THOMAS GAUTHIERTHOMAS GAUTHIER
THOMAS GAUTHIER
In 1881 the Association of Retail Grocers, of which he was one of the founders, appointed him president and through his active exertions the Chamber of Commerce of Montreal was established. Along these and various other lines he has promoted the business activity of Montreal, pushing forward the wheels of progress in such a way that the entire city has benefited thereby.
His public service in connection with municipal affairs has been equally notable and commendable. He was one of Montreal’s aldermen from 1890 to 1893, and his labors were effective and beneficial as a member of the committees of police and hygiene. He was largely instrumental in establishing the mutual benefit fund among the members of the police force and also in establishing the first public bath in Hochelaga ward. All this, however, does not cover the scope of his activities, for in various other fields of usefulness his labors proved resultant. In the year 1883-4 he was general treasurer of the St. Jean Baptiste Society and was treasurer of the Montreal Exposition Company, in 1891, the only year in which it showed a surplus. He was a member of the finance committee of the National Association for a number of years, being also one of the promoters of the building of the Monument National, and in 1909 he was elected vice president and in 1911 became president, serving until April, 1913.
One of the most important of Mr. Gauthier’s public services has been in behalf of education. It was largely through the missionary work done by him and the assistance he received from the Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Trade and the Builders’ Exchange that the government was induced to take up the establishment of technical schools in Montreal and Quebec. In this connection Mr. Gauthier has done a noble and patriotic work, the value of which cannot be estimated. He has been president of the Council of Arts and Manufactures continuously since 1897, and more than three thousand scholars are now participating in these classes.
He has ever believed in that special training which will enable the individual to develop his native talents and thus qualify for the business life to which he is best adapted. Mr. Gauthier was associated with Dr. Adami in the general presidency of the Child’s Welfare movement.
In the various movements and projects with which Mr. Gauthier has been associated, whether financial, educational, philanthropic or commercial, he has shown the same intelligent and careful interest as in his own private business affairs.
In connection with the affairs of La Caisse Nationale d’Economie, of which he was one of the founders in 1899, he has taken a very active and prominent part. Ever since its organization he has been chairman of the finance committee, also chairman of the committee of administration, and has been no small factor in the splendid success of this association.
He is an extensive holder of stock in the Montreal Light, Heat & Power Company, as well as in the Lake of the Woods Milling Company, and is president of the Amherst Park Land Company.
Mr. Gauthier is an exceptionally well preserved gentleman for one of his years, and among his extensive acquaintance he is spoken of in terms of admiration and respect.
He has continuously been a student of the signs of the times, of existing conditions and keeps abreast with the best thinking men of the age in his knowledge of political, economical and social questions affecting the welfare and progress of the race.
The position of William Douw Lighthall has for many years been one of leadership. He has exerted wide and beneficial influence on public thought and action and as lawyer, author and the promoter of various prominent societies his name has become known throughout the length and breadth of the land. He has been termed “a living example of good citizenship ... a man of high culture, refined tastes and exceptional literary ability.” His efforts along all the lines in which his activities have been put forth have been productive of far-reaching and beneficial results. He was born at Hamilton, Ontario, December 27, 1857, a son of William Francis Lighthall, who is the doyen of the Montreal notarial profession, and is descended from the Schuyler, Van Renssalaer and Van Cortlandt families, three of the most prominent Knickerbocker families of New York. The mother, Mrs. Margaret Lighthall, was the eldest daughter of Captain Henry Wright, of Chateauguay, who was a son of Major James Wright (McIntyre), the commander of the British settlers of the district in the War of 1812.
After being dux of the high school of Montreal William D. Lighthall pursued a classical course in McGill University, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree and the Shakespeare gold medal in English literature in 1879. He then entered upon the study of law at McGill, which conferred upon him the B. C. L. degree in 1881, and he took the honorary degree of M. A. in 1885. With the completion of his law course he was called to the bar and began practice as an advocate. Nature endowed him with keen mentality, and the thoroughness with which he prepared his cases and the earnestness with which he presented his causes before the courts won him success and advancement. He was created king’s counsel in 1906. For a long period he has been accounted one of the distinguished representatives of the Montreal bar, practicing as senior member of the law firm of Lighthall & Harwood.
What he has accomplished as a member of the legal profession would alone entitle W. D. Lighthall to mention among the representative men of Montreal, yet he has gained equal prominence as an author, as a promoter of various societies, as an antiquarian greatly interested in historical and antiquarian research, and as a public-spirited citizen who takes cognizance of the needs of the hour and employs practical methods in working for high ideals for the benefit of city, province and Dominion. He was the founder of the Society of Canadian Literature, the Canadian National League, the Westmount Liberal Club, the Montreal Tourist Association, and originated and, in connection with De Lery Macdonald, established the Chateau de Ramezay Historical Museum. He was also the founder of the Union of Canadian Municipalities. He was one of those largely instrumental in securing the erection of the Maisonneuve monument atMontreal and was the discoverer of the Indian burying ground at Westmount. He is interested in all that pertains to the history of the country from prehistoric times down to the present, and his researches and investigations have been carried far and wide, bringing to light many interesting points bearing upon the travel history of the North American Indians as well as upon the period of the early colonists and the development of Canada. He is a member of the Scotch Society of Literature and Art; a vice president of the National Municipal League of America; a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature; an honorary member of the Women’s Historical Society of Canada and of the Chateauguay Literary and Historical Society; life corresponding member of the Quebec Literary and Historical Society; president of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society; a governor of the Congregational College of Canada and of the Joint Board of Theological Colleges of McGill University; and has been a representative fellow of the University. In 1910 he was appointed a member of the Metropolitan Parks Commission.
