LOUIS J. A. SURVEYERLOUIS J. A. SURVEYER
LOUIS J. A. SURVEYER
Norval Dickson, practicing as a notary in Montreal in partnership with R. B. Hutcheson, and controlling an important, representative and growing clientage, was born in Howick, Quebec, in 1878 and is a son of Robert Dickson who came to Canada from Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1830.
Norval Dickson acquired his preliminary education in Huntingdon Academy, Huntingdon, Quebec, and afterwards entered McGill University in Montreal, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1901 and his degree in law in 1904. Immediately afterward he began practice in Montreal, continuing alone until May, 1910, when he formed a partnership with R. B. Hutcheson under the firm name of Hutcheson & Dickson. Mr. Dickson has proved an important and helpful factor in the success of the firm, for he possesses a deep and comprehensive knowledge of the underlying principles of his profession and has a well deserved reputation as a reliable and competent notary. The firm controls a growing and extensive patronage and has a high standing in legal circles of the city.
Rev. Abraham de Sola, LL. D., who for many years was so familiar a figure in literary circles in Montreal and who earned so wide and deserved a reputation as an Oriental scholar and theologian, was a descendent of an illustrious Spanish-Jewish family. The marvelous history of Israel must ever be of peculiar interest to mankind, and perhaps no chapter in the post-biblical portion of that history possesses more charm than that which relates about the Jews of Spain and Portugal, or Sephardim, as they are styled. These lived free and untrammeledduring those mediæval times when their brethren in less favored countries were weighed down by the burden of oppression, and with the Saracens they kept alive the flame of learning and science in the Iberian peninsula at a time when it burnt lowest in the rest of Europe. Power, rank and honor were theirs; and when afterwards clouds obscured the sky of their prosperity, and the storm of persecution burst pitilessly over their heads, their record of heroic martyrdom and thrilling adventure is a tale as fascinating as that of many of the most imaginative pages of fiction.
Among the many bright names which illumined Spanish-Jewish history, that of De Sola stands prominent. The De Solas had settled in Andalusia as earlyas the sixth century, whence they had come from Judea by gradual stages through northern Africa. They held various offices under the Saracenic caliphs at Toledo and Cordova, and afterwards when they removed to Navarre they were received with like favor by the Gothic princes. From their estate in this province, their surname had its origin. A particularly distinguished member of the family was Don Bartolomeu de Sola, who, in reward for his services, was ennobled and, after being a minister of state, held for a while the position of viceroy of Navarre.
During the fourteenth century another De Sola distinguished himself fighting under the Infante of Aragon and figured conspicuously in the Spanish wars of that period. During the succeeding centuries the family continued to hold an illustrious place, owing to the large number of eminent scholars, physicians and statesmen it produced. Their fortunes, however, changed when King Ferdinand, having by the conquest of Granada destroyed the last vestige of Moorish power in Spain, decided to drive therefrom all who did not conform to the dominant faith; and in 1492 was promulgated the terrible edict of expulsion, which, at one blow, deprived hundreds of thousands of Spain’s most intelligent and industrious inhabitants of happy and prosperous homes. The De Solas took refuge in Holland, but a branch of the family continued to hold business connections with Lisbon, and eventually some of them settled in the Portuguese capital, where they amassed much wealth. Watched by the Inquisition, they, like many other Portuguese Jews, for some time evaded the danger by assuming to become Marannos or Nuevos Christianos—as converted Jews were styled—while they secretly remained loyal to Judaism. In the latter part of the seventeenth century, however, suspicion was directed towards them, and David de Sola (who to elude his persecutors had assumed the name of Bartolome) was apprehended and charged with having relapsed into Judaism. Although placed under the most fearful torture nothing seems to have been proved, as he was allowed to afterwards go free; but he was physically broken down by his terrible sufferings. Escape from the country by a suspect was then extremely difficult, but in the next generation his son, Aaron de Sola, managed to secure refuge on board a British man-of-war and to make good his escape with his family to England; not, however, before two of his relatives had been imprisoned, tortured and condemned to death at an auto-da-fé, by the Inquisition, for secret adherence to Judaism.
It was in 1749 that Aaron de Sola fled with his wife and family to England, and now that they were freed from the terrors of the Inquisition they openly avowed once more their loyalty to the faith of their fathers. From England they took passage for Holland, where they rejoined their relatives, and taking up their residence in Amsterdam they soon again rose to distinction in the various learned professions.
Previously to this—in the year 1690—one of the preceding generation, Isaac de Sola, had settled in London and had acquired a high reputation in the Hebrew community there as an eloquent preacher and author. Several volumes of his works are still extant.
Four sons had accompanied Aaron de Sola in his flight from Lisbon in 1749, of whom the eldest, David, was the great-grandfather of the Dr. Abraham de Sola who forms the chief subject of this sketch. The youngest of Aaron de Sola’s, sons, Dr. Benjamin de Sola, attained to a foremost place among the practitioners of the eighteenth century. He was court physician to William V of the Netherlandsand was the author of a large number of medical works. The other two sons of Aaron de Sola settled in Curacao, and one of them was the grandfather of General Juan de Sola, who became so distinguished as a commander of cavalry under Bolivar and Paez when the South American states revolted from Spain. He took part in the decisive battle of Carabobo, and led the charge on Puerto Cabello when that city was stormed by Paez, receiving a sabre wound during the fight. After the restoration of peace he held important public offices during the Paez regime.
