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

Kileenan, afterwards of Bowmore village. He was educated at the parish school of Bowmore. He immigrated with his parents to Canada West, in the summer of 1851; and came to the county of Bruce in the summer of 1853, where he remained for a couple of years with his parents who had settled in the township of Arran in 1852. Mr. Sinclair taught school in the Gore area of Toronto, Chinguacousy and Toronto township, and afterwards in the township of Saugeen; and then settled permanently in the county of Bruce, in 1858. He has always taken a deep interest in municipal affairs, and was deputy-reeve of Arran; and sat in the municipal council of the united counties of Huron and Bruce in 1863, in which year he removed to Southampton and became bookkeeper for his brother, Alexander Sinclair, general merchant and grain buyer. In general politics, too, he was greatly interested, and became the standard-bearer of his party, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, at the general election in 1867, as member for the North Riding of Bruce, which riding he represented continuously till 1883. He was appointed registrar of deeds on the 24th of February, 1883, for the county of Bruce, and this position he still holds. Mr. Sinclair removed from Southampton to Paisley in the year 1869, where he resided and carried on business as a general merchant till he received his appointment. He married, 26th April, 1871, Isabella, daughter of Thomas Adair, of Southampton. He is a member of the Baptist church, and was always a Liberal in politics. Mr. Sinclair is a sociable Scotchman, and is held in high esteem by his friends. * * * * * =Scott, Hon. Richard William=, Q.C., leader of the Opposition in the Senate, and ex-Secretary of State, was born in Prescott, Ontario, on the 24th February, 1825. He is of Irish parentage on his father’s side, while, on his mother’s side he claims kinship with the McDonnells of U. E. loyalist fame. Young Scott had the advantage of a good education, his parents being in comfortable circumstances. He was educated by a private tutor, William Spiller, of Prescott, until he was ready to enter upon the study of law. He read in the office of Messrs. Crooks & Smith, of Toronto, and was called to the bar at the age of twenty-three years. He settled in Ottawa, then a small town, and entered upon the practice of his profession. He early exhibited a leaning towards public affairs, and took an active part as a young man in many warm political contests. In 1852 he was elected mayor of Ottawa, and filled his term of office with general satisfaction to the people. In 1857 he was elected to the Canadian Legislature for Ottawa, but suffered defeat on seeking re-election in 1863. When confederation was consummated and the first general election for the Ontario Legislative Assembly was held, Mr. Scott was again elected for Ottawa, and from that time to the present he has been continuously active in Canadian public affairs as a member of one of the great legislative bodies. He has held high positions in several administrations, and is to be credited with the initiation of some of the most important laws under which the Canadian people now live. He was elected speaker of the Ontario Legislative Assembly in 1871, but in the organization of the Blake administration he was asked to accept a portfolio and a seat in the executive council, and resigned the speakership after two weeks of office. He became commissioner of crown lands, and administered the affairs of that exceedingly difficult office with marked ability. In 1873 he was called to the Privy Council of the Dominion, as a member of the Mackenzie administration, and resigned his place in the Ontario government and his seat in the house. He was chosen as the fittest man to lead the Senate in conjunction with Hon. Mr. Pelletier, and was called to the upper house and made secretary of state, in March, 1874. His position in the government was that of secretary of state and registrar-general. When Hon. (now Sir) Richard Cartwright, minister of finance, went to England in that year, Hon. Mr. Scott acted in his place; and subsequently, in the absence of other members of the government he acted at one time as minister of internal revenue, and at another as minister of justice. On the defeat of the Mackenzie administration at the polls in 1878, Hon. Mr. Scott became leader of the opposition in the Senate, which position he still holds. The legislative enactment by which he is most widely known, and which forms his highest title to a high place among Canadian law-makers, is the Canada Temperance Act of 1875, better known as “the Scott Act.” This measure was the outcome of a long agitation on the part of the temperance people for an advance in some way upon the license laws and the old “Dunkin Act,” until then the ones in force. The “Dunkin Act” was a local option measure, but was of so defective a character that it was but lightly considered by the prohibitionists, and was not of much use as a guide in framing another law based upon the local option principle. The Canada Temperance Act is therefore a pioneer in the path of local option legislation in regard to the liquor traffic, and it is a remarkable tribute to the