Bourgeois, George A., M.D., C.M., Three Rivers, was born at St. Grégoire, county of Nicolet, P.Q., on the 1st of October, 1822. His father was Jacques Bourgeois, a farmer, and his mother Magdeleine Bourke. He took a classical course at the Seminary of Nicolet. He adopted the medical profession, received his license to practise on the 1st of March, 1844, and began his professional career in his native parish, where he practised from that year till 1867, inclusively. He then entered the civil service and was deputy commissioner of crown lands for the province of Quebec from the 2nd of November, 1867, to the 2nd of October, 1869, during which period he resided in the city of Quebec. He was director of the cadastral operations in the district of Three Rivers, from the 1st of August, 1870, to the 1st of September, 1878. He was inspector of the post offices of the Dominion of Canada in the postal division of Three Rivers, from the 26th of July, 1879; and also in the Quebec postal division from the 12th of February, 1886, to the 12th of July, 1887. He has been a resident of Three Rivers since May, 1872. Dr. Bourgeois travelled in Europe during the years 1869 and 1870, and visited England, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, France and Italy. On the 27th of April, 1886, he was created Knight Commander of the religious and military order of the Holy Sepulchre, and also an honorary member of the order of the Chevaliers Sauveteurs des Alpes Maritimes, on the 11th of July of the same year. In May, 1885, he received from the Victoria University the degrees of M.D. and C.M. He was married on the 24th of September, 1844, to Mary Esther Lucinda Whitney, who died on the 14th of September, 1868. He was again married to Mary Malvina Ernestine Rivard Dufresne, on the 22nd of October, 1870. In religion Dr. Bourgeois is a Roman Catholic.
Brooks, Hon. Edward T., Sherbrooke, Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, was born at Lennoxville, county of Sherbrooke, on the 6th of July, 1830. His father, Samuel Brooks, was a native of Massachusetts, and a member of the Brooks family with which the Adamses of that state are connected. He was a member of the Canadian assembly for Sherbrooke for many years, the last term being from 1844 until his death in 1849. His mother was Elizabeth Towle. The subject of this sketch was educated at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1850; studied law with Judge J. S. Sanborn, of Sherbrooke, and Andrew Robertson, Q.C., of Montreal; was admitted to the bar of Lower Canada in 1854, created a Queen’s counsel in 1875, and elected bâtonnier of St. Francis bar the same year. He has always had an honorable stand at the bar of his district, and has done a highly remunerative and straightforward business. In ability he stands in the front rank in his part of the province. He was vice-president of the International and Waterloo, and Magog Railways; president of the Sherbrooke Rifle Association; the Fish and Game Protection Society, and the Plowmen’s Association; solicitor for the Eastern Townships Bank, the head-quarters of which are at Sherbrooke, and trustee of Bishop’s College, Lennoxville. He is a man with a great deal of public spirit and very highly prized as a citizen. He was first elected to parliament for his present seat by acclamation in 1872, and was re-elected in the same manner in 1874, and again at the general election in September, 1878. He was the author of the amendment to the law of libel, passed in 1874, and seconded Sir John A. Macdonald’s motion condemning the act of Lieutenant-Governor Letellier, of the province of Quebec. He was a Conservative, and a steadfast and earnest supporter of the policy of that party, believing the best interests of the country are promoted by protecting home industries and encouraging internal improvements. These were his views, as many of his friends know, long before they were embodied in the so-called “national policy,” and were made a distinct party issue. Mr. Brooks was elevated to the bench of St. Francis district on the 1st October, 1882. He was married in 1856, to Sarah Louise, daughter of Eleazer Clarke, revenue inspector and high constable, Sherbrooke, and they have three children.
