which he held from the first moment to the last of his command. It seemed to be impressed upon all, and at once, that there could be no hesitation in obeying his call, and that while he lived all was safe. The affection with which the memory of General Brock has ever been regarded in this province is as strong as the feeling of admiration, and these feelings still pervade the whole population.”
Johnson, Hon. Francis Godschall, Judge of the Superior Court of the Province of Quebec, and senior Judge for the district of Montreal, with duties of Chief Justice at the court in Montreal, was born at Oakley House, in Bedfordshire, England, on the 1st of January, 1817. His father, Godschall Johnson, was an officer in the 10th Royal Hussars (then known as the Prince of Wales regiment), and his mother Lucy Bisshopp, was a daughter of Sir Cecil Bisshopp, a prominent man in his day, and a sister of Colonel Cecil Bisshopp, who lost his life in the war with the United States in 1812–14, and was buried at Niagara, Ontario, where his grave can now be seen. The Hon. Judge Johnson received his education at St. Omer, in France, and at Bruges, in Belgium, and came to Canada in 1834. He studied law in the office of the Hon. Justice Day, and was called to the bar in 1839. He began the practice of his profession in Montreal, and in 1846, before he was thirty years of age, was appointed a Queen’s counsel. While practising at the bar this learned judge was noted for his eloquence, and while acting as Crown prosecutor, his splendid talents showed to the best advantage. In 1854, he was appointed recorder of Rupert’s Land, and governor of Assiniboine (now Manitoba), and took up his residence at Fort Garry, where he resided until 1858, when he returned to Montreal. Here he resumed the practice of his profession and continued until 1865, when he received the appointment of judge of the Superior Court, in which position his fine abilities continue to be shown. Being peculiarly fitted for the task in consequence of his previous acquaintance with the country, he was, in 1870, selected by the Dominion government to go to Manitoba, to assist in the organization and establishment of a regular system of government there. He did good service to the state, and remained for about two years—special leave of absence from Quebec province having been given him—acting as recorder of Rupert’s Land, until new courts were established, and as commissioner in hearing and determining the claims made for losses caused during the Riel rebellion of 1869–70. He returned in 1872, and was appointed lieutenant-governor of Manitoba, but declined the honour, considering the position incompatible with the retention of the office of judge. During the time Judge Johnson was practising in Montreal, he held several offices, and was secretary of the commission that revised the Statutes of Lower Canada. He is a member of the Church of England; and was married in September, 1840, to Mary Gates Jones, daughter of Nathaniel Jones, of Montreal. This lady died in July, 1853, and left three children. His second marriage was in March, 1857, to Mary Mills, daughter of John Melliken Mills, of Somersetshire, England, by whom he has also a family of three children. Judge Johnson resides in Montreal.
Desjardins, Dr. Louis Edouard, Montreal, was born at Terrebonne, on the 10th of September, 1837. According to the “Dictionnaire Généalogique” of l’Abbé Tanguay, his ancestors came to the country more than two hundred years ago. He married Mademoiselle Emilie Zaïde Paré, second daughter of Hubert Paré, a partner in the large commercial firm founded by F. Souligny, one of the most important firms of Montreal at that period. Dr. Desjardins entered upon his classical studies at the College Masson, Terrebonne, and terminated them at the Seminary of Nicolet. After practising medicine in Montreal during seven or eight years, he took a first trip to Europe to study ophthalmology. On his return, a year after, he established at the Hôtel-Dieu, of Montreal, a special department for the treatment of eye diseases. In 1872, he made a second voyage to Europe to complete his ophthalmic studies. He followed the clinics of Bowman and Critchett, in London; and of Giraud-Teulon, Wecker, Sichel and Meyer, in Paris. During his sojourn in London, he was admitted a member of the International Congress of Ophthalmology. When he returned to Montreal in 1873, he founded the ophthalmic institute of the Nazareth Asylum, for the gratuitous treatment of the poor suffering from diseases of the eye, and at the same time to give clinics on those diseases to the medical students. It is the first institution of the kind founded in Montreal. He was one of the founders of the “Société Médicale,” and of the journal L’ Union Médicale, to which he was a