name of Sir Edward Clouston, of whom a leading journalist wrote:
“He was one of the mainsprings of Canada’s progress.” Not only
did he achieve notable results in his own career but was also
the adviser and counsellor of many who have stood highest in the
public life and activities of the Dominion, and thus a notable
figure passed from the stage of earthly activities when he was
called to his final rest on the 23d of November, 1912. He was
then still in the prime of life, his birth having occurred at
Moose Factory on James Bay, May 9, 1849, his parents being James
Stewart and Margaret Clouston. The father, a native of Stromness,
Orkney, Scotland, was a chief factor in the Hudson’s Bay service.
The mother was the eldest daughter of Robert S. Miles, also
prominently connected with the Hudson’s Bay Company. Sent to
Montreal to continue his education, the son became a pupil in
the high school, of which Aspinwall How was then head master.
Subsequently he spent a year in the service of the Hudson’s Bay
Company and then returned to Montreal when a youth of sixteen
to become junior clerk in the Bank of Montreal, entering that
institution in 1865. This was the initial step in his successful
career as one of Canada’s foremost financiers. In his twentieth
year he was appointed accountant at Brockville and two years
later was transferred to Hamilton in the same capacity. In
1874 he became assistant accountant at Montreal, was attached
to the London, England, office and also to the New York office
in 1875. Five years later he was made manager of the Montreal
branch and in 1887 was promoted to the position of assistant
general manager. In 1889 he became acting general manager and
from 1890 was general manager, being called to that position
of grave and great responsibility when but forty-one years of
age. Throughout the years of his connection with the bank he had
ever in mind, not only the interest of the shareholders, but also
the welfare of his subordinates, many of whom received from him
unusual consideration and kindness. Sir Edward Clouston’s tenure
of office in the Bank of Montreal was longer than that of any of
his predecessors, the presidency during these years having been
filled by Sir Donald Smith, afterward Lord Strathcona and Mount
Royal; Sir George Drummond and Mr. R. B. Angus. In retiring from
the general managership Sir Edward Clouston retained the vice
presidency, which he had held since Sir George Drummond became
president in 1906. In his official capacity as vice president
he regularly attended the board meetings and never ceased to be
in close touch with the important affairs and interests of the
bank. The prominent place which he held in the regard of the
leading financiers of the country is shown by the fact that he
was again and again elected to the presidency of the Canadian
Bankers Association. He was thus in constant touch with the
financial world and his advice upon matters connected with it
was frequently sought by the different finance ministers of the
Dominion, for no man in Canada had a surer grasp of difficult
financial problems, and his genius in this respect was an
enormous asset to the great institution with which he was so long
connected. His discernment was keen and his insight enabled him
readily to recognize the possibilities and probable outcome of
any business situation. The Montreal Herald spoke of him as “a
man of few words, of unerring accuracy in his judgments and of
a caution in business transactions which, while it protects the
bank from loss, does not hinder its development.” The Montreal
Witness said: “Sir Edward Clouston possesses in extraordinary
degree that sixth sense of the banker--intuition as to character,
rapid analysis of method, what is in a proposition from the first
chapter to the last--in short knowing who and what to trust.”
It was these qualities which made his cooperation sought in
various directions and brought him prominently before the public
in various important commercial and financial connections. He
was vice president of the Royal Trust Company; a director of
the Guarantee Company of North America, the Canadian Cottons,
Limited, the Canada Sugar Refining Company, the Ogilvie Flour
Mills Company, the Kaministikwia Power Company. He was chairman
of the Canadian board of the Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance
Company and the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. His
cooperation and support extended to various other projects of a
public or semi-public character, and at all times he manifested a
deep interest in those projects relating to general progress and
improvement or the betterment of social, intellectual, political
and moral conditions. He was vice president of the Parks and Play
Grounds Association and The Crematorium, Limited, was president
of the Royal Victoria Hospital and a governor of the Montreal
General, Montreal Maternity, Alexandra and Western Hospitals,
the Protestant Hospital for the Insane, the Fraser Institute,
the Montreal Dispensary, the Victorian Order of Nurses, and
McGill University. In 1910 he was one of the principal promoters
of the Typhoid Emergency Hospital and was a member of the
executive committee of the local branch of St. John’s Ambulance
Association. He was honorary treasurer of the King Edward VII
Memorial Fund and of many other commemorative and charitable
funds. He was a patron of art, and possessed many fine pictures
himself, while the Montreal Art Association numbered him as one
of its counselors as well as one of its generous benefactors.
