of leadership among the members of the Montreal bar, not only
because of his extensive practice and the ability displayed
therein, but also because of his contribution to the literature
of the profession. His military record also gives him right to
public recognition. A native of London, England, he was born
October 17, 1865, and is of English lineage, his father having
been James Mitchell, of London, England. In the attainment
of his education he attended the City of London school and
afterward McGill University, where he won his B. C. L. degree and
valedictorian honors in 1896. The same year he began practice
as an advocate in Montreal with the late R. D. McGibbon, K. C.
He had been a resident of Canada for eight years, and thus it
was that his preparation for the bar was pursued in McGill.
The ability which he has displayed in practice is indicated by
the fact that he was created K. C. in 1909. He is now a member
of the firm of McGibbon, Casgrain, Mitchell & Casgrain and
devotes himself to corporation and commercial law. He published
the first English edition of the The Code of Civil Procedure
and in conjunction with J. L. Perron, K. C., brought out an
Insolvency Manual. He is not unknown in the educational field,
having lectured on The Legal Aspects of Trade Unionism and on
Warranties and Representations re Contract of Life Insurance.
All this establishes his position as a lawyer well versed in his
profession and capable in handling intricate and involved legal
problems. He is also a well known publicist; his letters to the
Montreal Star on the naval question created great interest and
showed a thorough knowledge and study of the subject.
Aside from his professional interests Major Mitchell has become
known in business circles and in connection with projects of a
public or semi-public character. He is a director of Penman’s,
Ltd.; the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company; Ames, Holden,
McCready, Ltd.; the Canadian Consolidated Felt Company, Ltd.; the
Charlemagne & Lac Ouareau Lumber Company, Ltd.; and many other
commercial companies. He is also a director of the Laurentian
Sanitarium and a governor of the Montreal General Hospital and
the Western Hospital.
For some years Major Mitchell was connected with the volunteer
military service, joining the Sixth Fusiliers in 1889, and when
that regiment amalgamated with the First Prince of Wales Rifles
in 1898 he became senior major in that corps. In 1900 he was
placed on the list of retired officers.
Major Mitchell was married in 1911 to Miss Sarah Proulx, and
they reside at No. 377 Peel Street. Major Mitchell holds
membership with the Anglican church and is well known in club
circles, belonging to the St. James, Canada and University Clubs,
the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club, the Montreal Jockey Club,
Outremont Golf Club, Royal Montreal Golf Club, the Manitou Club
of Montreal, the Railroad Club and the Alpha Delta Phi Club of
New York and the United Empire Club of London, England.
WALTER HARDMAN ARDLEY.
A well known figure in railroad circles of Montreal is Walter
Hardman Ardley, who since 1913 has acted as general auditor of
the Grand Trunk Railway system and Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.
A native of London, England, he was born April 24, 1858, and is
a son of James and Elizabeth (Dunton) Ardley, the former of whom
passed away during the early childhood of his son Walter and the
latter in 1896.
Mr. Ardley was educated in the City of London College and made
his advent in the business world as an apprentice in a London
office. He came to Canada in November, 1882, entering the service
of the Grand Trunk Railway, in the chief accountant’s office,
on November 5, 1882. Steadiness of purpose, faithfulness and
diligence won him advancement. On December 31, 1907, he was made
chief clerk and general bookkeeper and so continued until August
31, 1908, when he became auditor of disbursements. He held this
office until September 30, 1908, when he became assistant general
auditor, and in 1909 he was made general auditor of the Grand
Trunk Railway system and Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Mr. Ardley
stands high in the estimation of the officers of the road on
account of the efficient management of his department.
On December 12, 1889, Mr. Ardley married Miss Tamar Jane
Phillips, a daughter of Henry Phillips, of Upway, England. He is
independent politically and a member of the Church of England.
REV. HERBERT SYMONDS.
A man who has made his zeal and commanding ability the basis
of an important work not only in the cause of religion but in
the public service along lines of charity and reform is Rev.