In all these years, retiring to the quiet of his study, he has devoted hours to writing, and his authorship has gained him equal renown with his efforts in other directions. His first published volume, Thoughts, Moods and Ideals (verse), came from the press in 1887 and was followed in 1888 by The Young Seigneur. Then came The Battle of Chateauguay, in 1889; Montreal After 250 Years, in 1892; The False Chevalier, in 1898; a Prehistoric Hochelaga Burying-ground, in 1898; A Link in Iroquois History, in 1899; The Glorious Enterprise, in 1901; Hiawatha the Great, in 1901; and Westmount: a Municipal Illustration, in 1902. This last book followed his three years of service as mayor of Westmount, so that he was qualified to discuss the subjects of which the volume treated. The same year he brought forth a volume entitled To the Boers: A Friend’s Appeal from Canada. In 1904 he published Canada, a Modern Nation, and Thomas Pownall: His Part in the Conquest of Canada. In 1908 he added to the list of his publications A Romance of Prehistoric Montreal and The Master of Life; and in 1910, The Governance of Empire and Sights and Shrines of Montreal. He also published Songs of the Great Dominion (Windsor series) in 1889, and Canadian Poems and Lays (Canterbury Poets series) in 1891.
There are few men in possession in so eminent a degree of the habits, tastes and ability of the scholar and at the same time in so large a measure the practical qualities which find expression in successful professional service and in public-spirited citizenship. Mr. Lighthall has studied as closely the signs of the times and the questions of the hour as he has the history of the past. His deep interest in the cause of education was manifest in his service as chairman of the board of school commissioners of Westmount, to which office he was appointed in 1909. He is an imperialist in principle and at the same time a strong believer in the necessity and advantage of organizing the intellectual and higher interests of Canadian nationality and retaining state ownership and control of forests, railways, land tenure, coal mines and other public resources.
In October, 1890, Mr. Lighthall was married to Miss Cybel Charlotte Wilkes, a daughter of John Wilkes and a granddaughter of the late Rev. Dr. Henry Wilkes. Mrs. Lighthall is vice president of the local branch of the Zenana Bibleand Medical Mission, and is also a vice president of the Canadian Handicrafts Guild. Something of the nature of his recreation is indicated in the fact that Mr. Lighthall belongs to Lac Tremblant Fishing Club, of which he was elected president in 1909, and in the same year he was admitted an Iroquois Indian chief with the name of Ticonderoga in recognition of services to that race. He furthermore belongs to the University, Canada, Reform, Montreal, Country and Canadian Clubs of Montreal and the Royal Societies Club of London, England. His winter residence, Chateauclair, is at No. 14 Murray Avenue, Westmount, while his summer home, Camp Beartracks, is at Lac Tremblant. In the review of his history it seems that his constantly expanding powers are opening to him a still broader field of usefulness and establishing him more firmly in the position of prominence which he today occupies.
Joseph Drouin, a member of the Montreal bar, was born at Two Mountains, in the province of Quebec, on the 15th of November, 1875, a son of Firmin and Mathilde (Lafrance) Drouin, sturdy French Canadian farmers. He is of the eighth generation in descent from Robert Drouin, of Pin au Perche, France, who became the founder of the family in the new world, establishing himself at Quebec in 1635. The principal branch of the family remains in Quebec and Orleans, but in 1751 one branch detached itself from the main Quebec stem and was transplanted to Montreal, where representatives of the name have since been found in the city and surrounding districts.
JOSEPH DROUINJOSEPH DROUIN
JOSEPH DROUIN
Joseph Drouin pursued a classical course in the seminary of Ste. Thérèse and won his B. C. L. degree upon graduation from McGill University in April, 1904. He engaged in the practice of law, winning a liberal clientage that connected him with the important work of the courts. Of late Mr. Drouin has devoted his attention to the management of his own private interests.
Mr. Drouin is a Roman Catholic in religious faith. He was married in Montreal on the 22d of November, 1904, to Marie Orpha Leduc, a daughter of Augustin and Philomène (Lefebvre) Leduc, who were farming people at St. Benoit, Deux Montagnes, province of Quebec. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Drouin have been born five children: Cécile, Thérèse, René, Marguerite and Gabriel.
Among contemporary Canadian statesmen a foremost place must be assigned to the late Hon. Honore Mercier, premier of the province of Quebec. He was not only distinguished by reason of his position at the head of the government of one of the foremost provinces of the Canadian federation but attained distinction along various other lines having to do with the progress and upbuilding of the country and the upholding of its political, legal and moral status. A native of the province of Quebec, he was born at Iberville, October 15, 1840. He came ofa family of unpretentious farmers, or habitants, as they are styled in Lower Canada, the ancestors originally from Old France, although several generations have been represented in the county of Montmagny below the city of Quebec. His father had to provide for the needs of a large household, but he was a man of energy and foresight and counted no personal sacrifice too great if he could thereby equip his children for the later responsibilities and duties that fall to the lot of every individual. The maiden name of the mother was Marie Catherine Laflamme.
