Ontario Canada

Biography of Samuel Noxon

Noxon Brothers Manufacturing Company, the most extensive industry in the manufacturing line at Ingersoll, is composed of five brothers, Freeman C., James, Samuel, Stephen, and Thomas H., sons of Samuel Noxon, senior, who was born and spent his days in the County of Prince Edward, Ontario, and grandson of James Noxon, a United Empire Loyalist from Duchess County, N. Y. The grandfather settled in Prince Edward at the close of the American Revolution. The mother of these five sons was Rhoda White. They received a business education in the public schools of their native county, James, the second son, adding … Read more

Biography of John George Hodgins, M.S.,LL.D.,F.R.G.S.

With the single exception of Dr. Ryerson there is no other who has had as much to do with the development of the educational systems of Ontario as Dr. Hodgins. For nearly forty years he has been at the helm of the educational ship, and while all agree (and none more heartily than the subject of this sketch) that to his great captain, Dr. Ryerson, the credit is mainly due, it is certain that the perseverance, the faithfulness, and especially the administrative ability of Dr. Hodgins contributed very largely to the triumphant success which they so harmoniously accomplished. John George … Read more

Biography of Henry Michie

Henry Michie, the oldest merchant in Fergus, and one of the leading citizens of the place, was born in the parish of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, November 18, 1825. His father, James Michie, who was a farmer for many years, is still living, being about ninety years old. The mother, whose maiden name was Sophia Stuart, died a few years ago. Henry was educated at a parish school, and while securing his education, which was mainly during the winter season, he worked at farming, and as shepherd, teaching, also, two or three terms. In 1846 he came to Canada, and spent several … Read more

Biography of Hon. Edward Blake, Q.C.

Edward Blake was born in the township of Adelaide, county of Middlesex Ontario, E in 1833. He is the eldest son of the late Hon. Wm. Hume Blake, himself a man of marked ability, and grandson of the late Rev. Dominick Blake, rector of Killegan and Lough Richland, Ireland; his mother was the daughter of Wm. Hume, of Humewood. The subject of this sketch was educated in his earlier years, by Messrs. Wedd and Brown, and later at the Upper Canada College. In his youth, Edward Blake showed signs of possessing in the bud the talents of elocution and a … Read more

Biography of George McDonald

George McDonald, the first merchant in Clifford, and the leading business man of the place, was born in the county of Peel, June 14, 1835. His parents, John and Catharine (McDougall) McDonald, were from Argyleshire, Scotland, his father being a builder and contractor. His mother died when he was one year old. Partly on account of this loss, George received quite limited school privileges in his youth, but subsequently attended night schools, and acquired a fair knowledge of the elementary branches. He worked on his father’s farm until fourteen years of age, then spent four years at Brampton, in learning … Read more

Biography of Kenneth M.Chisholm, P.P

Kenneth Chisholm, of the firm of R. Chisholm and Co., member of the Ontario Legislature for the County of Peel, and one of the leading merchants in Brampton, is a descendant of an old Highland family, originally from Invernessshire, Scotland. His father, Alexander Chisholm, being born in the County of Glengarry, removed to Toronto township, in what is now the County of Peel, in 1818. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary McDonnell, was the daughter of a United Empire Loyalist, who moved from the State of New York to Glengarry at the time of the revolution. She drew lands … Read more

Biography o fHon. W. J. Christie

We first saw “Edgar Place,” the residence of Hon. W. J. Christie, in the month of March, 1879. Deep snow still covered the ground, and the trees, with the exception of ever greens, were destitute of leaves; but it hardly required a poet’s eye, “in a fine frenzy rolling,” to picture the beauties of the spot, when clothed in all the pomp of mid summer. An artist had just been there, sketching “Edgar Place” and other beautiful points of scenery with which Brockville abounds, and the Canadian Illustrated News of May 17, 1879, contained views of “Villas at River’s Cliff” … 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 James Sutherland Chisholm

James Sutherland Chisholm, of Strathglass, who, in Gaelic, is called Chisalick. This family, we learn, is of Lowland origin, yet has long been in possession of estates in the Highlands, and has been for centuries quite assimilated to the manners and customs of their Celtic neighbors. The memorial of Charles Forbes ranks them among the friends of Prince Charles Edward, and estimates their force at two hundred men. The Highland possessions of the family consist of Comer Strathglass, etc., in which is situated their castle of Erchless. The original seat of the family was, in all probability, in Roxburghshire, as … Read more

Biography of Goldwin Smith, M.A.,

Canada has had a rich heritage in both her native and adopted sons; many of them would add luster to a much older country, and some have made for themselves a lasting name on both sides of the Atlantic. Her jurists and statesmen, her scholars and divines, have been the jewels of her crown, and have gained for her, as well as for themselves, an enduring fame; and with pardonable pride she can point to her sons whose names, not she only, but the world itself, “will not willingly let die.” And no name that illustrates her annals is more … Read more

Biography of Robert Edmondson, M.D.

