Jaffray, Robert, Toronto, is a Scotchman by birth, having been born at Bannockburn, Scotland, in 1832. He is the second son of William Jaffray and Margaret Heugh. His father carried on farming near the celebrated battlefield where King Robert Bruce defeated the English army of invasion led by King Edward, and gave Scotland her freedom. Here Robert passed his early days, and when only twelve years of age, his father dying, he was thrown on his own resources. After attending school at Stirling, until he was about fifteen years of age, he entered the service, as an apprentice, of J. R. Dymock, grocer and wine merchant, Edinburgh, Scotland, where he remained for five years. At the expiration of this time, he sailed for Canada, and arrived in Toronto in the fall of 1852. Here he joined his brother-in-law, John B. Smith, grocer and wine merchant, and was appointed as his manager. The establishment was situated on the site now occupied by Jaffray & Ryan, corner of Yonge and Louisa streets, then the most northern shop on Yonge street. Three years later Mr. Jaffray became a partner in his brother-in-law’s business, and the new firm traded under the name of Smith and Jaffray. In 1858 a disastrous fire swept away Mr. Smith’s lumber yard and sash and door factory on Niagara street, by which a great loss was sustained, and shortly after this event, Mr. Smith retired from the firm, leaving Mr. Jaffray to carry on the business alone. Being possessed of great energy and perseverance, he soon succeeded in building up a lucrative trade, and such was his success that in 1883 he was able to retire with a competency, handing the business over to his brother, George Jaffray, and James Ryan, who now carry it on. During Mr. Jaffray’s residence in Toronto he has been, outside his own business connected with many successful enterprises. He was appointed by the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, one of the directors of the Northern Railway Company, in which capacity he served three years looking after the country’s interests, the government of Canada having advanced a large sum of money to that corporation at various times. From information furnished by Mr. Jaffray, a royal commission was appointed by the government to look into the affairs of the “Northern,” which resulted in a satisfactory settlement of the then existing claims. He was afterwards chosen a director of the Midland Railway Company, of which board he is at present an efficient member. In 1874 he took an active part in organizing the Toronto House Building Society (now the Land Security Company), of which he is vice-president. He is president of the Toronto Real Estate Investment Company; and is also a director of the Toronto Trust Company, director of the Globe Printing Company, director of the Sovereign Insurance Company, director of the North America Life Insurance Company, director of the Peterborough Real Estate Investment Company, director of the Central Canada Land Investment Company, director of the Ontario and Sault Ste. Marie Railway Company, director of the Imperial Bank, and director of the Homewood Retreat or Private Asylum for Inebriates and Insane at Guelph. He is a member of the Caledonian and St. Andrew’s societies. In politics, Mr. Jaffray has identified himself with the Reform party, and although often solicited to accept nominations for civic and parliamentary honors, he has invariably declined. Immediately after the exciting political campaign of 1879, one of the most daring attempts was made to kidnap several of the leading men of the Reform party, ostensibly with the object of, extorting from them a large ransom. Among those marked for this object were the late Hon. George Brown, Hon. Oliver Mowat, and the subject of this sketch. Through a chain of circumstances, Mr. Jaffray was drawn into the snare, and taken from his residence at a late hour at night under pretence of arrest, he giving himself up to his captors on their producing a document purporting to be signed by Judge Wilson, acting for the minister of justice at Ottawa, directing him to be immediately brought to the judge’s residence for examination relative to certain charges of a grave character. Mr. Jaffray went with his captors, having no suspicion of foul play; but instead of being taken to Judge Wilson’s home, he was driven to a lonely spot on the east side of the Don and Danforth road, where, it afterwards appeared, his captors intended to imprison him in a cave they had previously prepared for his reception. The place was afterwards discovered by two detectives while they were searching in the neighborhood. It was dug out of the hill on a farm owned by Mr. Playter, and was capable of accommodating several persons. Mr. Jaffray, on alighting from the carriage, in the neighborhood of the cave, and finding himself the victim of a dastardly plot against his personal liberty, struggled with his captors and managed to get out of their clutches. He then succeeded in awakening the inmates of a house in the neighborhood, when his abductors made their escape. The officers of the law at once made great efforts to discover the perpetrators of the outrage, and suspicion having fallen on two brothers—Thomas and Ross Dale, they were arrested and tried for the crime. Thomas was found guilty, and sentenced by Judge Burton to two years in the county jail, Ross Dale being discharged. Thus ended one of the boldest plots to deprive several leading citizens of their liberty ever known in the province of Ontario. In 1860, he married Sarah, youngest daughter of John Bugg, by whom he has two sons and two daughters.
