Dobson, Rev. William, Methodist Minister, Fredericton, New Brunswick, was born at Bedeque, Prince Edward Island. His father, William Dobson, was a native of Yorkshire, and came to America in 1821, and settled in Prince Edward Island, where he began farming. In 1823 he married Ann Moys, the eldest daughter of Captain Thomas Moys, of Bedeque, and the subject of our sketch is the second son of this union. Rev. Mr. Dobson received his primary education at the public schools of his native place, and when about eighteen years of age entered the Grammar School, where he remained two years. He then went to Mount Allison College, where for a time he studied Greek, Latin, German, and theology. After leaving school he entered the ministry of the Methodist church, and since then he has occupied churches in Guysborough and Digby, in Nova Scotia; and Jacksonville, Sheffield, Albert, Potton, St. John, and Fredericton, in New Brunswick. He entered his present charge in Fredericton in 1886, and is very much respected by his congregation. Rev. Mr. Dobson takes an active interest in any movement calculated to advance the Redeemer’s kingdom on earth. On the 11th of August, 1874, he was married to Ella A. Morehouse, of Digby, N.S. Her parents were of the old loyalist stock, who settled in Nova Scotia during the American rebellion.
Robertson, George, Merchant, St. John, New Brunswick, was born on the 30th January, 1844, at Kingston, Kent county, N.B. His father, the late Duncan Robertson, ship-builder, was a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, whose forefathers had come from Perthshire and settled in Aberdeen. The mother of the subject of our sketch was Georgina Jardine, a native of Wamphray, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Both parents first settled in Kingston, about the year 1834. Mrs. Robertson’s brothers, J. & T. Jardine have had a long and successful career as ship-builders and ship owners in Kingston; and her mother, Janet Paterson, came of a family which has provided some men of historical note: among others, William Paterson, the founder of the Bank of England, one of the promoters of the disastrous Darien scheme, etc., and Sir Walter Scott’s “Old Mortality,” etc. Mr. Robertson was educated in the English branches at the public schools, and at Sackville Academy, and spent the greater part of his boyhood in Moncton and Cocagne. He acquired some general knowledge of ship-building, shop-keeping, and farming; and in 1858-9 lumbered in a small way on his own account. The family having returned to Moncton in 1860, he shortly afterwards left for St. John in search of employment, and to make his way in the world. On his arrival in that city he found an opening in the establishment of James Macfarlane, then a leading grocer, and this gentleman he served in the capacity of clerk for seven years. In 1868, Mr. Robertson having saved some money, he began business on his own account, and continued to prosper until 1877, when the great fire occurred in St. John, and swept away a considerable portion of his property. He then retired from active business for about a year, in the meantime putting his affairs in order. In 1878 he made a fresh start, and since that period the world has gone well with him. He is now at the head of the firm of George Robertson & Co.,—having taken S. A. Corbitt, a few years ago, into partnership,—carrying on a large wholesale and retail business in groceries, and as importers of West India and Mediterranean produce. Their office is at 50 King street, and their warehouse at 17 Water street. Like all men in business, Mr. Robertson has had the usual amount of losses and worries, but has now the satisfaction of feeling that he has nevertheless succeeded, and also gained the esteem and respect of his fellow-citizens, and others, who have done business with him for many years past. Mr. Robertson was a captain in the St. John city light infantry militia. He is also a member of the St. Andrew’s Society of St. John; the Board of Trade, and a director of the Maritime Warehousing and Dock Company. He has taken part in various political discussions, and has strongly advocated trade reciprocity with the United States; St. John as a winter port for the Dominion; the short line railway with Montreal; St. John Harbor Commission, etc. In religion he is in accord with the Presbyterian form of worship, and is an elder in St. Andrew’s Church. In politics he is a Liberal-Conservative. He was married to Agnes Turner, a lady of Scotch descent, on the 18th June, 1873, and has a family of six children.
