Van Horne, William C., Vice-President and General Manager Canadian Pacific Railway, Montreal.—Of the links that bind the old world to the new, there is one which, whatever may betide in a future, near or far, is not likely to give way. That link is the bond of race, and in itself that bond is manifold. In Mexico, Central and South America, a group of successive states perpetuates the memories of Spain’s dominion in the continent that she helped Columbus to discover. Brazil is allied by blood and crown to the enterprise of Portugal. North of the Gulf of Mexico, the empire has, in the course of events, become the heritage of men of Anglo-Saxon breed, whether the flag be the union-jack or the stars and stripes, the men who raised it aloft were mainly from the British Isles. Not all, however. Both in the United States and Canada there are elements in the population—important elements—which it would be stupidity to ignore. The foundations of the dominion were laid by the valiant and pious sons of La Belle France, and notwithstanding the change of rulership, the country is still, and must long continue to be, to a large extent, administered by their descendants. In the United States, among the first to sow the seeds of civilization in the wilderness, were the hardy children of the land of dykes and fogs. Hudson, though English born, was by adoption and service a Hollander, and the commercial metropolis of the western hemisphere was founded by Dutch pioneers. It is no wonder that in the great American republic should have arisen the most sympathetic and popular historian of the growth and independence of the United Netherlands. For if in that land of constant warfare with the ocean—the well-known patronymic—which to Platt Deutsch ears is as “Mac” to the Highlander, and “O” to the Munsterman, has been borne by patriots like Van den Berg, Van der Does, Van Tromp, and Van Hove, not less distinguished a place, in proportion to their numbers, have the founders of Manhattan and their descendants won for themselves in their new home. It is also worthy of remembrance that, though the English, displaced the Dutch by the law of the stronger, the Dutch won back their lost estates, and that in fact they only submitted to the English crown, when that crown pressed the brow of a compatriot of their own—William, Prince of Orange. Of the persons of known Dutch origin who have since those days of struggle risen to proud preeminence in the United States, the list is a long and honorable one. There is no rank of life, indeed, in which they have not been and may still be found, and as a rule, wherever the syllable “Van” is prefixed to a name, it denotes the ancient fatherland of its possessor. It may be almost taken for granted that he is above the average in those qualities that win success and esteem. That this assertion is not made at random, will be evident to any one who consults the “Biographical Directory of the Railway Officials of America,” where the number of office bearers bearing names beginning with “Van” is remarkable. In this list one name is conspicuous as that of a gentleman who holds the supreme position among the railway men of Canada—that of William C. Van Horne, vice-president and general manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The name is one, moreover, of high renown in both continents, and has been borne by soldiers, sailors, divines, and scholars, as well as by men who made their mark in the ranks of commerce and industry. It was, it will be remembered, a Garratt Van Horne, a valorous and gigantic Dutchman, who led that resolute band of New Netherlanders who refused to bend their necks to the English invader. One of the race did, indeed, afterwards suffer discomfiture, being taken by surprise, and the students of our history will recall the repulse of Major Thomas B. Van Horne, near Detroit, in 1812. But a namesake of that gallant officer has amply avenged him in the spirit of returning good for evil. The rivalries of peace are more noble than those of war, and the benefit that the subject of this memoir has conferred on the Dominion and its people rebounds to the honor of the benefactor, as no conquest of his military namesake, even had he advanced unchecked, could ever have done. Mr. W. C. Van Horne is in career a type, not only as we have tried to show, of the stamp of character with which Holland—trained there, too, by long and fruitful conflict with nature—has endowed the new world, but also of a class of men who have made North America what it is to day. What the railway movement has done for civilization