part in the management of its affairs and was no small factor in
its success.
On the 1st of January, 1886, Louis N. Dupuis retired from the
firm, since which time he has given his attention to various
commercial enterprises, his sound judgment constituting an active
and effective force in capable management.
Mr. Dupuis has been for a number of years extensively identified
with real estate interests in Montreal, and in this connection
has taken a prominent part in the city’s development. He is
president of the Eastmount Land Company, also president of La
Compagnie General d’Immeubles, Limitee, and president of the
Merchants and Employers Guarantee and Accident Company. In these
companies as well as in others with which he has been identified,
his sound business judgment and foresight have been substantial
contributions to their success.
On the 25th of April, 1881, Mr. Dupuis was married at
L’Assomption to Miss Marie Melanie Panet Levesque, the second
daughter of Pierre Thomas Panet Levesque, a land surveyor. Mr.
Panet Levesque was seigneur of d’Ailleboust and Ramsey, which two
seigneuries are situated in the county of Joliette, P. Q. Mr.
and Mrs. Dupuis have ten children, living: Anne Marie; Amelie;
Pauline and Celine; Pierre Louis, a well known young advocate
of Montreal who was married on the 15th of January, 1913, to
Miss Carmel Girouard, daughter of Joseph Girouard, ex-member
of parliament of St. Benoit, Two Mountains; Rosaire, one of the
rising young notaries of Montreal, and of whom further mention is
made elsewhere in this work; François; Camille; Roger; and Jean.
[Illustration: LOUIS N. DUPUIS]
Mr. Dupuis holds to the political faith of the conservative
party and to the religious faith of the Roman Catholic church.
He is a Knight of Columbus of Conseil Lafontaine and belongs
to the Chapleau Fish and Game Club and the Canadian Club.
Thoroughly progressive in his ideas, he has kept well informed
both by reading and travel. As long ago as 1874, Mr. Dupuis
visited Fort Garry, now the city of Winnipeg, when the journey
required fourteen days from Montreal, and too, when the Red
River country was considered the “Far West.” He has since then
visited the Pacific coast no less than five times, as well as
various sections of the United States. He is equally familiar
with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as continental
Europe, as it was formerly his custom to make semi-annual trips
to Europe in connection with his business affairs. He enjoys
the outdoor life, especially the sports of the forest. His
public service has been well performed. At the end of 1909 he
was selected by the citizens committee to form part of the new
administration of the city as commissioner and was elected by the
city at large in the election held on the 2d of February, 1910.
ROUER JOSEPH ROY, K. C.
Rouer Joseph Roy, jurist, linguist and an interested student
of literary, scientific and antiquarian subjects, was born in
Montreal, January 7, 1821, his parents being the late Joseph
Roy, M. P. P., and Amelia (Lusignan) Roy. The former, of French
descent, rose to a position of prominence, representing his
riding in the provincial legislature. His wife was connected with
the distinguished family of Rouer de Villeray.
Rouer Joseph Roy attended Montreal College, from which he was
graduated with honors in the presence of Lord Durham. Having
determined upon the practice of law as his life profession, he
entered the law office of the Hon. Mr. Sullivan in 1838 and
after four years of thorough and comprehensive study was called
to the bar, in 1842. Almost from the beginning his career was
a successful one and after several years devoted to active law
practice he was appointed joint city attorney for Montreal in
1862, filling that position continuously until 1876, when he
became the sole legal advisor of the city, remaining in that
office until he resigned in 1898. He afterward filled the
position of consulting city attorney. In 1864 he was elected
syndic of the Quebec bar and so continued for four years. In the
same year he was made queen’s counsel as well as being elected
president of the committee in charge of the bar library, which
office he continuously and honorably filled for thirty years. In
1887 he was unanimously chosen batonnier of the Montreal bar and
the following year was chosen batonnier general of the province.
He held high professional rank and on several occasions appeared
before the judicial committee of the privy council in England.
In January, 1857, Mr. Roy was married to Miss Corinne Beaudry, a
daughter of the late Hon. J. L. Beaudry, M. L. C., who in 1857
was mayor of Montreal. Mr. Roy not only enjoyed a high reputation
as a lawyer but also as a scholar, being widely known as a
linguist, speaking fluently Greek, Latin, Italian and French as
well as English. For many years he occupied the presidency of
the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society. He was one of the last
survivors of the Sons of Liberty, an organization which played
a most important part at the time of the rebellion of 1837. His
religious faith was that of the Roman Catholic church and he
filled the office of church warden of the parish of Notre Dame.
His life was characterized by a nobility that lifted him above
those traits which mar character and when death called him on the
27th of July, 1905, only words of commendation and respect were
spoken concerning his life work. He had done things worthy to be
written and had written things worthy to be read, and he left to
posterity an unblemished name, linked with many deeds that won
him prominence and honor.
CHARLES MACKAY COTTON.
A man of force, experience and capacity, Charles Mackay Cotton
has made for himself an enviable position at the bar of Quebec
and is numbered among the most able and successful advocates of
Montreal, where he is in active practice as a member of the firm
of Cotton & Westover. He was born in Durham township, Missisquoi
county, Quebec, February 22, 1878, and is a representative of a
well known Canadian family of English extraction, being a son of
Sheriff Cotton, a grandson of Dr. Cotton and a great-grandson of
Rev. Charles Caleb Cotton, B. A. (Oxford), who came from England
in 1799 and was one of the pioneer Anglican clergymen in the
eastern townships.
Charles Mackay Cotton acquired his preliminary education at
Cowansville Academy, Feller Institute, Grande Ligne, Quebec,
and afterward entered McGill University, Montreal, from which
he was graduated with the degree of B. A. in 1899, winning the
high honor of the gold medal for general proficiency. From the
same institution he was afterwards graduated B. C. L. in 1902,
taking at this time the Macdonald scholarship. In his student
days he gave every evidence of the ability and power upon which
his present success is founded for besides the honors above
mentioned he was class orator in science, arts and law. His
record in McGill University is very creditable and one of which
he has every reason to be proud, and its promise has been fully
justified by his later accomplishments in the professional
field. Mr. Cotton was called to the bar as advocate in 1902 and
immediately afterwards went abroad in order to get the advantages
of foreign travel and to supplement his excellent legal training
by further study. He attended lectures at the law school of the
University of Montpelier in 1903, thus completing an exhaustive
and comprehensive legal education.
Mr. Cotton opened his first office in Sweetsburg, this province,
practising in partnership with J. C. McCorkill, and proving
able, farsighted and discriminating in the discharge of his
professional duties. From Sweetsburg he came to Montreal, and he
is today one of the representative citizens of this community,
prominent in his profession and a leading factor in the promotion
of those projects and measures which have for their object
municipal growth, advancement and progress. The firm of Cotton
& Westover is one of the strongest of its kind in the city and
connected through a wide and representative patronage with a
great deal of important litigation. Mr. Cotton is recognized as
an able advocate, possessed of a comprehensive knowledge of the
law and a practical ability in its application, and his developed
powers and wide experience are bringing him constantly increasing
prominence in his chosen field.
Mr. Cotton is a member of the Anglican church and was formerly
a captain in the Fifteenth Shefford Field Battery. A strong
liberal, he takes an intelligent interest in public affairs,
opposing political corruption wherever he finds it and supporting
by word and action pure and clean politics. Viewed from any
standpoint his has been a useful and successful career, and the
future undoubtedly holds for him further honors and continued
prosperity.
WILLIAM ALEXANDER HASTINGS.
William Alexander Hastings, for many years vice president and
general manager of the Lake of the Woods Milling Company, Ltd.,
and one of the best known men in his line of business in Canada,
was born at Petite Cote, March 6, 1852, a son of George and
Margaret (Ogilvie) Hastings. George Hastings came from Boston,
Massachusetts, and located at Petite Cote where he was engaged in
farming.
William A. Hastings pursued his education in the schools of his
native city and began his business career as a clerk in the
Exchange Bank. His progress was rapid and he was promoted to
manager of the Bedford (Quebec) branch, and later manager of the
Exeter branch. Subsequently he was appointed treasurer of the
St. Joseph (Missouri) Gas Company, serving until 1882 when he
became identified with the milling business in which he achieved
such notable success. In that year, with his brother, George
V. Hastings, he became associated with the Ogilvie Company at
Winnipeg, building and opening the flour mills there with great
success. In 1888 he severed his connection with the above firm
and became vice president and general manager of the Lake of
the Woods Milling Company, filling this prominent and important
position until his death, which occurred on May 23, 1903.
Mr. Hastings had thoroughly acquainted himself with the business
in its different phases so that he was well qualified to assume
the control of one of the largest businesses of its kind in the
Dominion, and to his rare judgment and marked executive ability
is credited, to no small extent, the high degree of prosperity
enjoyed by the company whose affairs he so ably directed.
Robert Meighen, president of the Lake of the Woods Milling
Company, said that he had been associated with Mr. Hastings for
thirteen years and that any business which passed through his
hands passed through the hands of God’s noblest work--an honest
man. Others bore equally strong testimony as to his enterprise
and his thorough reliability. He never weighed an act in the
scale of public policy but always measured his deeds by the
standard of upright principle.
In 1884 Mr. Hastings was united in marriage to Miss Georgina Roy
Ure, daughter of the late George P. Ure, and they became the
parents of the following children: Margaret Ogilvie, who died in
infancy; William Roy, of Montreal; and John Ogilvie, of Montreal.
Mr. Hastings was lacking in none of the qualities which make for
upright manhood and progressive citizenship, and his cooperation
with any movement or plan largely insured the successful outcome
of the same. In 1890 he became a member of the Corn Exchange and
in 1893 was elected a member of the committee of management, in
which office he continued until 1898, serving for the last three
years of that period as treasurer. Throughout his entire life
Canada numbered him among her best citizens and the record which
he made reflected credit upon the Dominion, constituting a factor
in its material development.
ROBERT DENNISON MARTIN.
One of the best known men in the grain trade in Canada and one
whose untimely death cut short a business career that had been
highly successful and was full of greater possibilities for
the future was Robert Dennison Martin, who was born at Selby,
Ontario, October 18, 1854, a son of William and Elizabeth
(Thompson) Martin. The father was a farmer and the boyhood of
Robert Dennison Martin was spent in the manner of a farmer’s
son of that locality and period. His education, acquired at the
place of his nativity, was somewhat limited. He remained in the
district in which he was born until after attaining his majority.
Hearing of the possibilities of the western country, he went
to Manitoba and near Deloraine he secured a homestead which he
developed and improved. As he managed to gather together a little
capital, he turned his attention to merchandising, becoming a
member of the hardware firm of Faulkner & Martin at Deloraine,
an association which continued for a number of years after his
removal to Montreal. It was at Deloraine that he first became
connected with the grain business in which he was destined to win
notable success. In the buying of grain he became associated with
Alfred P. Stuart under the firm name of The R. D. Martin Company,
a partnership that continued until the death of Mr. Martin.
After a few years residence in Winnipeg Mr. Martin came to
Montreal in 1899, and with the exception of a year spent in
Napanee and a year in Kingston, Montreal was his place of
residence throughout the remainder of his life. The business of
The R. D. Martin Company enjoyed a steady and prosperous growth
and to its development Mr. Martin devoted his entire attention
and rare ability. Since his demise the business has been
continued under the name of the British Empire Grain Company,
Limited. Mr. Martin suffered from ill health for several years
prior to his demise which occurred at his beautiful new home at
No. 1 Murray Avenue, Westmount, which was completed only a few
weeks prior to his demise, which occurred on the 28th of June,
1905.
[Illustration: ROBERT D. MARTIN]
It was on the 18th of May, 1894, at Winnipeg, that Mr. Martin
was united in marriage to Miss Helen Moncrieff Morton, who was
born in Perth, Scotland, a daughter of Duncan and Jessie (Watson)
Morton. The father died when Mrs. Martin was but two years of
age and her mother survived until a few years ago. Mrs. Martin
came to Canada in 1892 and resided in Winnipeg previous to her
marriage, a brother having preceded her to that place. She is
one of five children born to her parents, four of whom survive,
as follows: Jessie, the wife of George Banks of Perth, Scotland;
Duncan, residing in Winnipeg; Helen M., who is Mrs. R. D. Martin;
and Madeline, the wife of Andrew C. Craig of Winnipeg. To Mr. and
Mrs. Martin were born five children: Charles Stuart, a student
in McGill University; and Helen Elizabeth, Edith Laura, Jessie
Watson and Robert Henry, all at home.
Mr. Martin was quiet and domestic in his tastes and habits. He
held membership in only one club, the Canada Club, and did not
enter actively into its affairs. He was very fond of his family
and found his chief delight in the home circle, being a loving
and kind husband and father. As a business man he was alert and
energetic, ready for any emergency and he seemed to pass by no
opportunity that pointed to honorable success. Contemporaries and
colleagues had the highest respect for him and more than that,
he gained the warm friendship and esteem of a large majority of
his acquaintances. Although a later arrival in Montreal than
many of his business associates, he gained prominence among them
and attained an enviable position in the business world. He was
a member of the Board of Trade and his opinions carried weight
among its representatives and in other connections which had to
do with the city’s welfare. He was truly Canadian in spirit and
interests and his devotion to the public good was one of his
notable traits of character.
J. LOUIS A. GUIMOND.
J. Louis A. Guimond, a notary public practicing in Montreal
and interested in business enterprises which connect him
with activity in the real-estate field, was born in the
town of Beauharnois, in the province of Quebec on the
14th of February, 1877. His father was Cyrille Guimond, a
merchant and manufacturer, who married Justine Dubreuil of
Pointe-aux-Trembles. In the pursuit of his education he attended
the Seminary of St. Hyacinthe and was graduated in letters with
the class of 1896, while his scientific course was pursued in
College St. Laurent, from which he graduated in 1898. He has
since been an active representative of the notarial profession in
which connection he has secured a large clientage that makes his
practice a profitable one. His life has been one of intense and
intelligently directed activity and aside from his professional
duties he is acting as a director and is a shareholder in a
real-estate company. He is likewise secretary-treasurer of two
municipalities and thus takes a helpful interest in public
affairs as well as in the conduct of private business interests.
On the 24th of May, 1909, at Iberville, P. Q., Mr. Guimond was
married to Miss Marie Louise Gayette, a daughter of Calixte
Gayette. Their children are Paul and Ives Guimond. The religious
faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and in
politics Mr. Guimond is a liberal-nationalist. He is energetic,
accomplished and successful and by the consensus of public
opinion he is ranked with the representative men of Montreal. He
comes of an old and respected line of ancestors who settled in
the province of Quebec in the seventeenth century. Since that
day they have not only been active and progressive in business,
but loyal in citizenship. Mr. Guimond’s lines of life have been
cast in harmony with the record of an honored ancestry and his
forbears have been no more loyal to city, province and country
than he.
ROBERT H. BARRON.
A man who has founded success in the legal profession upon
ability, comprehensive knowledge, long experience and untiring
industry, is Robert H. Barron, since 1895 in active and
successful practice as a notary in Montreal. He has made
continued and rapid progress in his chosen field of labor, each
year bringing him to a point in advance of the previous one, and
today the firm of Barron & Cushing, of which he is the senior
member, is one of the most reliable of its kind in the city.
Mr. Barron was graduated B. A. from McGill University in 1892
and acquired his professional training in the same institution,
completing the law course in 1895. In October of that year he
began practice in Montreal, being taken into partnership by
Mr. Charles Cushing and Mr. Robert A. Dunton; this association
continued until 1900, and Mr. Barron then continued in
partnership under the firm name of Cushing & Barron until
the death of Mr. Cushing in September, 1910. Mr. Barron then
practiced alone for about one year, when he associated himself
with Dougall Cushing, his present partner and a son of his former
partner. Barron & Cushing control a large and constantly growing
business, and the firm is known to be strong and reliable. Mr.
Barron is held in high honor in professional circles of Montreal,
and his prominence stands upon the substantial foundation of
ability and merit.
ARTHUR DELISLE, Q. C.
The legal fraternity of Montreal finds an able representative in
Arthur Delisle, who not only has achieved favorable reputation
in a private capacity but has ably represented the district of
Portneuf in the provincial parliament. Capable, earnest and
conscientious, he has been connected with important litigation
before the local courts and his clientele is representative.
He comes of an old and distinguished family whose ancestors
came from France in the year 1669, on the 15th of October of
which year arrived in Quebec Louis de l’Isle, of Dompierre,
of the bishopric Rouen, accompanied by his young wife, Louise
des Granges, of St. Brice of Paris, settlement being made at
Pointe-aux-Trembles, of Quebec.
Arthur Delisle was born at Portneuf and is the son of Jean and
Anathalie (Frenette) Delisle. In the acquirement of his education
he attended Laval Normal School Seminary of Quebec and Laval
University of that city, taking his degree of Master in Law (cum
laude) on the 23d of December, 1882. After locating for practice
in Montreal important business came to him and as the years have
passed he has become known as one of the most able men in his
profession in the city. He has every faculty of which a lawyer
may be proud, unusual familiarity with human nature and untiring
industry making him one of the most forceful members of the bar.
He was appointed queen’s counsel in 1898.
On April 22, 1890, at Quebec, Mr. Delisle was united in marriage
to Blanche Hudon, a daughter of Théophile Hudon, a prominent
merchant of Quebec. They have two children, Marguerite and
Gaston. While attending the Laval Normal School Mr. Delisle
received the usual course of military training under the
supervision of the high officers at the citadel of Quebec,
receiving such instruction there in the years 1876 and 1877. This
experience has been of great benefit to him as it infused into
the young man the lasting benefits of military exactness and
punctuality. From 1891 until 1896 he represented the district
of Portneuf in the house of commons, retiring in the latter
year in order to give his seat to Sir Henry Joly de Lotbinière.
Public-spirited and progressive, Mr. Delisle takes an active
interest in the progress his city is making as one of the great
metropolitan centers of North America and is ever willing and
ready to support worthy enterprises projected for general
improvement and growth.
DAVID GREENE, M. D.
In the death of Dr. David Greene, Montreal was forced to record
the loss of a most capable member of the medical profession. He
added to broad scientific knowledge and thorough training a deep
human sympathy combined with an almost intuitive understanding of
his fellowmen. Moreover he recognized to the fullest extent the
weight of responsibility and obligations resting upon him, and
his fidelity to duty became one of his strongest characteristics.
A native of Ballyshannon, in the north of Ireland, he died on
the 21st of March, 1891, at Montreal, Quebec. He prepared for
college at the Royal School of Portora, Enniskillen, and was
graduated from Trinity College at Dublin. He became a licentiate
of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and from 1858 until
1864 practiced in the north of Ireland. It was in his native
town of Ballyshannon that Dr. Greene wedded Miss Ellen Green,
who with a son and several daughters survive him. But one of the
children was born on the Emerald isle and with this daughter
Dr. and Mrs. Greene came to the new world in 1866, making their
way to Montreal, Canada. For a time Dr. Greene was actively
engaged in practice in this city and then removed to Granby,
where he practiced for many years, but afterward returned to
Montreal. His intellectual powers were marked and his scholastic
and literary attainments were of a high order. It was a liberal
education in itself to know him well and profit by his wonderful
store of knowledge, which he unconsciously imparted to his close
friends in conversation that was brilliant and fascinating. His
associates recognized that his comradeship meant expansion and
elevation. Being endowed with a warm heart and splendid mental
gifts, he left the impress of his individuality upon those with
whom he was brought into close and intimate relations. While he
took high rank in his profession, his attainments were varied and
brought him fame in other connections. He was a devout member of
the English church, and his influence was always on the side of
right, progress, truth and reform.
The surviving children of Dr. and Mrs. Greene are: Alice, Maud,
Gertrude, Vida, Geraldine, and Whately Stokes. The last named
pursued his education in the schools of Montreal and in March,
1898, made his initial step in connection with the banking
business as an employe in the old Ontario Bank, with which he was
connected for eight years. Through the past seven years he has
been with the Royal Bank of Canada, and is now manager of the
Laurier Avenue branch at the corner of Park Avenue and Laurier
Avenue West. Mr. Greene married Miss Gertrude Anne Sheppard, only
daughter of the late Charles Stanley Sheppard, and they have
one daughter, Lorna Gertrude. Mr. Greene has made for himself a
creditable place in financial circles as did his father in the
field of professional service, and the name has long been an
honored one in Montreal.
GEORGES GONTHIER.
In financial circles in Montreal we have to mention Mr. Georges
Gonthier as one of the most familiar figures. A member of the
well known firm of St. Cyr, Gonthier & Frigon and a public
accountant of some standing and repute, he has nevertheless
found time to promote many measures of great commercial and
public utility, and to prepare the way for the foundation of one
of our most important institutions (L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes
Commerciales).
Mr. Gonthier was born in Montreal in November, 1869. After a
period of arduous study and preparation he entered upon his
business activities in 1890, and since that time has advanced
steadily in his profession winning the good-will and esteem of
everyone, so that we now see him occupying such positions of
trust and public confidence as that of treasurer and director
of the Chamber of Commerce and president of the Institute of
Accountants and Auditors of the Province of Quebec. In fact, it
was Mr. Gonthier himself who was chiefly instrumental in bringing
about the establishment of the last mentioned institute, and he
played no small part in its subsequent organization, for which
his wide business experience and knowledge coupled with what we
might term an unrivalled commercial sagacity, especially fitted
him.
He was moreover one of the founders with the late Mr. Poindron of
the Canada-French Trade Development Committee, since merged into
the Comité France-Amérique under the presidency in Canada of the
Hon. Raoul Dandurand.
Nor are Mr. Gonthier’s activities limited to the field of
practical achievement. He has entered the lists as a public
lecturer on financial and accounting subjects where he has
won for himself considerable renown. In particular his essay
on “Bonds as an Investment” has been highly praised and was
even published in the financial journals at Paris. It is not
surprising therefore that he has considerable influence in
Belgium and in France.
[Illustration: GEORGES GONTHIER]
It would be superfluous to add anything further to demonstrate
the sterling qualities and well deserved reputation of Mr.
Gonthier. It may, however, be interesting to accountants and
auditors in general to know that it was mainly through his
efforts that the law was passed to render compulsory the keeping
of proper accounts to all who engage in business.
HUNTLY WARD DAVIS.
Huntly Ward Davis, member of the firm of Hogle & Davis,
architects, was born in Montreal, October 22, 1875, a son of M.
and Lucy (Ward) Davis, the latter a daughter of Hon. J. K. Ward,
M. L. C. Huntly Ward Davis attended Eliock school at Montreal
and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he was
graduated as Bachelor of Science in June, 1898. He prepared for
and has always followed the profession of architect, working
in early manhood under A. T. Taylor, who became senior partner
of the firm of Taylor, Hogle & Davis, but has since withdrawn,
leaving the firm Hogle & Davis. Mr. Davis is a conservative, and
his membership relations are with St. James Club and with the
Church of St. James the Apostle. On the 26th of October, 1910,
in Montreal, he was married to Evelyn St. Claire Stanley Bagg,
daughter of the late Robert Stanley and Clara (Smithers) Bagg,
and they have a daughter, Evelyn Clare Ward Davis.
FRANCOIS XAVIER ROY.
This is an age of specialization. It is the unusual rather than
the usual thing for any man to attempt to gain proficiency in
the various departments of the law; on the contrary he usually
concentrates his efforts upon a single branch of jurisprudence,
with the result that he reaches a position which otherwise he
could not hope to gain. Following this general course, François
X. Roy has devoted his attention to commercial law, in which
connection he has a large and distinctively representative
clientage. He has been a lifelong resident of the province of
Quebec, his birth having occurred on the 13th of August, 1863.
His educational training was received at the College of Nicolet
and in Laval University. He also spent a year in special study
at Sherbrooke in 1886, was for a year under the direction of
the law faculty at Bishop’s College, and then passed the usual
examinations that secured his admission to the bar.
Choosing Montreal as the seat of his labors, Mr. Roy here began
practice in association with the late Hon. C. A. Geoffrion,
and later was with D. R. Murphy, K. C. He had become so well
established in practice as a successful commercial lawyer that in
1909 he was created king’s counsel. He has become a recognized
authority in the department of law in which he has chosen to
specialize, and as such is called to all parts of the province,
his opinions being largely received as authority upon points of
commercial law. He is now attorney for the Williams Manufacturing
Company, Henon-LeBlanc, Ltd., and several other commercial firms
of Montreal. He readily grasps the relation of cause and effect,
and in the preparation of his cases his analytical power is
strongly manifest. In presenting a cause before the courts he is
logical, and his deductions follow in orderly sequence.
Mr. Roy is a liberal in politics and in all his political
interests is actuated by a spirit of progressiveness as affecting
both provincial and Dominion affairs. He has ever stood for
improvement, reform and advancement, and for many years has held
the office of treasurer of the Reform Club. Aside from this he is
a member of Le Club Canadien, L’Alliance Nationale, L’Alliance
Française, La Société St. Jean Baptiste and other societies. He
stands as a high type of the French element in the citizenship
of Montreal, combining with the admirable and strongly marked
characteristics of a French ancestry the progressive spirit of
the modern age, a spirit which falters not in the accomplishment
of a task until success is achieved.
NAPOLEON URGEL LACASSE.
Napoléon Urgel Lacasse, attorney at law practicing in Montreal as
a member of the well known firm of Bastien, Bergeron, Cousineau,
Lacasse & Jasmin, was born at St. Vincent de Paul, in the county
of Laval, P. Q., July 11, 1877. In the early records of the
French families it is found that there are several variations
to the family name which appears also as Casse, Cassé and Du
Tertre. Angelique Lacasse was born in 1715 and died at Beaumont,
August 22, 1738. Antoine Lacasse, who was born in 1706, married
Marguerite Sionnaux and died November 27, 1778. The parents of
Napoléon Urgel Lacasse were Zéphirin and Rose Delima (Fortier)
Lacasse. Under the parental roof he spent his boyhood days while
studying in St. Mary’s College and Laval University of Montreal,
winning his Bachelor of Arts degree on the 15th of June, 1898,
and that of Bachelor of Laws on the 21st of June, 1901. Following
his graduation he entered immediately upon the active practice
of his profession and was alone therein until the 1st of July,
1912, when he entered into his present partnership relations. He
is recognized as one of the strong and able members of the bar
among the younger practitioners, and his experience and study are
continually promoting his knowledge and ability. Aside from his
profession he is financially interested in several joint stock
companies and has extensive real-estate investments.
Mr. Lacasse has been married twice, on the 28th of September,
1903, to Eugénie Barbeau and on the 31st of March, 1913, to Miss
Yvonne Barbeau, daughter of the late Godfroy Barbeau, a merchant
of Ste. Geneviève county, P. Q. The four children of Mr. Lacasse
are: Jean François Bernard, Jacques Vincent Ferrier, Joséphine
Hélène Marcelle and Suzanne Andrée Victoire. The religious faith
of the family is that of the Catholic church. The military
experience of Mr. Lacasse covers more than three years’ service
as commanding officer of St. Mary’s College Cadets from 1896
until 1898 inclusively. He was one of the winners in the cadets
contest in 1893 for the Duke of Connaught prize, also in 1894 and
1895.
In politics he is a conservative and has made public battles
for his principles in elections in the counties of Terrebonne,
Jacques Cartier, Laval and Yamaska. However, the practice of
law he considers his real life work, regarding it as abundantly
worthy of his best efforts, and in his chosen profession he has
made continuous and gratifying progress.
FRANK BULLER, M. D., C. M.
Dr. Frank Buller was one of the most celebrated ophthalmologists
of the new world, occupying, as practitioner and educator, a
position in which he had few peers. His scientific research and
his broad reading gave him a knowledge far superior to that of
many able members of the profession, and in the wise utilization
of his time and talents he made valuable contributions to the
world’s work.
Dr. Buller was born at Campbellford, Ontario, May 4, 1844, a
son of Charles G. and Frances Elizabeth (Boucher) Buller, of
Hillside, Campbellford. After attending the high school at
Peterboro, from which he graduated in due time, he took up the
study of medicine in Victoria College at Cobourg, completing
his course with the class of 1869. He then went to Germany,
where he spent two years in the study of the eye, ear, nose and
throat, acquainting himself with the advanced methods of eminent
men in the profession. While at the University of Berlin he
received close personal instruction from Von Helmholtz and Von
Graefe, and, during the Franco-German war, served as assistant
surgeon in a number of military hospitals of northern Germany.
In 1872 Dr. Buller went to London and studied for some years in
“Moorfields”--the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital. He was for
two years chief house surgeon of this hospital, and he introduced
to London the “direct” method of ophthalmoscopy. In England he
became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons. Dr. Buller
began practice in Montreal in 1876 and rapidly advanced to a
foremost position in his profession. For seventeen years he was
the opthalmic and aural surgeon in the Montreal General Hospital
and resigned to take the same position in the Royal Victoria
Hospital. He was the first ophthalmologist to be appointed to the
General Hospital--and so remarkably recent is the development of
opthalmology in the new world that, prior to that time, every
physician and surgeon treated his eye cases in his own clinic.
For many years Dr. Buller was professor of ophthalmology and
otology in McGill University, being appointed professor when
the chair was founded in 1883. He was equally able in his large
private practice and enjoyed an ever widening reputation. Dr.
Buller received the English degree of M. R. C. S.
Dr. Buller was a powerfully built man, restless and very
energetic. His students used to say of him, “Buller is a great
teacher, but he wears us out.” He was forever engaged in arduous
mental work but also took keen interest in matters outside of
his profession. He was frank, straightforward and kind--a strong
generous nature.
Dr. Buller married Elizabeth Belton Langlois, of Quebec, who died
November 20, 1895. By this marriage there were two children,
Marguerite and Cecil. In 1898 he married Miss Jean Brien, of New
York, and they had three children, Francis, Audrey and James, the
latter dying in 1909.
Dr. Buller was a member of the Church of England. He died October
11, 1905. He was followed to the grave by the entire medical
profession of Montreal and numerous physicians from a distance.
Also many of the city’s poor were present at the obsequies--a
fact which, had he been able to know it, would have touched that
great heart which had so keenly felt their sorrows.
A colleague of Dr. Buller writes as follows: “In very delicate
cases, where he feared to trust patients in the hands of
untrained attendants, and they were too poor to hire professional
nurses, he has been known to stay with the patients all night,
after an operation, and attend to the dressing himself, lest the
eye, so tender and in such a precarious condition, might suffer
needless pain or be injured through a slight mistake.”