Hopper, Rev. John Elisha, M.A., D.D., Pastor of the Brussels Street Baptist Church, St. John, New Brunswick, is a native Canadian, having been born in Salisbury, Westmoreland county, N.B., on 18th December, 1841. He is son of Robert Hopper, whose father came from Hamilton, Yorkshire, England, among the earliest settlers in New Brunswick. He married Sarah Peck, a descendant of Joseph Peck, of Hingham, Norfolk county, England, who, with his brother, Rev. Robert Peck, in 1636, fled from persecution with other Puritans to New England, and settled in Hingham, Massachusetts, where, in addition to being a representative of the general court, he held other important offices. John Elisha Hopper completed his academic studies in the Baptist Seminary, Fredericton, N.B., and matriculated in Acadia College, Wolfville, N.S., taking its course of study, save that of the junior year, which he spent at Madison University, New York, and graduating A.B. in June, 1862. His theological studies were pursued in part under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Cramp, of Acadia College, and in part at Regent’s Park College, London, England, with Rev. Dr. Angus and Rev. Dr. Ben. Davis, the celebrated Hebraist. Here we may say Dr. Hopper comes of Baptist parentage, and was baptized by the Rev. W. A. Coleman, at Harvey, Albert county, N.B., in December, 1858, and preached his first sermon, 29th April, 1860, in Greenfield, N.S. In 1865, after completing his theological studies, he for a short time preached at Shediac, Petitcodiac, and Sussex Vale. At the latter place the first regular services in connection with the Baptist denomination were held by him, and resulted in the establishment of one of the strongest churches in the place. In the same year he accepted an invitation to become associate principal with Rev. Dr. Spurden, of the Baptist Seminary, Fredericton, and the following year he succeeded him as principal. In September, 1868, Dr. Hopper was ordained a minister at Fredericton. In 1869 he resigned the principalship of the Baptist Seminary, and on the invitation of the Baptists of St. Stephen, began there the work of organizing a Baptist church. A handsome church edifice and parsonage were erected, and a good congregation and Sabbath-school gathered; and then in 1872 he accepted the pastorate of the First Baptist Church, Burlington, Iowa, and remained there six years, receiving into the fellowship of the church in that time over two hundred persons. In April, 1878, Dr. Hopper having purchased a half interest in the Christian Visitor newspaper, published in St. John, N.B., returned to Canada, Rev. Dr. George Armstrong becoming associated with him. In 1879 he bought the other half of the paper, and enlarged the printing, publishing and book business, editing and publishing the Christian Visitor, Canadian Record, Youth’s Visitor, Gem, and International Sunday school lessons. This business he carried on until 1885, when he sold it out, and assumed the pastoral charge of the Brussels Street Baptist Church. His relationship with this church began in 1880, and is still continued. He, however, still edits and publishes the Canadian Record and Sunday school papers. In 1870 Rev. Mr. Hopper received the degree of M.A. from Acadia College; and in 1882 that of D.D., from Morgan Park Theological Seminary, Chicago. In August, 1867, he married Emma, daughter of Deacon John Smith, of St. John.
Irvine, Matthew Bell, C.B., C.M.G., Commissary-General, Quebec, was born on the 7th January, 1832, in Quebec city. He is descended from an ancestry that have left their mark on Canada. Adam Irvine, son of Adam and grandson of Peter Irvine (spelt Irving in the Orcadian records of 1730), of Garson, in the Orkney islands, North of Scotland, came to Canada soon after the conquest, and was accidentally killed at Quebec, on the 7th May, 1776. His son, James Irvine, born in England in 1766, was a member of the mercantile firm of Irvine, McNaught & Co., of Quebec, and for a number of years was a member of both the Executive and Legislative councils of Lower Canada. In 1822 this gentleman was commissioned president of the Court of Appeal of the Executive Council in the absence of the chief justices of Montreal and Quebec; and in 1824 was nominated by letters-patent under the Great Seal, arbitrator for Lower Canada to adjust the duties between Upper and Lower Canada. He served in the militia of the province from 1803 until 1822, when he retired with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. James Irvine married on the 13th July, 1801, Anne, eldest daughter of John George Pyke, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and had issue two sons, John George and James. The latter died young; and the Hon. James Irvine died at Quebec on the 27th September, 1829. John George Irvine, the father of the subject of our sketch, was born at Quebec on the 31st December, 1802, and passed his early life in the firm of Irvine, McNaught & Co. In 1837, on the outbreak of the rebellion, he was appointed a captain in the Royal Quebec Volunteers. In 1838 he was gazetted a lieutenant-colonel and deputy-quartermaster-general of militia; and on the 5th November of the same year was commissioned major of the Queen’s Volunteers, a regiment raised for active service. He was appointed extra Provincial A.D.C. to the governor-general of Canada on the 14th November, 1851; Provincial