to the General Conference of the Methodist church, and when the question of union was discussed, he supported the union with all his ability. He has been very happy in his church relations, and in all his charges has enjoyed great prosperity. In his earlier years, Mr. Van Wyck was somewhat prejudiced in favour of the denomination in which he was brought up, and thought John Wesley infallible, but Ephraim has now somewhat modified his views. Although he is a firm Arminian, and believes in the genuineness, authority and inspired character of the divine revelation contained in the Bible, yet he sometimes wishes that the creeds of the Evangelical church had more specified articles of faith in them, and that they were more liberally interpreted. He was married on the 24th of August, 1866, to Maria Fares, who was educated in Toronto and Belleville, and is a daughter of Isaac Fares, of Humberstone, Welland county, Ontario.
Bronson, Erskine Henry, M.P.P., for the city of Ottawa, was born on the 12th of September, 1844, at Bolton, Warren county, New York state. He is a son of Henry Franklin Bronson, and Edith E. Pierce, of Bolton, and a member of the firm of Bronsons & Weston, lumber manufacturers, Ottawa city. Mr. Bronson, senr., came to Canada in 1849, when Erskine was a mere child, and visiting the Ottawa valley became greatly impressed with the idea that the Chaudière Falls was a splendid place to begin lumbering operations. The timber supply in the neighbourhood seemed inexhaustible, and the water power magnificent. After a short stay, however, he returned to his home in the state of New York, and thought little more of the matter until 1852, when he persuaded J. J. Harris, an extensive lumberman, with whom he was associated, to go with him to Ottawa. Arrived at their destination, the river experts tried to persuade them that the Ottawa river was not suitable for the safe driving of saw logs. But Mr. Bronson thought differently, and persuaded Mr. Harris to purchase certain water lots at the Chaudière Falls, which he accordingly did, from the Crown, and here, under the personal superintendence of Mr. Bronson, were erected mills, portions of which still exist and form part of the splendid works since erected by Bronsons & Weston. Shortly after the erection of the first mill, Mr. Bronson removed his family to Canada, in the fall of 1853, and made his permanent home at Ottawa. Erskine was brought up here, and received his education in the best schools in the place, and at Sandy Hill, New York state. After finishing his education, he took a position in the business; and in 1864, on the retirement of Mr. Harris, he was admitted a partner into the new firm, which was then established, and which consisted of Henry Franklin Bronson, who with Mr. Harris originated the business, Erskine H. Bronson and Abijah Weston, of Painted Post, New York, and which has since traded under the name of Bronsons & Weston. This firm owns two mills at Ottawa, running ten gates, with a capacity of producing 60,000,000 feet of lumber during the season. They have also close business relations with John W. Dunham, of Albany, New York, and Herman K. Weaver, of Burlington, Vt., and have also a yard in Albany, for the sale of lumber in the rough. Though in the building up of this great concern, the Liberal member for Ottawa has played no inconsiderable part, he has also done something to prove himself a good and useful citizen. He has been a member of the School Board for the last fourteen years, during the past four years of which he has been chairman of the committee on school management. He was first elected to the city council by acclamation in 1871, and served continuously until the close of 1877. During the last year he was in the council he prepared the act consolidating the city debt, and secured its passage in the Ontario Legislature in the session of 1878. This act relieved the city by the extension of the time of the payment of its bonds of a large annual levy for a sinking fund, and fixed the maximum of taxation at one and a half per cent., instead of two per cent. as before, under the general municipal law. Mr. Bronson in politics is a Reformer, and in religious matters an adherent of the Presbyterian church. He is one of our rising men, and we feel that Ottawa in electing him as one of its representatives in the Ontario Legislature, has done something that shall redound to its credit. Mr. Bronson was married in 1874, to Miss Webster, the only daughter of Professor Webster, a Southern gentleman, at one time a resident of the capital, by whom he has two children.
