never failed to fulfill a promise and when he gave his opinion
it was the expression of his honest conviction and indicated a
course which he would follow in a similar position. If he advised
an investor it meant that he would not hesitate a moment in
investing his own money in the same security. His unquestioned
loyalty to his friends covered his entire business career. His
recommendation of a security to an investor meant that he would
fully support that security and there were instances in his
career when even his vast resources were taxed in such support.
This was true in connection with the Montreal Stock Exchange in
a security where large sums were invested on his recommendation.
The implicit confidence that capital had in his judgment enabled
him to finance and successfully carry out projects that probably
no other man of his time could have handled. His word was as
good as his bond. His denial of a rumor killed it immediately
just as an admission from him settled all doubt. He could see
through a proposition readily and would decide important and
extensive matters quickly. His decision was never hasty or ill
advised but came as the result of the fact that he had mastered
many grave business affairs and with readiness comprehended every
phase of a situation that came before him. He was a man of strong
personality. His was never the command of the tyrant to go but
ever the call of the leader to come. He was never vacillating in
his opinions of the best methods to be followed or the manner
in which a given work was to be done. He was a most considerate
and appreciative man and was always ready to encourage one who
was striving upward. He was not a talkative man, that is he
talked but comparatively little, yet he talked to the point and
with great earnestness and thinking men listened to him with
attention. He never laughed aloud, but his smile was one full of
humor, enjoyment and good nature. Judging his manner by first
appearance might do him an injustice, for a habit of earnest
thought had brought a deep furrow in the forehead that might be
regarded as a frown. An acquaintance, however, always received
the most polite attention from him and his unfailing courtesy of
manner showed him to be a perfect gentleman in the highest and
best sense of the term.
His interest in benevolent and charitable projects was wide
and his support thereof most generous. He became a director of
the Notre Dame Hospital and was a governor of both the General
Hospital and the Western Hospital. He was a governor of the Art
Association and life governor of the Numismatic & Antiquarian
Society; also president of the board of governors of Laval
University. His political career is an interesting one, for he
was not always a supporter of the liberal-conservative party.
Although a fellow townsman of Sir Adolphe Chapleau, the Senator
had been allied with Sir Henri Gustave Joly de Lotbinière in
that leader’s contest with Chapleau, Angers and the rest of the
conservative leaders of his time. In federal politics, however,
Hon. Mr. Forget declined to follow the free trade policy of
Mackenzie and Cartwright, which had been forced against his
will upon Rodolphe Laflamme, and from the days of the national
policy the Senator worked with the present conservative party.
He was appointed to the upper house during the elections of
1896 and was the last conservative senator to enter that branch
of the Canadian parliament. Senator Forget seldom addressed
the senate, yet his advice in committee was of great value to
his fellow members and it was here that the close friendship
sprang up between Senator Forget and the ex-prime minister, Sir
Mackenzie Bowell. The Senator was a loyal follower of R. L.
Borden as leader of the conservative party, both in parliament
and in the country. He realized that it was a very difficult
matter for any leader to find complete favor in the eyes of all
the provinces, but he was confident that Mr. Borden gave his
services to the party and to the country in a patriotic manner
and consequently deserved the support of a united party in both
houses. The Montreal Gazette some years ago termed him “an astute
and enterprising man of affairs.” He was more than that. He was
a constructionist and builded where others saw no opportunity;
he was a patriot without narrow partisanship; a Roman Catholic
and stanch churchman without a particle of race prejudice, in
evidence of which fact his closest friend in the senate of the
Dominion was an ex-grand master of the Orange Grand Lodge of
British North America--Sir Mackenzie Bowell. High honors had been
accorded him, distinction and notable success had come to him.
These things made him an eminent citizen, but, more than that,
attractive social qualities and genuine personal worth had gained
him the highest regard, confidence, good-will and friendship of
his contemporaries and colleagues.
While Senator Forget was a member of a number of clubs, he
manifested keenest interest perhaps in the Mount Royal Club, of
which he was one of the founders. Among the other clubs to which
he belonged were the St. James, of which he had been president;
the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club; the Forest and Stream; the
Montreal Hunt; the Country Club of Ottawa and the Manhattan Club
of New York.