A.D.C. on the 1st November, 1852; and principal A.D.C. on the 2nd October, 1868. On the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1860, Colonel Irvine was nominated acting adjutant-general to attend on his Royal Highness during his official tour in Canada. He married, on the 4th February, 1826, Anne, third daughter of the Hon. Matthew Bell, of Three Rivers, and had issue four sons and four daughters. He died at Quebec on the 1st November, 1871, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. Of this family three sons and two daughters still survive; namely, Hon. George Irvine, judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court, Quebec; Acheson Gosford Irvine, lieutenant-colonel and late chief Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police; Matthew Bell Irvine, commissary-general, Quebec; Eliza Inglis Irvine, and Frances Isabella Irvine. Commissary-General Irvine was educated at the High School of Quebec. On the 30th March, 1848, when a mere lad, he joined her Majesty’s Commissariat department of the army, and in this branch of the service he remained until the 1st of April, 1881, when he retired with the honorary rank of commissary-general. During this period he served in Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Australia. He was present in Turkey and the Crimea during the latter part of the Eastern campaign, in 1855-56. He was created a companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, for services as senior control officer on the Red River expedition of 1870, under Colonel (now Lord) Wolseley; and was also created a companion of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath in 1874, for services as senior control officer during the Ashantee campaign under Major-General Sir Garnet Joseph (now Lord) Wolseley, K.C.M.G., C.B. In religion he is an adherent of the Church of England. He was married at Bayswater, London, England, on the 2nd June, 1875, to Charlotte Feodore Louisa Augusta, only child of the Rev. N. Guerout, of Berthier, en haut, Quebec, and widow of George A. L. Wood, of Quebec.
Wilson, Daniel, LL.D., F.R.S., President of the University of Toronto, was born in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1816. His father, Archibald Wilson had a large family. One of his sons, Dr. George Wilson, well known as an eminent chemist, was for some time professor of technology in the University of Edinburgh, and died in 1859. Dr. Daniel Wilson, the subject of our sketch, after passing through the High School, entered the University of his native city; and when he had reached his twenty-first year, went to London, England, to push his fortune. After a residence there of several years, during which he relied for support chiefly on the reward of his literary labors, he again turned north, and continued to wield his pen in Edinburgh, where he soon became distinguished for his ardent love for archæological studies. In his twenty-seventh year he came to Canada, at the insistance of the historian Hallam, who, with Lord Elgin, the then governor-general of Canada, warmly recommended the appointment of the young littérateur and zealous secretary of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries to the chair of history and English literature in University College, Toronto. The removal to Canada was a grave step in itself. But it was more than this when it broke in, as it did, upon serious studies pursued with great ardor, severed the dearest ties, social and professional, and withdrew from a promising field of labor one who was not only fast making his way to the front, but whose genuine abilities and true scientific devotion, had he remained in it, would doubtless have gained him rich pecuniary rewards, with many accompanying honors. However, to Canada he came, and one of the interesting as well as valuable souvenirs of his parting with his Scottish friends and scientific associates is a costly service of silver in the learned doctor’s possession, the inscription on which bears the testimony of his associates in the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, “To Dr. Wilson’s intelligent and faithful labors as secretary, and to their admiration of his great learning and genius so successfully devoted to the investigation of the archæology of Scotland.” Devoted student as he was of archæology, and much as he had done in Scotland to enrich the subject by laborious local research, Dr. Wilson, in coming to Canada, found a wide field for its pursuit on the American continent; and much has he assiduously gathered in the interval to add to the stores of information and reasonable conjecture in this interesting branch of science. The fruit of this is abundantly found in important treatises on the subject which have come from his pen, as well as in the many occasional papers contributed to the scientific journals and transactions of learned societies in both hemispheres. The number and bulk of the latter would fill many portly volumes, and are in themselves a monument of intellectual labor. In the brief space at our disposal we can give but a bald enumeration of the more important works which have come from Dr. Wilson’s pen. The first of these was “Memorials of Edinburgh in the Olden Time,” a work in two volumes, published in 1847, with illustrations from the author’s facile pencil. This interesting work, with his “Reminiscences of Old Edinburgh,” published