Phelan, Cornelius J. F. R., M.D., C.M., Waterloo, Quebec, was born on the 10th of May, 1840, at St. Columbin, county of Two Mountains, Quebec. His father, John Phelan, was born 10th June, 1787, at Kilkenny, Ireland. He was major of militia, mayor and magistrate. As magistrate he generally settled disputes amicably and to the perfect satisfaction of the litigants, thus saving acrimony and heavy law costs; he was also a merchant and farmer, and did a very extensive business; he was generous to a fault, always the poor man’s friend, and died the 9th April, 1862, deeply mourned by all who knew him far and near. Dr. Phelan’s mother, Mary Phelan, was born on the 15th August, 1798, and died on the 26th July, 1874. She was a pious woman, a loving mother, and a devoted and industrious wife. The late Bishop Phelan, of Kingston, was her brother. He was a first-class administrator, a general favorite alike among Protestants and Catholics, and his untimely death was universally regretted. The subject of this sketch was educated at the seminary of Ste. Therese de Blainville, Quebec, taking a full classical course, afterwards pursuing his medical studies at McGill College, Montreal, and graduating therefrom in 1865. In the spring of 1865, he began to practise at Iberville, and in November of the same year removed to Knowlton, Brome, Quebec, where he remained until January 8th, 1880, when he went to Waterloo, his present home. As he took up the study of medicine from pure love of the profession, it is not strange that his success has been far above the average; and that the older he grows the more he is in love with his calling. He is a member of the district of Bedford Medical Association; a leading member of the Board of Health of Waterloo; medical examiner for several leading Life Insurance companies and has been physician to the Maple Wood Convent since 1881. This is one of the finest institutions of the kind in the province, and is under the direction of the Sisters of J.M.J., of Hochelaga. The house was formerly the residence of the Hon. A. B. Foster, and is a splendid edifice surrounded by beautiful and well-kept grounds. Dr. Phelan has been secretary of the St. Patrick’s Benevolent Society of Shefford, and also president of the St. Joseph Society of Waterloo. He has always been a Conservative, but the duties of his profession have prevented him from taking any active part in politics though often strongly urged to do so. In 1864 he travelled through the United States, making a prolonged stay at Washington to visit the military hospitals there, they being such excellent schools for surgery. In religion he is a Roman Catholic. He was married on the 8th November, 1864, to Mary Eledeanne M. Guindon, of Montreal, a cousin-german of Judge Ouimet; she was educated in the Congregational convent there. They have one daughter who is now pursuing her studies at Maple Wood Convent.
Bernier, Michel Esdras, St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Notary, J.P., and M.P. for St. Hyacinthe, was born at St. Hyacinthe, on the 28th September, 1841. His ancestors came from France, and settled in the county of L’Islet, Quebec, removing afterwards to St. Hyacinthe. He is the youngest son of the late Etienne Bernier, farmer, and Julie Lussier, his wife. The subject of this sketch was educated at the St. Hyacinthe Seminary, afterwards studying law under H. St. Germain, notary and registrar for the county of St. Hyacinthe, and was admitted to practise as a notary in June, 1867. He was a member of the volunteer force from 1862 to 1865, and held the rank of captain. He served as a member of the notarial board for the district of St. Hyacinthe, from 1867 to 1870, and for the provincial board from 1873, and president for the same from 1882 to 1885, and is still a member of the board; was secretary-treasurer of the municipal council and school commissioners of the parish of St. Hyacinthe, from 1864 to 1878, and of the municipal council of the county of St. Hyacinthe from 1864, and still holds that position; also official assignee for the county of St. Hyacinthe from 1869 to 1874, and for the district of St. Hyacinthe from 1874 to 1880. He has been a director of the St. Hyacinthe Agricultural Society from 1881, and its president since 1884, and holds that position to-day. He is a director of the Bank of St. Hyacinthe; also of the St. Hyacinthe Manufacturing Company, owners of the water powers, flannel mill, grist mill, and carding mill, at St. Hyacinthe; of the St. Hyacinthe Gas and Electric Light Company; of the St. Hyacinthe Macadamizing Company, and of the United Counties Railway Company. He is the head of the firm of N. Bernier & Co., grain and flour dealers; of the notarial firm of Bernier, Morin & Bordua; is a commissioner for the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and a commissioner per Dedimus potestatem; is also engaged in farming, and owns the “Bellevue farm,” near the city limits. Mr. Bernier is a staunch Liberal in politics, and has taken an active part in political movements since 1867; was offered, but refused, the candidature for the county of St. Hyacinthe for the House of Commons, in 1878, and for the Quebec house in 1879; but in June, 1882, he accepted the nomination of the party for the House of Commons, and was elected, his opponent being the Hon. L. Tellier, now a judge of the Superior Court. Mr. Bernier ran again in 1887, and was again successful. His interest in agricultural, industrial, and commercial pursuits has been of the most active character. In religion, he is a Roman Catholic. He was married, on the 28th November, 1865, to Alida, a daughter of the late Simeon Marchesseault, one of the chiefs of the rebellion of 1837, and who was afterwards exiled to the Bermudas. Two daughters were born of this marriage, the eldest being married to Dr. L. V. Benoit, physician and apothecary at St. Hyacinthe.