“Dr. Buller will be especially remembered because of three
inventions: (1) the Buller eye-shield (composed of a
watch-crystal and strips of sticking-plaster and oftenest
employed to protect an unaffected eye when its fellow is
afflicted with gonorrheal infection). (2) Temporary tying of the
cacalieuli for the prevention of wound infection in operations
on the eye-ball. (3) The Buller trial frame. Yet his inventions
and investigations were very numerous and, for the most part,
successful in every way. Thus, concerning his investigation into
‘Methyl Alcohol Blindness,’ conducted jointly with Dr. Casey
A. Wood, De Schweintz declares the work to be ‘by far the most
important contribution to the subject and one to which too high
praise cannot be given.’” Scientists, members of the profession
and all mankind delighted to honor him because of what he had
accomplished. High above any desire for pecuniary reward was his
deep interest in humanity and an earnest purpose to make his life
a serviceable one to his fellowmen.
WILLIAM WATSON OGILVIE.
Foremost among those men whose life’s record seems an inseparable
part of Canada’s industrial and commercial growth during the
period of their activities, is that of William Watson Ogilvie,
whose identification with the milling business covered a period
of nearly a half century. The position of Mr. Ogilvie in this
important industry was unquestionably at the head. He did more to
develop it than any other man before or since his time, and the
great success he achieved was fully merited.
William W. Ogilvie was born at Cote St. Michel, Montreal,
February 14, 1835, of Scotch ancestry, and belonged to the
Banffshire family of that name. He received his education in
Montreal schools, and in entering on a business career chose that
which was his by inheritance, the milling business.
His grandfather, Alexander, erected in 1801, a mill at Jacques
Cartier, near Quebec, where was ground the first flour under
British rule that was ever exported to Europe. This old mill was
really the foundation of the immense business that was built up
by W. W. Ogilvie. In 1860 he entered into partnership with his
brothers, Alexander and John, grain merchants and proprietors
of a mill at Lachine Rapids. The growth of the business was
soon responsible for the building of the Glenora Flour Mills
on the Lachine canal. The business continued to grow, and the
Ogilvies erected mills at Goderich and Seaforth, Ontario and
Winnipeg, Manitoba; and later, the Royal Mills at Montreal. The
three brothers operated together until 1874, when the elder
brother retired, and on the death of his brother, John, in
1888 the entire business management devolved upon William W.
Ogilvie, whose well developed powers were entirely adequate to
the demands made upon him in the further control and management
of this extensive enterprise, of which he became the head. In
addition to the properties mentioned, Mr. W. W. Ogilvie afterward
purchased the City Mills, Montreal, and at the time of his death
had accepted plans for a very large mill at Fort William. Some
years previous to his demise to facilitate the administration of
his western business, the Ogilvie Milling Company of Winnipeg was
formed in which Mr. Ogilvie was the dominant factor. The Ogilvie
Flour Mills Company, of the present, was organized in 1903 and
is practically the successor of the Ogilvie Milling Company and
various other interests in this line, belonging to Mr. Ogilvie’s
estate.
[Illustration: WILLIAM W. OGILVIE]
Mr. Ogilvie and his brother John were the pioneer wheat buyers in
Manitoba. He had traveled through Canada’s present wheat fields
years before they were cultivated and many times afterwards. From
the first small shipment of five hundred bushels from Manitoba in
1876, the shipments, in Mr. Ogilvie’s lifetime, to his own mills
increased until they reached the enormous total of eight million
bushels of No. 1 hard wheat, all purchased by his own expert
buyers from the farmers, at his seventy elevators, extending all
over the wheat section of Ontario and the northwest.
In the manufacture of flour Mr. Ogilvie spent a lifetime and
spared neither time, labor or expense in bringing his product to
the very acme of perfection. By steady industry and indomitable
energy and most of all the superior quality of his products,
upheld at all cost, the business grew until it not only became
the largest of its kind in the Dominion, but the most extensive
flour business in the world controlled by one man.
Mr. Ogilvie was the first to introduce into Canada the patent
process of grinding by rollers. In 1868, he visited Hungary where
this system originated, for the purpose of investigating it.
He saw at once its value and adopted it. He invented improved
machinery used in the milling business, and was always ready to
adopt the improvements of others that were practical.
It was said that he had better knowledge of wheat and wheat lands
than any man in Canada. His business furnished a market for wheat
growers and proved a stimulating influence in the agricultural
development of the great wheat-raising section of middle and
western Canada. His labors were directly responsible for much of
the growth, progress and prosperity of Manitoba and the provinces
farther west, and his worth as a business man and citizen was
acknowledged by all.
Mr. Ogilvie’s identification with commercial interests was large
and diversified. He was a director of the Bank of Montreal;
the Montreal Transportation Company; the North British and
Mercantile Insurance Company; the Old Dominion Board of Trade;
and the Sailors Institute. He was president of the Corn
Exchange Association; St. Andrew’s Society; and the Montreal
Horticultural Society; governor of the Montreal General and
the Royal Victoria Hospitals; president of the Manufacturers’
Association, and served as a member of the Harbor Board.
In regard to agricultural and horticultural interests he
manifested an interest and enthusiasm that were contagious,
his efforts constituting an example that many others followed.
He served both on the council and board of arbitration of the
Montreal Board of Trade and was president of that body in 1893-4.
In matters of citizenship he was extremely public-spirited and
what he accomplished represented the fit utilization of his
innate talents and powers. His political belief is indicated
in the fact that in 1896 he was president of the Liberal
Conservative Club of Montreal. He was a forceful speaker in both
French and English and frequently, in his earlier days, addressed
public meetings during political campaigns.
As a young man he served as lieutenant and subsequently as a
captain in the Montreal Cavalry under his brother, being thanked
in brigade orders by Colonel Pakenham in 1866.
He was one of the prominent members of St. Andrew’s church.
Mr. Ogilvie always gave with a free hand toward various public
institutions, and there was no movement of importance to which
he did not contribute. His benefactions were liberal, varied and
by no means local. He gave thirteen thousand dollars, towards
making up a deficit for completion of the Jubilee wing of the
Winnipeg General Hospital. He was one of the first to subscribe
to the patriotic fund for the families of those who went with
the Canadian contingent to the Transvaal war. Mr. Ogilvie was a
man of great business capacity and to a most remarkable extent
maintained a personal knowledge of his diversified interests.
His death on January 12, 1900, was very sudden. He had been
at his office attending to business as usual, after which he
attended a directors’ meeting of the Bank of Montreal. On his way
home he was taken ill and passed away soon after reaching there.
Many of the leading mercantile houses and public offices flew
their flags at half mast through respect for him. The Montreal
Gazette at time of his death, said on January 13, 1900,
editorially:
“It is long since any event caused such a painful shock in
Montreal as did the death yesterday of W. W. Ogilvie. Strong
in body, clear in mind, actively interested in the details of
great concerns, he was one of the last whose taking away would
be thought of. His loss will be felt the more because of its
suddenness and it is a great loss, to the city’s commercial life.
Mr. Ogilvie’s business intelligence and energy long ago raised
him to a place not among Canada’s alone, but among the world’s
great merchants.
“It was a just pride that he felt in directing the greatest
milling interest in the world under one man’s control; and the
pride was more than personal. He early saw what the northwest
meant to Canada, both commercially and nationally, and it was a
pleasure to him to feel that as his business spread it was making
known the resources of the country, in all of whose affairs he
took the deepest interest.
“The success that he gained in his own business caused
his counsel to be sought in the direction of other great
enterprises. He was a director in the country’s greatest
financial corporation, and in other institutions in which he had
investments. On the Corn Exchange and on the Board of Trade, his
was an influential voice, and it was always raised in behalf of
that which was best and broadest.
“He knew how to give generously to a good cause. He earned
the respect of all who were brought into contact with him and
especially that of the hundreds of men who served him in the
enterprise of which his was the directing brain.
“It was a big place that he won through his heart as well as by
his head and it will be long ere there will be found another
capable of filling it.”
Mr. Ogilvie was survived by his widow and four children, three
sons and a daughter, Albert Edward, William Watson (died 1906),
Gavin Lang and Alice Helen. Mrs. Ogilvie previous to her marriage
in 1871, was Helen, a daughter of Joseph Johnston of Paisley,
Scotland.
R. A. BALDWIN HART.
R. A. Baldwin Hart, prominent as a representative of one of the
old families of Montreal, manager-executor of the Theodore Hart
estate, and a public-spirited citizen, was born in Montreal,
December 5, 1852, a son of Theodore Hart. For a long period the
family had been represented in this city, the name figuring
prominently in connection with its history. His education was
acquired in the schools of Montreal and his life was spent in his
native city.
In 1900 in Montreal Mr. Hart was united in marriage to Miss Mary
Isabella Owen, who survives him, the death of Mr. Hart having
occurred on the 11th of September, 1903, when he was yet in
the prime of life. He was very fond of outdoor sports. He was
a wide reader and kept abreast with the events of the day and
the progress of the times. Charitable and kindly in spirit, he
listened attentively and sympathetically to a tale of sorrow
or distress and no worthy object failed to receive substantial
assistance from him. Civic affairs were a matter of interest to
him and he supported movements which he deemed of benefit to
Montreal. His was indeed a well rounded character in which the
varied important interests of life received due consideration and
he stood as a high type of Canadian manhood and citizenship.
ALAN JUDAH HART.
Alan Judah Hart, founder of the Hart Manufacturing Company, of
Montreal, is a descendant of one of the oldest English speaking
families of Canada, the ancestry being traced back to one who
came from New York with General Amherst in 1759. For many
generations the family was represented at Three Rivers, Canada.
Lewis A. Hart, father of Alan J. Hart, has for forty years or
more been a notary in Montreal. He was born at Three Rivers
and was educated in Montreal, supplementing his preliminary
studies by advanced courses which won him the degrees of Master
of Arts and Bachelor of Civil Law. He married Fanny Elizabeth
Benjamin and they became the parents of four sons and four
daughters: Claude Benjamin, a commission merchant; Arthur Daniel,
a manufacturer’s agent; Philip Beyfus, a commercial traveler;
Alan Judah; Ethel Muriel; Mabel Ruth; Gladys Judith; and Dorothy
Marguerite.
Alan Judah Hart was born in Montreal, October 4, 1879. He was
educated in Montreal and for some years was employed by E. A.
Small & Company, manufacturers of men’s clothing, and later was
with A. H. Sims & Company, manufacturers of ladies’ clothing,
acting as superintendent of the house for three years. In 1902
he established the Hart Manufacturing Company for the purpose of
manufacturing ladies’ tailor-made suits and cloaks and in the
conduct of this business he has been very successful. Mr. Hart is
a director of H. Vineberg & Company, Limited, manufacturers of
the Progress Brand clothing and has become widely and favorably
known in commercial circles.
Mr. Hart married Miss Eva Vineberg, a daughter of Harris
Vineberg, and they have a family of five children: Edward Henry,
Gordon David, Lawrence Ezra, Alma Ruth and Vera Esther.
Mr. Hart is a life governor of the Montreal General Hospital
and a director of Mount Sinai Sanitarium at Ste. Agathe. He
was likewise a member of the executive board of the Canadian
Manufacturers Association, serving in that capacity in 1912 and
1913, and he is a member of the Montreal Board of Trade and
of the Royal Arcanum. His interests and activities are varied
and important, winning him recognition of his worth in both
commercial circles and in public life.
HON. LOUIS JOSEPH FORGET.
Hon. Louis Joseph Forget, whose name is written large on the
pages of financial and industrial history of Montreal during the
past forty years, left the impress of his great constructive
force and energy upon mammoth projects which are figured as
some of the Dominion’s leading enterprises. He was born March
11, 1853, at Terrebonne, P. Q., a district that has produced
many eminent statesmen, writers, merchants and financiers. He
was one of the nine sons of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Forget and was
descended from a family that came to Canada from Normandy in
1600. Among those nine sons there were two priests, one of whom
declined episcopal robes, a notary, two lawyers, two contractors,
one farmer and he who was destined to become a power in the
financial world, Louis Joseph Forget. His education was acquired
at Masson College and his entrance into business circles was in
connection with a dry-goods establishment. He had almost reached
the determination of trying his fortune in the United States
when he chanced upon a newspaper that contained an advertisement
of office help being needed by Thomas Caverhill. Mr. Forget
applied for the position the next morning and was accepted.
From the beginning of his work with Mr. Caverhill the young man
displayed unusual aptness as well as great eagerness to learn.
He was not an ordinary boy. He took great interest in his work
and often asked questions about other features of the business
that did not come within his particular line of duties, but
a knowledge thereof added to his capability and rendered him
fit for promotion and opportunity offered later. It is only
natural that a young man of this character should attract the
attention of his employer. Mr. Caverhill took great interest
in him and was instrumental in causing Mr. Forget to enter the
brokerage business. The financial exploit during Jay Gould’s
celebrated Black Friday in Wall Street reflected no little credit
upon Mr. Forget, displaying in notable manner his insight and
ability, and soon afterward he was nominated for membership
in the Montreal Stock Exchange by his former employer. It is
interesting in this connection to note that he was the first
French-Canadian to be admitted to membership in that body and
that before he had reached his majority he purchased his seat
therein at a cost of nine hundred dollars. He began business as
a stock broker in Montreal in 1873, from which time until his
death, thirty-eight years later, his prominence and success in
the investment security business were not over-shadowed by that
of his contemporaries. He founded the financial house of L. J.
Forget & Company, one of the foremost in its line in Montreal and
remained its head during his life time. The Paris branch of L. J.
Forget & Company at 7 Rue Auber, was the first to be established
in continental Europe by a Canadian financial house and readily
secured a clientele that materially broadened the operations of
the firm.
[Illustration: HON. LOUIS J. FORGET]
Senator Forget was elected president of the Montreal Stock
Exchange in 1895 to succeed H. S. Macdougall and in May, 1896,
was reelected. His business and financial connections had been
constantly broadening and had long since included a prominent
identification with the foremost financial and industrial
projects of the time. In 1892 he became president of what was
then the Montreal City Passenger Railway Company, now the
Montreal Tramways Company. He remained its directing head until
1911, in which connection he accomplished what has meant much
to Montreal. To no one man is the city indebted as largely for
the upbuilding and development of its transportation system as
to Senator Forget. Under his regime the motive power was changed
from horses to electricity and the market value of the company’s
stock advanced from around one hundred dollars to three hundred
and thirty-seven dollars and a half per share.
In 1895 Senator Forget became president of the Richelieu &
Ontario Navigation Company. At that time the affairs of the
company were far from being on a dividend-paying basis and the
rehabilitation of its interests was but another illustration of
Senator Forget’s constructive genius. He resigned his position as
head of the company in 1905, but in the meantime the stock was
paying a six per cent dividend and the affairs of the company
generally were in a better condition than ever before.
One of the great achievements of Senator Forget was in carrying
through the merger of the Montreal Light, Heat & Power Company
and in doing so he accomplished what many predicted to be utterly
impossible, saying that nothing but failure and financial
disaster could result. This was in 1900 before the days when big
business interests were merged into mammoth enterprises and the
amount involved, seventeen million dollars, seemed to stagger
even the most progressive element in financial circles. Like
all of his undertakings, Mr. Forget had not entered into this
without due consideration and he had implicit confidence in its
success. It is doubtful if any but he could have swung that deal
and how well he succeeded is best indicated in the value of the
securities of the company in investment circles.
He was a prominent figure in the notable contest which took
place between the Dominion Coal Company and the Dominion Iron
& Steel Company. Originally a director and vice president of
the coal company he espoused the cause of the steel company in
its fight over the coal supply and ultimately the matter was
carried to the privy council and was there decided in favor
of the steel company. Mr. Forget was elected vice president
of the steel corporation when eventually the two companies
were merged and he continued to take an active part in the
administration of the affairs of the company to the time when
his health began to fail. Evidence of his wonderful insight and
sagacity in business matters is shown in the fact that when the
trouble first arose from which resulted the extended litigation
between the Dominion Iron & Steel Company and the Dominion Coal
Company Senator Forget went over the point in contention in his
characteristic deliberate manner and at once concluded that the
claim of the steel corporation would be sustained by the courts,
notwithstanding the contrary opinion of some of the greatest
legal authorities and business men of the day and time proved
that his judgment was correct.
He was the first French-Canadian to be elected to the directorate
of the Canadian Pacific Railway and was a member of its board at
the time of his death. His greatest enthusiasm was aroused while
viewing the untold resources of the west during the many times
he accompanied Sir Thomas Shaughnessy and R. B. Angus on their
annual tours of inspection. When the life work of Senator Forget
was ended the Montreal Daily Star said in part: “By the death of
Senator Forget a man of affairs has been lost to Canada. A man
of wide vision who saw far into the future and who modeled his
career accordingly. A glance through the financial district at
the half-masted flags at once conveys an idea of the number and
the prominence of the institutions that Senator Forget had been
interested in. Senator Forget stood out in Canadian finance, but
more than that, he was a true Canadian citizen and had done his
share towards the public weal, forgetting not his duty towards
the state in the midst of tremendous private enterprises. He was
a man of sympathies. At all times courteous and approachable,
he could thrust aside great business matters to attend to the
small wants of individuals, nor was he ever found wanting or
indifferent when charity offered a plea.
“In finance Senator Forget was a true leader. He was one of the
first men to loom large in high finance in Canada. He realized
many possibilities which other men have realized too--but he
followed that by action. He had the courage to follow his
convictions and many solid institutions which today enjoy in
themselves prosperity and largely aid in the advancement of the
Dominion, owe to him debts which can never be repaid to the
individual, though they will be to the people of the country. His
financial ability brought him into prominence in connection with
several of the largest corporations in the Dominion, prominent
among which were the Montreal Street, the Richelieu & Ontario
Navigation Company and the Montreal Light, Heat & Power Company,
the Dominion Coal Company, and the Dominion Iron & Steel Company.
“Senator Forget was one of the colossal figures about whom have
surged the tides and currents of Canadian finance. The news of
his death this morning was as much of a shock as a surprise, both
to those with whom he had been so long associated in connection
with the organization and the management of the great financial
and industrial enterprises of the Dominion and to the thousands
of others to whom his name had come to be the shibboleth of
success.
“But if Senator Forget represented one thing more than success
it was absolute unswerving fidelity to his word. In all the
heat and confusion of the stock market amidst the treacheries
which sometimes attend on high financing and the deception and
duplicity which beset the path of the successful man everywhere,
there was never a question of his own unfaltering veracity.
Senator Forget was wisely charitable, an intelligent patron of
the arts, and a strong supporter of all movements which made for
the better government of the city and the state. He will long be
remembered for what he was as well as for what he did.”
Another Montreal paper said of him: “His rise to financial fame
is written on the business history of Montreal, and the story
of his success in the financial world is the history of the
development of the city. Although Senator Forget’s estate will
count up into the millions, its accumulation was not effected by
continuous plain sailing.”
Obstacles and difficulties of grave import arose, but his
financial capacity and strict integrity had won the confidence
and trust of friends who rallied to his support, and although
he saw the storm clouds gather, he was able to turn threatened
disaster into brilliant achievement. His investments were most
judiciously made and his judgment concerning important financial
transactions seemed never at fault. Once his mind was made up as
to the value of a security nothing could shake his confidence,
and much of his success in life was due to his unerring judgment.
Slow to make a promise or express an opinion, Senator Forget
never failed to fulfill a promise and when he gave his opinion
it was the expression of his honest conviction and indicated a
course which he would follow in a similar position. If he advised
an investor it meant that he would not hesitate a moment in
investing his own money in the same security. His unquestioned
loyalty to his friends covered his entire business career. His
recommendation of a security to an investor meant that he would
fully support that security and there were instances in his
career when even his vast resources were taxed in such support.
This was true in connection with the Montreal Stock Exchange in
a security where large sums were invested on his recommendation.
The implicit confidence that capital had in his judgment enabled
him to finance and successfully carry out projects that probably
no other man of his time could have handled. His word was as
good as his bond. His denial of a rumor killed it immediately
just as an admission from him settled all doubt. He could see
through a proposition readily and would decide important and
extensive matters quickly. His decision was never hasty or ill
advised but came as the result of the fact that he had mastered
many grave business affairs and with readiness comprehended every
phase of a situation that came before him. He was a man of strong
personality. His was never the command of the tyrant to go but
ever the call of the leader to come. He was never vacillating in
his opinions of the best methods to be followed or the manner
in which a given work was to be done. He was a most considerate
and appreciative man and was always ready to encourage one who
was striving upward. He was not a talkative man, that is he
talked but comparatively little, yet he talked to the point and
with great earnestness and thinking men listened to him with
attention. He never laughed aloud, but his smile was one full of
humor, enjoyment and good nature. Judging his manner by first
appearance might do him an injustice, for a habit of earnest
thought had brought a deep furrow in the forehead that might be
regarded as a frown. An acquaintance, however, always received
the most polite attention from him and his unfailing courtesy of
manner showed him to be a perfect gentleman in the highest and
best sense of the term.
His interest in benevolent and charitable projects was wide
and his support thereof most generous. He became a director of
the Notre Dame Hospital and was a governor of both the General
Hospital and the Western Hospital. He was a governor of the Art
Association and life governor of the Numismatic & Antiquarian
Society; also president of the board of governors of Laval
University. His political career is an interesting one, for he
was not always a supporter of the liberal-conservative party.
Although a fellow townsman of Sir Adolphe Chapleau, the Senator
had been allied with Sir Henri Gustave Joly de Lotbinière in
that leader’s contest with Chapleau, Angers and the rest of the
conservative leaders of his time. In federal politics, however,
Hon. Mr. Forget declined to follow the free trade policy of
Mackenzie and Cartwright, which had been forced against his
will upon Rodolphe Laflamme, and from the days of the national
policy the Senator worked with the present conservative party.
He was appointed to the upper house during the elections of
1896 and was the last conservative senator to enter that branch
of the Canadian parliament. Senator Forget seldom addressed
the senate, yet his advice in committee was of great value to
his fellow members and it was here that the close friendship
sprang up between Senator Forget and the ex-prime minister, Sir
Mackenzie Bowell. The Senator was a loyal follower of R. L.
Borden as leader of the conservative party, both in parliament
and in the country. He realized that it was a very difficult
matter for any leader to find complete favor in the eyes of all
the provinces, but he was confident that Mr. Borden gave his
services to the party and to the country in a patriotic manner
and consequently deserved the support of a united party in both
houses. The Montreal Gazette some years ago termed him “an astute
and enterprising man of affairs.” He was more than that. He was
a constructionist and builded where others saw no opportunity;
he was a patriot without narrow partisanship; a Roman Catholic
and stanch churchman without a particle of race prejudice, in
evidence of which fact his closest friend in the senate of the
Dominion was an ex-grand master of the Orange Grand Lodge of
British North America--Sir Mackenzie Bowell. High honors had been
accorded him, distinction and notable success had come to him.
These things made him an eminent citizen, but, more than that,
attractive social qualities and genuine personal worth had gained
him the highest regard, confidence, good-will and friendship of
his contemporaries and colleagues.
While Senator Forget was a member of a number of clubs, he
manifested keenest interest perhaps in the Mount Royal Club, of
which he was one of the founders. Among the other clubs to which
he belonged were the St. James, of which he had been president;
the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club; the Forest and Stream; the
Montreal Hunt; the Country Club of Ottawa and the Manhattan Club
of New York.
In May, 1876, Senator Forget married Miss Maria Raymond, a
daughter of Gustav A. Raymond of Montreal. They were the parents
of five children: Loulou, now Mrs. W. W. Skinner; Raymond, who
died at the age of four years; Blanche, now Mrs. Guy Boyer;
Marguerite; and Pauline. The two younger daughters accompanied
their parents abroad and the family was sojourning at Nice when
Senator Forget passed away, April 7, 1911.
CHARLES M. BLACK.
Thorough preparatory training and broadening experience well
qualify Charles M. Black for the important and responsible duties
that devolve upon him as secretary and treasurer of the insurance
brokerage firm of R. Howard & Company of Montreal. He has many
friends in this city, to whom his life record will prove of
interest. He was born in Winnipeg in 1890, a son of William Allan
Black and a grandson of Charles R. and Elizabeth (Hall) Black, of
Montreal. There is a mingled strain of English and Scotch blood
in his veins. The birth of William A. Black occurred in Montreal,
November 17, 1862. His education was acquired in the schools of
his native city, and for some years he was in the service of the
Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific Railway Companies. In 1882 he
went to Manitoba and the following year became connected with
the Ogilvie Milling Company, one of the foremost enterprises of
that character in the country. Gradually in that connection he
worked his way upward and in 1902 was appointed general manager
of the western division, while in 1910 he was elected one of
the directors of the company. Still further promotion has come
to him in his election as vice president and managing director
of the Ogilvie Flour Mills Company. He is likewise a member of
the Winnipeg Board of Trade, a councillor of the Winnipeg Grain
and Produce Exchange and a member of the grain survey and grain
standard boards. He is likewise a director of the Home Savings &
Investment Company, Molson’s Bank and Larose Consolidated Mines
and is managing director of the Kaministiquia Power Company and
president of the Manitoba Cold Storage Company. He belongs to
the Winnipeg and Manitoba Clubs. He was married in 1888 to Mary
Campbell, daughter of Alexander McEwan, of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The illustrious example of his father has fired the ambition
of Charles M. Black, who was reared in Montreal and Winnipeg.
Making good use of time, talents and opportunities, he has
steadily progressed and is today a well known factor in insurance
brokerage circles of Montreal. The business of the firm of R.
Howard & Company was established in 1901 and was organized
under the present firm style on the 1st of February, 1913, when
Charles M. Black became a member of the firm, of which he has
since been secretary and treasurer, with Robert Howard as the
president. He had received thorough initial business training in
three years’ connection with his father, and he is also secretary
and treasurer of the Financial Investment Company. A young man
of determination and energy, he carries forward to successful
completion whatever he undertakes, and obstacles and difficulties
in his path serve but as an impetus for renewed effort on his
part.
JOHN PRATT.
High on the list of Montreal’s worthy citizens who have passed
from this life appears the name of John Pratt, who from 1839
until 1872 was one of the prosperous merchants of the city. He
was born at Berthier, en haut, on the 20th of July, 1812, and
after a well spent life of sixty-four years passed away July 22,
1876. He was survived for only a few weeks by his brother, Mr. C.
F. Pratt, with whom he had commenced his business career and with
whom he was almost continuously associated thereafter.
The father was a merchant at Berthier and in 1833 the sons,
Charles F. and John, left the paternal home to establish a
business house in Quebec under the firm name of C. F. Pratt &
Company. Having succeeded almost beyond his expectations in that
city, John Pratt opened a branch establishment at Three Rivers
and, as in Quebec, won almost immediate prosperity in the conduct
of the enterprise. Soon the brothers found that their sphere of
action was too limited and in 1839 they extended the scope of
their interests by founding the well known leather house of John
Pratt & Company in Montreal.
In 1852 the Quebec house was closed, the brothers concentrating
their energies upon the conduct of the Montreal business, out
of which they made colossal fortunes, that of Mr. John Pratt
amounting to about a million dollars. The tanneries at Roxton
Falls were started by the Pratts, who for many years stood at
the head of the leather business. In 1869, however, they put
aside industrial and commercial interests, but while Charles
Pratt confined himself to private affairs, his brother, John
Pratt, whose name introduces this review, unable with his active
temperament to remain comparatively unemployed, engaged in the
conduct of several joint stock companies, with which he had
identified himself. At the time of his death he was president
of the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Company, over whose board
he had presided since 1867. He was president of the Banque du
Peuple, of the Rubber Company, and others; and was vice president
of the Citizens Assurance Company, a position which he also
occupied in connection with other joint stock concerns. He was
on the board of directors of the Valleyfield Cotton Company, an
enterprise which he had done much to promote. Indeed, it may
be said of Mr. Pratt that he was an undoubted authority on all
business matters, being sagacious, practical, enterprising and
energetic. He seemed to recognize almost from the beginning the
possibilities of any undertaking, and he never faltered until his
purpose was accomplished.
In 1863 Mr. Pratt was placed on the harbor board, but the
succeeding year the government of Sir John Macdonald removed him
from office, doing exactly the same by Hon. John Young and Mr.
Thomas Cramp. In 1874, however, he was placed upon the newly
constituted board, of which he was an active, practical and
influential member. His natural modesty impelled him, upon
several occasions, to decline nomination for parliament, to
which, there is no doubt, had he so desired, he would have been
elected. Politically he was a thorough reformer and even by those
who differed from him, his opinions were looked upon with great
respect. He was at all times a thorough gentleman, a faithful and
considerate friend and a real philanthropist.
[Illustration: JOHN PRATT]
On the 3d of March, 1840, Mr. Pratt married Marie Mathilde Roy,
the widow of Charles Ovide Perrault, who was killed in the
rebellion of 1837. Mrs. Pratt died July 29, 1897. The children
born to Mr. and Mrs. Pratt were: Marie Mathilde, who was married
in 1862 to Desire Girouard; Charles Alfred, a practicing
physician, who in 1866 married Alphonsine Leclair and resides
at Longueuil; Eveline Marie Louise, the wife of Joseph Gustave
Laviolette, of Montreal; Virginia, who was married September
30, 1878, to George H. Matthews; Aloysia, who was married June
17, 1878, to Percy Franklin Woodcock, the well known artist;
Frederick Emile George, who was married May 31, 1883, to Albina
Thibault, the widow of his younger brother; and Louis Edouard
Albert, who married Albina Thibault and died August 11, 1880.
On the 27th of July, 1876, the body of Mr. John Pratt was taken
from the family residence, No. 310 Lagauchetiere Street to the
church of St. Jacques, St. Denis Street, and thence to the
family vault in the Roman Catholic cemetery. The attendance
at the church was immense, comprising all the influential and
representative citizens, both French and English, of Montreal.
At the church the burial service was celebrated by Rev. A. L.
Sentenne, curé of the parish, assisted by Rev. Father Fleck,
superior of the Jesuits.