in the western, even more than in the eastern, hemisphere, we need not pause to inquire. Enough to suggest the inquiring; the answer lies all around us in the network of lines which has brought the most remote and out-of-the-way corners of the continent into communication with the great centres of business, skilled labor, and varied culture. In effecting these splendid results, Mr. Van Horne has had a share which, though a few dates may indicate its general features, might be made the theme of an instructive volume. Though he springs, as we have seen, from the old patron stock of the Manhattan colony, he is a westerner by birth, having first seen the light in Will county, Illinois, in February, 1843. He is therefore in the very prime of life. His railway experience began some thirty-two years ago, when he entered the service of the Illinois Central, as telegraph operator, at Chicago. He afterwards served for six years more, in various capacities, on the Joliet division of the Michigan Central. From 1864 to 1872, he was connected with the Chicago and Alton Railway, filling successively the positions of train-despatcher, superintendent of telegraphs, and assistant superintendent of the railway; and in 1872, he became general superintendent of the St. Louis, Kansas City, and Northern Railway. From October, 1874, till October, 1878, he was general manager of the Southern Minnesota line, being president of the company from December, 1877, till December, 1879. From October, 1878, till December, 1879, he was general superintendent of the Chicago and Alton Railway. In January, 1880, he became general superintendent of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul’s Railway, a position which he held for two years. In January, 1882, he became connected with the Canadian Pacific Railway, as general manager, and in 1884, he assumed the high and responsible position, which he still holds, as vice-president of that great company. This brief outline indicates a career of faithful service and gradual promotion. From that time forward Mr. Van Horne’s name has become a household one in Canada. His perseverance, pluck, and skill in connection with that railway soon placed him in the fore rank as one of the great railway managers of the present century, and the work he performed, and the skill manifested in the construction of that great national work, will ever link his name with the history of Canada. The work was completed within six years of the period allowed by contract, the last spike was driven by the Hon. (now Sir) Donald A. Smith, at Eagle Pass, 340 miles from Port Moodie, on the 7th of November, 1885, and the through train from Montreal passed on to the Pacific terminus. The operation of the line since that date has transcended the expectations even of the most sanguine.
Bryson, Hon. George, sen., Fort Coulonge, ex-Member of the Legislative Council of the Province of Quebec, was born in Paisley, Scotland, on the 16th December, 1813. His parents were James Bryson and Jane Cochrane, and both were born in Scotland. They came to Canada in 1821, and settled in the township of Ramsay, Lanark county, Ontario. Hon. Mr. Bryson received his education in the public schools of Ramsay. For about fifty years he has been in the lumber business, and has seen the development of this national industry from nearly its commencement. He was mayor of the township of Mansfield, county of Pontiac, province of Quebec, for a number of years, and for several terms served as warden of the county. In the fall of 1857 he entered political life, and was returned to represent Pontiac in the parliament of Canada; but parliament having been dissolved a short time thereafter, he never took his seat in the house. At the general election, which took place in 1858, he again presented himself for election, but was defeated. In 1867, however, he was called to the Legislative Council of the province of Quebec, and occupied a seat in this branch of the legislature until the 17th of August, 1887, when he resigned in favor of his son, George. Hon. Mr. Bryson takes an interest in Masonry, and is a member of the Dalhousie lodge, city of Ottawa. He is an adherent of the Presbyterian church, and for a number of years has filled the office of elder in the same. In politics he is a moderate Reformer. He is one of the directors of the Bank of Ottawa. On the 4th March, 1845, he was married to Robina Cobb, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on the 20th September, 1815, and the fruit of this marriage has been seven children, four of whom are still living.
