Morse, Hon. William Agnew Denny, Amherst, Judge of Probate for Cumberland, Marshal in Court of Vice-Admiralty, Halifax, Chairman of the Liquor Licence Board, Judge of the County Courts of Pictou and Cumberland, and Revising Barrister, Halifax, was born on the 13th January, 1837, at Amherst, county of Cumberland, N.S. His father, the Hon. Shannon Morse, studied law with the Hon. Ames Botsford, of Westmoreland, who was one of the most distinguished men of his day in the Maritime provinces. He afterwards entered public life, and from 1819 to 1842 took a most active part in all the leading questions of these times, and for several years of this period he represented the town of Amherst in the local legislature. In 1842 he resigned his position in the Legislative Council, and retired into private life and devoted his time to the reclaiming and draining a large tract of marsh land, which operation, his son, Judge Morse, is now carrying on and completing. Judge Morse’s grandfather, A. Morse, settled on a tract of land granted by the Crown to his father (the judge’s great-grandfather). This gentleman had been an officer in the British army, serving under Lord Amherst (then Sir Jeffrey Amherst) during the French and Indian wars, which closed by Britain becoming possessed of the North American provinces, and in connection with Colonel F. W. Desbarres, Colonel Franklyn, Captains Gmelin and Gorham settled that beautiful and fertile tract of country situated at the head of the Bay of Fundy, and known by the French as Beaubassin. In an old document in the possession of Judge Morse, we find the following interesting record: “At the close of the war which accomplished the conquest of all the territories occupied by the French in North America, six individuals proposed, in concurrence with the intentions of his Majesty’s government, to carry on settlements in the then infant colony of Nova Scotia, praying suitable tracts of land for that purpose, and thereupon orders were passed which obtained for Joseph Morse and his associates 34,000 acres of land, in the town of Cumberland, 23rd day of November, 1763.” And under this grant Mr. Morse, and the four gentlemen alluded to above, laid the foundation of the first English settlement, formed after the expulsion of the French, which has grown in wealth and prosperity ever since. In the biography of Jos. Morse, written by his kinsman, the Rev. Dr. Morse, this tract of land is spoken of as having been granted him, to compensate him for his services and losses in the French and Indian wars. He died at Fort Lawrence, in Cumberland, and his cousin, Colonel Robert Morse, who, as colonel of the Engineers under Sir Guy Carleton, was the author of the “Report on Fortifications and Defences of Nova Scotia,” a document now deservedly ranked among the most interesting of the historical documents of our archives. Judge Morse’s mother, Augusta Agnew Kinnear was the grand-daughter of Andrew Kinnear, who commanded at Fort Cumberland in 1808, and was with Ames Botsford, the first members for the county of Westmoreland, who sat in the New Brunswick legislature after that province was separated from Nova Scotia. Judge Morse received his education at the private school taught by Dr. Hea, and at Sackville Academy, where he received a sound English and classical education. He afterwards studied law, and for years successfully practised his profession. He was then called to the bench, and appointed judge of Probate for Cumberland, and subsequently marshal in the Vice-Admiralty Court at Halifax, chairman of the Liquor Licence board, judge of the County Courts of Pictou and Cumberland, and revising barrister under the Dominion election law. Since his elevation to the bench, Judge Morse has ceased to hold the offices of marshall in the Vice-Admiralty Court and judge of Probates. Judge Morse takes quite an interest in agricultural matters, and has succeeded in reclaiming by ditching and draining large tracts of marsh land and adding haygrounds and increasing the taxable property of Cumberland, and is removing the obstructions from the River La Blanche, by which the tide waters of the Bay of Fundy are permitted to run up the marshes of Cumberland, and thereby convert, by drainage, bog lands into solid hay yielding lands, some of which are now producing two to three tons to the acre. In religious matters, Judge Morse is an adherent of the Church of England, and in politics leans to Reform principles. He was married on the 16th December, 1873, to Ella Frances Rebecca Boggs, whose family were among the first of the old Halifax U. E. loyalists who came from the United States, in 1780, on account of the rebellion.
