, Banff, Scotland, on the 5th of June, 1829, and received his education in the parish school of his native place. On leaving school at the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed to the late Alexander Sinclair, draper and dealer in dry goods in Aberdeen. After serving the usual apprenticeship of four years, he entered the service of the well-known wholesale and shipping house of J. F. Pawson & Co., of St. Paul’s Church Yard, London, where his business education was completed. In 1850 he came to Canada, and entered the service of his cousin, the late William Stephen, of Montreal, with whom, in 1853, he formed a partnership under the style of William Stephen & Co. Mr. Stephen having died in 1862, George purchased his late friend’s interest in the business, and at once entered largely into the manufacture of cloth. This venture having proved highly remunerative, he withdrew from the wholesale trade, and devoted his attention exclusively to this branch of business. He was elected a director of the Bank of Montreal, the largest banking institution in Canada; and in 1876, on the retirement of Mr. King from the presidency, he was chosen vice-president. On the death of the late David Torrance he was elected president. Sir George Stephen’s first connection with railway enterprises, and with which his name will always be connected in the annals of our country, was his joining a syndicate for the purchase of the interests of the Dutch holders of the bonds of the St. Paul and Pacific Railway, which gave them control of this partially constructed line. Realising the importance of this road as a link in the chain of railway communication with the North-West _via_ the Pembina branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, they carried the work of construction rapidly forward, and soon found themselves in possession of an exceedingly profitable line. They were in a position to control not only the entire traffic of the Canadian North-West, but to render tributary a large part of Minnesota and Dakota. The large profits made from this monopoly they devoted to extending the sphere of their operations by constructing lines in various directions, making St. Paul the focal point of this system, and re-naming their line the St. Paul and Manitoba Railway. This led to Sir George’s connection with our great national line, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and in 1881 he was elected its president. In 1885, in conjunction with his cousin, Sir Donald A. Smith, he founded the “Montreal Scholarship,” tenable for three years, and open to the residents of Montreal and its neighbourhood, in the Royal College of Music of London; and again in 1887 he joined his cousin in presenting the munificent sum of $1,000,000 ($500,000 each) to build a new hospital, to be called the Victoria Hospital, at the present time (1887) in course of erection. In 1885 the government of Canada presented him with the Confederation medal, and in 1886 Her Majesty the Queen created him a baronet, in recognition of his great services in connection with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Though married, he has no family of his own to inherit his great wealth and honours. A few years ago his adopted daughter was united in marriage to the son of Sir Stafford Northcote, and resides in England. Sir George is one of the most popular, charitable and kind-hearted men in the dominion.

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