In May, 1876, Senator Forget married Miss Maria Raymond, a
daughter of Gustav A. Raymond of Montreal. They were the parents
of five children: Loulou, now Mrs. W. W. Skinner; Raymond, who
died at the age of four years; Blanche, now Mrs. Guy Boyer;
Marguerite; and Pauline. The two younger daughters accompanied
their parents abroad and the family was sojourning at Nice when
Senator Forget passed away, April 7, 1911.
CHARLES M. BLACK.
Thorough preparatory training and broadening experience well
qualify Charles M. Black for the important and responsible duties
that devolve upon him as secretary and treasurer of the insurance
brokerage firm of R. Howard & Company of Montreal. He has many
friends in this city, to whom his life record will prove of
interest. He was born in Winnipeg in 1890, a son of William Allan
Black and a grandson of Charles R. and Elizabeth (Hall) Black, of
Montreal. There is a mingled strain of English and Scotch blood
in his veins. The birth of William A. Black occurred in Montreal,
November 17, 1862. His education was acquired in the schools of
his native city, and for some years he was in the service of the
Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific Railway Companies. In 1882 he
went to Manitoba and the following year became connected with
the Ogilvie Milling Company, one of the foremost enterprises of
that character in the country. Gradually in that connection he
worked his way upward and in 1902 was appointed general manager
of the western division, while in 1910 he was elected one of
the directors of the company. Still further promotion has come
to him in his election as vice president and managing director
of the Ogilvie Flour Mills Company. He is likewise a member of
the Winnipeg Board of Trade, a councillor of the Winnipeg Grain
and Produce Exchange and a member of the grain survey and grain
standard boards. He is likewise a director of the Home Savings &
Investment Company, Molson’s Bank and Larose Consolidated Mines
and is managing director of the Kaministiquia Power Company and
president of the Manitoba Cold Storage Company. He belongs to
the Winnipeg and Manitoba Clubs. He was married in 1888 to Mary
Campbell, daughter of Alexander McEwan, of Edinburgh, Scotland.
The illustrious example of his father has fired the ambition
of Charles M. Black, who was reared in Montreal and Winnipeg.
Making good use of time, talents and opportunities, he has
steadily progressed and is today a well known factor in insurance
brokerage circles of Montreal. The business of the firm of R.
Howard & Company was established in 1901 and was organized
under the present firm style on the 1st of February, 1913, when
Charles M. Black became a member of the firm, of which he has
since been secretary and treasurer, with Robert Howard as the
president. He had received thorough initial business training in
three years’ connection with his father, and he is also secretary
and treasurer of the Financial Investment Company. A young man
of determination and energy, he carries forward to successful
completion whatever he undertakes, and obstacles and difficulties
in his path serve but as an impetus for renewed effort on his
part.
JOHN PRATT.
High on the list of Montreal’s worthy citizens who have passed
from this life appears the name of John Pratt, who from 1839
until 1872 was one of the prosperous merchants of the city. He
was born at Berthier, en haut, on the 20th of July, 1812, and
after a well spent life of sixty-four years passed away July 22,
1876. He was survived for only a few weeks by his brother, Mr. C.
F. Pratt, with whom he had commenced his business career and with
whom he was almost continuously associated thereafter.
The father was a merchant at Berthier and in 1833 the sons,
Charles F. and John, left the paternal home to establish a
business house in Quebec under the firm name of C. F. Pratt &
Company. Having succeeded almost beyond his expectations in that
city, John Pratt opened a branch establishment at Three Rivers
and, as in Quebec, won almost immediate prosperity in the conduct
of the enterprise. Soon the brothers found that their sphere of
action was too limited and in 1839 they extended the scope of
their interests by founding the well known leather house of John
Pratt & Company in Montreal.