The Rev. Abraham de Sola, LL. D., was born in London, England, on the 18th of September, 1825. His father, David Aaron de Sola, was senior minister of the Portuguese Jews of London, to which city he had been called from Amsterdam, and was eminent as a Hebrew author, having produced among many other works an elegant translation of the Jewish Forms of Prayer; also, in conjunction with Dr. Raphael, an edition of Genesis, very valuable to biblical students on account of its commentaries and copious notes, and the first English translation of Eighteen Treatises of the Mishna. His mother was the daughter of Dr. Raphael Meldola, chief rabbi of the Spanish-Jewish congregations of Britain. The Meldolas had given eminent chief rabbis to Europe for twelve generations. Abraham de Sola received careful tuition in all the usual branches of a liberal education. He became early engrossed in the study of Oriental languages and literature and of theology, and continued to devote his attention to those subjects until he acquired that profound knowledge of them which subsequently won him so prominent a place among scholars. Having been offered the position of rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Congregation of Montreal he accepted the call and arrived in this city in the beginning of 1847, and here, for over thirty-five years, he continued to minister to the spiritual wants of his people. His able pulpit discourses soon attracted attention. Dr. de Sola’s abilities, however, were not destined to be confined exclusively to his official duties. Before leaving London he had been associated in the editorial work of a Hebrew journal, The Voice of Jacob, and soon after his arrival in Canada he delivered a course of lectures on Jewish history before the Mercantile Literary Association. In 1848 he published his “Notes on the Jews of Persia under Mohammed Shah,†and also “A History of the Jews of Persia.†Within the same year there appeared his important work on “Scripture Zoology.†Soon afterwards he published his “Lectures on the Mosaic Cosmogony.†This was followed by his “Cosmography of Peritsol,†a work displaying such erudition that it gained a wide circulation in Europe and was reprinted there in several languages. His next work, “A Commentary upon Samuel Hannagid’s Introduction to the Talmud,†was a book which deservedly attracted much attention, owing to the light which it threw upon an interesting portion of rabbinical literature and to its depth of Talmudic knowledge. In 1853 he published, conjointly with the Rev. J. J. Lyons, of New York, a work on the Jewish Calendar System, chiefly valuable on account of its excellent prefatory treatise upon the Jewish system of calculating time.
Dr. de Sola’s mastery of Semitic languages and literature early attracted the notice of our learned bodies, and, after first acting as lecturer, he was, in 1853, appointed professor of Hebrew and Oriental literature at McGill University. Thehigh abilities which he displayed as occupant of this chair proved the wisdom of the appointment, and he continued to hold the position during the rest of his life.
For some time Dr. de Sola had been engaged in the preparation of one of his most important productions, “The Sanatory Institutions of the Hebrews.†The work was published in two parts and was an exhaustive exposition of the hygienic laws of the Hebrews, as exhibited in both Scriptural and rabbinical writings, critically examined in the light of modern scientific knowledge. It was a production which evinced how deeply the author had penetrated into scientific as well as rabbinical paths of learning. Shortly afterwards he published a supplemental work to it, entitled “Behemoth Hatemeoth.â€
The prominence to which Dr. de Sola had now reached among men of letters led McGill University to confer upon him the degree of LL. D. in 1858.
In 1860, Dr. Hall, the editor of The British American Journal, devoted to physical and medical science, induced Dr. de Sola to assist that publication with his pen, and, among other contributions, his series of articles “Upon the Employment of Anaesthetics in Cases of Labor, in Connection with Jewish Law,†call for particular mention.
Dr. de Sola’s wide range of studies had made him very popular both as a public lecturer and as a contributor to various literary papers. The themes of some of these were afterwards much amplified by him and republished in their elaborated and completed form. At comparatively short intervals he gave to the public his works on “Scripture Botany,†“Sinaitic Inscriptions,†“Hebrew Numismatics,†“The Ancient Hebrews as Promoters of the Arts and Sciences,†“The Rise and Progress of the Great Hebrew Colleges,†and “Philological Studies in Hebrew and the Aramaic Languages.†Turning his attention again to Jewish history, he, in 1869, wrote his interesting “Life of Shabethai Tsevi, the False Messiah.†The following year he completed his “History of the Jews of Poland,†and in 1871 he published his “History of the Jews of France.â€
Dr. de Sola closely identified himself with many of our literary and scientific associations, notably with the Natural History Society, in which he was an active colaborer of Sir William Dawson and Sir William Logan. He was for many years president of the society and received H. R. H. Prince Arthur (afterwards Duke of Connaught) when that prince visited the society in 1870. His address upon “The Study of Natural Science,†delivered upon that occasion, called forth a letter of approbation from Queen Victoria.