Cooke, Richard S., Advocate, Three Rivers, was born at Three Rivers, province of Quebec, on the 23rd of January, 1850. He is the son of the late John Richard Cooke, a saddler by trade, and Marie Emilie Cloutier, and nephew of the late Right Rev. Thomas Cooke, first bishop of the diocese of Three Rivers. Mr. Cooke received his early education at the Christian Brothers’ School, and went through a regular course of classical studies at the St. Joseph College, taking first prizes every year at both institutions, and distinguishing himself among his schoolmates by his talented application. He was admitted to the bar in July, 1874, and has practised his profession without interruption since then, making a specialty of commercial law business. From 1874 to 1879 he practised with the Hon. H. G. Malhiot (then a member of the Quebec government, and now mayor of Three Rivers), under the name and title of Malhiot & Cooke. Mr. Cooke was an alderman of the council of Three Rivers from 1880 to 1885, and was chosen as pro-mayor and president of the finance committee. He has been connected with nearly every amateur association of his native city, and founded the Three Rivers Fish and Game Club, duly incorporated and holding fishing rights on Lake Archange and others in the province of Quebec. He has taken a prominent and very active part in all political and municipal matters, and has always been an independent supporter of the Conservative party, and an earnest advocate of progress in municipal affairs. Mr. Cooke is an eloquent and impressive speaker, and as such is highly appreciated and generally considered to be an undoubted authority on financial matters. He has visited nearly every important place in Canada, the United States and Europe. He belongs to the Roman Catholic church, of which he is a strict member, but thoroughly liberal in his views, and in no way given to bigotry. Mr. Cooke married on the 23rd August, 1877, Louisa Lajoie, only daughter of the late J. B. Lajoie, first mayor of Three Rivers, but unfortunately lost both his wife and newly-born child the following year. His efforts and energy greatly assisted in the building of the Lower Laurentian Railway, extending from the Piles branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway towards Lake St. John, on part of which trains are running through the parishes of St. Tite and St. Thècle. Still in the prime of life, and possessing an unusual amount of energy and talent, Mr. Cooke will no doubt occupy a prominent position in the affairs of his country.
MacGillivray, Hon. Angus, of Antigonish, N.S., was born at Bailey’s Brook, Pictou county, N.S., on the 22nd January, 1842. He is of Scottish extraction, his grandfather, Angus MacGillivray, having emigrated from Arisaig, in Inverness-shire, Scotland. His father and mother were named John and Catharine MacGillivray. When a mere lad, Angus removed, in 1845, with his parents to Antigonish, where he has since resided. He received his education at St. François-Xavier College, Antigonish—where his studies embraced the languages, mathematics, and philosophy—and from this institution he graduated with the degree of M.A. The counties of Antigonish and the eastern portion of the county of Pictou are largely peopled with Scotch Catholics, and a man of Mr. MacGillivray’s abilities would naturally possess a great influence among his coreligionists. The inhabitants of Pictou county are said to be more Scotch than the Scotch, no less an authority than the late Rev. Norman McLeod, the eminent Scottish divine, having pronounced them to be as tenacious of Scotch prejudice and national custom and turn of thought and speech as any section of the people in old Scotland. Gaelic is commonly spoken by all classes; original Gaelic poems are often to be seen in the weekly newspapers of Pictou and Antigonish; and Highland gatherings, those nuclei of national sentiment and national manly contests, are celebrated every year in either of the eastern counties or in Prince Edward Island. “Tigh-Dhe” (House of God) is the inscription cut in the granite over the portal of the great cathedral in Antigonish, which edifice is considered to be the largest and handsomest religious structure in Nova Scotia. After graduating, Mr. MacGillivray entered upon the study of the law in the office of H. (now judge) Macdonald, and finished in the office of Blanchard & Magher, Halifax, was called to the bar on the 22nd of July, 1874, and immediately afterwards formed a partnership with A. McIsaac (now judge of the County Court). A dissolution taking place on the elevation of Mr. McIsaac to the bench, Mr. MacGillivray formed another partnership, and is now head of the law firm of MacGillivray & Chisholm, barristers, etc. Being a most popular man in his professional and social relations, he was returned to the House of Assembly by acclamation at the general election in 1878, and was re-elected in 1882. In February, 1883, he was elected speaker of the house, and discharged the duties of that responsible office with great discrimination and acceptance until the dissolution in