The Canadian Biographical Dictionary Collections – Page 4 of 27

Biography of Thomas H. McKenzie

Among the few men now living in these parts who saw Hamilton and Dundas fifty years ago, is Thomas Howard McKenzie, one of the best posted men on Canadian history in the County of Wentworth. He may, with propriety, be called a walking gazetteer of the county; his recollection of dates as well as events being very full and accurate, and his memory seems to be a thesaurus of almost everything which has occurred in this part of the world for the last half century. Mr. McKenzie is a native of Fort George, Inverness-shire, Scotland, a son of James and … Read more

Biography of Thomas Driffill

Thomas Driffill, a pioneer settler at Bradford, is a native of Lincolnshire, England, a son of Samuel and Ann (Morwood) Driffill, and was born January 27, 1809. He received an ordinary education for business; learned the trade of a blacksmith with his father; came to Canada in 1830, and the next year settled where the village of Bradford now stands. At that time there were only two families on the site of the place, and no clearings, and no roads except such as had been extemporized among the trees. Farms, however, had been opened in various parts of the township, … Read more

Biography of Thomas C. Patteson

Thomas Charles Patteson, Postmaster of Toronto, is a native of Patney, Wilt shire, England, where he was born on the 5th of October, 1836. He is the son of Rev. Thomas Patteson, and Rose Sewell Deane, his wife, and nephew of Rt. Hon. Sir John Patteson, a Judge of the Queen’s Bench, and afterwards on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Judge Patteson was father of John Coleridge Patteson, Bishop of Melanesia, who was murdered by the natives in 1870. Mr. T. C. Patteson was educated in England, being a Ring’s scholar at Eton, and captain of his division. … Read more

Biography of Thomas Brown

Among the early settlers and energetic, persevering business men of Ingersoll, is Thomas Brown, who has here been a leather manufacturer for nearly forty-seven years. He hails from the old Bay State which, New York perhaps excepted, has sent out more enterprising mechanics, manufacturers, tradesmen and professional men, than any other commonwealth in the great American Union. He was born in the town of Seekonk, Bristol county, December 11, 1810, being the son of Oliver Brown, who was born in the same town, and who, enlisting when a mere lad, served for five years in the war for independence. Thomas … Read more

Biography of Thomas Benson

The subject of this sketch, one of the most public spirited and energetic men that ever lived in Port Hope, was Thomas Benson, son of James and Ann (Robinson) Benson, of Fintona, County of Tyrone, Ireland, where he was born January 11, 1804. The family came to America in 1816; settled at first at Lansingburgh, N. Y., three years later removed to Kingston, Upper Canada, and there James Benson died December 24, 1828, his widow dying at St. Catharines, August 30, 1854. They had a family of ten children, of whom only four are now living. Hon. James Rea Benson, … Read more

Biography of Theophilus Mack, M.D.

Doctor Mac is a native of Dublin, Ireland, dating his birth April 22, 1820, his parents being Frederick and Frances (Lendrum) Mack. His father was of Prussian descent, and a minister of the Church of England, he migrated to Upper Canada when our subject was twelve years old, and served at Osnabruck and Wellington Square, and finally as chaplain of the garrison at Amherstburg, and rector of the same place. The old gentleman is still living, being in his eighty-first year, and making his home with his son in St. Catharines. Dr. Mack was educated at Upper Canada College, being … Read more

Biography of Tecumseh K. Holmes, M.D.

Tecumseh Kingsley Holmes, one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Kent County, Ontario, is a son of Abraham and Jane Louisa (Gibson) Holmes, and was born at Euphemia, County of Kent, January 17, 1839. His father, many years a farmer, is still living, being in his 84th year. The family is of Irish descent, the great grandfather of our subject coming over when the father of Abraham Holmes was a child, and settling at Montreal. The grandfather of our subject, on reaching manhood, removed to Sandwich, Upper Canada, and was there Principal of an Academy many years. The Gibsons … Read more

Biography of Surgeon-Major Amos Samuel Bristol, M. D.

Amos Samuel Bristol, son of Major Coleman and Catharine (Way) Bristol, is a descendant of one of the families that settled in Rhode Island about two hundred and thirty-five years ago. The Town of Bristol, in that State, was named after the progenitor of the family in that place. Descendants are now scattered all over the United States and Canada. One branch settled in Troy, New York, nearly a century and a half ago, the great-grandfather of our subject being a clergyman in that city, prior to the Revolution. A son of his, John Bristol, grandfather of Amos, was in … Read more

Biography of Stephen J. Jones

Stephen James Jones, Judge of the County Court of Brant, and Master in Chancery, dates his birth at Stoney Creek, County of Wentworth, December 21, 1821, his father being Stephen Jones, son of a United Empire Loyalist, and born in Duchess County, New York. A great-uncle of our subject, Augustus Jones, also a loyalist, was Government Land Surveyor in the old Niagara District his residence being at Stoney Creek. The mother of our subject was Mary Smith. He was educated in the district grammar school at Hamilton; studied law at first with Miles O’Reilly, of Hamilton, and afterwards with S. … Read more

Biography of Stanley Scott, M.D.

