PICTOU EDUCATIONISTS

Pictou County might be called the Home of Educators.  It has given eight
college Presidents to Canada, many more than any other single county in the
Dominion has contributed.  Although only a few of its educators have attained great eminence,
a large number have made a commanding place for themselves in the educational, literary and
scientific world.  The county was predestined
to become an educational centre, for, from its earliest days, its Scottish
settlers, resolved that, whatever the superstructure might be, education and religion should
form the corner stone and the foundation of their community.

It was Pictou's good fortune, at the beginning of its history, to have as leaders men of
decided scholarship and marked ability, who were firmly
convinced that education necessarily went hand in hand with morality and
civilization.  Others followed them so that there has never been a decade in
its history in which a number of men have not stood out as leaders in the
cause of education.  Dr. McGregor, the first minister in Pictou County, was a
man of much natural ability.  He had, moreover, enjoyed the benefits of a
thorough College training, and was an excellent scholar.  From the beginning
of his work he made the establishing of schools and the education of the
people second only to the preaching of the Gospel.  He was ably assisted by
his colleague, Rev. Duncan Ross, who was also a university graduate.  In
1803, a third minister arrived in the field; and it may safely be said of him
that no man ever lived in Nova Scotia who has exercised a more potent
influence on education.  Thomas McCulloch was a student, a scholar, and a
born teacher.  From the day of his arrival he became a power in educational matters.  He was
the founder of Pictou Academy, and the influence of Pictou County on the intellectual life of
Canada has been largely concentrated in Pictou Academy ever since.

The pioneers realized that education was a better heritage for their children
than gold.  Their well-organized public schools were proof of this; but it was particularly
reflected in the sacrifices which made Pictou Academy possible.  It afterwards became more or
less articulated with the common school system, and the question in every household having
sons and daughters was: "Which one shall we send to the Academy?"  The home was back of it.
No wonder that from such soil sprang such a crop of college Presidents, Professors and
Teachers.

The first schoolmaster was James Davidson, a native of Edinburgh.  He came to Pictou about
1772, and taught school at Lyon's Brook.  He returned to Truro, in 1776, and spent the rest
of his days there.  The first teacher in Pictou town was Peter Grant, who came from Halifax
in 1793; he opened a school and taught for six years. S. L. Newcomb took up the work in 1802.
He married the daughter of Matthew Harris, and had a family of children, several of whose
names became well-known in later years.  George Glennie, a graduate of Aberdeen College,
succeeded him.  He was an excellent teacher and scholar, and left his impress upon the youth
of that generation.

First upon the list of Pictou's eminent educators and College presidents, stands the name of
Sir J. W. Dawson, LL. D., F. R. S.  His life-work extended over a long period of years, and
he is the most widely known of all Canadian educationists and scientists.  John William
Dawson was born at Pictou, on the 13th of October, 1820.  While at school in Pictou he
developed a love for natural science, inherited from his father, James Dawson; and made a
large collection of fossils from the coal measures so well exposed in the County.  When only
sixteen years of age, and still attending the Pictou Academy, he read before the local
Natural History Society his first paper, "On the Structure and History of the Earth."   He
graduated from the University of Edinburgh, at the age of twenty-two; and returned to Nova
Scotia in company with Sir Charles Lyell who began his geological explorations in the
Province in 1842.  Mr. Dawson was then appointed to direct a geological survey of the coal
fields.

In 1850 he became the first Superintendent of Education for Nova Scotia; and did the pioneer
work which resulted in the founding of the Provincial Normal School in Truro, in 1854, and
the passing of the Free School Act of 1864.  In 1855, he was appointed to the Principalship
of the McGill University, Montreal.  McGill rapidly developed under his guidance.  He gave
course of lectures in chemistry, botany, zoology and geology.  His "Acadian Geology" was
published in 1855.  But from 1842 up to that event, no less than thirty-two papers were
published by him, including three Annual Education Reports, 1851-3, a geography and a text
book on Agriculture.  From this time his published works increased in number, until, up to
1901, his bibliography numbered 551 titles of papers, pamphlets and books.  His earlier
papers on geological subjects had reference chiefly to the coal formation of Nova Scotia; and
to his discoveries of the earliest known reptiles of that age.  He also had the opportunity
of studying along the St. Lawrence, the earliest Geological deposits, and this, with the
investigation of Indian remains before the advent of the white man in Canada, gave him a
broad outlook on the question of primitive man in relation to geology.  So he was enabled to
express in his books, sound and well-founded views regarding primitive man and his first
surroundings.

Dawson's influence great as it was in field of Education swept yet a broader horizon in the
field of letters. As a Bible student and expositor, Sir William stood high.  He ploughed deep
in the books of Holy Writ; and subjected those writings to the same keen, critical analysis
to which he referred various other problems in the scientific world.  He brought out many
hidden truths from the Word of God, which had been hitherto obscure.  "Egypt and the Holy
Land, their geology and natural resources."  "Eden Lost and Won," "Archaia," "The Mosaic
Cosmogony," "Modem Science in Bible Lands," "The Origin of the World, According to Revelation
and Science," form part of a series of writings of an apologetic character, which in his day,
Sir William Dawson deemed necessary to combat certain views that were thrust upon the more or
less observant and thinking world, regarding the origin of man as well as of other species
living upon this planet.

As a writer, who sought to present in popular form the results of geological science to a
larger audience than greeted him on the college benches, he was eminently successful.  Among
the most conspicuous of his popular writings, in which the relations existing between science
and revelation usually formed a portion of his theme, the following may be mentioned; "The
Story of the Earth and Man," "Facts and Fancies in Modern Science," "Fossil Men and their
Modern  Representatives," "Modern Ideas of Evolution," "The Meeting Place of Geology and
History."  The many editions through which these various writings have passed, and their
ready sale on both sides of the Atlantic, testify to their
popularity.  In the English speaking world his name became a household word, and a letter of
introduction from him was a passport throughout Europe.

The phenomenal expansion of McGill University, as well as the character of his own scientific
work, made him the recipient of honor after honor.  In 1854 he was made a Fellow of the
Geological Society; in 1862, a Fellow of the Royal Society; in 1881 a C. M. G.; in 1882 the
first President of the Royal Society of Canada.  In 1884 he received the honor of Knighthood
from Queen Victoria.  He was a "man of quiet geniality, gentle and courtly in manner, but
decided in opinion and firm in action.  The pre-eminent note of his character was sincerity
and singleness of purpose."  In 1847 he married Margaret, daughter of George Mercer of
Edinburgh.  He had five children, the eldest being late George M. Dawson, C. M. G., the
second son, William B. Dawson, D. Sc., Ottawa, Can.  Dr. Rankine Dawson, the youngest of the
three sons, is now practicing medicine in London, England.  The two daughters are Mrs. J. B.
Harrington, wife of the Professor of Chemistry at McGill University, and Mrs. Pope T. Atkin
of Birkenhead, England.

