A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time: A Collection of Persons Distinguished in Professional and Political Life, Leaders in the Commerce and Industry of Canada, and Successful Pioneers
History
A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time: A Collection of Persons Distinguished in Professional and Political Life, Leaders in the Commerce and Industry of Canada, and Successful Pioneers
of the Orange body of New Brunswick. In religious matters he was a
member of the Church of England. He was first married in 1822, to Ann
Jewett; and married a second time in 1837, to Maria Ann Berton, whose
father, a son of a loyalist, was the first sheriff of York county. His
second wife survived him four years.
* * * * *
=Macfarlane, Thomas=, Chief Analyst, Inland Revenue Department, Ottawa,
Ontario, was born on the 5th March, 1834, at Pollokshaws, parish of
Eastwood, county of Renfrew, Scotland. His father, Thomas Macfarlane,
was a native of Pollokshaws, and his mother, Catherine, was born in the
adjoining parish of Mearns. Mr. Macfarlane, jr., was educated in
Pollokshaws, at the Andersonian University, Glasgow, and at the Royal
Mining School of Freiberg, in Saxony. In the latter school he studied
chemistry, metallurgy, mineralogy, and geology. After leaving Freiberg
in 1857, he travelled through the Erzgebirge and Bohemia, and then went
to Norway, as director of the Modum smelting works and Cobalt mines.
During his stay in Norway he visited most of the southern part of that
country, including Ringerike, Nummedal, Thelemarken and Saetersdal. In
1860 he emigrated to Canada, and took charge of the Acton, and
afterwards of the Albert mine in the Eastern Townships, province of
Quebec. In 1865-6 Mr. Macfarlane became field-geologist under the late
Sir William Logan, and helped that illustrious gentleman on the
geological survey of Canada. In the volume of geological reports
published in 1866, Mr. Macfarlane supplies reports on Hastings county
and the Lake Superior district. In 1868 he explored the Montreal Mining
Company’s locations on Lake Superior, and was the discoverer of the
celebrated Silver Islet mine. In 1871 he paid a visit to the mining
districts of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada; and in 1873 he revisited
England, and then travelled through Germany and Norway. On his return to
Canada, in 1876, he visited Nova Scotia and Cape Breton; also Ecuador
and Peru, and published a description of the latter journey under the
title of “To the Andes.” In 1879 he spent six months smelting in
Leadville, Colorado. In 1881, visited mining districts on the Lower
Colorado and in Southern Utah, travelling from Fort Yuma to Salt Lake
City. In 1884 he revisited England and Germany; and here we say, Mr.
Macfarlane speaks the German, French and Danish languages fluently. In
1886 he was appointed by the Dominion government chief analyst for
Canada, and is now settled down at Ottawa. In 1882 he was appointed a
member of the Royal Society, Canada, and elected president of the
Chemical section in 1886. In 1885 he became a member of the Imperial
Federation League, and in February, 1886, and January, 1887, contributed
articles to its “Journal.” Mr. Macfarlane has devoted nearly all his
life to science, and as a chemist, metallurgist, miner, and explorer, he
stands very high.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account