During all his intense literary activity Dr. de Sola was taking a very prominent part in all matters affecting the Jewish people. His mastery of Jewish theology, in all its branches, had earned him wide renown among his own race and had gained him a high place among the very foremost rabbis of the day. Convinced that the fences which orthodoxy placed around the citadel of his ancestral faith were the best safeguards against disintegrating forces, the upholders of historical Judaism found in him an able and powerful champion. Equally noticeable were his bold attacks upon the weak points of the skeptical school of modern biblical criticism. His intimate knowledge of all those branches of learning which bear upon this subject made him particularly formidable in this respect. The Jewish press and pulpit and the lecture platform were the vehicles by which he usually reached the public on these subjects. He had, indeed, since his first arrival in Canada been a particularly active contributor to Jewish journals,more especially to the Occident of Philadelphia, with which he was for years identified, being in intimate literary relations with its editor, the gifted Isaac Leeser.
Dr. de Sola’s ability in the pulpit led to his frequently being invited to lecture in the United States, where he had acquired much prominence and popularity. On the 9th of January, 1872, he was invited by General Grant’s government to perform the ceremony of opening the United States congress with prayer, and for the first time was witnessed the unique spectacle of one who was not a citizen of the United States nor of the dominant belief officiating at the opening ceremonies at the assembling of congress at Washington. The broad liberality of this act, upon the part of the United States government, was fraught with particular significance at that time, owing to the fact that diplomatic relations between Britain and the United States had then but lately been strained to dangerous tension by the “Alabama Claims,†and this high compliment to a British subject was the first evidence of the growth of a better feeling between the two countries. Sir Edward Thornton, the British ambassador at Washington, formally extended to Dr. de Sola the thanks of the British government, and Mr. Gladstone—then prime minister, also personally communicated his satisfaction.
Upon the death of Isaac Leeser, Dr. de Sola purchased the stereotyped plates of his works and issued a new edition of that author’s translation of the Bible according to Jewish authorities. He also brought out a revised translation of the Jewish Forms of Prayer, in six volumes, based upon the editions of D. A. de Sola (his father) and of Leeser. He was invited to become the successor of Mr. Leeser in his ministerial office but declined. He had previously refused several similar offers.
Dr. de Sola’s onerous duties were at this time further increased by his being offered the chair of Hebrew at the Montreal Presbyterian College, and later on he accepted the appointment of lecturer in Spanish literature at McGill University, a literature and language with which he was specially familiar and to which he was particularly attached.
But such incessant application to work could not but prove exhaustive, and his naturally vigorous health broke down under the strain. A year’s rest, spent in Europe, proved sufficiently beneficial to enable him to return to some of his duties. For a while he also resumed his contributions to the Jewish press, and among other interesting writings we notice his “Yehuda Alcharizi and the Book Tachkemoni.†In 1880 he published his last important work, “Saadia Ha-Gaon,†a book giving a very valuable description of the writings and life of one of the greatest of Jewish philosophers and also containing an interesting account of the court of a prince of the captivity.
But failing health was destined now to check forever the labors of his active pen, and while in New York, on a visit to his sister, he was taken ill and his death occurred on June 5, 1882. The remains were brought on to Montreal and there interred. He had not yet completed his fifty-seventh year when he passed away.
In his death the Hebrew community sustained a loss whose magnitudecould scarcely be overestimated. His self-sacrificing devotion to the service of his race, his ceaseless labor in everything which could elevate and promote both their moral and intellectual welfare, his quick readiness to assuage, with kindcounsel and help, the lot of those in adversity, and the rare talents which he had displayed in his multifarious writings, had won for him the warmest admiration and attachment of his people and had gained him a reputation among them that was world-wide. His loss, indeed, was scarcely less regretted by Gentile than by Jew, for the prominence which his scholarly attainments had acquired for him among Canadian litterateurs, the active role which he had for thirty-five years played in our various learned bodies, and the distinguished position which he held in our leading university, achieved for him an illustrious place among Canada’s public men.
Dr. de Sola was married in 1852 to Esther Joseph, the youngest daughter of Henry Joseph, of Berthier, one of the earliest Jewish settlers in this country. Of his several children, the eldest son, the Rev. Meldola de Sola, succeeded him as rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal, and another son, Clarence I. de Sola, is general manager of the Belgian syndicate, “Comptoir Belgo-Canadien.â€
The history of Canada’s great industrial and commercial growth during the past thirty or forty years is but the history of such men as Robert Meighen one of the foremost business men of his generation, whose intense and intelligently directed activity constituted a potent force in the material development and progress of not only the city and province of his adoption but various other sections of the Dominion as well. His birth occurred at Dungiven, near Londonderry, Ireland, April 18, 1838, his parents being Robert and Mary (McLeghan) Meighen, whose family numbered five children. The family history shows a long line of Irish ancestors.
