Thomas Guthrie Marquis

1864-1936

Thomas Guthrie Marquis (teacher, littérateur, lecturer, literary historian, Edwardian poet, and author), of Scottish origin, was born in Chatham, New Brunswick, on 4 July 1864. After high school, Marquis moved to Kingston and enrolled at Queen’s University. He graduated from Queen’s in 1889 with a BA and certification as a teacher. Upon the completion of his degree, he remained in Ontario and was appointed English master at Stratford High School (1892-1896). He also taught English at the Collegiate Institute in Kingston for one year (1896-1897) and served as principal at the Collegiate Institute in Brockville (1897-1902). In 1901 he retired from professional teaching to continue as a freelance writer and editor. He published Stories of New France: Being Tales of Adventure and Heroism from the Early History of Canada in 1890, followed by Stories from Canadian History (1893); Heroes of Canada: Based Upon Stories of New France (1893); and a historical romance, Marguerite de Roberval: A Romance of the Days of Jacques Cartier (1899). In 1903, Marquis wrote one of his only non-Canadian histories entitled Presidents of the United States from Pierce to McKinley. Marquis became editor of the Ottawa Free Press in 1905. In 1913, Marquis wrote and edited “English Canadian Literature.”  In 1916, Marquis published The Jesuit Missions: A Chronicle of the Cross in the Wilderness.  Marquis died 1 April 1936.

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Chatham