Late
Robert Matheson
On 25 Nov 1917 at Chicago,
Robert Matheson, B.A., an old-time resident of Simcoe, passed to the
life beyond. Mr. Matheson was born in Kirkaldy, Scotland, in 1833,
being at the time of his death in his 83rd year.
He was one of a family of 12
children, of whom seven were born in Scotland, and five in
Simcoe.
Walter Matheson of Vancouver is the only surviving member of the
family.
The family came from Scotland
to Simcoe in 1842, the ocean passage occupying a period of 10 weeks.
Mr. Matheson was a student of the Simcoe Grammar School, of which
George M. Evans was principal. Competing his course, he
entered Toronto University, and in 1856 obtained his degree and the
gold medal for proficiency in natural science.
He then for a short time
taught in the Olds school, near Simcoe, and then for quite a number
of years was principal of the Grammar Schools at Milton, Berlin,
Chatham and Napanee.
He next engaged in
journalistic work, owning successively The Milton Champion, St.
Catharines News and Clinton News Era.
About 1880 he moved to
Chicago where he owned and edited the Chicago Canadian-American.
Nature had favored him with a
remarkably fine constitution, and all his life, up to the day of his
passing, he was physically and mentally as active as when in his
youth he beat Lewis O'Connor in a foot race over the Long Bridge 67
years ago.
From his youth he was a man
of pure mind and high ideals, strongly imbued with the love of
his fellowmen. This made him what he was -- a boy at heart all his
long life.
In politics he took an active
part and was, logically, a Liberal, but in the past month or two his
sympathy was strongly in favor of the new Union Win-the-War
Government.
Mr. Matheson leaves a widow,
two sons and three daughters, all residents of Chicago.
He was for over half a
century a member of the Masonic Order and was an ardent believer in
the doctrines of Swedenborg.