When fourteen years of age Honore Mercier became a student in the Jesuit College in Montreal, where he completed his education, making an excellent record. Some time afterward he determined upon the practice of law as his life work and became a student in the office of Laflamboise & Papineau, who directed his reading until he was admitted to practice in 1865. While a law student he turned his attention to journalism and in 1862 became editor in chief of the Courier de St. Hyacinthe, winning distinction because of his able political editorials, his support being given to the Macdonald-Sicotte liberal administration.
Following his admission to the bar Mr. Mercier retired from the profession of journalism to concentrate his energies upon his law practice. His thorough training, his natural powers and his ambition soon brought him a prominent position at the bar and from that time forward his advancement was continuous as a factor in those affairs and events which have shaped the history of province and Dominion.
In 1871 he appeared in the political arena at Bagot as a supporter of M. Langelier, the liberal candidate. The following year, upon the earnest solicitation of his friends, he became a candidate for Rouville in the house of commons and was elected. Following the downfall of the conservative government in 1873, he yielded his seat to Mr. Cheval in 1874, to avoid dividing the vote of the liberal party in the case of the redoubtable conservative candidate, Mr. Gigault. Following his retirement to private life he entered upon a partnership with Mr. Bourgeois of St. Hyacinthe. He was made the candidate of the liberal party in 1878, standing for St. Hyacinthe, but lost the election by six votes. The following year a majority of three hundred and seven votes elected him to the legislative assembly to represent St. Hyacinthe and he became solicitor-general of the Joly administration, filling out the unexpired term of Hon. P. Bachand, deceased. Mr. Mercier continued in the office until the administration went out in the same year.
In 1881, following his removal from St. Hyacinthe to Montreal, Mr. Mercier became a law partner of Messrs. Beausoleil & Martineau and was again called into the field of political activity when in December, 1881, at the general provincial election he was chosen by acclamation for his old constituency, St. Hyacinthe. In the beginning of the session of 1883 Hon. Mr. Joly resigned the direction of the provincial liberal party and Mr. Mercier was unanimously chosen his successor, on motion of Mr. Joly, as the leader of the opposition. Here his dominant qualities found fitting scope, his ability and qualities of leadership placing him within a brief period among the foremost French-Canadian statesmen. Within the short space of three years he demonstrated what could be accomplished by an able and intrepid leader with the support of a small but disciplined and trusty band of parliamentary followers to retrieve the fallen fortunes ofhis party and to defend and lead to victory a popular cause the moment circumstances placed it in his hands.
As the accepted leader of the new national party formed by a combination of liberals and conservative bolters, Mr. Mercier not only directed the whole movement but personally traversed the province of Quebec almost from end to end, addressing as many as one hundred and sixty meetings and leaving the impress of his influence as a factor in the promotion of his cause. The election of October, 1886, resulted in a victory for the nationals. After the struggle, which ensued in the final overthrow of the Ross administration, Mr. Mercier was called upon by the lieutenant governor to form a new cabinet and in less than twenty-four hours, as a result of his quick decisions and promptness in action, he had made choice of his colleagues, announcing the result to the legislature and the country, both receiving it with marked satisfaction.
The close of the first session found him more popular and more firmly established in the good graces of the people than ever, a position that was augmented later by the marvelous success of his administration as evidenced in the settlement of the long pending dispute with Ontario respecting the division of the common school fund and the unusually advantageous negotiation of the new provincial loan of three and a half millions. His adversaries attributed these and other valuable results to good luck, but a real student of politics knows that good management and thorough understanding of the situation lay back of them. Mr. Mercier remained in power until December, 1891, when he was dismissed by Lieutenant Governor Angers as a result of an investigation held by a royal commission on what then became known as the Baie des Chaleurs Scandal.
On March 8, 1892, at the general elections, though Mr. Mercier was returned for Bonaventure, which he had represented since the general elections of 1890, his party was annihilated and he ceased to be a factor in provincial politics.
Following his retirement to private life he joined his son-in-law, Sir Lomer Gouin, and Mr. R. Lemieux in a law partnership, but he rarely appeared in court. However, he won the highest professional honors. He was actually the attorney-general as well as the premier of Quebec. He was twice batonnier of the bar of the Montreal district, and the respect entertained for him by his legal colleagues was so great that they unanimously elevated him to the still more distinguished eminence of batonnier-general of the bar of the province. Of him it has been written: “Heralded to the world as the apostle of an advanced radicalism which in reality had no representative in this country, he not only preached but practiced a different gospel and in office proved himself unusually moderate and conciliatory as well as a man of broad and generous views, free from sectionalism and exceedingly anxious to do justice to all races, classes and creeds, yet fully determined to work out the regeneration of his native province on the great lines of reform which he ever regarded as essential to that desirable end.”