sagacity and legal ability of its framer that in the ten years since it was passed, although it has been the subject of the fiercest legal disputes, not only has its constitutionality been upheld by the highest court of the empire, in spite of the determined efforts of the greatest pleaders to overthrow it, but so perfect have its details been found that even now some half-dozen amendments are all that the prohibitionists are asking, and of these some arise out of advance in the temperance sentiment of the country which could not have been legislated for in the first place. Another important act which owes its origin to Mr. Scott, and which now forms part of our constitutional system, is the Separate School Law of Ontario, prepared and carried through parliament by him as a private member, in 1863; a measure which was the means of removing a vexed question from the political arena, and of allaying much public irritation. Mr. Scott is a man of quiet, methodical ways, but remarkable for his perseverance and tenacity of purpose. As a speaker, he makes no oratorical flourishes, but arranges his arguments with marked ability in such a way as to produce the most telling effect upon a candid mind. Personally there is no man in parliament who is held in higher or more deserved respect by representatives of all shades of political opinion. * * * * * =Adam, Graeme Mercer=, Toronto, was born in 1839, at Loanhead, a village in Midlothian, Scotland, about half-way between De Quincey’s house at Lasswade, on the Esk, and the woodland domain of the poet Drummond, of Hawthornden, close by the far-famed castle and chapel of the Earls of Roslyn. His father, who died in 1841, was factor on the estates of Graeme Mercer of Mavisbank and Gorthy, after whom he was named. The family is connected with the Adams of Blair-Adam, in Perthshire, and on the paternal side has given many representatives to literature and other professional callings; while on the maternal side, numberless Wisharts (his mother is a lineal descendant of the Scottish martyr George Wishart), have served their country in many of Britain’s great battles on sea and land. After receiving his education, first at Portobello and then at Edinburgh, Mr. Adam entered an old-established publishing house in the Scottish capital while very young, and at the age of nineteen was entrusted with the management of one of its most important departments. Owing to the death of the head of the house, the business was wound up, and young Mercer Adam was offered, through the Nelsons, a post in a large colonial book-house in Calcutta, and from the Blackwoods he had at the same time a proposal to go to Canada, to take charge of the book business of Mr. (now Rev. Dr.) J. Cunningham Geikie; the latter of which he accepted, and came to Canada in September, 1858. Two years afterwards he succeeded to this business, as a member of the firm of Rollo & Adam, who, it may be said, were the publishers of the first of the more ambitious native periodicals published in Canada, the _British American Magazine_. In this native periodical Mr. Adam made his first published contributions to literature. In 1866 Mr. Rollo retired from the business of Rollo & Adam, and the firm of Adam, Stevenson & Co. was formed. This book-house was well known in its day for its many publishing enterprises, and for the aid it gave the intellectual life of Canada, in furthering native literature and in introducing a higher class of book importations than had hitherto found sale in the country. Unfortunately the house for a number of years met with many and severe losses, and its business was wound up in 1876, Mr. Adam withdrawing for a time to New York to found a publishing house there, which has since developed into the extensive firm of the John W. Lovell Publishing Company. Mr. Adam, however, returned to Toronto in 1878, and since then has almost exclusively devoted himself to a literary life. In 1879 he established, and for five years edited, the _Canada Educational Monthly_; and in 1880 assumed the editorship of the _Canadian Monthly_, which in connection with Professor Goldwin Smith, he was instrumental in founding in the year 1872. Mr. Adam has also had connection with many other periodical publications issued in Ontario, either as a writer or in business relations therewith. His services to literature have been wide and important, for he has been journalist, educationist, critic, reviewer and essay-writer. In 1885 he wrote “The North-West, its History and its Troubles,” published by the Rose Publishing Company; he edited an edition of Lord Macaulay’s Essay on Warren Hastings; founded the _Canada Bookseller_, a trade organ, in 1870, and has written, in conjunction with W. J. Robertson, B.A., of St. Catharines, a “School History of England and Canada.” This History-Primer has had a sale of 100,000 copies, and is authorized for use in all the schools of Ontario as well as in the educational institutions of other provinces. In 1883 Mr. Adam edited a five volume series of school reading books, known as the “Royal Canadian Readers,” and in the following year was an extensive contributor to _Picturesque Canada_, and to a number of publications issued in Canada and the mother country. Mr. Adam is also the joint author, with