A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose

January, 1881, to Alide, daughter of L. T. Dorias, of St. Grégoire le Grand, Quebec, M.P.P. for the county of Nicolet. * * * * * =Ross, Hon. James Gibb=, Quebec, Senator of the Dominion of Canada, is a merchant in the ancient capital, occupying a prominent position among the commercial men of the city, and wields an influence over several branches of the local trade and industry. Hon. Mr. Ross is eminently a self-made man. He was born, about sixty-eight years ago, in the small village of Carlake, about eighteen miles from the city of Glasgow, and, after receiving such education as the parish school could afford, came, while still young, to Canada, where he entered as a clerk the office of his maternal uncle, the late James Gibb, president of the Quebec Bank, and then doing an extensive wholesale grocery business in the Lower Town of that city. Here Mr. Ross acquired his business training and habits of industry. On the uncle’s death, Mr. Ross continued the business, with his brother, John Ross (deceased in September, 1887), and the partnership was continued down to 1868, when it was dissolved. Long before this, however, Hon. Mr. Ross had begun to turn his attention to other investments for his large and increasing capital. The ship-building industry at Quebec was then in its palmiest days, and in it he became largely interested, advancing large sums of money to the local ship-builders, and the Western timber producers. From ship-building to ship-owning there was but a step, and a number of his vessels, both sail and steam, soon dotted the St. Lawrence. He also purchased large timber limits, built mills, became interested in railways, steamboats, etc., and by this means helped to develop to a large extent the resources of Canada and build up the local industries of the city of his adoption. Quebec owes to him, in a large measure, the successful construction of the Lake St. John and Quebec Central Railway, and few local undertakings can be specified to which he has not given a helping hand, and in which he is not concerned. At present, although a wealthy man, he is still as punctual and hard working as the humblest clerk in his office. He is to be found at his post early and late, and, though he has considerably restricted his shipping interests of recent years, his investments and speculations in other directions continue as extensive as ever. He is president of the Quebec Bank, a large stockholder in other institutions, financial and industrial, and naturally wields a large amount, of local influence. A Conservative from predilection, his life has, nevertheless, been always too busy a one to allow of his taking an active part in politics. However, much against his will, he yielded in 1873 to the solicitations and pressure of a large body of his fellow-citizens, and at the general election of that year for the Canadian House of Commons, he offered himself as a candidate for Quebec Centre against that veteran politician, the late Hon. Joseph Cauchon, then the vigorous editor of _Le Journal de Québec_, and afterwards lieutenant-governor of Manitoba. The division was largely inhabited by a French-Canadian population, party feeling ran very high at the time, and religious and national prejudices were invoked against Mr. Ross, with the result that, after a very severe and exciting contest, he lost his election. At the general elections of 1878, he again offered for the same division, against Jacques Malouin, who had succeeded to the seat after Mr. Cauchon’s appointment to the lieutenant-governorship of Manitoba, but was again defeated. But in January, 1884, on the death of the Hon. David E. Price, he was called by the government of Sir John A. Macdonald, to the great satisfaction of the citizens of Quebec, to a seat in the Senate for Les Laurentides division. He has always taken a deep interest in the political welfare of Canada. * * * * * =Nelson, Hugh=, Victoria, Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, was born at Larne, county of Antrim, Ireland, on the 25th May, 1830. He settled in British Columbia in June, 1858, and engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1866, when he became a partner in the lumbering firm of Moody, Dietry & Nelson, at Burrard Inlet. He was vice-president and manager of the Moodyville Saw Mill Company until 1882, when he retired from business. In November, 1870 he was elected to represent New Westminster in the British Columbia legislature, which seat he held until its dissolution in 1871, when the colony entered into confederation with the Dominion of Canada. He was then returned to represent the same constituency in November, 1871, and again at the general election in 1872 by acclamation, when absent from the province. He was a member of the Yale convention, and among the first promoters of confederation in British Columbia. He received a diploma of honor for services rendered in connection with the International Fisheries Exhibition, in London, England, in 1883. He was called to the Senate of Canada on the 12th December, 1879, and remained until the 8th February, 1887, when he was appointed