Perhaps no better indication of Mr. Pratt’s high standing could
be given than by quoting a letter received by Mrs. John Pratt,
reading:
“Dear Madam:
“We, the harbor commissioners of Montreal, take the liberty of
intruding upon you to express our sympathy and condolence to you
and your family in the irretrievable loss sustained by the death
of your late husband, our friend and colleague in the harbor
trust. Our late friend rendered such efficient service in the
management of this important trust and was so fully in sympathy
with every movement for the good of his country and this city
in which he lived, as to secure the esteem and confidence of
every member of the commission. At such a time we are aware that
nothing can be said to assuage the natural grief of yourself and
family, still we hope, Dear Madam, it will prove consolatory to
you and yours, that your husband, our friend, has filled up his
season of life with so many good deeds and in so exemplary a
manner, and that although he has now gone from among us, he will
be remembered by all who knew him. This we trust will be to you
and your family a source of comfort and help you to bear with
fortitude and resignation your present great affliction.
“Thomas Cramp,
“Hugh McLennan,
“Andrew Allan,
“Charles H. Gould,
“John Young,
“Adolphe Roy,
“P. Donovan.
“Harbor commissioners’ office, Montreal, July 28, 1876.”
The board of directors of the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation
Company, at its meeting on Friday, the 28th of July, 1876, passed
unanimously the following resolution:
“Resolved: That this board of directors have received with much
regret intelligence of the death of the late president of the
company, Mr. John Pratt, whose long and valuable services in its
behalf secured for him the gratitude, not only of the directors,
but of every shareholder in the company. The directors desire
to offer to his family the deep sympathy of every member of the
board in the loss they have sustained, and to assure them of the
high esteem in which the late Mr. Pratt was universally held.
“Hugh Allan, president.
“J. N. Beaudry, secretary.
“Thomas Caverhill.
“Andrew Allan.
“William McNaughton.
“Adolphe Roy.
“D. Masson.
“M. H. Gault.
“Robert Anderson.”
THOMAS W. RITCHIE.
One of the most prominent members of the provincial bar was T.
W. Ritchie, who specialized in the practice of commercial law
in Montreal and represented many important corporations in his
professional connection. A native of Hatley, Quebec, he was born
in 1828. After careful preparation for active law practice he was
called to the bar in 1852 and opened an office in Sherbrooke.
In 1860 he removed to Montreal and became a member of the firm
of Rose, Monk & Ritchie. It was in 1867 that he was appointed
queen’s counsel. No dreary novitiate awaited him at the outset of
his professional career. He brought to its starting point several
rare gifts, strong individuality, marked strength of character
and high professional ideals, in addition to comprehensive
knowledge of the principles of law and ability to correctly apply
these. He continued in active practice as a member of the firm of
Rose, Monk & Ritchie until Mr. Monk was appointed to the bench.
The partnership relation under the firm style of Rose & Ritchie
then continued until Sir John Rose left Canada for England. Mr.
Ritchie was then joined by J. L. Morris and W. Rose, but the
latter left soon afterward and later Mr. Morris retired. Mr.
Ritchie then took in as partner Mr. G. H. Borlase, who remained
with him until 1879, when he retired. Mr. Ritchie then admitted
his son W. F. Ritchie to a partnership under the firm style of
Ritchie & Ritchie. The father was one of the most prominent
members of the bar of the province, ranking high as an advocate
in the department of commercial law and sustaining many important
professional relations. At the time of his death, on the 4th of
September, 1882, he was solicitor to the Bank of Montreal and the
Hudson’s Bay Company and was both director and solicitor to the
Montreal, Portland & Boston Railway. For many years he acted as
crown prosecutor for the district of Montreal. The court records
attest his high standing and his ability whereby he engraved his
name high on the keystone of the legal arch. It is the theory of
the law that the counsels who practice are to aid the court in
the administration of justice, and perhaps no representative of
the Montreal bar has been more careful to conform his practice to
a high standard of professional ethics than did T. W. Ritchie.
ALBERT GEORGE NICHOLLS, M. D.
One of the well known members of the medical profession in
Montreal, Dr. Albert George Nicholls has made continual progress,
and in the field of scientific attainment and research is
recognized as one of the most eminent in the profession in the
city. His investigations, carried far and wide, have brought
forth many valuable truths, and his contributions to medical
literature are largely accepted as standard.
Dr. Nicholls was born at Shotley Bridge, Durham, England, April
16, 1870, a son of the late Rev. John Nicholls and Mary Elizabeth
(Harland) Nicholls. The father was the well known pastor of St.
Mark’s Presbyterian church in Montreal for twenty-two years.
In England he became identified with the Methodist clergy
and was given charge of churches at Shotley Bridge, Durham;
Chester-le-Street, Hetton and Blyth, Northumberland. He was born
at Willenhall, Staffordshire, England, in 1840, and had reached
the age of fifty-eight years when he passed away in Montreal on
the 4th of May, 1898. He had been a resident of Canada for almost
a quarter of a century, having arrived in this country in 1874.
It was after he came to the new world that he connected himself
with the Presbyterian church and for twenty-two years remained
pastor of St. Mark’s. The names of few are so closely interwoven
with the history of moral progress in this city. For some years
he was a member of the Protestant Ministerial Association, was
editor of the Bible Reporter, and was a frequent contributor to
the press upon questions relative to the work of the church and
the extension of Christian influence. At the time of the smallpox
epidemic in Montreal he served on various committees formed to
relieve the situation and opened his church for the distribution
of relief. He was also one of the originators of the Fresh Air
Fund and while thoroughly versed upon dogmas and the principles
of theology, his religion was ever of that practical character
which found expression in good deeds, in ready sympathy, and
in immediate helpfulness. The survivors of his family are Mrs.
Nicholls; Dr. Albert George Nicholls, whose name introduces this
review; and a daughter, Miss Amy Nicholls, B. A.
Education received high rating in the Nicholls home and the son
was afforded excellent opportunities for acquiring knowledge that
would fit him for any field of labor to which he might choose to
devote his efforts. He attended McGill Model School, the Montreal
high school and afterward entered McGill University, where he
won the Bachelor of Arts degree and became gold medallist in
classics in 1890. Three years later his alma mater conferred
upon him the Master of Arts degree and in preparation for the
medical profession he pursued a course of study in McGill, which
won him the M. D. and C. M. degrees in 1894. In 1909 the Doctor
of Science degree was conferred upon him and in 1908 the honor
of F. R. S. C. Holding to the highest professional standards and
wishing to reach the highest possible point of proficiency, Dr.
Nicholls has gone abroad for study, doing post-graduate work
at Erlangen, Prague and Vienna. A successful practitioner in
Montreal, he has devoted much time to original research, more
especially in the scientific side of medicine. He is perhaps best
known for his work in connection with typhoid fever, Brights
disease, tuberculosis and some of the more obscure phases of
chronic inflammation and his views have been referred to in
several of the more recent authoritative text-books. He is the
author of more than forty monographs and other publications on
medical subjects, and his writings have largely been accepted
as standard by the profession in this section of the country.
He was joint author with Professor Adami of The Principles of
Pathology, a work of recognized value. He is equally well known
as a lecturer on clinical medicine and assistant professor
of pathology and bacteriology in McGill University. He is
out-patient physician to the Montreal General Hospital and
assistant physician and pathologist to the Western General
Hospital.
In May, 1907, Dr. Nicholls was married to Miss Lucia Pomeroy, the
youngest daughter of the late William H. Van Vliet of Lacolle,
P. Q., and they have three sons, George Van Vliet, John Van
Vliet and Robert Van Vliet. Dr. Nicholls is a conservative and
an ardent imperialist. His religious affiliation is with the
Presbyterian church, and he is a member of the University Club,
Montreal, and the Authors’ Club, London.
Those life forces which work for betterment, for progress and
improvement elicit his attention and receive his support, and he
is today recognized as a man of splendidly developed talents and
well balanced powers, so that he has become a forceful factor in
the world’s work.
CAPTAIN GEORGE HILLYARD MATTHEWS.
Success in business resulting entirely from capable management,
keen discrimination and unfaltering enterprise came to Captain
George Hillyard Matthews, who for many years was president of the
Sincennes-McNaughton Line. His birth occurred in Montreal on the
14th of August, 1846, and he passed away at the comparatively
early age of fifty-seven years, dying on the 19th of January,
1904. He was a son of George Matthews, of Mount Victoria, Hudson
and Montreal. The father came to Canada from Essex, England,
as a young man and in this country married a Miss Hudson, also
a native of England. They became the parents of six children,
including Captain Matthews, who received his military education
at Sandhurst, England, in 1871. The following year he entered the
army and served for a period of eight years, when he resigned.
He was an honorary member of the officers’ mess of the Third
Victoria Rifles and also honorary president of the Army and Navy
Veterans Association. He never ceased to feel a deep interest in
military affairs and believed in the maintenance of a high
standard of service in connection with the army and navy.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN GEORGE H. MATTHEWS]
Captain Matthews’ business affairs also brought him prominently
before the public. For many years he was president of the
Sincennes-McNaughton Line and during his term of office the
major portion of the harbor fleet of tugs was built under his
supervision. As opportunity offered he made judicious investments
in real estate and became the owner of a large amount of property
in Montreal. Following the death of Baron de Longueuil, he took
charge of his estate, which he wisely managed.
In 1878 Captain Matthews was united in marriage to Miss Virginia
Pratt, a daughter of John Pratt, one of the early settlers of
Montreal. He held membership in the St. James Club and he was
interested in various significant and vital questions of the day,
especially in fish and game protection. He also took an active
interest in politics. He was acquainted with all of the different
phases of public life having to do with the prosperity and
progress of his city and province, and his aid and cooperation
could always be counted upon to further movements for the general
good.
DAVID BURKE.
One of the best known insurance and financial men of Montreal
was the late David Burke, who passed away on December 5, 1913.
He was born in Charlottetown, P. E. I., in 1850, being the
youngest son of Edward and Mary (Acorn) Burke, both of whom were
natives of Prince Edward Island. He received his early education
in the schools of that province. In early manhood he turned his
attention to the insurance business, being but sixteen years of
age when he entered upon the field of labor in which he was to
attain to importance, making his name one well known in insurance
circles not only in Canada but also in the United States. In
1869 he came to Montreal, where he was associated in business
with his brother, the late Walter Burke, then general manager
for Canada of the New York Life Insurance Company. On the death
of the latter in 1879 the company retired from Canada owing to
differences with the insurance department at Ottawa. In 1883,
being willing to conform to the regulations set down by this
department, the company reentered Canada, and Mr. David Burke was
appointed general manager. In 1897 he retired from his connection
with this firm to organize an insurance company of his own, the
Royal Victoria Life Insurance Company, which was absorbed by the
Sun Life in 1911. He thus bent his energies to administrative
direction and executive control and his opinions were largely
accepted as authority upon matters connected with the complex
problems of insurance and the control of the business. In 1882 he
was elected an associate of the British Institute of Actuaries,
being one of its oldest members, and in 1897 was made a fellow of
the Royal Statistical Society of Great Britain. In 1904 he was
honored with election to the vice presidency of the Economic and
Statistical Society of Montreal and in 1906 was chosen president
of the Canadian Life Insurance Officers Association. For two
years he held the presidency of the Life Managers Association of
Canada, a body formed solely of the executive heads of insurance
companies in Canada, each company being represented in the
association by only one member. He studied every phase of the
insurance business with a thoroughness that made his opinions
standard, and he was the author of a valuable paper published in
1908 entitled “Insurance as a National Economy.” The Montreal
Witness spoke of him as one “recognized as a most capable
insurance administrator,” and his contemporaries and colleagues
speak of his business ability and resourcefulness in terms of
high admiration.
Mr. Burke was married in 1875 to Miss Rose Maclear, the youngest
daughter of the late Thomas Maclear, founder of the Maclear
Publishing Company of Toronto, and they were parents of four sons
and two daughters, as follows: Edmund A., the noted vocalist;
Louis, of New York; Alan, of Boston; Maurice N., of Montreal;
Mrs. Fred C. Budden, of Montreal; and Miss Marjorie Burke, of
Montreal.
Mr. Burke was a member of the St. James Club and in religious
faith an Anglican, while his political belief placed him in the
position of an imperial protectionist. His views of life were
those of a broad-minded man who delved deep into the questions
of vital importance and who proved himself the master of those
forces which made up his life’s experience.
JAMES JOHN EDMUND GUERIN, M. D., LL. D., T. C. D., K. C. S. G.
Dr. James John Edmund Guerin, medical practitioner and educator,
and an influential figure in the political history of the
province, having served with distinction as a member of the
Marchand and Parent cabinets and later as mayor of Montreal,
was born July 4, 1856, in the city which is still his place
of residence, a son of the late Thomas Guerin, C. E., chief
hydraulic engineer of the department of public works, Ottawa,
and a brother of the Hon. Edmund Guerin, one of the judges of
the superior court, Montreal. Dr. Guerin made his studies at the
Montreal College, and later entered McGill University for the
purpose of pursuing a course in medicine. He was graduated M. D.,
C. M. in 1878, and has since engaged in active practice in his
native city where he has also done important hospital work. He is
the president of the medical board of the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital and
one of the governors of the Notre Dame Hospital; in educational
circles he is well known as professor of clinical medicine in
Laval University. He holds to the highest professional standards
of ethics and enjoys the warmest regard of fellow practitioners.
He is a director of the Royal Edward Institute and a governor of
the Victorian Order of Nurses, and in 1909 he was appointed a
member of the royal commission to prevent the further spread of
tuberculosis.
Capable and prominent as is Dr. Guerin in his chosen profession,
he has also become equally widely known in connection with
political activity and has done much important work. In 1895
he was elected president of the St. Patrick’s Society and was
reelected in 1896 and 1897. In the former year he was a delegate
to the Irish National Convention at Dublin. In October, 1895,
he was returned to the legislature for Montreal in the liberal
interests by a majority of twelve hundred and fifty-four. In
1897 he was reelected in the general election and was called to
the Marchand cabinet without portfolio on the 25th of May of
that year. He was a minister without portfolio in the Marchand
and Parent administrations from 1897 to 1904, and in 1901 was
appointed member of the council of public instruction of the
province of Quebec. His opinions carried weight in provincial
councils and a discussion of any vital question with him at once
indicated how widely and thoroughly he was informed concerning
the points at issue. In February, 1910, as the candidate of the
citizens’ party, he was elected mayor of Montreal by a majority
of twelve thousand nine hundred and eighty-three and in his
administration sought at all times to further the best interests
of the city. He conducted its civic affairs along economical
lines and yet never fettered municipal progress by a narrow
conservatism. He represented the city of Montreal at the funeral
of King Edward in London in 1910 and at the coronation of King
George and Queen Mary in 1911. In 1911 he was created a Knight
Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, and in 1912 he
received the degree of LL. D. from Trinity College, Dublin.
In 1883 Dr. Guerin was married to Miss Mary Carroll O’Brien,
daughter of the late Hon. James O’Brien; she died in 1886. Dr.
Guerin resides at No. 4 Edgehill Avenue. His religious faith
is that of the Roman Catholic church. Aside from serving as
president of St. Patrick’s Society he has been president of the
Shamrock Lacrosse Club and of many other organizations. He is
a member of the Mount Royal Club, the University Club and the
Montreal Jockey Club. His activity along various important lines
indicates his worth and value as a citizen, and his indorsement
at the polls testifies to the confidence reposed in him by his
fellow citizens. His ideals of citizenship are high, while in his
professional career he manifests the keenest appreciation for the
responsibilities and obligations which devolve upon him.
ANDREW STUART EWING.
Andrew Stuart Ewing, for almost half a century one of the best
known business men of Montreal, was born in 1838 at Lisdillon
House, Londonderry, Ireland, and was a representative of an old
family of Irish origin, his parents being Samuel and Margaret
(Hamilton) Ewing, who crossed the Atlantic to Canada with their
family when their son, Andrew, was seven years of age. He was
educated in the public schools of Montreal and in 1860 entered
into partnership with his brother, Samuel H. Ewing, in the
ownership and management of the extensive coffee and spice mills
formerly owned by his father, who founded the business in 1845.
In 1860 the firm style of Samuel Ewing & Sons was assumed and in
1892, after the retirement of Samuel H. Ewing, Andrew S. Ewing
became sole proprietor of the business which was conducted at No.
55 Cote Street. The enterprise was one of extensive proportions
and yielded a substantial profit as a result of careful
management and wise direction.
During the last fifteen years of his life Mr. Ewing was a
prominent member of the Montreal Board of Trade and was
interested in its various projects for promoting the material
progress of the city and advancing affairs of municipal and
civic interest. In politics he was a conservative and a strong
supporter of the national policy.
Mr. Ewing died at his home in Montreal, January 8, 1902, and was
survived by his widow until June, 1913. The surviving children
are Andrew Stuart and Royal L. H. Ewing and two daughters, Mrs.
Robert Starke and Miss Adelaide Ewing. The sons are members of
the firm of Ewing & Ewing, real estate and insurance, which was
established in September, 1906, by the brothers in connection
with A. F. Gault, but the last named retired from the firm May
1, 1912. A. Stuart Ewing is a member of the Art Association
of Montreal, the Canadian Club, the Montreal Amateur Athletic
Association, the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club, the St. James
Club, the Manitou Club and the Park Toboganning Club, of which he
is vice president.
Mr. Royal L. H. Ewing is a member of the Art Association of
Montreal, the Montreal and Canadian Clubs, the Montreal Amateur
Athletic Association, the Mount Royal Lawn Tennis Club, the Royal
St. Lawrence Yacht Club, the St. James Club, the Manitou Club
and the Park Toboganning Club. The sons are worthy successors
to their father, not only in business activity but also in that
business integrity for which the family name has always stood.
FRANK RICHARDSON ENGLAND, M. D., C. M.
Dr. Frank Richardson England, an alumnus of Bishop’s College
of Montreal and now well known as a practical educator as well
as a successful practitioner, was born August 21, 1862, at
Cowansville, province of Quebec, and is the eldest son of Francis
and Jane (Ruiter) England, of Dunham, Quebec. The family comes of
United Empire Loyalist stock and the parents are now deceased.
While Dr. England acquired his early education at Waterloo, he
pursued his medical course at Bishop’s College in Montreal, from
which he was graduated with the class of 1885, the degrees of M.
D. and C. M. being then conferred upon him, and obtaining the
Wood and Nelson gold medals. He was professor of diseases of
children at Bishop’s College in 1887 and professor of surgery
in the same institution in 1894. In 1905 he was graduated at
McGill College (ad eund). The profession has honored him with
official distinction, for in 1906 he was chosen president of
the Montreal Medico-Chirurgical Society and the following year
was vice president of the Canadian Medical Association. He is a
governor and fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is
now, 1914, surgeon of the Western Hospital at Montreal and in his
surgical practice displays comprehensive knowledge of anatomy, of
the component parts of the human body and of the onslaughts made
upon it by disease or left to it as a legacy by progenitors. He
is cool and collected at critical moments and combines strength
with tenderness, seeking ever the ultimate good of patient and of
profession.
Dr. England was married twice. In 1887 he wedded Carrie Ann,
youngest daughter of the late R. L. Galer, of Dunham. Following
her death Dr. England married Octavia Grace Ritchie, B. A., M.
D., of Montreal, the youngest daughter of the late Thomas W.
Ritchie, Q. C. She was born in Montreal and became a student
in McGill University, winning the degree of Bachelor of Arts,
together with first class honors in natural science in 1883.
She was afterward graduated from Bishop’s College, Lennoxville,
Quebec, with the degree of M. D. and C. M. in 1891. She was
one of the first class of ladies to graduate from McGill and
the first woman to receive a medical degree in the province of
Quebec. Mrs. England took a scholarship at Kingston and later
pursued a post-graduate course at Vienna, Austria. She has done
much to arouse public feeling in favor of the medical education
of women in Quebec and was secretary of the organization called
the Donalda Students to procure this concession. She is now a
governor of the Western Hospital and was assistant gynecologist
there from 1894 until 1896. She has lectured on medical subjects
before the Women’s Club and the Young Women’s Christian
Association. She is a member of the Montreal Medico-Chirurgical
Society and was a delegate to the Quinquennial Congress of the
National Council of Women at Toronto in 1909. She is president of
the local council of the National Council of Women. In 1897 she
became the wife of Dr. Frank Richardson England of Montreal. Both
continue actively in the practice of the profession, and each has
a large clientage, indicating the prominence to which they have
attained.
WILLIAM JOHN WHITE.
William John White, whose authorship no less than his practice
has gained him eminence and success, is regarded as one of the
foremost representatives of the Montreal bar. Contemporaneous
writers pronounce upon him high encomiums for his contributions
to legal as well as to general literature. A native of Peterboro,
Ontario, he was born January 29, 1861, a son of the late Richard
White, D. C. L., and Jean (Riddel) White. After completing his
studies in the Montreal high school he entered McGill University,
where he pursued a classical and legal course, winning the B.
A. degree in 1881, the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law in 1882,
while in 1885 the Master of Arts degree was conferred upon him
and in 1902 that of Doctor of Civil Law. He completed his legal
studies at the Sorbonne in Paris and in 1883 entered upon the
active work of the profession as an advocate. He has since
successfully practiced and was created king’s counsel in 1899. He
is now senior partner of the law firm of White & Buchanan and is
recognized as one of the leaders of the Montreal bar. In 1901 he
was made batonnier. His law practice has been of an important as
well as of an extensive character. He was retained as counsel by
the Mexican government in the boundary dispute between the United
States and Mexico in 1911. His high standing in his profession
and his thorough understanding of vital and significant
governmental problems have brought him into prominence in various
international affairs. He served as a member of the board of
investigation appointed by the minister of labor in the United
Shoe Machinery case, and his opinions have been sought on various
questions of far-reaching importance. He represented the Montreal
bar at the annual meeting of the New York State Bar Association
at Albany in 1902 and at the Illinois State Bar Association in
1906, and on the latter occasion read a paper on The Law of
Quebec. He is the author of a treatise on Canadian Company Law
which was published in 1901.
Aside from his profession Mr. White has been connected with
several business enterprises and public projects of importance.
In 1911 he became one of the directors of the Sherwin-Williams
Company of Canada, and from 1906 to 1908 he served as alderman
of the city. He is a director and was elected the vice president
of the new Technical School of Montreal. He was one of the
founders of the Society of Historical Studies and was chosen to
the presidency of that organization for 1891-2. He was likewise
one of the organizers of the Society of Canadian Literature
and of the Canadian branch of the American Folk Lore Society.
From 1889 until 1891 he published a monthly magazine known as
Canadiana and Dr. John Reade termed him “A writer of taste and
force,” while the Montreal Witness spoke of him as “A thoroughly
capable man.” Mr. White belongs to a number of the leading clubs,
including the St. James, University, Outremont Golf and the
Montreal Jockey Clubs of Montreal; the Rideau Club of Ottawa;
the Quebec Garrison Club; and the Constitutional Club of London,
England. It is in his law practice, however, that he has won the
recognition that has placed him in the present enviable position
which he occupies. He has ever in his practice been faithful to
his clients, fair to his adversaries and candid to the court. In
many cases with which he has been connected he has exhibited the
possession of every faculty of which a lawyer may be proud--skill
in presentation of his own evidence, extraordinary ability in
cross examination, strong grasp of every feature of the case,
power to secure favorable rulings from the judge, unusual
familiarity with human nature and untiring industry. These
qualities have gained him notable success in law practice.
ROBERT REFORD.
At the time of his death half a century was drawing to its
close since the subject of this sketch, the late Robert Reford,
first established a commercial connection with Montreal. The
outstanding position which Mr. Reford occupied in the life of the
city was the natural outcome of qualities which quickly bring
men to be recognized as a source of strength to whatever spheres
in which they may move. He was a man of very pronounced ability,
tenaciousness of purpose, firmness of decision and of forceful
character but by those who knew him best he will be remembered,
chiefly for those high standards of honor which were his for the
straightforwardness and uprightness of all his dealings with his
fellowmen and for the strong sense of justice which throughout
his long career he was so often called upon to exercise.
Robert Reford was born at Moylena, which for generations had been
the family seat near Antrim, Ireland, in 1831 and was a lad of
fourteen when in 1845 he came with his mother, three brothers
and one sister to make his home in Canada. The family arrived at
Quebec the night of the great fire when the lower town was almost
completely destroyed. After a very brief stay in Montreal they
settled in Toronto, where Mr. Reford completed his education. He
was, however, still but a boy when he became engaged in business
and, though he was indentured to work for his first employer
for two years at a fixed salary, it is indicative of the great
natural capacity which he possessed and of his steadiness and
alertness in business, that at the end of the first year his
salary was increased fivefold and again at the end of the second
year that amount was doubled. In three years time, still
barely on the threshold of manhood, Robert Reford had proved his
ability to such an extent as to be offered a partnership with
William Strachan in a wholesale and retail grocery business which
the latter was about to open. This offer was accepted but the
firm dissolved after a few years duration and Mr. Reford started
a business on his own account, which he continued to conduct
alone for several years, only taking Richard Dunbar as a partner
when he acquired, by purchase, from William Ross, another large
wholesale business of the same nature. The two businesses were
run separately, one as Reford & Dunbar, the other in partnership
with the late John Dillon, as Reford & Dillon, wholesale grocers
and merchants. It would indeed have been strange if a man, imbued
with the spirit of enterprise and courage, as was Mr. Reford to
a very remarkable degree, had been content to remain without
some wider scope for his abilities than that offered, even by a
successful wholesale business. It was not long before he took the
initial step which was to lead him so far along the path of that
vast question of transportation.
[Illustration: ROBERT REFORD]
Mr. Reford was one of the pioneer workers in this direction,
entering the carrying trade, in the early ’60s. He amassed a
considerable fortune during the forty odd years he was engaged in
shipping pursuits but never did he lose sight of the fact that
Canada’s interests as a whole are intimately and indivisibly
bound up in every phase of the shipping industry, nor did he ever
fail to consider and work towards the benefit of those wider
interests of his adopted country.
The operation of vessels on the Great Lakes was the beginning
of Mr. Reford’s shipping enterprises. In 1860 he equipped the
schooner “Seagull” and sent her with a general cargo of Canadian
produce to Port Natal, South Africa, thus being the first man to
undertake direct shipping connection between Canada and that part
of the world.
In 1865, associated with his old friend William Ross, the firm
opened a branch in Montreal. This was the commencement of the
present Montreal firm. The business was now assuming large
trading proportions with Great Britain, the United States,
China, Japan, the West Indies and other foreign countries;
nevertheless it soon began to confine itself more strictly to
ocean shipping. The firm became agents and part owners of the
Thomson and Donaldson lines. When the story of the growth of
Canada’s shipping comes to be written the name of Robert Reford
will loom up largely on its pages. Mr. Dillon severed his
connection with Mr. Reford in the shipping business in 1897 and
it was then that the present company, the Robert Reford Co.,
Ltd., was incorporated, with very extensive steamship services of
six different lines to many of the world’s principal ports and
with branch offices established in Quebec, Toronto, St. John,
New Brunswick, and Portland, Maine. Canada owes not a little
to Mr. Reford for contributing so materially to the opening up
of new markets for her produce along the east coast of Great
Britain, and also for the building up of further valuable
trade connections by giving direct shipping communication
between Canada and the Mediterranean ports. Every aspect of the
carrying trade had been studied by him with that thoroughness
and regard for detail which characterized the man in everything
he undertook. His opinions and advice on shipping and on
transportation generally were appreciated as those of an expert,
and sought after by people from all over the Dominion.
Apart from his shipping enterprises, which remained the main
issue of his commercial life, the most important of his other
business activities was his interest in the Mount Royal Milling
and Manufacturing Company. Mr. Reford founded the company
in 1882 for the milling of rice, with mills in Montreal and
Victoria, British Columbia, and acted as its president up to the
time of his death. He was also president for many years of the
Charlemagne & Lac Ouareau Lumber Company, president of the York
Lumber Company, president of the Crown Trust Company and vice
president of the Labrador Company; and a director of the Bank
of Toronto, of the Lake of the Woods Milling Company and of the
Paton Manufacturing Company.
From 1901 to 1905 Mr. Reford was a member of the Montreal Board
of Harbour Commissioners and in 1903 was a delegate to the fifth
congress of the Chambers of Commerce of the Empire, but no
doubt his chief public service was rendered first as a member
and then as chairman of the Royal Commission on Transportation,
1904-1905. The work involved in this important commission
necessitated its members visiting every Canadian port, from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, with a view to recommending all possible
desirable improvements for the increase of and facilitating the
transportation trade appertaining to the Dominion, both ocean
and inland. The commission sent in an exhaustive report to the
government in December, 1905, based on very thorough personal
observations and study, together with the result of carefully
gathered evidence of those residents in the different sections
of Canada who were best fitted to judge. It strongly advocated
the building of the Georgian Bay canal and the formation of
national ports on the Atlantic and Pacific, the St. Lawrence
and the Great Lakes. Further, it was urged that there should
be a fast all-round-the-world British steamship service which
would bind together more closely all portions of the empire,
by taking advantage of the shorter ocean route which services
between Canada and Europe, via Great Britain on the east, and
Asia and the Orient on the west, could offer, if Halifax and
Galway were used as the termini for the Atlantic coasts. Mr.
Reford’s work on this commission was stupendous, but none of it
was done in the light of the public eye. Few knew of the great
personal sacrifices which it demanded and which were willingly
made by this man of then seventy-four years. In fact all his life
Mr. Reford avoided rather than sought any kind of prominence or
recognition.
Many of Montreal’s educational and charitable institutions looked
to him for guidance and help and whether the requests came to
him for his advice, or for financial support, provided he was
in sympathy with the object, to either his response was equally
ready and generous. He was a governor of McGill University and
was the first to respond to an appeal for aid by donating fifty
thousand dollars towards a fund for the increase of salaries of
the professional staff. In 1911 when the campaign for the general
funds of the university was made, it found in him one of its
leading spirits and most ardent supporters. Again he gave proof
of his faith in the higher education of men’s minds as being
an asset of immeasurable national value and set the inspiring
example of a one hundred thousand dollars contribution.
Could we mention all the hospitals, homes for the aged poor and
for little children, and in fact every kind of philanthropic
institution which knew and enjoyed his generous help, the list
would indeed be a long one and few such in Montreal omitted from
it. Some of his largest donations were to the Montreal General
Hospital of which he was a life governor and to which in recent
years he gave thirty-five thousand dollars; to the Young Men’s
Christian Association he gave ten thousand dollars, and a like
sum to the Diocesan Theological College.
