Duncan, John, formerly of St. John, New Brunswick, was born in Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in the year 1797, and landed in Miramichi, New Brunswick, in 1821. About the year 1832 he became connected with Mr. John Owens, of St. John, N.B., where, under the firm of Owens & Duncan, they conducted, with great success, a ship-building and ship-owning business, until the death of Mr. Owens, in 1867. The firm was widely known and respected for the management of their affairs under the strictest business morality. Mr. Duncan devoted much of his time as director and president of many private and corporate bodies. He died 31st January, 1869.
Girard, Abbé Pierre, Priest, Master of Arts, and Superior of the Seminary of St. Charles-Borromée, Sherbrooke, Quebec, was born February 14th, 1849, at St. Marie de Monnoir, at the foot of the woody Mount Johnson. He was the son of Pierre Girard, husbandman, and of Marie Peletier. On his father’s side he belongs to a large and influential family, who have furnished many men of merit to the country, and exercised a great influence in the United States. From his mother he inherited many of the Peletier qualities, so well known for their enterprising spirit, firmness, and indomitable energy. His father passed the greatest part of youth at Detroit, where he owned a vessel and coasted between that town and Chicago, then a humble village. A prolonged storm which he endured on Lake Michigan, and the rigors to which he was subjected, determined him to abandon this perilous life and return to his native country, after an absence of seven years. The childhood of Mr. Girard was passed under the watchful eyes of a loving mother. Being the eldest of the family, and more separated from the society of other children, he was reserved, serious and more than ordinarily timid. He then developed his aptitude for industry, of which he made such great use later. His favorite amusement was application to mechanism. In this connection he bears a long scar on his left wrist, inflicted while experimenting with a miniature saw-mill. This accident terminated an enterprise which had been closely calculated. He studied the elements of science in the common school which he attended from the age of seven years, from which he was a mile distant. His progress was so rapid that after three years his parents sent him, in 1859, to the college of Monnoir, where he studied in classics and mechanics. Endowed with unusual talents and an extraordinary memory, he made these two courses in seven years. Besides Latin and Greek, Mr. Girard speaks French, English and Italian. Through his knowledge of literature, philosophy and mathematics, he was made a professor of these sciences. He is familiar and occupied with all scientific subjects. The seminary of St. Charles-Borromée is designated by the city of Sherbrooke as one of its principal edifices. Mr. Girard draughted the plans and directed the works of construction, which is an unexceptionable proof of his architectural competency, whilst the museum is extensive and rich in mineralogy, conchology, ornithology, zoology, etc., collected under his supervision, and placing him in the first rank as a naturalist. Scarcely seventeen years of age, repudiating all the allurements and seductions of the world, Mr. Girard enrolled himself in the ranks of the Roman Catholic clergy, and it is from this epoch that his career as an educator of youth dates. He was ordained priest the 23rd September, 1871, and continued to teach in the college of Monnoir until the 14th of February, 1874, when he went to Coaticook, where he filled the office of assistant, besides officiating extensively at Barford and the boundary line. In 1875, the first bishop of the new diocese of Sherbrooke, his lordship, Ant. Racine, wishing to establish a seminary at Sherbrooke, believed he could not do better than entrust this great enterprise to the erudition, experience, and practical knowledge of the Abbé Girard. He was not deceived in his estimate of this energetic man, as the seminary of St. Charles-Borromée to-day ranks as one of the most flourishing institutions in the province of Quebec, and is patronized by the sons of the best families in the Dominion; among the number being the two sons of his honor Lieutenant-Governor Angers. The number of pupils who each year present themselves for admittance is so great that the Abbé is forced to refuse them, notwithstanding the work of enlargement which is being vigorously pushed forward. The secret of this astonishing success lies in the fact of the practical teaching of the two languages. To accomplish this it requires eighteen competent professors of many years experience. With a man of the Abbé Girard’s acknowledged ability, profound talents, and sterling piety, at the head of such an establishment, nothing more can be desired to insure its permanent success. In 1884 and 1885 he made a long voyage across the sea, in company with His Lordship Gravel, bishop of Nicolet, and the Rev. J. C. Bernard. He visited London, Paris, Rome, and the Holy Land, and then with the latter all the countries of Europe, with the exception of Spain and Portugal, which had to be omitted, being devastated with that fatal epidemic, cholera. They both have related the most interesting reminiscences of their tour, which lasted a year. Since his return Mr. Girard has entered into his work with renewed ardor. Work seems to have no effect upon his strong constitution; he utilizes his spare moments in historical researches on the Eastern townships, which he published in his Annual Memoirs of the Seminary. He printed as well as composed, in his hours of recreation, this annual, which already forms two large vols. in 8vo. In spite of all this work, he still found means of shining in the pulpit, where he preached sermons deserving of publication. A few years ago he published a “Method of Plain-Chant,” which has been well appreciated by the public, as shown by the fact of its being in its fourth edition. Being professor at the little seminary of St. Mary, he founded, in 1872, a journal, having for its name “Echo du College de Monnoir.” This publication, which lasted more than two years, contained articles worthy of the aptitude of his directorship. It would still exist if Mr. Girard had not been called to exercise his activity in another sphere. Mr. Girard was already episcopal counsellor of Sherbrooke up to August 9th, 1885, when his lordship, Bishop Gravel, honored him by nominating him vicar-general of the diocese of Nicolet, the 1st of November of the same year.