J. W. Connor, B.A., of Berlin, of “The Canadian High School Word Book,” a manual of orthoepy, synonymy and derivation. In 1886, in conjunction with Miss A. E. Wetherald, a graceful Canadian writer in prose and verse, Mr. Adam wrote an historical romance entitled “An Algonquin Maiden,” three separate editions of which appeared in Toronto, London, and New York. This novel, which deals with interesting events in connection with the early history of Upper Canada, was exceedingly well received by the public and highly praised by the critics. Of other recent works which have come from Mr. Adam’s pen, the chief is an “Outline History of Canadian Literature,” published in 1887. This admirable text book of the native authors, though modest in its scope, has been found exceedingly useful as a companion to the Canadian histories. Mr. Adam has served Canada in the militia for twelve years. He was a captain in the Queen’s Own Rifles, and commanded a company of that crack corps at the fight at Ridgeway, between our volunteers and the Fenian marauders. He is a graduate and first-class certificate holder of the Military school of Toronto; received a second-class certificate in 1865 from Colonel Peacock of Her Majesty’s 16th regiment; and in 1866 a first-class certificate from Colonel Lowry of the 47th regiment. Mr. Adam has for the last twenty years been brought into contact with every literary man in the country and many representatives of other professions in Canada, and we have not probably another man who has a larger or more intimate acquaintance with books, book-men, and the book-trade, as vouched for by the publishing and bookselling fraternity, as well as by the leading men in all the professions—law, medicine, education, theology, etc. Mr. Adam married in 1863, Jane, second daughter of the late John Gibson, of Lovell & Gibson, parliamentary printers, and editor for many years of the _Literary Garland_. This lady died in 1884, profoundly regretted, leaving eight children to survive her. In religion Mr. Adam is a member of the Church of England; in politics he is an independent and a Canadian nationalist. Besides the literary work noted, Mr. Adam has edited and prepared for the press innumerable manuscripts; is a constant contributor to all the Toronto journals, and is looked upon by literary people as a sort of general reference library. The most pretentious of Mr. Adam’s published works so far is “The North-West, its History and its Troubles;” and this is a book that will be certain to survive in the literature of the country. The style of the work is like everything that proceeds from the pen of Mr. Adam,—it is clean cut, easy, swift and direct. There is a fascinating grace about all of Mr. Adam’s work, and one finds himself pausing constantly to admire the grace with which a sentence has been rounded, or to linger over its exquisitely balanced rhythm. Nature he loves with all his heart, and many of the descriptive passages in the work in question are delightful. There is present, likewise, the judicial quality, and the sense of historical responsibility; while the strong individuality of the writer is ever manifest. What we say of the work referred to, is true of Mr. Adam’s writing generally. But to him, as some of our recently published historical and biographical works bear testimony, Canadian literature lies under a debt which it can never repay. Literature the man loves, and it is not an exaggeration to say that his life has been consecrated to it. How bitter have been the fortunes of letters in Canada, is a fact only too well known, but Mr. Adam has always been fighting the literary fight, and when others have dropped out of the battle, he has kept up his courage. He is at present engaged exclusively in letters, and has now attained his meridian powers, and we await much from his gifted pen. * * * * * =Dickson, George=, M.A., Principal of Upper Canada College, Toronto, was born in Markham township, county of York, in 1846. His father was John Dickson, a well-known and much respected mill owner, of Markham, who came to Canada in 1829, and lived for a time in York (now Toronto). His grandfather, Robert Dickson, was a substantial woollen manufacturer of Lanarkshire, Scotland. His mother, a worthy Scotch lady, was the daughter of Robert McNair, farmer, of Paisley, Scotland, who emigrated to Canada in 1828, and settled at Milton, county of Halton, but subsequently removed to York Mills, Yonge street. Another branch of the family settled in Oswego, and there carried on an extensive shipping business. The subject of this sketch, who for nearly a quarter of a century has been worthily identified with educational pursuits, was himself educated at the Richmond Hill Public School, at the Markham Grammar School, and subsequently at the Whitby Senior County Grammar School, then under the charge of Thomas Kirkland, M.A., now principal of the Normal School, Toronto. From Whitby he proceeded to Toronto University, where he matriculated with honors, and attended two sessions. Here he prosecuted his studies, as the late President McCaul relates, with much diligence, his proficiency in mathematics, history and English, and in natural history, gaining him honors in these departments. Later on he graduated with honors