Mr. Mercier held to the religious faith of the French-Canadians—that of the Roman Catholic church and his loyal adherence thereto increased with the passing years. There was a time, however, when, on account of his political liberalism and alliances, his orthodoxy was more than once seriously questioned by his political foes to his personal and party detriment. This, however, passed by and the Papal authority conceded that a man may be a liberal in politics and yet a good Catholic, while the clergy of Lower Canada came to know that he was not onlya devoted churchman in theory and practice, but also that the interests of Catholicism were as safe in his hands as in those of its self-constituted champions who proclaimed their zeal for the faith from the housetops. There was in him nothing of narrow-minded bigotry and perhaps no prominent statesman or political leader of his day has shown himself so free from religious or sectional bias in the conduct of affairs relating to the entire community. A French-Canadian in heart and soul and a thorough son of the soil, still, “strict and impartial justice to all classes, races and creeds and undue favor to none,” seems to have been the motto upon which Honore Mercier always acted. In 1893 he undertook a campaign in favor of the independence of Canada and advocated this both here and in the United States, but with no tangible results. Though received enthusiastically in the eastern states, he met with a rebuff in Chicago, and abandoned the campaign to resume his practice in Montreal.
Two notable features in his life history were the torchlight procession in his honor in Montreal following his return from Europe, and the reception he tendered the ex-Papal zouaves at his country seat at Ste. Anne de la Perade, when he distributed the medals awarded them by the pope. On that occasion Mr. Mercier appeared in the gorgeous uniform of commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great—the first time it had been seen in Canada. The wide recognition given his ability is attested by a partial list of the honors conferred upon him. Not only did he receive the grand cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great from the pope but His Holiness also raised him to the rank of count. He was in addition to these honors officer of the Legion of Honor; commander of the Order of Leopold I, King of the Belgians; and chevalier of the Order of St. Sepulcher. He was made queen’s counsel and received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Laval University, the University of Fordham, New York, and the University of Georgetown.
A man of his ability and eminence could not fail to have enemies, but he had also hosts of friends. He possessed that quality which, for want of a better term, has been called magnetism. He was most generous and ever had a helping hand out-reaching to those who needed assistance. His residence both in Montreal and in Quebec was always filled with his admirers. It has been said repeatedly that his so-called friends were largely responsible for any errors that he may have committed. He was particularly helpful to young men, many of whom have reason to remember him with gratitude. It was his delight to assist a struggling youth in his law studies or in other ways.
Mr. Mercier was twice married. On the 29th of May, 1866, he wedded Leopoldine Boivin of St. Hyacinthe, who died leaving a daughter who subsequently married Sir Lomer Gouin and who is now deceased. On the 9th of May, 1871, Honore Mercier married Virginie St. Denis, also of St. Hyacinthe, and they had two sons and one daughter to reach adult age, Honore, Paul-Emile and Héva. The elder son is a member of the Gouin cabinet and a sketch of his life appears elsewhere in this work. The younger son is a civil and consulting engineer and is mentioned elsewhere in this history. Héva married Dr. Homère Fauteux and resides in Beauceville.
The death of Hon. Honore Mercier occurred October 30, 1894, on which occasion the Montreal Daily Star said editorially: “The career of the late Hon. Honore Mercier is one that will long live on the lips of those who delight inpolitical reminiscences of this historic province. He played a conspicuous role in the political drama; and, while he was on the stage, pretty well absorbed the attention of the multitude. That he was a man of rare ability in many ways, his swift attainment of the highest positions in Quebec amply attests.
“It is too late in the day for those who contributed to his overthrow in ’92 to make mawkish pretension of blindness to his faults, but it may truly be said that he gained striking success in spite of his faults, and, further, that it was his own hand that turned the current of destiny against him. Like all strong characters, he made many warm personal friends, and there will be more sincere mourning at his bier than falls to the lot of most mortals.”
Senator L. O. David, an intimate and lifelong friend of Mr. Mercier, in making a parallel between the three most popular men of our time, Laurier, Chapleau and Mercier, has written of the latter: “Mercier is the heaviest of the three, the strongest built and the most muscular; he is tall, with black eyes and hair and a heavy mustache—a veritable type of musketeer—the personification of strength and energy. He walks heavily with the assurance of a man who believes that the earth belongs to him. Mercier is the most solid, the most vigorous and the most penetrating. Penetrating is, indeed, the word which best describes his eloquence. See his movements; they resemble those of the axeman who strikes the tree at the root and at each blow removes a chip. Mercier is a parliamentary orator, a lawyer, a tribune. He is the strongest, cleverest, and most indefatigable speaker whom I have heard in the house or on the hustings. While I write these words I learn that he is dead. Is it possible that so much of life and intellect are gone forever? What a loss! How little we mortals are! Alas; had he struggled to preserve his health as he fought to regain it, he would not have died so young. Yes, so young, because he was built to live thirty or forty years more. Death has seldom met a more valiant fighter; it has vanquished him, but he died almost standing, as he often said he would.
“Before the grave, which opens to receive his mortal remains, criticism will disarm, no doubt, to render homage to the splendor and power of his intelligence, his political genius, to the energy of his character and the sincerity of his patriotism. Through all the vicissitudes of a stormy life, in spite of his faults and weaknesses, he preserved until the last moment all the fervor of the religious and patriotic sentiments of his youth. Of all the political men I have known, he is the one who, in all things and under all circumstances, was most given to consider questions from a national standpoint. He was frankly, sincerely, profoundly patriotic and without fanaticism. Few men have had more devoted friends, enthusiastic admirers, and secured more brilliant triumphs and undergone such crushing defeats. He was stronger in defeat than in victory. Much will be forgiven him because he suffered much.”