Sir Edward Clouston was also well known as a sportsman, taking
an active interest in early life in football and lacrosse, and
he was also a well known racquet player. He was captain of the
Canadian team which played the Harvard University Football Club
in 1875. He was president of the Montreal Racquet Club in 1888
and was appointed a trustee of the Minto challenge lacrosse cup
in 1901. Sir Edward was ever willing to encourage the amateurs
in sports, and in addition to those already mentioned he was
a devotee of snowshoeing and fancy skating. In later years he
became an enthusiastic yachtsman, motorist and golfer. He was
also a clever swimmer himself and did a great deal to advance the
sport in many ways. He was the donor of a trophy for competition
among the members of the Royal Life Saving Station, which is
being competed for annually, and many other such trophies were
presented through his generosity. When the Rugby Club was
organized as a branch of the Montreal Athletic Association he
became an active executive officer. He was one of the trustees of
the Stanley cup in the early days of its competition and acted as
an official at many of the championships held under the auspices
of the Amateur Skating Association of Canada.
[Illustration: SIR EDWARD S. CLOUSTON]
In November, 1878, Sir Edward Clouston married Annie, youngest
daughter of George Easton, collector of Her Majesty’s customs
at Brockville, Ontario. Lady Clouston, who survives him, keeps
up the beautiful and historic estate at St. Annes, known as
Bois Briant, which was the pride and delight of Sir Edward’s
later years, and she also maintains the home at No. 362 Peel
Street in Montreal, known so long as the city residence of the
general manager of the Bank of Montreal. This was Sir Edward’s
favorite title. President and vice president appealed to him
but little; it was as an administrator that he won and held his
fame. He was mentioned as successor to Lord Strathcona as high
commissioner for Canada in Great Britain in 1909. The previous
year he had been created a baronet and in 1911 he was appointed
a Knight of Grace of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of
Jerusalem in England. He was one of the best known club men of
Canada, belonging to Mount Royal Club; St. James Club; Auto and
Aero Club; Forest and Stream Club; M. A. A. A.; Montreal Hunt
Club; Montreal Jockey Club; Royal Montreal Golf Club; Royal St.
Lawrence Yacht Club; St. George Snowshoe Club; Toronto Club and
York Club, Toronto; Rideau Club, Ottawa; Manhattan Club, New
York; and Bath Club and River Thames Yacht Club, London, England.
In a review of his life history many points stand out
prominently. Within a quarter of a century he rose from an humble
position in the bank to that of general manager and remained
vice president until his demise. He was the recognized leader of
finance, whose counsel was sought and valued in connection with
the greatest undertakings. His business genius and public spirit
went hand in hand and each constituted factors in the progress
and upbuilding of Canada and in the development and promotion
of the country’s interests. His influence was far-reaching and
effective as a force in national prosperity and greatness.
One who knew Sir Edward best summed up his character in the
following article, which appeared in the journal of the Canadian
Bankers Association after his death: “In life Sir Edward
Clouston was a man of few words and I have felt that silence is
my most fitting tribute to his memory. He was not an ostentatious
man; he employed neither press agents nor stage managers. Many of
his generous actions are known only to the writer of these lines;
many others are known only to his Maker.”
PHILIBERT BAUDOUIN.
Philibert Baudouin, who has been a representative of the notarial
profession since 1858, although for some years his attention
was given to finance, was born at Repentigny, Quebec, April 27,
1836. He is a descendant in the direct line of Jean Baudouin,
who was here bartering with the Indians as early as 1656,
fourteen years after Montreal was founded by de Maisonneuve. In
a fight with the Iroquois in 1660, when he killed one of their
chieftains, Jean Baudouin was taken and led as a prisoner to the
enemy’s country, whence he returned eighteen months afterward,
having in the meantime learned the Iroquois language. A short
time subsequent to his return he married and soon settled in
the parish of Pointe-aux-Trembles, where he died peacefully. He
had lost his eldest son in an ambush laid by the same astute
foes in 1690. One of his sons, François, took a farm from the
Seignior on L’Assomption river in 1699, near the present site of
Charlemagne, and a few years afterward, in 1716, purchased the
homestead on the north bank of the river St. Lawrence, in the
parish and Seigniory of Repentigny, where he went to live and
there spent his remaining days. This homestead remained in the
family for almost two centuries, passing from father to son for
four generations. François Baudouin left it to his son Pierre,
who married three times and left it to his son Raymond. Raymond
was drowned and his widow made a gift of it to their son Pierre.