May, 1886. Being again nominated by his constituents, he contested the county at the general election on the 15th June, 1886, and was returned at the head of the poll, the vote standing—Angus MacGillivray, 1,378 votes; C. F. McIsaac, 1,273, defeating C. B. Whidden, 900; and R. McDonald, 487. He was appointed a member of the Executive Council in the Hon. Mr. Fielding’s cabinet, on the 28th June, 1886. Yielding to the urgent solicitations of his party, he resigned his seat in the Nova Scotia legislature in January, 1887, in order to run for the House of Commons at Ottawa at the general election, his opponent being the Hon. John S. D. Thompson, minister of justice. Even against so strong a man, the Hon. Mr. MacGillivray polled 1,207 votes, being defeated by only 40 votes. However, being again nominated for a seat in the local house, there was no one bold enough to take the field against him, and he was returned by acclamation on the 1st March, 1887. On the 7th March following he was reappointed a member of the government. Hon. Mr. MacGillivray was one of the commissioners appointed by the government in 1878 to investigate the claims of laborers and others against absconding and insolvent contractors on the Eastern Extension Railway; and in October, 1887, he was one of the delegates to the Inter-Provincial Conference held at Quebec. He is connected with improvements relating to agriculture, and takes part in the better encouragement of that industry. In religion he is a Roman Catholic, and in politics a Liberal. He married, on the 5th February, 1878, Maggie, daughter of the late Alexander McIntosh, of Antigonish. This lady died on the 8th September, 1879. On July 15th, 1884, he married May E., daughter of John Doherty, of New York.
Castle, Rev. John Harvard, D.D., Principal of McMaster Hall, Toronto, was born in Milestown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1830. He received his early education at the Central High School of Philadelphia. In the year 1847 he entered the University of Lewisburg, Pa., where he graduated with honors in 1851, and from that institution of learning he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1866. He completed his ministerial studies at Rochester Theological Seminary, N.Y., in 1853, and was licensed to preach by the Broad Street Church, Philadelphia, the same year. He was ordained at Pottsville, Pa., where he labored for two years and a half, after which he took charge of the Baptist Church at Newburgh, N.Y. In 1859 he returned to his native city and entered upon the pastorate of the First Baptist Church, West Philadelphia, where he remained for fourteen years, universally beloved by the members of his church and community. Here he gave much time and labor to the missionary cause and educational interest, serving on the boards of the publication and education societies, and the general association. He was also a trustee of the University at Lewisburgh, and of Crozer Theological Seminary. He served as moderator of the Philadelphia Baptist Association, and was also elected president of the ministerial conference. In the spring of 1871 he commenced a tour of Europe. In 1872 he was urgently invited to take charge of the Jarvis Street Baptist Church of Toronto, Ontario, which invitation he accepted after mature consideration, and commenced his pastorate on 1st February, 1873. In this field of labor he remained in close and affectionate relations with his congregation for years, although strongly urged to accept the principalship of the Woodstock College. When its Theological department was removed to Toronto on the completion of McMaster Hall, the leading men of his denomination turned to him as eminently fitted to become the principal. This position he accepted, and has filled, as also the chair of systematic theology and pastoral theology, with that success which was expected of him. A secular journal of Toronto, under date of October 5th, 1877, thus speaks of him: “Into the work of the denomination and all Christian movements he has thrown himself with all his heart and has become a leading spirit therein. His congregation has increased rapidly, and erected a handsome church building at the cost of $100,000, of which the Hon. Senator McMaster contributed $35,000 towards it; this building is now one of the recognized sights of the city. He is a strong temperance advocate, and a consistent enemy of frivolity of all descriptions. His oratorical powers are of a high order, his enunciation being singularly distinct, and his manner graceful and effective. Though an earnest upholder of the doctrines of his denomination, he seldom gives utterance to any remarks which members of other communions cannot listen to without impatience. Never slow to do battle when controversies arise, he proves an adept in polemics, but is ever ready to recognize and admire all that is Christ-like beyond his own ecclesiastical boundaries.” Mr. Castle was joined in wedlock on the 15th of September, 1853, to Mary Antoinette Arnold, of Rochester, N.Y., by whom he has five children, two daughters and three sons.