Ontario Canada

Biography of Peter Perry

One of the pioneer merchants in what is now the County of Ontario, and one of the most prominent and public spirited men that ever lived in this county, was Peter Perry, son of Robert Perry, a United Empire Loyalist, who left the State of New York, and settled near the foot of the Bay of Quinte, County of Lennox and Addington, soon after the Revolutionary War, being a farmer in that part of Upper Canada until his death, about 1840. Peter was born at Ernestown, near Kingston, in 1793, received such an education as the district schools could furnish … Read more

Biography of James Gillespie

James Gillespie, second son of James and Jane (Montgomery) Gillespie was born in James Ontario, January 6, 1824. Both parents were from Belfast, Ireland. His father was a baker by trade, and often changed his residence, living at different places in this Province and in the State of New York, settling in Picton in 1831, where James obtained such mental discipline, as the local schools of that period furnished. He worked with his father until fifteen years old; then learned the trade of a cabinet maker, and followed that business for himself until 1860, when he became a grocer and … 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 William Graveley

William Graveley, son of John Graveley, surgeon, and Martha Locock, cousin of Sir Charles Locock, physician to the Queen, was born in Yorkshire, England, May 17, 1814. In 1819, the family came to Canada, and settled in Quebec, and there the father died four years afterwards. William received a commercial education, spent two or three years in a merchant’s counting room, and leaving Quebec in 1831, settled at Cobourg, and has been a resident of this place from that date. Here he formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, J. Vance Boswell, and was a mercantile trader until 1865, and was … Read more

Biography of Hugh Finlayson

Hugh Finlayson, late member of the Ontario Legislature, is a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, a son of Hugh and Isabella (Black) Finlay son, and was born December 12, 1810. He received a parish school education; learned the trade of a saddle and harness maker in the old country; and emigrated to the new world in 1832, reaching New York city on the 4th of July. The cholera was just paying its first visit to the Western Continent; people were dying at a fearful rate in the city, and in about a month Mr. Finlayson pushed westward as far as Cleveland, … Read more

Biography of Hon. Thomas Moss

Hon.Thomas Moss, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal of Ontario, is the eldest son of the late John Moss, Esq., of Toronto, and was born in Cobourg, this Province, Aug. 20, 1836. He was educated at the Toronto academy, Upper Canada college, and at the Toronto university; at the latter institution he was gold medalist in classics, mathematics and modem languages, and graduated MA. in 1859. In 1860, on the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales, he was presented to His Royal Highness as the most distinguished alumnus of the university. Studied law with hector Cameron, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of David Dunbar

In the person of the subject of this sketch we have one of the leading citizens and stockmen of Malheur County, and it is with pleasure that we chronicle the salient paints in his interesting and active career, wherein he has ever manifested integrity, ability and industry. David Dunbar was born in Ontario, Canada, near Kingston, on February 5, 1849, being the son of James and Eliza Dunbar. He was reared on a farm with his parents and gained his education from the common schools of that province. In July 186? he was called to mourn the death of his … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John E. Harding

John Elley Harding, senior member of the firm of Harding, Harding and White, barristers, dates his birth May 29, 1840, in the township of Beverley, county of Wentworth, Ontario. His father, John Harding, a farmer and mill owner, was a native of the county of Tipperary, Ireland, and his mother, whose maiden name was Jane Talbot, was from Queen’s County, in the same country. Our subject commenced his education in a country school, and subsequently spent four years at Caradoc Academy, near London, and two years under the private tuition of Rev. Henry B. Jessop, incumbent of the English church … Read more

Biography of Hon. Henri Elzear Taschereaut

Judge Taschereau, of the Supreme Court of the Dominion, comes from one of the most eminent families in what is now the Province of Quebec. The progenitor in this country, Thomas Jacques Taschereau, came to Canada in the early part of the 18th century, and in 1726 was appointed Treasurer of the Marine, and obtained the cession of a seignior on the banks of the Chaudiere, of which Judge Taschereau is still in possession. Members of this family have held very high positions in the Government of Lower Canada and in the Dominion. In the judiciary alone, not less than … 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 William S. Campbell

William Sternberg Campbell, son of Archibald Dougall and Catharine (Stern berg) Campbell, who came from the United States at the close of the Revolution, and settled in the County of Glengarry, where the father of our subject lived until 1818, when he came westward to the County of Kent, where he had drawn land on account of the loyalty of his mother, afterwards moving to Hamilton. In 1838 Archibald Campbell settled in the town ship of Brantford, on a farm of 170 acres, four miles from the present city of Brantford, where William was born, February 2.5, 1840. His mother … Read more