In 1852 the Quebec house was closed, the brothers concentrating
their energies upon the conduct of the Montreal business, out
of which they made colossal fortunes, that of Mr. John Pratt
amounting to about a million dollars. The tanneries at Roxton
Falls were started by the Pratts, who for many years stood at
the head of the leather business. In 1869, however, they put
aside industrial and commercial interests, but while Charles
Pratt confined himself to private affairs, his brother, John
Pratt, whose name introduces this review, unable with his active
temperament to remain comparatively unemployed, engaged in the
conduct of several joint stock companies, with which he had
identified himself. At the time of his death he was president
of the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation Company, over whose board
he had presided since 1867. He was president of the Banque du
Peuple, of the Rubber Company, and others; and was vice president
of the Citizens Assurance Company, a position which he also
occupied in connection with other joint stock concerns. He was
on the board of directors of the Valleyfield Cotton Company, an
enterprise which he had done much to promote. Indeed, it may
be said of Mr. Pratt that he was an undoubted authority on all
business matters, being sagacious, practical, enterprising and
energetic. He seemed to recognize almost from the beginning the
possibilities of any undertaking, and he never faltered until his
purpose was accomplished.
In 1863 Mr. Pratt was placed on the harbor board, but the
succeeding year the government of Sir John Macdonald removed him
from office, doing exactly the same by Hon. John Young and Mr.
Thomas Cramp. In 1874, however, he was placed upon the newly
constituted board, of which he was an active, practical and
influential member. His natural modesty impelled him, upon
several occasions, to decline nomination for parliament, to
which, there is no doubt, had he so desired, he would have been
elected. Politically he was a thorough reformer and even by those
who differed from him, his opinions were looked upon with great
respect. He was at all times a thorough gentleman, a faithful and
considerate friend and a real philanthropist.
[Illustration: JOHN PRATT]
On the 3d of March, 1840, Mr. Pratt married Marie Mathilde Roy,
the widow of Charles Ovide Perrault, who was killed in the
rebellion of 1837. Mrs. Pratt died July 29, 1897. The children
born to Mr. and Mrs. Pratt were: Marie Mathilde, who was married
in 1862 to Desire Girouard; Charles Alfred, a practicing
physician, who in 1866 married Alphonsine Leclair and resides
at Longueuil; Eveline Marie Louise, the wife of Joseph Gustave
Laviolette, of Montreal; Virginia, who was married September
30, 1878, to George H. Matthews; Aloysia, who was married June
17, 1878, to Percy Franklin Woodcock, the well known artist;
Frederick Emile George, who was married May 31, 1883, to Albina
Thibault, the widow of his younger brother; and Louis Edouard
Albert, who married Albina Thibault and died August 11, 1880.
On the 27th of July, 1876, the body of Mr. John Pratt was taken
from the family residence, No. 310 Lagauchetiere Street to the
church of St. Jacques, St. Denis Street, and thence to the
family vault in the Roman Catholic cemetery. The attendance
at the church was immense, comprising all the influential and
representative citizens, both French and English, of Montreal.
At the church the burial service was celebrated by Rev. A. L.
Sentenne, curé of the parish, assisted by Rev. Father Fleck,
superior of the Jesuits.
Perhaps no better indication of Mr. Pratt’s high standing could
be given than by quoting a letter received by Mrs. John Pratt,
reading:
“Dear Madam:
“We, the harbor commissioners of Montreal, take the liberty of
intruding upon you to express our sympathy and condolence to you
and your family in the irretrievable loss sustained by the death
of your late husband, our friend and colleague in the harbor
trust. Our late friend rendered such efficient service in the
management of this important trust and was so fully in sympathy
with every movement for the good of his country and this city
in which he lived, as to secure the esteem and confidence of
every member of the commission. At such a time we are aware that
nothing can be said to assuage the natural grief of yourself and
family, still we hope, Dear Madam, it will prove consolatory to
you and yours, that your husband, our friend, has filled up his
season of life with so many good deeds and in so exemplary a
manner, and that although he has now gone from among us, he will
be remembered by all who knew him. This we trust will be to you
and your family a source of comfort and help you to bear with
fortitude and resignation your present great affliction.
“Thomas Cramp,
“Hugh McLennan,
“Andrew Allan,
“Charles H. Gould,
“John Young,
“Adolphe Roy,
“P. Donovan.
“Harbor commissioners’ office, Montreal, July 28, 1876.”
The board of directors of the Richelieu & Ontario Navigation
Company, at its meeting on Friday, the 28th of July, 1876, passed
unanimously the following resolution:
“Resolved: That this board of directors have received with much
regret intelligence of the death of the late president of the
company, Mr. John Pratt, whose long and valuable services in its
behalf secured for him the gratitude, not only of the directors,
but of every shareholder in the company. The directors desire
to offer to his family the deep sympathy of every member of the
board in the loss they have sustained, and to assure them of the
high esteem in which the late Mr. Pratt was universally held.