lieutenant-governor of British Columbia. He was married on the 17th September, 1885, to Emily, youngest daughter of the late J. B. Staunton, civil service of Canada. * * * * * =Pugsley, Hon. William=, D.C.L., St. John, Speaker of the House of Assembly of New Brunswick, is of Loyalist stock. One of his paternal ancestors was an Englishman, and was one of the earliest settlers on the Croton river, New York. After the Revolutionary war, John Pugsley, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came to New Brunswick and settled on the Hammond river, in Kings county, but afterwards returned to New York, and subsequently removed to England. His son, Daniel Pugsley, settled in Cardwell, Kings county, N.B. Hon. William Pugsley is a son of William Pugsley, sen., who worked a farm with much success near Sussex, in one of the most fertile districts of New Brunswick. Like so many of our best men, Mr. Pugsley received his education in the common school. Having finished his preliminary studies at Sussex, he entered the University of New Brunswick, at Fredericton, and here he was highly successful. In his junior year he was gold medallist, and he also took several scholarships. About this time the Gilchrist scholarships, founded out of the savings of a wealthy and eccentric Scottish doctor, were thrown open to competition in the provinces of the Dominion. Mr. Pugsley was among those who tried for the coveted distinction, and in 1868 took second place in the list of competitors. He took his degree of B.A. in the same year. Shortly afterwards he began the study of the law, and was called to the bar the 27th June, 1872. He at once secured a large and lucrative practice, and soon after his admission to the bar was appointed reporter and editor of the decisions of the Supreme Court _in banco_. He held this position for ten years. Mr. Pugsley has always taken a warm interest in the politics of his native province. For some years back, in the local house, the government has been conducted by a virtually coalition cabinet. Mr. Pugsley is an Independent Conservative, and was elected to the House of Assembly in July, 1885, a vacancy having been created by the death of Dr. Vail, M.P.P. In the debates of the house, Dr. Pugsley at once came to the front, and was considered so well versed in parliamentary procedure, that on the 3rd March, 1887, he was elected speaker of the house. In this position his wide knowledge of law as well as his acquaintance with the _personnel_ of the house and his unfailing tact and good judgment, have stood him in good stead. The office of speaker is one which calls for great patience and circumspection, and it is also one which is eagerly sought for by politicians of every degree of ability and popularity. A speaker must be also possessed of great swiftness and sureness of decision, as in the many turns of debate, and the inevitable clashing of opinion and personal jarrings, a delicate adjustment of the rights of members may come up for settlement. Mr. Pugsley has continued his early love of scholastic studies and associations, and holds the degree of D.C.L. of Fredericton University. In religious principles he is a Methodist. He married, on the 6th January, 1872, Fannie, daughter of the late Thomas Parks, of St. John. Though residing at Rothesay, Kings county, he practises his profession in St. John. * * * * * =Slaven, John Wallace=, Druggist, Orillia, Ontario, is a native Canadian, having been born in the county of Prince Edward, Ontario, on the 16th August, 1834. His father, P. Slaven, and mother, Eliza Walsh, both come from the county of Wexford, Ireland. Mr. Slaven received his educational training in the public and grammar schools of his native county. He holds a medical degree from an American medical school, but preferring business, he has never practised his profession. He first commenced the drug business in Wellington, Prince Edward county, in partnership with the late Dr. Archie Campbell, of that place, and in the fall of 1862 removed to Orillia, where he has continued the business with fair success up to the present. Mr. Slaven attended the Military School at Kingston, and in 1866 graduated from that institution. He afterwards became lieutenant and then captain of the 7th company Simcoe Foresters, which position he held for some time. He has served several years in the Municipal council of Orillia, and was deputy reeve of the same for two and a half years. He was elected once by a large majority and twice by acclamation. He was appointed a justice of the peace for the county of Simcoe by the Mowat government about eight years ago. Mr. Slaven is public-spirited, and takes an active part in every thing that tends to advance the town he has chosen as his home. He is a Conservative, and in 1882 was induced to enter the field of politics, and became a candidate of his party for the Ontario legislature, in opposition to Charles Drury, of Oro township, Simcoe, but failed to be elected. He at present is president of the Liberal-Conservative Association of the riding of East Simcoe. He has found some time to travel, and has visited the Pacific coast, the West Indies and many other parts of the