Dr. Lachapelle entered upon the study of medicine in the old
Montreal School of Medicine and Surgery and after a brilliant
course was admitted to practice in 1869. From the first years
of his professional life he devoted considerable attention to
the question of hygienic science. He continued his reading and
research after leaving college and is still as keen and devoted
a student as ever. He has long been ranked as a successful
practitioner of high standing in Montreal, especially prominent
in the field of hygiene.
In 1872 Dr. Lachapelle was appointed surgeon of the Sixty-fifth
Regiment, Mount Royal Rifles, and retained the appointment
until 1886. He was unable to accompany the regiment on active
service to the northwest in 1885, owing to the demands of his
professional engagements, but he personally superintended the
preparation of the medical equipment which the regiment took on
service and secured the services of an assistant surgeon, who
went with the regiment.
Dr. Lachapelle took a very active part in the refounding of
the medical legislation and in 1878 was elected a governor and
the treasurer of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the
Province of Quebec, retaining an official connection with that
important body almost continuously since, while for nine years he
has held the position of president. At the time of the memorable
small-pox epidemic in Montreal in 1885-6, when hundreds of new
cases of the disease were reported daily, until the death rate
claimed ten thousand victims, and when the city was practically
placed in a state of quarantine in respect to the rest of the
continent, Dr. Lachapelle came to the front as an outspoken
and fearless advocate of the drastic measures adopted to check
the disease. The contagion was spreading so rapidly throughout
the country that it became necessary to take advantage of an
old statute law and to create a central board of health which
would apply throughout the province means for prevention and
cure. Such a course had previously been adopted in Montreal.
The moment the horror of the great pestilence was at an end Dr.
Lachapelle proceeded to organize the forces of medical science
for the conservation of the health of the people. He was chiefly
instrumental in getting the provincial government to pass a law
for the creation of a provincial board of health with powers
coterminus with provincial bounds. Prior to that time there was
only a local authority operating within restricted bounds. From
that time forward the body which Dr. Lachapelle may be said to
have created was to have jurisdiction over the whole province.
The beneficial results of this measure were soon seen in better
methods, improved sanitation and, above all, in the general
vaccination of the people who had been so terribly scourged
because of the lack of this preventative in 1885. For the most
important and valuable work which he did in this connection
Dr. Lachapelle received high encomiums from all sections of
the American continent and from foreign lands as well, not the
least flattering being the recognition of the French republic
in 1898 which conferred upon him the Order of the Legion of
Honor. With the establishment of the provincial board of health
he was appointed its president, a position which he has since
filled with credit to himself and great advantage to the entire
province.
Moreover the name of Dr. Lachapelle has been intimately
associated with the effort to improve medical legislation and
to raise the standard of medical education in Quebec. On the
establishment of a branch of Laval University in Montreal,
decided upon in 1878, and the inauguration of the medical faculty
in temporary class-rooms in the old Chateau du Ramezay, on Notre
Dame Street, he was one of the most ardent instigators and
supporters of the movement and contributed in a great measure
to its success. At the present time he holds the positions of
dean of the medical faculty at the university and of professor
of hygiene; from 1876 until 1894 he was proprietor and editor
of L’Union Médicale. In 1885 he had the honor of presiding as
president over the convention of the American Public Health
Association. He had the honor of being elected an associate
member of the Société Française d’Hygiène of Paris. He has been
closely and prominently associated with the Notre Dame Hospital
ever since its establishment and can almost be called its
founder. The splendid institution which owes its establishment
partly to the clinical requirements of the then recently founded
medical faculty of Laval was incorporated in 1880, Dr. Lachapelle
being a member of the board of governors and holding the position
of general superintendent until 1906, while to the present time
he is president of the hospital.
A stanch member of the liberal party, Dr. Lachapelle has often
been urged to become a candidate in nomination for political
preferment but although willing to use his influence for the
benefit of his party he has invariably declined to accept a
nomination because of a sense of duty toward his professional
interests and benevolent engagements. In 1902 he was urged by
many of the most influential citizens of Montreal, both French
and English, irrespective of party to accept nomination for the
mayoralty. He did accept provisionally but later withdrew to
avoid racial complications. When the city government was changed
about three years ago it was deemed fitting that one so eminent
as an authority on sanitation and hygiene and one so dignified
and high-minded as a foremost citizen should be a member of the
new board which was henceforth to administer the affairs of
the city. The Doctor has little inclination for publicity but
yielded to the appeals addressed to him and became controller of
Montreal. He has made a most admirable official, the value of his
service being widely recognized. It is his desire to accomplish
the best possible measures of reform during his term of office,
and his efforts have already been productive of great good. He
was elected in 1910 for a term of four years.