Robert Meighen was educated at Perth, Ontario, for following the father’s death the mother brought her family to the new world, settling at Perth, where her sons were educated and established themselves in business as retail and wholesale merchants. The firm of A. Meighen & Brothers has for many years been one of the most extensive mercantile firms doing business in the old Bathurst district. Robert Meighen carried on business in partnership with his brother at Perth, Ontario, until 1879, when he removed to Montreal and entered into business relations with his brother-in-law, Sir George Stephen, later Lord Mount Stephen, whom he succeeded as president of the New Brunswick Railway, which now forms part of the Canadian Pacific Railway system. Successful from the outset of his business career, Mr. Meighen continually extended his efforts into other fields. He became one of the founders of the Lake of the Woods Milling Company, establishing and operating mills and elevators at Keewatin and Portage la Prairie, which are among the largest and best equipped in the world. Shortly after the organization of this company Robert Meighen became its president, which position he retained till the time of his death, directing its policy and formulating the plans upon which the mammoth business was constructed. This represented, however, but one phaseof his activity. He carried his efforts into many fields, none of them failing to profit by his cooperation.
ROBERT MEIGHENROBERT MEIGHEN
ROBERT MEIGHEN
“The Gazette,†at the time of Mr. Meighen’s death, said in part: “Mr. Meighen was a self-made man and was proud to designate himself as such. From the day he entered business pursuits at Perth, many years ago, down to the time he became a director of the Canadian Pacific Railway, an institution he had championed from its inception, in commerce, in finance and in imperial politics, Robert Meighen was never at home except on the firing line. Although the fact is only perhaps known to the newspaper fraternity and to some of the leaders of tariff reform in England, he advocated closer relations between the mother country and the outlying dependencies of the empire even before Mr. Chamberlain took the platform in England as the champion of such a policy.
“Mr. Meighen was known in eastern Ontario as a clever business man, a follower of Sir John A. Macdonald, and as a man who had ideas and could fearlessly express them on the stump and at the fireside, many years before he came to Montreal. It was ere his removal to this city that he had secured, most successfully, the right of way for the Ontario & Quebec Railway, now the Montreal & Toronto section of the Canadian Pacific, and later on he was entrusted with the promotion of a bill which was of the utmost importance to that railway. Mr. Meighen was not a member of parliament, but he stated his case to the members outside and in the lobbies of the house with such forcefulness, such clarity of view and in so straightforward a manner that few could withstand his cogent arguments. It was a tribute to his power that Sir Richard Cartwright’s denunciation of him was quite as vehement as the thunderbolts which the chief antagonist of the great railway project used to launch against Sir John Macdonald, Sir Charles Tupper and the other parliamentary giants of the day.
“Mr. Meighen believed not only in the Canadian Pacific project itself, but also in the ultimate value of the great tracts of land lying for a thousand miles along to the north of where the line was being run away up to the Saskatchewan, and, if he died a rich man, it was due to abiding faith in the future of Canada’s western domain and in the ultimate development of the Dominion as a whole. It was in reply to a jocular observation from Mr. Choate, the then American ambassador at the court of St. James, who had asked Mr. Meighen when Canada was going to throw in her lot with the United States, that the Montreal imperialist declared that it was customary for the larger unit to absorb the smaller, and no doubt at her pleasure Canada would follow the established precedent.
“A good many shrewd Montreal merchants smiled when Mr. Meighen came from a small Ontario town to this city as the promoter of a great industry, but many months had not passed before they discovered that both in commerce and finance a rival worthy of their keenest steel had taken his place amongst them and ever after, when any important subject was up for discussion on the floors of the Board of Trade, the opinions of the man from Perth, uttered with characteristic Irish eloquence and wit, invariably commanded respect and attention. His fellow members did not always agree with him, but they were always ready to admit that he was sincere and that he spoke the truth as he felt it.
“Returning from England some years ago, when everything spelt unrest in industrial Britain, Mr. Meighen gave an interview to The Gazette which has perhaps been quoted more frequently by politicians on both continents, as well as by Canadian public men of all parties, than any other of his utterances. Mr. Meighen, who was always a great reader, declared that England at that time could only be compared to Athens when Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, went out with his lantern looking, as he said, for a man. He said, however, in the course of that interview, that the man would be found, and sure enough it was not long before Joseph Chamberlain was entering upon his whirlwind campaign in favor of imperial preference and the absolute unity of the British empire. Mr. Meighen was denounced more than once at the Montreal Board of Trade, but a good many of the men who came to scoff remained to pray, to use Mr. Meighen’s own graphic language. Three years ago, when a resolution was to be introduced before the Montreal Board of Trade on the policy of imperial preferential trade, Mr. Meighen was particularly anxious that it should be fathered by a leader in commerce and finance. He prepared the resolution, called upon the late Sir George Drummond, president of the Bank of Montreal and universally admitted to be the first authority on matters of trade and finance in the Dominion, asking him to move it. Sir George Drummond’s answer was characteristic of the man. ‘Mr. Meighen,’ he replied, ‘this resolution meets my views exactly, but the honor of moving it belongs to you and you alone and I will take a second place. You will move the resolution and I will be only too happy to second it.’ Mr. Meighen delivered a masterly address on that occasion and the resolution was carried.