Richey, Rev. Matthew, D.D., an eminent minister of the Wesleyan Methodist connection, was born at Ramelton, in the north of Ireland, in 1803 or 1804, and came to America early in life. In 1820 he gave himself to the work of the ministry among the Methodists, and labored in New Brunswick. In 1821 his name appeared upon the minutes of conference as that of a probationer, and his first circuit was Newport, N.S. He was ordained and married in 1825, and was then sent to Parrsboro’, N.S., and subsequently he was appointed to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In 1830, on account of the impaired state of Mrs. Richey’s health, he removed to Charleston, S.C., where the winter was spent. His popularity there was so great that, owing to the crowded state of the church in which he officiated, it was no uncommon thing for persons to go in the afternoon to the church in which he was to preach at night, and to remain supperless, for the evening service. He returned to Nova Scotia in 1831 and spent three years in Halifax. In 1835 he was appointed to Montreal, and here, as in his former spheres of labor, he speedily won, and permanently held, the love and admiration of the people to whom he ministered. In 1836, the “Upper Canada Academy,” since changed to Victoria College, was to be opened, and Mr. Richey was proffered the position of principal. He consequently removed to Cobourg, where he remained until 1839; the academy, under his charge, acquiring a high and influential character in the public estimation. While at Cobourg he received from the Middleton (Conn.), Wesleyan University, the degree of M.A., and it was here that he wrote “A Memoir of the late Rev. William Black,” including an account of the rise and progress of Methodism in Nova Scotia, etc. From Cobourg he was transferred to Toronto, remaining there from 1839 to 1843, at which time circumstances led to the severance of the connection between the British and Canadian sections of Methodism, which had existed from 1834. In 1840 Mr. Richey accompanied the Rev. Joseph Stinson, president of the Conference, to England, on a visit rendered necessary by the new order of affairs; and in 1841 he was again delegated to attend the British Conference, accompanied by the Rev. E. Evans. The results of those visits were eminently satisfactory to Wesleyans in connection with the British Conference. From 1843 to 1845, Mr. Richey was stationed at Kingston, then the seat of government. In 1842 he was appointed chairman of the Canada West District and general superintendent of Missions. In 1845 he was placed in Montreal as minister of great St. James street church, and chairman of the Canada East District. During this incumbency he received the honorary degree of D.D. from the Middleton Wesleyan University. To the official responsibilities of the Montreal district were added the superintendency of Missions in the Hudson’s Bay territory. In 1846 Dr. Richey was a Canadian delegate to the London Evangelical Alliance, and the following year he again crossed the Atlantic to attend the British Conference. A better understanding between the sections of British and Canadian Methodists was being arrived at, and as the result, articles of union were agreed upon in 1847. In 1848 he again removed to Toronto, attended the General Conference of the M. E. Church at Pittsburg, and was appointed president of the Canada Conference. In the autumn of 1849 he was thrown from his carriage, and never entirely recovered from the effects of the fall. Early in 1850 he removed to Windsor, N.S., and enjoyed the repose of a country life until the following year, when, after a visit to England and France, he again took up his residence at Halifax, was appointed chairman of the Nova Scotia West District, and so continued until 1855, when the Conference of Eastern British America, comprising Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the Bermudas, and Newfoundland, was formed, with the Rev. Dr. Beechman as president, and Dr. Richey as codelegate. That year he visited Newfoundland on official duty, and at a later period spent a short time in Bermuda. In 1856 he was appointed president, and held that office until 1860, when, as the result of an aggravation of his malady, it became necessary for him to occupy a supernumerary relation. He again visited England, and on his return in 1861, he was appointed to St. John, N.B. From 1864 to 1867 was spent in Charlottetown, as chairman of the Prince Edward Island District, and in the last named year he was again president of the Conference of E. B. America. In 1868 he attended the General Conference of the M. E. Church in Chicago, and in July of the same year he again visited the British Conference. But his condition now rendered it necessary for him to retire from active labor, and he spent the remaining years of his life under the guardianship and affectionate solicitude of family and friends. On the 17th October, 1883, he was seized by paralysis and lingered until the following Tuesday, Oct. 24th. Thus passed away one of the foremost divines in the great Methodist denomination, to whose ripe scholarship, rare theological attainments, and commanding eloquence, as well as to his abundant and useful labors, frequent reference is found in Methodistic records.