“Hugh Allan, president.
“J. N. Beaudry, secretary.
“Thomas Caverhill.
“Andrew Allan.
“William McNaughton.
“Adolphe Roy.
“D. Masson.
“M. H. Gault.
“Robert Anderson.”
THOMAS W. RITCHIE.
One of the most prominent members of the provincial bar was T.
W. Ritchie, who specialized in the practice of commercial law
in Montreal and represented many important corporations in his
professional connection. A native of Hatley, Quebec, he was born
in 1828. After careful preparation for active law practice he was
called to the bar in 1852 and opened an office in Sherbrooke.
In 1860 he removed to Montreal and became a member of the firm
of Rose, Monk & Ritchie. It was in 1867 that he was appointed
queen’s counsel. No dreary novitiate awaited him at the outset of
his professional career. He brought to its starting point several
rare gifts, strong individuality, marked strength of character
and high professional ideals, in addition to comprehensive
knowledge of the principles of law and ability to correctly apply
these. He continued in active practice as a member of the firm of
Rose, Monk & Ritchie until Mr. Monk was appointed to the bench.
The partnership relation under the firm style of Rose & Ritchie
then continued until Sir John Rose left Canada for England. Mr.
Ritchie was then joined by J. L. Morris and W. Rose, but the
latter left soon afterward and later Mr. Morris retired. Mr.
Ritchie then took in as partner Mr. G. H. Borlase, who remained
with him until 1879, when he retired. Mr. Ritchie then admitted
his son W. F. Ritchie to a partnership under the firm style of
Ritchie & Ritchie. The father was one of the most prominent
members of the bar of the province, ranking high as an advocate
in the department of commercial law and sustaining many important
professional relations. At the time of his death, on the 4th of
September, 1882, he was solicitor to the Bank of Montreal and the
Hudson’s Bay Company and was both director and solicitor to the
Montreal, Portland & Boston Railway. For many years he acted as
crown prosecutor for the district of Montreal. The court records
attest his high standing and his ability whereby he engraved his
name high on the keystone of the legal arch. It is the theory of
the law that the counsels who practice are to aid the court in
the administration of justice, and perhaps no representative of
the Montreal bar has been more careful to conform his practice to
a high standard of professional ethics than did T. W. Ritchie.
ALBERT GEORGE NICHOLLS, M. D.
One of the well known members of the medical profession in
Montreal, Dr. Albert George Nicholls has made continual progress,
and in the field of scientific attainment and research is
recognized as one of the most eminent in the profession in the
city. His investigations, carried far and wide, have brought
forth many valuable truths, and his contributions to medical
literature are largely accepted as standard.
Dr. Nicholls was born at Shotley Bridge, Durham, England, April
16, 1870, a son of the late Rev. John Nicholls and Mary Elizabeth
(Harland) Nicholls. The father was the well known pastor of St.
Mark’s Presbyterian church in Montreal for twenty-two years.
In England he became identified with the Methodist clergy
and was given charge of churches at Shotley Bridge, Durham;
Chester-le-Street, Hetton and Blyth, Northumberland. He was born
at Willenhall, Staffordshire, England, in 1840, and had reached
the age of fifty-eight years when he passed away in Montreal on
the 4th of May, 1898. He had been a resident of Canada for almost
a quarter of a century, having arrived in this country in 1874.
It was after he came to the new world that he connected himself
with the Presbyterian church and for twenty-two years remained
pastor of St. Mark’s. The names of few are so closely interwoven
with the history of moral progress in this city. For some years
he was a member of the Protestant Ministerial Association, was
editor of the Bible Reporter, and was a frequent contributor to
the press upon questions relative to the work of the church and
the extension of Christian influence. At the time of the smallpox
epidemic in Montreal he served on various committees formed to
relieve the situation and opened his church for the distribution
of relief. He was also one of the originators of the Fresh Air
Fund and while thoroughly versed upon dogmas and the principles
of theology, his religion was ever of that practical character
which found expression in good deeds, in ready sympathy, and
in immediate helpfulness. The survivors of his family are Mrs.
