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.
HON. CHARLES SERAPHIM RODIER.
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 contracting on 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.
ALEXANDER C. HENRY.
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 enterprise brought 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.
GEORGE FREDERICK BENSON.
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 of Frothingham & 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.
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.
[Illustration: LOUIS N. DUPUIS]
Mr. Dupuis holds to the political faith of the conservative
party and to the religious faith of the Roman Catholic church.
He is a Knight of Columbus of Conseil Lafontaine and belongs
to the Chapleau Fish and Game Club and the Canadian Club.
Thoroughly progressive in his ideas, he has kept well informed
both by reading and travel. As long ago as 1874, Mr. Dupuis
visited Fort Garry, now the city of Winnipeg, when the journey
required fourteen days from Montreal, and too, when the Red
River country was considered the “Far West.” He has since then
visited the Pacific coast no less than five times, as well as
various sections of the United States. He is equally familiar
with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as continental
Europe, as it was formerly his custom to make semi-annual trips
to Europe in connection with his business affairs. He enjoys
the outdoor life, especially the sports of the forest. His
public service has been well performed. At the end of 1909 he
was selected by the citizens committee to form part of the new
administration of the city as commissioner and was elected by the
city at large in the election held on the 2d of February, 1910.
ROUER JOSEPH ROY, K. C.
Rouer Joseph Roy, jurist, linguist and an interested student
of literary, scientific and antiquarian subjects, was born in
Montreal, January 7, 1821, his parents being the late Joseph
Roy, M. P. P., and Amelia (Lusignan) Roy. The former, of French
descent, rose to a position of prominence, representing his
riding in the provincial legislature. His wife was connected with
the distinguished family of Rouer de Villeray.
Rouer Joseph Roy attended Montreal College, from which he was
graduated with honors in the presence of Lord Durham. Having
determined upon the practice of law as his life profession, he
entered the law office of the Hon. Mr. Sullivan in 1838 and
after four years of thorough and comprehensive study was called
to the bar, in 1842. Almost from the beginning his career was
a successful one and after several years devoted to active law
practice he was appointed joint city attorney for Montreal in
1862, filling that position continuously until 1876, when he
became the sole legal advisor of the city, remaining in that
office until he resigned in 1898. He afterward filled the
position of consulting city attorney. In 1864 he was elected
syndic of the Quebec bar and so continued for four years. In the
same year he was made queen’s counsel as well as being elected
president of the committee in charge of the bar library, which
office he continuously and honorably filled for thirty years. In
1887 he was unanimously chosen batonnier of the Montreal bar and
the following year was chosen batonnier general of the province.
He held high professional rank and on several occasions appeared
before the judicial committee of the privy council in England.
In January, 1857, Mr. Roy was married to Miss Corinne Beaudry, a
daughter of the late Hon. J. L. Beaudry, M. L. C., who in 1857
was mayor of Montreal. Mr. Roy not only enjoyed a high reputation
as a lawyer but also as a scholar, being widely known as a
linguist, speaking fluently Greek, Latin, Italian and French as
well as English. For many years he occupied the presidency of
the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society. He was one of the last
survivors of the Sons of Liberty, an organization which played
a most important part at the time of the rebellion of 1837. His
religious faith was that of the Roman Catholic church and he
filled the office of church warden of the parish of Notre Dame.
His life was characterized by a nobility that lifted him above
those traits which mar character and when death called him on the
27th of July, 1905, only words of commendation and respect were
spoken concerning his life work. He had done things worthy to be
written and had written things worthy to be read, and he left to
posterity an unblemished name, linked with many deeds that won
him prominence and honor.
CHARLES MACKAY COTTON.
A man of force, experience and capacity, Charles Mackay Cotton
has made for himself an enviable position at the bar of Quebec
and is numbered among the most able and successful advocates of
Montreal, where he is in active practice as a member of the firm
of Cotton & Westover. He was born in Durham township, Missisquoi
county, Quebec, February 22, 1878, and is a representative of a
well known Canadian family of English extraction, being a son of
Sheriff Cotton, a grandson of Dr. Cotton and a great-grandson of
Rev. Charles Caleb Cotton, B. A. (Oxford), who came from England
in 1799 and was one of the pioneer Anglican clergymen in the
eastern townships.
Charles Mackay Cotton acquired his preliminary education at
Cowansville Academy, Feller Institute, Grande Ligne, Quebec,
and afterward entered McGill University, Montreal, from which
he was graduated with the degree of B. A. in 1899, winning the
high honor of the gold medal for general proficiency. From the
same institution he was afterwards graduated B. C. L. in 1902,
taking at this time the Macdonald scholarship. In his student
days he gave every evidence of the ability and power upon which
his present success is founded for besides the honors above
mentioned he was class orator in science, arts and law. His
record in McGill University is very creditable and one of which
he has every reason to be proud, and its promise has been fully
justified by his later accomplishments in the professional
field. Mr. Cotton was called to the bar as advocate in 1902 and
immediately afterwards went abroad in order to get the advantages
of foreign travel and to supplement his excellent legal training
by further study. He attended lectures at the law school of the
University of Montpelier in 1903, thus completing an exhaustive
and comprehensive legal education.