North American continent. In religion Mr. Slaven belongs to the Roman Catholic church. He was married to Maggie McDonell, of Barrie, in June, 1867. * * * * * =Pope, Hon. John Henry=, Minister of Railways and Canals for the Dominion of Canada, M.P. for Compton, Quebec province, was born in 1824, and received his educational training in the High School at Compton, P.Q. The earlier period of his life was directed to agricultural pursuits. Mr. Pope was fond of military life, and took a lively interest in the volunteer movement. He commanded the Cookshire Volunteer Cavalry for many years, and retired in 1862, retaining his rank as major. He is president of the International Railway Company of Maine, and also of the Compton Colonization Society. He takes a deep interest in education, and for many years has been a trustee of the St. Francis College, Richmond, P.Q. He is also a director of the Eastern Township Bank. In 1854, at the general election of that year, Mr. Pope offered himself as a candidate for the Legislative Assembly of Canada, for Compton, and was defeated; but in 1857 he succeeded in carrying his election, and sat in this legislature until the union of the provinces under confederation. He was then elected a member of the House of Commons by acclamation, and has been returned ever since by his old friends each time he has appealed for their suffrages. On the 25th October, 1871, Hon. Mr. Pope was sworn in a member of the Privy Council, and made minister of agriculture, and this office he held until the defeat of the Macdonald ministry, on the Pacific scandal question, in November, 1873, when he retired with his leader. On the return of his party to power, on the defeat of the Mackenzie administration, he was, on the 17th October, 1878, reinstated into his old office of minister of agriculture. On the 25th September, 1885, he was made minister of railways and canals, and this office he still retains. During the summer of 1880, Hon. Mr. Pope in company with Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Charles Tupper, visited England, and took an active part in the negotiations which led to the Pacific railway contract, subsequently ratified by parliament. He is a Liberal-Conservative in politics. The Hon. Mr. Pope is not given to debate, but whatever he has to say, in or out of parliament, he says with a terse vigor and conciseness of language that make a mockery of ornate phrases. He has the disposition to work, an intelligent appreciation of the wants of the country, and a well-studied parliamentary experience of nearly half an average lifetime. * * * * * =Shorey, Hollis=, Wholesale Clothier, Montreal, was born in Barnston, Eastern townships, Quebec province, on the 2nd December, 1823. His father, Samuel E. Shorey, who was of English descent, was a native of the United States, but came to Canada when a lad of eight years of age. On reaching manhood, he married Fanny Jones, of Three Rivers, Quebec province, who was of Welsh descent, and to this couple was born the subject of our sketch. Hollis Shorey was sent to the academy at Hatley, Eastern Townships, where he took a commercial course of education. On leaving school, having reached the age of sixteen years, he entered himself as an apprentice to a local tailor, and having faithfully served the allotted term, he began business on his own account, at Barnston, his capital amounting to a very small sum. Just as he had reached his nineteenth year, his father died, and the responsibility of assisting to bring up a family of eight children was thrust upon him. Mr. Shorey’s first essay at his trade was the making of men’s, boys’ and youths’ clothing for customers who found their own cloth. He then took in a partner, and for four years they worked together amicably, keeping a general store as well as a tailoring establishment, but at the end of this period he made certain discoveries not at all to the credit of his partner, and a dissolution of the partnership ensued. This threw Mr. Shorey again back to his starting-point, but he was not discouraged. A short time after this event he entered into partnership with F. & J. H. Judd, which continued for four years, when he left the place and came to the city of Montreal. This was in 1861. Here he found employment, and for six years travelled for the firms of Macfarlane & Baird and Wm. Stephens & Co. (the now Sir George Stephens being then a member of the latter firm), soliciting orders for ready-made clothing, dry goods, etc. His field of operation was chiefly in the Eastern Townships, and he made many friends during his journeys. Getting thoroughly tired of travel, he resolved to begin business again on his own account, and then was laid, December 1866, the foundation of one of the largest wholesale clothing establishments in the Dominion. After two years he took in as a partner his son-in-law, E. A. Small, to assist him. This partnership lasted for about eighteen years when it was dissolved, and Mr. Shorey then associated with him as partners his two sons, S. O. Shorey and C. L. Shorey, who before this time had been very successful travellers for the old firm. They now employ as outside