Ontario Canada

Biography of William V. Hutton

William Veal Hutton, one of the most successful business men in St. Mary’s, is a son of George Martin and Ann Austin (Veal), Hutton, and was born in Ringwood, Hampshire, England, April 16, 1825. He belongs to an old Somersetshire family. His father was a linen draper, and a successful business man. William received an ordinary education in a private school, acquired a knowledge of his father’s business, and in the autumn of 1850 emigrated to Canada, and settled at St. Mary’s, then a very small village. Here he purchased a mill, and was engaged in the manufacture of flour … Read more

Biography of Charles F. Gildersleeve

Charles Fuller Gildersleeve, Mayor of Kingston, and one of the leading business men of this city, was born here on the 17th of October, 1833, his parents being Henry and Sarah (Finkle) Gildersleeve. His father came from Portland, Conn.; settled in Kingston in 1816; was a ship builder and steamboat owner, and an energetic business man. His maternal grandfather was a United Empire Loyalist. The subject of this notice received his literary education at the High School of Ontario, better known as the Upper Canada College, Toronto; prepared for the profession of law, partly in Kingston and partly in Toronto; … Read more

Biography of Hon. Vice Chancellor Proudfoot

Prominent among the names of eminent men at present occupying the Judicial Bench in the Province of Ontario, is that of the subject of this sketch. William Proudfoot is a native of Perthshire, Scotland, where he was born in the year 1823, and is the third son of the late Rev. William Proudfoot, of London, Ontario. His mother was Isabella Aitchison from the vicinity of Edinburgh, Scotland. The Rev. William Proudfoot was one of the first missionaries to Canada, of the United Secession Church, and came to this country in 1832, settling near London, Ontario, in 1833. Here he organized … Read more

Biography of David Kirkwood

David Kirkwood, Clerk of the County Council, and a native of this county, was born in Caledon, May 26, 1829. His parents, William and Margaret (McDonald) Kirkwood, were from Scotland, the Kirkwood’s being a Renfrewshire family. The father of David was a pioneer in this part of the Province, a farmer after coming to Canada, dying in the Township of Caledon in 1849. His mother died in 1860. Schools in the boyhood of our subject, were very poor in his locality, neither grammar nor geography being taught, and he had to attend to such branches outside of the school room. … Read more

Biography of Hon. Sir William Buell Richards, K. T.

The late Chief Justice of the Dominion of Canada is descended from a family that left Staffordshire, England, in the early part of the 18th century, and settled at Norwich, Conn. Our subject was the eldest son of Stephen Richards, of Brockville, Ontario, the mother being Phoebe, daughter of William Buell, a United Empire Loyalist and an officer in the “King’s Rangers,” who represented Leeds in the Upper Canada Assembly, from 1801 to 1804, and was born in Brockville, May 2, 1815. He was educated at the Johnstown Grammar School, and at Potsdam Academy, N.Y.; read law with Andrew Norton … 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

Biographical Sketch of Right Rev. J. Thomas Duhamel

Joseph Thomas Duhamel, second Bishop of Ottawa, is a native of the Province of Quebec, dating his birth at Contrecoeur, November 6, 1841. His parents were Francois Duhamel, and Marie Joseph Audet Lapointe, both also natives of Quebec, and both dying in Ontario. Our subject was educated at the college of Ottawa, under the direction of the Oblate Fathers, took the ecclesiastical dress September 1, 1857; received the tonsure June 27, 1858, and the four minor orders as follows: Porter, June 23, 1859; Reader, June 17, 1860; Exorcist, June 23, 1861, and Acolyte, June 21, 1862. He was ordained sub … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James Daniell

James Daniell, judge of the united counties of Prescott and Russell, and member of the board of county judges, was born at Carrickmacross, in the county of Monaghan, Ireland, on the 23rd of November, 1822. His parents, Stanis and Eleanor (Dawson) Daniell, emigrated to Upper Canada, during the spring of 1823, and settled upon Dundas street, township of Toronto, on the farm where Sydenham village now stands. He resided with his parents most of his time until about sixteen years of age. He studied law with George Duggan, the late recorder of the county of York; was admitted an attorney … 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 Hon. Lieut-Col. Mackenzie Bowell

Few men in the Province of Ontario are more thoroughly self educated and self made than the Hon. Mackenzie Bowell, Minister of Customs, to which position he was appointed on the 18th of October, 1878, after the defeat of the Mackenzie Government in the previous month. He entered a printing office at eleven years of age as “devil,” and grew up and educated himself in the same office, being connected with it in various relations apprentice, journeyman foreman, joint proprietor and sole proprietor from 1834 to 1875. Whatever he is he owes largely to his own industry and economy of … Read more

Oneida Tribe

A tribe of the Iroquois confederation, formerly occupying the country south of Oneida Lake, Oneida county, N. Y., and latterly including the upper waters of the Susquehanna.