“His greatest energy was centered in the development of the company over which he presided up to the hour of his death, yet he stated not very long ago that he was shaping things in such a manner as would permit younger men to assume the responsibilities of management and that after the million-dollar bond issue had been retired he would then feel that he could take a rest.
“The late president of the Lake of the Woods Company was from the outset an uncompromising opponent of the Washington reciprocity pact and he did not hesitate to state on every offered occasion that the ratification of such a treaty would be a severe blow aimed at the unity of the empire, and a decided mistake in the widest interests.
“He was the confidential friend and associate in various business enterprises of both Lord Mount Stephen and Lord Strathcona. These eminent men had implicit confidence in Mr. Meighen’s business judgment, and as a matter of fact many other men high up in imperial statecraft came to him for advice on both Canadian and British trade matters. Indeed, some of the best speeches delivered on the unionist side during the last two British elections drew their information from, and were in part, inspired by the ideas of this foremost, perhaps, of Canadian tariff reformers.â€
The same paper said editorially:“A worthy and widely respected citizen was lost to Montreal by the death yesterday morning of Mr. Robert Meighen. In business he won marked success. He helped in no small way to show the great possibilities of the milling trade of Canada and so profited the country as well as himself and his associates. He judiciously employed the wealth that came to him and greatly increased his store. The largest business enterprises sought his counsel on their directorates and profited by his connection with them. He was a man of ideas in matters outside of commerce, and held and advocated views about the country and the empire with vigor and courage and the broadest loyalty. In private life his sincerity, earnestness and kindliness caused all men to give him their regard. In his capacity as merchant, citizen and man he rose to high stature; and at a ripe old age closed a worthy career, leaving a memory that is a help to what is good and creditable in business life.â€
Among his business connections, not already mentioned, Mr. Meighen was managing director of the Cornwall Manufacturing Company, a director of the Canada Northwest Land Company, the Bank of Toronto, the Dominion Transportation Company, the St. John Bridge & Railway Company, the Montreal Street Railway and the New Brunswick Land Company. His activities likewise extended to other fields having to do with many subjects of vital interest to city and country. He was a director of the Montreal Parks and Playground Association and was president of the New Brunswick Fish and Game Club. He was likewise vice president of the King Edward Memorial Committee of Montreal, was chairman of the Canadian board of the Phoenix Assurance Company and was a governor of the Royal Victoria, the Western and Maternity Hospitals of Montreal. The Montreal Standard named him as one of the twenty-three men at the basis of Canadian finance, and it was a recognized fact that few men were more familiar with the problems of finance or did more to establish a safe monetary system. Mr. Meighen belonged to various prominent social organizations, including the St. James Club, the Mount Royal Club, the Canada Club and the Montreal Club.
He was a Presbyterian, a member of St. Paul’s church and chairman of its board of trustees. All his life Mr. Meighen was a firm believer in the copartnership of capital and labor and in the coexisting duties, on a fair basis, of one to the other. He realized and carried out the idea of their inter-dependency. When labor had contributed to the success of capital he never allowed it go without recognition and its just reward, with the result of absolute confidence on the part of his employes in his fairness and regard for their interests, and a willingness to give, in turn, their loyal and honest support to capital. Above all Mr. Meighen had keen human sympathies. He delighted in the energetic young man cutting out his road to success, but this did not prevent him from having patience and sympathy with those who, perhaps through lack of natural gifts or unfortunate circumstances, found life an uphill pull. In astonishing numbers both kinds of men seemed to bring their successes and their failures to him, and to both, provided they showed honesty of purpose, he would give his time, his advice and his help in the open-hearted way characteristic of a man who had not a single ungenerous impulse in his nature.
At the time of his death when the press throughout Canada was giving appreciations of his ability and of his success one of his intimate friends remarked, “They have omitted the biggest thing about him—his heartâ€â€”and so it was. When these two, great heart and much ability, go hand in hand and work together, one vitalizing, as it were, the conceptions of the other, a potent force is felt to be abroad. Well is it for our Canadian business world to have had such a force in its midst as the late Robert Meighen truly was. He died when still, one might say, at the height of his activities and with aheavy burden of work upon him, but to work was his pleasure. His loss was deeply deplored by all who knew him and he left behind him a record of a man who in all things was the soul of honor and an example to those who come after—“Follow on.â€
Mr. Meighen left a widow, Elsie Stephen, daughter of the late William Stephen, formerly of Dufftown, Scotland, and three children, Lieutenant Colonel F. S. Meighen, who has succeeded his father as president of the Lake of the Woods Milling Company, Mrs. R. Wilson Reford and Mrs. R. O. Harley.
