Sharpe, Samuel Simpson, Lieut.-Col., D.S.O. (Uxbridge, Ont.), son of George Sharpe, of Suffolk, England, and Mary Ann Simpson, of County Tyrone, Ireland, born March 13, 1873, at Zephyr, Township of Scott, County of Ontario. Educated at Uxbridge Public and High Schools, Toronto University and Osgoode Hall; graduated in 1895, degrees B.A. and LL.B. Married, August 26, 1903, to Mabel E., daughter of H. A. Crosby and granddaughter of Joseph Gould, ex-M.P. for North Ontario. Town Solicitor for Uxbridge for ten years. He lived and practised his profession in Town of Uxbridge, near the place of his birth, after being called to the bar and achieved a large measure of success. Lieut.-Col. Sharpe always took a great interest in the militia, and was formerly a member of the 34th Regiment, in which he attained the rank of Major. On the outbreak of the war he organized and recruited the 116th Ontario County Battalion and took it to France. He held a fine record for overseas service, having won the D.S.O. and having been mentioned in the despatches. It is said of Col. Sharpe that he was one of the most popular O.C.’s sent from Canada, and he never missed an opportunity of looking after the interests of his men. He returned to Canada in the end of May, 1918, after having seen much hard service, his health impaired and succumbed in a few weeks to a nervous disorder. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1898, when he defeated George D. Grant by 200 majority; re-elected in 1911, when he defeated Major H. M. Mowat, K.C., nephew of the late Sir Oliver Mowat, by 588; was appointed one of the Ontario Whips by Rt. Hon. Sir R. L. Borden, prior to the election of 1911, and was returned by a large majority at the general elections in December, 1917, during his absence at the front. Lieut.-Col. Sharpe took an active and prominent part in the councils of the Conservative Party after he became a member of the House, and was recognized as a good debater, with a full knowledge of National affairs. He was a member of the Albany Club, Toronto, and the Rideau Club, Ottawa; also a member of the Masonic Order, Independent Order of Foresters, Sons of England, and Independent Order of Oddfellows. He held the Ontario championship in tennis for two years and the undergraduate championship for one year. In religion Lieut.-Col. Sharpe was a member of the Methodist Church at Uxbridge.
Macaulay, John (Wiarton, Ontario), Manager of the Dominion Fish Co., head office, Toronto, was born April 13, 1865, at Southampton, Ont. He is a son of Donald MacAulay, of Stornoway, Scotland, and Annie MacLeod, of the same place. The father was a fisherman and sailor on the great lakes. The subject of this sketch received his education in the public schools of his native town. Early he began to follow in the footsteps of his father, and soon became one of the best fishermen on the lakes. He had splendid executive ability, and this with his tenacity of purpose soon marked him as a leader in the fishing business. The Dominion Fish Co. recognized his business acumen and made him manager of their extensive business with headquarters at Wiarton. Here he is one of the most highly esteemed citizens of the place. He is a member of Cedar Lodge, No. 369, A.F. & A.M., Offanta Preceptory, Owen Sound, and a Shriner of Rameses Temple, Toronto. His favorite pastimes are curling and bowling. In religion he is a Presbyterian, and in politics a Liberal. He was the Liberal standard bearer in the Federal Riding of North Bruce in 1917. He married Miss Margaret McLeod, of Ripley, Ont. They had a family of three sons and two daughters, Graham, Gordon, Irvine, May, and Marie (the first three named are deceased, the two latter living).
Lighthall, William Douw, K.C., M.A., B.C.L., F.R.S.C., F.R.S.I. (Montreal, P.Q.), one of the most widely known of Canadian publicists, was born at Hamilton, Ont., Dec. 27, 1857, the son of William Francis Lighthall, Dean of the Notarial Profession in Montreal, and Margaret Lighthall. His scholastic career was brilliant; he was gold medallist of Montreal High School, and Shakespeare Gold Medallist of McGill University. He was called to the Bar in 1881, and has almost ever since been a prominent figure in both the literary and public life of Canada, due to the fact that he is a man very fertile in ideas. He has an international reputation as a municipal reformer, which began with his career as Mayor of Westmount, from 1900 to 1903. In 1901, in conjunction with the late Oliver A. Howland, Mayor of Toronto, he founded the Union of Canadian Municipalities, which has effected a great work of municipal improvement in Canada. He was Chairman of the School Commission in his city for 1908-9, and is a member of the Royal Metropolitan Parks Commission, for the planning of a Greater Montreal. Mr. Lighthall’s literary and scientific interests are comprehensive. He was Representative Fellow in Arts of McGill University, 1911-3, and he originated the Society of Canadian Literature, and the Chateau de Ramezay Historical Museum. As an author his works include: “Thoughts, Moods and Ideals” (verse), published in 1887; “The Young Seigneur, or Nation Making” (a romance), 1888; “Montreal After 250 Years,” 1892; “The False Chevalier” (a romance), 1898; “The Glorious Enterprise,” 1902; “Canada, A Modern Nation,” 1904; “The Master of Life,” 1910; as well as many Ethical, Historical and Literary Pamphlets. He also devised and edited “Songs of the Great Dominion,” the most important existing anthology of Canadian verse, up to its date of publication, 1891; and also