at the Victoria University, Cobourg; and in 1878 he was admitted to the degree of master of arts. In the year 1865 he began his career as an educator, teaching first in the Lloyd school section, township of Whitchurch, and in 1866-7 in the village of Laskay, township of King. In the latter school we first recognise Mr. Dickson’s special aptitude for teaching, for in the two years he was engaged at Laskay no fewer than twelve of his pupils obtained first-class certificates of qualification as teachers. In 1868 Mr. Dickson was appointed mathematical master in the Chatham Grammar School, then under the late High School inspector, S. A. Marling, M.A. Here his success as an educator followed him, one of his earliest pupils obtaining first-class honors in mathematics at the matriculation examinations at Toronto University. Of the characteristics of his educational work at Chatham, Mr. Marling, the then head master, writes:—“Mr. Dickson is a thorough teacher, an excellent disciplinarian, and possesses in an unusual degree the power to excite and maintain the interest of a class.” In 1871 the subject of our sketch was offered and accepted the important post of preparing young men for university matriculation in the Woodstock Literary Institute, under the late Rev. R. A. Fyfe, D.D. Here he had charge of the university class in mathematics, English, history, and part of the classics; and in the year he remained at Woodstock he justly earned, as the authorities acknowledged, much of the gratifying honors won by the students of the institute. We now follow Mr. Dickson to Hamilton, to which city he removed in the autumn of 1872, to assume the duties of assistant mastership of the Collegiate Institute. The then headmaster was the late J. M. Buchan, M.A., who in the following year was made high school inspector; the board appointing Mr. Dickson in his stead. To this important position the new headmaster brought his now matured talents, rare aptitude for teaching, and an industry and power of work which enabled him not only to establish his fame as one of the most successful of Canadian educators, but to win for the Hamilton Institute a position in the first rank among the secondary schools of the province. These statements find ready confirmation in the gratifying statistics of the institute during the thirteen years Mr. Dickson remained in charge of its affairs. In 1872, when he was appointed headmaster, the school ranked third in the province; in 1885, when he removed to Toronto, again to succeed Mr. Buchan in the principalship of Upper Canada College, the school, as we have said, ranked first; from an attendance of 230 at the former period, the attendance rose to 585 at the latter period. Not only was the school thoroughly organized, with a specialist at the head of each department, but a literary society was formed in connection with it, and later on its members began the publication of a magazine, which at first modestly appeared quarterly, then blossomed out into a vigorous monthly, dealing with every branch of educational work, and finding its way into almost every county in the province. In the management of this periodical, which finally was merged in the _Canada Educational Monthly_, Mr. Dickson took an active interest, and gave it the benefit of his literary and scientific attainments. Meantime the institute greatly prospered, and the most gratifying successes were won by its pupils at the various university examinations and at those of the educational department of the province. The university record of the institute under Mr. Dickson’s administration shows almost phenomenal results. Within ten years of his appointment no less than one hundred and seventy-five of its pupils passed the university examinations. The scholarships (nineteen in number) taken by pupils of the school within the same period are in the same ratio. As bearing on this subject, we extract the following from a late report of the Hamilton board:— At Toronto University the school has ranked either first or second in classics no fewer than ten times, in mathematics eleven times first and three times second; in modern languages, including English, history and geography, twice first and twice second; and at every matriculation examination since 1873 Hamilton has won scholarships. Official university records show that no other collegiate institute has done this. In addition to the scholarships given above, Hamilton won six at first year Toronto University; one at London, England, ten at Knox College; two at McGill University; one at Trinity College, Toronto; two at Victoria and one at Queen’s College, Kingston; in all, forty scholarships, or an average of four each year. In 1883, in addition to all this, five scholarships were won at university examinations by Hamilton. The departmental examinations show like results. Under Mr. Dickson’s _régime_ upwards of four hundred passed the non-professional examinations for teachers’ certificates, and over fifty matriculated in law. From 1880 to 1885, in addition to his onerous duties as principal of the Collegiate Institute, Mr. Dickson had charge of the organization and management of the school system of the city of Hamilton. He also organized the Hamilton Teachers’ Association, and was its first