Smith, Arthur Lapthorn, B.A., M.D., Montreal, member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, fellow of the Obstetrical Society of London, lecturer on diseases of women in the medical faculty of Bishop’s College, Montreal, consulting physician to the Montreal Dispensary, is the second son of William Smith, deputy minister of marine, Ottawa, and was born on the 6th June, 1855, at St. John, New Brunswick, where his father was at that time comptroller of customs. His mother was Jane Busby, a granddaughter of the late Colonel Bayard, of Nova Scotia, at one time on the staff of the Duke of Kent. He received his early education at private schools, and from tutors in St. John and Chatham, New Brunswick, and in Melrose and Galashiels, in Scotland. He then entered the classical course at the University of Ottawa, where, after four years’ study, he graduated as B.A. in 1872. He then began his medical studies at Laval University, Quebec. At the end of his second year he took the degree of B.M., and at the end of his fourth year he obtained the degree of M.D., and the Sewell prize in 1876. He then proceeded to London, and studied during two winter sessions at Guy’s and the London hospitals, after which he passed the examinations of the Royal College of Surgeons. He spent two summers in Paris and Vienna. During six months of his stay in London, he held the position of resident clinical assistant at the East London Children’s Hospital. On his return to Canada, in 1878, he began practice in Montreal, where he has ever since remained. Shortly after his arrival he was appointed assistant demonstrator of anatomy in Bishop’s College Medical School, and attending physician to the Montreal Dispensary. He was also elected a member of the Medico-Chirurgical Society, in whose proceedings he has always taken an active part. He was for some time treasurer of this society. He soon became demonstrator of anatomy, and two years later he was appointed professor of botany, and held this position for two years, when he was given the chair of medical jurisprudence. In 1887 he was appointed lecturer on the diseases of women in the same university. He has always taken great interest in temperance matters, and was twice elected president of the Band of Hope, and for three years he was president of the Young Men’s Association of St. Andrew’s Church, of which he is now the youngest elder. He has long been a Mason, and has held the position of secretary of Royal Albert Lodge for several years. He has also reached the eighteenth degree in the ancient and accepted Scottish rite. He has been surgeon of the 6th Regiment of Cavalry for the past eight years, and has regularly camped out with his regiment when it was necessary to do so. Although he has a large practice as a specialist for diseases of women, he still finds time to contribute numerous articles to the medical journals, to deliver an occasional lecture on popular science before the Young Men’s Association, as well as to take an active interest in everything that concerns the welfare of his adopted city. As an instance of his energy, we may mention that, having heard of a new application of electricity to the treatment of hitherto incurable diseases of women, he immediately started for Paris, and remained with the inventor, Dr. Apostoli, until he had become thoroughly acquainted with all its details, and he subsequently published a translation of Dr. Apostoli’s latest work on this subject. Dr. Smith’s amiable manner and sympathetic nature has won for him the affection and esteem of his pupils and patients, especially among the poor. In politics, he is an ardent supporter of the policy of the Conservative party, which he considers will be the means of ultimately building up, in the north-west part of this continent, a great and wealthy nation. In 1884 he was married to Jessie Victoria, third daughter of Alexander Buntin, of Montreal, by whom he has had a son and a daughter.
Boak, Hon. Robert, Halifax, N.S., President of the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia, was born in Leith, Scotland, on the 19th of September, 1822. His father was Robert Boak, of Shields, in the county of Durham, England, who, on his retirement from the army, became an officer in her Majesty’s Customs, in Halifax in 1839, and retained that position until he was superannuated. His son, Robert Boak, the subject of our sketch, came to Halifax in 1831, and in 1847 became a member of the firm of John Esson & Co., wholesale grocers. In 1854 he retired from that firm, and formed the firm of Esson, Boak & Co., and engaged in the West India trade. In 1864 this latter firm was dissolved, and he then continued business in his own name, and under the firm style of Robert Boak & Son, until 1875, when he retired from business. Mr. Boak was president of the Nova Scotia Repeal League in 1869; became a member of the Legislative Council in 1872, and president of that body in 1878; and a member of the government, being treasurer of the province from December, 1877, to October, 1878. At present he is president of the Acadia Fire Insurance Company; vice-president of the Union Bank, and the Nova Scotia Sugar Refinery; also a director of the Gas Light Company. He has always been a Liberal in politics, and has done yeoman service for that party in the maritime provinces during the last decade.