Twenty years’ connection with the real-estate business has brought William Ernest Bolton into prominence and today he figures as a controlling factor in some of the leading real-estate companies of Montreal. He was born in this city April 11, 1873, a son of Richard and Elizabeth (Minchin) Bolton. His education was acquired in the schools of his native city, and early in his business career he became identified with real-estate activity in which connection he has remained for many years as a well known and successful real-estate broker. He has been identified with many important property transfers and with important development of real-estate interests. He is now a director of the Montreal Loan & Mortgage Company; president of the Birmingham-Montreal Realty Company, Limited; a director of the Midland Investment Company, Limited; of the Richelieu Realty Company, Limited; of the Renforth Realty Company, Limited, and of the Riviera Realty Company, Limited. These are among the most important corporations in that branch of business having to do with the property interests and consequent development and progress of the city.
In Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1905, Mr. Bolton was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Hamilton McClure and they have become the parents of two sons, Richard and Hamilton. Mr. Bolton votes with the conservative party but the honors and emoluments of public office have no attraction for him. When business leaves him leisure for social enjoyment he spends his time at the Montreal Club, the Beaconsfield Golf Club, the Winter Club, the Montreal Country Club and the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, in all of which he holds membership.
Foremost among the younger generation of business men in Montreal and one who had attained a high standing in the financial circles of the city, was Thornton Davidson, whose untimely death in the sinking of the steamship Titanic, April 15, 1912, ended a career that had not only been successful, but gave great promise for the future.
Thornton Davidson was a native of Montreal, and was born on the 17th of May, 1880. His father was the Hon. C. Peers Davidson, D. C. L., a distinguishedjurist, and his mother Alice Mattice, second daughter of William Mattice of Cornwall, Ontario. Reared in Montreal, Thornton Davidson attended the city schools, graduating from high school. Throughout his active business career he was connected with financial interests, later becoming manager of the Montreal branch of the New York house of Charles Head & Company.
THORNTON DAVIDSONTHORNTON DAVIDSON
THORNTON DAVIDSON
In 1908 he established the firm of Thornton Davidson & Company which soon took a prominent position among the leading brokerage and investment security houses in the city. In 1909 Mr. Davidson became a member of the Montreal Stock Exchange. His thorough capability and great energy were factors in the success of the business which he established and of which he remained the head until his death. His personal popularity made him a valued member of the club life of the city, where he held membership in the St. James, Racquet, Montreal Hunt, Montreal Jockey, Montreal Polo, Royal St. Lawrence Yacht, Manitou and Canada Clubs, and also in Montreal Amateur Athletic Association.
On November 3, 1906, in Montreal, Mr. Davidson was married to Miss Orian Hays, daughter of Charles Melville Hays. Returning from Europe in company with his wife and the latter’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Hays, on the ill-fated Titanic, Mr. Davidson was among those brave men who on April 15, 1912, gave precedence to women and children and went down with the ship. Such an act is just what his friends would have expected of Thornton Davidson in such an emergency. His associates knew him as a capable business man and a most genial companion, but they recognized in him also the strength of character which manifests itself in the highest type of manhood when a crisis arises.
Important professional connections indicate the high standing of Dr. William Fawcett Hamilton of Montreal, who, in addition to an extensive private practice has done much hospital work. He is a son of Gustavus W. and Eleanor (Goodwin) Hamilton, and was born in Baie Verte, New Brunswick. His early education was acquired in the schools of his native town and in Upper Sackville and then, having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he entered McGill University of Montreal, from which he was graduated with the class of 1891, receiving the degrees of M. D. and C. M. He has now successfully practiced his profession in this city for more than two decades and has advanced steadily to a place of prominence as a representative of the medical profession. From 1891 until 1894 he was medical superintendent of the Montreal General Hospital and in the latter year became assistant physician of the Royal Victoria Hospital, and upon the death of Dr. James Stewart, in 1906, he was appointed attending physician of that institution. He has proven himself a man of ability and public opinion has accorded him rank with the eminent physicians of the city. He is now associate professor of clinical medicine at McGill University and as an instructor displays capability in imparting readily, clearly, concisely and forcibly to others the knowledge that he has acquired. In1909 he was elected a member of the Board of Victorian Order of Nurses, and he is a member of the Association of American Physicians and vice president of the Montreal Medico-Chirurgical Society. Through these connections he keeps in close touch with the advanced work of the profession and has himself been a leader along the line of professional progress.
In June, 1897, Dr. Hamilton married Miss Janet Mills of Westmount, P. Q. Aside from his activity in the professional field Dr. Hamilton has done important public service as a director of the Young Men’s Christian Association and as senator of the Montreal Wesleyan Theological College. He is an active and helpful member of the Methodist church, and his social nature finds expression in his membership in the University Club and the Montreal Country Club.
Hon. Michel Mathieu has engraven his name high upon the list of Montreal’s eminent jurists, but has now retired from active connection with the profession, spending the evening of life in the enjoyment of well earned rest. He has passed the seventy-fifth milestone, having been born at Sorel, province of Quebec, December 20, 1838, a son of the late Joseph and Edwidge (Vandal) Mathieu. His education was acquired under private tuition and in the College of St. Hyacinthe, followed by a professional course in Laval University. He was admitted to the notarial profession in 1864 and was called to the Montreal bar as an advocate in 1865. His practice of his profession has been combined with active public service. In 1866 he was chosen sheriff of Richelieu and continued in that position for six years. He successfully practiced his profession at Sorel and while at the bar was closely associated with journalism bearing upon his profession, being the publisher of La Revue Legale, together with some annotated reports. In 1880 he was created king’s counsel by the Marquis of Lorne. He became widely known as an educator, for in 1886 he became a member of the law faculty of Laval University, receiving in that year the degree of LL. D., and becoming dean of the faculty, which connection he still retains.