Sir Wm. Dawson was a Presbyterian of an advanced type when his "Archaia" was published, in
1860, describing the evolutionary origin of the world as in agreement with the account in
Genesis.  But his non-acceptance of the evolutionary development of man left him among
conservative theologians at the time of his death.  He died at Montreal, on the 18th of
November, 1899, in the eightieth year of his age, full of honors as of days, with the most
distinguished record as a scientist of any Canadian, past or present.  In no part of Canada
has the career of Sir Wm. Dawson been more closely followed than in the Provinces by the sea.
Here he was born; here he was inspired with the spirit of scientific research.  His earliest
educational and scientific efforts were made here; here were laid the foundations of his
subsequent great achievements.  And, while he left Pictou for wider fields of labor, he never
forgot his native place.  His life will continue to be an inspiration to many, as the stream
of years flows on.

The following characteristic incident is well worth recording here: Over sixty years ago, a
college student was appointed to survey a tract of "crown land" in eastern Nova Scotia, - a
barren region about fifty miles in length and thirty in width, which at that time had within
its bounds just twenty-six persons.  The whole district was strewn with granite boulders; had
no roads, and was traversable only on foot or horse back.  There was no likelihood that the
young surveyors' measurements would ever be tested, or his lines run over again, for the soil
was poor, the timber small and unmarketable.  But that student handled his chain and compass
as under the eye of omniscience.

Some forty years afterward, gold was discovered there; the "leads" were vertical, and
fortunes depended upon the accuracy of the student's work.  Experts were sent by the
Government to re-survey the whole territory.  They could not find a single flaw in his work.
Peter Grant, a Halifax merchant, a stock-holder in one of the mining companies said, that
after all their tracing and computing the Government's most accurate surveyor gave at last
the full meed of praise to the college student; and, in every instance pronounced his lines
exact.  That young student was none other than he who was afterwards the distinguished Sir
William Dawson.

Rev. George Munro Grant, D. D., C. M. G., was one of Pictou's worthiest sons. The name Grant
is one of the most celebrated in the annals of Scottish achievement, as well as in Canada.
It is not necessary to prove this by any such method as a member of the Grant Clan is said to
have taken to prove the antiquity of his family.  The ambitious Grant referred to had a Bible
with small print, and in one of the earlier chapters in Genesis discovered an indistinctness
in one of the letters of which he took advantage and read it: "There were Grant's (giants) on
the earth in those days."  The clan which has given a President to the United States, one
Principal to Edinburgh University, and another to Queen's University has no occasion to
resort to such means to establish the worth of its blood.

George M. Grant was born at Stellarton, December 22, 1835.  He was educated at Pictou
Academy, West River Seminary, and Glasgow University.  He soon became a striking figure at
the University, and that, too, when James Bryce and a host of other great men were his fellow
students.

On his return to Canada in 1860, he was ordained and placed in charge of the mission at River
John.  His energy led his parishioners to build a church for themselves, which they named St.
George's Church, after him.  In 1863, he was called to the pastorate of St. Matthew's Church,
Halifax.  Here he gave fourteen years of faithful and brilliant service.  But such an active
mind was not to be held within the limits of mere congregational work.  Grant was too great
for that, and ever took his part in the leading issues of the day; and in those days great
issues were at stake; Free schools, Union of the Provinces, and Church Union among the
Presbyterians were questions threshed out and settled during those fourteen years.  Into
these struggles Grant flung himself with all the strength of his energetic nature.

A three months' trip, from Halifax to Victoria, was taken with Sir Sanford Fleming in 1872.
At that time Western Canada was little known.  An account of his journey was published, under
the title, "From Ocean to Ocean," which revealed the marvelous resources of the West and the
great future in store for Canada.  Sir W. Robertson Nicoll, in the British Weekly, February,
1911, says, "Dr. Grant was the first author who understood the tremendous possibilities of
Canada, and brought them home to a great public.  He was an able and far-sighted man, a
Canadian through and through, and one of the greatest of Canada's sons. He is destined to
hold a permanent place in her history."

In 1877, he was appointed principal of Queen's University, to the interests of which he
devoted himself with untiring zeal for a quarter of a century.  His admirable educational
equipment, his strong, keen intellect, his far-reaching vision, his commanding presence and
voice, his great tenacity of purpose, would have gained for him eminence in any community or
calling.  In the diversity of his gifts, Grant was a Julius Caesar. Every public question
claimed his attention; and he rendered signal service, not only to the Church, but to the
public life of Canada.  In 1889, he was Moderator of the General Assembly.  He died in 1902.

It was naturally to be expected that Dr. Grant's alert mind would seek expression through
literary channels.  His successful advocacy of provincial federation doubtless prompted the
optimistic views on Imperial unity which he expressed in his "Advantages of Imperial
Federation."  His equally broad views on the subject of comparative religion, are mirrored in
his work on "The Religions of the World in Relation to Christianity."  Not to mention his
share in that monumental work, "Picturesque Canada," his "From Ocean to Ocean," was epoch
making in its influence.  It, more than any other one thing, perhaps, opened the eyes of
Canadians to the wealth of their national heritage; stirred in them the pulsations of a new
and broader patriotism, and prepared the way for the recent development of Canada.  His work
is being worthily carried on by his son and biographer, W. L. Grant, Prof. of Colonial and
Canadian History, in Queen's University, Canada.

Rev. James Ross, D. D., LL. D., was a well-known educationist and scholar, and rendered
distinguished service to the cause of education in Nova Scotia.

The life-work of a successful Christian educationist is one which might well inspire the most
ambitious, as being one of the noblest and most beneficent careers open to human choice.  Dr.
Ross was a Christian educationist in the highest sense.  He had the joy of unlocking the
gateways of knowledge to hundreds of young men whose influence is still felt throughout the
land.  He will be remembered as one of the "Fathers" of the Presbyterian Church.  He was son
of the late Rev. Duncan Ross, one of the two pioneer ministers of Pictou.  He was born at
West River, in 1811.  He was ordained in 1835, succeeding his father as minister of the West
River Church. Dr. Ross married a daughter of the late William Matheson, Esq., of West River;
and it was through Dr. Ross' zeal in the interest of higher education that Mr. Matheson was
led to donate the sum of $35,000 to that cause in connection with the Presbyterian Church.

