Macquarrie, with offices at Summerside Charlottetown. Mr. Morson was appointed master in Chancery in 1885. In April of the same year, on the death of the Hon. John Longworth, he was appointed clerk of the Crown and prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island, and also registrar of the Court of Chancery, all of which positions he resigned in June, 1885. On the formation of the Prince Edward Island Provisional Brigade of Garrison Artillery, Mr. Morson was appointed adjutant, with rank of lieutenant, 2nd June, 1882; and on the 8th November, 1884, he obtained a first class special course certificate from the Royal School of Artillery in Quebec. He volunteered with two batteries of the brigade for the North West Territory on the outbreak of the rebellion in 1885. Mr. Morson is a busy man, yet he finds time to devote his attention to Masonry. He has been a member of Victoria lodge, No. 383, of the Registry of Scotland, since April 1870, and has held several important offices in his lodge, and been depute master. In religion Mr. Morson is a member of the Episcopal communion, and in politics belongs to the Conservative party. He is a rising man, and has a grand future before him.
Gray, James, Manager of the Merchants Bank of Canada, Perth, Lanark county, Ontario, was born on the 3rd of September, 1820, at Black Hills, parish of Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland. Arthur Gray, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Morayshire, Scotland, and joined the active militia in 1809, and in 1811 was gazetted ensign in the 2nd battalion of the 24th Regiment of the line. In November of the same year he proceeded with his regiment to the Peninsula, where he joined the army under the command of the late Duke of Wellington, and served till the end of the war, during which he was present at the following battles and sieges: In the covering division at the siege and capture of Badejoz; the battle of Salamanca (where he carried the colours); the capture of the Retiro and the siege of Burgos, where he was engaged in the storming of the outer line, on which occasion the battalion suffered so severely that it became necessary to incorporate it in a provisional battalion with the 58th Regiment; on the raising of the siege of Burgos he was the last officer to quit the trenches, having been left with a piquet to see the works blown up at all hazards, and at the imminent risk of being taken prisoner, being fortunate enough, however, to regain his regiment after executing the orders he had received; he commanded a company during the rest of the retreat into Portugal, and suffered great hardships consequent upon such retreat. He was also engaged in the battle of Vittoria, and the actions in the Pyrenees for four successive days, including the attack on the heights of Echellar, where the battalion in which he was serving received on the grounds the thanks of Lord Dalhousie for their gallant conduct. He was also at the battles of Nevelle and Orthes, the investment of Bayonne, besides a great number of affairs of outposts and skirmishes, and was not absent from his battalion for one day during the whole period of these memorable events. On the return of the battalion he was removed to the 1st Battalion of the 24th Regiment, and proceeded to join it in the East Indies in February, 1815. He served with this corps in the Nepaul war, the campaigns of 1815 and 1816, including the battle of Harriagrove; and in the Mahratta campaigns of 1817 and 1818. During the Indian campaign he fell a victim to severe liver disease, and was compelled to return to England in 1819, and on the expiration of his leave in 1820, still being disabled from active duty from this cause, he was retired on half-pay. His health having been restored, in 1839 he was appointed to the first battalion Royal regiment, with which he served at Gibraltar to August, 1841, when Lord Hill removed him to the Royal Canadian rifle regiment. In 1847 he was appointed by His Grace the Duke of Wellington captain in the Ceylon rifle regiment, and proceeded to Ceylon. An insurrection breaking out there he was placed second in command, and shortly after the commander of a corps to scour the jungle and disperse the rebels. In consequence of exposure while on this mission he was attacked with dysentery, and being carried along with his column to Kandy he there died. James Gray received an English and classical education in the St. Andrew’s school of his native shire, and came to Canada in 1844, and settled in Montreal. The same year he entered the service of the Bank of Montreal, in that city. He was over a quarter of a century in the employ of this great monetary institution, and during this time resided in Kingston, Picton, and Perth. In 1868 he resigned his position in the Bank of Montreal, and was appointed manager of the branch of the Merchants Bank in Perth, which position he still occupies with credit to himself and satisfaction to his employers. Mr. Gray is connected with the Presbyterian church; but in politics he takes little interest. He is married to Mary Robinson, a daughter of the late Dr. Moore, of Picton, who, during his lifetime, was a staunch supporter of the late lamented Hon. George Brown, and in sympathy with the political reforms advocated by that great man.