From this last Pierre Baudouin it went to Zoel Baudouin, one of
his sons, whose daughter and only heir, Mrs. Edmond Robillard, of
St. Paul l’Hermite, sold it to its present owner, Mr. Dechamp.
Philibert Baudouin is a son of Pierre and Marguerite (Etu)
Baudouin, the latter, like her husband, belonging to one of the
old families established in this province in the seventeenth
century. The mother’s name was then written Estur, which has
since been wrongly changed to Hetu. The family name Baudouin
should be so spelled instead of Beaudoin, as so often met with
at the present time. It is derived from two Saxon words, bald
and win, and was latinized by the early chroniclers, becoming
Balduinus, which was later translated into French as Baudouin
but remained Baldwin in English. The first one who settled in
Montreal very properly signed his name Jean Baudouin, as may be
seen on the old records in the clerk’s office, and in France it
is still written in the same way. Besides being a progressive
farmer Pierre Baudouin was a church warden and a captain in the
militia.
Philibert Baudouin was educated at L’Assomption College, in the
town of L’Assomption, where he pursued a full classical course,
completed in 1854. He then prepared for the notarial profession,
to which he was admitted in 1858. In 1860 he settled for
practice in the town of Iberville and after nearly fifteen years
devoted to the profession he turned his attention to finance,
devoting his energies and activities thereto until 1893, when
he removed to Montreal and resumed the practice of the notarial
profession. He has now passed the seventy-eighth milestone on
life’s journey, but is still an active man. From 1862 until 1873
he was county clerk, clerk of the circuit court for the county
of Iberville and town clerk of Iberville, his decade of public
service being characterized by the utmost fidelity to duty. His
financial activities covered nearly twenty years as bank manager
in St. Johns, Quebec.
On the 22d of August, 1864, in St. Johns, Mr. Baudouin was
married to Miss Caroline A. Marchand, a daughter of Louis
Marchand, deputy protonotary at St. Johns, and of Delphine
Phineas. Mrs. Baudouin belongs to the old Marchand family
which settled in St. Johns in the early part of the nineteenth
century. There were three brothers, François, Gabriel and Louis,
the second being the father of the Hon. F. G. Marchand, late
premier of the province of Quebec. Her mother was a daughter of
Isaac Phineas, for a long time agent at Maskinonge, of Seignior
Pothier’s estate, and who was an intimate friend of the Hart
family of Three Rivers. Seven sons and two daughters have been
born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Baudouin, Philibert,
Annette, Gustave, Rodolphe, Joseph, Jean, Charles, Louise and
Oscar. The elder daughter became the wife of Dr. J. C. Tasse, of
Worcester, Massachusetts. Gustave married Augustine Hardy, of
Quebec. Joseph wedded Julie Caty, of Montreal. Jean married Alice
Hamilton, of Montreal. Oscar married Hilda Julien, of Montreal.
Louise is the wife of Alfred Masson, of Valleyfield, a grandson
of Dr. L. H. Masson, who took a leading part in the troublous
times of 1837-38.
Mr. Baudouin is a supporter of the old conservative party,
but has never taken a leading part in the political contests,
especially so in his advanced years, when he recognizes the fact
that political leaders too often are using their power for their
own preferment instead of the public good.
JOSEPH ADELARD DESCARRIES, K. C.
In every community there are men of broad charity and intelligent
public spirit, of high integrity and sincerity of purpose and
of resourceful business ability who are marked as leaders in
development. Worthy of being classed with men of this character
is Joseph Adelard Descarries, one of the eminent members of
the Montreal bar and a man whose name figures in connection
with the legislative history of the province as well as in the
court records. Mr. Descarries is a representative of one of the
oldest families of the province and one whose members have been
identified with its growth and development since the earlier
periods of settlement. He was born at St. Timothee, in the county
of Beauharnois, Quebec, November 7, 1853, the youngest son of the
late Pierre and Elizabeth (Gougeau) Descarries.