In 1848 he was called to take charge of the West River Seminary.  In 1864 he was appointed
Principal of Dalhousie College.  Whatever he undertook, he performed with conscientious
fidelity, sparing neither time nor strength.  For forty years he served the Church in its
educational sphere, in West River, Truro, and Halifax; and thus left a deep impress upon the
educational life of his time. His last illness was brief.  On Monday evening, March eighth,
while engaged in secret prayer before retiring to rest, he was stricken with paralysis, and
died at noon the following Monday, March 15, 1886.  His was a splendid life, unselfish in all
its aims and purposes.  Dr. Ross was unsparing in his efforts to advance the interests of his
fellow citizens and of humanity in general, exercising withal, a high degree of power and
influence for the moral good and uplift of his native Province.  In the language of Socrates,
regarding a well-spent life, it may truly be said of his: "For noble is the prize, and the
hope is great."

Rev. Daniel M. Gordon, D. D., LL. D., was born in Pictou, 1845.  He entered Glasgow
University when only fourteen; graduated, Master of Arts at eighteen, and Bachelor of
Divinity at twenty-one.  Returning to Canada, he entered the Presbyterian ministry, and was
settled at Truro, Winnipeg, St. Andrew's Church, Ottawa, and St. Andrew's Church, Halifax.
From this last ministry he was appointed to the Chair of Systematic Theology in the
Presbyterian College, Halifax.  On the death of Principal Grant he was elevated to the
Presidency of Queen's University where he has been eminently successful.  He was Moderator of
General Assembly in 1896.  His son, the Rev. A. M. Gordon, B. D., is assistant to Rev. Dr.
Herridge, Ottawa.

Rev. Donald Macrae, M. A., (Aberdeen) D. D., (Queen's) was born at Hopewell, 1834, where his
father, Rev. John Macrae, was minister.  He graduated in Arts and Theology from the
University of Aberdeen, and was ordained by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, in 1856.  Dr. Macrae
was a notable figure in the work of the Church in Canada, and held an eminent place as a
preacher, being a most energetic worker.  As minister in charge of his father's former
congregation at Hopewell, N. S., as pastor in St. John's, Newfoundland, and in St. John, N.
B.; as leader in connection with home mission work in the Presbytery of St. John; and later,
as Principal of Morrin College, Quebec, he did most excellent and effective work, never
grudging time or strength in the service of the Church or in the interests of the cause of
righteousness in the land.  He was the sixth Moderator of the General Assembly, held in
Montreal, in 1880.  He died at the home of his son, Rev. A. 0. MacRae, Ph. D., Calgary,
Alta., November 24, 1909. Another son, Rev. D. N. MacRae, Ph. D., is minister in Mitchell,
Ontario.

Rev. John Forrest, D. D., LL.D., was born in New Glasgow, 1842.  He is a son of the late
Alexander Forrest, M. D.  He was educated at the Presbyterian College, Truro and Halifax, and
was ordained and inducted into the ministerial charge of St. John's Church, Halifax, in 1866.
He succeeded Principal Ross at Dalhousie College. The growth and prosperity of Dalhousie
during his presidency is sufficient evidence of his wise administration.  Dr. Forrest, for
many years, has been a leader in the courts of the Presbyterian Church.  At the General
Assembly of 1910, he was elected Moderator.  He retired from the Principalship of Dalhousie
in 1911, having well earned the right to a period of rest in the evening of his life.

A. Stanley Mackenzie, Ph. D., F. R. S. C., born at Pictou in 1865, was appointed to the
presidency of Dalhousie University on the retirement of Dr. Forrest.  He took his preparatory
course at Pictou Academy; in 1885 he graduated with high honors from Dalhousie University.
He received his Ph. D., degree from Johns Hopkins University, and later studied in Germany
and England.  After graduating he was appointed tutor of Mathematics, and in 1905 Prof. of
Physics.

Rev. Clarence Mackinnon, M. A., D. D., was born at Hopewell, N. S., in 1868. He is a son of
the late Rev. John Mackinnon, a minister of the village for many years.  His mother was
Margaret Tait of Edinburgh. He received his degree of M. A., from Edinburgh University in
1889; his degree of B. D., from the New College, Edinburgh, 1896.  He has ministered to
congregations in Middle Stewiacke, N. S.; Park St. Church, Halifax; St. Andrew's Church,
Sydney, and Westminister Church, Winnipeg.  Since 1909 he has been the esteemed Principal Of
the Presbyterian College, Halifax, and Prof. of Systematic Theology.  He is a very popular
and effective preacher and lecturer.

The story of Messrs. McKenzie, Bayne, McGregor and Purves, the first of Nova Scotian students
to take a postgraduate course in Germany, is one of peculiar interest to all.  They crossed
the Atlantic together in 1874. John J. McKenzie, the first mentioned, was Professor of
Physics in Dalhousie College, Halifax, when he died, in the thirty-second year of his age.
To go back to his earlier years, he was born at Green Hill, Pictou County, in 1847.  He took
his arts course at Halifax, winning the master's degree in 1872.  Two years later he went to
Germany with his fellow students, and, after a distinguished course in the University of
Leipsic, received the honorable distinction, Doctor of Philosophy in 1877.  On his return
from Germany, he was appointed to the Chair of Physics in Dalhousie College, which he
occupied less than two years, when he was stricken down in the prime of his young manhood.

In addition to the regular work of the College, he delivered a series of popular lectures on
scientific subjects before the citizens of Halifax, and was an active promoter of the
Technical Institute.  His devotion to science was the immediate cause of his death, which
took place, February 2, 1879.  Dr. Bayne, who was his constant companion for nearly half his
life, was with him the night he died.  He was buried, amid the regrets of students and
friends, at his old home, Green Hill.  In his death Nova Scotia lost an accomplished student
of Science and a splendid specimen of manhood.

Herbert A. Bayne, his life-long friend, was a son of Rev. James Bayne D. D., Pictou.  He was
born in 1846, and graduated from Dalhousie College in 1871. For several years he was
principal of Pictou Academy.  In 1874 he went to Germany to take a post-graduate course in
Chemistry, first at Leipsic University.  He took his degree at Heidelburg.  Here he studied
under the eminent chemist, Bunsen; and received his degree cum multa laude, in 1876.  On his
return to Nova Scotia, he was appointed Principal of the High School, Halifax.  Resigning
from this position, he was appointed Professor of Chemistry in the Royal Military College,
Kingston, Ont., where he endeared himself to faculty and students by his many manly
qualities.  Ill health compelled him to resign, and he died in Pictou, September 18, 1886, in
the fortieth year of his age.

