St. John’s lodge, of St. John, June 19, 1857, and was senior warden in 1860, and worshipful master in 1862 and 1863. The capitular degrees were received in the New Brunswick Royal Arch Chapter. He was the first of, and the most prominent among, those who advocated the erection of an independent Grand Lodge in and for New Brunswick; promoting the movement by his voice and pen, particularly by the latter in the columns of the Masonic Mirror, the organ of the order, and of which he was the editor. At the formation of the Grand Lodge, October, 1867, he was unanimously elected deputy grand master, in which position he continued up to 1870, when he was elected grand master, and occupied the latter office for two years. Although the removal of his residence to his villa at Hampton, Kings county, and the prosecution of his judicial functions have drawn him away from active participation in the work of the craft, nevertheless he continues to retain his membership in the lodge, and to preserve a warm interest in the prosperity of the brotherhood. The editor of the Parliamentary Practice thus refers to him when he was provincial secretary:—“Upon the floor of the House he was a leading spirit; eloquent and argumentative, a keen debater, and a master of sarcasm.” Judge Wedderburn is married to Jeannie, daughter of the late C. C. Vaughan, of St. John, New Brunswick.
Steeves, James Thomas, M.D., Superintendent of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, St. John, New Brunswick, was born at Hillsborough, Albert county, N.B., on the 25th of January, 1828. He is a brother of the late Hon. W. H. Steeves, senator, and one of the delegates or founders of Canadian confederation; and is of German ancestry. His great-grandfather was born in Osnaburgh, Germany, whence he removed to Philadelphia, and his grandfather, the Rev. Henry Steeves, removed thence to Albert county, N.B., about the beginning of the present century. Dr. Steeves is a Baptist in religion, as all his fathers were; in fact “his fathers” were the pioneers in disseminating Baptist doctrines over a large portion of the province. His literary education was obtained at the Grammar School at Hillsborough, at Sackville Academy, and finally at the Baptist Seminary, Fredericton, under the late Dr. Spurden. After the completion of his literary course, he entered upon the study of medicine at the Pennsylvania Medical College—attracted by the famous surgeon, Valentine Mott—the following year he matriculated at the University of New York, and graduated in the class of 1853. From the medical faculty of the university he received a certificate of honour for proficiency and for having pursued a more extended course of instruction than that required by the college curriculum. In June, 1854, the doctor established himself in Portland, St. John, N.B., and entered upon the practice of his profession. After the lapse of a few weeks Asiatic cholera made its appearance there in all its terribleness, spreading dismay and death on every hand. During the prevalence of this fearful scourge, extending over a period upwards of four months, Dr. Steeves, by his unswerving fidelity to his professional duties under every circumstance, and his good measure of success, fairly placed himself among the leading physicians of New Brunswick. In 1864 he removed to the city of St. John and erected the fine block of four brick and stone buildings situated on the corner of Wellington Row and Union street, which escaped the great fire of 1877, and still stand as a monument to his success and enterprise, and where he resided until 1875. On the opening of the General Public Hospital in 1864, the doctor was appointed upon the staff of visiting surgeons, and was the last of the original staff retiring. When the late Dr. J. Waddell was about retiring from the superintendency of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, Dr. Steeves was recommended by his professional brethren almost as a body, as a suitable successor for the position. Under the management of Dr. Waddell the asylum for the insane had attained a high position for successful work; and since under the present administration it has not lost a whit, but has kept fully abreast with the various modern improvements incident to asylum treatment everywhere. Dr. Steeves is a strong advocate for segregation, pavilion accommodation, and employment for the insane. By means of his advocacy with pen and voice, he has induced the government of New Brunswick to purchase a large farm, and to erect thereon a group of pavilions for the care and employment of a suitable number and class of the most healthy, indigent and pauper insane. The establishment is in full working condition, and is regarded as a complete success, in that it is far better than the old hospital system for this class of patients, giving them more freedom and out-door work, and that it is far more economical both in buildings and maintenance. Dr. Steeves was elected a member of the first medical council of New Brunswick on the introduction of the English Medical Registration Act in 1860. He has occupied the position of vice-president of the Canada Medical Association; he is an honorary member of the American Medical Association; he was elected unanimously first president of the New Brunswick Medical Society under the New Brunswick Medical Act of 1880; and is past president of the New Brunswick Medical Council. The Dr. was married to M. A. McMann, daughter of the late Captain L. McMann, of the city of St. John, in May, 1856; by whom he had born nine children. The eldest son, Frank H. Steeves, M.D., a very promising young man, graduated in medicine at Bellevue Hospital College, N.Y., and soon after went to St. Thomas Hospital College, London, England, in 1880, to further pursue medical studies. There he contracted acute phthisis, to which disease he succumbed in March, 1882. The second son, J. A. E. Steeves, A.M., M.D., is the assistant physician in the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, St. John, at the present time.
