ROBERT REFORDROBERT REFORD
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 appreciatedas 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 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.
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.
ALEXANDER MICHAUDALEXANDER MICHAUD
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 lawlesselement 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.
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. Hehad 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.
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 combinewith 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.
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 timesLinked with a thousand virtues and no crimes.”
“He leaves a patriot’s name to after timesLinked 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 managementof 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.
HON. GEORGE W. STEPHENSHON. GEORGE W. STEPHENS
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 allI shall not look upon his like again.”
“He was a man. Take him for all in allI shall not look upon his like again.”
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 amalgamatedwith 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.
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.
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.
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 theDuke 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.
HENRY HOGANHENRY HOGAN
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 provedhighly 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 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 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 wasborn 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.
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, 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.