The subject of this short biographical sketch was born at Ste. Madeleine de Rigaud, during a short stay of his parents in that parish, on the 13th day of September 1842, but was brought up at Isle Bizard, on the Lake of Two Mountains, near Montreal. His father, a farmer, was Joseph Berryer-Saint-Pierre of IsleBizard, and his mother, Demitilde Denis dit Saint-Denis, who had been born at Pointe Claire. Young Henri received his classical and literary education at the old Montreal College on Collège Street near McGill Street. On leaving college he was sent up to Kingston, Ontario, where he began his law course, the object in sending him up there being to give him an opportunity of improving his knowledge of the English language. Having passed the required examinations for his admission to the study of the law, he availed himself of the permission which had been granted him to go and visit Niagara falls and the city of Buffalo. The great battle of Gettysburg had just been fought and won by the northern army, and on his arrival at Buffalo, he found the people delirious with the news of the recent victory. Our young student, who had inherited from his ancestors a marked taste for the military career (a career by the way for which there were but few openings for a young French Canadian in those days, in Canada), was altogether carried away by the enthusiastic demonstrations which he then witnessed and made up his mind to give up the doleful study of Blackstone to enter the American army. A short time later, the runaway student was a member of Company F in the Seventy-sixth New York Volunteers. At the battle of Mine Run which was fought on the 27th November, 1863, he was wounded and reported as dead at the regiment. The same report having been reproduced in the Montreal papers, the usual service for the dead was celebrated for him at the Montreal College and at Isle Bizard where his widowed mother was living. He was picked up from the field however by the southern cavalry and sent to the military prison of Belle Island in the city of Richmond from which he was later on transferred to Andersonville in Georgia. After the capture of Atlanta, he was removed with the other prisoners first to Savannah, and then to Florence and finally to Charleston’s race ground in South Carolina, where he regained his liberty in the spring of 1865 on the city being evacuated by the southern troops. On his return to Montreal after the war, he resumed his legal studies first in the office of Sir George Etienne Cartier, for whom he, for a time, acted as private secretary, and later on in that of the Hon. J. J. C. Abbott who some years afterward became premier of Canada.
H. C. BERRYER-SAINT-PIERREH. C. BERRYER-SAINT-PIERRE
H. C. BERRYER-SAINT-PIERRE
He was admitted to the bar in June, 1870. His career at the Montreal bar was a most successful and brilliant one, and he soon became one of the leading lawyers in the province of Quebec, being particularly noted for his success as a criminal lawyer. His record as such was never surpassed at least in his province and but seldom equalled anywhere. It is said that he pleaded not less than thirty-three cases of murder, securing complete acquittals in most of them. Not one of those he defended was ever found guilty of murder in the first degree and sentenced to be hanged, except Shortis who had killed two men at Valleyfield and wounded dangerously a third one. In this last case, the plea of impulsive insanity was urged for the first time in the province of Quebec as a ground of defense and proved successful in the end in spite of the verdict of the jury.Shortis is today detained in the penitentiary of Kingston as “a dangerous lunatic.” Judge Saint-Pierre frequently associated in the defence of persons accused of serious crimes with Donald MacMaster, K. C., now a member of the English parliament, who was his intimate friend.
In 1889, he was created a queen’s counsel by the Earl of Aberdeen. Judge Saint-Pierre never showed any great inclination for politics but confined his labor and efforts more particularly to secure the highest position in his profession as alawyer. Being a liberal, he consented however to be the nominee of the liberal party in the county of Jacques-Cartier, for the local seat in 1878 against the old member, but was defeated by a small majority.
He was married in 1874 to Marie Albina Lesieur, daughter of Adolphe Lesieur, a merchant of Terrebonne. She died on the 19th December, 1908, leaving five children, three boys and two girls who are all married and settled. In 1902 on the occasion of his being raised to the bench, he was made an officer of the order of the Crown of Italy upon a petition presented to the King of Italy by the Italian colony at Montreal supported by the Italian consul.
Judge Saint-Pierre has been the organizer of the Canadian Veterans as a body and has been their honorary president ever since their organization some fourteen years ago.
His eminent ability as a legist led eventually to his appointment to the bench. He was first named for the district of Beauharnois on the retirement of Hon. Mr. Justice Belanger in June, 1902, and was transferred to Montreal in March, 1909, so that he is now presiding over the district of Montreal. His decisions are strictly fair and impartial and render him the peer of the ablest men who have presided over Montreal’s courts.
The Judge is a Roman Catholic of the broad liberal school. He is known to be a great admirer of British institutions though much attached to the French civil law which he holds to be superior to the common law of England.
The press has united in passing high encomiums upon him. The Montreal Herald styled him “a man of great vigor.” The Montreal Star spoke of him as broad-minded and public-spirited. The Toronto Star said “Judge Berryer-Saint-Pierre is gifted with fine powers of eloquence and is broad-minded and tolerant.” Perhaps his lofty patriotism is best indicated in his own utterance: “Be English, be Scotch, be French, be Irish, if you will,” he often said in his public utterance, “but above and before all, let us all be Canadians.” Judge Saint-Pierre’s residence is at 2330 Park Avenue, Montreal.
