A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time. Various
received a special license in the same department. In the College of Physicians and Surgeons he was the successful competitor for the second prize in surgery under Prof. Patrick Heron Watson. He then went to London, England, where he spent some time in visiting the different hospitals and in further professional study. In the latter part of 1874 he returned to Fredericton, N.B., began the practice of his profession, and has remained there ever since. Dr. Currie’s student life was marked by careful study and constantly advanced standing. On June 15, 1881, he was appointed assistant surgeon of the 71st York battalion of the Active Militia of Canada, and on the 25th of December, 1883, was promoted to be surgeon of the same corps, which office he still holds. Dr. Currie is secretary and registrar of the Council of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick, and has constantly held this office since the organization of the council in July, 1881. He is a member of the Provincial Board of Health of New Brunswick, and also secretary of the board; both appointments date from June 1st, 1887, when the Public Health Act went into operation. In virtue of his position as secretary of the Provincial Board of Health, he is chief health officer for the province. Dr. Currie is at present a member of the council of the Associated Alumni of the University of New Brunswick, and has been since June, 1885. He is also a coroner for York county, N.B. This appointment dates from October 17, 1882. He is a member of the New Brunswick Medical Society and of the Canada Medical Association, and at present is vice-president for New Brunswick of the Canada Medical Association. In 1886 he was appointed a delegate from this association to the meeting of the American Health Society, held in Toronto, October, 1886. He is also a member of several secret societies. He became associated with the Independent Order of Oddfellows, August 22, 1881; with the Independent Order of Foresters, October 1, 1881; and with the American Legion of Honour, September 28, 1880. He still continues his membership in, and is physician to, each of these societies. His travels were not important, and only such as were necessary in the prosecution of study or on business. His religious views have always been those held by the Baptist church, but he was not united with any religious society until 1867, when he became a member of the Fredericton Baptist Church. On the 5th of June, 1877, he was married to Helen M. Estey, second daughter of the late Harris S. Estey. The first representative of this family in New Brunswick was Zebulon Estey, who came to New Brunswick from Newburyport, Mass., about 1765. Before leaving Newburyport he was married to Mollie Brown. After coming to New Brunswick they had a large family, one member of which, Nehemiah B. Estey, was great-grandfather of Harris S. Estey. Dr. Currie has been eminently successful in every respect in the practice of his profession. He was the originator and one of the principal promoters of the movement which led to the passage of the New Brunswick Medical Act. He is devoted to his profession, giving his whole time to it, and taking a lively interest in everything which pertains to its well-being.
Elliott, Andrew, Almonte, one of the most enterprising of our woollen manufacturers, was born on the 3rd April, 1809, at Stanishwater, parish of Westerkirk, Eskdale, Scotland. His father, William Elliott, and his mother, Jane Jardine, were both natives of Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Mr. Elliott received his education at the Langholme and Corrie school, near Lockerby, which he left at the age of thirteen, and began the battle of life unaided. In 1834 he came to Canada, and two years after his arrival he began business as a grocer in Galt, Ontario. Here he did a good business, built a distillery, ran it for several years, sold it out, and joined Robert Hunt, of Preston, in the woollen business. In 1853 they changed the factory into a four-set mill, and worked it very successfully for about ten years. About 1864, while Mr. Elliott was in Great Britain buying wool, the mill was burnt down, but on his return he rebuilt it, and associated with him in his new venture (the old partnership having been dissolved) J. L. Hunt and George Stephen (now Sir George Stephen, bart.). The new firm abandoned the manufacture of cloth, and went into that of flax and linseed oil. After spending a great deal of money in importing first-class machinery from Great Britain, Ireland and the United States, and pushing the business for about four years, they found that Canada was unsuited for such an enterprise, and parted with the concern, having lost a considerable sum of money by the venture. Mr. Elliott then sold out all his property in Preston and Galt, and purchased a woollen mill in Almonte, where for the past seventeen years he has successfully prosecuted his business. Mr. Elliott was elected district (Gore district) councillor for the township of Dumfries (Upper Canada), and in 1840 he was chosen the first reeve for the village of Galt, and occupied the position for several years. The late Hon. Robert Baldwin made him a magistrate, and in this capacity he acted for about ten years; and was sent as a delegate from the village of Galt and the township of Dumfries with an address to Lord Elgin, in Montreal, shortly after the destruction of the Parliament buildings by a mob. Mr. Elliott took an active interest in railway extension, and did his share in getting the Great Western Railway Company to build a branch line from Harrisburg to Galt. In his younger days he was a strong supporter of the Baldwin administration, and even supported the late Hon. George Brown, but refused longer to follow him as a party leader when he left the government of the day and formed the “Grit” party; and he has ever since been an opponent of the Reform party. Mr. Elliott has been a Presbyterian from his youth up. In 1839 he married Mary Hanley, a native of the county of Longford, Ireland. He has been a busy man, and now enjoys the fruits of his industry.