Morrow, John, Toronto, Inspector of Inland Revenue for the District of Toronto, was born in the county of York, near Toronto, Ontario, in 1832. His father, James Morrow, came to Canada from the county of Cavan, Ireland, in 1819, and his mother, Miss McNeil, came from the same district in Ireland in 1824. The vessel in which she, her mother, and brother, embarked for America, suffered shipwreck on St. Paul’s island, at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, when nearly all on board perished, including Mrs. McNeil. John Morrow was brought up on the farm possessed by his parents in York county, and received his primary education in the public school of the district, but when he was about sixteen years of age was induced by the late Dr. Ryerson to go to the Normal School in Toronto, and he attended its sessions during 1849-50-51, and then graduated. He took up teaching as a profession, and successfully taught school for about twelve years. In 1866 he was appointed by the Dominion government deputy collector of inland revenue for the Toronto division; in 1873 he was promoted to the collectorship; and in 1881 was appointed inspector of the Toronto district, which office he now satisfactorily fills. Mr. Morrow is an adherent of the Methodist church. He was married in 1855 to Miss Sankey, the eldest daughter of the late John Sankey, builder, of York county.
Meredith, Sir William Collis, K.B., D.C.L., LL.D., Quebec, who for a great number of years occupied the position of Chief Justice of the Superior Court of the province of Quebec, was born in the city of Dublin, on 23rd May, 1812. His father was the Rev. Dr. Thomas Meredith, rector of Ardtrea, in the county of Tyrone, Ireland; and his mother, Eliza, daughter of the Very Rev. Richard Graves, D.D., dean of Ardagh. Rev. Dr. Thomas Meredith having died, his widow in 1824 married the Rev. Edward Burton, and came out to Canada with that gentleman, bringing with her four of her children by her first marriage, the eldest being William Collis, the subject of our sketch. The family settled at Rawdon, north of Montreal, where the Rev. Mr. Burton had a mission under the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Before leaving Ireland William had passed some years at Dr. Behan’s school in Wexford, and after his arrival in Canada his education was continued under the care of his step-father, who was a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. He was also greatly aided and encouraged in his studies at this time by his mother, who was a woman of great culture and refinement, and possessed of great energy and force of character. Mr. Meredith’s legal studies were commenced in 1831, in the office of S. de Bleury, and continued in that of J. C. Grant, Q.C., Montreal, both advocates of eminence. He was admitted to the bar in December, 1836, and was made a Queen’s counsel in 1844. In the same year he was offered and declined the office of solicitor-general, and subsequently that of attorney-general; and in 1847, having been again offered the position of attorney-general, he once more declined that high position in the Draper administration. In December, 1849, Mr. Meredith was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of the Province of Quebec by the Lafontaine-Baldwin administration, and abandoned with some regret the practice of a profession to which he was greatly attached, leaving to his partner, Strachan Bethune, Q.C., and the late Hon. Judge Dunkin, we believe, the largest legal business which at that time had been brought together by a single professional firm in the Province of Quebec. At the earnest solicitation of the government of Canada (Sir George E. Cartier being then attorney-general), and in compliance with the wishes of the leading members of the Montreal bar, Judge Meredith consented to be removed from the Superior Court to the Court of Queen’s Bench—that being the Court of Appeal for the province—and this appointment was approved of by a unanimous resolution of the Quebec bar. While a member of this court, several of his judgments were highly spoken of by the lords of the Privy Council in England. Judge Meredith continued to occupy a seat in the Queen’s Bench until the death of the Hon. Edward Bowen, chief justice of the Superior Court in 1866, when he was appointed to that high office, which he held until 1884, when failing health forced him to resign the position which for so many years he had held, and the duties of which he discharged with his characteristic energy and ability to the entire satisfaction of the profession and the public. As far back as 1844 Judge Meredith was requested to accept the professorship of law in the University of McGill College, in Montreal, by the then principal, Chief Justice Vallières, but the pressure of his professional duties compelled him to refuse the proffered honour. In 1844 he received the honorary degree of D.C.L. from Lennoxville University, and eleven years afterwards (6th September, 1865), upon the nomination of the Lord Bishop of Quebec, he was unanimously elected chancellor of that university—but his judicial duties were such that he could not assume the responsibility of the office. In 1880 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Laval University, Quebec; and in the month of June, 1886, her most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria conferred upon him the honour of knighthood. In 1847 Judge Meredith was married to Sophia Naters, youngest daughter of the late Dr. W. E. Holmes, of Quebec, and the union has been blessed with a numerous family, of whom three sons and four daughters are still living.