In manner the late Robert Reford was somewhat abrupt but this
arose purely from that eagerness and energy which every move of
the body seemed to betray, and not from any unkindly feeling.
He was an exceptionally clear thinker, his mind worked with
precision; his plans were made and carried out with unvarying
promptitude and method which perhaps supply the key to his
amazing capacity for the accomplishment of work. Self indulgence
knew no place with him and to the end he adhered to his stern
habits of life, granting himself but little respite and no
holidays. From the age of twenty-two when he was made captain of
No. 4 Company in the Queen’s Own Rifles his interest in civic
affairs never waned. He fought untiringly for reforms, often with
a lack of support which would have discouraged most men, but this
North of Ireland man was not of such stuff. He was of the kind
which the hand of Providence seems to have scattered far from
their native shores, over the face of the British Empire to give
it that salt, without which it could have no savor.
Mr. Reford was twice married; first to Miss Margaret McCord,
daughter of A. T. McCord, chamberlain and treasurer of the city
of Toronto, who died within a year after the marriage. In 1866 he
married Miss Katherine S. Drummond, daughter of Andrew Drummond
of Stirling, Scotland. Mrs. Reford survives him, as do five of
his children, they being: Robert Wilson Reford, president of the
Robert Reford Co., Ltd.; A. D. Reford; L. L. Reford, M. D.; Mrs.
H. B. MacDougall; and Miss Kate Reford.
Mr. Reford was a member of St. George’s church and a stanch
believer in the power of the church to be a light unto the
lives of men. In all things he acted as he believed and so the
community is bereft of a personality of strength, of courage and
of truth.
MORRIS STANSFELD BLAIKLOCK.
Morris Stansfeld Blaiklock entered the service of the Grand
Trunk Railway over thirty years ago and since 1907 has held the
position of engineer of maintenance and survey in connection with
this road. He is a son of the late Frederick William Blaiklock,
who died in 1900, and Elizabeth (Whittaker) Blaiklock, who died
in 1889. The father was public land surveyor and head of the
Cadastral Bureau of Montreal. The family has long been prominent
in engineering circles, the grandfather of our subject, Captain
Blaiklock, having been one of the Royal Engineers. A brother of
our subject was the late Major W. F. Blaiklock, of the Royal
Scots. The family is of English origin.
Morris S. Blaiklock was born in the city of Quebec on the 19th of
July, 1859. He pursued his early education in a private school in
Quebec and upon the removal of the parents to Montreal in 1870
attended the high school in this city, rounding out his course
by receiving private tuition. He then studied architecture for
three years and in 1879 entered the employ of the Grand Trunk
Railway as assistant engineer, remaining in that position until
1889, when he became resident engineer for the St. Clair Tunnel
Company in connection with the same road, holding this office
until 1892. In that year he was promoted to the position of
inspector, continuing as such until 1897, when he became engineer
of the eastern division of the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1902 he
was appointed superintendent of the eastern division and in
1907 engineer of maintenance and survey for the system. He has
held this latter office ever since. He is one of the foremost
men in his line, basing his success upon native ability, a vast
experience and executive force of rare quality.
On November 12, 1889, Mr. Blaiklock married Miss Mary Elizabeth
Tunstall, eldest daughter of the late Gabriel C. Tunstall, of
Ste. Anne de Bellevue, province of Quebec. Mr. and Mrs. Blaiklock
have two children, Jessie B. and Stansfeld. The family residence
is at No. 405 Mackay Street, Montreal. Mr. Blaiklock is a
member of the Church of St. James the Apostle (Episcopalian).
Politically he is an independent conservative.
ALEXANDER MICHAUD.
Progressive citizenship in the twentieth century finds a
prominent exemplar in Alexander Michaud, mayor of the city of
Maisonneuve, who is an active factor in public affairs and
business life of the city. His clear insight, his keen sagacity
and his public spirit have made his influence a potent factor in
bringing about not only Canada’s commercial progress, but also
her moral uplift. He might be termed a practical idealist, for,
while he strives for the betterment of many civic and commercial
conditions, the methods which he employs take cognizance of
present day situations and opportunities and present none of
the impractical views of the dreamer. In a word, he is a man of
action rather than of theory.
Mr. Michaud is a representative of one of the old French families
of Quebec, while the maternal line is of an unadulterated Irish
strain. He was born January 27, 1868, at Back River, Quebec, a
son of J. B. and Norah (Connolly) Michaud. His education was
acquired at the Christian Brothers school and in the Plateau
Academy of Montreal. In 1881 he entered the employ of his father,
who was a well known miller and flour merchant, remaining with
him until 1885. During that period Alexander Michaud, while
acting principally in a clerical capacity, also acquired a good
general knowledge of the business in its various departments.
In 1885 he accepted a position with A. L. Hurtubise & Company,
grain merchants of Montreal, with whom he remained for several
years in the capacity of bookkeeper and confidential clerk. His
ability gained him recognition, followed by promotion, and at the
time he resigned his position in that house he was manager of the
business.
[Illustration: ALEXANDER MICHAUD]
It was then that Mr. Michaud organized the firm of Michaud
Brothers & Company, which soon took a foremost position among
the leading wholesale grain and export firms of Montreal.
Its existence covered a period of about fifteen years and an
extensive business was conducted, constituting another forward
step in the career of Alexander Michaud. However, recognizing the
fact that the field of real-estate activity and land speculation
in Montreal afforded great opportunity for profitable investment,
he withdrew from active connection with the grain trade and
entered the real-estate business. It is unusual for a man who
has been so long identified with one line of business to make so
radical a change, but the subsequent success of Mr. Michaud is
indicative of his splendid business foresight and capability.
The success that he has achieved in the real-estate business has
been substantial, is well deserved and represents methods that
have lent dignity to the undertaking. There are few, if any, who
have more intimate or comprehensive knowledge of realty values
or whose judgment is more to be relied upon and these facts have
served to bring him an extensive and desirable clientage.
In connection with his public career a Montreal paper has said:
“Perhaps the field in which Mr. Michaud was best known to the
citizens of Montreal is political. He was an alderman and was
president of the finance committee of Maisonneuve from 1905
to 1909 and was elected mayor by acclamation three times in
succession. During this time Maisonneuve has made those wonderful
strides in growth which have been the admiration of the entire
country and have placed herself on a footing which is attracting
the attention of the entire world. The part played in this
great advance in manufacturing and commerce by the city is not
a little due to the energy and foresight of her mayor, who has
brought his business acumen and farsighted commercial judgment
into play in running the civic side of affairs, the same as he
did as a merchant or miller. Mr. Michaud prefers to talk about
Maisonneuve rather than about himself, about the opportunities
there are there for capital, the splendid locations for factories
and the many other inducements which have made the city one of
the leaders in commercial advancement during the past five years.
It is an interesting subject and more Aladdinlike than Africa
diamond mines or the gold strewn coasts of Alaska.” It may be
mentioned here that Maisonneuve, though surrounded by the city of
Montreal, is an entirely separate city, having its own autonomy.
Perhaps the most unique point in Mr. Michaud’s public career
is its cause. Like many other men who had been similarly
attracted to that locality, Mr. Michaud took up his residence
in Maisonneuve but with neither time nor inclination for public
office. The city at that period had a population of seven
thousand. Twenty-four liquor licenses had been issued and the
town, in modern parlance, was “wide open.” It was a great
rendezvous for hundreds of people from Montreal who would go down
there on Sundays, the open saloons serving as a great attraction.
This disregard of the law and the undesirable notoriety it gave
the town aroused the indignation of the better class of citizens,
who, however, were powerless, owing to the inactivity of those
who were in charge of the city government. Mr. Michaud was one
who set about to bring order out of chaos and while his first
article in the local papers attracted attention, his second and
subsequent ones certainly aroused the opposition of the lawless
element whose arrogance had so long held sway. Personal violence
was threatened Mr. Michaud and his residence was attacked by
a mob that broke every window within reach. Missiles of every
description were hurled inside. This cowardly attack instead of
intimidating Mr. Michaud, only spurred him on to further action
and showed that the Irish blood in him could mean fight--not
fight in the brutal sense of the mob but with that courage that
comes of honest conviction combined with fearlessness. In the
face of such bitter opposition Mr. Michaud became a candidate
for alderman, was elected and wielded such an influence in favor
of good government and progress that from the time he entered
politics to the present he has made a most creditable record. No
citizen of Maisonneuve has worked so incessantly or taken greater
pride in what has been accomplished. That city today, with forty
thousand population, contains but nineteen licensed saloons, all
conducted under strict observance of the law. He is, indeed, a
resourceful man and in the management of public affairs displays
the same spirit of careful watchfulness and wise control that
he does in conducting his private interests. He was named by
the provincial government a member of the Metropolitan Parks
commission of Montreal, of which body Sir William Van Horne is
president.
In 1909 Mr. Michaud was the chief factor in the organization
of the Dominion Light, Heat & Power Company and during the two
years of its successful operation, before being absorbed by the
Montreal Public Service Corporation, he was prominently connected
with its management. He is a man but little past middle age and
his whole capital when starting in life was energy and ambition,
yet he has been highly successful, not only in the way of
winning prosperity, but also in valuable service to the city and
province. He gets much out of life in comfort and pleasure and
has never lived solely to accumulate wealth, but has ever been a
lover of nature and of outdoor life and it is only severe weather
that prevents him from enjoying the four and a half mile walk
daily from his office to his home. In the latter his greatest
interest centers and he is always happiest when in the company of
his family. Mr. Michaud was married February 21, 1898, to Miss
Marie Virolle and to them have been born four children: Margaret,
Paul, Germaine and Alexander. Mr. Michaud is an indulgent father
and the comrade of his children. For a number of years he has
spent the summers with his family at Old Orchard, Maine.
JOHN MILNE BROWNING.
In the later years of his life John Milne Browning lived retired
in Montreal. He was of Scotch birth, a native of Edinburgh,
born in June, 1826. His father, Matthew Browning, died when
the son was a young man and the latter, who had been educated
in the schools of his native country, came to Canada in 1852,
when twenty-six years of age. He located at Beauharnois, where
he continued until 1873 and then removed to Montreal, where he
resided through the succeeding fifteen years. In 1888 he went to
British Columbia, where he lived for eleven years, but on the
expiration of that period returned to Montreal, where he spent
his remaining days in well earned and honorable retirement from
business. He had been a land commissioner and was also connected
with the Canadian Pacific Railway Townsite Company. He displayed
excellent business ability in that connection and handled
important realty interests.
In 1855 Mr. Browning was united in marriage to Miss Magdeline
H. Norval, born in 1833, in Beauharnois, Quebec, a daughter of
R. H. Norval, who came from Edinburgh when twenty-one years of
age and remained thereafter a resident of Canada until his death
in 1856. His daughter, Mrs. Browning, has seen Montreal develop
from a comparatively small place into a wonderful city, being
ever an interested witness of the changes which have occurred.
It was on the 20th of December, 1906, that Mr. Browning was
called from this life and his loss was mourned in the various
localities where he was well and favorably known. He was a member
of a number of clubs and won popularity in those organizations.
His public spirit found tangible expression in many ways and his
religious faith was evidenced in his membership in the Crescent
Street Presbyterian church. His life was honorable and upright at
all times and he left behind him an untarnished name.
JAMES POWER CLEGHORN.
Prominent for many years among the merchants of Montreal was
James Power Cleghorn and equally well was he known through
his support of charitable and philanthropic projects and his
cooperation in affairs of public benefit. He was born in
Montreal, October 31, 1830, and his life record covered the
intervening years to the 14th of December, 1911, when he passed
away. He was a son of Robert Cleghorn, who came to Montreal at a
very early day. The latter married Miss Eliza Power, a native of
Sorel, province of Quebec, and whose father was connected with
the commissary department of the army. Their family numbered ten
children. Robert Cleghorn was a public-spirited citizen and a
man of domestic tastes, and the influences of a home of culture
and refinement left their impress upon the life of James Power
Cleghorn, who with the passing years rose to prominence along the
different lines in which he exerted his activities.
He was educated at Howden & Taggart’s Academy and entered
commercial circles as junior clerk in the mercantile house of J.
G. Mackenzie & Company of Montreal in 1853. In that establishment
he gradually worked his way upward until admitted to partnership
in 1864, after which he had largely control of the business,
which was extensive in proportion and which ranked with the
oldest mercantile houses of the city. Mr. Cleghorn, however,
did not confine his efforts entirely to one line. In fact he
became recognized as a power in other business connections, both
commercial and financial, and was elected to the directorate of
the Intercolonial Coal Company, the Sun Life Assurance Company
of Canada, the Merchants & Manufacturers Association, the Canada
Accident Company and Molson’s Bank. He served as president of
the Board of Trade and it was during his incumbency of the
office that the site for the present building was selected. He
was also a trustee of the Mount Royal Cemetery Association and
the president of the Intercolonial Coal Company. His cooperation
was likewise sought in behalf of those institutions where
humanitarian principles must combine with executive ability in
successful management. He was made a governor of the Montreal
General Hospital, of the Montreal Hospital for the Insane and the
Montreal Dispensary. An active member in the Church of England,
he served as a delegate to the synod and cooperated in its work
along many helpful lines. In politics he was a conservative and
he stood ever for the welfare of the people.
On the 14th of February, 1865, Mr. Cleghorn was married to Miss
Anna Spalding, of Port Hope, Ontario, who was born in Peterboro,
Ontario. Five children were born to them: George S., connected
with the W. R. Brock Company, Limited; C. Power, a general
insurance broker, who married Florence Fechheimer, of New York,
and to whom have been born two children, James Power and Helen
Power; Emily C.; Helen G., who died at the age of thirteen years;
and James Herbert, whose death occurred when he was eighteen
years of age.
The family residence is at No. 256 Bishop Street, and their
summer home, “Blinkbonny” is situated at Como in the province of
Quebec. The death of Mr. Cleghorn left a gap in those circles
where he had moved as a central figure. In business and social
relations and in his connection with humanitarian interests he
had established himself in an enviable position by reason of
personal worth and capability, and his name is inscribed high on
the list of Montreal’s valued citizens.
GEORGE WASHINGTON STEPHENS.
If one would seek a fitting poetical phrase to express the life
work of the Hon. George Washington Stephens these lines might
well be chosen:
“He leaves a patriot’s name to after times
Linked with a thousand virtues and no crimes.”
For an extended period he was in public life, and whether
connected with municipal, professional, or national affairs
was always the same public-spirited, progressive citizen, ever
seeking the welfare of the constituency which he represented.
He was born in Montreal in 1832, the second son of Harrison and
Sarah (Jackson) Stephens. The father removed from the state of
Vermont to Montreal in 1828 and for years was a leading merchant
of the city.
George W. Stephens was educated at high school, afterward
entering business circles. He became identified with the firm of
Law Young & Company, but after a time determined to enter upon
professional activities, and with this end in view took up the
study of law, following a law course at McGill University, which
conferred upon him the B. C. L. degree. Called to the bar in
1863, he at once entered upon active practice and for some time
was a partner of the late John A. Perkins, an eminent barrister
of Montreal. Mr. Stephens personally conducted the cause celebre
of Connolly versus Woolrych, which he brought to a successful
conclusion. The case was a notable one, awakening widespread
interest among the legal fraternity and establishing the validity
of an Indian marriage, celebrated according to the custom of the
tribe.
After a number of years devoted to successful law practice, Mr.
Stephens was obliged to abandon the profession in order to assume
the management of his father’s estate, and proved himself
equally capable, sagacious, farsighted and enterprising in that
connection. His ability and his devotion to the general welfare
led to his selection again and again for public office. In 1868
he was elected alderman of Montreal and for seventeen consecutive
years remained a member of the city council, during which period
he served on several occasions as acting mayor. He did much
during that period toward shaping the policy of city affairs and
upholding those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and
civic pride. In fact he became distinguished for his constant
opposition to wrong-doing and dishonesty, and his stalwart
support of a prudent and economical progressive administration.
From the time that age conferred upon him the right of franchise
he advocated the principles of the liberal party and upon its
ticket was elected to the provincial legislature, representing
Montreal Centre in the Quebec assembly from 1881 until 1886,
and so earnestly and faithfully guarded the public interests
as to earn the title “watch dog.” At the general election of
1892 he was returned for Huntingdon and was reelected at the
general election in 1897. On the formation of the Marchand
administration in May of the latter year he was called into the
cabinet, without portfolio. He was the organizer of the Good
Government Association of Montreal and in January, 1897, received
the thanks of that body for his “vigorous efforts and judicious
action” in the Quebec assembly in reference to certain local
measures. In 1896 he promoted a measure prohibiting indecent
play bills and posters being displayed on the public streets. No
one ever questioned the honesty and virtue of his position and
his belief. Though others may have differed from him in policy
they recognized the patriotic spirit which actuated him in all
his public service, and none was more earnest in opposition to
misrule in public affairs.
[Illustration: HON. GEORGE W. STEPHENS]
Aside from his active work in the assembly, Mr. Stephens utilized
many other opportunities for advancing public progress and
improvement. He was at one time a member of the council of the
Montreal Board of Trade, was president of the Mercantile Library
Association and president of the Citizens Gas Company. He was
also a governor of the Montreal General Hospital and of the
Protestant Hospital for the Insane. His cooperation could ever
be counted upon in support of any measure or plan to ameliorate
the hard conditions of life for the unfortunate and, as a member
of the Unitarian church, he took an active interest in all good
works done in the name of charity or religion.
Mr. Stephens married first in 1865, Elizabeth Mary MacIntosh and
afterward in 1878, Frances Ramsay MacIntosh, daughter of Nicholas
Carnegie MacIntosh, of Edinburgh, Scotland. For many years
Mrs. Stephens was president of the Decorative Art Association
of Montreal and a recognized leader in social circles. She has
accomplished work of far-reaching importances and benefit in
connection with the Woman’s Immigrant Society; the Soldiers’
Wives League, which was organized during the South African war;
the Maternity Hospital, and the Montreal Cooking School. In
religious faith she is a Unitarian and in more strictly social
lines is connected with the Canadian Woman’s Club, the Ladies
Morning Musical Club and the Royal Montreal Ladies Golf Club.
The children are two sons and two daughters: Major G. W. and F.
C. Stephens; and Mrs. J. Wedderburn Wilson and Mrs. A. Hamilton
Gault.
Mr. Stephens was devoted to his family and ever held friendship
inviolable. He belonged to both the St. James and Union Clubs and
his military experience covered service as a cavalry major until
he was placed on the retired list, his connection being with the
Montreal Rifle Rangers. One of the leading newspapers styled
him “a liberal of the old school, fearless and brave.” The same
qualities characterized him throughout his entire life in every
relation, and many who were his associates and contemporaries
felt at his passing, which occurred at his country residence, Lac
à l’eau Claire, in 1904, that,
“He was a man. Take him for all in all
I shall not look upon his like again.”
MAJOR VICTOR EVELYN MITCHELL.
Public opinion accords Major Victor Evelyn Mitchell a position
of leadership among the members of the Montreal bar, not only
because of his extensive practice and the ability displayed
therein, but also because of his contribution to the literature
of the profession. His military record also gives him right to
public recognition. A native of London, England, he was born
October 17, 1865, and is of English lineage, his father having
been James Mitchell, of London, England. In the attainment
of his education he attended the City of London school and
afterward McGill University, where he won his B. C. L. degree and
valedictorian honors in 1896. The same year he began practice
as an advocate in Montreal with the late R. D. McGibbon, K. C.
He had been a resident of Canada for eight years, and thus it
was that his preparation for the bar was pursued in McGill.
The ability which he has displayed in practice is indicated by
the fact that he was created K. C. in 1909. He is now a member
of the firm of McGibbon, Casgrain, Mitchell & Casgrain and
devotes himself to corporation and commercial law. He published
the first English edition of the The Code of Civil Procedure
and in conjunction with J. L. Perron, K. C., brought out an
Insolvency Manual. He is not unknown in the educational field,
having lectured on The Legal Aspects of Trade Unionism and on
Warranties and Representations re Contract of Life Insurance.
All this establishes his position as a lawyer well versed in his
profession and capable in handling intricate and involved legal
problems. He is also a well known publicist; his letters to the
Montreal Star on the naval question created great interest and
showed a thorough knowledge and study of the subject.
Aside from his professional interests Major Mitchell has become
known in business circles and in connection with projects of a
public or semi-public character. He is a director of Penman’s,
Ltd.; the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company; Ames, Holden,
McCready, Ltd.; the Canadian Consolidated Felt Company, Ltd.; the
Charlemagne & Lac Ouareau Lumber Company, Ltd.; and many other
commercial companies. He is also a director of the Laurentian
Sanitarium and a governor of the Montreal General Hospital and
the Western Hospital.
For some years Major Mitchell was connected with the volunteer
military service, joining the Sixth Fusiliers in 1889, and when
that regiment amalgamated with the First Prince of Wales Rifles
in 1898 he became senior major in that corps. In 1900 he was
placed on the list of retired officers.
Major Mitchell was married in 1911 to Miss Sarah Proulx, and
they reside at No. 377 Peel Street. Major Mitchell holds
membership with the Anglican church and is well known in club
circles, belonging to the St. James, Canada and University Clubs,
the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club, the Montreal Jockey Club,
Outremont Golf Club, Royal Montreal Golf Club, the Manitou Club
of Montreal, the Railroad Club and the Alpha Delta Phi Club of
New York and the United Empire Club of London, England.
WALTER HARDMAN ARDLEY.
A well known figure in railroad circles of Montreal is Walter
Hardman Ardley, who since 1913 has acted as general auditor of
the Grand Trunk Railway system and Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.
A native of London, England, he was born April 24, 1858, and is
a son of James and Elizabeth (Dunton) Ardley, the former of whom
passed away during the early childhood of his son Walter and the
latter in 1896.
Mr. Ardley was educated in the City of London College and made
his advent in the business world as an apprentice in a London
office. He came to Canada in November, 1882, entering the service
of the Grand Trunk Railway, in the chief accountant’s office,
on November 5, 1882. Steadiness of purpose, faithfulness and
diligence won him advancement. On December 31, 1907, he was made
chief clerk and general bookkeeper and so continued until August
31, 1908, when he became auditor of disbursements. He held this
office until September 30, 1908, when he became assistant general
auditor, and in 1909 he was made general auditor of the Grand
Trunk Railway system and Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Mr. Ardley
stands high in the estimation of the officers of the road on
account of the efficient management of his department.
On December 12, 1889, Mr. Ardley married Miss Tamar Jane
Phillips, a daughter of Henry Phillips, of Upway, England. He is
independent politically and a member of the Church of England.
REV. HERBERT SYMONDS.
A man who has made his zeal and commanding ability the basis
of an important work not only in the cause of religion but in
the public service along lines of charity and reform is Rev.
Herbert Symonds, since 1903 vicar of Christ Church Cathedral,
Montreal. He is a prominent orator and preacher, an able writer
and an untiring worker for the promotion of religious and social
advancement and is regarded as one of the vital forces in the
spread of movements looking toward Christian unity. He was born
in Rickinghall-Inferior, Suffolk, England, December 28, 1860,
and is a son of George and Hannah (Wright) Symonds. He studied
in Framlingham College in England and in Trinity University,
Toronto, Ontario, from which he was graduated with the degree of
B. A. in 1885, receiving the degree of M. A. and the prize for an
English essay and sermon in 1887. He holds the honorary degree of
D. D., given him by Queen’s University in 1901, and the honorary
degree of LL. D., conferred upon him by McGill University in 1910.
Rev. Herbert Symonds came to Canada in 1881 and four years later
was ordained deacon in the Anglican church. He received orders
as a priest in 1887 and from that year to 1890 was a fellow and
lecturer in Trinity University in Toronto. The next two years he
spent as professor of divinity in the same institution and in
1892 was made rector of St. Luke’s church in Ashburnham, Ontario.
He resumed his work as an educator in the year 1901, being made
headmaster of Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario,
serving in that capacity from 1901 to 1903. In the latter year
he was transferred to Montreal and made vicar of Christ Church
Cathedral in this city, and he has since held the position, which
affords him an excellent scope for his talents and abilities
and in which his work has carried him forward into important
relations with Anglican affairs. He was president of the Montreal
Protestant Ministerial Association in 1905, first president of
the Canadian Society of Christian Unity and in 1910 a delegate
to the World’s Missionary Congress, held in Edinburgh, and the
Anglican Church Congress, held in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Mr. Symonds married, in March, 1883, Miss Emma Blackall, fourth
daughter of the late Mossom Boyd, of Bobcaygeon, Ontario, and
both are well known in social circles of Montreal. Since 1907
Mr. Symonds has served as Protestant school commissioner and
he is well known in military circles, having been from 1896 to
1907 chaplain of the Third Prince of Wales Canadian Dragoons and
since that time chaplain, with the honorary rank of major, of
the First Regiment, Prince of Wales Fusiliers. He is a member
of the Masonic fraternity and is a past grand chaplain of the
grand lodge of Quebec. A writer of great force and power, he
has made many contributions to The Week and Expository Times of
England and other papers and is the author of articles on Trinity
University and University Federation, published in 1894, on
Christian Unity, published in 1899, and The Anglican Church and
the Doctrine of Apostolical Succession, 1907. He is regarded as
one of the ablest preachers in the Anglican pulpit at the present
time and has made this talent also a force in the accomplishment
of a great and lasting work.
HENRY HOGAN.
Very few if any men in Montreal were any better known in their
respective lines of business than was Henry Hogan, in connection
with the hotel business. He occupied a position among his
contemporaries that made him a unique personage. The story of his
life is best told by the history of the hostelry, St. Lawrence
Hall, that his name had made famous and over which he had charge
for upwards of a half century. Mr. Hogan was born at La Tortue,
near Laprairie, on the 12th of April, 1820, and was a son of
Nicholas Hogan, who served in the British army in the Peninsular
war and at Waterloo under the Duke of Wellington. He was
engaged in the woolen manufacturing business in Manchester,
England, and upon coming to Canada established a mill at La
Tortue. He met his death from drowning, the result of the giving
way of the rail on a boat, which precipitated him into the St.
Lawrence river. He was survived by a widow and several children.
[Illustration: HENRY HOGAN]
Henry Hogan was but a boy when he came to Montreal and his
early training in a business way began in the line of business
of which he made such a great success in later life, the hotel
business. In 1851 he became proprietor of what was then called
the Hogan Hotel, in which enterprise he was in partnership with
Messrs. Borden and Compaine, but both men retired early, being
succeeded in the firm by Frederick Penn, who remained a partner
with Mr. Hogan until 1869. After that time the latter was alone
as sole proprietor of St. Lawrence Hall. In 1856 he was one of
the prominent factors in the grand banquet given by the citizens
in the Hall to mark the opening of the Grand Trunk Railway, on
which occasion many distinguished citizens were his guests.
In 1860 he entertained the members of the suite of the Prince
of Wales, later His Majesty, King Edward VII. In those days
Mr. Hogan entertained many people of title and prominence. The
story of this hotel has its own connection with the history of
Canada, for under the roof of St. Lawrence Hall there occurred
many things that led to the present-day development of the
Dominion. Here Mr. John A. Macdonald, later the great Sir John,
met his sturdy opponent, Mr. George Brown, and exchanged views
on the best means of uniting the scattered provinces. From this
beginning confederation was achieved and Mr. Hogan performed his
share in these events and at all times faithfully carried out
the duties of citizenship. St. Lawrence Hall was for many years
the best known hotel in Canada and one of the best known on the
continent. Princes of the royal blood, soldiers and statesmen,
political refugees, artists and poets, stars of the operatic and
dramatic stage partook of its hospitality and their names recall
events of bygone days. The opening of Victoria bridge brought
many notables to the Hall, and during the progress of the Civil
war in the United States the clank of the sword was heard at St.
Lawrence Hall, which became the headquarters for the Confederate
representatives and southern refugees. Jefferson Davis and John
Wilkes Booth were guests of the Hall, and during the Trent affair
it was the headquarters of the officers. During the trial of John
Surratt, the register of the Hall was taken to Washington and has
never been returned. After the Civil war, General Sherman, of
the Union army, and also one of the most prominent Confederate
generals visited Montreal and were entertained by Mr. Hogan, as
was Henry Ward Beecher and other distinguished Americans. The
banquets held at St. Lawrence Hall were noted affairs, the place
being the scene of many brilliant social gatherings.
The ancestral records of the Hogan family included the names of
many prominent in military circles and Henry Hogan also took
a deep interest in these affairs, being for years commanding
officer of the Montreal Field Battery, of which he was lieutenant
in 1855, afterwards became colonel and assumed command, retiring
with that rank in 1866. Mr. Hogan had been connected with
numerous business enterprises aside from his hotel interests.
He always had implicit confidence in the future of Montreal and
made investments that proved highly profitable. His business
ability won him success and prominence in his chosen field and
his capability, tact and resourcefulness made him an ideal host,
whether entertaining a little private gathering of friends or a
large concourse of notable and eminent citizens at a banquet. In
religious belief he was a Unitarian. His death occurred October
9, 1902, and he was survived by a widow, two sons, Henry H. and
Lawrence H., and also two daughters: Anna W., now the widow of
Major Low, of the British army; and Marion E., who died unmarried.
MARTIN MONTGOMERY REYNOLDS.
Martin Montgomery Reynolds enjoyed the reputation of being one of
the foremost experts in railroad accounting and finance. He had
thirty years of experience along that line and was connected with
roads in the United States and Mexico until he came to Canada
in 1908 as fifth vice president of the Grand Trunk Railway and
third vice president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. At his
death, which occurred June 17, 1914, he held the position of vice
president in charge of the financial and accounting departments.
Martin M. Reynolds was born in Syracuse, New York, and educated
there. His first notable position in the railroad world was that
of auditor of the Mexican National Railroad, which office he held
until 1892. He then went to Vermont as general auditor of the
Central Vermont Railroad, which office he held until 1896. From
1896 to 1899 he was auditor for the receivers of this road, and
from 1899 to 1902 auditor for its successor, the Central Vermont
Railway. From 1902 to 1904 he was comptroller of the National
Railway of Mexico and in 1904 accepted in addition to this office
the comptrollership of the Mexican International Railway and the
Interoceanic Railway of Mexico, continuing in this office until
1908. In that year he came to Montreal as fifth vice president
of the Grand Trunk Railway and third vice president of the Grand
Trunk Pacific Railway, and in 1910 was promoted to the third vice
presidency of the Grand Trunk. From 1911 Mr. Reynolds was vice
president in charge of the financial and accounting departments
of the Grand Trunk and Grand Trunk Pacific and affiliated lines.