Morson, Walter Augustus Ormsby, Barrister, etc., Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, was born on the 24th December, 1851, at Hamilton, Prince Edward Island. His father, Richard Willock Morson, formerly of the island of Montserrat, in the West Indies, now of Upton, Dundas, Prince Edward Island, was a son of the late Richard Willock Morson, of Montserrat, and nephew of the Hon. Walter Morson, M.D., physician to the late Princess Sophia, daughter of George III. His mother, Elizabeth Codie, daughter of the late Hon. Patrick Codie, of Cascumpec, P. E. Island, and Annabella Stewart, his wife, daughter of the late Dugald Stewart, of Hamilton, P. E. Island. Mr. Morson, jr., received his education at Hamilton, and in 1866 removed to Charlottetown, where he secured employment in the “City Hardware Store.” In this situation he remained until 1872, when he gave up mercantile pursuits, and began the study of law with the Hon. W. W. Sullivan, the present attorney-general and premier of Prince Edward Island. In February, 1877, he was admitted as an attorney of the Supreme Court, and became a member of the firm of Sullivan, Maclean & Morson. In February, 1878, he was called to the bar of the Superior Court and admitted as solicitor of the Court of Chancery. In March, 1877, he was made a notary public. Mr. Maclean having retired from the above firm in 1878, it then became Sullivan & Morson, and so continued until December, 1882, when it was dissolved. Mr. Morson then entered into partnership with the Hon. Neil Macleod, M.A., and this arrangement continued until October, 1883, when Neil Macquarrie, the stipendiary magistrate of Sommerside, was admitted a partner, when the name was changed to MacLeod, Morson & Macquarrie, with offices at Summerside Charlottetown. Mr. Morson was appointed master in Chancery in 1885. In April of the same year, on the death of the Hon. John Longworth, he was appointed clerk of the Crown and prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island, and also registrar of the Court of Chancery, all of which positions he resigned in June, 1885. On the formation of the Prince Edward Island Provisional Brigade of Garrison Artillery, Mr. Morson was appointed adjutant, with rank of lieutenant, 2nd June, 1882; and on the 8th November, 1884, he obtained a first class special course certificate from the Royal School of Artillery in Quebec. He volunteered with two batteries of the brigade for the North West Territory on the outbreak of the rebellion in 1885. Mr. Morson is a busy man, yet he finds time to devote his attention to Masonry. He has been a member of Victoria lodge, No. 383, of the Registry of Scotland, since April 1870, and has held several important offices in his lodge, and been depute master. In religion Mr. Morson is a member of the Episcopal communion, and in politics belongs to the Conservative party. He is a rising man, and has a grand future before him.
Gray, James, Manager of the Merchants Bank of Canada, Perth, Lanark county, Ontario, was born on the 3rd of September, 1820, at Black Hills, parish of Elgin, Morayshire, Scotland. Arthur Gray, the father of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Morayshire, Scotland, and joined the active militia in 1809, and in 1811 was gazetted ensign in the 2nd battalion of the 24th Regiment of the line. In November of the same year he proceeded with his regiment to the Peninsula, where he joined the army under the command of the late Duke of Wellington, and served till the end of the war, during which he was present at the following battles and sieges: In the covering division at the siege and capture of Badejoz; the battle of Salamanca (where he carried the colours);