It is a well known fact that members of the bar more than representatives of other professions are prominent in public office. The reasons for this are obvious and need no amplification here, for the qualities which fit one for success in law practice also prepare him for the thorough understanding of involved problems affecting the public welfare, and the habit of analytical reasoning is as forceful and valuable in one connection as in the other. Judge Mathieu sat for Richelieu in the house of commons, representing the conservative interests from 1872 until 1874. He was then defeated but represented the same constituency in the local parliament from 1875 until 1878. He took his place upon the bench as puisne judge of the superior court on the 3d of October, 1881, and for twenty-eight years interpreted law in opinions which were notably free from partiality and bias. His decisions indicate strong mentality, careful analysis and a thorough knowledge of the law. The judge on the bench fails more frequently, perhaps,from a deficiency in that broad-mindedness which not onlycomprehends the details of a situation quickly and that insures a complete self-control under even the most exasperating conditions than from any other cause; and the judge who makes a success in the discharge of his multitudinous, delicate duties is a man of well rounded character, finely balanced mind and of splendid intellectual attainments. That Judge Mathieu is regarded as such a jurist is a uniformly accepted fact. He figured also in public life as a royal commissioner to inquire into certain matters concerning the good government of the province in 1892. He presided at the celebrated Shortis case for murder in the ’90s; in 1910 he lectured on the Canadian constitution and in July of that year he was appointed a royal commissioner to revise, consolidate and modify the municipal code of Quebec.
Judge Mathieu was married in 1863 to Marie Delina Thirza, a daughter of the late Captain St. Louis of Sorel, province of Quebec. She died in 1870 and in 1881 Judge Mathieu wedded Marie Amelie Antoinette, a daughter of the late Hon. D. M. Armstrong, M. L. C. The death of Mrs. Marie A. A. Mathieu occurred in April, 1898. Judge Mathieu now resides at The Marlborough in Montreal. His religious belief is that of the Roman Catholic church. Something of his standing is indicated in the words of Dr. J. Reade, who spoke of him as “much esteemed, especially by the students and younger members of the bar,†while the Montreal Gazette said of him, “He is a judge, painstaking and capable and with a grasp of the law and its meaning that few can equal.†His influence has been far-reaching and beneficial; it has touched the general interests of society along many lines and has been a factor in maintaining the legal status upon which rests the stability and prosperity of a country, the life and liberty of the individual.
Along the path of broad usefulness and activity Hon. Charles Seraphim Rodier advanced to prominence and success. He was a pioneer contractor, lumber merchant and manufacturer of Montreal and eventually came to figure prominently in financial circles. He was born in this city, October 14, 1818, and his life record spans seventy-two years, drawing to its close on the 26th of January, 1890. His grandfather was a physician in the French army and leaving Paris came to Canada, settling in Montreal in the middle of the eighteenth century. His father was Jean Baptiste Rodier, who married Miss Montreuil, daughter of a well known navigator who commanded vessels sailing from Montreal.
The opportunities accorded Charles Seraphim Rodier in his youth were somewhat limited. He pursued his education in a church school, but at the age of fourteen years put aside his text-books in order that he might earn his own living. He was apprenticed to the carpenter’s trade and for his services received a wage of one dollar per day. Thus from a humble position in the business world he steadily worked his way upward until long prior to his death he had reached a place in the millionaire class. He applied himself thoroughly to the mastery of his trade and when but eighteen years of age began contractingon his own account and gained a good patronage. About the year 1846 he began the manufacture of threshing machines on St. Peter Street, now St. Martin, and for the remainder of his life was to be found almost daily at his office at No. 62 St. Martin. The business prospered from the beginning and machines that were made there over a half century ago are still repaired there. Each step in his business career brought him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. He was the owner of freight and passenger vessels and was one of the founders of the Jacques Cartier Bank, in which he placed one hundred and forty-five thousand dollars. He acted as both vice president and director of that institution and was connected with several joint stock companies, his opinions carrying weight in their management, for his advice was always considered sound and his judgment discriminating in regard to business affairs.
Aside from his personal interests, he was for over fifty years active in public life. In 1838 he was elected alderman for St. Antoine ward of Montreal but could not take his seat until later when he became of age. For nine years he served in the council, being elected three times by acclamation. Politically he was a stanch liberal-conservative and three times he refused a senatorship, but later, at the urgent request of his family and friends, he accepted in 1888, being gazetted senator on the 17th of December, of that year, for the division of Mille Isles. He last attended parliament the week before his death and was last at his desk on the 24th of January, 1890. He gave careful consideration to the grave questions which came up for settlement and stanchly supported any movement which he considered of vital worth. His activities also extended to other lines. He was president of the St. Jean Baptiste Society; was warden of Notre Dame church; and president of St. Vincent de Paul Society. He was also lieutenant colonel of the Sixty-fourth Beauharnois Battalion at the time of its formation and he was ever a generous contributor to religious, educational and charitable institutions.