Herbert Symonds, since 1903 vicar of Christ Church Cathedral,
Montreal. He is a prominent orator and preacher, an able writer
and an untiring worker for the promotion of religious and social
advancement and is regarded as one of the vital forces in the
spread of movements looking toward Christian unity. He was born
in Rickinghall-Inferior, Suffolk, England, December 28, 1860,
and is a son of George and Hannah (Wright) Symonds. He studied
in Framlingham College in England and in Trinity University,
Toronto, Ontario, from which he was graduated with the degree of
B. A. in 1885, receiving the degree of M. A. and the prize for an
English essay and sermon in 1887. He holds the honorary degree of
D. D., given him by Queen’s University in 1901, and the honorary
degree of LL. D., conferred upon him by McGill University in 1910.
Rev. Herbert Symonds came to Canada in 1881 and four years later
was ordained deacon in the Anglican church. He received orders
as a priest in 1887 and from that year to 1890 was a fellow and
lecturer in Trinity University in Toronto. The next two years he
spent as professor of divinity in the same institution and in
1892 was made rector of St. Luke’s church in Ashburnham, Ontario.
He resumed his work as an educator in the year 1901, being made
headmaster of Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario,
serving in that capacity from 1901 to 1903. In the latter year
he was transferred to Montreal and made vicar of Christ Church
Cathedral in this city, and he has since held the position, which
affords him an excellent scope for his talents and abilities
and in which his work has carried him forward into important
relations with Anglican affairs. He was president of the Montreal
Protestant Ministerial Association in 1905, first president of
the Canadian Society of Christian Unity and in 1910 a delegate
to the World’s Missionary Congress, held in Edinburgh, and the
Anglican Church Congress, held in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Mr. Symonds married, in March, 1883, Miss Emma Blackall, fourth
daughter of the late Mossom Boyd, of Bobcaygeon, Ontario, and
both are well known in social circles of Montreal. Since 1907
Mr. Symonds has served as Protestant school commissioner and
he is well known in military circles, having been from 1896 to
1907 chaplain of the Third Prince of Wales Canadian Dragoons and
since that time chaplain, with the honorary rank of major, of
the First Regiment, Prince of Wales Fusiliers. He is a member
of the Masonic fraternity and is a past grand chaplain of the
grand lodge of Quebec. A writer of great force and power, he
has made many contributions to The Week and Expository Times of
England and other papers and is the author of articles on Trinity
University and University Federation, published in 1894, on
Christian Unity, published in 1899, and The Anglican Church and
the Doctrine of Apostolical Succession, 1907. He is regarded as
one of the ablest preachers in the Anglican pulpit at the present
time and has made this talent also a force in the accomplishment
of a great and lasting work.
HENRY HOGAN.
Very few if any men in Montreal were any better known in their
respective lines of business than was Henry Hogan, in connection
with the hotel business. He occupied a position among his
contemporaries that made him a unique personage. The story of his
life is best told by the history of the hostelry, St. Lawrence
Hall, that his name had made famous and over which he had charge
for upwards of a half century. Mr. Hogan was born at La Tortue,
near Laprairie, on the 12th of April, 1820, and was a son of
Nicholas Hogan, who served in the British army in the Peninsular
war and at Waterloo under the Duke of Wellington. He was
engaged in the woolen manufacturing business in Manchester,
England, and upon coming to Canada established a mill at La
Tortue. He met his death from drowning, the result of the giving
way of the rail on a boat, which precipitated him into the St.
Lawrence river. He was survived by a widow and several children.
[Illustration: HENRY HOGAN]
Henry Hogan was but a boy when he came to Montreal and his
early training in a business way began in the line of business
of which he made such a great success in later life, the hotel
business. In 1851 he became proprietor of what was then called
the Hogan Hotel, in which enterprise he was in partnership with
Messrs. Borden and Compaine, but both men retired early, being
succeeded in the firm by Frederick Penn, who remained a partner
with Mr. Hogan until 1869. After that time the latter was alone
as sole proprietor of St. Lawrence Hall. In 1856 he was one of
the prominent factors in the grand banquet given by the citizens
in the Hall to mark the opening of the Grand Trunk Railway, on
which occasion many distinguished citizens were his guests.