in 1878, reveal Dr. Wilson’s tastes as an antiquary and his varied accomplishments in undertaking the work of tracing the history, antiquities and local traditions of the Scottish metropolis. A contemporary critic affirms of the first of these books, that “these volumes will do the author honor in his native city so long as the ancient capital of Scotland stands.” In 1851 appeared a kindred but more ambitious work in the wider field of Scottish antiquities, entitled “The Archæology and Prehistoric Annals of Scotland.” This scholarly and elaborate production drew from the historian Hallam the criticism that it was the most scientific treatment of the archæological evidences of primitive history which had ever been written. The reviewers were also equally laudatory, a high authority saying that the work was “full of original views, bearing everywhere the stamp of independent investigation and of an independent judgment,” and calculated “to form an epoch in the study of the earlier antiquities of Scotland and of Britain at large.” Another competent authority speaks of this work as “one of extraordinary merit, particularly in the lucidity of its scientific combinations and inductions, the charm of its style, and the perfect fidelity of its many pictorial illustrations.” A second edition being called for, the author in 1863 republished the work, with large additions and a careful revision, under the shorter title of “Prehistoric Annals of Scotland.” The term “Prehistoric” in its earlier use, in 1851, it may be worth noting, was, we believe, a coinage of the author’s; he, at least, was the first to bring the word into vogue. In 1863 also appeared what may be considered the author’s magnum opus, a work embodying the results of researches in archæology and ethnology in both hemispheres, and of which two subsequent editions, considerably re-written, have appeared. Of this production, which bears the title of “Prehistoric Man: Researches into the Origin of Civilisation in the Old and the New Worlds,” the Edinburgh Witness at the time under the editorship of the geologist, Hugh Miller, remarks that “the topic is not only vast in range, complex in material, and difficult from its nature, but brings the man who ventures to discuss it into contact with momentous and perplexing questions touching the origin of civilisation, the unity of the human race, and the time during which man has been a denizen of this planet. Dr. Wilson proves himself at all points equal to his task.” This emphatic verdict has been endorsed in other eminent quarters, and high commendation passed upon the book, not only for its scientific value, but for the attractiveness of its literary style. To these works have to be added three volumes, which, though notable in themselves, by no means represent the bulk of Dr. Wilson’s purely literary labors. They are respectively entitled “Chatterton: a Biographical Study” (1869); “Caliban, the Missing Link” (1873); and “Spring Wild Flowers,” a volume of graceful verse. In the Chatterton biography, the author has lovingly gathered all that is worthy of record in the career of the ill-fated Bristol dreamer; and the volume is the best tribute known to us to the young poet’s genius. “Caliban” is an interesting Shakespearian study, combining great imaginative power with a strong critical faculty, and giving the reader much curious information, with not a little fanciful disquisition, on the Evolution theory. The little volume dedicated to the Muses, of which two editions have appeared, emphasises the twin sisterhood of Science and Poetry, and enshrines some thoughtful lines on religious and moral subjects, with several happy examples of lighter verse. In addition to these published works, a whole library of contributions from the author’s pen is scattered through the “Proceedings” of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, the London Anthropological Institute, the Edinburgh Philosophical Institution, the British and American Associations for the Advancement of Science; the “Journal” of the Canadian Institute (for some years edited by Dr. Wilson); and the “Transactions” of the Royal Society of Canada. Of this latter society, to the vice-presidency of the literature section of which Dr. Wilson was nominated by its founder, the Marquis of Lorne: the doctor has been the chief working supporter, and to it has contributed many valuable papers, both in literature and science. To the present (ninth), as well as to the earlier (eighth), edition of the “Encyclopædia Britannica,” Dr. Wilson has also been an extensive contributor. In the current edition, the articles on “Canada,” “Confederation,” and “Toronto” are from his pen, as are the biographical articles on “Ferguson” and “Chatterton”; while the article on “Edinburgh,” it is understood, was written by him, and, oddly enough, was sent to Scotland from Toronto. Besides this mass of literary work, a number of contributions from the same source, on literary and historical subjects, with a good many reviews, art critiques, and academical addresses, have from time to time appeared in the pages of the “Canadian Monthly,” the “Canada Educational Monthly,” The Week, and other native journals. These, with other important philanthropic and Christian labors in Toronto, covering the period of half a lifetime, bear witness to Dr. Wilson’s untiring industry, and the force and range of his