hands, tailors, etc., 1450 persons, and 150 more in the establishment. The firm, we are told, deals very liberally with their employees, and the most kindly feelings exist between them and their employers. For about fifteen years Mr. Shorey has been a member of the Board of Trade of the city of Montreal, and takes a deep interest in all its proceedings. During the small pox epidemic, in 1885, he was chairman of the citizen committee, which did so much to alleviate the sufferings of those afflicted by the pest, and remove the causes that produced it. Mr. Shorey has travelled a good deal, and found time to visit the continent of Europe, as well as the United States. In religion he is an adherent of the Episcopal church. He has been twice married. First, in 1844, he espoused Fanny Wheeler of Barnston, province of Quebec, who, dying in 1850, left two children, a boy and girl, and since then he has been united to Clara Gilson, of Vermont, who has also borne him a boy and a girl. His four children are all married, and he has now fourteen grand-children. * * * * * =Tomkins, Rev. John.=—The late Rev. Mr. Tomkins, during his lifetime a minister of the Methodist church, was born Nov. 12th, 1797, in the county of Stafford, England. His father, James Tomkins, and also his grandfather and great grandfather were natives of the city of Hereford, and as his parents returned thither shortly after his birth, he was accustomed to speak of that ancient cathedral town, as his native city. His parents were devout members of the Established church, and in that church his early religious training was received. He was naturally serious and thoughtful, and while still a lad was led through the preaching of a devout Anglican clergyman, the Rev. C. Glasscott, to turn his attention earnestly to religious concerns. It was, however, through the preaching of a Wesleyan Methodist minister, the Rev. Wm. Adams, that he found that rest of spirit which he had sought in vain for several years, in attendance upon the ordinances of his own communion. He immediately united with the Wesleyan society, and soon began to exercise his talents as a local preacher. Feeling called to devote himself wholly to the work of the ministry, he abandoned his worldly pursuits, and after due training, sought and obtained ordination in the old Spitalfields Chapel, London, at the hands of that distinguished divine, the Rev. Richard Watson, on the 18th of April, 1827. A few days after he left his native shores forever, to engage in missionary labor, first in Newfoundland and after in Canada. After a tedious voyage of nine weeks, he reached St. John’s on the 22nd of June, 1827. His first appointment was to Hants Harbor, a small fishing station, with less than three hundred inhabitants. Here he labored one year, and was then removed to Bona Vista, and the year following to Trinity, where he spent two years. Two more years were spent at St. John’s and Harbor Grace. During these six years of arduous toil among the scattered fishermen of Newfoundland, he endured many hardships, and on one occasion came near perishing of cold and hunger, having lost his way in a snow storm, while travelling on foot with another missionary, the Rev. Mr. Knight, from one station to another. In June, 1833, he was removed to the city of Quebec, where he remained two years. At the expiration of this time he received his first appointment to the Eastern Townships, where he spent forty-three years of his active ministry and thirteen years in a superannuated relation. His first circuit was the St. Armand, extending from the Richelieu river to Sutton, a distance of about fifty miles. The Rev. John Borland was associated with Mr. Tomkins on this field of labor, which has since been divided into about seven circuits. In the year 1836 the Wesleyan Methodist church had in Lower Canada, including the cities of Montreal, Quebec and Kingston, fourteen circuits, and a membership of about as many hundred. At the time when Mr. Tomkins closed his ministry, there were within the same territory eighty-one circuits, or stations, and the number of members had increased fivefold. From St. Armand Mr. Tomkins was removed to Odelltown, where he spent two years. His subsequent appointments were as follows:—In 1838, he went to Shefford, where he spent three years, in 1841 to Compton, where he remained three years. In 1844 he returned to Odelltown, and spent three years. In 1847 to Dunham, three years, and in 1851, he was moved to Stanstead where he spent four years. In 1854 he was chosen chairman of the Stanstead district, which office he held during the following six years. In 1855 he removed to Clarenceville, and thence, in 1858, to Dunham, for a second term of service. In 1861 he was re-appointed to Shefford, and during the two years of his pastorate there he held the office of Financial Secretary of the district. In the year 1863 he was again appointed to Stanstead, and re-elected to the chairmanship, which he held, with an interruption of a little more than a year, till the time of superannuation. In 1866 Mr. Tomkins removed to Hatley, where he spent three years, and in the summer of 1869 he retired from active work and