contributor for many years. This year (1887), in concert with the Hon. Dr. Pâquet, Dr. Hingston, and Dr. Beausoleil, he founded the Gazette Médicale, of Montreal. Since 1870, he has been surgeon-oculist to the Hôtel-Dieu, and professor of ophthalmology at the School of Medicine and Surgery of Montreal. He is one of the founders and one of the supporters of the newspaper, L’Etendard. He advocated, and was chiefly instrumental in bringing about, the nomination of a Royal Commission, in 1883, to institute an inquiry into the affairs of the Catholic schools of Montreal; and before that commission he energetically took the defence of the fathers of families against the encroachments of the school commissioners of that city. In the difficulties which arose between the School of Medicine (Victoria) and Laval University, from 1876, he took an active part in the struggle the school had to sustain for the maintenance of its rights. In consequence of an erroneous interpretation of the decrees of Rome, in relation to the establishment of Laval at Montreal, the Archbishop of Quebec (now Cardinal Taschereau) and nearly all the bishops of the province of Quebec, undertook to destroy the School of Medicine, in order to give more scope to the Laval branch. The school tried, but vainly, to defend its cause with the episcopacy; and in June, 1883, Mgr. Taschereau fulminated against this institution his famous sentence of rebellion against the church. Dr. Desjardins was then delegated to Rome, to appeal from the sentence. Despite this, the bishops of Montreal, St. Hyacinthe, and Sherbrooke in their turn hurled sentences of excommunication against the professors and pupils of the school, and even against the parents who should continue to send their children to it. Once in Rome, Dr. Desjardins was enabled to lay his appeal at the feet of the Holy Father, and obtained a favourable judgment. The order “Suspende omnia,” was sent by a telegram of the Cardinal-Prefect of the Propaganda to the Bishop of Montreal, on the 24th of August, 1883. In the month of September following, Mgr. Smeulders was delegated by Leo XIII., as Apostolic Commissioner to Canada, with power to definitely settle the difficulties existing between Laval and the school. At the present day the School of Medicine is doing its noble work as in the past, and has more than two hundred pupils.
Dickson, William Welland, M.D., Pembroke, Ontario, was born on the 9th of January, 1841, at Pakenham, county of Renfrew. His father, Samuel Dickson, and mother, Catherine Lowe, were both natives of Ireland. When but eighteen years of age, Mr. Dickson, sen., came to Canada, and like many a young man in those days, was without money, but possessed of a great deal of faith in his own right arm. Shortly after his arrival he married and began to make for himself a home in the township of Pakenham, in Lanark county. Things succeeding, he commenced the manufacture of square timber, and after a while became a successful lumber manufacturer and exporter. He lived and died in the township in which he first settled. William received his education at the Perth Grammar School, Ontario, at Bishop’s College, Lennoxville, Quebec, and pursued his medical studies at McGill College, Montreal, where he graduated. He began the practice of his profession at Portage du Fort, in June, 1863, and in 1866 removed to Pembroke, where he has since resided, and succeeded in building up a paying business. He is also principal in the business conducted by the Dickson Drug Company in the same place. From 1870 to 1874, Dr. Dickson held the position of captain of No. 7 company, 42nd Battalion of Volunteers, and from 1873 to the present time, he has acted as coroner for the county of Renfrew. During the years 1877, ’78, ’79, he had a seat in the town council of Pembroke, and in 1880, ’81, ’82, he was mayor of the same town. From 1881 to 1886, he was one of the examiners of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Dr. Dickson’s parents were Presbyterians, and he has followed in the same safe path. In 1869, he was married to Jessie Rattray, daughter of D. M. Rattray, of Portage du Fort, province of Quebec.
Stockton, Alfred Augustus, Barrister-at-Law, D.C.L., PhD., LL.D., M.P.P. for the city and county of St. John, New Brunswick, residence, St. John, was born November 2nd, 1842, at Studholm, Kings county, N.B. His father is William A. Stockton, of Sussex, Kings county, N.B., and his mother, Sarah, daughter of the late Robert Oldfield, who came to this country from Stockport, England. He is descended on the paternal side from Richard Stockton, who emigrated from Cheshire, England, some years prior to 1660, settled for a short time in Long Island, New York, and afterwards removed to Princeton, New Jersey, where he became the grantee of