Having mastered the branches of learning taught in the public
schools of his native village, Joseph A. Descarries afterward
attended Montreal College, McGill University and Laval University,
graduating from the latter in 1879, with the degree of LL. L. He
studied law under Hon. Sir Alexander Lacoste and was called to
the bar in 1879, at which time he began practice as an advocate.
He was created a king’s counsellor by the Earl of Derby in 1893
and for more than a third of a century he has been continuously
and successfully engaged in law practice in Montreal, where he
has been accorded an extensive and distinctively representative
clientage.
[Illustration: JOSEPH A. DESCARRIES]
His public work, too, has been of an important character and has
indicated his loyalty to the highest standards of government.
For nine consecutive years he was mayor of Lachine, giving to
the city a businesslike and progressive administration. In 1892
he was elected for Jacques Cartier county to the legislative
assembly, but resigned in 1896, in which year he unsuccessfully
contested a seat in the house of commons. Since that time he has
taken no active part in politics aside from exercising his right
of franchise and standing stanchly in support of principles and
measures in which he believes. He is now president of the Lachine
Conservative Club and is also president of the St. Jean Baptiste
Society of Lachine.
Mr. Descarries is the largest private owner of real estate
in Lachine, his holdings including some of the finest
residential properties surrounding Montreal. Some years ago
he purchased a tract of land eleven acres in width from the
Allan family, comprising a most attractive piece of property,
which he developed and thus added greatly to the upbuilding
of the district. He is the owner of one hundred and fifty-two
houses, erecting all of them save one, and in their building
substantiality has always been a feature. Unlike the usual
structure built merely to sell, Mr. Descarries has aimed at
the creation of an estate the ultimate value of which cannot
help but become immense. As an illustration of the change in
realty values, caused by improvements and transformation of
surroundings, it may be cited that Mr. Descarries some years
ago purchased a tract of land of four hundred acres, on which
the taxes were at that time approximately eighty dollars,
while today for less than one-third of this land which he owns
the taxes are more than three thousand dollars. It would be
difficult to estimate the value to a community of operations
of this character. Mr. Descarries has taken an active part in
the upbuilding of industrial interests, and his influence has
been an important factor in securing for Lachine a number of
valuable industries, all of which have materially contributed
to growth and development for the city, enabling it to take a
prominent rank among Montreal’s suburban cities. Among his other
business connections Mr. Descarries is president of the Wealthy
Mines Company, Limited, and a director of Les Champs d’Or Rigaud
Vaudreuil.
In 1881 Mr. Descarries was married, at Chateauguay, Quebec, to
Miss Marie Celina Elmire, a daughter of A. N. Le Pailleur, a
notary public of Lachine. The marriage ceremony was performed
by Monseigneur Charles Edward Fabre, archbishop of Montreal.
Mrs. Descarries is a graduate of Mount St. Marie Convent and
is a lady of superior intelligence and high qualities of mind.
Their children are as follows. Joseph A. P., who was graduated
from McGill University, specializing in chemistry, founded the
Lachine Gas Company, of which he is now the head. He married Miss
Oliva Forgues, of Outremont, a graduate of St. Anne’s Convent at
Lachine. They have two children, Olivette and Marcelle. Theophile
N., who was graduated from Laval University, is an advocate,
associated with his father under the firm name of Descarries &
Descarries. He married Miss Marie Anne Huot, a daughter of Dr. G.
Huot, of Beauharnois, and they have one child, Anne Marie. Aimee,
a graduate of St. Anne’s Convent of Lachine, is a young lady of
unusual artistic taste and skill. Her work as a painter on china
shows exceptional merit and includes some of the finest specimens
of this decorative art exhibited by Canadian artists. Adelard, a
graduate of Mount St. Louis College, is now a student at l’Ecole
des Hautes Etudes. Marie Rose will graduate from St. Anne’s
Convent of Lachine in the class of 1914. Auguste, a student at
St. Mary’s College, is a young man of unusual talent and promise,
whose ability as an organist is well known.