d’Orsonnens, Lt.-Col. the Count Louis Gustave d’Odet, was born at L’Assomption, April 17th, 1842. He is a descendant of a Swiss patrician family of the Canton of Fribourg, who, according to Blanc de Charney, in his history of the patrician families of Fribourg, “came towards the end of the fourteenth century to settle in that city, and continue there its lustre.” The General Lexicon of Switzerland, by Leu, published at Zurich, in 1758, mentions the d’Odet d’Orsonnens with honor. Later, in 1789, Jean Jacques Holtzhalb, in his supplement to the Lexicon or Dictionary of Leu, has also continued its history. The first member of this distinguished family who came to this country, was Prothais d’Odet d’Orsonnens, patrician of Fribourg, who came to Canada about the year 1810, with the famous Meuron’s regiment, as captain of the grenadier company. After the disbandment of his regiment, Captain d’Orsonnens went to the Red River with a strong party, and took Fort William for Lord Selkirk, who was the governor of the Hudson Bay Company. The conduct and bravery of Captain d’Orsonnens on this occasion was highly commended by his superiors. He finally settled at St. Roch de l’Achignan, where he built a house in the style of the manors of that time, and which he named “La Chaumière Suisse.” He died suddenly of heart disease on the 16th March, 1834, leaving two sons and two daughters to mourn his loss. The eldest, Thomas Edmond d’Orsonnens, was born at St. Roch de l’Achignan, on 30th October, 1818, and was for many years president of the medical faculty of the Victoria University in Montreal, knight of St. Gregory, etc. His eldest son, Louis Gustave, the subject of this sketch, upon whom the family nobility and titles were recognised with the title of count, by his holiness Pope Pius IX., was educated for the army, and was to have joined the Swiss regiment at Naples, in which his cousin was captain, when the kingdom of Naples was overthrown by the revolution. He joined the 1st battalion of rifles as ensign, on the 17th of November, 1859; in 1860, he exchanged into the 2nd troop of cavalry, being gazetted a cornet; was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 3rd June, 1861, and commanded the troop for nearly a year. He resigned his command to study law, and was soon called to the bar. He then re-entered the service and joined the 4th battalion of Canadian Chasseurs, and was gazetted lieutenant on the 15th December, 1865. He served on the frontier at Niagara, in 1866, as ensign and adjutant, and was promoted to rank of captain in the 4th Chasseurs on the 8th of March, 1867. His subsequent promotions are brigade-major, 3rd January, 1868, and lieutenant-colonel, 19th February, 1869. In 1871, he held the temporary command of the 6th military district at the divisional camp of Laprairie. Lieutenant-Colonel d’Orsonnens holds certificates from all the schools, as follow: Infantry school, 1st class, 24th August, 1864; gunnery, 1st class, 4th July, 1868; cavalry, 1st class, 27th March, 1869. Towards the close of the year 1869 he went to Switzerland, where, upon the invitation of the president of the Confederation he joined the federal staff at Berne, and followed the army in its autumn manœuvres. In 1874, inspired, doubtless, by the remembrance of the manœuvres of the Swiss army, he published a pamphlet on the military organization of the Canadian Confederation. He also was the first who, in 1867, suggested the idea to his co-religionists to send military aid to the papal See, and was instrumental in the decision of the movement which sent to Rome more than 600 Canadian Zouaves. This expedition, which resembled, in more respects than one, that of the first crusades, has, it is affirmed, contributed more to make Canada known to Europe than many other things. In 1883 he was sent, along with the other commandants of the infantry schools, to England, by the Dominion government, to study the organization of and follow the Imperial service, preparatory to taking command of one of the infantry schools now in existence in Canada. Like many other old families, the d’Odet family retains many souvenirs and marks of appreciation from distinguished personages, such as autograph letters from kings, princes, and others; amongst some of these in their possession is a letter dated 8th of March, 1670, signed by Emmanuel, Duc of Savoie, and King of Cyprus, in which the duke invites the family to ask for favors in return for services rendered him. The Count d’Odet d’Orsonnens was married in 1870, to Marie Louise Adèle Desbarats, and has issue four sons and one daughter. The eldest, Viscount George Joseph Gustave was born in 1872. Arms: Azure, a lion, or, rampant, holding a horn of plenty, of the same. Count’s Coronet; Motto: Certa fides, certa manus.