McPherson, R. B., Thorold, Ontario, was born in 1817, in Kingussie, Inverness-shire, Scotland. His father was a merchant; and having a family of twelve children, he considered it would be to their interest if he emigrated to Canada. He therefore left his native country in 1822, and located himself in Glengarry, about twenty miles east by north of Cornwall. Here R. B. McPherson was brought up, and received the very scant education given in the back township schools in those days, the principal being the reading of the Bible and the committing to memory the Shorter Catechism and the Paraphrases. At the age of thirteen he left home, and found employment in a country store, the proprietor of which was in the habit of purchasing timber for the Quebec market. Here Mr. McPherson remained for some time, and frequently had to act in the capacity of raftsman, and help bring his employer’s timber down to Quebec. He often ran the risk of losing his life in the St. Lawrence river rapids before the rafts were safely anchored in the timber coves at Quebec. During the rebellion of 1837–8, Mr. McPherson took sides with the loyalists, and had command at one time of a guard at the river Beaudette bridge near Coteau Rapids, Province of Quebec, whose duty it was to intercept rebels coming or going over it, more especially the late Sir George E. Cartier, for whose head a large sum of money had been offered, and who it was thought would endeavour to escape across the St. Lawrence at this point. In 1840 Mr. McPherson left Lower Canada and came to Toronto, where he remained a short time, and then crossed over to Rochester. From this place he travelled through the Genesee country to Buffalo and the Falls of Niagara, and when at the latter point, he saw Mr. McLeod, of Caroline steamer notoriety, a prisoner, surrounded by a strong guard at the hotel. He again returned to Canada, and found employment near the town of Simcoe. In this place he remained for a short time, and then left for New York, intending to sail from that port to Buenos Ayres, South America, and try his fortune there. On his arrival at New York, he learned that Buenos Ayres was blockaded by a French squadron, and being advised to abandon his southern trip, he remained in New York until his means were exhausted, and then, in the month of January, he left with the idea of tramping his way to New Orleans by way of the Mississippi. On his route he passed through Philadelphia and Baltimore. At Baltimore he took the turnpike road to Pittsburg, but after a while got so tired and footsore with travelling in the snow that he turned off the main road, and took the road right across the state of Pennsylvania through the coal mines, making his way towards Lake Erie. When he reached the Alleghany river he followed its course for a long distance, and then struck off to Jamestown, just then starting into existence, and then on to Buffalo. From this point he walked across Lake Erie on the ice to Port Colborne and then on to St. Catharines. Here he found employment as bookkeeper, paymaster, etc., in the office of Thompson, Haggert & Burford, contractors engaged in building the Welland canal. Frank Smith (now senator) was at this date employed by this former firm and was in charge of a store that shipped goods to the labourers’ employers on the works. After the completion of this famous Welland canal contract Mr. McPherson went to Toronto, and meeting a Mr. Logan, a then prominent merchant in that city, who controlled about a dozen stores in various country parts north and east of Toronto, he entered into an engagement with him to take charge of a store at Oshawa; and while here Mr. Logan’s storekeeper in the village of Markham was murdered (the murderer being afterwards executed in Toronto), and Mr. McPherson was transferred to that village leaving the employ of Mr. Logan, he went to the village of Bradford and took charge of a store for Mr. Cameron, son of the late Colin Cameron, of Hogshollow, Yonge street. In the spring of 1849 Mr. McPherson again got restless and left Bradford with the intention of going to California, but on his way, at Buffalo, he met the late Mr. Brown, who had a large contract in the Welland canal, and abandoning his California trip, he arranged with that gentleman to become his general manager, and once more returned to Canada. Mr. Brown was a large contractor, and shortly after Mr. McPherson joined him, he secured a contract amounting to about two million dollars on the new canal; but before he had half completed the work, he met with an accident which caused his death. Dying without a will, Mr. Brown’s affairs were put into Chancery, and Mr. McPherson was appointed administrator of the estate. He went to work and completed Mr. Brown’s contracts. When the estate was wound up, it was found that Mr. McPherson had faithfully done his duty, and that the sum of six hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars had been realized for Mr. Brown’s heirs. In 1869 Mr. McPherson built a grist flouring mill, and another in 1878, to supply flour, etc., to the men building the canal, both ventures turning out fairly. From 1856 to 1862 he was a member of the town council, and for two years