Archibald Purves never became a professor, but would not doubtless have done so had he lived,
for he was highly skilled in many languages.  When J. J. McKenzie and Herbert A. Bayne,
decided to go to Germany to study, he thought it might be good for him to go also.  McKenzie
and Bayne were well grounded in German with the assistance of General Oscar Malmross, at that
time American Consul in Pictou.  He was a German by birth, and well educated.  The three
fellow students went to Leipsic first. Purves afterwards went to Edinburgh, and spent some
time there.  He feared he could not become a fluent enough speaker for the ministry, and
decided to study languages.  He continued his studies in Edinburgh during the winters, and in
Germany in summer time.  It was at the latter place that he had an attack of pleurisy.
Before he was convalescent he gave up his room to a student who had engaged it for the new
term, and went to another boarding house.  He caught cold in moving, and "lung fever" as the
Germans call it, set in.  He went to Leipsic to consult a doctor whom he knew.  He was
ordered to Davos in the Alps, a resort for those with weak lungs.  There he lingered during
the winter, and died in March, 1878, while his brother, Mr. David H. Purves, was on his way
to be with him at the end.  His brother bought a lot in the cemetery, and buried him in
Davos.

A noteworthy coincidence in this connection was J. Gordon McGregor's strong desire to
accompany the three to Leipsic.  When he first crossed the Atlantic, as a Gilchrist Scholar,
he was hardly expected to survive the voyage.  His heart action was so weak that he was
compelled to rest for a year with friends in Edinburgh.  He recovered, and afterwards had a
distinguished and brilliant career; as a graduate student in Great Britain and in Germany; as
Professor of Physics in Dalhousie, succeeding his fellowstudent, Dr. McKenzie, and as
successor to Professor Tait, in the chair of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh.

Professor McGregor was born in Halifax, and was the son of a well-known Presbyterian
clergyman, Rev. P. G. McGregor, D.D.  He took his arts course in Dalhousie, where he earned a
first class in every subject of his course, and where he afterwards taught for twenty-two
years, closing his career by giving twelve years of eminent service to the Edinburgh
University.  The end came to him with startling suddeness.  On the morning of May 21, 1913,
he arose, to all appearances in ordinary health.  He had his bath, and returned to his room
to dress.  There he was taken suddenly ill; called in his son, and died almost immediately
afterwards.  Thus ended the chequered career of this quartette of students who crossed the
Atlantic together to pursue their studies abroad.

It is distressing to think of these hard-working and promising young men thus falling by the
way prematurely, McKenzie from inhaling gas during an experiment; Bayne from cancer of them
stomach, Purves from rapid consumption and McGregor from heart failure.  It is interesting to
conjecture what they might have accomplished had their lives been spared, for they were all
men of fine ability, ambition and manhood.

The following list, though far from complete, gives the names of some of those who have been
leaders in the educational life of Canada, as well as, of those who now uphold the prestige
of their native County.

BAYNE, HERBERT A., Heidelberg, (Ph. D., 1876), F.R.S.C.
Professor of Chmistry, Royal Military College, Kingston, Can.  Died 1886.

CAMERON, JAMES S., M.Sc., McGill University.
A member of the staff of the Technical Institute, Montreal.  His home was Stellarton.

CAMPBELL, DONALD F.,  M.A., Ph.D.
Son of George and Ellen (Gunn) Campbell; born in 1867; Educated Dal.Univ., (B.A., 1890, and
Harvard Univ., Ph.D., 1898), married Miss Lou R. Bates, Davidson, Conn., 1906; Instructor in
mathematics, Lawrence Science School of  Harvard Univ., 1897-1901; Prof. of mathematics and
head of the Mathematical Department in the Armour Institute of Technology, Chicago, Ill.,
since 1903; Author of a text-book on mathematics, extensively used in the Colleges.

CAMPBELL, WILLIAM R., A.M., Dal. Univ., 1887.
Principal Truro Academy, 1887-1907.  Inspector of Schools for Colchester Co., since 1907.  In
1908 he was appointed lecturer in English in the Agricultural College, Truro, N. S.  The
Campbell Bros. were born at East River, St. Mary's, Pictou Co.

CREIGHTON, JAMES E., Ph.D., LL.D.
Born West River, 1861; attended Pictou Academy two years; taught schools for three years, was
graduated from Dalhousie College in 1887; pursued post graduate studies in Cornell University
and in Germany; married Miss Katherine F. McLean, in 1892.  He is now professor of Logic and
Metaphysics in Cornell University; editor of The Philosophical Review, and American editor of
the Kant-Studien. Published a monograph on the "Will and its Functions," and "An Introductory
Logic," 3d edition 1910 (Macmillan and Co.).  Contributor of many papers to philosophical
journals; received the degree of A. B., at Dalhousie, in 1887, that of Ph.D., from Cornell in
1892, LL.D., from Queen's Univ., in 1903, and Dal. Univ., 1914.  Brother of William 0.
Creighton, West River.

CREIGHTON, GRAHAM, B. A., Dal. Univ., 1904.
Born at West River; Inspector of Schools for Halifax Co.

CONNOLLY, CORNELIUS J., Ph.D., (Munich).
Professor of Biology, St. Francis Xavier's College, Antigonish.

CUMMING, MELVILLE, B.A., B.S.A.
Principal, Agricultural College, Truro. The college was formerly opened in 1905. Principal
Cumming is a native of Pictou County, a graduate of Dal. Univ., and of the Agricultural
College, Guelph, Ont.  He is a son of Rev. Thos. Cumming, D.D.

DAWSON, A. S.
Chief Engineer of the Department of Natural Resources, Calgary, Alberta; a native of Pictou,
grand nephew of Sir William Dawson.

DAWSON, GEORGE MERCER, C.M.G., LL.D., F.R.S.

Mr. Dawson was born in Pictou in 1849. He was the eldest son of Sir William Dawson, the well
known Principal of McGill Univ. He took a course in the Royal School of Mines, London, where
he not only graduated with honors but took the Duke of Cornwall scholarship and the Edward
Forbes prize.  Returning to Canada, he began original researches in geology.  In 1873 he was
appointed geologist and botanist of the British North American Boundary Commission; and his
report is one of the classics of Canadian geology.  In 1875, he was appointed to the staff of
the Canadian Geological Survey; and entered on a remarkable career of exploration of
northwestern North America.  In 1891 he became a fellow of the Royal Society of England.
During the same year received the Bigsby medal for eminent researches in geology.  In 1892 he
was decorated with the order of Companion of St. Michael and St. George.  In 1893, he was
elected President of the Royal Society of Canada, and in 1895 Director of the Geological
Survey.