His office was one of the most important in the service. Mr.
Reynolds was also a director of the Canadian Express Company.
In 1894 Martin M. Reynolds was united in marriage to Miss Flora
Livingstone and they resided at the Linton apartments, Montreal.
Although he was in Montreal only a few years he quickly became
imbued with the Canadian spirit and his aims and interests became
thoroughly Canadian.
CHARLES A. BRIGGS.
Charles A. Briggs was an active business man of Montreal, well
known and respected. He conducted a retail fur store under his
name on Notre Dame Street, and careful management and wise
direction of his interests wrought the substantial success which
eventually came to him. A native of Montreal, he was born
October 3, 1839, a son of Russell Briggs, who came to this city
from Vermont and here spent his remaining days. Charles A. Briggs
was indebted to the public-school system of Montreal for the
educational opportunities he enjoyed. In early life he acquainted
himself with the fur business and eventually became proprietor
of a retail fur store on Notre Dame Street. He closely applied
himself to the conduct of the business and his able management
and reliable methods were strong elements in his growing success.
In 1862 Mr. Briggs was united in marriage to Sarah S., a daughter
of Mansfield Holland, who in early life came from Maine to
Montreal and was actively identified with the infant industrial
development of the city, building the first rolling mill here and
also a nail and spike factory, making the first railroad spike
manufactured in Canada. His plant was located on Mill Street
and there he continued actively and successfully in business
throughout the remainder of his days, his death occurring in
1883. He was then seventy-four years of age, his birth having
occurred in 1809. He was twenty years of age when he arrived in
Montreal in 1829, becoming a most active factor in its business
circles, for, with the growth of his enterprise, he employed
many men. His wife was in her maidenhood Miss Gould and by their
marriage they became the parents of twelve children. Mr. and Mrs.
Charles A. Briggs became the parents of seven children: Charles
Russell; Celia; Florence; Edwin; Dr. George Nixon; Henry, who
died young; and Ethel.
Mr. Briggs held membership in St. James Cathedral, to the support
of which he made generous contribution. He stood stanchly in
support of many of those factors which work for the betterment
of the individual and for the community and at the same time he
conducted a successful business indicative of his ability and his
enterprise.
JOHN A. PILLOW.
Standing deservedly high in the respect of all who knew him,
John A. Pillow was regarded as a progressive business man and
valuable citizen of Montreal, of which city he was a native. He
was educated in the public schools and for many years ranked as
one of Montreal’s oldest and best known manufacturers. In his
business career he made advancement step by step, gaining thus a
broader outlook and wider opportunity. He made wise use of the
advantages that came to him and eventually reached a position of
prominence in manufacturing circles. It was in the late ‘60s
that he succeeded to the rolling mill business of T. D. Bigelow
& Company, which was one of the oldest establishments of the
city, having been founded for a century. Forming a partnership
with Randolph Hersey, he continued the business under the firm
name of Pillow & Hersey. Later this was converted into a stock
company and Mr. Pillow was elected to the presidency. He stood
deservedly high in the regard of his contemporaries in commercial
circles. Business men knew him as one whose word was thoroughly
reliable, who met every obligation and kept every engagement, and
the record which he thus made was one which any might envy. He
was very thorough and competent in all that he did, neglecting no
details and at the same time developing his interests along the
broad lines characteristic of business enterprise at the present
day.
Mr. Pillow was united in marriage to Annie Elizabeth Hillyer, and
their surviving children are two sons, Laurence B. and Howard
W. He was a man of domestic tastes, devoted to the welfare of
his family and finding his greatest happiness in promoting
their interests. He rejoiced in his prosperity not merely from
the standpoint of success but because of the opportunity which
it gave him to provide liberally for his family and to give
generously to the poor and needy. He attended the American
Presbyterian church and in his life exemplified his Christian
faith. He was much interested in the welfare of his native city,
cooperating in many movements that have promoted its interests
along various lines. He belonged to the Board of Trade and his
social nature found expression in his membership in St. James
Club, the Forest and Stream Club and the Manhattan Club of New
York. Death called him February 16, 1902. He had remained a
lifelong resident of his native city and his worth was widely
recognized by those who had been his associates in business and
by those who met him in social relations.
JAMES ELLIOT.
James Elliot, for more than half a century one of the best known
bankers of Montreal, was born June 2, 1840, in this city, and was
the eldest son of the late Andrew and Sarah (Pullan) Elliot. The
father was a native of Northumberland, England, and following his
arrival in Montreal in 1832 became a well known contractor of the
city.
After acquiring a thorough education in the Montreal high school
James Elliot entered the dry-goods establishment of the late
Mr. Alexander Molson, and after a time spent in that connection
entered Molson’s Bank in 1860. In 1870 he became accountant and
further promotion came to him in recognition of his ability
in his appointment to the position of manager of the Montreal
branch in 1879. Step by step he advanced in his connection with
financial interests until he became recognized as one of the
foremost bankers of the city. In May, 1900, he was appointed
general manager, which position he ably filled until his death,
December 19, 1913. In banking circles he was recognized as a man
of exceptional ability, prudence and sagacity, and was termed
both a model man and a model banker. That he occupied a position
of distinction in business and financial circles was evidenced by
the large number of business men who paid their last tribute of
respect to his worth when he passed away.
Mr. Elliot was for many years a councillor of the Canadian
Bankers Association and was otherwise officially connected with
interests of importance to the public, being a life governor
of the Montreal General Hospital, a vice president of the
Montreal Prisoners Aid Association and an active factor in
philanthropic work. Mr. Elliot was also an attendant at the
Melville Presbyterian church. His political support was given to
the conservative party. Although he was past the allotted age
of three score years and ten when called from this life, Mr.
Elliot’s friends were drawn largely from the younger generation.
He was a quiet, unostentatious gentleman of the old school, whose
delight outside of his business was his home and garden on Cote
St. Antoine road. This home was one of the early residences in
Westmount and when erected more than a quarter of a century ago
was surrounded by open fields.
[Illustration: JAMES ELLIOT]
Mr. Elliot was unmarried. After providing with great liberality
for near relatives he bequeathed five thousand dollars to
the Montreal General Hospital, five thousand dollars to the
Protestant Hospital for the Insane and a thousand dollars each
to the Western Hospital, McKay Institute, Grace Dart Home,
the Protestant House of Industry and Refuge and the Salvation
Army. His bequest to these many organizations showed his
broad-mindedness and his deep interest in the welfare and uplift
of his fellowmen.
JOSEPH ARTHUR COUTURE.
Joseph Arthur Couture, a notary public practicing in Montreal
and in Maisonneuve, was born on the 29th of December, 1881, at
Sherrington in the county of Napierville, P. Q., his parents
being Jules and Dométhile (Bourgeois) Couture. He represents two
of the old French families of the province. His great-grandfather
and his grandfather, both of whom bore the name of François
Couture, were farming people, the former following agricultural
pursuits at Lacadie, while the latter was a farmer at St. Cyprien
in the county of Napierville. He married Sophie Ward and their
family included Jules Couture, who married Dométhile Bourgeois.
Her father, Pierre Bourgeois, was at one time a farmer at St.
Jean, P. Q., and later at St. Cyprien, where he was residing
at the time of his death. His wife was a member of the Granger
family. Jules Couture was born in St. Cyprien, county of
Napierville, and made farming his life work, but since 1900 has
lived retired, his home being in the village of Napierville. His
wife was born in the parish of St. John, P. Q., and died on the
15th of September, 1907. They had a family of twelve children, of
whom three daughters and five sons are living.
Joseph Arthur Couture, the youngest of the family, attended the
parish school to the age of ten years and afterward studied
with the parish priest of Sherrington for three years. He
next entered Montreal College, where he pursued a five years’
classical course and later became a student in the Seminary of
Philosophy, where after two years, or in 1902, he won his degree
of Bachelor of Letters. In September of that year he matriculated
in Laval University where he studied law in preparation for the
notarial profession, receiving his LL. L. degree in 1905. He was
received as a notary in July of the same year and in September
began practice in the village of Napierville, where he continued
until the 1st of October, 1906. He then removed to the city of
Maisonneuve, where he continues in practice, and at the same
time maintains an office in the city of Montreal. He is likewise
a commissioner of the superior court in and for the district of
Montreal. He carefully prepared for his chosen calling and his
knowledge of the law and his understanding of all phases of the
notarial profession have given him high rank among his associates
in that field of labor.
Mr. Couture is also interested in some syndicates, purchasing
lots on the island of Montreal. He is a director of La Société
du Boulevard Pie IX, Limitée and of Salmon River Gold Fields
and of the Montreal Consolidated Real Estate and Investments,
Limited. His connection therewith has resulted in bringing him
good financial returns, while in his profession he is making
continuous advancement.
On the 9th of October, 1905, Mr. Couture was married to Miss
Mathilda Ida Lachapelle, a daughter of Alfred and Mathilde
(Beauchamp) Lachapelle, the former in his life time a merchant
of Montreal. Mrs. Couture died at Maisonneuve, at the age of
twenty-seven years, on the 17th of December, 1913, leaving no
issue. Mr. Couture is a member of the Roman Catholic church
and in politics he was formerly a conservative but became a
nationalist as he did not approve of the naval policies of either
the liberal or conservative parties. He is still, however, a
member of the Montreal Liberal-Conservative Club. He was for
three years recording secretary of Court Gounod No. 3240, I. O.
F., of which he is now deputy chief.
HON. J. O. VILLENEUVE.
The name of Hon. J. O. Villeneuve is inseparably interwoven
with the history of Montreal and its progress. Modesty at all
times characterized his bearing and simplicity his habits, yet
the sterling worth of his character and the high order of his
ability brought him to a position of leadership in connection
with municipal and provincial affairs. He labored untiringly for
the best interests of Montreal while acting as chief executive
of the city and was equally faithful in his support of matters
relating to the provincial welfare when serving as senator. A
native of the county of Terrebonne, he was born at Ste. Anne des
Plaines, on the 4th of March, 1837, and his life record covered
the intervening period to the 27th of June, 1901, when he passed
away at the age of sixty-four years. He was but a young lad at
the time of the removal of his father, Octave Villeneuve, and
the family to Montreal, so that he was indebted to the school
system of this city for his educational opportunities. He started
in the business world as clerk in a dry-goods store in 1853,
when a youth of sixteen years, and his traits of loyalty and
faithfulness were manifest from the beginning, as is evidenced
by the fact that he remained with one establishment until 1865.
Ambitious to engage in business on his own account, he carefully
saved his earnings until his industry and economy had brought him
sufficient capital to enable him to open a grocery store at Mile
End. There he conducted business for some time and subsequently
founded the wholesale grocery house of J. O. Villeneuve &
Company, which rapidly gained patronage and a high and well
merited reputation in commercial circles. He was a farsighted
man and one who on recognizing a public need at once sought
to meet it. Realizing the lack of communication between the
extreme northern section of Montreal and the outlying parishes,
he established an omnibus route in 1860 between Mile End,
Terrebonne, Sault au Récollet and New Glasgow, which he later
sold to the Montreal Street Railway when it seemed feasible to
extend the railway lines into that section.
Mr. Villeneuve was frequently called to public office and it is
a notable fact in his career that no public trust reposed in
him was ever betrayed in the slightest degree. For more than
seventeen years he was mayor of St. Jean Baptiste village and
again, when the organization of the town took place, he served
for four years more, carefully guiding the interests of village
and town so as to bring about needed reforms and improvements.
Following the annexation to the city in 1885 he represented
St. Jean Baptiste ward from that date until 1894 in the city
council and as a member of the finance committee his experience
in financial matters was found to be of great service to the
public. Higher official honors awaited him, however, for in 1894
he was elected Montreal’s mayor and filled that position for two
years, proving a capable executive and one who most carefully and
systematically safeguarded the public interests. For eighteen
years he served as warden of the county of Hochelaga and in 1886
was elected to represent that county in the Quebec legislature,
where his record was so commendable that he was reelected in
1890 and again in 1892. In 1888 he was made a member of the
harbor commission and served for several years on that body.
In January, 1896, he succeeded the late Hon. Joseph Tasse as
senator for the De Salaberry division. All this, however, did
not cover the many phases of his activity. For many years he was
a member of the Board of Trade, and he had important business
connections, serving as director of the Dominion Cotton Company,
in addition to which he had other large manufacturing, mercantile
and real-estate interests in the city. He was resident director
of the Banque Nationale and a member of the harbor board and a
governor of Laval University. He was also senior partner of the
firm of L. Villeneuve & Company, wholesale lumber dealers.
In 1861 Mr. Villeneuve married Miss Susan Ann Walker, a daughter
of Captain James Walker, of Sorel, Quebec, who survives together
with their four children. Her father was a captain in the
regiment stationed at Sorel and was a son of Dr. Edward Walker,
surgeon of that regiment. Jacques Villeneuve, the eldest of the
four children, residing at St. Jerome, Quebec, is proprietor of a
stone quarry and brick manufacturing business there. He married
Miss Lamontague and they had seven children, Jacques, Edgar,
Charles Eugene, Lia, Adrienne, Marguerite and Jeanne. For his
second wife Jacques Villeneuve wedded Miss Poitevin, and they
have a son, Jean. Eugene W., the second member of the family,
was born in Montreal in 1865 and was associated in business with
his father until the latter’s death. He brought about the royal
commission, giving a change of administration and management of
the city by a board of control. In November, 1910, at a meeting
held at St. Jean Baptiste market hall, he proposed that the
centenary of the birth of Sir George Etienne Cartier should be
appropriately commemorated and that steps should be taken for the
erection of a monument to his memory. Since then the monumental
enterprise has assumed not only national but empire scope and
representatives of every portion of the empire will be present at
the commemorative celebration September 6, 1914. Mr. Villeneuve
has served faithfully as president of the executive committee in
charge of the celebration and the erection of the monument. He
married Miss Alice Crompton, and their children are James and
Reginald. Frederic Villeneuve, the third member of the family,
is a graduate of Laval University and was afterwards advocate
in Montreal and in Edmonton, Alberta. For several years he was
editor of Canadian West and for four years, from 1898 until 1902,
sat for St. Albert in the legislature. In 1909 he was appointed
librarian of the Montreal Civic Library. He married Miss Howie,
of St. Johns. Rachel Villeneuve, the youngest of the family,
married Alphonse Morin, protonotary of St. Johns. Their children
are Josephine, Louise, Susan, Pierre Villeneuve, Lucie, Madeleine
and Andre, and they reside at No. 629 Dorchester West.
The death of Hon. J. O. Villeneuve occurred on the 27th of
June, 1901, at the family residence at 862 St. Denis Street.
Editorially the Gazette said of him: “Senator Villeneuve is dead
at the comparatively early age of sixty-four. His career was a
typical one and included fully thirty years of public service,
municipal and parliamentary. His straightforward conduct and good
faith gained him general respect and for almost a generation
he could count on election to whatever office in the gift of
the county of Hochelaga or city of Montreal he aspired to. His
municipal career was crowned by the mayoralty of Montreal and
his political work by a senatorship. He was a thoroughly well
meaning man, of modest bearing and simple habits, whose innate
worth was behind his business and public success. In his death
Montreal loses a good citizen and parliament a member of safe
judgment and right purpose.” To thus win the merit and plaudit
of the press shows that the life of Hon. J. O. Villeneuve was
one of far-reaching usefulness and of importance in Montreal. He
neglected no opportunity, slighted no duty nor passed unheedingly
the chances to benefit city or province by helpful service on his
part.
JOHN DILLON.
John Dillon, for many years one of the best known merchants of
Montreal, was a member of the firm of Reford & Dillon. He was
born in Chambly, March 18, 1836, a son of John Dillon, Sr., a
native of Belfast, Ireland, who emigrated to Canada and for some
years resided in Toronto and Montreal, his death occurring in the
latter city in 1875. He was father of two sons, George Graham
and John Dillon. The former passed his active business life in
Toronto, where he was connected with the retail dry-goods house
of George Bowes & Company. He died in Toronto, while his widow,
Mrs. Catherine Jacques Dillon, passed away in Montreal. They were
survived by a daughter, Miss Elisabeth J. Dillon, who for many
years lived with her uncle, John Dillon, who never married.
It was in Toronto that John Dillon formed a partnership with
Robert Reford under the firm name of Reford & Dillon, wholesale
grocers, and in 1867 the business was moved to Montreal. This
association continued for about forty years and the business
was most successfully and capably conducted according to
modern progressive methods. A few years prior to his death Mr.
Dillon retired from the firm, but maintained his interest in
other industrial and commercial institutions. Up to the time
of his death he was a director of the Mount Royal Milling and
Manufacturing Company and was also vice president of the Gould
Cold Storage Company. His business judgment was sound, his
discrimination keen and his enterprise unfaltering. He could see
farther than many a man in business circles, foretelling the
outcome of any enterprise from the beginning and, moreover, he
had the power to coordinate and unify forces into a harmonious
whole.
[Illustration: JOHN DILLON]
Mr. Dillon was much interested throughout his lifetime in
charitable work and among other institutions with which he was
actively associated was the Old Brewery Mission. He was an active
member of the Dominion Square Methodist church, which he joined
as a charter member upon its organization.
The Montreal Star in announcing his death on the 15th of May,
1908, said, “In the death of Mr. John Dillon which took place
this morning very suddenly at his residence, 19 McGregor Street,
Montreal loses one of its oldest and most respected citizens. Mr.
Dillon, who had been in good health, was speaking to a relative
about 11:30 today, when he was overcome by heart failure, his
death taking place almost immediately. Thus passed onward one who
always strove to do his duty by his fellowmen.”
CARLOS A. HAYES.
Carlos A. Hayes, who for a number of years was connected with
the Grand Trunk Railway, lastly as freight traffic manager,
was on July 1, 1913, appointed general traffic manager of the
Canadian Government Railways, with headquarters at Moncton, New
Brunswick. Mr. Hayes has long been prominently connected with
Canadian railway service and has in that way contributed toward
the opening up of vast natural resources in the Dominion.
He was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, March 10, 1865,
and when a boy of seventeen entered the railway service in 1882,
continuing along that line with various roads in the United
States until the year 1892, when he was made New England agent
and, in 1896, manager of the National Despatch-Great Eastern
Line. He held this position until 1903, when he became connected
with the Grand Trunk Railway as assistant general freight agent
in Chicago. Readily grasping railroad problems and possessed of
the true generalship of a railway executive, he was chosen in
1908 to succeed J. E. Dalrymple as general freight agent of the
Grand Trunk, with headquarters at Montreal, and there remained,
first as general freight agent and later as freight traffic
manager, until his recent appointment. Mr. Hayes is a well
known figure in Dominion railway circles and stands high in the
estimation of business men.
JOHN EDWARD MARTIN.
John Edward Martin, K. C., a well known member of the Montreal
bar, was born in September, 1859, at Shefford, in the province of
Quebec. He received his early education in the public school at
Waterloo, P. Q., and at McGill Normal School, and later entered
McGill University, where he graduated with the Degree of Bachelor
of Civil Law in 1883, being the medallist of that year.
In July, 1884, he was admitted to the practice of law and
began the practice of his profession at Sweetsburg, P. Q., in
partnership with the late Senator Baker. In 1893 he removed
to Montreal and for over twenty years has been a member of the
law firm of Foster, Martin, Mann, Mackinnon & Hackett, and his
constantly expanding powers brought him prominently before the
public as an able lawyer and led to his being named king’s
counsel in 1903.
The litigated interests intrusted to his care have on the whole
been of a most important character, and he has successfully
practised before all the courts of the province, the supreme
court of Canada, and has frequently appeared before the judicial
committee of the privy council in London, England.
Mr. Martin has specialized in corporation and insurance law,
and his preparation of cases is always thorough and exhaustive,
and the court records indicate his ability in securing verdicts
favorable to his clients.
He was a member of the council of the bar of Montreal for several
years and batonnier of the bar of Montreal and batonnier-general
of the bar of the province of Quebec during the year 1913-1914.
In 1913 he was elected an honorary member of the American Bar
Association.
Mr. Martin has been married twice. His first wife, Nellie,
daughter of J. Rooney of Sweetsburg, P. Q., died in January,
1909. In December, 1910, he married Emily Violet, daughter of
James Patterson of Guelph, Ontario.
In politics Mr. Martin is a conservative, and he is a member of
the Anglican church. He is a member of the Mount Royal, Forest
and Stream, Canada and the Laurentian Clubs. He has a wide
acquaintance among the leading residents of the city, where his
ability and personal worth have gained for him the high regard of
those with whom he has come in contact.
JAMES ALEXANDER LAWRASON STRATHY.
James Alexander Lawrason Strathy, long a factor in financial
circles in Montreal, was born in London, Ontario, July 22, 1857,
where his father, James B. Strathy, was at one time collector
of customs. The mother, Mrs. Elvira Strathy, was a daughter of
Dr. Hiram D. Lee and of United Empire Loyalist stock. Liberal
educational opportunities were accorded the son, who was educated
in the Moncrieff Preparatory School, in Hellmuth College at
London, Ontario, and in Upper Canada College. At the age of
seventeen years he came to Montreal and entered the employ of
the brokerage firm of Gordon Strathy & Company, later becoming
a partner in the business. He subsequently was admitted to the
Montreal Stock Exchange, while six years later he became a member
of the Board of Trade. In the following years he devoted all his
time to the Montreal Trust & Deposit Company, of which he was
one of the organizers. He was appointed general manager of the
business and remained with the company until his death. He was
also a member of the executive committee of the Royal Electric
Company and in business connections gave evidence of his ability
to handle important interests and solve intricate problems.
Mr. Strathy was a justice of the peace of Montreal and in
official position made a record equally creditable with that
which he won in business. He was a member of St. Andrew’s Society
and vice president of the United Empire Loyalist Association.
Distinction and honors also came to him along military lines,
his military record dating from his appointment as second
lieutenant of the Fifth Royal Scots of Canada, in 1880. He was
advanced to the rank of captain in 1884, became major in 1891 and
was made lieutenant colonel, commanding his regiment, in 1893,
so continuing until his connection with the regiment ceased in
December, 1897. In 1894 he became vice president of the Canada
Military Institute at Toronto and the same year was appointed
to the staff of the governor general of Canada as an extra
aide-de-camp.
Mr. Strathy was widely known in sporting circles. As a gentleman
rider he was the winner of the Montreal Hunt Cup Steeplechase
in 1880, 1881 and 1886 and of the American Grand National Hunt
Steeplechase at Saratoga in 1882 and of the steeplechase open
to gentlemen riders. His political allegiance was given to the
conservative party and the interests and duties of citizenship
found ample recognition in his life activities.
On the 9th of January, 1885, Lieutenant Colonel Strathy was
married to Miss Margaret, daughter of Andrew Robertson, of
Montreal, and they became the parents of six children, of whom
five are living: Marguerite F., Isabella D., Alison L., R. Lee A.
and Elvira M. The family circle was broken by the hand of death
when on the 7th of October, 1901, Lieutenant Colonel Strathy
passed away. He was a popular member of the St. James Club and
his position as a business man and in military and sporting
circles classed him with the representative residents of his city.
JOHN RIGNEY BARLOW.
John Rigney Barlow, a civil engineer, who in 1900 was appointed
to the position of city surveyor of Montreal, has since served
in that capacity and is one of her best known civic officials. A
native of Scotland, he was born at Stornoway, Lewis, on the 29th
of July, 1850, a son of the late Robert Barlow of the Canadian
Geological Survey. The first five years of his life were spent
in the land of hills and heather, after which the family came
to the new world. John R. Barlow was reared in Montreal and
started in the business world in the employ of the Canadian
Geological Survey, with which he remained from 1872 until 1875.
He then entered the service of the corporation of Montreal in
1876, and did important duty in that connection. He was engaged
in the construction of water works in the town of St. Henri and
did other important duties. He became assistant city engineer
of Montreal in 1880 and was made deputy city surveyor in 1882.
Further advancement came to him in his appointment to the
position of city surveyor in 1900, and he is now acting in that
capacity. He thoroughly understands the scientific principles
which underlie his work as well as every practical phase of the
business and now occupies an enviable position among the civil
engineers of Montreal.
In March, 1877, Mr. Barlow was married to Margaret Coutts, a
daughter of the late Rev. William Darrach, and they reside at No.
78 St. Luke Street. Mr. Barlow is a member of the Engineers Club
and also of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, in which
he was elected to membership in 1887. His fraternal relations
are with the Masons, and his religious faith is that of the
Presbyterian church. His professional relations have brought him
an extensive acquaintance, while his sterling traits of character
have gained him firm hold upon the affectionate regard of those
with whom he has been brought in contact.
WILLIAM SMITH.
Clearly defined purposes and close application were salient
features in the career of William Smith, who died in Montreal on
the 14th of March, 1910, when nearly eighty-four years of age. He
was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, September 20, 1826, and came
to Canada when a young man. He practically spent his remaining
days in this city. He at first engaged in the dry-goods business,
which he followed for many years with good success. Eventually he
became a manufacturing tobacconist and again prosperity attended
his efforts in the commercial field. He also owned valuable
real estate, having taken advantage of early opportunities for
investment along that line. The soundness of his judgment and
the clearness of his vision were indicated in the rise in his
property values, making his holdings well worthy of consideration.
[Illustration: WILLIAM SMITH]
Mr. Smith was married in Montreal to Miss Margaret Watson,
daughter of George and Margaret (Selkirk) Watson of Montreal. He
continued to make the city his home until his life’s labors were
ended in death, when he had reached a venerable age. He was a
man respected by all and such was the regard entertained for his
opinions, that his advice was frequently sought upon important
questions. He was an attendant at Erskine church. Mr. Smith is
survived by his widow, who resides in what has been for years the
family residence, built by Mr. Smith at No. 56 Simpson Street and
which home stands on the site of the former home of Sir Alexander
Mackenzie, discoverer of the Mackenzie river and the first
European to cross the Rocky mountains.
JOSEPH ARTHUR BOURGAULT.
Joseph Arthur Bourgault is one of the most prominent figures in
real-estate circles in Montreal, his well defined and carefully
executed plans constituting a potent force in the substantial
development and improvement of various sections of the city.
He is yet a young man but has already attained a position that
many a one of twice his years might well envy. He was born May
30, 1887, at St. Louis de Bonsecours, Richelieu county, P. Q.,
his parents being Henri and Caroline (Loriviere) Bourgault, the
former a native of Ste. Victoire, Richelieu county, and the
latter of St. Judes in St. Hyacinthe county, P. Q.
Joseph Arthur Bourgault pursued his education in the schools
at Sorel, P. Q., and was graduated from St. Bernard College on
the 19th of June, 1905. He started in the business world as a
bookkeeper and afterward was traveling salesman, but eventually
turned his attention to the real-estate business, which he
conducts under the name of J. A. Bourgault & Company with offices
at No. 97 St. James Street in Montreal. His progress has been
continuous, and his efforts have been constantly of greater
public value, as he has developed and improved property which
hitherto had been an unsightly waste or had little commercial
value. In 1911 he developed and sold Montmorency Park including
eleven hundred lots which brought three hundred and seventy-five
thousand dollars; and in 1912 he sold a part of Niagara Garden
including thirty-two hundred lots, of which nineteen hundred
brought four hundred and twenty thousand dollars. He also sold
a subdivision on the south shore called Woodbine Park including
over eleven hundred lots. All this extensive property has been
sold exclusively by Mr. Bourgault. He is a wide-awake, alert,
enterprising young man thoroughly in touch with the real-estate
market. He knows what property is for sale, is conversant with
values and seems never to make a mistake in his investments. He
was graduated at the National Salesmen Training Association,
which has its headquarters in Chicago, and he is a member of the
Headquarters International Realty Company of that city.
On the 25th of November, 1912, in Montreal, Mr. Bourgault was
married to Miss Berthe Daignault, a daughter of the late J.
Daignault. They have gained many friends during the period
of their residence here. Mr. Bourgault has attractive social
qualities which render him popular socially and add not a little
to his success in the management and control of an extensive and
growing real-estate business.
DANIEL WILSON.
In Montreal stand many evidences of the ability and skill of
Daniel Wilson in a number of the larger and more substantial
buildings of the city, where for a long period he engaged in the
business of general contracting. He was born in Avoch, Scotland,
March 2, 1827, and was in the seventy-ninth year of his age when
he passed away. He had been a resident of Canada since 1853,
having come to the Dominion to take charge of stone quarries
at Pointe Claire for the construction of the Victoria bridge.
After the completion of the bridge he entered upon the work of
general contracting and erected many of the largest buildings of
Montreal, including the Royal Insurance building, Molson’s Bank,
the Merchants Bank, the Mutual Telegraph building, the Erskine
church, the Windsor Hotel, and others. He retired from business
about 1886, having met with notable success that brought him a
gratifying income.
Mr. Wilson was prominent in public affairs. For eight years
he represented St. Antoine ward in the city council and was
interested and active in support of various projects which have
had to do with the welfare and upbuilding of this city. He was
also Protestant school commissioner for a number of years and
aside from positions having to do with the public service he
was connected officially with various charitable and benevolent
projects. For six years he was on the board of the Outdoor Relief
and the Protestant Hospital for the Insane, was a life governor
of the General Hospital and a trustee of Mount Royal Cemetery
Association. He was also one of the oldest members and for eleven
years a deacon and twelve years elder of the Crescent Street
Presbyterian church and when other interests left him leisure
for sports, he enjoyed curling and became one of the founders of
the Caledonia Curling Club.
Mr. Wilson was married in Scotland to Miss Margaret Stephen,
who died in Montreal in 1856, being the mother of two children:
James, a resident of Montreal; and Margaret, the widow of Henry
Downs, of St. Paul, Minnesota. In Montreal, in 1858, Mr. Wilson
married Miss Catherine MacGregor, a daughter of Daniel MacGregor,
and to this union six children were born: Robert, a contractor
residing in Vancouver; Lillias Ann, who died in young girlhood;
Lillias Isabella, the wife of Peter C. Small, of Vancouver;
Christina, who married James Sutherland and died in Montreal in
1896; Kate, who is Mrs. William A. Coates, of Montreal; and John
William, a contractor of Montreal.