Normand, Telesphore Euzebe, Contractor, Three Rivers, Quebec, was born on the 18th August, 1833, at Quebec city. His father, Edward Normand, was a well-known contractor of that city, and was the leading contractor of his time, having built the St. Maurice bridge in 1832, and again in 1841; also Montmorency, Chaudière and other bridges, as well as the greater part of the wharves at Quebec. His mother was Louise Martin, of Quebec. He was educated at Nicolet College; stood high in his class, and exhibited considerable promise as a student. On leaving the college, he went to Three Rivers, in 1851, and has resided there since then. He began life as a notary clerk under V. Guillet, with whom he was engaged from 1853 to 1858; and concurrently with this he was engaged in the office of the St. Maurice public works. In 1858 he set up for himself as a public notary, but in 1871 abandoned the legal profession for the purpose of following his father’s business. From 1861 to 1865 he was city councillor and school board commissioner at Three Rivers. He was elected mayor in 1873, defeating Mr. Bureau in the contest, after which he was elected by acclamation each year for the three following years, when he resigned. During the time he was mayor he was the means of consolidating the city debt, and carried out other important matters. He was captain of the city volunteers from 1863 to 1865. In politics he is a Conservative, and has given valuable assistance to his party. In 1871 he contested the seat for Champlain, but was defeated, by Senator Trudel, by forty-eight votes. As a contractor he stands in the foremost rank, and has a deservedly high reputation for first-class work. He was the contractor for the bridge over the St. Maurice, which is considered one of the most skilful pieces of workmanship—so far as wood bridges are concerned—in the province, if not indeed in the Dominion. The bridge in question is built in two sections, one of which is 1,400 feet, and the other 700 feet in length. The whole structure is built of the best material obtainable, and is a most excellent specimen of first-class work. Mr. Normand has constructed many other public works, such as wharves, piers, booms and railways, at Three Rivers, Quebec and Crane Island. Among other projects he carried out was that of the system of water-works which the city of Three Rivers possesses—a system which is inferior to none in the Dominion. Not only is Mr. Normand entitled to great credit for the energetic manner in which he pushed the work to completion, but also, what was even more needful, for obtaining the money wherewith to carry on the work—which he did by securing subscriptions in Quebec and England. He is held in the highest regard by the community, and is deservedly popular with all classes, not only in Three Rivers, but in Quebec city, where he is well-known. He was married in October, 1856, to Alphonsine, daughter of Joseph Giroux, one of the wealthiest and most prominent merchants in Three Rivers, who died in 1856, universally regretted. By this marriage there have been born nine children, five of whom survive.
Duhamel, Most Rev. Joseph Thomas, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ottawa, is a native of Quebec province, having been born at Contrecœur, Quebec, on the 6th November, 1841. His parents were François Duhamel and Marie Joseph Audet-Lapointe, both of whom were born in Quebec province, but died in Ontario. The future archbishop’s father was a farmer, and having removed to Ottawa, sent his son to the college there, where he was educated under the direction of the Oblate Fathers, receiving a thorough classical education. On the completion of his studies, he decided to consecrate his life entirely to God, and accordingly entered the Ottawa Seminary, where, in prosecuting his theological studies, he evinced wonderful powers of mind. He was ordained sub-deacon, on the 21st June, 1863; deacon, 2nd November of the same year, and on the 19th December he was ordained priest. He was then appointed to the vicarage of Buckingham, county of Ottawa, where he proved himself to be possessed of many noble virtues and rare administrative qualities. On the 10th November, 1864, he went to St. Eugene, in the township of East Hawkesbury, county of Prescott, to reside as parish priest. At that time the parish of St. Eugene was one of the poorest in the diocese, and hence the young priest found it hard to carry on his work, especially as he had the difficult task before him of completing a church which was left unfinished by his predecessor. He found many obstacles to surmount, but by dint of persistent and energetic endeavors, and the exercise of his great abilities, he succeeded, and completed what is now, without doubt, one of the finest churches in the diocese, costing upwards of $25,000. Education, previously neglected in this parish, found in him an ardent friend and promoter, and at the