[herrington] first LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO 243 



election of 1871 he did not again offer himself as a candidate for any 

 public office. The declining health and death of his two sons cast 

 upon his shoulders again the burden of his many business interests 

 and he resumed to a large extent the management of them. His 

 wife died in January 1882 and he survived her by a little over two years, 

 dying in April, 1884, and was buried in the Riverside Cemetery at 

 Napanee. 



ADDENDA. 



Of the eighty-two members who assembled at the opening of the 

 first Legislature of Ontario, not one is living to-day. The last two 

 survivors were J. C. Rykert and Robert Christie. 



John Charles Rykert, K.C., was educated at Upper Canada Col- 

 lege, where he was a class-mate of the late Hon. Edward Blake. He 

 sat in the old parliament of Canada for several years before confedera- 

 tion, having been elected twice by acclamation. At the time of Con- 

 federation and twice again, in 1871 and in 1876, he was elected to the 

 Legislature of Ontario. His political career was not always as smooth 

 as the above record might indicate. He was defeated on several 

 occasions and unseated more than once. He was of U. E. L. descent, 

 a Conservative, and died on December 27th, 1913, in his 83rd year. 



Robert Christie was born in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, in 

 1826, and came to Canada in 1833 with his uncle, Robert Christie, 

 who settled in the township of Dumfries in the county of Waterloo. 

 As he grew up he was engaged in farming and lumbering in the town- 

 ships of Flamborough and Beverly in the county of Wentworth and 

 also had an interest in a general store. In 1867 he offered himself 

 as a candidate and was elected to the first Legislative Assembly as the 

 representative of North Wentworth. He was re-elected in 1871 but 

 in 1875 was defeated by Thos. Stock who secured a majority of 22 

 votes. In 1881 he moved to Wiarton with the intention of engaging 

 again in the lumbering business but, being offered the position of 

 inspector of public institutions in 1882, he accepted it. In 1890 his 

 duties were narrowed down to an oversight of the hospitals for the 

 insane. He was a man of an extremely kind disposition, and his heart 

 went out to the unfortunates placed under his superintendence, and 

 the many improvements in their care and maintenance are laregly 

 due to the adoption of the recommendations made by him on their 

 behalf. He discharged the duties of his office until he attained his 

 four score years when he tendered his resignation and lived a retired 

 life in Toronto until March 8th, 1914, when he passed away in his 

 88th year. 



Thomas Murray of Pembroke is the only survivor of the first 

 legislature of Ontario. He was not a member at the time of Confedera- 