Stanley Scott, one of the leading physicians in Newmarket, is a son of Charles and Mary (Hodge) Scott, and was born in Whitby, county of Ontario, January 29, 1839. His father, who was a native of Lower Canada, is living in the town of Whitby his home for nearly fifty years, and is a man much respected. His grandfather was in the army under Wellington, and died when past eighty years of age. Our subject was educated in the common and high schools of Whitby; studied medicine with Dr. Bradford Patterson of that town; attended medical lectures at Cincinnati, Ohio; … Read more

Biography of Sir William P. Howl, C. B. K. C. M. G.,

Among those who have achieved eminence solely by excellence of character, without any of the modern appliances by which unworthy persons seek an undeserved and transient popularity, the subject of this sketch occupies a prominent place. Modest and unassuming in disposition, courteous and suave in manner, self-poised and dignified in demeanor, thoughtful of the feelings of others, and respectful toward their opinions, honorable in the highest and best sense, possessing those delicate instincts which characterize the true gentleman, he affords a fine example of a successful career, as deserved as it is conspicuous. The Howlands are of English descent, their … Read more

Biography of Sir Richard J. Cartwright, K. C.M. G., M.P

Richard John Cartwright, who represents Centre Huron in the House of Commons, and was Minister of Finance from 1873 to 1878, is a son of the Rev. D. Cartwright, chaplain at one period to the forces at Kingston, where he was born, and grandson of Hon Richard Cartwright, a United Empire Loyalist, who came to Canada from the United States about 1776, afterward fought for the Crown, and was a member of the first Parliament of tipper Canada, which met at Niagara in 1792, and continued to hold a seat in that body until his death in 1815. Our subject … Read more

Biography of Sir John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell,Marquis Of Lorne,

The successor of so popular a Governor-General as Lord Dufferin had before him a difficult task, if he would occupy as high a place in the estimation of Canadians as did that distinguished Irish Peer. Under the circumstances, therefore, the appointment of one so closely allied to the Throne as the Marquis of Lorne, was one of the wisest selections that Her Majesty could have made, especially in view of the fact that he would be accompanied by Her Royal Highness the Princess Louise. Endowed with excellent qualities of mind and heart, of varied and extensive knowledge, he will doubtless … Read more

Biography of Sir John A. MacDonald, K.C.B., D.C.L., L.I. U.,

John Alexander MacDonald, Prime Minister of Canada, was born in Sutherlandshire, Scotland, January 11, 1815. He is the eldest son of Hugh Macdonald, of Kingston, Ont., and formerly of Sutherlandshire, Scotland. He was educated at the Royal Grammer School, Kingston, under Dr. Wilson, a fellow of the Oxford University; read law with the late George Mackenzie, and was called to the Bar, U.C., at Hilary term, in 1836. He was created Queen’s Counsel in 184G; is a Bencher, ex-officio, of the Law Society of Ontario. He early distinguished himself in civil law, and, in 1839, in a very important criminal … Read more

Biography of Sir Charles K.Tupper, C.M.G., C.B., M.D.

Sir Charles Tupper, Minister of Railways and Canals, and member of Parliament for Cumberland, Nova Scotia, is descended from a family originally from Hesse Cassel, and which settled on the isle of Guernsey, going thence to Virginia, long prior to the outbreak of the American colonies. At the close of that war the family being loyalists, moved to Nova Scotia, where members of it continue to reside. It is connected with Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, K.B., who fell, bravely fighting, at Queenston, in October 1812. Our subject was born at Amherst, county of Cumberland, N.S., on the 2nd of July … Read more

Biography of Seneca Pitcher

Seneca Pitcher, reeve of Norwich, was born in Warren County, N.Y., December 27, 1825, his parents being Alva and Charlotte (Cunningham) Pitcher, both of New York. Losing his father when he was eight years old, his mother moved to Upper Canada, and settled in the township of Burford, county of Oxford, formerly in the District of Brock, Seneca having an older brother who accompanied them. He acquainted himself with the elementary branches of knowledge in the common schools of that day, supplementing it with private study; farmed most of the time in his youth; clerked a short time in the … Read more

Biography of Sandford Fleming, C.E.; C.M.G.,

Sandford Fleming, Engineer-in-Chief of the Pacific Railway, is a son of Andrew Greig Fleming, and Elizabeth née Arnot, and was born in Kirkaldy, Scotland, January 7, 1827. He was educated in’ the grammar school of his native town; paid special attention to the mathematics, and at an early age was articled to an engineer and surveyor, John Sang, a gentleman well known in North Britain, more especially in connection with water works and other works of various kinds. In 1845 Mr. Fleming came to Canada, finding but little employment for several years, and engaging, meanwhile, in various congenial pursuits of … Read more

Biography of Samuel Smith Mcdonell

A person happening to go into the Court room at Sandwich, in court time, will find the usual array of legal gentlemen looking after the interests of clients, and engaged in sharp encounter for the defense of their rights. The Ontario Bar, as represented here, embraces members who would be an ornament to the profession anywhere; men both wise to counsel and gifted in forensic display. Among the foremost and busiest of those in Windsor, who own allegiance to that “austere mistress,” the law, and who may justly be claimed as an ornament to the Bar, is Samuel Smith Macdonell, … Read more

Biography of Samuel S. Nelles, D.D., L.I.D.

Samuel S. Nelles, nearly thirty years ago at the had of Victoria College, is a son of William and Mary (Hardy) Nelles, and was born at Mount Pleasant, near Brantford, Ont., October 17, 1823. His paternal ancestors were originally from Germany, and were among the early settlers in the Mohawk Valley, New York, William Nelles being born in that State. His mother was also of part German pedigree, born in Pennsylvania. Our subject aided his father in farming until sixteen years of age, having, meanwhile, such literary pasturage as comparatively new clearings in Brant county furnished forty and fifty years … Read more

Biography of Samuel Richardson, M.D.

Among the old “land marks” in the medical profession, in the county of Waterloo, is Dr. Samuel Richardson, forty years a practitioner in Galt. He is better known than almost any other man in the town, having been up and down the valley of the Grand river for a long period, a distance of twenty or thirty miles, and at an early day, much farther; and even now, with all the comparatively new settlers, there are very few families in a radius of ten or fifteen miles, that do not know the Doctor. He is a native of the county … Read more