took up his residence at Stanstead, where he remained till the close of his long and useful life, and where he continued to assist by every means in his power in advancing the interests of his Master’s cause. As a man, Mr. Tomkins was of a mild and equal temperament, of a most affectionate disposition, and of a character marked by singular transparency and simplicity. His judgment was reliable in matters connected with the interests of the church, his conclusions being generally justified by the event. As a preacher, he was clear in exposition, sound in doctrine and happy in expression, often rising into true eloquence as he kindled with his theme. All his ministrations were marked by deep and serious feeling, and he impressed his hearers by being so evidently impressed himself. As a pastor he was at once tender and faithful, and his name and memory are still loved and honored wherever he exercised his ministry. He departed this life September 21st, 1881, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, having been a Methodist preacher for fifty-three years. In February, 1836, he was married to Maria Whitcher, daughter of Dr. Isaac Whitcher, of Stanstead, Quebec province. His son, Edwin F. Tomkins, is at the head of the Cascade Narrow Fabric Company, Coaticook, P.Q., and was the first to introduce into Canada the manufacture of mohair braid, etc. * * * * * =Unsworth, Joseph Lennon=, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, acting superintendent of the Prince Edward Island railway, was born in Liverpool, Great Britain, May 12th, 1840. His father was James Stanley Unsworth, and his mother Mary Hatton, who was a sister of the celebrated music composer, John L. Hatton, of London, England. Mr. Unsworth, senior, was born in Goshen, in the eastern part of the county of Lancashire, of an old-time family. An ancient tradition published in “The Pictorial History of the County of Lancaster,” gives the following legend of the Unsworth family: “One of the most interesting places in this part of the country, at Goshen, about a mile and a half on the south side of Bury, is an old farm-house, the residence in former times of a family of some note, and still occupied by a lineal descendant. The family of Unsworth has possessed this property, according to tradition, ever since the time of the conquest, and there are certainly relics to prove its antiquity. Amongst other curiosities, the house contains a carved oak table, which is a source of some interest as being connected with an old legend. The story is that in olden times there lived near here a fierce and terrible dragon, which resolutely defied the prowess of sundry brave heroes, who would fain have immortalized their names by freeing the country from such a scourge. One, Thomas Unsworth, a warrior of the beforementioned family, more courageous, or more fortunate, than the rest, at last succeeded in the attempt, which he accomplished in a manner that certainly did much credit to his ingenuity. Finding that bullets were of no avail, he inserted his dagger in a petronel, and, rousing the anger of the dragon, shot it under the throat at the moment of raising its head. The table was made after this event, and, it is said, carved with the dagger by which the monster was shot. Round the table are St. George and the dragon, the lion and unicorn, the Derby crest, and the veritable dragon which the aforesaid Thomas Unsworth killed. There is also hung over the table in the old parlour, a painting of the Unsworth arms, which were given them in former times for deeds of honor, surmounted by another carving of the dragon. The crest is a man in black armour, holding a hatchet in his hand, and it is said to be the portrait of the renowned family ancestor, in the armour which he wore during the battle, and in which he was encased at the time he performed the celebrated feat which won him so much fame. Whatever credence may be given to this story (and the present family firmly believe in its truth), it is certain that a portion of land was once granted to one of their ancestors for having freed the country from some dire monster, of whatever kind it might be, and of course the property granted was that said to be the favorite resort of the dragon; nor is it improbable that the large and adjoining township of Unsworth, has originally derived its name from some one of this family. They also possess several very old books, treasured with due ancestral pride, and other relics more or less interesting.” Mr. Unsworth, the subject of our sketch, received his education in Montreal, and at St. Hyacinthe, in the province of Quebec. Shortly after leaving school, in 1855, he entered the service of the Grand Trunk railway company, at Longueuil, as an apprentice, under W. S. McKenzie, and was employed by that company until March, 1872. From May, of the same year, to November, 1874, he was engaged on construction of the Inter-colonial railway between Rivière du Loup and Causapscal; from November, 1874, to November, 1881, he was master mechanic on the same railway at Rivière du Loup, and from November, 1881, to May, 1887, he was mechanical superintendent of the Government