It falls to few men to have so many high honors and grave responsibilities thrust on them in
so short a life; the succession is probably without parallel in Canada's history; yet it is
the common judgment that the honors were fully merited, the responsibilities borne in such
manner as to add renown to the country and the Crown.  Dr. Dawson's career was a credit to
Canada, and an eloquent testimony to the wisdom of the nation in recognizing and utilizing
the talents of her sons.  He died in 1901, in his 52d year, after an illness of but a few
hours.

DAWSON, WILLIAM BELL, D.Sc., F.R.S.C.
The second son of Sir Wm. Dawson was born in Pictou, 1854.  Mr. Dawson is a graduate of
McGill Univ., in Arts and Engineering.  In 1875, he won the Degree of Bachelor of Applied
Science, with certificate of special merit in Engineering, which is the highest distinction
in that course of study. In November, 1875 he studied in Paris - the highest School of
Engineering in France, and one of the first in Europe.  The course of study extends over
three years. He passed as the first of his class, in 1878.  On returning to Canada, Mr.
Dawson entered upon professional business in Montreal.  In 1881 he undertook a survey of a
part of the Gold Fields in Nova Scotia; was next in the employ of the Dominion Bridge
Company, the most important of his designs being the Cantilever Bridge over the St. John
River.  For nine years he was assistant engineer on the Canada Pacific Railway.  Since 1893
he has been Supt. of the Survey of Tides and Currents, Department of Marine, Canada.  Both of
Dr. Dawson's sons inherited much of the intellectual power and industry of their
distinguished father.

FINLAYSON, JOHN N., M.Sc., McGill Univ.
Was born at Merigomish. He was educated at Pictou Academy and the School of Applied Science,
McGill Univ.; and took his degree in 1908.  He was appointed Professor of Civil Engineering,
Dal. Univ., Halifax, 1913.

FRASER, ALEXANDER D., M.A. (Dal.) Ph.D., (Johns Hopkins).
Graduated from Dal. Univ., in 1910, with High Honors in classics, and took a post graduate
course at Johns Hopkins and Harvard. Substituting in classics at Pictou and Halifax
Academies.  He is the son of the late Rev. J. W. Fraser of Scotsburn.

FRASER, JAMES W., M.SC., McGill Univ., 1901.
Was born Bridgeville, 1874; married Miss Annie L. McGillivray; instructor Electrical
Engineering McGill Univ., 1899 - 1901; Assistant Chief Engineer Southern Power Co.,
Charlotte, N. C., since 1905; Contributor to the Electrical Reviews.

FRASER, WILLIAM.
Studied in Dal. College. For forty years teacher in Scotsburn District.  Among the clergymen
taught by him were John McMillan, George Murray, Kenneth McKay, John Murray, James Murray and
James Fitzpatrick.  Other well known teachers were Alexander Grant, Roderick McLean,
Alexander Ross and Norman Logan.

FRASER, WILLIAM A., Poet and Novelist.
Born and educated in Pictou County; spent his youth in New York and Boston. When quite young
he went to India where he remained seven years; had five years' experience in the Canadian
Northwest; some of his tales are connected with these Eastern and Western Lands.  He has
written many short stories, these appearing in the leading American and: "The Eye of a God,"
"Mooswa and Others of the Boundaries," "The Outcasts," "Brave Hearts," "Thirteen Men," "The
Lone Furrow," (1907); wrote a national song entitled "Canada, God and Our Land." He is a
master of the short story, and is sometimes called "The Canadian Kipling."  He resides at
Georgetown, Ont.

FRASER, WILLIAM P., M.A.
Professor in Biology, McDonald College, St. Anne's, Que.
Mr. Fraser was born at French River. He was a former member of the Pictou Academy Staff.

FRASER, WILLIAM R., Ph.D., (Johns Hopkins).
Formerly Lecturer in Classics, McGill Univ., was born at West River.  He is now conducting a
private school in Montreal.  He was for many years a successful teacher of Classics in Pictou
Academy.

HARRIS, GEORGE WILLIAM, Librarian, Cornell Univ.
Son of the late John F. Harris, and nephew of a former Sheriff of the County. He graduated
from Cornell University in 1873; and has ever since that time been connected with the library
of the University, becoming head librarian in 1890.  He is a recognized authority on
bibliographical matters, being a life member of the Bibliographical Society of London, and of
the American Library Society. He has contributed many articles to library journals, and is
editor of the Library Bulletin of Cornell University.  He was born in Pictou town, in 1849,
and received his preparatory education at Pictou Academy.

HEPBURN, WILLIAM MURRAY, M.A., Dal. Univ., (1895.)
Chief Librarian-Purdue Univ., La Fayette, Ind.

JOHNSON, ALLEN C., Ph.D., (Johns Hopkins).
Assistant Professor in Classics, Princeton, N. J.  Some time tutor in classics (Dal).

JOHNSTONE, J. H. L., B.Sc., (Dal.).
Born at Pictou, 1891.  Graduated from Dalhousie University in 1911 with High Honors in
Mathematics and Physics. Appointed Instructor in Physics, Dal. Univ., 1912.

KENNEDY, WILLIAM T.
Principal of Halifax Academy. Died 1907.  The Presbyterian Witness says of him, "Mr. Kennedy
was born at Sunny Brae, of good Highland Stock.  He was the stamp of a man we should like to
see at the head of our institutions of learning; genuinely Christian, rigorously correct in
life and work, never flinching from  the path of duty.  As a teacher, his merits have been
recognized all over the country."

LOGAN, JOHN D., M.A., (Dal., 1894), Ph.D., Harvard (1896).
Is a well known educationist and man of letters.  He was born in the Town of Pictou; educated
at the Dal. Univ., where he graduated with High Honors in philosophy in 1893.  Subsequently
he studied at Harvard Univ. For some years he was head of the Dept. of Philosophy in the
Univ., of South Dakota; from 1908-1910 he was literary and musical critic of the Toronto
Sunday World.  Since then he has been on the editorial staff of the Toronto News.  He is
author of a number of books and of articles on Philosophy, Literature and Art. Author:
"Preludes, Sonnets and other Verses," "Songs of the Makers of Canada," with an introductory
critical essay on Canadian poetry.

McBAIN, ALEXANDER ROSS, B.A., (Dal.) M.A., McGill Univ.
Professor in the Protestant High School, Montreal, Can.

McCOLL, RODERICK.
Is a son of the late Jeffrey McColl, of New Glasgow; born there, 1866.  Graduated from the
Royal Military College, Kingston, 1886; from 1904 to 1913 was Provincial Engineer for the
Province, with headquarters at Halifax, N. S.  His brother Archibald McColl is Secretary and
Chief Accountant for the Nova Scotia Steel Works, New Glasgow.