Mr. Cotton opened his first office in Sweetsburg, this province,
practising in partnership with J. C. McCorkill, and proving
able, farsighted and discriminating in the discharge of his
professional duties. From Sweetsburg he came to Montreal, and he
is today one of the representative citizens of this community,
prominent in his profession and a leading factor in the promotion
of those projects and measures which have for their object
municipal growth, advancement and progress. The firm of Cotton
& Westover is one of the strongest of its kind in the city and
connected through a wide and representative patronage with a
great deal of important litigation. Mr. Cotton is recognized as
an able advocate, possessed of a comprehensive knowledge of the
law and a practical ability in its application, and his developed
powers and wide experience are bringing him constantly increasing
prominence in his chosen field.
Mr. Cotton is a member of the Anglican church and was formerly
a captain in the Fifteenth Shefford Field Battery. A strong
liberal, he takes an intelligent interest in public affairs,
opposing political corruption wherever he finds it and supporting
by word and action pure and clean politics. Viewed from any
standpoint his has been a useful and successful career, and the
future undoubtedly holds for him further honors and continued
prosperity.
WILLIAM ALEXANDER HASTINGS.
William Alexander Hastings, for many years vice president and
general manager of the Lake of the Woods Milling Company, Ltd.,
and one of the best known men in his line of business in Canada,
was born at Petite Cote, March 6, 1852, a son of George and
Margaret (Ogilvie) Hastings. George Hastings came from Boston,
Massachusetts, and located at Petite Cote where he was engaged in
farming.
William A. Hastings pursued his education in the schools of his
native city and began his business career as a clerk in the
Exchange Bank. His progress was rapid and he was promoted to
manager of the Bedford (Quebec) branch, and later manager of the
Exeter branch. Subsequently he was appointed treasurer of the
St. Joseph (Missouri) Gas Company, serving until 1882 when he
became identified with the milling business in which he achieved
such notable success. In that year, with his brother, George
V. Hastings, he became associated with the Ogilvie Company at
Winnipeg, building and opening the flour mills there with great
success. In 1888 he severed his connection with the above firm
and became vice president and general manager of the Lake of
the Woods Milling Company, filling this prominent and important
position until his death, which occurred on May 23, 1903.
Mr. Hastings had thoroughly acquainted himself with the business
in its different phases so that he was well qualified to assume
the control of one of the largest businesses of its kind in the
Dominion, and to his rare judgment and marked executive ability
is credited, to no small extent, the high degree of prosperity
enjoyed by the company whose affairs he so ably directed.
Robert Meighen, president of the Lake of the Woods Milling
Company, said that he had been associated with Mr. Hastings for
thirteen years and that any business which passed through his
hands passed through the hands of God’s noblest work--an honest
man. Others bore equally strong testimony as to his enterprise
and his thorough reliability. He never weighed an act in the
scale of public policy but always measured his deeds by the
standard of upright principle.
In 1884 Mr. Hastings was united in marriage to Miss Georgina Roy
Ure, daughter of the late George P. Ure, and they became the
parents of the following children: Margaret Ogilvie, who died in
infancy; William Roy, of Montreal; and John Ogilvie, of Montreal.
Mr. Hastings was lacking in none of the qualities which make for
upright manhood and progressive citizenship, and his cooperation
with any movement or plan largely insured the successful outcome
of the same. In 1890 he became a member of the Corn Exchange and
in 1893 was elected a member of the committee of management, in
which office he continued until 1898, serving for the last three
years of that period as treasurer. Throughout his entire life
Canada numbered him among her best citizens and the record which
he made reflected credit upon the Dominion, constituting a factor
in its material development.
ROBERT DENNISON MARTIN.
One of the best known men in the grain trade in Canada and one
whose untimely death cut short a business career that had been
highly successful and was full of greater possibilities for
the future was Robert Dennison Martin, who was born at Selby,
Ontario, October 18, 1854, a son of William and Elizabeth
(Thompson) Martin. The father was a farmer and the boyhood of
Robert Dennison Martin was spent in the manner of a farmer’s
son of that locality and period. His education, acquired at the
place of his nativity, was somewhat limited. He remained in the
district in which he was born until after attaining his majority.
Hearing of the possibilities of the western country, he went
to Manitoba and near Deloraine he secured a homestead which he
developed and improved. As he managed to gather together a little
capital, he turned his attention to merchandising, becoming a
member of the hardware firm of Faulkner & Martin at Deloraine,
an association which continued for a number of years after his
removal to Montreal. It was at Deloraine that he first became
connected with the grain business in which he was destined to win
notable success. In the buying of grain he became associated with
Alfred P. Stuart under the firm name of The R. D. Martin Company,
a partnership that continued until the death of Mr. Martin.
After a few years residence in Winnipeg Mr. Martin came to
Montreal in 1899, and with the exception of a year spent in
Napanee and a year in Kingston, Montreal was his place of
residence throughout the remainder of his life. The business of
The R. D. Martin Company enjoyed a steady and prosperous growth
and to its development Mr. Martin devoted his entire attention
and rare ability. Since his demise the business has been
continued under the name of the British Empire Grain Company,
Limited. Mr. Martin suffered from ill health for several years
prior to his demise which occurred at his beautiful new home at
No. 1 Murray Avenue, Westmount, which was completed only a few
weeks prior to his demise, which occurred on the 28th of June,
1905.
[Illustration: ROBERT D. MARTIN]