Successfully operating in mercantile circles, Donald Forbes Angus has also extended his efforts along those lines whereby are promoted aesthetic culture and humanitarian interests, thus rendering his life a serviceable factor in the world’s work. A son of Richard Bladworth Angus, he was educated in England and Germany and in February, 1894, was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ethel Henshaw, the daughter of the late F. W. Henshaw.
In his business connections Mr. Angus has so directed his efforts that substantial results have accrued, and he is today a prominent figure in commercial circles as director of the Intercolonial Coal Company and of the Paton Manufacturing Company, both of which are important forces in the business progress of the city. He is also director of the Bank of Montreal; director of the Standard Life Assurance Company; and vice president of the Guardian Accident & Guarantee Company. In these connections Mr. Angus bends his efforts to executive administration and control, and his ability to correctly judge between theessential and the nonessential, utilizing the one and discarding the other, and his power to coordinate seemingly diverse elements into a harmonious whole have been strong features in his growing success.
Mr. Angus is a popular member of several of the leading clubs of Montreal, including St. James, Mount Royal and the Montreal Jockey Clubs—associations which indicate much of the nature of his interests and the source of his recreation. He is also a life member of the Art Association and is a friend and patron of art. He is likewise a governor and a member of the executive committee of the Fraser Institute of Montreal.
Not only is Henry Holgate one of the foremost civil engineers of Montreal, but he is also an author of no mean talents on professional and other subjects. He is now engaged in private practice after a long and strenuous career with various large organizations and of late has designed and built several large hydraulic power plants for transmission of electric power. He is a member of several arbitration committees, a past vice president of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a councillor of the American Institute of Consulting Engineers.
Mr. Holgate is of English ancestry and was born at Milton, Ontario, September 14, 1863, the seventh son of John and Jane (Browne) Holgate, the former of whom was in charge of the division court at Milton. Judge Holgate passed away in 1896 and his wife in 1902.
Henry Holgate was educated in the Toronto public schools and after having completed his studies served an apprenticeship with the Northern Railway of Canada, which lasted for five years. He continued with them for three years and became their chief engineer in 1884, so continuing until 1893, when he took charge of the Central Bridge Company’s works at Peterboro, Ontario. During this time, in 1887, he became a member of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, contributing a paper to its transactions for which he was awarded the Gzowski medal. He remained with the Central Bridge Company for about a year and then joined the Royal Electrical Company in Montreal as engineer in charge of the steel plants and general construction. The years 1896, 1897 and 1898 were spent that way, and he then became engineer of the Montreal Park & Island Company, constructing and managing all their lines. He then went as manager and engineer to Kingston, Jamaica, and constructed all of the works of the Western Electric Company there, returning to Canada in 1900. He established himself in a private engineering practice in that year and in 1902 formed a partnership with Mr. Ross, under the firm name of Ross & Holgate, consulting engineers. This partnership was dissolved in 1911.
Mr. Holgate has on various occasions been retained by the federal and provincial governments for special engineering inquiries and reports. He was so retained in regard to the reorganization of the Trent Valley Canal works and was appointed chairman of the royal commission to report on the collapse of the Quebec bridge in September, 1907. He is widely recognized as one of theable men along his line and has had charge in late years of the building of several large hydraulic power plants.
Occasionally Mr. Holgate contributes interesting articles to technical works. He is the author of an exhaustive paper on Northeast Canada, which was published in 1908, and he has lectured extensively, one of his subjects being “Some Facts Regarding the Upper St. Lawrence.”
Mr. Holgate is independent in his political views andnonsectarian in his religious belief. He is a patriotic Canadian and has always at heart the interests of the Dominion. He believes in a Canada for Canadians and for any others who will become good citizens, recognizing the value of desirable immigration.
On September 19, 1888, Mr. Holgate was married to Miss Bessie Bell Headley, a daughter of Edward Headley, of Milford, Delaware. They have two sons, Henry Watson and Edwin Headley. The family residence is at No. 44 Rosemount Avenue, Westmount. He is a member of the Engineers Club of Montreal.
Dr. Légléus Antoine Gagnier is widely and favorably known to the public as a general medical practitioner and more specifically in connection with the special work which he does in treating nervous diseases by electrical methods. He is a man who has never ceased to be a student and still frequently makes trips to Europe in order to attend the clinics conducted by the most eminent specialists in the profession. There is no new phase brought out in the world of medicine with which he is not thoroughly acquainted and which he does not thoroughly understand, and his complete knowledge has naturally resulted in a large and lucrative practice. Freeing himself from many of the old medical prejudices he applies modern thought in his treatments and more closely follows his own logical conclusions than book prescriptions. He believes that in numerous cases massage treatments, X-Rays, light baths and general hydrotherapy will achieve more beneficial and lasting results than the older treatment of giving medicaments internally. His well equipped offices, modernly appointed and filled with all the appliances necessary to follow out his methods, are located at No. 256 St. Denis Street, Montreal, and there ever can be found a long line of patients, rich and poor, old and young, waiting to be admitted for treatment.