McCULLOCH, MICHAEL, Educationist.
A son of Dr. McCulloch, came to Pictou with his father at about three years of age.  He was
one of the first class which passed through the Academy.  In 1824 he was appointed his
father's successor, teaching Classics and Mathematics.   After the institution closed he
taught a private school in Pictou and was afterwards Principal of the Yarmouth Academy.  He
died in his eighty-third year. Mr. McCulloch was a man of strong powers of mind and accurate
scholarship.

McCULLOCH, THOMAS, Professor in Dalhousie University.
Was a son of Dr. McCulloch of the Academy, and was appointed to aid Prof. Ross in the
Classical and Philosophical Departments in the West River and Truro Seminaries.  When
Dalhousie College was reorganized, in 1863, he was transferred from Truro to Halifax to form
a part of the Dalhousie Faculty.  Both sons of Dr. McCulloch spent their lives in the work of
higher education, and were thus worthy sons of a worthy sire.

MacDONALD, ARTHUR C., C. E.
Is a member of the firm MacDonald and Gibbs, with offices at London, England and Chili, South
America.  The Chilian Northern Railway, which runs through the Chilian Desert, was built by
him.  It is 430 miles long, and cost $15,000,000. He also built the Bolivia Railway.  This
road is 823 ft., above the sea level and is said to be one of the highest points ever reached
by a railway.  Mr. MacDonald was born in the town of Pictou; is a younger brother of the late
Charles D. MacDonald, Barrister, of Edmonton, and a cousin of E. M. Macdonald, M. P.

MACDONALD, ALEXANDER H., a veteran, San Francisco Educator.
Mr. MacDonald was for fifty-one years identified with the common schools of California,
thirty-two of which he was Principal of the Lincoln Evening School, San Francisco.  He was
born at Sunny Brae, in 1830, and was a brother of Rev. F. R. MacDonald.

McDONALD, DANIEL.
Born at Barney's River; Educated at West River Seminary, appointed Inspector of Schools for
Pictou County in 1869, retired in 1879.  Died 1880, aged 71 years.

MACDONALD, DONALD F., M. Sc.
Son of John J. MacDonald, Merigomish.  In 1905 he graduated from Washington Univ.,
Washington, D. C.  He also took the degree of Mining Engineer and Master of Science from same
university.  He then did two years, work in the Graduate School of Geology in the Univ. of
Chicago.  From 1909 to 1910 he was in charge of the work in Geology at Tulane Univ., New
Orleans.  He is now on the U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C.

McINTOSH, DOUGLAS, B.Sc.,(Dal.) D.Sc. Cornell, F.R.S.C.
Associate Prof. of Chemistry, McGill Univ., was born in New Glasgow.  He is the author of
several valuable papers on Chemical subjects, the results of long experimenting and original
study, which have been published in the leading Chemical Journals of the day.  He took his B.
A. degree at Dalhousie, and also studied in Cornell and in Germany.

McINTOSH, HENRY HAVELOCK.
Inspector of Schools for Lunenburg and Queens, is a native of Merigomish, and was educated at
Pictou Academy and Dal. Univ.

MACKAY, ALEXANDER H., M.A., F.R.S.C., LL.D.
Supt. of Education of Nova Scotia, was born at Plainfield, a district which has contributed
many able men to the intellectual life of Canada.  He was educated at Pictou Academy, and
Normal School, Truro; graduated from Dal. Univ., with distinction in Mathematics and Physics,
1873; B.Sc., with Honors in Biology, in 1880, from the Univ. of Halifax.  The Degree of
LL.D., was conferred upon him by Dal. Univ., in 1892.  He married Maud A., daughter of the
late Dr. G. M. Johnstone, Pictou, 1882.  He was Principal of Pictou Academy for sixteen
years, (1873-1899); Halifax Academy (1889-1890); since then Supt. of Education for Nova
Scotia.  He organized the Summer School of Science for the Atlantic Provinces, and assisted
in the founding of the Educational Review, St. John, N. B.  He is a Governor of Dal. Univ.,
and was a delegate to the Conference on Education, London, England, 1907.  Dr. MacKay is one
of Canada's foremost Educationists and Scientists.

MACKAY, EBENEZER, B.A.,(Dal.) Ph.D., (Johns Hopkins).  McLeod Professor of Chemistry Dal.
Univ., graduated from Dal. Univ., in 1886, with first class honors in Experimental Physics
and Chemistry and the Mackenzie Gold Medal, and from Johns Hopkins Univ., Ph.D., 1896;
Special Studies at Harvard Univ.; Principal of New Glasgow High School for six years; McLeod
Prof. of Chemistry and Mineralogy at Dal. Univ., since 1896.  Prof. MacKay is a native of
Plainfield, where he was born in 1864.

MACKAY, HENRY MARTYN, B.A., (Dal.), M.Sc.
Professor of Civil Engineering, McGill Univ., is a brother of Prof. Ebenezer MacKay, and was
born in 1868.  Educated in Pictou Academy and Dal. Univ.; B.A., with honors in pure and
applied Mathematics, 1888, and B.Sc., with Governor General's medal for highest general
standing 1894; married, 1910, Lillian Norton Evans, Montreal; Mathematical Master, Pictou
Academy, for five years; in 1908 was made Professor and head of the Civil Engineering Dept.,
McGill Univ., Montreal, where he is acknowledged to be a high authority in his profession.

MACKAY, IRA ALLAN, B.A., LL.B.
Professor of Philosophy and Political Science, Univ., of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Sask., is
the eldest son of Robert MacKay, Millsville; B.A., Dal. Univ., with honors in Philosophy,
1897; M.A., 1898; LL.B., 1905; Ph.D., Cornell Univ., 1901; called to Bar 1895; Successfully
practiced his profession in Halifax and Winnipeg for several years.  Since 1910 has been
connected with the Univ., of Saskatchewan.  Dr. MacKay was a well known scholar and an author
of some note, publishing, "Canadian Nationality" in 1907.

MACKAY, KENNETH G., M.Sc.
Was born at Scotsburn; educated at the Agricultural College, Guelph, Ont., and the Moody
Institute, Chicago; graduated B.Sc., Toronto Univ., 1906, and M.Sc., Iowa State College, U.
S. A., 1913.  He is now assistant Dairy Commissioner for the Province of Saskatchewan with
headquarters at Regina.

MACKAY, NORMAN C., B.Sc., Toronto Univ., 1911.
Brother of Kenneth G. MacKay; Lecturer on Agriculture for the Ontario Government.