Biography of Joseph Van Norman

Joseph Van Norman is a native of New Jersey, a son of John and Sarah (De Pue) Van Norman, and was born May 12, 1796. His mother was of Huguenot descent, her ancestors escaping from France at the time of the persecution of the Protestants. When he was a small boy the family emigrated to Canandaigua, in Western New York, where he received a moderate education, picked up some knowledge of the iron manufacturing business, and having a talent, as well as a natural taste, for mechanics, he built a small furnace, and operated it for two or three years; … Read more

Biography of William Reynolds

William Reynolds, on the west coast of Ireland, on the 9th of February, 1831. At the early age of eight, shortly after the death of his father, he was sent to London, England, to be educated under the eye of his uncle, Rev. Henry Reynolds, rector of Henley-on-Thames. It being determined that he should enter the royal navy, and having passed a satisfactory examination, he received a cadetship in the year 1845. After cruising a short time in the Channel, he was ordered to India. The inactive life at that time on board a war vessel, did not suit his … 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 Speight

James Speight, the largest wagon manufacturer in the Province, and a very enterprising man, has always lived in Markham, being born here August 30, 1830. His father, Thomas Speight, from Yorkshire, England, left the old country a little more than half a century ago, and after spending a year or two in the Southern States, in 1830 came to Canada, settling in Markham, and carrying on the wagon business many years, dying in 1875. James’ mother, whose maiden name was Martha Drake, is still living. Mr. Speight attended the district school until in his fifteenth year; learned the wagon maker’s … Read more

Biography of Thomas Kirkpatrick, Q.C.

Among the early settlers in what is now the Province of Ontario, few men in a semi public capacity have filled a more honorable place that the subject of this brief sketch. Upper Canada was still a country in its infancy, when, as a youth of 17 years, in 1822, Thomas Kirkpatrick made his home in Kingston. He was born in the parish of Castleknock, in the county of Dublin, and was led to think of Canada as a field in which to seek his fortune, by the fact that a connection of his own was already there in the … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Vicar-General Laurent Jouvent

Laurent Jouvent, son of Joseph Jouvent, farmer and miller, and Louise Aubert, was born at Vallserres H. Alps, France, March 17, 1829. He was educated in the sciences at the Seminary of Embrun, France; studied theology at Jap in the same district; was ordained Priest June 19, 1853; was appointed Parish Priest of Aspremont, and eighteen months afterwards was called to the Vicarage of the Cathedral of Jap, leaving the latter place in 1857, and arriving at Ottawa on the 11th of December of that year. The next June he was appointed Priest of St. Phillip, Chatham, Province of Quebec; … Read more

Biography of James S. Thorburn, M.D.

Dr. James Thorburn, is a native of Canada, and was born on the 21st day of November, 1830, at Queenston, Ontario. The names of his parents were David Thorburn and Isabel nee Thompson. Mr. Thorburn came from Scotland to this country, where he engaged for many years in merchandising, He also entered politics and became a prominent and influential leader of the Reform Party, holding various positions of honor and trust: For about sixteen years he sat for the Counties of Welland and Lincoln in the old Canadian Parliament, in which body he took a leading and active part during … Read more

Biography of John Nichol, M.D.

John Nichol, a practicing physician and surgeon in Listowel for the last eighteen years, dates his birth in Glasgow, Scotland, November 16, 1822. His father was Hugh Nichol, manufacturer, and at one period a British soldier, a member of the 71st regiment, receiving a wound at the Battle of Waterloo. His mother’s maiden name was Mary Caldwell, who died when he was about eight years of age. He was educated at a parish school; came to Canada with the family in 1843, and his father took up 200 acres of land in the township of Peel, county of Wellington; but … Read more

Biography of John Mercer

John Mercer, one of the sheriffs longest in office in the Province of Ontario, is a descendant of a very ancient English family, whose progenitors went to England from Normandy with William the Conqueror, and settled near Hastings, county of Sussex; members of the family still holding property there. Our subject was born in the city of London, May 16, 1816, his father being Robert Mercer, a timber merchant. The maiden name of his mother was Sarah Hathaway Treacher. He was educated at a private school in Kent, where Lord Beaconsfield was once a pupil; in 1833 accompanied the family … Read more