Although the family of Gagnier is not among the very earliest Canadian settlers, it is an old one. There were variations in the name of Gagnier and extensive records show the name as Gagné and Gagnesse in Abbé Tanguay’s Dictionnaire Généalogique.
Légléus Antoine Gagnier was born at Ste. Martine, in the county of Chateauguay, on October 4, 1871, a son of François and Sophie (Perras) Gagnier, both deceased. The doctor received his classical education at Ste. Thérèse and St. Hyacinthe Seminaries and graduated in medicine from Laval University in 1895. He pursued special studies in Paris and has ever since continued to attend clinics in that and other European cities. Capable, earnest and conscientious, he has notonly a reputation for ability but enjoys the utmost confidence of his patients, to whom he is more than a doctor, as they see in him their best and truest friend. He is physician for a number of French and English mutual associations and president of the Medical Board of Union St. Pierre of Montreal.
DR. LEGLEUS A. GAGNIERDR. LEGLEUS A. GAGNIER
DR. LEGLEUS A. GAGNIER
On September 28, 1897, Dr. Gagnier was united in marriage to Miss Delia Collerette, a daughter of O. Collerette, and they have the following children, Yvonne, Légléus Adolphe, Gaston, Gabrielle, Marie Régine, Germaine and Paul Emile.
The religious faith of Dr. Gagnier is that of the Roman Catholic church. For many years he was a conservative in politics but of late has allied himself with the nationalist movement, a party which in scope of progressiveness stands foremost of the three political organizations of the Dominion and has for its intention the improvement of general conditions not only political and governmental but also sociological. In the material growth of Montreal Dr. Gagnier is interested as a director of the Greater Montreal Land Investment Company, Limited. He has an interesting military record to his credit and has been in command of the Sixty-fourth Regiment of Chateauguay and Beauharnois for three or four years and since January 23, 1901, he has been on the officers reserve as lieutenant colonel. His deep love for mankind finds expression in his public-spirited actions, and he is never called upon in vain to give his support to any enterprise which will benefit the people of his city or country. Careful of his own interests, he is more minutely careful of those of others and influenced at all times by the thought of the broader effect which his work has upon his community, exemplifying in his conduct the lofty ideals of his nation and of a noble calling. He honors his profession by paying it honor and by his adherence to the solid virtues and enlightened principles underlying it.
A native of Montreal, George Stephen Cantlie was born May 2, 1867, a son of James Alexander and Eleanor Simpson (Stephen) Cantlie. The father is a prominent merchant of Montreal and a son of the late Francis Cantlie, a native of Mortlach, Banffshire, Scotland, who married Mary Stuart. James Alexander Cantlie was born June 5, 1836, and married in May, 1866, the second daughter of the late William Stephen, of Montreal. J. A. Cantlie came to Canada in 1863. He was for years head of the well known wholesale dry-goods house of J. A. Cantlie & Company, which was founded in 1868. He is connected with a number of important commercial enterprises and is one of the foremost men in business circles in Montreal.
George S. Cantlie received private tuition and attended the Montreal high school and McGill University in the acquirement of an education. In 1885 he entered the service of the Canadian Pacific Railway as clerk in the audit department. He became consecutively clerk in the comptroller’s office, chief clerk to the assistant general manager, to the assistant president and to the vice president. He was then made general baggage agent, general stationary agent and superintendentof car service. Since November, 1908, Mr. Cantlie has been at the head of the car service as general superintendent.
Colonel Cantlie has for a number of years been connected with the volunteer service. He has been lieutenant colonel in command of the Fifth Regiment, Royal Highlanders of Canada, since May 11, 1905. He commanded this regiment at the Quebec Tercentenary celebration in 1908 and at the Lake Champlain celebration at Plattsburg, New York, in 1909, when he received high commendation from President Taft on the splendid appearance of his men. In 1908 he was awarded the long service decoration.
In November, 1896, Mr. Cantlie was married to Miss Beatrice Campbell, a daughter of the late W. D. Campbell, queen’s notary, of Quebec. Mr. and Mrs. Cantlie make their home at No. 502 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal. He is a member of the Mount Royal, St. James, Montreal Hunt, Forest and Stream, Back River Polo, Auto and Montreal Jockey Clubs. He also is enrolled in the York Club of Toronto and is a member of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association.
One of the best known men in his line of business in Canada was the late Charles Lyman, wholesale druggist, who died November 17, 1909, after a successful business career of nearly two score years, all of which was spent in his native city. He was born in Montreal, April 3, 1849, a son of Benjamin Lyman and Delia A. Wells. These parents, both natives of the state of Vermont, whose ancestry in the United States dated back almost to the landing of the Mayflower, might account for the strong interest in the affairs of that country which was one of the pronounced characteristics of Mr. Lyman. He was educated in the Montreal high school, the Hopkins grammar school of New Haven, Connecticut, and Yale University, from which he graduated in the class of 1871.
In his senior year at college he was elected a member of the Scroll and Key Society, then as now one of the most coveted distinctions outside of the purely academic sphere. He always retained a very absorbing interest in the affairs of Yale, returning almost annually to his class reunions.
