Accounting for the lives of men

  School would have been so much more enjoyable for me if there had been no homework.

Having played the role of mother and grandmother struggling with homework assignments, I now realize Mum's evenings would also have been a lot more enjoyable without the task of doing lessons every night with children.

As soon as the supper dishes were washed and dried, she sat down at the kitchen table and helped us with our math, called out the spelling words and went over our written assignments.

She did Cliff's lessons first as he was a lot smarter than I was and whizzed through everything. She left me to the last as I preferred to play with the cat rather than memorize the Prime Ministers of Canada, but no way would Mum give up until I knew the answers.

These men were just faceless names to me, but if I had been able to look at the beautiful photographs in the book ‘The Canadian Album - Men of Canada' it certainly would have made my studies a lot easier. Sir John A. MacDonald wore his high white collar and a coat trimmed with beaver fur when he had his photo taken. I would probably have had a crush on the handsome young Wilfred Laurier as he looked like a movie star.

Although the Rev. Wm. Cochrane may have died nearly forty years before I was born, he thought the same way as I did. He stated in his introduction to The Men of Canada, " The next best to seeing and conversing with a man is to see his portrait, especially if a pen picture accompanies it." "A man carries his character in his face . . . One look at a portrait will often tell the story more than many pages of print."

The Rev. Wm. Cochrane, minister of the Zion Presbyterian Church, Brantford, Ontario was born in Paisley, Scotland on February 9, 1831. He came to Brantford from the United States in1862 and remained there in spite of invitation to minister in some of the greatest cities in the U.S. and Canada. By 1891 he had completed the first volume of  The Canadian Album - Men of Canada Or Success By Example in Religion, Patriotism, Business, Law, Medicine, Education and Agriculture.

Before his death in 1898, he accomplished part of his goal by completing five of the seven planned comprehensive volumes of the biographies of men of Canada. Each volume has approximately five hundred individuals with a photo of each one. I have had the pleasure of viewing the first three volumes.

The publications contain portraits and authentic sketches of the lives of some of Canada's chief business men, statesmen, farmers, men of the learned professions, and others.

Volume three was published in 1894 and holds numerous biographies of New Brunswick born sons as well as other men born in or associated with the Maritime Provinces.

Rev. Philippe Louis Belliveau was born in Belliveau Village, Westmorland County on June 21, 1861. His father, Francois was a Customs Officer for over forty years in the parish of Dorchester. Father Belliveau was a very eloquent preacher and a fluent speaker in both languages.

Leonard Allison was the eldest child born in Newport, Hants County, Nova Scotia on March 3, 1855 to John Allison and his wife Rachel Shaw. He was a Barrister in Sussex and  wrote a pamphlet on the ‘Early History of Sussex' as well as contributing articles to the ‘Toronto Globe'
 
Joshua Newton Smith was born on June 29, 1855 in Smithtown, Kings County to Joshua and Charity Eliza Ann Smith. He received his early education at the public schools in Hampton, during his spare time, while working on his father's farm. He graduated from the Normal School in Fredericton in 1876 and taught in Rothesay and Norton parishes. He received an M. D. at the University of the City of New York in 1881 and immediately commenced practice in Hampton. He was married June 11, 1884 to Anna A., daughter of Ramsay Jackson, Esq., of Norton.

Rev. David Forsyth, the rector of St. Paul's in Chatham as well as being the Honorary Canon of Christ's Church Cathedral, Fredericton was born in October of 1845 in Hammond, Kings County. His parents were Elizabeth Nethery and David Forsyth of Tyrone, Ireland. He graduated with honors in 1872 from the University of New Brunswick.

Thomas Jardine, of Kingston, Kent County was born in Dumfries, Scotland on February 18, 1818 and received his education at the parish of Wamphray, in the Old Land. In 1834, he came to Canada where he became involved in the shipbuilding and lumber business. He designed all the ships that his company built. His marriage took place on December 24, 1851 to Agnes, daughter of George Orr of Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, Scotland. Their family consisted of nine sons and three daughters. Mr. Jardine and his sons owned the highest grades of Ayrshire cattle, English pigs and horses in the country.

Captain James Wishart, St. Martins was born in the City of Saint John on July 11, 1847 to Benjamin Wishart, a native of Montrose, Scotland and Catherine Moran. He commanded many vessels.

Thanks to the dedicated research in the 1890s of the Rev. Wm. Cochrane, many men of our nation from Sea to Sea live on, in the pages of "The Canadian Album - Men of Canada or Success By Example"

If you pay a visit to the Reference Department of the Saint John Free Public Library or the Library and Archives of the New Brunswick Museum, you can view these volumes.

Ruby M. Cusack is a genealogy buff living in Saint John. Send your queries to her  at rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca. (Please put Yesteryear Families in the subject line.) Include your name and mailing address for the benefit of those who do not have access to E-mail.