Allnatt, Rev. Francis John Benwell, D.D., Professor of Pastoral Theology in the University of Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, Quebec, was born at Clapham, a suburb of London, England, on the 15th of January, 1841. He is a member of a family for many generations resident at Wallingford, Berkshire; and his father, the Rev. F. J. Allnatt, M.R.C.S., is at present the vicar of Grinsdale, Carlisle, England. The subject of this sketch was educated at St. Augustine’s College, Canterbury, and, coming out to Canada in 1864, was immediately on his arrival, ordained deacon by the Anglican bishop of Quebec, and appointed to the mission of Drummondville, on the St. Francis river. This he retained for twenty-one years, with the exception of a period of two years (1872-4), during which he volunteered for service as missionary on the coast of Labrador. He was ordained priest in 1865, and took the degree of Bachelor of Divinity in 1878, and that of Doctor in 1886, at Bishop’s College, Lennoxville. In 1879 he was appointed as colleague to share with Dr. Weir, of Morrin College, the inspection of academies and model schools for the province of Quebec, an office which he held, in addition to his parochial charge, until 1885, when he resigned both on being appointed rector of St. Matthew’s church, in the city of Quebec. Early in the present year (1887) it was definitely decided to establish at the University of Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, a new chair, that of Pastoral Theology, with the object of inaugurating a more complete method of training and discipline for those graduates and other students who were engaged in immediate preparation for holy orders. The most important feature of this new departure was the residence of these students with the professor, for the purpose of closer intercourse with him and more frequent opportunities for devotion and instruction. Dr. Allnatt was appointed as the first occupant of the chair, and entered upon his new duties in September, 1887. He had previously, for some ten years, held the office of examiner in Divinity to the university. In 1874, Dr. Allnatt married the widow of Ignace Gill, M.P.P. This lady is a daughter of the late William Robin, a native of London, but of Swiss descent, and educated at Geneva. He entered the British service under the auspices of the Count de Meuron, and was a lieutenant in a regiment named after that nobleman, and when about eighteen years of age the regiment was sent to Canada, about 1812. It was disbanded a few years afterwards, and officers and men received grants of land in the neighborhood of Drummondville. Besides minor literary efforts, Dr. Allnatt has published a book entitled, “The Witness of St. Matthew,” an inquiry into the sequence of inspired thought pervading the First Gospel, and into its result of unity, symmetry and completeness, as a perfect portrait of the Perfect Man. This book, which is published by Kegan Paul, London, England, has met with much favorable notice at the hands of both the British and American press. The London Guardian, in the course of a very flattering review, designates it as “a careful, thorough and systematic analysis, with suitable remarks, of the contents of the first Gospel, with a view to elicit and illustrate the special features of St. Matthew’s presentment of Christ’s Person and work,—a task which the author has accomplished with much discernment and lucidity.”