In 1860 he entertained the members of the suite of the Prince
of Wales, later His Majesty, King Edward VII. In those days
Mr. Hogan entertained many people of title and prominence. The
story of this hotel has its own connection with the history of
Canada, for under the roof of St. Lawrence Hall there occurred
many things that led to the present-day development of the
Dominion. Here Mr. John A. Macdonald, later the great Sir John,
met his sturdy opponent, Mr. George Brown, and exchanged views
on the best means of uniting the scattered provinces. From this
beginning confederation was achieved and Mr. Hogan performed his
share in these events and at all times faithfully carried out
the duties of citizenship. St. Lawrence Hall was for many years
the best known hotel in Canada and one of the best known on the
continent. Princes of the royal blood, soldiers and statesmen,
political refugees, artists and poets, stars of the operatic and
dramatic stage partook of its hospitality and their names recall
events of bygone days. The opening of Victoria bridge brought
many notables to the Hall, and during the progress of the Civil
war in the United States the clank of the sword was heard at St.
Lawrence Hall, which became the headquarters for the Confederate
representatives and southern refugees. Jefferson Davis and John
Wilkes Booth were guests of the Hall, and during the Trent affair
it was the headquarters of the officers. During the trial of John
Surratt, the register of the Hall was taken to Washington and has
never been returned. After the Civil war, General Sherman, of
the Union army, and also one of the most prominent Confederate
generals visited Montreal and were entertained by Mr. Hogan, as
was Henry Ward Beecher and other distinguished Americans. The
banquets held at St. Lawrence Hall were noted affairs, the place
being the scene of many brilliant social gatherings.
The ancestral records of the Hogan family included the names of
many prominent in military circles and Henry Hogan also took
a deep interest in these affairs, being for years commanding
officer of the Montreal Field Battery, of which he was lieutenant
in 1855, afterwards became colonel and assumed command, retiring
with that rank in 1866. Mr. Hogan had been connected with
numerous business enterprises aside from his hotel interests.
He always had implicit confidence in the future of Montreal and
made investments that proved highly profitable. His business
ability won him success and prominence in his chosen field and
his capability, tact and resourcefulness made him an ideal host,
whether entertaining a little private gathering of friends or a
large concourse of notable and eminent citizens at a banquet. In
religious belief he was a Unitarian. His death occurred October
9, 1902, and he was survived by a widow, two sons, Henry H. and
Lawrence H., and also two daughters: Anna W., now the widow of
Major Low, of the British army; and Marion E., who died unmarried.
MARTIN MONTGOMERY REYNOLDS.
Martin Montgomery Reynolds enjoyed the reputation of being one of
the foremost experts in railroad accounting and finance. He had
thirty years of experience along that line and was connected with
roads in the United States and Mexico until he came to Canada
in 1908 as fifth vice president of the Grand Trunk Railway and
third vice president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. At his
death, which occurred June 17, 1914, he held the position of vice
president in charge of the financial and accounting departments.
Martin M. Reynolds was born in Syracuse, New York, and educated
there. His first notable position in the railroad world was that
of auditor of the Mexican National Railroad, which office he held
until 1892. He then went to Vermont as general auditor of the
Central Vermont Railroad, which office he held until 1896. From
1896 to 1899 he was auditor for the receivers of this road, and
from 1899 to 1902 auditor for its successor, the Central Vermont
Railway. From 1902 to 1904 he was comptroller of the National
Railway of Mexico and in 1904 accepted in addition to this office
the comptrollership of the Mexican International Railway and the
Interoceanic Railway of Mexico, continuing in this office until
1908. In that year he came to Montreal as fifth vice president
of the Grand Trunk Railway and third vice president of the Grand
Trunk Pacific Railway, and in 1910 was promoted to the third vice
presidency of the Grand Trunk. From 1911 Mr. Reynolds was vice
president in charge of the financial and accounting departments
of the Grand Trunk and Grand Trunk Pacific and affiliated lines.
His office was one of the most important in the service. Mr.
Reynolds was also a director of the Canadian Express Company.
In 1894 Martin M. Reynolds was united in marriage to Miss Flora
Livingstone and they resided at the Linton apartments, Montreal.