present time there are many institutions in St. Eugene which owe their existence to him, and will long remain as monuments of his zeal. And the parishioners, too, by all of whom he was deeply beloved, will not forget their priest and guide, who for ten years went in and out among them. Father Duhamel accompanied his Grace Bishop Guigues to Rome at the time of the Œcumenical Council, but, receiving word of the serious illness of his mother, whom he loved tenderly, he was forced to leave the Eternal City and return to Canada a couple of weeks after his arrival there. Unhappily, he did not reach St. Eugene in time to see his mother alive, she having expired a few days previous to his arrival. Bishop Guigues continued to honor Father Duhamel, and in many ways gave him unmistakable marks of his confidence and esteem. In the month of October, 1873, Father Duhamel accompanied Bishop Guigues as a theologian to the reunion of bishops at Quebec, where the young priest’s talents and acquirements were generally acknowledged. After the death of his beloved friend, Bishop J. E. Guigues, the first bishop of Ottawa, he was chosen as his successor, on the 1st September, 1874, and on the 28th of the following month he was consecrated as the second bishop of Ottawa. Many persons were surprised that such a young man—he being then only thirty-two years of age—should have been selected to fill such an important office in the church; but those who had known Father Duhamel for years felt that his Holiness Pope Pius IX. had made a wise choice, and, moreover, that the records of the church would testify that even younger men than this father had been promoted to high positions. Mgr. Laval was only thirty-five years of age when he was called to occupy the episcopal seat at Quebec, Mgr. de Pontbriand was only thirty-two, and Mgr. Plessis only thirty-seven when consecrated, and Mgr. Tache was scarcely twenty-seven when he was appointed to succeed Mgr. Provencher, who was himself only about thirty-three when made a bishop. His lordship Bishop Duhamel, is a gentleman of pleasing manners, and easy of access, and possessed of great energy and tact. He speaks with ease and fluency, and while his sermons denote deep thought, they are not wanting in graceful form and style. His store of knowledge is of the purest and most substantial kind, and he speaks the French and English languages with ease. He takes a great interest in the cause of education, and gives every encouragement to the Catholic educational establishments in the city of Ottawa and his diocese at large, and in his pastoral letters often calls the attention of the clergy and the parents to the importance of the secular and religious training of children. In 1875 he wrote: “The future of the country and of religion depends entirely, it may be said, on the good or bad education which youth shall receive. Parents are strictly bound to give their children a truly Catholic education. This obligation is founded on the law of God. We do not hesitate to add, very beloved brethren, that parents are obliged to fully comply with this duty to establish, encourage and support Catholic schools, and to have the children attend them.” (Tenth pastoral letter.) In September, 1878, he thus wrote to the clergy of the diocese: “Another scholastical year has just commenced, numerous pupils are rapidly filling the houses of higher education and elementary schools. Everywhere those who are devoted to the instruction of youth rival one another in zeal and ardor to secure the success of the great work that occupies them. These efforts should undoubtedly be seconded by the pastors of souls, since it is their duty to continue the mission instituted by our Divine Master, when he said, ‘Go, teach all nations.’ You will, then, judge it right, beloved co-operators, if I invite you to give this year, again, and always, your whole attention and most constant care to the cause of education. Remind parents of the strict obligation for each one to instruct his children or have them instructed according to his condition and the means Providence has given him. Frequently visit the schools of your parish.” Archbishop Duhamel having made known to Pope Leo XIII. all that the Rev. J. H. Tabaret, O.M.J., had done for education during the many years he had been superior of the College of Ottawa, his holiness granted this great instructor of youth the title, honors, and privileges of doctor of divinity, as a well-merited reward, which was also given to several of the professors. To give further encouragement to education, Archbishop Duhamel presents every year to the College of Ottawa, to the Literary Institute of the Grey Nuns, and to the educational establishment of the sisters of the Congregation de Notre Dame, silver medals to be awarded to merit, and otherwise he spares neither trouble or expense in providing for them all possible means of attaining a good education. Under