Nicholls; Dr. Albert George Nicholls, whose name introduces this
review; and a daughter, Miss Amy Nicholls, B. A.
Education received high rating in the Nicholls home and the son
was afforded excellent opportunities for acquiring knowledge that
would fit him for any field of labor to which he might choose to
devote his efforts. He attended McGill Model School, the Montreal
high school and afterward entered McGill University, where he
won the Bachelor of Arts degree and became gold medallist in
classics in 1890. Three years later his alma mater conferred
upon him the Master of Arts degree and in preparation for the
medical profession he pursued a course of study in McGill, which
won him the M. D. and C. M. degrees in 1894. In 1909 the Doctor
of Science degree was conferred upon him and in 1908 the honor
of F. R. S. C. Holding to the highest professional standards and
wishing to reach the highest possible point of proficiency, Dr.
Nicholls has gone abroad for study, doing post-graduate work
at Erlangen, Prague and Vienna. A successful practitioner in
Montreal, he has devoted much time to original research, more
especially in the scientific side of medicine. He is perhaps best
known for his work in connection with typhoid fever, Brights
disease, tuberculosis and some of the more obscure phases of
chronic inflammation and his views have been referred to in
several of the more recent authoritative text-books. He is the
author of more than forty monographs and other publications on
medical subjects, and his writings have largely been accepted
as standard by the profession in this section of the country.
He was joint author with Professor Adami of The Principles of
Pathology, a work of recognized value. He is equally well known
as a lecturer on clinical medicine and assistant professor
of pathology and bacteriology in McGill University. He is
out-patient physician to the Montreal General Hospital and
assistant physician and pathologist to the Western General
Hospital.
In May, 1907, Dr. Nicholls was married to Miss Lucia Pomeroy, the
youngest daughter of the late William H. Van Vliet of Lacolle,
P. Q., and they have three sons, George Van Vliet, John Van
Vliet and Robert Van Vliet. Dr. Nicholls is a conservative and
an ardent imperialist. His religious affiliation is with the
Presbyterian church, and he is a member of the University Club,
Montreal, and the Authors’ Club, London.
Those life forces which work for betterment, for progress and
improvement elicit his attention and receive his support, and he
is today recognized as a man of splendidly developed talents and
well balanced powers, so that he has become a forceful factor in
the world’s work.
CAPTAIN GEORGE HILLYARD MATTHEWS.
Success in business resulting entirely from capable management,
keen discrimination and unfaltering enterprise came to Captain
George Hillyard Matthews, who for many years was president of the
Sincennes-McNaughton Line. His birth occurred in Montreal on the
14th of August, 1846, and he passed away at the comparatively
early age of fifty-seven years, dying on the 19th of January,
1904. He was a son of George Matthews, of Mount Victoria, Hudson
and Montreal. The father came to Canada from Essex, England,
as a young man and in this country married a Miss Hudson, also
a native of England. They became the parents of six children,
including Captain Matthews, who received his military education
at Sandhurst, England, in 1871. The following year he entered the
army and served for a period of eight years, when he resigned.
He was an honorary member of the officers’ mess of the Third
Victoria Rifles and also honorary president of the Army and Navy
Veterans Association. He never ceased to feel a deep interest in
military affairs and believed in the maintenance of a high
standard of service in connection with the army and navy.
[Illustration: CAPTAIN GEORGE H. MATTHEWS]
Captain Matthews’ business affairs also brought him prominently
before the public. For many years he was president of the
Sincennes-McNaughton Line and during his term of office the
major portion of the harbor fleet of tugs was built under his
supervision. As opportunity offered he made judicious investments
in real estate and became the owner of a large amount of property
in Montreal. Following the death of Baron de Longueuil, he took
charge of his estate, which he wisely managed.
In 1878 Captain Matthews was united in marriage to Miss Virginia
Pratt, a daughter of John Pratt, one of the early settlers of
Montreal. He held membership in the St. James Club and he was
interested in various significant and vital questions of the day,
especially in fish and game protection. He also took an active
interest in politics. He was acquainted with all of the different
phases of public life having to do with the prosperity and
progress of his city and province, and his aid and cooperation
could always be counted upon to further movements for the general
good.
DAVID BURKE.