GEORGE HASTINGS.
George Hastings, who was born at Petite Cote, Quebec, in 1817, died in July, 1865. His father was Thomas Hastings, who came from Lexington, Massachusetts, to Petite Cote, where he bought land and settled some time before the birth of Mr. Hastings. In this connection it is interesting to mention that Petite Cote is now divided into Fairmount and Rosemount and is a part of the city of Montreal. The land is now mostly divided into building lots that command good prices.
Thomas Hastings, father of George Hastings, had married Cynthia Baker, of Burlington, Vermont, and they lived for many years in their home at Petite Cote, where their five children, three sons and two daughters, were born and brought up. The sons’ names were: George; Thomas, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work; and Horatio, the youngest, who died unmarried in 1899. The daughters were Mrs. Clark Fitts and Mrs. Ryan.
George Hastings, of this record, married in 1847 Margaret Ogilvie, a sister of A. W., John and W. W. Ogilvie, whose careers are mentioned at greater length in another part of this history. Mr. and Mrs. George Hastings spent their entire married life in their home on a farm at Petite Cote. There their ten children received the training of their early lives. Of these children six were sons and four were daughters. Thomas, the eldest, married Jane Kydd, formerly the widow of William Nesbitt. They reside at Rosemount boulevard and have no children. William, the next son, with George, the third son, after considerable business experience established The Lake of the Woods Milling Company. The former married, in 1884, Georgina Ure, of Montreal. He died in 1903, leaving his widow and two sons, who live in this city. George managed the western branch of the business, from which he resigned in October, 1913. He married in 1886, Margaret Anderson, of Ayr, Ontario. They live in Winnipeg and have a family of two sons and two daughters. Robert, the fourth son, is with The Lake of the Woods Milling Company and lives also in the west, making his present home in Qu’ Appelle. He is unmarried. Alexander, the fifth son, was also connected with The Lake of the Woods Milling Company. He died in St. John, New Brunswick, where he had charge for several years of the local branch of the company. He married, in 1898, Maud Anderson, of Montreal, and his widow is living. Their only child died when one month of age. John Clark, the youngest son, died unmarried in 1883. Helen Watson and Cynthia Baker, the two elder daughters, died in 1912, the latter in January and the former in May of that year. The third daughter, Frances, married Francis Jordan, of Goderich, Ontario, in 1885. Mr. Jordan died in 1907, but his widow, son and daughter are living. Maria, the fourth and youngest daughter of the family, is living and unmarried. The family have always been connected with the American Presbyterian church. The Hastings are well known among the old residents of Montreal, for it is almost a century since Thomas Hastings settled upon the farm which now is a portion of the metropolis.
JAMES ALFRED DALE.
In educational circles the name of Professor James Alfred Dale is well known. His ability has gained him prominence and his position as a leader among the educationists of the country is indicated in the fact that he was honored with election to the position of treasurer of the Dominion Educational Association. Since November, 1907, he has held the Macdonald professorship of education in McGill University. A native of Birmingham, England, he was born in 1874, the eldest son of J. A. Dale. He attended King Edward VI School at Camp Hill, and afterward entered the Mason University College, now the University of Birmingham, and subsequently became classical exhibitioner in Merton College at Oxford, which conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree.
James Alfred Dale has remained continuously in the educational field, being lecturer on literature and education in connection with the Oxford Extension Delegacy from 1902 until 1908, and also to the universities of Liverpool and Manchester. In 1902-3 he was tutor in the Borough Road Training College, and in November, 1907, was called to the Macdonald professorship of education in McGill University. The steps in his orderly progression are thus easily discernible and he stands today among the eminent educationists of the Dominion, his ability being acknowledged by colleagues and contemporaries. He has the power of imparting clearly, concisely and readily to others the knowledge that he has acquired, and on the lecture platform he is a most interesting and entertaining as well as instructive speaker. He was a delegate to the convention of the Dominion Educational Association of Victoria, British Columbia, in 1909. He has served as treasurer of the association and was secretary of the convention held at Ottawa in July, 1913. In May, 1911, he was appointed a member of the council of public instruction for the province of Quebec, and he has come to be a member of most of the committees on Protestant education in the province. Soon after coming out, he was elected president of the Protestant Teachers Association of the province of Quebec and on relinquishing office in 1912 was elected first vice president. His studious habits have made him a man of scholarly attainments, and he is continually seeking out new methods that will render his service as an educationist more effective. His ideas have received the indorsement of prominent contemporaries in this field of labor and have been adopted to the benefit of various institutions of learning. He agrees with Kant that “the object of education is to train each individual to reach the highest perfection possible for him” and that spirit has been manifest throughout his professional career. He has endeavored in his teaching to develop capacity and to impart knowledge which shall prove of practical benefit and value throughout life. He was instrumental in founding the University Settlement of Montreal in 1910 and has been its president since that time. This was the first settlement in the city, and its success is to be measured not by itself but by the influence it has exerted in the general movement toward social reform. He has taken a prominent part in movements for adult education and was one of the first members of the committee of the Workers’ Educational Association, which has succeeded in grouping together over twenty-five hundred trade unions, cooperative societies, etc., and educational bodies in England. At the present time every university in the country is undertaking working-class education under the auspices of the association. At the formation of the City Improvement League he was appointed its first honorary secretary but was compelled by pressure of work to relinquish the active duties of office. He edited the proceedings of the convention of the League in 1910. As literary correspondent of the Canadian Club he is editing its proceedings for the third year.