After leaving college he entered his father’s business, Lyman, Clare & Company, in which he shortly became a partner. This business in 1879 was styled Lyman, Sons & Company, under which name it was known until 1908, becoming incorporated then as Lymans, Limited.
In 1887 Mr. Lyman together with James W. Knox and F. Gold Lyman established the business of Lyman, Knox & Company, which continued under this style until in 1906 it became part of the National Drug & Chemical Company, Limited, of which corporation Charles Lyman was secretary from its inception until he retired from business in 1908. Mr. Lyman was of a studious disposition, and his chief interest was perhaps centered in his family life. He was known for his broad culture and was a close follower of the public affairs of both the United States and Canada. Together with the late GoldwinSmith he was a firm believer in the eventual unity of political interest of these countries.
Mr. Lyman was married October 1, 1874, at Stelton, New Jersey, to Kate Dean, daughter of the late Henry Dean of New York, who survives him, together with their three children: C. Philip Lyman and Frank D. Lyman, both of Montreal; and Ruth Delia, the wife of William G. MacNaughton of Port Edwards, Wisconsin.
Mr. Lyman was a member of The University Club, of which he was one of the founders and The Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. He was a member of the American Presbyterian church, the corner stone of the present edifice having been laid by his father, Benjamin Lyman. The higher, better elements of life always made strong appeal to him, and the principles which governed his conduct make his example as a man and citizen one well worthy of emulation.
Frederic Orr-Lewis was born at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is the second son of the late William Thomas Lewis and Mary (Graham) Lewis, and a grandson of the late William Lewis, sheriff of Glamorganshire, Wales. The father was a shipowner in Canadian Inland Lakes. William Thomas Lewis came to Canada from Swansea, Wales, in 1852, locating at Hamilton. He became a prominent figure on the inland lakes between Chicago and Kingston and was a large shipowner. He retired from active business in 1890 and moved to Montreal, where he departed this life in 1908. For more than two decades he had survived his wife, who passed away in 1886.
Frederic Orr-Lewis was educated in Kingston, Ontario, and on leaving school went with J. Muckleston & Company, wholesale hardware merchants of the same city. He resigned from that position to establish his own business in Kingston in 1888 and removed the establishment to Montreal in 1889, associated with his brothers James Graham Lewis and Thomas Graham Lewis. The firm was then Lewis Brothers, which was later formed into the limited liability company of Lewis Brothers, Limited, of which he is still the president. From the beginning their trade has extended to such an extent that they now occupy the entire eight-story building which covers Nos. 20 to 42 inclusive on Bleury Street, Montreal, with sales offices in Ottawa, Toronto and other western cities. They have been recognized as one of the leading hardware establishments of the Dominion.
Frederic Orr-Lewis is also a director of the Merchants’ Bank of Canada and director of the Montreal Cotton Company and president of Canadian Vickers, Limited, which is associated with the English firm of Vickers, Sons & Maxim. In 1903 he was elected to the presidency of the Dominion Wholesale Hardware Merchants’ Association.
On the 18th of June, 1896, at Christ church, Montreal, was celebrated the marriage of F. Orr-Lewis and Maude Mary Helen Booth, daughter of William Booth of London, Ontario. They now have three children, a son and two daughters,John Duncan, Helen Merryday and Mary-Graham. The religious faith of the family is that of the Presbyterian church, Mr. and Mrs. Orr-Lewis holding membership therein.
He is widely and popularly known in club circles, holding membership in the leading organizations of that character in Montreal, including the St. James, Canada, Forest and Stream, Montreal Hunt, Montreal Jockey, Mount Royal, Montreal Royal Golf and Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Clubs. He is likewise a member of the Rideau Club of Ottawa, Ontario; and the Canada, the Wellington and Junior Carlton Clubs of London, England.
Eugène-Réal Angers, a well known barrister and solicitor in Montreal, was born in that city, October 1, 1883, a son of Réal and Joséphine (Trudel) Angers, and a grandson of François-Réal Angers, K. C., one of the leaders of the Quebec bar. The father, Réal Angers, was born in Quebec and for many years was a member of the wholesale hardware firm of Frothingham & Workman in Montreal. He died December 22, 1901, and his widow passed away in 1908. They were the parents of two sons and a daughter: Eugène-R.; Charles, who is with Frothingham & Workman, Limited, of Montreal; and Joséphine, the wife of Robert La Roque de Roquebrune, of Beloeil, Quebec.
Eugène-Réal Angers was educated in Montreal, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree upon the completion of a classical course in St. Mary’s College. He was graduated from Laval University with the degree of LL. L. in June, 1907. In July of that year he was admitted to the bar at Quebec and soon after formed a partnership for the practice of law in Montreal with Ernest Guimont under the firm name of Guimont & Angers. A year later the senior partner removed to St. Hyacinthe and Mr. Angers entered into other partnership relations, leading to the adoption of the firm style of Brosseau, Brosseau, Tansey & Angers. In September, 1913, he joined with Howard Salter Ross, K. C., in forming the law firm of Ross & Angers. They now have offices in the Transportation building, where they care for the interests of a growing clientele. Broad reading and study have constantly augmented Mr. Angers’ ability to handle complex and intricate problems of law, and he is becoming recognized as one of the ablest of the younger representatives of the Montreal bar.