Van Wyck, Rev. James, Pastor of the Euclid Avenue Methodist Church, Toronto, was born in Stamford village, in the county of Welland, Ontario, on the 16th of May, 1846. He is descended on his father’s side from an old Dutch family, who many centuries ago were seigniors of Wyck in Holland, but through political intrigue lost their feudal rights. The first Van Wyck in America emigrated from Holland in 1660, and he and his son Theodoras took the oath of allegiance to the British government in 1681. Since then the family has multiplied considerably, and is now scattered throughout the United States, many of them filling important positions, both in church and state. Rev. Mr. Van Wyck’s grandfather was the only one of this name who came to Canada, to make for himself a home, and he settled in the Niagara peninsula, where Daniel Van Wyck, the father of the subject of our sketch, was born, on the 7th of October, 1812, his mother being Nancy Kilman. Daniel Van Wyck was a farmer, a man of good judgment and sterling integrity, and was invariably sought after in cases of arbitration. During the Mackenzie rebellion, he stood by the “old flag.” He took a deep interest in education—filling the position of school trustee for many years, and was an ardent supporter of free schools. In politics he was a Conservative. James Van Wyck, like a great many boys in their days, had to help his father on the farm or in the workshop, and got very little time to attend the public school after he was ten years of age, except a few months in winter, and not even that after he was fifteen years of age. Misfortune had befallen his father, and the son worked hard to help him to regain his former position. When he had reached his nineteenth year, having despaired of getting what his mind craved after, an education, he apprenticed himself to an elder brother in the town of Welland, to learn the carpenter trade, and having served the usual time, he left Welland and went to Lockport, New York state, where he remained for about eighteen months. During these years he had been improving his mind, and had united himself with the Methodist Episcopal church. On his return to Canada in 1869, he entered the ministry of that church, and after preaching four years, and pursuing the required course of study, he was ordained to the work of the ministry in 1873, by the late Bishop Richardson. In the fall of that year he entered Albert College, Belleville, where he remained for four years, and graduated in arts in June, 1878. He was also valedictorian of the year, besides receiving the silver medal. He was then invited to a church in Strathroy, where he remained for nearly five years by special request (it being a privilege at that time to those who were preferred). Next he went to Hamilton, where he remained for three years, and in 1886 he was invited to take charge of the church in Euclid avenue, in Toronto, the pastorate he now fills, with honour to the Master and satisfaction to his people. Rev. Mr. Van Wyck has always taken an active part in temperance work, and from 1879 to 1882 occupied the office of president of the branch of the Dominion Alliance, for the suppression of the liquor traffic in the county of Middlesex. He is a member of the Independent Order of Oddfellows, and he has also been connected with the Sons of Temperance, and the Good Templars for a number of years. He is one of the board of management of Alma College, St. Thomas, and also one of its board of examiners. He occupied a seat on the board of examiners of the Albert College, Belleville, from 1878 up to the time of the union of the Methodist churches a few years ago. He has also been associated with the board of examiners in the Annual Conference of the Methodist church since 1878. Rev. Mr. Van Wyck has been repeatedly appointed