railways in Prince Edward Island, and from May, 1887, to the present time (Feb., 1888), in addition to the latter duties, he has been the acting general superintendent of the above government railways. For six years he was lieutenant in the Grand Trunk railway volunteer regiment. He is a member of the Canadian society of civil engineers. Mr. Unsworth, during his busy life, has found time to devote to travelling, having crossed the Atlantic and visited his fatherland. He has also travelled the greater part of Eastern Canada and the United States. In religion he is an adherant of the Episcopal church. He was married June 27th, 1866, to Mary Jane Lomas, daughter of Adam Lomas, woollen manufacturer, of Sherbrooke, P.Q., and sister of Alexander Galt Lomas, mayor of Sherbrooke. * * * * * =Shearer, James Traill=, Contractor, Montreal, is a specimen of what well-directed energy and perseverance can accomplish. Born at Rosegill, parish of Dunnet, not many miles from far-famed John O’Groat’s, Caithness-shire, Scotland, on the 31st of July, 1822, he received his education in the parish school of Dunnet, and at Castletown, in the same county. Leaving school before he had scarcely entered his teens, he was obliged like many a lad in the far north of Scotland, to begin work early, and was accordingly apprenticed to a carpenter and millwright in the village of Castletown, and with him he faithfully served the alloted term. To perfect himself in his trade, he removed to Wick, and worked for about a year under D. Miller, a builder, who was erecting a church in Putneytown. When he reached his twenty-first year he resolved to try his fortune in Canada, and taking passage in a sailing vessel, on 30th May, 1848, reached Montreal, where he has since resided. Shortly after his arrival he entered the employ of Edward Maxwell, an extensive carpenter and builder, as a general house-joiner and stair-builder, branches of the business at which he was very proficient. After terminating a three years’ engagement with Mr. Maxwell, he went to Quebec city to take charge of the joiner and carpenter work on a new bomb-proof hospital then being built by the British government on Cape Diamond. Finishing the job to the entire satisfaction of the British officers in charge, he returned to Montreal, and began the study of steamboat architecture, especially cabin work, and soon became an adept at the business. Work flowed in upon him, and he found many customers, among others the late John Molson and David Torrance, for whom he fitted up many steamboats for the St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers, and he still carries on very extensively this branch of business, along with the manufacture of other kinds of wood-work for house building purposes. Mr. Shearer is the inventor of what is known as the hollow roof, for houses and large public buildings, which is considered the best suited to the climate of Montreal. This roof is of a concave design, and carries the water down the inside of the building, instead of the outside, thereby avoiding the freezing up of pipes. It was used on the Windsor hotel, Montreal, and has since been adopted generally throughout America. He has also been the chief promoter of what is known as the “Shearer scheme,” the object of which is to improve the harbor of Montreal and prevent the flooding of the city, but owing to the strong opposition urged against it by the Grand Trunk authorities, he has had to abandon it for the present. However, it will have to be considered at no distant day. If once adopted it will greatly improve the harbor of Montreal, and prove a source of wealth to the inhabitants. The plans are now in the possession of the Dominion government, and although he has twice applied for an act of incorporation for the “St. Lawrence Bridge and Manufacturing Company,” who are prepared to carry it to completion, he has not yet succeeded in getting this company incorporated. Mr. Shearer a few years ago designed and built for himself a house on Mount Royal, and it is perhaps the best finished house in that city of fine dwellings, all the internal work being of purely Canadian wood. The view from it is most charming, and cannot be surpassed in the Dominion. A visitor can take in at a glance the Chambly hills, Belle Isle, Mount Johnston, the river St. Lawrence for many miles, the Victoria bridge, the Lachine rapids, and the full extent of the beautiful city of Montreal. In politics Mr. Shearer is a Liberal; and in religion one of those who does his own thinking, and has no objection to others doing the same. He was married in Montreal, on the 23rd of June, 1848, to Eliza Graham, and the fruit of the union has been eight children. The two eldest sons are now engaged with their father in business. * * * * * =Armour, Hon. John Douglas=, Cobourg, Judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench, was born in the township of Otonabee, Peterborough county, Ontario, on the 4th May, 1830. He is the youngest son of the late Rev. Samuel Armour, who was for many years rector of Cavan, county of Durham, and was during his lifetime widely and favorably known through that part of Upper Canada. In