Desjardins, Lieutenant-Colonel Louis George, M.P.P. for Montmorency, Levis, Quebec, was born at St. Jean Port Joli, County of L’Islet, on 12th May, 1849. He is the son of the late François Desjardins. He received his education at Levis college, where the training was of the very best kind to fit a young man for the active duties of life. He became a journalist, and in that profession has held a number of positions of influence in relation to the newspaper press. He was for several years editor-in-chief of Le Canadien (Quebec), one of the most influential of French-Canadian papers. On the 3rd February, 1873, he married Aurélie, daughter of the late C. Lachance, of Levis. His interest in militia affairs was always keen. He has his title of lieutenant-colonel as commanding officer of the 17th battalion volunteer militia. Lieutenant-Colonel Desjardins first entered active political life in 1881, when he was elected to represent his present constituency in the House of Assembly of the province. He gave a strong and able support to the Chapleau ministry, which was then in power, and subsequently to the different administrations following, until the defeat of the Conservatives at the last general election. In that election Lieutenant-Colonel Desjardins was again returned. As a journalist and public speaker, Mr. Desjardins is possessed of remarkable power. His knowledge of political affairs is both wide and accurate, and his writing, especially, shows that conscious power which comes of full knowledge of the subject with which he deals.
Hamilton, Hon. Charles Edward, Q.C., Attorney-General of Manitoba, was born at Upnor Castle, near Chatham, England, on the 25th of March, 1844. His parents came to Canada with their family when the subject of this sketch was but four years old; his father, the late Captain Hamilton, being commandant at Isle-aux-noix, Quebec. They settled afterwards in St. Catharines, where he was educated. After receiving a sound education, he entered upon the study of the law, being articled in the office of Hon. J. G. Currie, then speaker of the Legislative Assembly. He was so successful in his study of the law that when only twenty-one he was called to the bar, when he entered actively upon the practice of his profession. Mr. Hamilton was an ardent member of the volunteer force, and even in his early twenties held a commission as captain in the 44th Welland battalion. During the Fenian troubles of 1871, when it was believed that the marauders from the American side of the river would repeat their incursion of five years before, the 44th Battalion was among those called out, and Captain Hamilton, on that occasion, was given charge of two companies. Mr. Hamilton went to Winnipeg in February, 1881, and was called to the bar of that province in May of the same year. He took part in founding the firm of Aikins, Culver & Hamilton, which quickly took a foremost place in the ranks of the legal profession in Winnipeg. In 1885, Mr. Hamilton was elected mayor of the city, and in the same year was nominated as the ministerial candidate to contest Winnipeg South for the local legislature, his opponent being Mr. W. F. Luxton, one of the leaders of the ex-opposition. The contest was an exceedingly keen one, and one that attracted wide attention. Mr. Hamilton was successful. He became a member of the executive council, holding the portfolio of attorney-general in the same year. In the last general election Mr. Hamilton was returned for Shoal Lake. Mr. Norquay’s government resigned on the 23rd of December, 1887, and Dr. Harrison was called upon to form a government. Mr. Hamilton was sworn in on the 26th of December, 1887, as attorney-general of the new government. He was one of the two representatives of the Manitoba government at the later provincial conference, hon. John Norquay, then premier, being the head of the deputation. In everything pertaining to the industrial development of the city and the province, Mr. Hamilton has taken a deep interest. He is a director of the Commercial Bank of Manitoba, and a director also of the Manitoba Mortgage and Investment Company. In 1884 Mr. Hamilton married Miss Alma Ashworth, daughter of Mr. John Ashworth, cashier of the Post Office department, Ottawa. His church relations are with the Presbyterian denomination. In his profession, Mr. Hamilton has been most successful, the call to the high position of attorney-general being a deserved tribute to his legal attainments. His career as a public man has been such as to win for him not only the enthusiastic regard of his supporters, but also the esteem and respect of his opponents, and, though in an arena so small as the political field of Manitoba, personal issues are too apt to be forced to the front, those who oppose him are compelled, by the purity of his record, to do so on public grounds.