Mr. Blake is a prominent member of the Church of England, and has ever since his youth given much time and attention to ecclesiastical affairs. Anything connected with the Church possesses for him a living interest. His predilections in this way are so well known that he was long ago christened by one of his friends "the Archbishop," and by the members of his own family he is still sometimes jocularly so called. During the existence of the Church Association he was one of its most energetic officials. At the time of its dissolution, and for some years previously, he occupied the position of its Vice-President. He has been a Sunday-school teacher for nearly a quarter of a century, and is much esteemed and beloved by the members of his classes. Though not given to doing his alms before men, it is well known that his works of kindness and philanthropy are abundant, and that he has been the means of rescuing many of his fellow-creatures from a life of sin and degradation. He is, and has long been, President of the Irish Protestant Benevolent Society, and is connected with various other Christian and charitable enterprises. He takes a conspicuous part in the proceedings of the Young Men's Christian Association of Toronto, and frequently presides at public meetings held for social and philanthropical objects.
Alexandre Antonin Tache, signed as Aly. Arch. of St. Boniface
THE MOST REV. ALEXANDRE ANTONIN TACHÉ,
R. C. ARCHBISHOP OF ST. BONIFACE.
Archbishop Taché belongs to one of the oldest and most remarkable families of Canada; one that can refer with just pride to its ancestry, among whom are ranked Louis Joliette, the celebrated discoverer of the Mississippi, and Sieur Varennes de la Verandrye, the hardy explorer of the Red River, the Upper Missouri, and the Saskatchewan country; while several others are conspicuous in Canadian annals for eminent services rendered in their respective spheres. Jean Taché, the first of the name in Canada, arrived at Quebec in 1739, married Demoiselle Marguerite Joliette de Mingan, and occupied several influential positions under the French regime. He was the possessor of a large fortune, but was ruined by the Conquest which substituted English for French rule. His son Charles settled in Montmagny, and had three sons, Charles, Jean Baptiste, and Etienne Pascal. The last-mentioned became Sir Etienne Pascal Taché, and died Premier of Canada in 1865. Charles, the eldest of the three, after having served as Captain in the regiment of Voltigeurs during the war with the United States, took up his residence in Kamouraska. He married Demoiselle Henriette Boucher de la Broquerie, great grand-daughter of the founder of Boucherville, and grand-niece of Madame d'Youville, the foundress of the Grey Nunnery of Montreal. Three sons were born of this marriage: Dr. Joseph Charles Taché, a well-known Canadian writer, Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur, and Deputy of the Minister of Agriculture and Statistics; Louis Taché, Sheriff of St. Hyacinthe; and Alexandre Antonin Taché, Archbishop of St. Boniface, the subject of the present sketch.
The Archbishop was born at Rivière du Loup (en bas), Quebec, on the 23rd of July, 1823. At the tender age of two years and a half he lost his father. Madame Taché, after the death of her husband, repaired with her young family to Boucherville, to dwell with her father, M. de la Broquerie. Madame Taché was endowed with many of the qualities that constitute the model wife and mother, and made it the sole aim of her life to have her sons follow in the path of duty and honour trodden by their forefathers. From his infancy young Alexandre displayed fine natural qualities, crowned by a passionate love for his mother. This affection has lost nothing of its intensity, and to the present day the mere mention of his mother strikes the tenderest chord of his feelings. At school and at college he was noted for his genial character, amiable gaiety and bright intellect. He received his higher education at the College of St. Hyacinthe. Having completed his course of classical studies, he donned the ecclesiastical habit, went as a student to the Theological Seminary of Montreal, and subsequently returned to the College of St. Hyacinthe as Professor of Mathematics.