On the 14th of February, 1906, Daniel Wilson was called from this
life, leaving behind him a record of many good deeds undertaken
for the benefit of his fellowmen and consummated in following the
highest ideals of manhood and responsibility toward those with
whom and for whom he lived.
ARTHUR ECREMENT, B. A.
Arthur Ecrement, who for many years has figured prominently
in the public life of the province and is a well known
representative of the notarial profession, was born at St.
Gabriel de Brandon, on the 29th of June, 1879. Liberal
educational opportunities were accorded him and after attending
Montreal College and Laval University he entered upon public
life. In fact his activities have always been of a public or
semi-public character and his labors have been of far-reaching
and beneficial effect. For five years he was secretary to the
Hon. R. Dandurand, speaker of the senate, and he was also
secretary of the liberal organization of the district of
Montreal. He was first elected to the house of commons in 1908,
in the liberal interests, and his efforts as a member of that
body have been pursued with a singleness of purpose in the
interest of general progress and good government. He brings to
bear in the discharge of his duties executive ability, keen
insight into the situation and a loyalty to the public good that
is above question.
REV. FRANK CHARTERS.
One of the most popular and able ministers in the Anglican church
in eastern Canada is Rev. Frank Charters, who for the past
seventeen years has done earnest and zealous work as rector of
St. Simon’s church, Montreal. He is a man of force, experience
and capacity, high in his ideals, earnest in his purposes and
straightforward in his methods, and his labors have been potent
forces in the spread of the doctrines in which he believes and in
the promotion of the moral development of the community in which
he resides.
Dr. Charters was born in Montreal, March 16, 1865, and acquired
his preliminary education at Arnold school and Fettis College. He
afterward entered McGill University, from which he was graduated
with the class of 1888. In the same year he completed a course
in the Montreal Diocesan College, and in 1911 he was given the
honorary degree of D. C. L. from the University of Bishop’s
College in Lennoxville. He is a governor of the Montreal Diocesan
College and a member of the corporation of the University of
Bishop’s College. He was ordained deacon in the Anglican church
in 1888 and received full orders in the following year, going
immediately afterward to Iron Hill and West Brome, Quebec,
of which he became Incumbent. In 1896 he was transferred to
Montreal, and here since that time he has done earnest and
capable work as rector of St. Simon’s parish. This congregation
was organized in 1892 and the church building erected in the same
year by Dean Carmichael. Rev. Samuel Massey was first pastor and
officiated until the spring of 1896, Dr. Charters succeeding
him. The latter has proved a capable and efficient rector, fully
conscious of the obligations and responsibilities which devolve
upon him, and he has accomplished in the course of years a great
deal of consecrated work among his people, whose love he holds in
large measure. He is, moreover, a man of good business ability
and foresight, and the affairs of his parish have been ably
administered and the funds carefully conserved. Dr. Charters
has two hundred and seventy-five families under his charge and
manages a church property valued at fifty thousand dollars. He is
very popular among people of all denominations in Montreal and
his unostentatious life, filled with well directed and zealous
labor and characterized by earnest personal service, has brought
him the esteem and confidence of all who are associated with him.
JOHN T. WILSON.
The life record of John T. Wilson spanned sixty-four years. He
was born in Greenup, Scotland, February 9, 1841, and died in
Montreal on the 23d of February, 1905. His parents were John and
Mary (Thomson) Wilson, the former a sea captain. The youth of
John T. Wilson was marked by events and experiences such as come
to the lot of all. He reached a turning point on the journey of
life, however, when he bade adieu to friends and native country
and sailed for Canada. Settling in Montreal, in 1866, he became
one of the city’s foremost business men, his name being engraved
high on the roll of those who contributed most largely to the
commercial greatness and consequent prosperity of the city. He
was for forty years the senior member of the firm of Wilson,
Paterson & Company, importers and general manufacturers’ agents,
continuing in active business until his demise. The volume of
trade developed with the growth of the city and had its inception
in the progressive methods, initiative spirit and undaunted
enterprise of the partners.
When business hours were over and the cares of the day were put
aside, Mr. Wilson greatly enjoyed a game of golf or billiards.
His interest, too, reached out to many of those projects which
recognize the needs of the city and the claims of humanity. He
attended St. Paul’s Presbyterian church. For ten years he was a
member of the council of the Board of Trade and was ever keenly
alive to the projects instituted by that society for the benefit
and upbuilding of the city. He belonged to the Canadian and
St. James Clubs of Montreal, and the Hunt Club. His business
activity was evenly balanced with his honorable methods in trade;
his interest in club life and in manly outdoor sports giving him
the necessary rest and recreation from that line of work which
takes strong hold upon the emotions and calls forth the more
tender sentiment in nature. In a word, his was a well rounded
character and his place as a representative citizen of Montreal
none contest.
CHARLES BYRD.
Successful in business, Charles Byrd rejoiced in his prosperity
not so much because of the opportunities which came to him from
his wealth, but because it enabled him to again and again aid his
fellowmen. In this he was prompted by no sense of duty but by
a higher interest in humanity--a genuine regard for his fellow
travelers upon life’s journey. His hand was ever downreaching
to aid those who were struggling to raise and he shed around
him much of the sunshine of life not only through his material
assistance, but also through the words of encouragement and
inspiration which he spoke.
Mr. Byrd was born at Lachute, province of Quebec, March 4, 1848,
and was therefore sixty-three years of age when he passed away at
Nassau, Bahama Islands, on the 3d of March, 1911. He had been a
resident of Montreal from early manhood, embarking in the grocery
business upon his arrival here. This he abandoned to enter the
Munderloh firm in 1868, at which time its founder, William C.
Munderloh was in control. After the death of this gentleman
Mr. Byrd entered into partnership with Henry Munderloh, son of
William C. Munderloh, in the continuation of the business. In
1909 the firm was organized as a joint stock company and Mr.
Byrd had active voice in its control, assisting in formulating
plans which had to do with its substantial growth and progress.
It became one of the important enterprises of the kind in the
city and through his connection therewith Mr. Byrd won notable,
gratifying and enviable success.
Mr. Byrd was united in marriage in 1873 to Miss Kate Macdonald,
a daughter of the late Alexander Roy Macdonald of Montreal.
During the last years of his life Mr. Byrd was in poor health
and, accompanied by his wife, had spent two winters in the West
Indies. He went again in February, 1911, in order to escape the
rigors of the Canadian winter and there passed away on the 3d of
March.
His memory is enshrined in a halo of good deeds, for he was
continually active in support of organized charities or in
individual assistance. He gave liberally to a number of the
benevolent organizations of Montreal and served on the board
of management of the Protestant Hospital for the Insane at
Verdun to which he made a contribution of five thousand dollars.
He was also one of the board of managers of the Montreal
General Hospital to which he gave ten thousand dollars; was
vice president of the Protestant House of Industry and Refuge
at Longue Pointe, to which he gave ten thousand dollars; was
vice president of the Moore Home and an officer of the Irish
Protestant Benevolent Society, to which his contribution was
five thousand dollars. He gave twenty-five hundred dollars
to the Western General Hospital; two thousand dollars to the
Alexandra Hospital; two thousand to the Montreal Protestant
Orphan Asylum; five hundred dollars to the Boys’ Home; one
thousand dollars to St. Patrick’s Society, a goodly sum to the
Erskine church for home movements and a sum of twenty-five
thousand dollars for foreign movements. He was an elder of the
old St. Gabriel church on St. Catherine Street and afterward
joined the Erskine Presbyterian church when it was amalgamated
with the Chalmers church. A high-minded Christian gentleman,
the principles of his religion permeated his life in all of
its different connections and his contribution to the world’s
progress along moral and religious lines was a valuable one.
[Illustration: CHARLES BYRD]
DAVID MORRICE.
The life record of David Morrice might be summed up in the term
successful achievement. It has, however, been more than the
success that is calculated in the terms of dollars and cents,
for his outlook of life has ever been broad, his conceptions of
its opportunities accurate and his recognition of its duties
and obligations correct. He has as fully and carefully met the
last mentioned as he has his chances in a business way. While
he has passed the eighty-fourth milestone on life’s journey, in
spirit and interest he seems yet in his prime. To him might be
applied the words of Victor Hugo: “The snows of age are upon
his head, but the spring of youth is in his heart.” He was born
in St. Martin, Perthshire, Scotland, August 11, 1829, and after
acquiring his early education there, started in business life
as an employe in dry-goods stores, remaining for some time in
that connection in Dublin, Liverpool, Manchester and London.
The growing western country attracted him with its almost
limitless opportunities, and in 1863 he established himself in
Montreal where he founded the business that has since become
one of the most important commercial enterprises of the city.
Under the name of The D. Morrice Company the business is now
one of extensive proportions. Manufacturers’ agents and general
merchants, they have one of the largest and best appointed
establishments of the city, and Mr. Morrice is also at the head
of important productive industries and is said to be one of
the best authorities in cotton matters in the Dominion. He is
president of Penman’s Limited; of the Canadian Cottons, Ltd.; and
of the Montreal Investment & Freehold Company. He is likewise
a director of the Bank of Montreal; of the Dominion Textile
Company; and of the Mount Royal Cemetery Company. While he has
now in large measure retired from active management of these
interests, his opinions still carry weight in business councils,
and his judgment and discrimination are those of a man of not
more than three score years and ten. While conducting important
and extensive commercial and manufacturing interests, he has
found time to become a factor in the management and control of
many projects for the benefit of his fellowmen in the alleviation
of the hardships of life for the unfortunate. He is now vice
president of the Montreal Tubercular Association; president of
the Montreal General Hospital; president of the Montreal Sailors’
Institute; president of the Mackay Institute for the Deaf and
Dumb; and governor of the Montreal Boys’ Home. He has long been
an interested member of the Montreal Art Association of which he
is one of the councillors and he maintains an equal interest in
Christian education as chairman of the board of managers of the
Montreal Presbyterian College, in which position he has remained
for forty-two years. He has ever been a firm believer in the
early religious training of the young and has labored untiringly
to advance the interests of moral direction for the youth of the
land. In 1905 he was chosen vice president of the Quebec Sunday
School Union and in 1902 was president of the Presbyterian Sunday
School Association. In 1882 he erected the David Morrice Hall of
the Montreal Presbyterian College at a cost of ninety thousand
dollars. His gift to the Montreal General Hospital in 1906 made
that institution richer by twenty-five thousand dollars and in
1910 he gave ten thousand dollars to the Montreal Art Association.
On the 14th of June, 1860, Mr. Morrice married Anne S. Anderson
of Toronto, and of their children, William J. and David J., are
connected with The D. Morrice Company. The others are Robert B.,
who is connected with Penman’s Limited; Arthur A., a resident of
Toronto; James Wilson, a distinguished artist; and a daughter,
who is now the wife of Allen G. Law, of the firm of Law, Young
& Company of Montreal. The son, James Wilson Morrice, born in
Montreal in 1864, attended the city schools and the Toronto
University and afterward developed his art talent by study in
Paris. He has not only won high reputation in that city but also
in London and is considered one of the greatest painters of
Brittany coast scenes. He has been a frequent exhibitor at the
Paris Salon and one of his pictures has been purchased by the
French government and another by the Canadian government for the
National Art Gallery at Ottawa. He largely paints landscapes, yet
gives some attention to figures and in all of his work there is
an even balance maintained between technique, creative faculty
and poetic feeling.
Mr. David Morrice is now eighty-four years of age, but still
maintains deep and active interest in the church and in the
benevolent and civic projects with which he is identified.
Moreover, he still holds membership in the St. James Club, the
Montreal Club, the Mount Royal Club, the Montreal Hunt Club and
the Forest and Stream Club. Someone has said, “there is an old
age which need not suggest idleness or lack of occupation; on the
contrary there is an old age which grows stronger and better,
mentally and morally as the years advance and gives out of the
rich stores of its wisdom and experience for the benefit of
others.” Such is the record of David Morrice.
J. F. DUBREUIL.
One of the able advocates of Montreal and one who has filled
with honor various official positions, is J. F. Dubreuil, a
descendant of a distinguished family which has found mention
in Abbé Tanguay’s “Dictionnaire Généalogique.” In this book
L’Abbé Cyprien Tanguay mentions among the earliest ancestors
of the house of Dubreuil the following. Christopher Dubreuil,
born in 1696; Jean Du Breuil, born in 1655, a son of Pierre and
Catherine (Gosselin) Du Breuil, married September 28, 1682, at
Montreal; wife died December 22, 1685: one child; married August
6, 1686, Ste. Famille Marguerite Gaultier: seven children. Jean
Etienne Dubreuil was a notaire royal and a brother of the above
mentioned Jean. He married twice and had a family of many sons
and daughters.
J. F. Dubreuil was born at Lachine, province of Quebec, January
24, 1845, and is a son of Joseph and Hélène (Barré) Dubreuil,
the former of Pointe-aux-Trembles and the latter, of Montreal.
The father was for many years a notary public. J. F. Dubreuil
received his education at the Jesuit College of Montreal,
famed for its thorough teachers, and completed the course of
instruction by graduation on February 6, 1866. He subsequently
engaged as an advocate and as he was able, capable and
conscientious, soon enjoyed a profitable practice, his services
being demanded by a representative clientèle. He served from 1873
to 1882 as deputy clerk of the crown and peace, and from June,
1883, until June, 1889, as deputy sheriff of Montreal.
On January 26, 1869, at Sorel, Mr. Dubreuil was united in
marriage to Miss Marie L. C. Beaupré and they have the following
children: J. F. L., vice president of the Commercial Travelers
Association; George, who is employed in the registry office at
Hochelaga; Charles, of Richelieu, Ontario; and Raoul, who is with
the Canadian Electric Company.
In his political faith Mr. Dubreuil is a conservative, giving his
support to that organization. For many years he has made Montreal
his home and has witnessed the change from a comparatively small
city to that of a world’s metropolis, having participated in
bringing about the transformation according to the best of his
ability. He is deeply interested in the growth of the city along
material, as well as intellectual, lines and as he has always
lived a life of conscientious righteousness, is highly esteemed
and respected in the community where he is widely known.
JOHN RANKIN.
No worthy enterprise of Montreal sought in vain the assistance
of John Rankin, and his public spirit found expression in
tangible effort for the general good. At the same time he
conducted important business affairs as representative of large
corporate interests of his native land. He was born in Lanark,
Scotland, in 1825, and had traveled far on life’s journey when
death called him February 27, 1908. Coming to Canada in 1854,
he carried on business first under his own name and afterward
as senior partner in the firm of Rankin, Beattie & Company.
He also represented J. & P. Coates, the world renowned thread
manufacturers of Paisley, for many years, and was instrumental
in establishing for them a large Canadian business. He was
likewise financial agent for the house of Arthur & Company, of
Glasgow, and in the further development of his business interests
became one of the founders of the Shedden Company and of the
Guarantee Company of North America. As his worth and business
talent became recognized his cooperation was sought along many
lines and when keen business judgment prompted his investment
in any interest he was almost at once accorded voice in the
management. He became a promoter of the New York Daily Graphic,
the Consolidated Bank and of the Montreal & Sorel Railway, now
a part of the Delaware & Hudson system. As a business man, his
position was second to none and his record was one which any man
might be proud to possess. He never made engagements that he did
not keep, nor incurred obligations that he did not meet, and his
name became a recognized synonym of integrity and enterprise in
commercial and industrial circles. At River David, in 1861, Mr.
Rankin was married to Miss Louisa S. C. Wurtele, a daughter of
Jonathan Wurtele, in his life time, Seignor of River David. The
following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Rankin: James L., a
contractor of Montreal; Archibald J., who resides in Edmonton,
Alberta, where he is a clerk in the government offices; John,
who is a civil engineer, residing at Victoria, British Columbia;
Norman S., who is connected with the Canadian Pacific Railway
at Calgary; Allan C., a bacteriologist in the employ of the
Siam government, at Bangkok; A. G. Ernest, who is a notary of
Montreal; Louisa M., who is Mrs. John Fair, of Montreal; and
Isobel S., at home.
None ever questioned Mr. Rankin’s interest in the city and the
general welfare of its people. He stood for all those things
which are a feature in civic betterment and his interest in
moral progress was evidenced in his membership in St. Paul’s
Presbyterian church, of which he was secretary and treasurer
when the present edifice was erected. He was also a governor
of the Montreal General Hospital. His high standing is further
indicated in the fact that his name was on the membership roll of
St. James Club. To him were accorded the “blest accompaniments of
age--honor, riches, troops of friends.”
The summer home of Mrs. Rankin is “Manor House,” Pointe Seche,
County Kamouraska, Quebec.
EMMANUEL PERSILLIER LACHAPELLE, M. D.
While Dr. Emmanuel Persillier Lachapelle has gained prominence
and won honor in various directions, perhaps the one act which
will longest stand as an enduring monument to his worth and work
will be the creation of the board of health of the province of
Quebec, of which he is now the president. His efforts were a
potent factor in bringing about the organization of this board,
the far-reaching effects of which are immeasurable. In this and
other connections he has entered upon a campaign of education for
the purpose of bringing to the public a knowledge of sanitary and
health conditions that will forever prevent widespread contagion
and check the ravages of disease even in individual cases. A man
of strong character and wide knowledge of men and things, his
life work has by no means reached its full fruition. In private
and hospital practice he has gained eminence and his name is
associated with one of the strongest and best equipped medical
schools of the country.
Dr. Lachapelle was born on the 21st of December, 1845, at
Sault au Récollet, Quebec, his parents being Pierre Persillier
and Marie Zoe (Toupin) Lachapelle, descendants of some of the
earliest settlers of New France. His father was born at Cote des
Neiges, in the county of Hochelaga, in the province of Quebec.
Making his home at Sault au Récollet he followed farming and was
proprietor of grain mills. His parents were Pascal Persillier
and Marie (Ladouceur) Lachapelle, who lived at Cote des Neiges.
The maternal grandparents of Dr. Lachapelle were Charles P. and
Angelique (Leduc) Toupin, of Montreal. The ancestors came to
this country in the early days of the French colony and were
married at Laprairie, near Montreal, on the south shore of the
St. Lawrence river.
[Illustration: DR. EMMANUEL P. LACHAPELLE]
After acquiring a classical education in the Montreal College
Dr. Lachapelle entered upon the study of medicine in the old
Montreal School of Medicine and Surgery and after a brilliant
course was admitted to practice in 1869. From the first years
of his professional life he devoted considerable attention to
the question of hygienic science. He continued his reading and
research after leaving college and is still as keen and devoted
a student as ever. He has long been ranked as a successful
practitioner of high standing in Montreal, especially prominent
in the field of hygiene.
In 1872 Dr. Lachapelle was appointed surgeon of the Sixty-fifth
Regiment, Mount Royal Rifles, and retained the appointment
until 1886. He was unable to accompany the regiment on active
service to the northwest in 1885, owing to the demands of his
professional engagements, but he personally superintended the
preparation of the medical equipment which the regiment took on
service and secured the services of an assistant surgeon, who
went with the regiment.
Dr. Lachapelle took a very active part in the refounding of
the medical legislation and in 1878 was elected a governor and
the treasurer of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the
Province of Quebec, retaining an official connection with that
important body almost continuously since, while for nine years he
has held the position of president. At the time of the memorable
small-pox epidemic in Montreal in 1885-6, when hundreds of new
cases of the disease were reported daily, until the death rate
claimed ten thousand victims, and when the city was practically
placed in a state of quarantine in respect to the rest of the
continent, Dr. Lachapelle came to the front as an outspoken
and fearless advocate of the drastic measures adopted to check
the disease. The contagion was spreading so rapidly throughout
the country that it became necessary to take advantage of an
old statute law and to create a central board of health which
would apply throughout the province means for prevention and
cure. Such a course had previously been adopted in Montreal.
The moment the horror of the great pestilence was at an end Dr.
Lachapelle proceeded to organize the forces of medical science
for the conservation of the health of the people. He was chiefly
instrumental in getting the provincial government to pass a law
for the creation of a provincial board of health with powers
coterminus with provincial bounds. Prior to that time there was
only a local authority operating within restricted bounds. From
that time forward the body which Dr. Lachapelle may be said to
have created was to have jurisdiction over the whole province.
The beneficial results of this measure were soon seen in better
methods, improved sanitation and, above all, in the general
vaccination of the people who had been so terribly scourged
because of the lack of this preventative in 1885. For the most
important and valuable work which he did in this connection
Dr. Lachapelle received high encomiums from all sections of
the American continent and from foreign lands as well, not the
least flattering being the recognition of the French republic
in 1898 which conferred upon him the Order of the Legion of
Honor. With the establishment of the provincial board of health
he was appointed its president, a position which he has since
filled with credit to himself and great advantage to the entire
province.
Moreover the name of Dr. Lachapelle has been intimately
associated with the effort to improve medical legislation and
to raise the standard of medical education in Quebec. On the
establishment of a branch of Laval University in Montreal,
decided upon in 1878, and the inauguration of the medical faculty
in temporary class-rooms in the old Chateau du Ramezay, on Notre
Dame Street, he was one of the most ardent instigators and
supporters of the movement and contributed in a great measure
to its success. At the present time he holds the positions of
dean of the medical faculty at the university and of professor
of hygiene; from 1876 until 1894 he was proprietor and editor
of L’Union Médicale. In 1885 he had the honor of presiding as
president over the convention of the American Public Health
Association. He had the honor of being elected an associate
member of the Société Française d’Hygiène of Paris. He has been
closely and prominently associated with the Notre Dame Hospital
ever since its establishment and can almost be called its
founder. The splendid institution which owes its establishment
partly to the clinical requirements of the then recently founded
medical faculty of Laval was incorporated in 1880, Dr. Lachapelle
being a member of the board of governors and holding the position
of general superintendent until 1906, while to the present time
he is president of the hospital.
A stanch member of the liberal party, Dr. Lachapelle has often
been urged to become a candidate in nomination for political
preferment but although willing to use his influence for the
benefit of his party he has invariably declined to accept a
nomination because of a sense of duty toward his professional
interests and benevolent engagements. In 1902 he was urged by
many of the most influential citizens of Montreal, both French
and English, irrespective of party to accept nomination for the
mayoralty. He did accept provisionally but later withdrew to
avoid racial complications. When the city government was changed
about three years ago it was deemed fitting that one so eminent
as an authority on sanitation and hygiene and one so dignified
and high-minded as a foremost citizen should be a member of the
new board which was henceforth to administer the affairs of
the city. The Doctor has little inclination for publicity but
yielded to the appeals addressed to him and became controller of
Montreal. He has made a most admirable official, the value of his
service being widely recognized. It is his desire to accomplish
the best possible measures of reform during his term of office,
and his efforts have already been productive of great good. He
was elected in 1910 for a term of four years.
Aside from his professional and public activities previously
mentioned Dr. Lachapelle is also a director of the Credit Foncier
Franco-Canadien and of other financial institutions and life
insurance companies. He has been identified with various national
and benevolent movements and in 1876 had the honor of serving
as general president of the St. Jean Baptiste Society. He is
also a member of the British Medical Association, the Canadian
Medical Association, the American Public Health Association,
Société Médicale de Montreal, the Medico-Chirurgical Society of
Montreal, the Royal Edward Institute of Montreal and the Canadian
Anti-Tuberculosis League. He has been attending physician to
the Hôtel-Dieu and other institutions, and served as a delegate
from the Canadian government to the second Pan-American Medical
Congress held in Mexico in 1896, and to other similar bodies. He
has been a frequent contributor to medical literature, writing
largely for the Union Médicale du Canada and other periodicals.
He is a councillor of the University Club and a member of the
metropolitan parks commission. In religious faith he is a Roman
Catholic and in political belief a liberal. He belongs to the
Mount Royal, University and Montreal Jockey Clubs. By reason of
notable ability he has attained to a position of prominence and
power and has been termed “a second Laurier.” Were his ambitions
along political lines he would undoubtedly attain distinction
in that field. He prefers, however, the even broader field of
professional activity wherein his scientific investigation and
research combined with practical knowledge and skill have gained
him eminence and made his life work of signal serviceableness to
mankind.
BERNARD MELANCON.
Bernard Melancon, a notary public who has engaged in the practice
of his profession for more than four years in Montreal, was born
at St. Jacques l’Achigan on the 20th of August, 1881, a son of
Moise and Elodie (Gaudet) Melancon, the former a zouave who
participated in active military duty in 1869-70. The son attended
College Ste. Marie, a Jesuit school, and Laval University of
Montreal. He prepared for the notarial profession, becoming a
notary on the 16th of July, 1909, after which he was associated
with M. M. Loranger under the firm name of Loranger & Melancon.
Subsequently he became a member of the firm of Mayrand, Loranger,
Ecrement & Melancon, but now practices as a member of the firm
Loranger, Seguin & Melancon, with offices at No. 99 St. James
Street, Montreal. He is conducting a successful business and
stands well in the profession, possessing the comprehensive
knowledge so necessary to success as well as the energy and
ability which must precede progress in any profession or business
line.
Mr. Melancon is a nationalist in political faith and allegiance
and in religious belief is a Roman Catholic. He was married at
Montreal on the 18th of June, 1912, to Miss Annette Jodian, a
daughter of L. O. Jodian, who died on the 17th of May, 1913. Mr.
Melancon is yet a young man, but has already made progress that
many an older member of the profession might well envy, and his
past record gives indications of future advancement.
GABRIEL HURTUBISE.
The earliest record of the Hurtubise family leads back to one
Louis Heurtebise (the spelling having been changed later), who
was born in 1667 and married on May 3, 1688, at Montreal, Jeanne
Gatteau and died on January 24, 1703. The present generation of
this old and distinguished French-Canadian family is represented
by Gabriel Hurtubise, a civil engineer and land surveyor, who
is independently established in business under the firm name
of Hurtubise & Hurtubise, his brother Louis being his partner.
He was born on November 3, 1883, in the city of Montreal, and
is a son of Edwin and Emélie (Brault) Hurtubise, both of whom
have passed away. The father was prominent in insurance circles
in Montreal as a member of the firm of Hurtubise & St. Cyr,
representatives of the Royal Insurance Company, and died on the
30th of December, 1913, in Montreal.
Gabriel Hurtubise enjoyed advantageous educational facilities at
St. Mary’s College, pursuing his more professional studies at the
Polytechnic School of Laval University, from which he graduated
on June 14, 1907, as civil engineer, and on June 10, 1909, as
land surveyor. He has since been prominently engaged in this
line in Montreal, having had charge of most important contracts.
He began his career under F. C. Laberge, C. E. and Q. L. S., of
Montreal. At present he is a member of the firm of Hurtubise &
Hurtubise, who are doing an extensive and profitable business.
On May 30, 1911, at Montreal, Mr. Hurtubise was united in
marriage to Miss Yvette Brault, a daughter of H. A. A. Brault,
a well known notary of this city. In his political views Mr.
Hurtubise is independent, preferring to entirely follow his
judgment in support of candidates. His religious faith is that of
the Catholic church. Fraternally he is a member of La Fontaine
Council of the Knights of Columbus. Yet a young man, Gabriel
Hurtubise has already made his mark in the world and has taken
his place in business circles of Montreal. Ambition has been the
beacon light of his life and his career again is proof of the
fact that ambition, coupled with industry and energy, will lead
to success.
GEORGE BROWNING CRAMP, K. C.
George Browning Cramp was for many years a veteran member of
the Montreal bar and a distinguished representative of the
profession, his opinions being largely accepted as authority
on questions of real-estate law, in which department of
jurisprudence he specialized. He was born in England in 1833,
a son of Rev. J. M. Cramp, who came to Montreal to accept a
position at the Baptist College. For years he was at the head of
Acadia University in Nova Scotia and was one of the prominent
educators in the maritime provinces.
In the schools of England and of Nova Scotia George B. Cramp
pursued his education and qualified for the bar as a student in
the law office of J. J. Day, K. C., an eminent member of the bar.
Thorough and careful preliminary training resulted in his being
called to the bar about 1855 and he entered upon active practice
in connection with his former preceptor. The latter had been
called to the bar in 1837 and was one of the most distinguished
lawyers of Montreal at an early day. Following his retirement,
Mr. Cramp entered upon active professional association with A.
F. Lunn, K. C., under the style of Lunn & Cramp, a connection
that was continued until the death of Mr. Lunn in 1894. Four
years later, or in 1898, Mr. Cramp was joined by J. Armitage
Ewing, K. C., under the style of Cramp & Ewing, and two years
later they admitted George S. McFadden, at which time the firm
name was changed to Cramp, Ewing & McFadden. This relation was
maintained until the death of the senior partner, who was then
in his eightieth year. While well versed in the various
departments of the law, he specialized in the field of real
estate and became an expert on legal questions relative thereto.
He was regarded as an expert in the matter of titles. He was
retained in a consulting capacity by such corporations as McGill
University, Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Company, the
Montreal Loan & Mortgage Company, and the White Star Dominion
Line. He remained throughout his entire professional career an
active and discriminating student of law, constantly broadening
his knowledge by reading and investigation, as well as experience.
[Illustration: GEORGE B. CRAMP]
Mr. Cramp held membership in the Mount Royal Club and the St.
James Club and was a casual attendant of the Olivet Baptist
church. For many years Mr. Cramp spent the summer season at
Saratoga, New York, or at Lachine, while his city residence was
at No. 62 McTavish Street, where his sister, the last survivor
of the family, now resides. He passed away February 16, 1913, at
the age of eighty years, leaving behind him the record of a well
spent life, in which he had wisely employed his time and talents.
THOMAS PRINGLE.