Guilbault, Edouard, Joliette, Quebec, Mayor of Joliette, was born at d’Aileboust, county of Joliette, on the 14th April, 1834. He is the son of Charles Guilbault, and Marie Blanchard, whose ancestors came from Normandy, France, in 1697, and were among the first settlers of Charlesbourg, Quebec. The subject of this sketch was educated at the College of Joliette, where he took a commercial course. He sat in the Joliette town council for twenty years; was elected mayor in 1875, and has continued to fill that responsible position since, having been re-elected on the 10th January, 1888, for a further term of three years. He is a Conservative in politics; is now president of the Conservative Association, and has long taken an active interest in political affairs. He was first returned to parliament at the general election, in 1882; but resigned, and was re-elected, 7th December, 1882, and again, at the general election of 1887. He organized the Agricultural Society of the county in 1854; filled the position of secretary for twenty-five years, and is now the president. He is the proprietor of several large farms, in which he takes a deep interest, always working hard to improve agriculture. In 1871 he formed a company which engaged in the lumber business, and he continues as director of this company still; he is also a director in a large foundry and agricultural implements works. In 1865 he established a boot and shoe factory, which he conducted under his own name, and which he superintends personally, and has succeeded in building up an extensive trade in that line. In the year 1884 he formed a company to enter into the manufacture of Canadian tobacco, and is president of this company, to which he gives considerable attention. This is an industry which will bear a great deal of development. In 1885 he visited Europe, and made an extensive tour, with the object of acquiring information as to trade and agriculture. He is a Roman Catholic, but believes in liberty of conscience. He was married, in 1858, to Marie Hermine Lemaitre Auger, daughter of Major Desire Lemaitre Auger, of Louisville.
Dawson, Sir J. William, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S., Principal of the McGill University, Montreal, was born at Pictou, Nova Scotia, on October 13th, 1820. His parents had come from Scotland several years before, and, if the Biblical knowledge of their son is any criterion, they were doubtless good examples of that high piety and religious education which distinguish the Scottish people. Young Dawson seems to have shown an early interest in natural history and geology, and the opportunity for an intellectual career was placed within his reach. He attended the school and college at Pictou, and was then sent to Edinburgh University, where he took the degree of M.A. at the age of twenty-two. Natural history and practical chemistry occupied his attention chiefly at Edinburgh; and it may be supposed that he listened with deep interest to the fading echoes which would be heard then regarding the respective claims of the Wernerian and the Huttonian hypotheses in geology. Here he made his first attempts at authorship, which were published in Edinburgh newspapers. He returned to Canada in 1842, and accompanied Sir Charles Lyell in his geological exploration of Nova Scotia. He entered into the work with characteristic enthusiasm, and the valuable assistance which he was able to render to the great English geologist was not unrecognised. Sir Charles Lyell has paid many tributes to the abilities of Sir William Dawson as a geologist. He was then appointed to the direction of a geological survey of the coal fields in that province, and his report to the government proved a very valuable one. In 1850 his attention was taken, so far as the business of his life was concerned, from geology to education. He was appointed superintendent of education for Nova Scotia. It was a reforming period in educational matters in that province, and the new superintendent was entrusted with the work of putting a new School Act into operation. His interest in education, to judge from the articles which he published at that date, was not less pronounced than his interest in science. The work was, therefore, congenial, and the experience afforded in the task of administering the affairs of the Nova Scotia schools doubtless proved valuable to the future principal of McGill. His appointment to the principalship of McGill in 1855 marks the beginning of an epoch in Canada’s intellectual development. It is not a matter of ordinary course that McGill should be the university she is to-day, or that she should wield the influence that she does. It is a matter of surprise. The conditions which fifty and a hundred years ago favored the advancement of great institutions of learning in the American republic have ever been absent from Canada. The wealth which poured into the treasuries of American colleges has only been represented in Canada by dribbling subscriptions and small legacies. Our colleges have struggled up with the aid of trusty and generous, but seldom very wealthy, friends. The fortunes of McGill were at a low ebb in 1855, and Principal Dawson had an extensive work before him. The work of a college principal and president is supposed to be limited to the duties of administration, but the financial condition of McGill at that time made it necessary for the new principal to undertake several laborious professorships as well. His influence, however, soon began to make itself felt throughout the country, and the fortunes of the university steadily advanced. Its stability is now assured, and from being a matter of anxiety to Montrealers it has become an object of pride. That the result is largely due to the vast energy and administrative abilities of the principal there can be no question; and it is a significant fact that when the university came in sight of the horizon of prosperity he annually contributed to its resources by still retaining arduous and unpaid work which he had taken upon his shoulders at the outset. Leisure might seem to be an unknown experience in the midst of labors indicated by the foregoing, but in addition to many pamphlets on educational matters, and some excellent text-books on geology and zoology, Sir William Dawson has published the following volumes: “Archaia,” (1860); “Air Breathers of the Coal