Alexander Murray. 79 
Mr. Murray was a friend of my late father, the Rev. 
Andrew Bell, who had given much attention to the geology 
of Upper Canada and had mapped the distribution of the 
rocks in the lake peninsula, according to the divisions which 
had been made by the geologists of the State of New York, 
before the commencement of the government Geological 
Survey of Canada. It was when on a visit to my father, in 
1850, who was then living in Dundas, that I first saw Mr. 
Murray. Although only a boy at that time, I had a dis- 
tinct recollection of him as a bright, genial and pleasant 
looking man. On this occasion my older brothers assisted 
him to measure the strata in the cliffs around the head of 
Lake Ontario, among which was the ‘Sydenham Road 
Section,” published in his report for that year and which 
has been so often used for reference in regard to the rocks 
of the surrounding country. During this visit, my father, 
who was familiar with the country northward to Georgian 
Bay, furnished Mr. Murray with information which enabled 
him to lay out his time, in examining it, to the best advan- 
tage—all of which he acknowledged in his report to the 
government. I renewed Mr. Murray’s acquaintance in 
1857, when I joined the staff of the Geological Survey, and 
have followed his labors to the close of his life. 
When in St. John’s in the winter of 1868-69, I was 
requested by the government to give evidence as to the 
value of Mr. Murray’s survey of the island. This evidence 
was published by the government, and was said to have 
influenced the legislature in continuing the survey. 
It was during 1868 that Mr. Murray was fortunate enough 
to secure the services of Mr. James P. Howley, who con- 
tinued to assist him with so much ability in the prosecution 
of the survey until his retirement in 1883, since which 
time, with one interruption, Mr. Howley has carried on the 
work alone up to the present year. 
Before attempting to trace Murray’s career as a geolo- 
gist, we shall notice briefly his family history up to 
the time of his leaving for Newfoundland, and further on 
give a similar notice of his domestic relations in that 