Although he was in Montreal only a few years he quickly became
imbued with the Canadian spirit and his aims and interests became
thoroughly Canadian.
CHARLES A. BRIGGS.
Charles A. Briggs was an active business man of Montreal, well
known and respected. He conducted a retail fur store under his
name on Notre Dame Street, and careful management and wise
direction of his interests wrought the substantial success which
eventually came to him. A native of Montreal, he was born
October 3, 1839, a son of Russell Briggs, who came to this city
from Vermont and here spent his remaining days. Charles A. Briggs
was indebted to the public-school system of Montreal for the
educational opportunities he enjoyed. In early life he acquainted
himself with the fur business and eventually became proprietor
of a retail fur store on Notre Dame Street. He closely applied
himself to the conduct of the business and his able management
and reliable methods were strong elements in his growing success.
In 1862 Mr. Briggs was united in marriage to Sarah S., a daughter
of Mansfield Holland, who in early life came from Maine to
Montreal and was actively identified with the infant industrial
development of the city, building the first rolling mill here and
also a nail and spike factory, making the first railroad spike
manufactured in Canada. His plant was located on Mill Street
and there he continued actively and successfully in business
throughout the remainder of his days, his death occurring in
1883. He was then seventy-four years of age, his birth having
occurred in 1809. He was twenty years of age when he arrived in
Montreal in 1829, becoming a most active factor in its business
circles, for, with the growth of his enterprise, he employed
many men. His wife was in her maidenhood Miss Gould and by their
marriage they became the parents of twelve children. Mr. and Mrs.
Charles A. Briggs became the parents of seven children: Charles
Russell; Celia; Florence; Edwin; Dr. George Nixon; Henry, who
died young; and Ethel.
Mr. Briggs held membership in St. James Cathedral, to the support
of which he made generous contribution. He stood stanchly in
support of many of those factors which work for the betterment
of the individual and for the community and at the same time he
conducted a successful business indicative of his ability and his
enterprise.
JOHN A. PILLOW.
Standing deservedly high in the respect of all who knew him,
John A. Pillow was regarded as a progressive business man and
valuable citizen of Montreal, of which city he was a native. He
was educated in the public schools and for many years ranked as
one of Montreal’s oldest and best known manufacturers. In his
business career he made advancement step by step, gaining thus a
broader outlook and wider opportunity. He made wise use of the
advantages that came to him and eventually reached a position of
prominence in manufacturing circles. It was in the late ‘60s
that he succeeded to the rolling mill business of T. D. Bigelow
& Company, which was one of the oldest establishments of the
city, having been founded for a century. Forming a partnership
with Randolph Hersey, he continued the business under the firm
name of Pillow & Hersey. Later this was converted into a stock
company and Mr. Pillow was elected to the presidency. He stood
deservedly high in the regard of his contemporaries in commercial
circles. Business men knew him as one whose word was thoroughly
reliable, who met every obligation and kept every engagement, and
the record which he thus made was one which any might envy. He
was very thorough and competent in all that he did, neglecting no
details and at the same time developing his interests along the
broad lines characteristic of business enterprise at the present
day.
Mr. Pillow was united in marriage to Annie Elizabeth Hillyer, and
their surviving children are two sons, Laurence B. and Howard
W. He was a man of domestic tastes, devoted to the welfare of
his family and finding his greatest happiness in promoting
their interests. He rejoiced in his prosperity not merely from
the standpoint of success but because of the opportunity which
it gave him to provide liberally for his family and to give
generously to the poor and needy. He attended the American
Presbyterian church and in his life exemplified his Christian
faith. He was much interested in the welfare of his native city,
cooperating in many movements that have promoted its interests
along various lines. He belonged to the Board of Trade and his
social nature found expression in his membership in St. James
Club, the Forest and Stream Club and the Manhattan Club of New
York. Death called him February 16, 1902. He had remained a
lifelong resident of his native city and his worth was widely
recognized by those who had been his associates in business and
by those who met him in social relations.
JAMES ELLIOT.
James Elliot, for more than half a century one of the best known
bankers of Montreal, was born June 2, 1840, in this city, and was
the eldest son of the late Andrew and Sarah (Pullan) Elliot. The
father was a native of Northumberland, England, and following his
arrival in Montreal in 1832 became a well known contractor of the
city.