mental powers, as well as mark the nobleness of his personal character. A sketch, however brief, of the life and work of Dr. Wilson would be singularly incomplete which contained no reference to his labors as an educationist, and to his onerous duties in University College, both as professor and since 1881, when he succeeded Dr. McCaul, as its executive head. In some respects, and perhaps with truth, it may be said that Dr. Wilson would have done more justice to himself if he had made a choice in his life’s work between literature and science rather than, as he has done, given the prose side of his mind to archæological studies, and reserved its poetical side for literature. But the financial circumstances of the institution with which he has been so long connected, made this from the first impossible, and compelled him, laboriously and ardently, to toil on in dual and somewhat incongruous fields of work. With the result, however, no one can reasonably quarrel, for in both fields it must be said he has acquitted himself well and won merited fame. He who would trace Dr. Wilson’s life in the sphere of his academic labors must do so with real enthusiasm, with loving sympathy, and with hearty admiration for the scholar and the man. His lifelong interest in Toronto University, the many sacrifices he has made for it, his devotion to the subjects he has so ably taught in the college, and his inspiring and elevating influence upon the students who have successively come under his care, are matters that require little dwelling upon by any local pen. Nor is there need to say a word to any graduate, of the college at any rate, of the learned doctor’s ever ready courtesy, of his kindness of heart, of his simplicity of character, or of his high moral worth. Testimony to these and other lovable qualities in the president of University College is, we are sure, as abundant as testimony is emphatic to the learning and genius of their gifted possessor. If the state, strangely enough, has done little to mark Dr. Wilson’s services, both to science and education, throughout a long and unwearying life, he has at least this consolation, that, among those who have had the honor of personally knowing him, appreciation of their number and worth lies deep in every breast. The passing years have dealt kindly with the subject of this brief sketch; the figure, always spare, is still erect, and the step has lost little in the march of time of its early elasticity. The eyes look at you with the old-time keen, rapid glance; and there is the same kindly note in the voice, which rises and falls with that familiar, soft, measured cadence, which belongs distinctively to those who hail from the Scottish metropolis. For thirty-five years President Wilson has been connected with the University and College of Toronto, and has given to that institution the abundant fruitage of a rich, matured, and industrious life. During that long period, though he has daily gone in and out among almost all classes of the people of Toronto, and in many ways has contributed to the intellectual life and to the enriching of the scientific thought of Canada, and, indeed, of the continent, there are not many, we fear, outside of academic circles who recognise the genius, the learning, and the pre-eminent abilities of Dr. Wilson, or who appreciate him as a man at his true worth. In a general way the few in Toronto may know him as a learned scientist, and perhaps as an accomplished littérateur; but to the mass of his fellow-citizens he is little more than a prominent educationist, and the head of the national university. If this statement seems unfair, let us ask, how many know of his great reputation and high recognised status in the first scientific circles of the Old World, or who think of him in the light of his deserts—as one of the foremost men of the age in his own special departments of archæological and ethnological science? Canada as yet has not been fertile in great men; but here doubtless is one, if we are to take the measure of his worth not only from his books, though these undoubtedly are an author’s best and truest memorial, but from the estimation in which he is held in high scientific circles abroad, and the unsought honors conferred upon him by many of the learned societies of Europe. Only eminent services to science could have secured him the recognition of crowned heads and the issue of royal diplomas setting forth these services, with enrolment among the distinguished honorary members of the great scientific societies and learned institutions of the mother land, and of France, Italy, and Denmark. Dr. Wilson has now reached the evening of his days, and as the lengthening shadows fall athwart him and his labors, the writer of this, with many who love him, may well wish that a life so singularly pure and worthy may be prolonged and continued for many years yet at the service of his adopted country. But when the line of the allotted span has been crossed, wishes we know must be vain; and the granite shaft in yonder cemetery, with its touchingly beautiful tribute “to the wife of his youth,” who “was the bright sunshine of a long and happy life,” is a monition which neither he nor any wise friend can disregard, however distant all may wish the day when the Master’s summons shall come to one who has been eminently faithful, and the sombre curtain shall drop for ever upon his work.