Senator Rodier was united in marriage in 1848 to Miss Angelique Lapierre, a daughter of Andre Lapierre. The death of Mr. Rodier occurred January 26, 1890, when he had reached the age of seventy-two years, while his wife survived until March 24, 1907. They were the parents of four sons and four daughters.
In business circles of Montreal the name of Alexander C. Henry was well known, for from 1899 until his death, three years later, he was purchasing agent for the entire system of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the magnitude and importance of his duties making his position a most difficult and responsible one. He was born at Beamsville, Canada, in 1849, and after mastering the branches of learning taught in the public schools he attended the Upper Canada College, at Toronto. Subsequently he removed to Montreal, and gradually working his way upward in business connections became, in 1884, assistant purchasing agent for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and in 1899 was made general purchasing agent for the entire system. His ability, fidelity, indefatigable energy and enterprisebrought him to the prominent position which he occupied. At the time of his death Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, paid high tribute to his memory and bore testimony to his honesty, which was manifest in his careful accounting for every penny, although in his capacity of purchasing agent he expended over one hundred and two million dollars.
On the 30th of November, 1882, in Montreal, Mr. Henry was united in marriage to Miss Agnes Wilson, of England, and to them were born three children, two of whom are living, H. Gordon, being a resident of Cleveland, Ohio, and the other, A. Wilson, of Montreal. Mr. Henry held membership in St. James the Apostle church. He was a public-spirited citizen, active in support of any movement which he deemed of vital worth in the upbuilding and progress of the community. He belonged to St. James Club, the Forest and Stream Club and others, and he had an extensive circle of friends who held him in the highest esteem. Mr. Henry passed away on February 2, 1902.
In manufacturing and commercial circles of Montreal the name of George Frederick Benson is well known. Important business concerns have profited by his cooperation, have felt the stimulus of his energy and enterprise and have been quickened by his close application and careful control. Many of Montreal’s best known and most successful business men are numbered among her native sons, to which class Mr. Benson belongs. His father, William T. Benson, a native of Kendal, Westmoreland, England, was a member of the federal parliament for the constituency of South Grenville, Ontario, in which county the village of Cardinal (formerly called Edwardsburg) is situated. There the late W. T. Benson resided for twenty-seven years, after establishing there in 1858 the industry, so well known for many years throughout the Dominion of Canada as The Edwardsburg Starch Company and now forming the Edwardsburg Works of The Canada Starch Company, Ltd. The late W. T. Benson married in England, before coming to Canada, Helen Wilson of Acton Grange, Cheshire, England, and their only son was George Frederick Benson, the subject of this review.
He was educated in England at Uppingham School and Oxford University, but returned to Canada, after the sudden death of his father in 1885, to take charge of his father’s varied interests. After first confining his work to the management of the firm of W. T. Benson & Company, importers of foreign wools and chemicals at Montreal, he was elected president of The Edwardsburg Starch Company in 1894, and since the formation of The Canada Starch Company in 1906 he has been its president and managing director. He is likewise a director of the West Kootenay Power & Light Company, and thus his interests have become extensive and important, connecting him with leading manufacturing, commercial and industrial interests, not only in the east but also in the west.
In October, 1890, Mr. Benson was united in marriage to Miss Etheldred Norton, a daughter of the late George Frothingham of the well known firm ofFrothingham & Workman, and they reside at No. 15 Ontario Avenue, Montreal. Mr. Benson gives his political allegiance to the conservative party and in religious faith is an Anglican. He has been an active member of the Montreal Board of Trade, and was treasurer for the year 1913. He has a wide acquaintance among leading club men of the city, holding membership in a number of the most important clubs of Montreal, including the St. James, Mount Royal, Canadian, Canada, Forest and Stream, Montreal Hunt, Montreal Racquet, Royal Montreal Golf and Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Clubs. He is also a member of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club of Toronto and an active member of the Thousand Islands Yacht Club in the Thousand Islands district, where he has a most attractive summer residence.
Louis N. Dupuis is one of Montreal’s well known business men and citizens, whose connection with varied and important commercial enterprises in that city, has gained for him success and high standing as well as an enviable position in business and financial circles. He was born at St. Jacques l’Achigan, Montcalm county, October 17, 1855, a son of Joseph Dupuis and Euphrasie Richard. He attended Archambault’s Catholic Commercial Academy now called Plateau school and entered upon his business career as junior clerk in the employ of his late brother, J. Naz. Dupuis, in 1868. While at this time, Mr. Dupuis was but a lad, yet he applied himself closely and learned the business rapidly.
He was one of the founders in 1876 of Dupuis Freres, Limited, one of the best known mercantile houses in Montreal, and during the first ten years of this firm’s existence he took an important 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.