Emmerson, Rev. Robert Henry, New Brunswick.—The late Rev. Robert Henry Emmerson, a clergyman of the Baptist denomination in New Brunswick, had his birth in Northumberland county, N.B., October 11th, 1826. His father was John Emmerson, who at an early age came from England with his parents to Charlottetown, P.E.I., and his mother, Maria Tozer, of Miramichi, N.B. Both were members of the Baptist church in the latter place. In his boyhood Mr. Emmerson manifested a very marked taste for reading and study, with an acute perception and tenacious memory. The exercise of his mind on the subject of religion may be dated back to his earliest recollections. “From a child” he, like Timothy, “knew the Scriptures,” hence the readiness and fluency which always characterised him when quoting from the sacred volume. He first received the ordinary education obtainable at the common schools, thence attended the Baptist seminary—a high school or academy, in Fredericton, N.B.—after which he sought the greater facilities for education to be found at Acadia College, Wolfville, N.S., in order to be the better qualified for the work to which he felt himself called, namely, that of the ministry. In 1848 the Baptist church at Maugerville, one of the oldest settlements in New Brunswick, invited Mr. Emmerson to preach to them. He continued there two years. When at college his natural abilities were observed, and while pursuing his studies he frequently preached at Windsor, N.S., and elsewhere, by request. During this period he wrote a number of articles for the press, which attracted public attention. On the 29th of July, 1852, he was regularly set apart to the work of the ministry, and accepted the pastoral charge of the church at Maugerville, Sunbury county, N.B. At this time he was nearly twenty-six years of age. On the 10th of August, 1852, he married Augusta A. Read, eldest daughter of Joseph Read, senior member of the firm of Joseph Read & Co., of Minudie, N.S., and Boston, Mass. From July, 1852, to August, 1856, he retained the pastoral charge of the church in Maugerville. The records of that church show how ably and prosperously he filled that important office. During this period he read much, circulated a large amount of religious and intellectual reading, wrote for the public press, travelled extensively in the United States, kept up private and professional studies, and performed the arduous duties of the pastor, enjoying frequent revivals which involved a great amount of labor. In the spring of 1855 Mr. Emmerson made an extensive tour in the United States. While there he attended the general meeting of the American Bible Union, held at Chicago in May of that year. His letters to the Christian Visitor (the organ of the Baptists in New Brunswick), descriptive of the places he visited, gave evidence of great powers of observation, and an ability to take up the incidents and scenes of his travels and make them of interest to others. He vastly enjoyed his intercourse there with Dr. Cone, Dr. Wyckoff, and others then eminent in the Baptist denomination in the United States. Possessing a magnetism of manner, he made many warm friends there, and was strongly urged by them to make the United States his home. They believed that his remarkable ability as an extempore speaker rendered him peculiarly fitted for the pastorate of one of their city churches, where extempore preaching was then in demand. On his return home he received a call from a church in Cleveland, Ohio, but his strong attachment to home and the provinces prevented his acceptance. Subsequent overtures from churches in New York and Boston were refused for like reasons. In November of the same year Mr. Emmerson visited the Southern States. While there he was solicited to take charge of a church in Richmond, Va., but declined. In the columns of the Christian Visitor of that day are to be found many contributions from his pen. On the failure of Mrs. Emmerson’s health, he was compelled to leave Maugerville; and having received a call from the First Baptist Church of Moncton, N.B., he accepted it, and removed there on the 1st of September, 1856. Here was the scene of his last and most prominent labors. Moncton had then suddenly arisen to a place of importance among New Brunswick towns, on account of the railway operations, which had then just commenced, and of the shipbuilding industry, which then flourished there. The result was a large influx of people, which gave a wider scope and greater prominence to Mr. Emmerson’s labors. The church soon rose under his ministry, and their house of worship was found to be altogether too small. A large and expensive building was accordingly commenced, and was finished after his death. He only lived about a year after moving to Moncton, during which time very many were added to the church. What promised to be a useful and brilliant career was too soon ended. He died on the 11th of September, 1857, at the early age of thirty years and eleven months. His death was sudden, being caused by typhoid fever. In the mysterious providence of God he was, in the prime of manhood, in the full vigor of his ministry, and in the midst of a wide field of usefulness, called to his eternal rest. Mr. Emmerson will long be remembered as an eloquent speaker, an original thinker, and an earnest and exemplary worker in the cause of his Master. It was much regretted by his friends that his sermons were not prepared for publication, which would have been done had he lived longer. Mr. Emmerson left a widow and three children—two sons and a daughter—all of whom are now living. The sons, H. R. Emmerson and F. W. Emmerson, are barristers of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick in active practice; and the daughter is Emma Emmerson Atkinson, wife of H. Atkinson, of Moncton, N.B., barrister-at-law. Mrs. Atkinson is a prominent member and worker of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of New Brunswick.
Brown, Henry Braithwaite, Q.C., LL.M., Sherbrooke, Que., was born on 7th October, 1845, at Chichester, county of Sussex, England. His parents were Rev. Thomas Brown, M.A., prebendary of Chichester Cathedral, who died in October, 1878, and Jane Lewis Brown, née Goodyear. The subject of this sketch was educated at the prebendal school, and received an excellent classical education. In 1867 he left England and settled in Sherbrooke, his first position being that of principal of the Sherbrooke Academy. In 1886 he was elected bâtonnier of the bar for St. Francis district, and is now a delegate to the general council of the bar. He is also president of the Stanstead and Sherbrooke Mutual Fire Insurance Co., city attorney of Sherbrooke, and one of the trustees of Compton Ladies’ College. In politics he is a consistent Conservative, and in religion a staunch adherent of the Church of England. In 1872 he was married, at Quebec, to Charlotte Mary Holwell Bligh, a daughter of the late John Bligh of the Ordnance department of the War office at Quebec. He was admitted to the bar in December, 1871, received the degree of LL.M. from the University of Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, in 1883, and was appointed Q.C. in 1886.