Harris, Very Rev. William Richard, B.D., Dean of St. Catharines, in the Roman Catholic Arch-Diocese of Toronto.—Among the clergy of the Roman Catholic arch-diocese of Toronto, there are many learned, earnest, and pious priests, but among them all we doubt if there is one of his age who ranks higher in the estimation of his fellow priests and all those of the laity who have had the privilege of his acquaintance than does the Very Rev. William Richard Harris, parish priest of the city of St. Catharines, and dean of that portion of the Roman Catholic arch-diocese of Toronto known as the Niagara peninsula. Dean Harris can hardly yet be said to have reached the prime of life, yet so mature is his mind and well disciplined are his faculties that it is not surprising to those who know him that he has so suddenly and prominently come to the front in his church. For a young man he is remarkable for vigour, both of mind and body—a vigour which is always wisely and well directed in the discharge of whatever duties he undertakes. The church has in him, if he is spared, the staff which must place him in a high and useful position in its service. There is before him a bright and brilliant career, or else we are much mistaken. The very reverend gentleman was born on the 3rd of March, 1847, in the city of Cork, Ireland, the birthplace of many of the most distinguished sons of the Green Isle. At an early age he came to this country with his parents, entered St. Michael’s College, Toronto, and having finished his classical course in this well-known institution of learning, went to Ste. Anne’s Seminary, Quebec, to complete a course of metaphysics and philosophy. In 1869 he was appointed secretary to his Grace the Archbishop of Toronto, and accompanied that distinguished prelate to Rome when summoned by Papal brief to attend the Œcumenical Council. Immediately after the opening of this memorable council, our subject entered the famous College of the Propaganda, where he finished his course of theology, and took his degree of Bachelor of Divinity. On the 21st June, 1870, he was ordained priest by Cardinal Patrizzi, in the historic church of St. Mary Major. The venerable Archbishop of Toronto and he left Rome on the first day of July of that year, and visited the principal cities of the continent of Europe. On his return to Canada he continued to fill for some time the responsible position of secretary to his grace, when, in recognition of his services and abilities, he was appointed to the rectorship of Adjala, at that time the most important rural parish in the diocese. Here he continued to labour for five years, having during that time faithfully discharged the onerous and responsible duties associated with that position. Under his pastorship was erected St. Mary’s Church, West Adjala, and improvements to the amount of $7,000 dollars were made in that parish. In 1875 he was summoned to the rectorship of St. Michael’s Cathedral, Toronto, bearing with him to that very responsible position the best wishes of the people of Adjala, and a substantial recognition of his labours and services among them. We may here remark, that he did very much to create and perpetuate that friendly feeling of toleration and liberality which is so characteristic of the people of that section of the country. In fact, it is said of him that in whatever position he has been placed he has shed around him a kindly influence, which has been instrumental in removing the asperities of religious rancour, and bringing into more friendly association the members of the various religious denominations. In his position of rector of St. Michael’s Cathedral, a large field for the exercise of his conspicuous administrative abilities lay open before him. The pressure of hard work gradually told on his constitution, and in consequence he resigned the rectorship of the cathedral, and sought the seclusion which the smaller parish of Newmarket afforded him. Here he continued to labour for eight years, during which time he completed the church in that town, erected the fine modern presbytery, and built the large brick school house adjoining the church. His improvements in this parish during those eight years represented an expenditure of over $12,000. His health having improved, he was again selected to fill one of the most responsible positions in the arch-diocese, and was appointed to the important and influential parish of St. Catharines, and dean of the Niagara peninsula, which position he holds with great credit to himself and advantage, both spiritual and temporal, to those over whom his ecclesiastical superior has wisely placed him. During his short administration of his present parish he has shown a wonderful amount of administrative ability, and up to the present writing has wiped out a debt of $8,000. Showing his deep interest in the education of his people, he has just begun the important work of erecting for the Roman Catholic separate schools the finest school