It is safe to say that no physician ever living in Brockville, was more generally beloved than the late Robert Edmondson, the skilful physician and surgeon, and the christian gentleman, whose death occurred May 7, 1871. He was born in Ballymena, county Antrim, Ireland, September 22,1802, was educated at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, graduating as master of surgery, in 1827, and was in surgical practice in the county of Down, Ireland, until 1829, when he came to Canada, and shortly afterwards settled at Brockville, then a very small village. Here he practiced his profession more than forty years, having … Read more

Biography of James Young

James Young, member of the Dominion Parliament from 1867 to 1878, and now of the Ontario Legislature, is a son of John and Jeanie (Bell) Young, and was born in Galt, May 24, 1835. Both parents were from Roxburghshire, Scotland, his father coming to Galt the year before the son was born. Our subject was educated in his native town, and chose the printing business as a trade. Before he was 18 years of age, he purchased the Dumfries Reformer, Galt, which he edited from 1853 to 1863, and is the author of two prize essays: “The Agricultural Resources of … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James Saunders

James Saunders, reeve of the village of Paisley, and postmaster, is:a son of Robert and Jane (Wynn) Saunders, and was born in. the township of Beckwith, County of Lanark, Ontario, March 14, 1839. His parents came from Kilkenny, Ireland. James was reared on a farm; finished his education in the Normal School, at Toronto; received a first-class Provincial certificate when twenty years of age, and taught between twelve and thirteen years, all but part of a year, in the County of Bruce, and more than half the time in Paisley. During the period that he was thus engaged, he spent … Read more

Biography of Robert Gibbons

Robert Gibbons, sheriff of the county of Huron, belongs to an old Birmingham, (England) family, where his father, William Gibbons, and the ancestors for several generations, were born, though he himself dates his birth in Glasgow, Scotland, December 24, 1811. His father was an ingenious mechanic or machinist, engaged for years in turning, finishing and fitting up machinery. The maiden name of Robert’s mother was Margaret M. McDonald, who was born in Scotland. In June, 1820, the family left the old world for Canada, landing at Quebec in August, and settling on land in the county of Lanark. About four … Read more

Biography of Col. Walker Powell

Colonel Walker Powell, Adjutant-General of Militia at Head-Quarters, for the Dominion of Canada, is of Welsh descent on his father’s side, and English on his mother’s. His paternal grandfather, a United Empire Loyalist, was born in the then Province of New York, in 1763, and at the Revolution adhered to the side of Great Britain. Afterwards, about the year 1783, removing to New Brunswick, he married Ruth Wood, on Long Island River, St. John, in 1784, and took up his permanent residence in the County of Norfolk, Upper Canada, in 1797, where he died in 1849. Our subject is the … Read more

Biography of George Maclean Rose

In the interesting biography of Robert Chambers, the Edinburgh publisher, from the loving pen of his brother William, we are told that their father had strong convictions as to the importance of allowing children to think and struggle for themselves. To the parental determination of many a Scottish father on this point, Scotia’s sons owe much in enabling them successfully to battle with the world, and in many lands to achieve distinction. Beginning at the bottom of Fortune’s ladder, the rugged tutelage of an early and unassisted start in life has ever been the young aspirant’s best incentive to ascend … Read more

Biography of John Smith

John Smith, Sheriff of the County of Brant since this county was separated from Wenworth and Halton, was born on the “Grand River Tract,” on the present site of the City of Brantford, February 9, 1808. His grandfather, for whom he was named, was a United Empire Loyalist, and taken prisoner during the Revolutionary war, and liberated about the time that a British ship, passing up the North (or Hudson) river, broke the chain that was strung across that stream. The parents of our subject were Joseph and Charlotte (Douglas) Smith, both natives of the Empire State. Mrs. Smith is … Read more

Huron Tribe

Encampment among the Islands of Lake Huron

Commonly known as the Huron Tribe, Huron Indians, Huron People, Huron First Nation, Wyandot Tribe, and Wyandot Indians (Huron – lexically from French huré, bristly,’ ‘bristled,’ from hure, rough hair’ (of the head), head of man or beast, wild boar’s head; old French, ‘muzzle of the wolf, lion,’ etc., ‘the scalp,’ ‘a wig’; Norman French, huré, ‘rugged’; Roumanian, hurée, ‘rough earth,’ and the suffix –on, expressive of depreciation and employed to form nouns referring to persons). The name Huron, frequently with an added epithet, like vilain, ‘base,’ was in use in France as early as 1358 as a name expressive … Read more

Biography of Duncan Campbell

One of the Pioneers in what is now the town of Simcoe, and one of the most successful business men that ever resided here, is Duncan Campbell, a native of Greenock, Scotland, dating his birth April 2, 1802. He is a son of Archibald and Ann Campbell, both parents being members of the Argyle branch of the Campbell family. Duncan received a moderate English education, and in 1815 came to Lower Canada, his parents having preceded him. Was clerk in a store two years, at Montreal, and in 1818 came to Simcoe, then called Birdtown, to take charge of a … Read more

Biography of Rev. Arthur Mulholland, H. R.,

Arthur Hill Ringland Mulholland, Rector of St. George’s Church, Owen Sound, and Canon of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, London, was born in the County of Down, Ireland, June 18, 1828. His father, John Mulholland, was a linen merchant, and his grandfather, same name, was a clergyman of the Church of England. The name of his mother, before her marriage, was Winifred Ringland, also a native of Ireland. Our subject was educated at Foyle College, Londonderry, Ireland; immigrated to Canada in 1849; was ordained to the Christian ministry by Bishop Strachan, of Toronto; came directly to Owen Sound … Read more