selected and edited the volume, “Canadian Poets,” issued in connection with the Canterbury Poets series, published in London, Eng., in the early nineties. Mr. Lighthall has also been actively interested in military affairs. He served with the College Company, Prince of Wales Regiment, Montreal, 1877-8; in the Victoria Rifles, 1881-3, and is a member of the Reserve of that battalion. He originated the idea of the Great War Veterans’ Association and, in 1915, was a member of the Committee of Friends of the Canadian Association of Returned Soldiers. He was an ardent advocate of conscription in the Great War and when the Government decided to adopt this policy, took the platform in support of it. He is a member of many literary, social and scientific societies, including the Royal Society of Canada (President, 1910), the Royal Society of Literature of Great Britain, the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec (corresponding member), the Antiquarian Society of Montreal (of which he is President), and the following clubs in his home city: Canada, Arts, Montreal, Canadian and University. His recreations include the collection of old pictures and camping. He married Cybel, daughter of John Wilkes, and has one son, Lieut, W. W. S. Lighthall, of the Royal Flying Corps, and 3rd Dorsets, who during the late war saw service in France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Macedonia, and Palestine. Mr. Lighthall has a residence, “Chateau-clair,” in Westmount, Que., and a summer home, “Highbury,” at Lac Tremblant, Que.
Ellis, James Albert (Ottawa), son of James and Margaret (Hall) Ellis, and was born at Accrington, Lancashire, England, June 2, 1864, where he also received his education. He came to Canada in 1885, and has resided in Ottawa ever since. He was the leader in the establishment of the Ottawa Municipal Electric Plant in 1905; Public School Trustee from 1898 to 1900; Alderman during the years 1901-1903, 1914; Controller, 1915; Mayor, 1904-1906, 1913; City Treasurer, 1907-1912; member of Local Legislature, 1911-1914. He was appointed Division Court Clerk in 1916 and a member of the Ontario Railway and Municipal Board, October, 1918. Shortly afterwards he was placed in charge of the Housing Scheme of the Province of Ontario as Director. Mr. Ellis has been for several years Chairman of the Ottawa Hydro-Electric Commission. He was President Ottawa Horticultural Society, 1911-1912; President Ontario Municipal Association, 1906-1907. He was many years Secretary of the Ottawa Conservative Association, and afterwards its President. Mr. Ellis married Catherine Fishwick, daughter of James Fishwick, Accrington, Lancashire, England, in September, 1884, and has one son and one daughter. He is a Conservative in politics and an Anglican in religion. His address is 131 Stanley Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario.
Roche, Hon. Wm. James, M.D., P.C., LL.D., Chairman of the Civil Service Commission for Canada, is a native of Clandeboye, Middlesex County, Ontario, and was born November 30, 1859. He was educated at the public schools of Lucan, Ont., at London Collegiate Institute, Trinity Medical School, Toronto, where he studied for three years, completing his course at the Western University, London, from which he was the first graduate in medicine, and where he also took first class honors. The hon. degree of LL.D. was conferred in 1911. This was in 1883, and he immediately went to Minnedosa, Manitoba, and engaged in the practice of his profession. From 1885 to 1901 he was Territorial Representative for his district on the Manitoba Medical Council, and was very popular as a physician among the various nationalities that constituted the early population of the prairie province. He first entered politics in 1892 when he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Legislature in the Conservative interest. In the Federal Elections of 1896 he was the nominee of his party for the riding of Marquette and was elected after a stiff contest. His constituents showed their confidence in him by returning him to the House of Commons at the general elections of 1900, 1904, 1908 and 1911. When the recently chosen Parliament met in 1901 the Conservative caucus chose him as Whip for the West, a position he held until 1910 when he was elected chief assistant Whip for the Conservative party in the Commons. On the formation of the first Borden cabinet in 1911 he was appointed to the portfolio of Secretary of State and was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council on October 10 of that year, and was re-elected by acclamation. On October 27 he was transferred to the portfolio of Minister of the Interior and Superintendent of Indian Affairs in succession to Hon. Robert Rogers, who at that time became Minister of Public Works. This post he continued to fill until the autumn of 1917 when on the formation of Union Government he accepted the position of Chairman of the Civil Service Commission of Canada and retired from active politics. In 1916 Western University, London, his Alma Mater, honored him by making him Chancellor of the institution. Dr. Roche is very prominent in the Independent Order of Oddfellows, of which he was Grand Master for Manitoba in 1893. In connection with the same Order he was a Grand Representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge at Chattanooga, Penn., in 1894, and at Atlantic City, N.J., in 1895. In 1883 he married Miss Annie E. Cook of Toronto. Though long resident in Minnedosa he now by virtue of his public duties makes his home in Ottawa.