president; was president for one year of the Teachers Association of the county of Wentworth; and for a number of years a director of the Hamilton Mechanics’ Institute. In 1885, on the lamented death of J. M. Buchan, Mr. Dickson succeeded that gentleman in the principalship of Upper Canada College, by appointment of the Ontario government, and thereupon removed to Toronto. In his new sphere, Principal Dickson’s power of organization, good discipline, and thoroughly business-like administration, combined with his all round scholarship, fine teaching ability and faculty of imbuing students with love of their work soon manifested themselves, and gave a new impetus to the old historic school of the province. Under his management not only has the institution continued to flourish, but it has done increasingly good work, as yearly university honors prove, and passed through a crisis in its history which, under a less vigorous administration would probably have seen its doom. Though it is soon to pass to new quarters in the northern suburbs of the city, its future need cause no uneasiness to any “old College boy,” for its interests will be in safe keeping in the hands of its present capable head. As principal of Upper Canada College Mr. Dickson is _ex officio_ a member of Toronto University Senate, and his large experience as an educationist, and the fact that he has filled successively the post of classical, mathematical, science and English master, in high school, collegiate institute and college, peculiarly fit him to serve in the academic senate. Personally, he is held in high esteem for his many fine qualities of head and heart, and for those gifts and endowments which, if they have not led him to take a prominent part in public affairs, nevertheless attach to him many warm friends. Though he is not what is known as a “pushing” man, for his modest demeanor indicates him to be the reverse of this, he is a gentleman of great and varied mental resources, which would enable him to acquit himself with credit in any sphere he is called upon to fill. He is withal a genial, large-hearted, and lovable man. In politics Principal Dickson is a Reformer; in religion a Presbyterian. In 1882 he married Mary, eldest daughter of the late Captain Thomas Flett, of Hamilton, a lady whose musical tastes and varied graces and accomplishments endear her to a large circle of friends. * * * * * =Stephen, Alexander=, Halifax, N.S., was born at Musquodoboit, Halifax Co., March 9, 1845, and was the eldest son of Alexander Stephen of Rothess, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, who came to Nova Scotia in 1834, and engaged in business, founding the house of A. Stephen & Son, carried on by his son to-day. His mother was Mary Ann Gould, a daughter of one of the settlers of the Musquodoboit valley. The subject of this sketch was educated at the Free Church Academy and Horton College. He early in life became associated with his father in the firm of A. Stephen & Son, furniture and wooden ware manufacturers, and on the decease of his father (a few years ago), continued the business, which has increased and developed under his management. Prior to the confederation of the provinces he held a captain’s commission in the 9th Halifax militia, and since 1867 holds the commission of a captain in the militia reserve. He was elected an alderman for the city of Halifax in 1882, and was again re-elected in 1885. During that period he has filled many responsible positions such as chairman of the Board of Works of the city; chairman of the Public Gardens Commission; and joint delegate with Mayor J. C. Mackintosh and Hon. Dr. Farrell in the St. John-Halifax delegation to Ottawa, on the Dry Dock and Short Line Railway matters, in 1885. He was one of the executive committee of the Dominion Exhibition of 1881, and was one of the most zealous movers in that successful exposition. He is an active promoter of the Victoria School of Art and Design, established in Halifax, 1887, in honor of her Majesty’s jubilee. Mr. Stephen is a Royal Arch Mason and P.M. of Virgin lodge, No. 3, R.N.S., with which he has been connected for twenty years. He is a Liberal in politics and an uncompromising free trader, though engaged in, and very successfully carrying on one of the best protected trades, viz.: furniture, wooden ware and house furnishings. Has in his employ a large number of men at his factory and warerooms in Halifax. The factory is situate number 162 to 166 Grafton street, and extends through to Albermarle street. The ware rooms are on the corner of Barrington and Prince streets, adjoining the Y. M. C. A. building, and are very extensive. He has lately added the house furnishings branch, carpets, oil cloths, and draperies, to his extensive business which is still carried on under the old style, A. Stephen & Son. He is a Presbyterian. He married August 19, 1873, Sadie Cogswell, daughter of late Rev. John Cogswell, of Halifax, and has a family. * * * * * =Hill, Hon. George Frederick=, St. Stephen, N.B., is a son of the late Hon. George S. Hill, a barrister of extensive connections, who sat for twenty-eight years in the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council of New Brunswick. Hon. Mr. Hill was born at St. Stephen in February,