his lordship’s care, the system of teaching has been considerably improved, as may be seen by the present high standing of the philosophy class in the University of Ottawa, directed by the Oblate Fathers. One of his first acts was to order that no young man should be permitted to begin his ecclesiastical studies before he had followed a regular collegiate classical course, including two years of philosophy, and then that, before he could be ordained priest, he should during four years (three years previously required) study dogmatical and moral theology, holy scriptures, canon law and ecclesiastical history. Shortly after his consecration, Bishop Duhamel, with the assistance of his clergy, had a magnificent monument erected in the interior of the cathedral at Ottawa to the memory of the lamented Right Rev. J. E. Guigues, his predecessor. In the autumn of 1878, Bishop Duhamel went to Europe, and on visiting Rome was kindly received by the new Pope, and among the favors bestowed by his Holiness was that of raising the Cathedral of Ottawa to the dignity of minor basilica. In 1882, his lordship spent some months in Rome, in order to have the diocese divided by the Holy See. He was successful; the Sacred Congregation of Propaganda having admitted that the division asked for was required for the good of souls and the progress of religion, the Pope erected the vicariate apostolic of Pontiac, with the Right Rev. N. Z. Lorrain as first bishop. During his stay in the eternal city his Holiness was pleased to honor Bishop Duhamel with the titles of Assistant to the Pontifical Throne, Roman Count, etc. On May 8th, 1886, his lordship was made first archbishop of Ottawa, and on the 10th of May, 1887, was made metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Ottawa. Archbishop Duhamel takes a great interest in the material as well as the spiritual progress and advancement of the parishes and missions in his diocese, and when paying his pastoral visit never fails to stimulate the generosity of his flock to build churches to replace the wood chapels built years ago, and in this he has been very successful. Since the year 1874 he has dedicated ten new substantial stone churches, of which the smallest is one hundred feet long; and during the same period he has formed thirty-three new missions, nearly all of which have large and commodious churches. Twenty of these missions have become parishes with residing pastors, which brings the number of regular parishes to about eighty. During his administration the Cathedral of Ottawa has been entirely renewed inside, and now presents a neat, rich and beautiful appearance, and may be numbered among the best cathedrals in Canada. His grace has always taken a special interest in the charitable institutions of the diocese, which number he has increased by four, and which now comprise four hospitals, three asylums for the orphans and aged people, two for fallen women, and one foundling hospital. To enable these institutions to perform their good work, the archbishop has ordered that each institution be patronized by a few parishes and missions, i.e., that the nuns to whose care these institutions are entrusted will be permitted to take up in these missions yearly collections from house to house. His grace has also established a monastery of the Sisterhood of the Precious Blood, whose aim is contemplative life.
Woodward, James Robertson, B.A., General Manager of the Quebec Central Railway, Sherbrooke, was born at Sherbrooke, on the 1st July, 1846. His father, Albert G. Woodward, came from New Hampshire, United States, to Canada in 1837, and is now coroner for the district of St. Francis. His mother is a daughter of Major Longee of Compton. Mr. Woodward, the subject of our sketch, was educated at Lennoxville, and is a B.A. of Bishop’s College University. Some time after leaving school he joined in a partnership with E. C. Brown, and began business as contractor. In 1869, the firm built and equipped sections of the Quebec Central Railway, and afterwards part of the Waterloo and Magog Railway. They also built railways in Brazil and Buenos Ayres in South America. In 1881, Mr. Woodward became the general manager of the Quebec Central Railway, and this office he still holds. For three years he held the position of secretary-treasurer for the county council of Sherbrooke; and for the same length of time was a member of the city council of Sherbrooke. He is a director of the Eastern Township’s Agricultural Association, and at various times he held the same position in other public bodies. In politics he is a Conservative, and at present chairman of the Liberal-Conservative Association of the district comprising the counties of Sherbrooke, Stanstead, Richmond and Wolfe, and Compton. He is a public spirited gentleman, and is highly respected by his fellow citizens. In religion he is an adherent of the Episcopal church. He is unmarried.