Biography of John McCleod

The subject of this sketch is a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and was born on the 13th of September, 1816. His father, John MacLeod, senior, was a type founder, and foreman for years of the only foundry of that class in the City of Edinburgh. The family were from the Highlands. The mother of our subject, before her marriage, was Ann Gordon. He was educated in part in the common schools of Edinburgh and Inverness; in 1832 came to Nova Scotia, finished his literary studies at Pictou, and there read law; went to New York city, having the legal profession … Read more

Biography of James, T. Bell

James Thompson Bell, Clerk of the County of Hastings, and Professor of Mining and Agriculture, and Lecturer in Zoology in Albert University, Belleville, is a native of Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, and only son of Captain Wm. Bell, of H.B.M. Transport Service, and Mary his wife, née Henderson, his birth being dated January 8, 1811. On the Burgess Roll of Newcastle the name of the Bell family dates back for over 300 years. The subject of this sketch was educated at the Royal Grammar School of his native town, and assumed the profession of a private tutor at the early age of … Read more

Biography of Frank Tyrrell

One of the best representatives of the legal profession in the county of Dundas, Ontario, is Frank Tyrrell, a young man who has risen with great rapidity since he became, an attorney and was called to the Bar, and who is successful in every branch of his profession. He was born in the township of Williamsburg (which includes Morrisburg), October 6, 1845, his parents being Francis and Mary (Plantz) Tyrrell, members of the agricultural class. His father came from Ireland about 1835, and settled in this country, and died in 1861. His mother, who is of German descent, is still … Read more

Biography of William Furby

One of the oldest journalists in the county of Durham, or this part of the Province of Ontario, is William Furby, a native of Bridlington, Yorkshire, England, and a son of John Furby, a school teacher, who, during the winter season, made a specialty of instructing sailors in navigation. Our subject was born September 5, 1799, and at the time of preparing this sketch is in his 80th year. He was educated by his father; learned the printer’s and cabinetmaker’s trade; in 1819 crossed the Atlantic ocean, and spent five or six years with an older brother, Robert Furby, at … Read more

Biographical Sketch of W.E. Sanford

No “Portrait Gallery of eminent Canadians,” would be considered complete without a sketch of the gentleman whose name heads this article. For several years he has stood in the front rank of the “Merchant Princes” of Hamilton, and by his remarkable career of business success has filled a place in the public attention so large as to constitute him, to some extent, a Provincial character and public property. So without fear or favor, and almost forgetting to say, by your leave, we attempt our sketch. Mr. Sanford was born in the city of New York, in 1838. His mother dying … Read more

Biography of Rev. John Davison

Reverend John Davison, minister of the Primitive Methodist church, Toronto, the venerable clergyman whose name heads this sketch, is a native of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and was born November 23, 1799. In his early manhood he became much interested in home mission work, and at the age of twenty-four was called to the ministry in connection with the Primitive Methodist church, in. the north of England, and was stationed for several years chiefly in the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. During this period he pursued the study of the classics and acquired a knowledge of Rabbinical literature. In the … Read more

Biography of Robert Thompson

The oldest settler in Guelph, still living here, is Robert Thompson. He first saw the site of the place in 1827, the year it was started; and has been a constant resident here since 1828; has witnessed the rise of log shanties, the laying of the foundation stone of the first two stone buildings, the first celebration of the King’s birthday, the roasting of the first and only ox, and the first May Fair, when three cows and one yoke of oxen constituted the whole “show.” Most of these scenes were witnessed in 1828, when our subject was twelve years … Read more

Biography of Richard Martin, Q.C.

Richard Martin was born in 1824, near to, and partly educated in, the city of Dublin, Ireland, is eldest son of sheriff Martin, and eldest grandson of Col. Richard Martin, of Connemara, both of whom receive more detailed mention on page 92 of this volume. But for the barring of the entail by his grandfather and uncle the late Thomas Barnwall Martin, who was at the time of his death, and for many years previous, member of the county of Galway in the British parliament the subject of this sketch would now be the owner of the extensive estate of … Read more

Biography of Rev. Mark Burnham

The subject of this sketch was a son of Zaccheus Burnham, and was born at Cobourg, county of Northumberland, July 12, 1804, his father being a pioneer in that county. Zaccheus Burnham was born in Dunbarton, N. H., February 10, 1777, while the American revolution was in progress, and immigrated to Canada, with his father, Asa Burnham, in 1798, reaching Haldimand in May of that year. In the autumn of 1800, he returned to New Hampshire, and on the first of February 1801, married Elizabeth Choate, reaching Canada again on the 28th of the same month. Zaccheus Burnham was a … Read more