High on the list of mechanical and hydraulic engineers appears
the name of Thomas Pringle. Scientific study, investigation and
experience brought him to the enviable position which he long
occupied, making his word authority upon many problems relating
to the profession. He was born in Huntingdon, province of Quebec,
in 1830, and died in Montreal on the 7th day of May, 1911. His
father, David Pringle, was a farmer of Huntingdon and it was
there that the son was reared and educated, but in 1850, when a
young man of twenty years, he engaged in business in Montreal as
a milling engineer and for many years was prominently connected
with many water power developments and mill building operations
throughout Canada. Every phase of the milling business seemed
familiar to him and each forward step that he made seemed to
bring him a wider outlook and broader opportunities. He later
interested himself in the Montgomery Cotton Mills, the Hochelaga
and St. Ann’s Mills, of the Dominion Cotton Company, and the
Magog Print Mills, owned by the same corporation. His connection
with all these different important projects constituted him a
forceful factor in the industrial development of the country. He
was thus associated with many of the chief productive industries
of Canada and beyond this he became one of the foremost
consulting engineers. It was in the ‘60s that his attention
was first attracted to the water power possibilities of the
Lachine Rapids, which were subsequently utilized by the Lachine
Rapids Hydraulic & Land Company. At that early date, now more
than half a century ago, he made preliminary plans and wrote a
report upon the feasibility of the development in the interests
of Hugh Fraser, founder of the Fraser Institute. Mr. Pringle
predicted then that the water power would some day be used and
he lived to see the day when the prediction was fulfilled. In
1891 he was again asked to report on this power in the interest
of the Royal Electric Company, and the following year was asked
to report on the Chambly water power for the same concern. In
1892 his eldest son was admitted to the business under the firm
style of T. Pringle & Son, hydraulic engineers, and during the
succeeding three years close observations were made and much data
accumulated concerning the water power resources of the country,
the firm being regarded as authority upon many questions relative
thereto.
Mr. Pringle retired from the firm in 1898 but the business has
since been continued by his son under the same name. His services
were greatly sought, owing to his sound judgment, his scientific
attainments, his keen insight, and his practical experience.
He was considered the soul of honor and none ever questioned
his integrity. He assisted many men to gain a start in life and
many others were benefited by his powers of perception and keen
insight. His services were in constant demand as an arbitrator
when insurance companies were concerned in milling matters. John
McDougall took delight in giving him credit for the creation
of the large McDougall fortune and others acknowledged their
indebtedness to him in a similar way. As a natural mathematician
he perhaps had no superior in all Canada and he was regarded as
one of the most distinguished members of the Canadian Society of
Civil Engineers.
In 1861 Mr. Pringle was united in marriage to Miss Catherine
Ross, a daughter of Alexander and Isabella (Lang) Ross, of
Chateauquay Basin. The mother, who came from Scotland in 1832,
made her home at Chateauquay Basin, until death called her at
the notable old age of ninety-seven years. Alexander Ross was a
builder and assisted in the construction of the locks at Lachine
Canal but his death occurred when he was yet a young man. Mr. and
Mrs. Pringle had two sons: David Alexander, a mechanical engineer
of Montreal; and R. E. T. Pringle, of Toronto, an electrical
engineer.
ANDREW JOSEPH DAWES.
One of Montreal’s foremost business men, whose prominent
identification with the financial and industrial life of this
city has made him an important factor in business circles, is
Andrew J. Dawes, president of the National Breweries, Ltd.,
and also president of Dawes & Company, Ltd. The latter is the
oldest established industrial institution in the Dominion, and
was founded more than a century ago by Thomas A. Dawes, the
grandfather of Andrew J. Dawes, who was the first of the family
to leave England and settle in Canada.
Thomas A. Dawes was first connected with the brewery at River
St. Pierre. Ambitious to engage in business on his own account,
he established the Dawes Brewery in 1811, placed it upon a
substantial and profitable basis and was later joined in its
management by his sons, Thomas A. and James P., who were admitted
to a partnership in the business. When James P. Dawes passed
away in 1878 his share in the business passed to his two sons,
James P. Dawes, Jr., and Andrew J. Dawes, who then became
associated with their uncle, Thomas A. Dawes, in continuing the
business which developed steadily until it became one of the most
extensive enterprises of its kind in the Dominion.
Thomas Dawes, Jr., son of Thomas Dawes, the founder of the
family in Canada, was familiarly and affectionately styled Tom
throughout Lachine and wherever he was known. He there resided
for nearly eighty years and it was said that such was the
regularity of his habits that one could tell the time of day
by his actions. He always took the same train into town each
morning and the same walk in the evening and visited the bank at
the same hour each day. His life was to the utmost methodical
and systematic, and he was modest in demeanor and of retiring
disposition. He occupied a beautiful home on the river bank of
Lachine with his maiden sister. There he passed away on the 14th
of May, 1908, when he was in the seventy-ninth year of his age,
his birth having occurred in Lachine on the 19th of September,
1829.
James P. Dawes, Sr., another son of Thomas Dawes, the founder of
the family in Canada, married a Miss Leishman, who died in 1856,
leaving three sons, James P., Andrew J. and Thomas A. James P.
Dawes, Sr., was prominently identified with the business during
his active life, and contributed his part towards its progress
and expansion. He died in 1878. His son, Andrew Joseph Dawes is
now at the head of the mammoth business, which had its inception
in the brain of his grandfather and took on material form
through his efforts, and grew and developed through the labor of
representatives of the family in intermediate generations to the
present.
To accumulate a fortune requires one kind of genius; to retain
a fortune already acquired, to add to its legitimate increment
and to make such use of it that its possessor may derive
therefrom the greatest enjoyment and the public the greatest
benefit, requires another kind of genius. Mr. Dawes belongs
to that generation of business men called upon to shoulder
responsibilities differing materially from those that rested upon
their predecessors. In a broader field of enterprise they find
themselves obliged to deal with affairs of greater magnitude and
to solve more difficult and complicated financial and economic
problems. Such is the position in which Andrew J. Dawes found
himself and he has proven at all times equal to the occasion and
the demands made upon him.
Born in Lachine, June 15, 1846, he received his education in
that town, and also in Montreal. His business career began early
in connection with the interests of his father and on the death
of that parent he assumed additional responsibilities in the
business, which have been continued to the present time. Mr.
Dawes has been a prominent factor in the development of the
business. With its gradual growth facilities were increased, new
buildings were added and the plant has thus expanded until it
is represented by immense blocks of buildings, covering several
acres on each side of the main street in Lachine. Aside from his
extensive interests in the brewery business, Andrew J. Dawes is
prominently identified with various projects and organizations
for the development and improvement of the province along
horticultural and agricultural lines, being especially interested
in the subject of fruit growing.
He is a director of the Montreal Horticultural and Fruit Growing
Association; is president of the Council of Agriculture of the
Province of Canada, and at one time was president of the Lachine
Horticultural Association. He is a director of the Merchants Bank
and holds the same official position in regard to the London
and Lancashire Fire Insurance Company, Ltd. He is well known in
social and club circles and was president of the Auto Club of
Canada from 1903 to 1906, while his membership relations extend
to the Mount Royal, St. James, Forest and Stream, Royal Montreal
Golf, Royal St. Lawrence Yacht, Montreal Hunt, Auto and Aero,
Montreal Jockey, Montreal Polo, and St. George Snow Shoe Clubs
and to the Rideau Club of Ottawa.
Mr. Dawes married Miss Mary O. A. Wilgress, of Lachine, and
they have two daughters: Rachel M., the wife of F. L. Bond, of
Montreal; and Frances H., the wife of B. Hazen Porteous, of
Montreal.
A man of unusual energy whose exceptionally well preserved
physical condition enables him to display a capacity for business
more becoming to one twenty years his junior, success has made
possible for Mr. Dawes the enjoyment of many social pleasures and
interests. Yet prominent club man, that he is, Mr. Dawes’ first
interest is the extensive business of which he is the controlling
head and he is everywhere recognized as a forceful, resourceful
man, ready to meet any emergency and ever looking beyond the
exigencies of the moment to the opportunities and possibilities
of the future.
T. STERRY HUNT, LL. D., F. R. S.
It is a trite saying that there is always room at the top, for
while the lower ranks of life are crowded, comparatively few
have the ambition and the energy to climb to the heights in
connection with business or professional interests. Recognizing
and utilizing his opportunities and wisely employing his time
and talents, T. Sterry Hunt became recognized as one of the
eminent Canadian scientists, his ability winning for him the
unusual honor of being made a fellow of the Royal Society of
London. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut, September 5, 1826,
a representative of an old New England family. It was his
parents’ desire that he should become a representative of the
medical profession, but a strong inclination toward the study of
chemistry, mineralogy and geology prevented him from becoming
a physician. In 1845 he pursued his studies under Professor
Benjamin Silliman of Yale University and later became his
assistant. His constantly expanding powers marked him a man above
the ordinary and distinguished honors came to him as the years
passed. As early as 1846 the result of his original research
work was published in an article which he wrote for the American
Journal of Science. When the Geological Survey of Canada, then
recently organized by Mr. (later Sir) William E. Logan, required
the service of a competent chemist and mineralogist, Mr. Logan
applied to Professor Silliman to supply the man and Mr. Hunt
was recommended for the position, which he accepted early in
1847. His connection with the survey continued until 1872, when,
much against the wish of the government, he resigned. His work
embraced a large amount of field geology. The most difficult
problems presented by the geological formation of Canada are
those of its crystalline rocks. To this study Mr. Hunt addressed
himself from the beginning and made the first clear exposition
ever presented of the earlier rocks of the country. He afterward
gave the names of Laurentian and Huronian to these rocks and in
his investigations, analyses and scientific research laid the
foundation of what he regarded as his life work. He also gave
constant attention to the economic and practical departments
of the survey and was the first to make known the deposits of
phosphate of lime in Canada and call attention to its commercial
value for fertilizing purposes, collecting and sending
specimens of the same to the foreign exhibits of 1851, 1855 and
1867. He analyzed soils, investigated the petroleums of Canada
and their distribution, and his studies of the mineral waters of
the Dominion were the first and most complete ever made. His work
in many respects constituted the foundation, basis and stimulus
of all later investigation.
[Illustration: T. STERRY HUNT]
During his connection with the survey work Mr. Hunt took part
in the great exhibitions of 1856 and 1867, acting as judge at
both, while his services in a similar connection were sought at
the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. His fame was
world-wide as the result of his investigations and researches
were made known, for he took the lead in much pioneer geological
work on the North American continent.
From 1856 until 1862 Dr. Hunt was professor of chemistry at Laval
University in Quebec and was continued as one of its honorary
professors until his death. His annual course of instruction
there comprised forty lectures in the French language and for
some years he was also lecturer at McGill University. In 1872
he accepted the chair of geology in the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in Boston, there remaining until 1878, when he
resigned in order to concentrate his efforts upon further study
and professional work. His scientific attainments have gained
him recognition both on the American and European continents.
Harvard University created him Master of Arts in 1852 and from
Laval and McGill Universities he received the degree of Doctor
of Science. In 1881 he had the unusual honor of receiving the
degree of Doctor of Laws from Cambridge University of England,
and in special recognition of his eminence as a geologist he
was created a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1859. In
1874 he was elected to membership in the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States and in 1882 he was one of those
called upon by the Marquis of Lorne to aid in the organization
of the New Royal Society of Canada, becoming that year chief of
the section of physical and mathematical sciences. In 1884 he was
elected its president. Thus year after year honors were conferred
upon him--honors well merited yet worn with becoming modesty.
He was one of the founders of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science at Philadelphia and in 1870 was elected
to its presidency. He was also an early member of the American
Institute of Mining Engineers and was its president in 1877,
while in 1880 he became the founder and president of the American
Chemical Society. Among the decorations conferred upon him was
that of the Legion of Honor, bestowed by Napoleon III, and the
cross of St. Mauritius and St. Lazarus from the king of Italy.
He contributed much to scientific literature and was a well
known lecturer on scientific subjects. He frequently went abroad
for study, spending much time in that way in Great Britain,
Switzerland and Italy. A chemical green ink which he invented in
1859 was the cause of giving the name of greenbacks to American
currency. His explorations on the American continent had extended
from the Gulf of St. Lawrence southward to the Gulf of Mexico and
westward to the Pacific.
In January, 1878, Dr. Hunt was married to Miss Anna Rebecca Gale,
the eldest daughter of Justice Samuel Gale of Montreal, who was
judge of the court of queen’s bench for Lower Canada. His wife
was Mary M. Hawley, who was born in Montreal and was educated in
this city and abroad. One of their daughters became the Baroness
von Friesen, of Dresden. After the death of the father in 1865,
Mrs. Hunt traveled extensively in Europe in company with her
two sisters. She is the author of one or two volumes of poems
of considerable merit, so that her name, like her husband’s, is
known in literary circles. Dr. Hunt passed away in February,
1892. His contribution to the world’s work was a valuable one.
His investigation, research and native intelligence constituted
the key which unlocked for us many of the portals beyond which
lay nature’s mysteries. The earth and its construction were
largely to him an open book and he made it a readable volume for
others, placing his investigations before mankind in a way that
has constituted the foundation for further research.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL FREDERICK WILLIAM HIBBARD.
Lieutenant Colonel Frederick William Hibbard has been frequently
before the public as a speaker and writer upon topics of
public interest. Although never a candidate he was for years
a participant in both federal and provincial politics and has
appeared on numerous public occasions both in the province of
Quebec and in that of Ontario. He is the senior member of the
firm of Hibbard, Boyer & Gosselin, and a successful member
of the Montreal bar. Ireland claims him as a native son, his
birth having occurred in Dublin on the 19th of October, 1865.
His father was the late Lieutenant Colonel Ashley Hibbard, of
Montreal, and his mother was Sarah Ann Hibbard, the second
daughter of the Rev. Ambrose Lane, M. A., perpetual curate of St.
Thomas, Pendleton, Manchester, England.
After spending some years under private instruction, Lieutenant
Colonel F. W. Hibbard entered McGill University, where he took
his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1886. After a couple of years
spent in teaching he returned to the university for the study of
law, graduating as B. C. L. in 1891. In addition to the degree
of B. C. L. received in that year he was also gold medallist.
In 1892 he received the degree of M. A. He began practice as a
barrister in 1893 and was created king’s counsel in 1907. His
advancement at the bar has been continuous and long since he
left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few.
From 1907 until 1910 he was crown prosecutor for the district
of Montreal, and his clientele of a private character has been
extensive and important. In literary circles he is known and
has given papers and addresses upon a number of subjects. In
1903 he was president of the St. James Literary Society of
Montreal. His popularity as a lecturer is based both upon the
entertaining and the instructive nature of his discourses. He
has addressed various audiences upon the following comprehensive
subjects:--Canadian Constitutional Government, The Land Defence
of Canada, The Value of Organized Effort in Municipal Affairs,
The Prophecy of the West, and Canadians at Home and Abroad. He
is not merely a theorist, for his ideas have many times taken
practical, tangible form, and in 1910 his fitness for the
position led to his appointment to the presidency of the Quebec
public utilities commission. In military circles his name is
known, for he holds a first class certificate from the Royal
School of Artillery, and in 1894 joined the Second Regiment
Canadian Artillery as a lieutenant. He was advanced to the rank
of captain in 1895, major in 1897, lieutenant colonel in command
in 1901 and R. O. in 1906. He was one of the artillery officers
of the Second Canadian Contingent at Queen Victoria’s Jubilee,
received the Diamond Jubilee medal from the hand of King Edward,
and was presented to the late Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle.
In 1900 he was elected to the presidency of the Montreal Military
Institute and in 1905 became vice president of the Dominion
Artillery Association.
Lieutenant Colonel Hibbard was married in November, 1898, to Miss
Emily Laura Baker, the third daughter of Joseph S. Baker, of
Dunham, P. Q. He finds recreation in golf and has been president
of the Outremont Golf Club. He is a member of the St. James and
University Clubs and the Quebec Garrison Club. A liberal in
politics, he has been active in support of the principles of his
party, recognizing the duties and obligations as well as the
privileges of citizenship. In religious belief is an Anglican,
having twice served as warden of his church, is a member of
the synod of Montreal and of the executive committee of the
diocese. Mr. D. A. Lafortune, his colleague as crown prosecutor,
has characterized him as “a man of dignity and learning.”
His lifelong habit of study and investigation, his deep and
continuous interest in important public questions, and his
earnest purpose, prompting him to action in behalf of the public
welfare, have made him a citizen of value in advancing progress
and working toward that better ordering of things which is always
the goal of progress.
J. ADELARD OUIMET.
Among the better known advocates of Montreal is J. Adélard
Ouimet, who is a member of the firm of Ouimet & Guertin. He
is one of the most successful men in his line, and by his
career carries forward the tradition of the family which to a
large extent has been connected with the legal fraternity. The
grandfather, Michel Ouimet, was justice of the peace of St. Rose,
in the county of Laval, and also took an active part in the
insurrection of 1837. The father of J. Adélard Ouimet was Landré
Ouimet, and his wife was in her maidenhood Miss Euphémie Bourqué.
A brother of our subject, also named Landré Ouimet, was for ten
years an alderman for St. Jean Baptiste ward and an uncle on the
paternal side was judge of the court of appeals and president of
the City and District Savings Bank.
J. Adélard Ouimet was born at Ste. Scholastique, in the county
of Two Mountains, on the 7th of March, 1868. He pursued his
classical studies in the Seminary of Ste. Thérèse and at the
University of Ottawa and his law course at Laval University,
being admitted to the bar in 1895. He then became a partner of
the well known legal firm of Ouimet, Emard, Maurault & Ouimet,
but after the appointment of the Hon. J. A. Ouimet, his uncle,
to the judgeship of the court of appeals he entered into
partnership with A. Délisle, Q. C., then a member of parliament
for Portneuf county, but two years later decided to engage in
practice independently. In May, 1913, he formed a partnership
with C. A. Guertin, Q. C., under the firm name of Ouimet &
Guertin. He possesses every quality of which a lawyer may be
proud--skill in the presentation of his evidence, marked ability
in cross-examination, persuasiveness before the jury, a strong
grasp of every feature of the case, the ability to secure a
favorable ruling from the judge, unusual familiarity with human
nature and the springs of human conduct and, last but not least,
untiring energy. He has often occasion to demonstrate his ability
and has handled many important cases since his admission to the
bar, his clientele being of the most representative character. He
is dignified and impressive, deliberate in manner, his speeches
always commanding attention. Entirely free from ostentation
and display, he largely relies upon the simple weight of his
character and is ever prepared to meet any attack of the opposing
counsel, as his mind works with a rapidity which often excites
the wonder and admiration of his colleagues.
On the 3d of September, 1901, Mr. Ouimet was united in marriage
in Montreal to Miss Dersina Vaillancourt, a daughter of Benjamin
Vaillancourt, a well known grain merchant of Montreal, and they
have one son, George Etienne. As is but natural, Mr. Ouimet
has taken a conspicuous part in the public life of his city
and province, having participated in all elections since 1890,
not only in the province of Quebec but also in Ontario. He
is a conservative in his political affiliations and stanchly
upholds the principles of his party. He was the founder and
first president of Le Club Morin, holding the executive office
during 1893 and 1894. From 1894 to 1896 he was also president of
Le Club des Jeunes Conservateurs and is an active member of Le
Club Cartier, of which he served as treasurer from 1910 to 1912.
He is also a military man. After having been in the Sixty-fifth
Regiment for ten years, he then joined the Eighty-fifth Regiment,
becoming captain in 1900. He will be major of that regiment in
1914. Fraternally he is chief ranger of the Catholic Order of
Foresters and is a member of the Royal Guardians and of the
Catholic Foresters Club. His religious faith is that of the Roman
Catholic church, to the work of which he gives his moral and
material support. At the Ottawa University he was the founder
of La Société des Débats Canadien Français in 1889 and served
as its first president. In 1908 he was also elected president
of L’Association St. Jean Baptiste of St. Jean Baptiste parish.
Mr. Ouimet is a successful lawyer in the truest sense of the
word, a man unusually broad-minded and intelligent, tolerant and
of wide experience, never mercenary or grasping, believing in
something greater than mere material wealth, who in the course of
a distinguished career, spent simply and unostentatiously, has
been a factor for good along various lines. His public-spirited
citizenship has been a boon to Montreal, who proudly claims him
as one of her citizens, and Mr. Ouimet returns the honor which
the city’s people entertain for him by a loyalty which could not
be more devoted.
CHARLES FRANCIS SMITH.
Charles Francis Smith, for half a century a leading figure in
the business and social life of Montreal, was born in Aylesford,
Hampshire, England, in 1841. He had reached the psalmist’s
allotted span of three score years and ten when death called
him in Montreal on the 30th of September, 1911. His position
was one which gained for him not only the respect but also the
admiration and love of his associates. Important and extensive as
were his business enterprises, they constituted but one phase
of an existence that was largely devoted to charitable works and
civic affairs and he was no less esteemed for his generosity and
unfailing kindness than he was admired for his business acumen.
His residence in Canada covered a period of forty-eight years. He
came to this country as a member of the standing army. The shed
in which he and his fellow soldiers slept the first night after
landing at St. Andrews, New Brunswick, is still standing near
the beautiful summer home which he afterward built for himself
there. His entrance into commercial circles in Montreal was made
as proprietor of a shoe store on St. Mary Street. He afterward
entered into partnership with the late James McCready and upon
the latter’s death became sole proprietor of the business and
so remained for almost one-third of a century; yet in order to
give his employes the opportunity of sharing in the profits of
the business he formed a limited company nine years prior to
his demise. In April, 1911, the business was sold to D. Lorne
McGibbon, although Mr. Smith retained an interest in the new
company,--the Ames, Holden, McCready, Limited,--of which he
became a director.
[Illustration: CHARLES F. SMITH]
Public affairs as well as private interests profited by the
efforts, the sound judgment and keen discrimination of Mr.
Smith. He was at one time alderman of Montreal; was a member of
the finance committee and was again and again urged to become a
candidate for the mayoralty. Native modesty, however, caused him
to remain in private life even when it was almost a certainty
that he would be elected to any office to which he might aspire.
He was the only English member of the French Commercial School
which was established by the Gouin government, and he belonged to
the Board of Trade for five or six years, being first a member of
the council and rising through the offices of treasurer and vice
president to that of president, being elected by acclamation.
He was also a vice president of the Dominion Express Company;
managing director of the Laurentide Pulp Company; a director of
the Merchants Bank; a director of the Montreal Trust Company; a
director of the Dominion Textile Company; was at one time the
president of the Western Hospital, and had been for years one of
the governors of both the Notre Dame and General Hospitals, and
vice president of the Royal Alexandra. He was a well known figure
in the city’s fashionable clubs, belonging to the Mount Royal and
St. James Clubs, the Royal Montreal Golf Club, the Forest and
Stream Club and the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club. He was also a
charter member of Canada Council of the Knights of Columbus; a
prominent parishioner of St. Patrick’s church, as well as warden
of the same; a director of St. Patrick’s Orphan Asylum, and
president of the Catholic Sailors’ Club. He was also a well known
member of St. George’s Society.
His kindness of heart was invariable, he was especially devoted
to his home and shunned ostentation. At St. Andrews where he
spent every summer, one of his greatest pleasures consisted in
the companionship of those friends of his who lived near him,
of whom Sir Thomas Shaughnessy was among the number. Taking
a great interest in matters pertaining to education, he was
one of the founders of the Catholic high school, and a member
of the administration of Laval University, and though, well
known in life as a conservative in politics, he was appointed
by Hon. Lomer Gouin as governor of L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes
Commerciales. Besides being a practical manufacturer, Mr. Smith
gave special attention to tariff matters, and his contributions
to the campaign against unrestricted reciprocity in 1891,
when Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Mr. Erastus Wiman and their friends
endeavored to establish free trade between Canada and the United
States, did more than a little to secure the protectionist
victory of that year.
For years Mr. Smith did not actively participate in civic
affairs, but in 1890, when a reform wave was sweeping over the
commercial metropolis he was asked to come forward as a candidate
in one of the civic divisions. He hesitated for some time, but
finally consented to contest the west ward if his warm personal
friend, the late Mr. Frank Hart, would also seek a seat in the
city council. At that time the late Colonel Stevenson was a
landmark in civic politics as well as in military and social
circles, and so well was the colonel known that there were many
who considered that with him as an opponent Mr. Smith had hardly
a fighting chance. It was contended that a Roman Catholic could
not be elected in such a pronounced Protestant district as the
west ward, but the success achieved by Mr. Smith in that contest
proved that the reform candidate’s reputation was too well
established to leave him a victim of the religious cry. He served
in the council during 1890 and 1891, on the finance committee,
and though assured that he could have a second election by
acclamation, he declined both the aldermanic and mayoralty honors
that were offered him.
In a quiet and unostentatious manner he was a generous
contributor to deserving charities, irrespective of nationality
or creed. He was one of the most prominent English-speaking
Catholics in Montreal. As a personal friend of Archbishop
Bruchesi, Mr. Smith was frequently consulted in the church’s
temporal affairs.
Mr. Smith twice married: His first wife was Miss Mary A. McGlynn
and his second wife who survives him, was Miss Margaret M.
McNally, daughter of the late Bernard McNally. Two sons were the
issue of the first marriage, Clarence F. Smith, vice president
and general manager of the Ames, Holden, McCready, Limited, and
Frederick H. Smith, who lived in the West Indies, until his death
in April, 1912. To the second marriage the following children
were born: Rose M.; Charles F., who died on August 20, 1911;
Marguerite M.; Francis C.; May G.; and Geraldine M.
The Montreal Herald said of Mr. Smith: “There was no better
citizen of Montreal than the late Charles F. Smith. He had
made his way in the world by dint of rare power of business
organization. In addition he was a man who made friends and held
them. He had no taste for public life himself, but he had a deep
interest in public affairs and in the men who in public life
supported his views. It was so in the affairs of the Board of
Trade and resulted in his becoming president of that body. It
was so in civic affairs and resulted in his being much against
his inclination, elected to the council. It was so in Dominion
politics, and if he has passed away before his party friends had
the opportunity of showing their appreciation, it is certain that
the fighting ranks of the conservative party had few more prudent
or more generous counsellors.
“Mr. Smith went to the city council with Mr. Laporte, Mr. Ames
and the late Mr. Hart at a time when the city had just been
aroused to the need of wholesale reforms. He played a part of
much importance, for with two or three other trained business men
he sat in at the centre of things, on the old finance committee
and supervised a general cleaning up of the city hall. It was the
good work of those days that made possible the larger reforms of
later years.”
The Montreal Gazette said editorially of him: “By the death of
Mr. Charles F. Smith another able and successful man has been
taken from Montreal’s commercial life. Mr. Smith through years of
painstaking energy built up a successful business, from which the
city benefited as well as himself.
“In the process he won the respect of all with whom he became
associated. Commercial organizations valued his advice. The
Board of Trade counted him as a wise counsellor. When the city’s
affairs were in need of improvement he served in the council
and with his associates did useful work in its behalf. He could
have had other public offices had he desired, but his preference
was for private life. He has passed away at a ripe age, held in
regard alike for the qualities of his mind and of his heart,
and leaving a memory that will encourage others to follow his
footsteps.”
GERALD OTHO ROUSSKI ELIOTT.
Since 1908 Gerald O. R. Eliott has occupied the position of
assistant marine superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railroad
Company’s Atlantic steamship lines. He was born March 28, 1874,
in Dalhousie, India, and is a son of George Augustus and Helen
(Jardine) Eliott.
Gerald Eliott received his education at Taplow grammar school,
the Maidenhead high school and then served as a cadet on H. M. S.
School Ship Conway. Naval life having a particular attraction for
him, he entered the mercantile marine and served for some time
in sailing vessels of the White Star line. He was an officer in
connection with various steamship lines and was doing service on
boats which carried British troops during the South African war.
In 1901 he joined the Canadian Pacific steamship lines and served
as an officer on various ships until he was appointed to his
present important position of assistant superintendent in 1908.
Mr. Eliott’s naval career includes the following appointments:
midshipman, R. N. R., 1890; appointed acting lieutenant in H. M.
S. Jupiter in 1900, having gone through the gunnery and torpedo
course; received naval reserve decoration for fifteen years’
service in commissioned rank; retired in 1912 as commander.
In 1908, in Toronto, Ontario, Mr. Eliott married Miss Edith
Aspden, a daughter of Thomas Aspden, of Lancashire, and later of
Chicago, Illinois, and Toronto. Mr. Eliott is a member of the
Church of England and upholds conservative principles at the
polls. His club is that of the Commercial Travelers of Montreal.
AURELIEN BOYER.
Aurelien Boyer, a man of recognized professional ability and
prominence, who since 1899 has been an associate member of the
Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, was born in Montreal and
pursued his education in schools of the city. He was graduated
with honors as civil engineer and metallurgist from Ecole
Polytechnique, a department of Laval University, with the class
of 1896 and at once entered upon the active work of his chosen
profession. He was in charge of the survey and location of the
Yukon telegraph line and resigned from the department of public
works of Canada after his appointment as superintendent of
government telegraphs and cables for Quebec and the maritime
provinces. In 1905 he was chemical engineer and local manager of
the A. D. Gall Petroleum & Chemical Company, having charge of
their wood distillation plant at Mont Tremblant, Quebec, and in
1909 became vice president and chief engineer of the Duckworth
Boyer Engineering & Inspection Company, Ltd., which was later
consolidated with the Canadian Inspection Company, Ltd., under
the name of the Canadian Inspection & Testing Laboratories, Ltd.
Of the latter company he is now vice president and treasurer.
Scientific knowledge, acquired skill and ability have brought him
to a place in the front rank of those who are engaged in similar
enterprises in the province.
In June, 1903, Mr. Boyer married Madame Elmira Corinne Dufresne,
of Three Rivers, Quebec. He belongs to the Engineers Club
and the Winchester Club. He is now a member of the board of
administration of L’Ecole Polytechnique and a director of
Association des Anciens Elèves de L’Ecole Polytechnique.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL JAMES GEORGE ROSS.
Lieutenant Colonel James George Ross, president of the Ross
Realty Company, Ltd., and favorably known in Montreal as a
prominent figure in financial circles, was born in this city,
October 18, 1861, a son of the late Phillip Simpson and Christina
Chalmers (Dansken) Ross, both of whom were natives of Scotland.
His early education was acquired in private schools, with
later attendance at the high school of Montreal and subsequent
attendance at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, from
which he was graduated with the class of 1881.
Mr. Ross went to the northwest upon an extended trip with a
view to settling there, but returned to Montreal and associated
himself with his father, who was a representative of the
profession of chartered accountant. Shortly afterward he was
admitted to partnership with his brother, the business being
carried on under the firm style of P. S. Ross & Sons, and on
the death of his father he became the head of the firm. He
is a chartered accountant and a member of the Association of
Accountants and is a fellow of the Dominion Association of
Chartered Accountants. Aside from his business in that connection
he is president of the Ross Realty Company, Ltd., and as such
figures prominently in real-estate circles, negotiating and
managing many important property transfers.