Jamieson, Philip, Clothier and Outfitter, Toronto, is a native of Scotland, having been born in Edinburgh, on the 31st July, 1850. His father, Hugh Jamieson, carried on the tailoring business in “Auld Reekie,” and his mother, Elizabeth Marshall, was born near Musselburgh. Young Jamieson received his education in Bell’s School in his native city, and after receiving a fair commercial education, was apprenticed to a jeweller. Here he served seven years, and at the end of his term was considered a first-class workman. After working a short time at his trade in Edinburgh he left for Canada, and reached Toronto in March, 1873. He brought with him a stock of ready-made clothing, and shortly afterwards opened a store on Queen street west. Business succeeding, he opened a branch store, further west on the same street. At this time he had a partner named Spain, and they traded under the name of Spain and Jamieson. This partnership continued about two years, when Mr. Jamieson elected to carry on the business alone, and from this time may be dated the success of his business, now grown to large dimensions. He shortly afterwards secured the large premises he now occupies on the corner of Yonge and Queen streets, and further extended his operations by opening branch establishments on Queen street west, and in the city of Hamilton. And Mr. Jamieson has now the largest retail clothing and outfitting establishment in the Dominion of Canada. He employs eight salesmen in his retail shop, five cutters, and over one hundred and fifty operative tailors. In politics, Mr. Jamieson, like the majority of the intelligent Scotch in Canada, is a hard-working and enthusiastic Reformer, and does not hesitate when the occasion calls for it to spend both time and money for party purposes. In religion he is an adherent of the Presbyterian church. On the 11th of March, 1873, he was married to Dorcas Wilson Menzies, daughter of William Menzies, of Edinburgh, and has a family of six children, four girls and two boys.
Schiller, Charles Edward, Montreal.—The late Mr. Schiller was a descendant of an old family which originally came from Hamburg, and was related to the great poet of that name. His grandfather, Augustus Schiller, was the first of the family to arrive in Canada, having come in the capacity of surgeon to one of the Hessian regiments in 1778. His father, Benjamin Schiller, served with great distinction and valor in the Voltigeurs Canadien at the battle of Chateauguay, under Colonel de Salaberry, and was promoted from lieutenant to captain on the field of battle for bravery in carrying his captain when wounded to the ambulance under a heavy fire. Charles Edward Schiller was born on the 17th September, 1819, at Rivière du Loup (en haut), and was educated at Benjamin Workman’s Academy, Montreal. He entered the court house in 1835, where he soon became chief clerk, and in 1847 was appointed deputy clerk of the crown and peace. He assisted at the famous trial of Jalbert, who was accused of the murder of Lieutenant Weir at St. Denis, during the rebellion of 1837. He also took a prominent part as officer of the court in the trial of the St. Alban’s raiders, in 1864, as well as in the trial of the Fenians after the invasion of 1866. Mr. Schiller was appointed joint clerk of the peace with Mr. Carter. On Mr. Carter’s leaving the office, Mr. Schiller was appointed clerk of the crown, and acted as such for a number of years. At the advent of the Joly government, at Quebec, in 1880, Mr. Brehaut, the then acting police magistrate, was appointed jointly with Mr. Schiller, as clerk of the crown. On the sudden death of Mr. Brehaut in 1882, the present clerk of the crown, L. W. Sicotte, was named Mr. Schiller’s partner. Mr. Schiller was, without doubt, the person who possessed the largest criminal experience in the Dominion, having had cognizance of the most important trials that took place since 1853. He was an excessively hard worker, and the only holidays he took during his term of office of fifty years, was one month when he went to New Orleans. Holidays and Sundays, from morning to night, he continued his labors. His time was so much taken up during the week in giving information and advice to gentlemen of the bar, that the routine work naturally fell behind, but when the new week began, the work of the past one was always completed. The employés in the offices of the clerk of the crown always found a true and kind friend in him, and when the supplies were refused by the Legislative Council in 1880 to the Joly government, Mr. Schiller paid the salaries of the clerks of the police court and of his own office out of his private means. The late Judge Ramsay, as well as Justice Johnson and Justice Aylwin, were warm personal friends of the deceased, and placed unbounded confidence in his experience. Judge Ramsay frequently consulted Mr. Schiller in criminal matters, and every crown officer who prosecuted for the crown, always found him willing to supply them with any information. In his entire public career, Mr. Schiller won the confidence and esteem of all with whom he dealt, and counted as his friends many of the most influential public men of the day. Always a staunch Conservative, he was a special protégé of the late Sir George Cartier, who had great confidence in him, and of the Hon. Mr. Chapleau. Mr. Schiller at one time took an active part in the local militia, and held the rank of captain. He nearly lost his life in the Gavazzi riots in 1853, having been in the midst of the firing by the troops. He leaves one sister, married to M. P. Guy, Montreal’s oldest notary. He died 25th April, 1887, after fifty-two years of consistent attendance to his active duties.