MACLELLAN, ROBERT, LL.D., Principal of Pictou Academy.
Is the second son of the late John Maclellan, Esq., of Durham.  His early education was
received at the Grammar School, Durham and at Pictou Academy.  He entered Dal., College in
1870, and led his classes at the end of the term in Mathematics and English and divided
honors in Classics; married Miss Martha M. Fraser.  Took charge of the Preparatory Department
of Pictou Academy, 1873; appointed English and Classical Master in 1877; Government Inspector
of Schools for the Counties of Pictou and So. Colchester, 1883; called to the Principalship
of Pictou Academy on the retirement of Dr. MacKay, 1889, in which position he is now
completing his twenty-fifth year, one fourth of the whole lifetime of the Academy.  In
addition he taught Classics, as a colleague of Dr. MacKay, for six years.

In 1908, the Senate of Dal. Univ., conferred on him the honorary degree of LL.D. In
presenting him Prof. Murray, Dean of the Senate said: "Pictou Academy has been singularly
fortunate in having at its head a long line of men who have earned distinction both as
teachers and leaders in the educational world, and among these our distinguished Alumnus,
Robert Maclellan, holds a high and honorable place.  In recognition of the high character of
his work as a teacher and of the eminent success of his Principalship, I ask you, Mr.
President in the name of the Senate of this University to confer the degree of Doctor of
Laws, honoris causa, on Robert Maclellan."

MACLEOD, JAMES D., B.A., (Dal.).
Professor of Mathematics, Western Canada College, Calgary, is the son of Mr. William Macleod,
Scotsburn.  He was educated at Pictou Academy and Dal, Univ., Halifax, where he won the North
British Society Bursary.  For two years he was Principal of the Public Schools of Westville,
and for two years Mathematical Master at Pictou and Sydney Academies.

MACLEOD, JOHN W., M.A.
Professor of Mathematics, St. Francis Xavier's College Antigonish, was born at Scotsburn,
educated at Pictou Academy, St. Francis Xavier's College and McGill Univ., Montreal.  For
four years he was Principal of the Public Schools of the town of Stellarton, and three years
Prof. of Mathematics, St. Francis Xavier's College.  A member of the engineering staff of The
Halifax Ocean Terminals. A sister, Anna Elizabeth Macleod, graduated from Dal. Univ., in 1906
with "Great Distinction."  For five years she was Principal of the Protestant Schools of
Antigonish.  She is married to Rev. A. A. Macleod, B. D., Trenton.

MCLEOD, DONALD F.
Graduated from Cornell College of Civil Engineering in the class of 1907.  He
is a native of Middle River, and was for some time Principal of the Trenton Schools.  He is
now located in Florida.

MCLEOD, FRANK THOMAS, B.A., (Dal.).
High School Teacher, Victoria, B. C.

MCLEOD, JOHN W., B.A., Univ. of London, 1913.
Principal of the High School, New Glasgow, N. S.

MACKENZIE, WILLIAM B., Canadian Railway Service.
Born at Kenzieville, 1848; entered the Railway -Service, 1872; since 1897 has been chief
engineer of the Intercolonial Railway with offices at Moncton, N. B.

MACKENZIE, WILLIAM R., B.A., (Dal.), Ph.D., (Harvard).
Professor of English Literature in Washington Univ., St. Louis, Mo.  His brother Thomas E.
Mackenzie, B.A., is a mining engineer in Mexico; both are sons of Archibald Mackenzie, Esq.,
River John.

McKENZIE, JOHN JAMES, M.A., (Dal.), Ph.D., Univ. of Leipsic, 1877.
Died 1879. Professor of Physics, Dal. Univ.

McLEAN, HERBERT B., M.A., Ph.D., (McGill Univ.).
Professor in the Technical High School, Montreal.  His brother W. B. McLean, B.Sc., is a
consulting Engineer in Montreal.  The McLean brothers are sons of James McLean, Postmaster,
Pictou.

McKIMMIE, ANDERSON, B.A., (Princeton Univ.).
Assistant Professor in French, Mass. Agricultural College. Amherst, Mass., is a great
grandson of the late Rev. Duncan Ross, of West River, and grand nephew of the late Principal
Ross of Dalhousie College.

MATHESON, HOWARD W., B.Sc., (Dal.), M.Sc., (McGill).
Was born at Lime Rock; received his Master's Degree at McGill Univ., and was awarded the
Governor's Medal for Graduate Research.  In 1911 he accepted a position on the Chemical staff
of the Du Pont Powder Co., Wilmington, Del.

MATHESON, ROBERT, B.Sc., Ph.D., (Cornell).
Son of Walter Matheson, Lime Rock; he was Professor of Entomology in the State College of
Agriculture, So. Dakota, 1907-1909; Provincial Entomologist, Agricultural College, Truro,
1912-1913; appointed for Research Work, Cornell Univ., 1913.

MURRAY, DANIEL A., B.A., (Dal.) Ph.D., (Johns Hopkins).
Is the son of the late Angus Murray, Scotsburn, a community which has produced some of the
best men in the Province.  The family moved to Truro when Mr. Murray was a boy of six years.
He graduated with honors from Dal., College in 1884; studied at Johns Hopkins, Berlin and
Paris; married Alice M. Malloch, Hamilton, Ont., in 1906.  Professsor of Mathematics in the
University of New  York and Dalhousie; since 1907 has been Professor of Applied Mathematics
in McGill Univ.  He is the author of several Mathematical Text Books adopted by many colleges
and High Schools, among them "Differential Equations," "Integral Calculus," "Plane
Trigonometry," "Infinitesimal Calculus."  President Schurman says of him:  "He is a man of
the highest abilities."  He has two brothers practising medicine; Dr. H. V. Murray, Honolulu,
and Dr. L. N. Murray, Halifax.

MURRAY, EBENEZER H., B.A., Ph.B., Univ. of Chicago.
Supt. of Schools, Montana, is a native of Plainfield, and a brother of Dr. D. Murray,
Campbellton, N. B., and Murdoch Murray, General Secretary, Y. M. C. A., Hyde Park, Mass.

MURRAY, HOWARD, B.A., (Lond.) LL.D., (Toronto).
McLeod Professor of Classics, Dalhousie Univ.  Mr. Murray is a son of the late Dr. George
Murray and was born at New Glasgow, 1859.  Was Canadian Gilchrist Scholar in 1881, B.A.,
Univ. of London, England; studied in Edinburgh Univ; married, Janet, daughter of the last
George Hattie, Halifax, 1890; successively teacher in Guysboro Academy, New Glasgow High
School and Halifax Academy; Professor of Classics in Dal. Univ., since 1894 and Dean of the
College since 1901; he is the author of a book on "Classics, Their Use and Future Prospects."
As a classical authority, his reputation stands high.