After acquiring a thorough education in the Montreal high school
James Elliot entered the dry-goods establishment of the late
Mr. Alexander Molson, and after a time spent in that connection
entered Molson’s Bank in 1860. In 1870 he became accountant and
further promotion came to him in recognition of his ability
in his appointment to the position of manager of the Montreal
branch in 1879. Step by step he advanced in his connection with
financial interests until he became recognized as one of the
foremost bankers of the city. In May, 1900, he was appointed
general manager, which position he ably filled until his death,
December 19, 1913. In banking circles he was recognized as a man
of exceptional ability, prudence and sagacity, and was termed
both a model man and a model banker. That he occupied a position
of distinction in business and financial circles was evidenced by
the large number of business men who paid their last tribute of
respect to his worth when he passed away.
Mr. Elliot was for many years a councillor of the Canadian
Bankers Association and was otherwise officially connected with
interests of importance to the public, being a life governor
of the Montreal General Hospital, a vice president of the
Montreal Prisoners Aid Association and an active factor in
philanthropic work. Mr. Elliot was also an attendant at the
Melville Presbyterian church. His political support was given to
the conservative party. Although he was past the allotted age
of three score years and ten when called from this life, Mr.
Elliot’s friends were drawn largely from the younger generation.
He was a quiet, unostentatious gentleman of the old school, whose
delight outside of his business was his home and garden on Cote
St. Antoine road. This home was one of the early residences in
Westmount and when erected more than a quarter of a century ago
was surrounded by open fields.
[Illustration: JAMES ELLIOT]
Mr. Elliot was unmarried. After providing with great liberality
for near relatives he bequeathed five thousand dollars to
the Montreal General Hospital, five thousand dollars to the
Protestant Hospital for the Insane and a thousand dollars each
to the Western Hospital, McKay Institute, Grace Dart Home,
the Protestant House of Industry and Refuge and the Salvation
Army. His bequest to these many organizations showed his
broad-mindedness and his deep interest in the welfare and uplift
of his fellowmen.
JOSEPH ARTHUR COUTURE.
Joseph Arthur Couture, a notary public practicing in Montreal
and in Maisonneuve, was born on the 29th of December, 1881, at
Sherrington in the county of Napierville, P. Q., his parents
being Jules and Dométhile (Bourgeois) Couture. He represents two
of the old French families of the province. His great-grandfather
and his grandfather, both of whom bore the name of François
Couture, were farming people, the former following agricultural
pursuits at Lacadie, while the latter was a farmer at St. Cyprien
in the county of Napierville. He married Sophie Ward and their
family included Jules Couture, who married Dométhile Bourgeois.
Her father, Pierre Bourgeois, was at one time a farmer at St.
Jean, P. Q., and later at St. Cyprien, where he was residing
at the time of his death. His wife was a member of the Granger
family. Jules Couture was born in St. Cyprien, county of
Napierville, and made farming his life work, but since 1900 has
lived retired, his home being in the village of Napierville. His
wife was born in the parish of St. John, P. Q., and died on the
15th of September, 1907. They had a family of twelve children, of
whom three daughters and five sons are living.
Joseph Arthur Couture, the youngest of the family, attended the
parish school to the age of ten years and afterward studied
with the parish priest of Sherrington for three years. He
next entered Montreal College, where he pursued a five years’
classical course and later became a student in the Seminary of
Philosophy, where after two years, or in 1902, he won his degree
of Bachelor of Letters. In September of that year he matriculated
in Laval University where he studied law in preparation for the
notarial profession, receiving his LL. L. degree in 1905. He was
received as a notary in July of the same year and in September
began practice in the village of Napierville, where he continued
until the 1st of October, 1906. He then removed to the city of
Maisonneuve, where he continues in practice, and at the same
time maintains an office in the city of Montreal. He is likewise
a commissioner of the superior court in and for the district of
Montreal. He carefully prepared for his chosen calling and his
knowledge of the law and his understanding of all phases of the
notarial profession have given him high rank among his associates
in that field of labor.