building on the Niagara peninsula, in which are introduced all modern improvements calculated to add to the health and comfort of both teachers and pupils. In all probability before the expiration of two years he will have completed buildings costing in the aggregate $30,000. While devoting much time and great energy to the work peculiar to his priestly office, he finds time for close and careful study, which is evidenced by the manner and matter of his sermons and pulpit discourses. He also takes a deep interest in popular education, and has lost no opportunity of pushing on the education and improvement of the masses, irrespective of creed or nationality. As an evidence of this, we may mention that for many years he was prominently identified with the Mechanics’ Institute, an association of which he was twice chosen vice-president. Indeed, such was his standing among the delegates that when, in 1882, his name was put in nomination for the presidency he was elected by acclamation. This honour was conferred upon him by a convention of eighty-four representatives, all of whom were Protestants. When the control of the association passed into the hands of the Minister of Education, the reverend gentleman was presented by the members of the executive board with an embossed address and a handsome testimonial. While on the executive board of the Mechanics’ Institute Association, he was selected to represent the society on the executive committee of the Industrial Exhibition Association. Before his departure from Newmarket, the inhabitants of that town, irrespective of creed or nationality, heartily joined in congratulating him on his promotion, and in a public meeting, presided over by the reeve of the town, presented him with a most flattering address, accompanied with a valuable testimonial. With such a record did the Very Reverend Dean Harris come to the city of St. Catharines, and we are in a position, from close observation of his actions since he came, to assert that he is as useful and popular here as he was in Newmarket, and if his health holds out for a few years he will leave the impress of his enlightenment and manly character on the inhabitants of that city.
Hearn, David A., Barrister, Arichat, M.P.P. for Richmond county, Nova Scotia, was born in Arichat, N.S., on the 14th of February, 1853. His parents were James Hearn and Isabella Campbell. His paternal grandfather came from Waterford, Ireland, and settled in Newfoundland, in 1817, and removed to Arichat, in 1822. His mother was a descendant of the Campbells, of the Island of Coll, Scotland. David received his education in the academy at Arichat, and studied law, first in the office of his brother, James H. Hearn, at Sydney, and afterwards with the Hon. Senator William Miller. He read up at the Law Library of Halifax for four months previous to his final examination, and was admitted to the bar of Nova Scotia, in 1878; and has successfully carried on his profession at Arichat ever since. In 1879 he was appointed a school commissioner, and still occupies the same position. In 1881 he was made a census commissioner; and in 1883 he was chief inspector of licenses for Richmond county under the Liquor License Act passed that year. In 1882-3 he filled the office of county solicitor, and in the following year was elected a member of the municipal council of Richmond county, and was re-elected in 1886. He was chiefly instrumental in the council in having steam communication renewed at Lennox Passage. He also succeeded in changing the system of assessment, so as to equalise the burthen of taxation on the ratepayers; and also inaugurated retrenchment and reform in the council. In 1878 he was chief organiser for the Conservative party in Richmond; but refused to recognise H. Paint as the Conservative candidate in 1882; and again in 1887 he supported E. P. Flynn, the Liberal candidate for the House of Commons at Ottawa, in preference to Mr. Paint. At the general election of 1886 Mr. Hearn was elected to represent the county of Richmond in the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia. His position in the house is thoroughly independent of party, and he thinks there should be no party politics in the local legislature. He, however, believes in the fiscal and general policy of the Dominion government. He is opposed to the repeal agitation in Nova Scotia; is in favour of a legislative union of the Maritime provinces; abolition of the Legislative Council, and approves of manhood suffrage. In politics Mr. Hearn may be classed as a supporter of the Conservative party, though holding advanced views on certain questions of great public moment. In religion he is an adherent of the Roman Catholic church. He was married on the 18th August, 1879, to Elizabeth Ida, eldest daughter of Francis Quinan, of Sydney, and niece of the Rev. James Quinan, of Sydney, John Quinan of Mainadieu, and the Hon. Senator Miller, of Arichat. The fruit of this marriage has been one child.