Ouellette, Rev. J. R., President of St. Hyacinthe College, Quebec province, was born at Sandwich, Ontario, on the 26th of December, 1830. He received his education in the college he now so ably presides over. Father Ouellette was ordained a priest at Paris, on the 20th of December, 1856, and in 1857 was appointed assistant at St. Mary’s Church, Toronto, under the Rev. John Walsh, now bishop of London, Ontario. Shortly after his settlement in St. Mary’s, he was transferred to St. Michael’s Cathedral, in the same city, as assistant, and later on was appointed rector. Two years afterwards, in 1859, he resigned his position in St. Michael’s Cathedral, and joined the teaching staff of St. Hyacinthe College. In 1882, on the retirement of the Rev. Joseph Sabin Raymond, who had been president of the college for a great number of years, he was chosen to fill the vacancy, and has since successfully conducted this popular institute of learning. He is one of the titular canons of the cathedral chapter of St. Hyacinthe.
Grant, Henry Hugh, Collector of Inland Revenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, was born at Newport, Hants county, N.S., on the 15th April, 1839. His parents were John Nutting Grant and Margaret McCallum. Captain John Grant, grandfather of John N., first came to America with his regiment, the 42nd Highlanders, or “Black Watch.” He married in New York, and having retired from the army, he settled in Brooklyn, N.Y. He afterwards served, under Sir William Johnston, in some provincial corps raised in New York for operations against the Indians, and saw some hard service in Western New York, as well as in Ohio, where he distinguished himself in a number of engagements with the famous chief, Pontiac. His wife’s family favoring the rebels at the breaking out of the American revolution, induced him to leave for the West Indies, where, however, his loyalty and sense of duty did not allow him to remain. He soon returned and finding his regiment in New York ready to receive him, he joined again as captain, and with it fought at the battle of Long Island, when Washington was defeated, in 1776. At the conclusion of the war he removed to Nova Scotia, his property in Brooklyn having been confiscated. On his arrival there the Crown granted him a tract of land in Kempt, Hants county, and the part of this property on which he resided he named “Loyal Hill,” and here he remained until his death. Margaret McCallum was the granddaughter of Jean Baptiste Moreau, who came out to Halifax as chaplain and secretary to Lord Cornwallis. He was the first Episcopal clergyman to land in Halifax, and his son, Cornwallis Moreau, was the first male child born there after its settlement. Mr. Moreau was a relative of Napoleon’s celebrated general of that name. He was a convert from the Roman Catholic faith, having been educated for and taken priests’ orders in that church in France, Mr. Grant, the subject of our sketch, received his academic education in the Collegiate School at Wolfville, N.S. He afterwards spent some years as clerk in mercantile establishments, first in Windsor, N.S., and afterwards in New York. He returned from New York in 1871, and engaged in shipbuilding and mining enterprises, at the old homestead, Loyal Hill. In October, 1879, he was appointed to the civil service as exciseman, and served in the Toronto division until September, 1880, when, after passing a first-class examination, he was removed to Halifax, and promoted to the collectorship in October, 1882. He served several years in the 7th regiment of militia in the county of Hants, and holds a captain’s commission dated October 10th, 1867. Mr. Grant was appointed United States consular agent at Kempt in April, 1873, but resigned the office, on his removal from there, in 1877. He was made a master Mason, in Walsford Lodge, No. 924, Windsor, N.S., in 1866, and has ever since taken a deep interest in the order. He is a Conservative in politics, and in religion leans towards the Episcopal church. Mr. Grant was married at Newport, Hants county, on January 25th, 1872, to Georgie, daughter of George Allison. The fruit of this union has been five children, only two of whom are living, viz., Marion Allison, aged 13, and Frank Parker, aged 8.