Mr. Descarries’ pleasure and recreation have always been greatly
augmented when in the company of his family, whose entertainment,
like their rearing and education, has never been neglected.
Estimating highly the value of education, he has extended to his
children exceptional opportunities for intellectual development
and they constitute a family that would be a distinct credit
to any parentage. Both Mr. and Mrs. Descarries have always
maintained a companionship with their children and have been
so close to their interests, thoughts, purposes and plans that
there has been little need for that parental discipline which
is often a too pronounced feature in households. Confidence and
mutual understanding have been the basis of the family relation,
rendering this a most attractive household. The religious
belief of the family is that of the Roman Catholic church, and
Mr. Descarries has for several years been president of the
St. Vincent de Paul Society. He is also a member of the Club
Lafontaine, the Lachine Snowshoe Club and the Auto and Aero Club
of Montreal.
No history of Mr. Descarries would be complete without mention
of the fact that he is a very public-spirited man, liberal and
generous in his support of any movement for the public good and
ever ready to lend his assistance to such movements as will
contribute to the advancement of the city, province and Dominion.
He has been a very successful business man, not only as regards
the accumulation of property but as well in the high esteem in
which he is held. He has all the elements of a man in whom to
have confidence, dependable in any relation and in any emergency.
His quietude of deportment, his easy dignity, combined with
an innate courtesy and politeness, all contribute to a strong
personality. The splendid use he has made of his time, talents
and opportunities has equipped him for the important and valuable
work he has been doing and which has given decided impetus to the
city’s progress and improvement, upholding as well its legal,
political and moral status.
LOUIS GUYON.
Capability and loyalty are the essential attributes of the man
who would fill the office of chief inspector of industrial
establishments and public buildings and properly perform the
arduous and responsible duties thereby devolving upon him. Such
a man is found in Louis Guyon, who has closely studied the
subject of construction and all that relates to accidents which
may occur in building operations. He is a native of the state
of New York, having been born at Sandy Hill, Washington county.
Boyhood, however, found him located in Montreal where he pursued
his education, taking special courses in preparation for a
commercial career. Almost throughout his entire life he has been
in the public service. In April, 1888, he was appointed factory
inspector and made a most capable official. He studied in every
available way in order to know what should be required of factory
owners and operators and just how far their responsibility
extended in the protection of employes. He traveled widely in
order to promote his knowledge of that character and he was a
delegate to the Paris convention on accidents in 1889 and again
in 1900. His qualifications were so thoroughly recognized that he
was made chief inspector of industrial establishments and public
buildings in January, 1901, and has since occupied this position,
covering a period of thirteen years, his entire course being one
which commends him to the continued confidence and support of
the public. As inspector he has studied not only to find where
fault may lie in the erection of buildings or in the care of
employes, but has also studied the best methods of safeguarding
the workers and in 1903 he founded the museum of appliances for
the prevention of accidents. His reputation for efficiency in his
special field continued to grow and in 1910 he was made president
of the International Convention of Inspectors of Factories. No
one is more deeply interested in this important work or realizes
more fully the obligations which devolve upon the employer in
his connection with his employes, and his work has constituted a
campaign of education whereby the public has come to know what
are the needs and demands of the hour and how best to meet them.
GEORGE HADRILL.
George Hadrill, secretary of the Montreal Board of Trade, is
one whose opinions concerning business conditions are largely
accepted as standard, because of his broad experience and his
thorough study of matters effecting trade relations of the
country. For more than a quarter of a century he has occupied
his present position and has been called into conference in many
trade councils. He was born in London, England, August 2, 1848,
a son of George and Elizabeth (Bushell) Hadrill. His education
was acquired in the metropolis, and he spent the earlier years
of his business life in that city, arriving in Canada in 1874,
when a young man of twenty-six years. Three years were devoted
to business pursuits before he joined the staff of the Montreal
Board of Trade in 1877. His fitness for the position is evidenced
in the fact that by 1880 he had been promoted to the position
of assistant secretary. Six years passed and in 1886 he was
made secretary, so that he has now acted in that capacity for
twenty-eight years. The occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary
of his acceptance of the position was fittingly celebrated, and a
cabinet of silverware was presented him by the Montreal Board of
Trade.