Period,” (1863); “The Origin of the World,” (1869); “The Story of the Earth and Man,” (1873); “Fossil Men and Their Modern Representatives” (1880). As indicated by their titles, the three latter volumes deal more particularly with the vexed questions concerning the nature of man’s first appearance upon the earth, and the apparent conflict between Biblical history and the result of modern scientific research. If his treatment of the subject is not in all respects satisfactory to the present schools of scientific thought, it is at least independent and earnest. Whether his interpretations of the archæological facts bearing upon prehistoric man will stand the test of time or not, time only can show. At present he stands alone with regard to that subject, as far as his scientific peers are concerned. The fact, however, has not prevented the scientific worlds of Britain and America from recognizing and honoring him for his many and valuable contributions to the science of the day. These have comprised an extensive amount of original research in biology, chemistry, mineralogy and microscopy, which has been distinguished not only for its high scientific merits, but for the attractive literary form in which it has been presented to the world. For many years he has been an active and esteemed member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, and was elected president of that learned body for 1886. It was also through his instrumentality that the British Association met in Montreal in the summer of 1884, and it was at the opening meeting in the Queen’s Hall that Lord Lansdowne announced the honor of the knighthood. The American Association testified to its appreciation of his scientific labors by electing him to the presidency in 1883. The recognition which Sir William Dawson’s scientific attainments have received abroad, however, should not withdraw attention from the valuable services he has rendered, and is rendering, to Canada’s intellectual development. With this every Canadian is more or less practically concerned. The fact that a united nationality can never be built up in this Dominion without an educational foundation has been recognized by a good many of our public men, but by none more earnestly than by Sir William Dawson. He early took a broad view of the duties and privileges of a university as an intellectual centre. Besides taking an active part in scientific and other societies in Montreal, he has paid close attention to the interests of struggling schools and colleges in the province, and for many years has been perhaps the most active worker in connection with elementary education. This latter subject has all the importance, in Quebec province especially, which he attaches to it, and his efforts should be more generally seconded. Like Principal Grant, he is also a strong advocate for the higher education of women, who are now admitted to McGill, thanks to the generosity of Sir Donald A. Smith. This sketch would be incomplete without a reference to the annual excursions of the Montreal Natural History Society. It is on occasions like these that Sir William Dawson’s qualities as a teacher are well displayed. The members go by rail to some point likely to be interesting to varied scientific tastes, and then disperse for the purpose of collecting whatever specimens, mineralogical, geological, or botanical, the district will afford. A few hours generally suffice to bring in a large heap of “booty,” which is placed before the president, usually Sir William Dawson, who explains the nature of the specimens in clear and simple language. These excursions have been the means of awakening an interest in natural science in the minds of many who have been inclined to think that “the long, learned names of agaric, moss, and fern” were invented chiefly as a form of modern torture. Sir William Dawson is a pleasing speaker, and it is a tribute to the real taste of the day to say that he is always listened to with interest in spite of the fact that he does not indulge in the cheap fire-works of oratory. The charm of his address lies in this, that he conveys clear and definite ideas in clear and definite language. His pronouncements at convocation are always awaited with interest, and seldom fail to have a weighty effect upon the deliberations of the governing board of the university, or upon educational matters of the province when these are touched upon. His university lecture, a short time ago, on the question of examinations for the learned professions, was awaited by the friends of Protestant education in the province of Quebec with as much interest as British politicians await a premier’s speech at the Mansion House banquet. This question, which affects not only the interests of the Protestant universities of the province of Quebec, but the rights of the English minority, is doubtless familiar to all who take an interest in education. The action of the Council of the Bar of Quebec bears with great severity upon McGill, and the Council is supported by the immense power of the Catholic majority; but Sir William Dawson has opened the battle for the Protestant universities in such a manner that there can be no question about the ultimate removal of the difficulties. He is relying upon a determined use of the weapons of irrefragable logic and appeal to the highest courts of the empire for victory. The battle will be a severe one, and it will result not only in winning security for the universities, but in establishing the principle that the rights of the minority in Quebec must be recognized. At such a crisis in the history of Quebec education, it is a matter for the deepest congratulation that such a man as Sir William Dawson should be leading the fight of liberty and justice. Canada, indeed, is fortunate in having able, broad-minded, and progressive men at the head of her principal universities. No other circumstance can tell so strongly in the future for the building up of all that is best and lasting in the nation. Like all growth, the effect of educational work is imperceptible to the observer watching its progress, but the growth and effect are there. When the historian in the next century takes account of the elements concerned in the development of Canada during this century, he will not neglect to mark the broad and solid lines of our educational progress attributable to Sir William Dawson.