Dear Mr. McQuesten,

Last evening, the Board of the [Royal] Botanical Gardens held its first meeting since the loss of its President. Tribute was paid to the late Dr. T.B. McQuesten by Chancellor Gilmour and the following was authorized by the Board to be entered into the minutes of the meeting:

"The death of Dr. T.B. McQuesten, K.C.,LL.D., in January, has removed from this Board the one member whose name has been practically synonymous with its work from the beginning. At this first Board meeting since his death we desire therefore to place on the minutes some formal expression of our sense of loss and of our appreciation of the fact that the Royal Botanical Gardens can never outlive the debt owed to him who was both founder and first president. Our late president's intense love for this city and its surrounding district, and his concern for the protection and enlargement of the Gardens property, are largely responsible for the existence and progress of the Gardens. His personal friendship and personal loyalty have been known to and valued by all who have worked with him. We who were his friends and who now must continue to administer the vast properties accumulated under his leadership wish to pay this tribute of personal affection and corporate gratitude."

The members of the Board wished this to be passed on to the McQuesten Family.

Yours very truly,

L. Laking

Secretary to the Board.

[note at bottom] Answered March 11.

¹ This letter clearly establishes Thomas McQuesten's role in the forming and administration of the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) in Hamilton. It was part of his "City Beautiful" and "Social Gospel" initiative and vision.