PATTERSON, GEORGE, D.D., LL.D.
Was born at Pictou, 1824, and died at his home in New Glasgow, 1897, in the seventy-fourth
year of his age.  He was educated at Pictou Academy and the
U. P. Theological Hall, Edinburgh.  On his return to Nova Scotia, in 1849, he was inducted
minister, at Green Hill where he labored for twenty-seven years.  He then resigned and moved
to New Glasgow where he resided until his death.  In the Presbyterian Church, Dr. Patterson
was recognized as a man of prominence and usefulness.  He was an authority in Ecclesiastical
law, and procedure. Though not settled as a minister, in charge, for over twenty-one years,
he went far and wide, supplying vacant churches, organizing Home Mission Stations, and at the
same time taking a most lively interest in the Courts of the church.  Probably there is no
man now living who has traversed the Maritime Provinces as thoroughly, or known so much of
the past and present of every section.  Dr. Patterson was a devoted friend of Foreign
Missions and of Public Education. He was one of the founders of the Widows and Orphans Fund
and for many years its manager.  He was a prolific writer; his Life of his grandfather, Dr.
McGregor is a most readable biography.  His Life of Dr. Geddie, and a companion volume on
Matheson and his wife, and S. F. Johnston, are excellent missionary books. His history of
Pictou Co., is a work which involved an immense amount of care and pains and is of the
highest value in many respects.  His work on the Trinity is an able discussion of a difficult
theme.  Highly noteworthy are his scientific and historical papers, read before various
societies-papers that are of permanent value.  His son, Hon. George Geddie Patterson, Judge
of the County Court, resides in the old home in New Glasgow, N. S.

POOLE, HENRYS, M.A., Kings College, Windsor, D.Sc. London, F.R.S.
Was born at Stellarton, 1844; educated Kings College and Royal School of Mines, London, Eng.;
Inspector of Coal Mines for Nova Scotia, 1872-1878; subsequently general Manager Acadia Coal
Co., Stellarton, retiring in 1901.  He is now a resident in England.

POTTINGER, DAVID.
Was for fifty years in the service of the Intercolonial Railway; was born in Pictou, in 1843;
entered the Railway Service as clerk in 1863; chief Supt. of the Intercolonial from
1879-1892; General Manager Canadian Government Railways, 1892-1904; since then has been a
member of the Railway Managing Board.  Mr. Pottinger has had an honorable career and is a
thoroughly practical railway man.

ROBINSON, CHARLES B., M.A., (Dal.).
Was the only son of C. B. Robinson of Pictou.  He graduated at Dalhousie College in the class
of 1892, winning the Univ. Medal, and taught the Science Departments for several years in the
Academies of Kentville and Pictou.  His bent as a naturalist was strong, and after having
familiarized himself with the botany of Eastern Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the Lower St.
Lawrence, he spent some years at Cambridge Univ., England, one of the great botany schools of
the world.  Association with a party of field workers in Pictou County sent out by Columbia
Univ., N. Y., led to his being invited to take up work at the Bronx Museum, New York, about
ten years ago, subsequent to which he received an appointment, under the United States
Government, to classify the flora of the Philippines.  After two years spent in the Islands,
he returned to New York leaving for Manila, in September, 1912.  On the 21st of December,
1913, he was killed by natives of Amboyna Island, Malay Archipelago, where he had undertaken
an expedition for the study of the flora of the Island.  He was forty-one years of age and
unmarried.  He was a young man of fine natural ability and attained high rank as a botanist.

ROSS, WILLIAM H., B.Sc., (Dal.) Ph.D., (Chicago).
Was appointed to the position of Soil Chemistry in the U. S. Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D.C.  He is a native of River John, and a graduate of Dalhousie Univ., where he
was nominated to the Science Research Scholarship in 1904.  The line of work which he is
taking up consists of an endeavor to find some economical method for the extraction of potash
from feldspar.  This compound is used as one of the principal constituents of artificial
fertilizers, and is at present imported from Germany to a large extent. He is assistant
editor of "Chemical Abstracts," one of the largest Scientific journals published.

ROSS, ALEXANDER, B.A., (Dal.) 1867.
Was born at Scotsburn.  Teacher and Educator; Principal of High School, Dalhousie, N. B.
Retired and residing in Halifax.

STRAMBURG, HECTOR M., B.A., (Dal.) 1875.
Principal of the High School, New Westminster, B. C., is a native of River John.

SULLIVAN, CHARLES, B.A., (Dal.) Ph.D., (Chicago), M.Sc., McGill.
Assistant Professor Mathematics, McGill Univ., was born and educated in New Glasgow, and is
assistant to Prof. D. A. Murray.

TAIT, WILLIAM D., B.A., (Dal.) Ph.D., (Harvard).
Assistant Professor of Experimental Psychology, McGill Univ., was born at Hopewell, 1879, and
is of Scottish origin.  He won honors in Philosophy in Dalhousie, and pursued a thorough
course of study at Harvard, receiving his degree in 1909.  He married Mary Alice, daughter of
the late Edward Maxwell, Halifax, 1909.  Dr. Tait, in his department, has carried on original
research which has been highly commended by the Univ., authorities.

WILSON, JOHN
Was born in New Glasgow in 1877.  He early exhibited a talent for sculpture; studied under
Bela Pratt and Henry Kitson of Boston, has executed several commissions very successfully,
including Soldiers Monument at Brownfield, Me., Firemen's Monument at Forest Hills Cemetery,
Boston.  He conducts a school of sculpture at Boston.

A nation is rich indeed which has such men as those above named among its assets.  For they
were, first of all, men.  One does not have to apologize for blots and stains in their lives,
as an American must do for Poe, an Englishman for Byron, or a Scotsman for Burns.  Pictou
County is justly proud of having given birth to these moulders of thought.  Through them, it
has made a monumental contribution to the ultimate history of this still young nation-it has
put something of the touch of sublimity into the morning of our national life. Canada
occupies the latitude whence sprang the greatest nations of history; no better or more
promising people than hers ever broke virgin sod; she has a high destiny to idealize and
realize; these worthies of Pictou County are among the best of the first fruits; they afford
a cheering assurance that our Dominion's destiny is to excel in all which makes a nation's
truest life-purposeful culture, guided by sanctified conscience.

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*Pictonians at Home and Abroad Electronic Edition Editors:
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Richard MacNeil