La Mothe, Guillaume Jean Baptiste, Postmaster, Montreal, was born in Montreal on September 24th, 1824. He is the son of Capt. Joseph Maurice La Mothe, who married Marie J. Laframboise, in Montreal, on the 1st February, 1813. Captain Joseph Maurice La Mothe was superintendent of the Indian Department from 1816 until his decease in 1827. He was also captain and in command of the Indian allies at the battle of Chateauguay, and was favourably reported in the orders of the day for gallant conduct. His grandfather was Captain Joseph La Mothe, who was born 26th January, 1742, and married 24th November, 1777, to Catherine Blondeau. In March, 1776, the military commandant in Montreal entrusted Captain J. La Mothe with most important despatches for General Guy Carleton, then besieged in Quebec by the American army. Accompanied by Mr. Papineau (father of the Hon. L. J. Papineau), he started from Montreal on foot, and after a long and dangerous tramp, managing to cross the American lines at night, safely delivered the despatches in proper time, which contributed to the salvation of Quebec. His great-grandfather was Pierre La Mothe, married first to Marie Anne St. Ives, and in January, 1740 (being then a widower), he married Angélique Caron, in Montreal. His father and mother were Bruno La Mothe and Jeanne Le Valois, who came originally from the diocese of Bordeaux, France. The family, whose correct name is de La Mothe (as mentioned in old family documents), was residing in Montreal as early as 1673, and in 1689 Pierre de Saint Paul de La Mothe had the command of the town and island of Montreal. The subject of our sketch received his education at St. Hyacinthe College and at Montreal College. In September, 1852, he received a commission as lieutenant in the Montreal Sedentary Cavalry, but this position he resigned in March, 1854. On the 17th of January, 1856, he was appointed lieutenant in No. 2 troop Militia Cavalry, Montreal, and on the 23rd of April, 1857, was retransferred to and promoted captain in the Sedentary Cavalry of Montreal. On the 7th of November, 1862, he was transferred to and promoted major commanding the Rifle Companies (Police) Active force in Montreal. On the 26th of November, 1861, Captain La Mothe was appointed chief of police for Montreal. This office he held until the 30th January, 1865, when he resigned. He effected the capture of the famous St. Albans raiders a few months previous. And on the 15th of July, 1874, he was appointed to the postmastership of his native city, and this important position he fills to-day. Mr. La Mothe has been actively connected with the development of gold mines in Nova Scotia; copper mines in the Eastern Townships, and iron mines in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where he discovered the magnetic iron ore deposit at Moisie. Upon report made to friends respecting the value of the ore and extent of the deposit, the Moisie Iron Company was formed. This company has manufactured malleable iron pronounced in England and France equal to the best. During the years from 1846 to 1851 inclusive, Mr. La Mothe travelled extensively through England, France, Switzerland, and Italy; and while in England he joined the expedition against Ecuador (South America), which, after putting to sea, was overtaken by a British man-of-war, and brought back to London. He also took part in the French Revolution of 1848, and at the storming of the Tuileries he was one of the first to enter the place. After this event he travelled through Switzerland on foot, then on to Italy, where he married, and then returned to Canada. For fifteen years of his life, Mr. La Mothe was actively engaged in politics on the Liberal side. In religion he is a respected member of the Roman Catholic church. He was married in Florence, Italy, in 1850, to Marguerite de Savoye, and his family consists of one son and four daughters, all living. The son, Henri, is married to Marie, youngest daughter of the late Hon. Judge Bossé, of Quebec. The eldest daughter, Marguerite, is married to Hon. J. R. Thibaudeau, senator for division of Rigaud. His second daughter is married to Henri Hamel, of the firm of J. Hamel & Frère, Quebec. The two youngest daughters, Juliette and Marie, are unmarried.
MacColl, Evan, Kingston, Ontario, was born at Kenmore, Lochfyne-side, Scotland, on the 21st of September, 1808, where he is well-known as the “Mountain Minstrel.” He early developed a taste for poetry, and in 1837 contributed to the Glasgow Gaelic