Mr. Ross has always evinced a great interest in military matters.
In 1879 he joined the Ontario Field Battery, retiring in the year
1883. In 1884 he held a commission as officer in the Victoria
Rifles, retiring in 1891 with the rank of captain. In 1898 he
joined the Fifth Royal Highlanders and in 1899 was gazetted
captain while in August, 1906, he was promoted to the rank of
major and in May, 1909, was made lieutenant colonel. In 1907 he
received the Long Service medal for officers having served for
twenty years. He is in active connection with the Montreal Board
of Trade and is a director of the Crown Trust Company. His
interest and support extend to charitable and benevolent projects
and he is a life governor of the Montreal Western Hospital.
Fraternally he is a Scottish Rite Mason, while in club circles he
is widely and favorably known, his membership being in the St.
James Club, Canada Club, Beaconsfield Golf Club, Canadian Club,
Montreal Curling Club, Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club, Montreal
Amateur Athletic Association, Westmount Athletic Club and the
Junior Army and Navy Club of London, England. In his younger days
he was very active in athletic sports, especially in running, and
he handled the snowshoe with expert skill. In 1887 it was claimed
that he was “the best man in Canada who ever strapped on a racing
shoe.” In the winter of 1888 he accompanied Lieutenant Schwatka
in the explorer’s trip through the Yellowstone Park and was the
only man who came out in as good shape as he went in.
[Illustration: LIEUTENANT COLONEL JAMES G. ROSS]
In March, 1891, Mr. Ross married Miss Alice Margaret Monk,
daughter of the late John Monk, an advocate of Montreal, and they
have two daughters, Marjorie and Evelyn.
THOMAS MUSSEN.
One of the best known merchants of the past generation in
Montreal, and a man whose well ordered life and high business
principles commanded the respect of all who knew him, was born in
1804, in Yorkshire, England, and came to Canada with his parents
in 1817, the family home being established in the south part of
the province of Quebec near the Vermont line.
Thomas Mussen early entered business life in Montreal, becoming
a clerk with the firm of William Smith & Company with whom he
remained for about ten years. He was careful with his earnings
and in 1827, he had saved sufficient capital to enable him to
purchase a small stock of dry goods, opening a store on St. Paul
Street, near Jacques Cartier Square, then the heart of the retail
district.
The business prospered from the first and when larger quarters
were demanded he removed to Notre Dame Street, at the corner of
St. Gabriel, being the first merchant to locate on Notre Dame
Street, and afterwards located at the corner of St. Lawrence
boulevard and Notre Dame Street, where he continued until 1865.
In that year the store was removed to Craig Street, near St.
Lawrence boulevard, where he continued until his new building was
erected at the corner of St. Lambert and Notre Dame. There the
business was successfully continued by him until his death April
5, 1892. Each removal had indicated a demand for larger quarters.
The business was marked by continuous growth and development
under the strong guiding hand of Mr. Mussen, who came to be
ranked with the leading merchants of the city. His store was one
of the leading commercial establishments of the province. After
the death of Mr. Mussen, the business was carried on by his sons,
William W. and Henry S., until 1900 when it was discontinued, the
brothers retiring from active business. William W. Mussen died in
1904 and Henry S. Mussen passed away in 1912.
Harold Beaufort Mussen, son of William W., and a well known
insurance and real-estate broker of Montreal, after acquiring his
education in the schools of his native city, entered the employ
of the Canada Atlantic Railway, where his developing powers
and ability won him promotion until he became general agent. He
continued with them until October, 1904, when after a service of
twelve years he withdrew to engage in business on his own account.
PETER LYALL.
In the death of Peter Lyall Montreal lost a citizen who left
the impress of his individuality for good upon the community in
which he lived. He was a man of fine personal appearance, and his
splendid physique was an indication of the strength of his mental
and moral nature. For many years he was connected with business
interests as a prominent contractor, being the head of the Peter
Lyall & Sons Construction Company, Ltd. While in his seventieth
year at the time of his death, he had always remained in active
connection with his business until a few days prior to his demise.
Scotland numbered Mr. Lyall among her native sons, his birth
having occurred at Castletown, Caithness, Scotland, where he
gained a practical knowledge of the contracting business before
crossing the Atlantic in 1870. When he sought a home in the
new world Montreal was his destination and he made his initial
step in circles here in the employ of his cousin, the later
Peter Nicholson. Six years were sufficient to bring him a wide
acquaintance that he believed justified him in embarking in
business on his own account. He was joined by his two sons,
William and Traill O. in 1892, who are still connected with the
business that was established in Montreal in 1876. The third son,
Peter D. Lyall, is head of a large contracting firm in Winnipeg.
From the time that he started out independently Peter Lyall was
successful and his name figured prominently in connection with
building operations in Montreal and this part of Canada. He kept
in close touch with all phases of the business and with all
progressive steps therein. Many of the business structures of
Montreal still stand as monuments to his ability, his energy and
his notable ambition. He carried out the erection of the Quebec
Bank Building, the Royal Victoria Hospital, Macdonald Engineering
buildings at McGill, the Sun Life building, the Canada Life,
the Grand Trunk general offices, the Coristine building, the
new Board of Trade, the Stock Exchange, the Guardian Life, the
Dominion Express and Transportation buildings, and hundreds of
others. Some of the finest residences of the city also stand as
monuments to his handiwork, notably among which are the homes of
the late Sir Edward S. Clouston and George L. Cains. From the
time that he started out in business his rise was continuous. It
was soon evident that he understood the building business, both
from a scientific and practical standpoint, that his reliability
made him worthy of a liberal patronage, and that his energy
and indomitable spirit made possible the prompt and faithful
execution of his contracts. Success came to him soon and was well
merited, so that he gained place among the prosperous residents
of the city. His ability in management, his power of carefully
formulating plans and then executing them with determination
was seen in his cooperation in the organization of a number of
companies which have constituted leading factors in industrial,
commercial and financial circles. He was one of the promoters of
the Lachine Rapids Hydraulic & Land Company, formed in 1896, and
of the Midway Land Company in the same year. He was one of the
organizers of the Laprairie Brick Company in 1904.
Mr. Lyall was united in marriage to Miss Christina Oman, who,
like her husband, was a native of Castletown, Caithness,
Scotland. They became the parents of three sons, William and
Traill O., of Montreal, Peter D., of Winnipeg and a daughter,
now Mrs. D. W. Lockerby, of Montreal. Mr. Lyall possessed a
social nature that found expression in his membership in the
Canada, Reform, Canadian, Country and Engineers Clubs. His kindly
disposition made him a favorite in all circles, and among no
class of people was he more appreciated than by his own employes.
He was deeply interested in all that pertained to affairs of
government and to municipal progress. For many years he was a
prominent member of the liberal party, earnestly striving to
promote its success, and in 1904 he unsuccessfully contested the
St. Antoine district for the Dominion parliament. At one time he
was president of the Montreal Reform Club and at all times took
a firm stand in opposition to misrule in public affairs and in
support of all that he believed would uphold the honored tenets
of government and promote the best interests of the people in
general. For two years he was a member of the Montreal city
council and brought his splendid business acumen to bear on
civic problems, proving himself one of the strongest men at the
council table. He was afterward eagerly besought to again become
a member of the council but declined. He took a deep and helpful
interest in the Citizens Association, being in hearty sympathy
with its purpose, and at the time of his demise was one of its
vice presidents. Above and beyond all this Mr. Lyall was known
as a man of most generous and benevolent spirit, ever seeking
to promote the welfare and happiness of his fellowmen. He could
not listen unmoved to a tale of sorrow or distress, and to the
extent of his ability he extended a helping hand to the needy. He
gave not only freely of his money but also a large portion of his
time to good works. He was president of the Protestant Hospital
for the Insane at Verdun, and his efforts were a potent force
in making it one of the excellent institutions of its character
in the country. The Western Hospital found him equally helpful
and generous. Thus he made his presence felt beneficially in
commercial, political and philanthropic circles. To know him was
to esteem and honor him by reason of what he accomplished and the
methods he pursued. The most envious could not grudge him his
success, so honorably was it won and so worthily used.
ALFRED B. DUFRESNE.
In insurance circles in Montreal and among business men in
general the name of Alfred B. Dufresne is well known because of
his activity in the field to which he directs his efforts. He was
born April 13, 1874, at Joliette, Canada, a son of J. Alfred and
Honorine (Delfausse) Dufresne, who now reside in Montreal. He
was educated in Plateau Academy and at the age of eighteen years
began work as a clerk in the office of the Alliance Assurance
Company in Montreal. During the twelve years he served the
company he won promotion from time to time until he became chief
clerk, his capability and fidelity thus winning him recognition
and gaining for him substantial advancement. In 1903 he was
appointed inspector for the Mount Royal Assurance Company and
so continued until 1907, when he was appointed chief specific
rating inspector of the Canadian Fire Underwriters Association.
In 1908 he was appointed manager of the Montreal-Canada Fire
Insurance Company, filling the position for two years, or until
1910, when he took up general agency work, now representing the
Northwestern National Insurance Company, the Montreal-Canada Fire
Insurance Company, the Anglo-American Fire Insurance Company, the
Protection Fire Insurance Company and the Rimouski Fire Insurance
Company, with offices in the Duluth building.
On the 12th of October, 1909, Mr. Dufresne was married to Miss
Gabrielle Mathieu, and to them have been born two daughters,
Jacqueline and Françoise. The family reside at No. 171 Esplanade
Avenue, and Mr. Dufresne is a member of the St. Denis Club. Much
of his life has been passed in the city where he now resides,
and his admirable traits of character, as well as his business
ability, have gained him firm hold on the regard and good-will of
all with whom he has been associated.
CHARLES ALBERT DUCLOS.
The name of Charles Albert Duclos figures in professional circles
in Montreal as that of a lawyer whose ability has won for him a
large clientage. He is a man of scholarly attainments, which,
added to his knowledge of the law, has gained him prestige among
the successful advocates of the city. A native of Joliette, P.
Q., he was born on the 3d of August, 1861, his parents being
the Rev. R. P. and Sophie A. Jeaureneaud Duclos. The father was
a French-Canadian, while the mother was born in Switzerland.
The Rev. R. P. Duclos has devoted his life to the work of
the ministry as a representative of the Presbyterian church.
Realizing the value of education as a factor for success in any
chosen field of labor, the father provided his son with good
opportunities in that direction and, after attending the Montreal
high school, Charles A. Duclos entered McGill University, in
which he pursued the arts course, winning the B. A. degree in
1881, and then entered upon the study of law, winning the B. C.
L. degree, with the Elizabeth Torrance gold medal in 1884. His
high standing in scholarship constituted the basis upon which
his friends builded their belief in his successful future, and
the faith which they manifested has found justification in
his professional career. Following his graduation he at once
entered upon active practice in Montreal, where he has remained
continuously since. Aside from his practice he is the vice
president of the Ross Realty Company, which was organized in
1906, and in that connection he has displayed sound business
judgment and enterprise.
In June, 1889, Mr. Duclos was united in marriage to Isabella
Spence, a daughter of G. M. Holbrook, of Ottawa, and they reside
at No. 488 Elm Avenue, Westmount. Mr. Duclos’ fellow citizens of
Westmount called him to the office of mayor, in which he served
in 1905-6, giving to the city a businesslike and progressive
administration. He is a conservative in politics, and he stands
for all that means progress along material, intellectual,
political and moral lines. His religious faith is that of the
Presbyterian church. His social connections are with St. James,
Canada, Royal Montreal Golf, St. George Snowshoe Clubs, of
Montreal; and the Rideau Club, of Ottawa. Appreciative of the
social amenities of life and readily recognizing and appreciating
these qualities in others, he has gained many friends in these
organizations. However, he regards the practice of law as his
real life work and bends his energies, in major part, toward
his professional duties. He was created king’s counsel in 1903,
and the years of his active practice now cover nearly three
decades--years in which he has made continuous advancement as the
result of constantly developing power in the line of his chosen
profession.
[Illustration: CHARLES A. DUCLOS]
REV. CANON JOHN MACPHERSON ALMOND.
Rev. Canon John Macpherson Almond, rector of Trinity church,
Montreal, is a man whose practical piety has been demonstrated in
many ways, as a traveling missionary, on the field of battle, in
the pulpit and in quiet work among his people. His name stands as
a synonym for sincerity of purpose, upright living and breadth of
mind, and his accomplishments have already been important enough
to form a notable part of the history of the Anglican church in
Canada. Canon Almond was born in Shigawake, Quebec province, July
27, 1872, and is a son of James and Mary Ann (Macpherson) Almond.
He studied in the University of Bishop’s College at Lennoxville,
from which he was graduated B. A. in 1894 and M. A. in 1901. He
was ordained deacon in the Anglican church in 1896 and priest
in the following year, being stationed first as a missionary in
Labrador and becoming afterward traveling missionary for the
Quebec diocese. In October, 1899, he was commissioned chaplain to
the Royal Canadian Regiment and accompanied it to South Africa,
where he was chaplain to the Nineteenth Brigade, composed of
the Gordons, Cornwalls, Shropshires and Canadians. His conduct
during the campaign received high praise, more particularly in
connection with his attendance on the enteric fever patients
at Bloemfontein, and he was given a medal for courageous and
untiring work in all conditions of danger both from the enemy and
from disease and discomfort.
Returning to Canada in December, 1900, Canon Almond was made
assistant curate at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Quebec, and as
such remained one year, after which he was appointed rector
at Grand Mere. In 1904 he was transferred to Montreal, where
he has since filled the position of rector of Trinity church,
winning the love, respect and confidence of his parishioners
and the high regard of all who have an opportunity of knowing
his honorable and upright life. Canon Almond is a preacher of
great power and forcefulness and has won a wide reputation as a
speaker, delivering among others the oration at the decoration
of the soldiers’ graves in Montreal on Victoria Day, 1905. He
was elected president of the South African Veterans Association
of Montreal in 1908 and of the Last Post Association two years
later. Since March, 1911, he has held the office of chaplain,
with the honorary rank of captain, in the Sixth Duke of
Connaught’s Royal Canadian Hussars. In 1912 he was appointed
chaplain of the Montreal jails. Archdeacon Ker has called him
“a splendid preacher,” and the Toronto Globe speaks of him as
“a man of zeal, practical piety and unselfishness, with a knack
for executive work”--tributes which he has won by most able
and untiring work in many fields. Canon Almond was married in
October, 1901, to Nellie Estelle, daughter of H. G. Beemer of
Quebec.
WILLIAM LANGLEY BOND, K. C.
William Langley Bond, one of the well known advocates of
Montreal, belongs to an old Canadian family, his parents being
Lieutenant Colonel Frank and Mary (Scott) Bond. Colonel Bond is a
well known financial agent and stockbroker of Montreal and is the
eldest son of the late Archbishop Bond, Primate of All Canada,
and Eliza (Langley) Bond. The father has been connected with
banking and financial interests for many years and has also been
prominent in military life.
William L. Bond was born in Montreal, January 20, 1873. He
attended the high school in Montreal and then entered McGill
University, from which he received the degree of B. A. in 1894
and of B. C. L. in 1897. In 1898 he became an advocate and
shortly thereafter a member of the legal firm of Atwater, Duclos,
Bond & Meagher, of Montreal. Among the famous cases which he
argued was the Cantin case, which was tried before Jl. Comte, P.
C., England. In November, 1911, he was appointed a K. C.
For a number of years Mr. Bond was captain and adjutant of the
Prince of Wales Fusiliers. He is also honorary treasurer of the
Province of Quebec Rifle Association. In his religious faith he
is an Anglican and was elected lay secretary of the Montreal
Synod in 1907 and also church advocate. In 1910 he was made a
governor of the Montreal Diocesan Theological College. Mr. Bond
is prominent in club life, being a member of the committee of
St. James, and a member of the Reform, the Arts, and the Winter
Clubs. He is a great friend of outdoor sports and the lines
along which he seeks recreation are indicated by his membership
in the Royal Montreal Golf Club, the Montreal Curling Club and
the Forest and Stream. He also belongs to the Montreal Military
Institute and is an honorary member of the Polo and Country Club.
ROBERT ANDERSON BECKET.
Robert Anderson Becket, did much to promote musical talent,
directly assisting many young musicians, and thus his loss was
distinctly felt in musical circles, when death called him on the
6th of May, 1910. He had passed the seventy-fifth milestone on
life’s journey, his birth having occurred in Scotland, December
30, 1834. His father, James Becket, came to Canada with his
family in 1841 and was connected with the customs department
at Montreal, where Robert A. pursued his education in private
schools. He was a young man in his twenty-fourth year, when on
January 11, 1858, he wedded Anne Wilson, born in Bellemeana,
Ireland, a daughter of Samuel Wilson.
Robert A. Becket had made his initial step in business as
bookkeeper for his uncle, J. C. Becket, on St. James Street
in Montreal, but in the year of his marriage, removed to
Belleville, Ontario, where he embarked in business on his own
account conducting a music and stationery store, for about eight
years, or until 1866, when he returned to this city and became
manager for the D. Morris Ice Company. Some time passed and he
became owner of this enterprise, in which connection he built
up a large and profitable business. He organized a joint stock
company called the City Ice Company, Limited, and devoted all of
his time to the conduct of his business, carefully directing its
interests. He was a progressive man and was especially active
along musical lines, doing much to help young musicians. He was
also a prominent figure in quartet and choir work and there was
perhaps, no one who did more to stimulate among the young, a love
for music of the higher class, than Mr. Becket.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Becket were born twelve children, of whom five
are living: Christina A.; Dr. George C., of East Orange, New
Jersey; Ralph A., of Montreal; Fred M., of Niagara Falls, New
York; and Frank W., of New York. The family attend the Erskine
church, of which Mr. Becket was a prominent member and elder,
his religious faith constituting the root from which sprang his
many good deeds, wrought along lines of continuous benefit to his
fellowmen.
HAROLD EARLE WALKER.
Harold Earle Walker, practicing at the bar of Montreal as a
member of the law firm of Chauvin, Baker & Walker, was born in
Westmount, Quebec, in 1882. His father, James Robert Walker, a
native of the city of Quebec, became senior partner of the well
known firm of J. R. Walker & Company of Montreal and is not
only well known in business circles but also through his active
connection with public affairs. At one time he was mayor of
Westmount and has taken an active part in furthering matters of
civic virtue and civic pride. He married Agnes Cooper Earle.
After attending the Abingdon school, Mr. Walker became a student
in McGill University, completing the arts course in 1904 and the
law course with the class of 1907. His standing is indicated
by the fact that he won the Elizabeth Torrance gold medal and
the Macdonald scholarship. Following his graduation with the
class of 1907, which was indicative of the completion of the
thorough course of law prescribed by McGill, he was admitted to
the bar and after a year spent in France returned to Montreal to
enter upon the active practice of his profession, which he now
follows as a member of the law firm of Chauvin, Baker & Walker.
An extensive practice is fast adding to his experience and
developing the powers with which nature endowed him.
In Montreal, in 1911, Mr. Walker was united in marriage to Miss
Hazel A. Hart, a daughter of R. A. Baldwin Hart. His religious
faith is that of the Presbyterian church, and something of the
nature of his recreation is indicated in the fact that he is a
member of the Beaconsfield Golf Club. He is a typical young
professional man of the age, alert, energetic, watchful of
opportunities. His friends anticipate for him future success, and
the record he has already made shows that he has taken a far step
in advance since entering upon the active practice of law.
JOSEPH BOWLES LEARMONT.
The history of a country is no longer an account of wars and
conquests, but is a record of notable business activity, of
intellectual, aesthetic and moral progress and political
management and control. While never active in the field of
politics, Joseph Bowles Learmont was not only highly successful
where his tastes led, but was as well one of the foremost
merchants of the city, and well known in the business community
of Montreal. He cooperated in various interests having broad
humanitarianism as their basic principle, and he was a
connoisseur on rare books and engravings. His interests were wide
and varied and brought him into close connection with many of the
leading citizens of the Dominion.
Mr. Learmont was a native of Montreal. From the beginning of his
business career success attended him so that he at length was
numbered among the city’s most substantial business men. In all
his career there was no esoteric phase, his advancement having
been through constructive and progressive methods. Studying the
demands of the times and the conditions of trade he was no small
factor in the growth and development of the extensive wholesale
hardware business of Caverhill, Learmont & Company, of which Mr.
Learmont was the senior member. This well known house succeeded
Crathern & Caverhill (which was established in 1854) and occupies
a foremost position in its line, with a reputation for commercial
integrity second to none.
Successful business man that he was, commerce constituted but one
feature in the life of Mr. Learmont. He was of decided literary
tastes and was frequently heard on literary and historical
subjects. He was, moreover, the author of a most interesting
paper on folk lore, in which extended mention is made of the
folk lore of Canada. Another paper of equal interest from his
pen is on The Canadian Indian. Mr. Learmont was widely known as
a collector of rare books and manuscripts, etchings, engravings
and autograph letters, his knowledge of such being that of a
connoisseur. His collection of Bibles comprised more than one
hundred rare volumes. He also wrote on engravings, translations
of the English versions of the Bible, children’s elementary
books, etc.
Mr. Learmont’s keen interest in matters historic was probably
best shown in his purchase of Quebec House, the home of Major
General James Wolfe, Westerham, Kent, England. The motive which
inspired him to make the purchase was to secure the property
for the Canadian people, to be held by them in perpetuity
“irrespective of race, language or creed.” His desire was that
the Canadian people maintain it so that it may be open to
visitors and free to all that are interested in Canada. Mr.
Learmont always manifested the keenest interest in anything
associated with Wolfe and had made a collection of engravings of
the famous general. He also possessed an excellent painting of
Wolfe’s father, the work of Sir James Thornhill.
[Illustration: JOSEPH B. LEARMONT]
Mr. Learmont was a member of the council of the Montreal Art
Association and treasurer of the local branch and one of the
council of the Archaeological Institute of America. He likewise
became one of the early members of the Antiquarian Society of
Montreal.
Mr. Learmont was first married to Miss Amelia Jane Holton, a
daughter of the late Hon. L. H. Holton, M. P., a prominent
parliamentarian and statesman. Following her death, he married,
in 1882, Charlotte Smithers, a daughter of the late Charles
F. Smithers, president of the Bank of Montreal. Mr. and Mrs.
Learmont were always in full accord concerning religious and
charitable work. He was connected with the Congregational church
and a generous supporter of church and benevolent enterprises.
Mrs. Learmont is particularly well known in efforts to ameliorate
the conditions of life for the unfortunate. She is interested
in the movement for providing playgrounds for children; is
vice president of the Montreal Day Nursery; vice president of
the local branch of the Needle Work Guild, and president and
convener of the local branch of the ladies’ committee of the
Victorian Order of Nurses. She is likewise a director of the
City Improvement League; was one of the directors of the Royal
Edward Institute, and is one of the honorary presidents of the
Young Women’s Christian Association. She was one of a deputation,
headed by the Countess of Aberdeen, who presented Queen Alexandra
an address of congratulation from twenty-five hundred women of
Canada.
Mr. Learmont was a member of the committee of management of the
Montreal General Hospital; a member of the board and a governor
of the Montreal branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses, and a
director of the Charity Organization Society. He belonged to
the Montreal Board of Trade, of which he was for two years a
councilor, and in more strictly social lines was a member of
the St. James, Mount Royal, Montreal and City Clubs. He was
termed “a man of exquisite taste and deep knowledge on special
subjects.” He was an advocate of all that is most progressive and
beneficial, never choosing the second best but seeking out those
things which are most beneficial to the individual and to the
community, recognizing every man’s relation and obligation to his
fellowman.
Mr. Learmont died March 12, 1914.
FREDERICK WILLIAM THOMPSON.
Centuries past the history of a country consisted of a record
of wars and conquests--the contest of man with man; today the
history is the record of man’s contests with material forces
and those who are making the history of a country are the men
who are controlling its important agricultural, commercial and
professional interests. It is they who are shaping the annals of
the nation and those who rise to leadership in any given line are
the men who are preparing the records that in years to come will
be eagerly read as the history of the past. In this connection
the name of Frederick William Thompson stands prominently forth,
for he became one of the foremost figures in connection with the
milling industry of Canada. He was born in Montreal, January 16,
1862, and was but in the prime of life when he passed away in
London, England, May 7, 1912. His parents were the late Andrew
and Josephine (DeLesperance) Thompson. The son was educated in
Montreal and in Brooklyn, New York, living for some years in the
latter city. Subsequently he returned to Montreal and entered
the service of the Exchange Bank as a clerk, remaining with
that institution for seven years. It was thus that he gained
his preliminary business experience which he later turned to
account in the management of milling operations. In 1882 he
joined the Ogilvie Mills in Winnipeg, becoming general manager
of the Ogilvie Milling Company in 1888. Following the death
of W. W. Ogilvie in 1900 the entire company’s interests were
consolidated and the business purchased by Mr. Thompson and C. R.
Hosmer. In 1911 the Ogilvies were made millers to the King. The
business gradually grew and developed and became a focal point
in the milling industry of the country, setting the standard for
activity along that line. Mr. Thompson was active in coordinating
forces and in developing an enterprise which became second to
none in all Canada. He had wonderful powers of organization
and could unite seemingly diverse elements into a unified and
harmonious whole. He considered no detail as too unimportant to
claim his attention, while, at the same time, he gave due regard
to the major points in his business. His executive force and
management were many times called forth in other connections.
He had voice in the control of many important business and
financial interests and in affairs of a public and semi-public
character. He was a director of the Canadian branch of the
Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Company, the Montreal
Transportation Company, the Canadian Appraisal Company, the
Electric Flour Patents Company, the E. N. Heney Company, the
Royal Bank of Canada, the Manitoba Assurance Company, and was
president of the Keystone Transportation Company and of the
Canada Appraisal Company. He was also the originator of the
Kaministiqua Power Company and of a large number of other
enterprises which contributed to the history of the country in
its commercial and financial development.
As stated, Mr. Thompson was a prominent figure in relation to
many public and semi-public interests. He was a governor of the
Winnipeg General Hospital; and a life governor of the Protestant
Hospital for the Insane, the Western Home and the Boys’ Home.
In 1908 he lectured on Plain Business Facts. He was president
of the Winnipeg Industrial Exchange Association and of the
Winnipeg Board of Trade. He was likewise a vice president of the
Winnipeg Rowing Club; president and patron of the local branch
of the Royal Caledonia Curling Club, and honorary president of
the Winnipeg Hockey Club. He was a director of the Montreal
Association for the Blind, governor of the Montreal Western
Hospital, councilor of the Montreal Board of Trade, and in
Montreal no less than in Winnipeg he was greatly interested in
all public enterprises and philanthropic undertakings. In 1903 he
was a delegate to the Fifth Commercial Congress of the Empire.
In the previous year Mr. Thompson received the Prince and
Princess of Wales, now King George and Queen Mary, at the Ogilvie
Mill in Winnipeg and subsequently presented the Princess with
the picture of the largest flour mill in the British Empire. It
was in the same year that the largest shipment of flour to South
America from the Dominion of Canada was made.
In 1882 Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Wilhelmina
Reid, a daughter of the late William Reid of Bedford, province of
Quebec, and their children were Marion, Fred, Alice and Helen.
The first named became the wife of D. C. Rea, of Winnipeg,
manager of the Royal Bank. Mr. Thompson was prominently known in
club and social circles, holding membership in the St. James,
Mount Royal, Canada, Forest and Stream, Royal Montreal Golf,
Montreal Jockey, and Auto and Aero Clubs; Montreal Amateur
Athletic Association; the Montreal Curling Club; the Rideau Club
of Ottawa; the Constitutional of London; Manitoba of Winnipeg;
and the York Club of Toronto.
Perhaps no better estimate of the life and character of Mr.
Thompson can be given than by quoting from an editorial which
appeared in one of the papers at the time of his demise and which
read:
“Death has within a year robbed the Canadian milling industry of
its two most prominent leaders. During the years which brought
Robert Meighen and Frederick William Thompson to the top, the
flour milling industry underwent an expansion and consolidation
second only to that of the transportation industry and the
metal industries. The process was peculiarly favorable to the
rise of men of strong personal character and large intellectual
capacity. It is not surprising, therefore, to find the leaders
of the industry taking a larger part in the public life of the
country than those of almost any other business. Without ever
seeking office or public honors, for which indeed the cares of
his business left him no time, the late Mr. Thompson exercised a
very wide and effective influence upon the beliefs and policies
of Canada in business matters. When he spoke it was not as a mere
expert miller, but as an authority of the widest knowledge; and
as he never wasted a public utterance by dealing with any matter
on which he was not perfectly informed, he was listened to with a
respect which neither his wealth nor his business success alone
could have commanded. There are men still living who can remember
when the flour milling of Canada was carried on in hundreds
of small local mills under separate ownership. The process of
centralizing the industry has been pretty well completed now;
such companies as that of which Mr. Thompson was the active head
are national in their scope and the extent of their properties.
“He has been cut off in the prime of life and it is difficult to
conjecture what further progress of organization he might have
participated in, had he lived. Whatever it might be, we can be
sure that the interests of Canada would have been advantaged, for
he was a thorough Canadian by birth and by conviction and ever
regarded the milling industry less as a source of wealth than
as a factor in Canada’s greatness. In these days the best and
most practical form of patriotism is frequently to be found in
business.”
WILLIAM H. HOPE.
William H. Hope, for more than thirty years an active business
man on St. Catherine Street, near Mansfield, was born, March
9, 1840, in the north of England, and died September 11, 1903,
so that his life span compassed sixty-three years. He came to
Montreal as a young man and on July 26, 1878, was married in
this city to Miss Mary E. Percy. Their family numbered seven
children: Lena, who is Mrs. Thomas Bradley, now a resident of
New York city; Eva, the wife of Rev. Hunter Laverie, of Forest,
Ontario; William G., of Portland, Oregon; Adam V., who died in
infancy; Sadie, who is the wife of George Wanless, of Outremont;
Clifford R.; and Elsie.
Mr. Hope was a well known business man, conducting an art store
at one location for over thirty years. His business integrity was
above question and he was respected by all who knew him. In his
political faith he was a conservative, but did not take an active