his boyhood Judge Armour attended the schools in the neighborhood of his home, and on the 27th January, 1843, entered as a student Upper Canada College, Toronto. In 1847 he matriculated at King’s College (now Toronto University), and his career at college was very creditable. He gained the first university-scholarship in classics, and subsequently the Wellington scholarship. He graduated in 1850, carrying off the gold medal in classics. This same year he entered the office of his brother, Robert Armour, and began the study of law, and completed it in the office of the late Hon. P. M. M. VanKoughnet, who afterwards became Chancellor of Upper Canada. He was called to the bar in Michaelmas term, 1853, and removing to Cobourg, began to practise his profession there, forming a partnership with Sidney Smith, who some years afterward became postmaster-general of Canada. This partnership lasted until the 7th November, 1857, when Mr. Armour began to practise alone. He subsequently formed a partnership with H. F. Holland, which lasted between three and four years, when Mr. Armour was raised to the bench, and a dissolution consequently followed. During these years, various public offices were held by Mr. Armour from time to time. On the 28th March, 1858, he was appointed county attorney of the united counties of Northumberland and Durham, and during the following year he held the position of warden of those counties. On the 2nd May, 1861, he was appointed clerk of the peace for the same counties. On the 8th January, 1859, he was elected a member of the Senate of the University of Toronto. On the 26th June, 1867, he was created a Queen’s counsel. In 1871 he was elected a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, and on the 30th of November, 1877, was appointed puisné judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench, a position he has ever since filled with honor and dignity. Hon. Judge Armour is a man of wide reading, multifarious knowledge, and great shrewdness and common sense. By heredity and tradition he is a Conservative both in religion and politics, but, nevertheless, he is a Liberal in thought and education, and a firm believer in the great future the land of his birth has before her. On the 28th of April, 1855, he married Eliza Church, daughter of the late Freeman S. Church, of Cobourg, by whom he has had eleven children, ten of whom are now living. * * * * * =Molony, Thomas J.=, LL.B., Advocate, Quebec, is a prominent member of the Quebec bar, and one of the representative Irishmen of the ancient capital, honored with the confidence of his own element and esteemed by all classes of the community for his abilities as a lawyer, and his sterling integrity as a professional man and a citizen. He was born at Kingston, Ontario, on the 4th July, 1846, and is the youngest son of the late John Molony, and his wife, Catherine O’Connor, of that city. Thus on both sides, he sprang from good old Irish stocks. His father’s family were natives of the County Clare, Ireland. McGeoghegan, the Irish historian, ranks the Molonys among the oldest settlers of the Green Isle, and the county of Clare is the part of it around which the traditions of the family or sept have principally clustered from time immemorial. The old family, too, seem to have retained their territorial influence and social importance in the home of their ancestors down to a comparatively recent date. Up to the celebrated Daniel O’Connell’s time, they appear to have practically controlled the representation of Clare in Parliament, and readers of Irish history will readily recall the name of Sheriff Molony, in connection with the memorable election for that county which resulted in the signal defeat of Vesey Fitzgerald and the English government, and opened the door of the British Parliament to the great Irish Liberator, and to Catholic Emancipation. Burke, in his genealogy of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, says, pp. 1022-3; speaking of their lineage:— The Milesian family of Molony is one of great antiquity in the sister island. O’Halloran (Hist. of Ireland, Vol. III, p. 498), says: From Cormac Cas (who was of the line of Heber, eldest son of Milesius) are descended 1st, O’Brien, chief of Thomond . . . . Besides these hereditary officers the following noble families are derived from this great source: O’Dea, . . . O’Mollowney and others, and in his “List of Ancient Irish Territories, and by what Milesian families possessed before and after the invasion of Henry II,” Ceiltannan, (otherwise Kiltanon) is mentioned among the rest as the estate of O’Molony. The Molonys were formerly princes of Clare, where they possessed a large tract of country called the O’Molony’s Lands, as may be seen from the old maps of that county. In Catholic times, three members of the family attained the mitre, as appears from the epitaph on the tomb of John O’Molony, Bishop of Limerick in 1687 (second son of John O’Molony, of Kiltanon), who after the siege of that city, followed King James II. to Paris, where he assisted in the foundation of a university for the education of Irish priests, in the chapel belonging to which he was buried in