Aside from his professional and public activities previously
mentioned Dr. Lachapelle is also a director of the Credit Foncier
Franco-Canadien and of other financial institutions and life
insurance companies. He has been identified with various national
and benevolent movements and in 1876 had the honor of serving
as general president of the St. Jean Baptiste Society. He is
also a member of the British Medical Association, the Canadian
Medical Association, the American Public Health Association,
Société Médicale de Montreal, the Medico-Chirurgical Society of
Montreal, the Royal Edward Institute of Montreal and the Canadian
Anti-Tuberculosis League. He has been attending physician to
the Hôtel-Dieu and other institutions, and served as a delegate
from the Canadian government to the second Pan-American Medical
Congress held in Mexico in 1896, and to other similar bodies. He
has been a frequent contributor to medical literature, writing
largely for the Union Médicale du Canada and other periodicals.
He is a councillor of the University Club and a member of the
metropolitan parks commission. In religious faith he is a Roman
Catholic and in political belief a liberal. He belongs to the
Mount Royal, University and Montreal Jockey Clubs. By reason of
notable ability he has attained to a position of prominence and
power and has been termed “a second Laurier.” Were his ambitions
along political lines he would undoubtedly attain distinction
in that field. He prefers, however, the even broader field of
professional activity wherein his scientific investigation and
research combined with practical knowledge and skill have gained
him eminence and made his life work of signal serviceableness to
mankind.
BERNARD MELANCON.
Bernard Melancon, a notary public who has engaged in the practice
of his profession for more than four years in Montreal, was born
at St. Jacques l’Achigan on the 20th of August, 1881, a son of
Moise and Elodie (Gaudet) Melancon, the former a zouave who
participated in active military duty in 1869-70. The son attended
College Ste. Marie, a Jesuit school, and Laval University of
Montreal. He prepared for the notarial profession, becoming a
notary on the 16th of July, 1909, after which he was associated
with M. M. Loranger under the firm name of Loranger & Melancon.
Subsequently he became a member of the firm of Mayrand, Loranger,
Ecrement & Melancon, but now practices as a member of the firm
Loranger, Seguin & Melancon, with offices at No. 99 St. James
Street, Montreal. He is conducting a successful business and
stands well in the profession, possessing the comprehensive
knowledge so necessary to success as well as the energy and
ability which must precede progress in any profession or business
line.
Mr. Melancon is a nationalist in political faith and allegiance
and in religious belief is a Roman Catholic. He was married at
Montreal on the 18th of June, 1912, to Miss Annette Jodian, a
daughter of L. O. Jodian, who died on the 17th of May, 1913. Mr.
Melancon is yet a young man, but has already made progress that
many an older member of the profession might well envy, and his
past record gives indications of future advancement.
GABRIEL HURTUBISE.
The earliest record of the Hurtubise family leads back to one
Louis Heurtebise (the spelling having been changed later), who
was born in 1667 and married on May 3, 1688, at Montreal, Jeanne
Gatteau and died on January 24, 1703. The present generation of
this old and distinguished French-Canadian family is represented
by Gabriel Hurtubise, a civil engineer and land surveyor, who
is independently established in business under the firm name
of Hurtubise & Hurtubise, his brother Louis being his partner.
He was born on November 3, 1883, in the city of Montreal, and
is a son of Edwin and Emélie (Brault) Hurtubise, both of whom
have passed away. The father was prominent in insurance circles
in Montreal as a member of the firm of Hurtubise & St. Cyr,
representatives of the Royal Insurance Company, and died on the
30th of December, 1913, in Montreal.
Gabriel Hurtubise enjoyed advantageous educational facilities at
St. Mary’s College, pursuing his more professional studies at the
Polytechnic School of Laval University, from which he graduated
on June 14, 1907, as civil engineer, and on June 10, 1909, as
land surveyor. He has since been prominently engaged in this
line in Montreal, having had charge of most important contracts.
He began his career under F. C. Laberge, C. E. and Q. L. S., of
Montreal. At present he is a member of the firm of Hurtubise &
Hurtubise, who are doing an extensive and profitable business.
On May 30, 1911, at Montreal, Mr. Hurtubise was united in
marriage to Miss Yvette Brault, a daughter of H. A. A. Brault,
a well known notary of this city. In his political views Mr.
Hurtubise is independent, preferring to entirely follow his
judgment in support of candidates. His religious faith is that of
the Catholic church. Fraternally he is a member of La Fontaine
Council of the Knights of Columbus. Yet a young man, Gabriel
Hurtubise has already made his mark in the world and has taken
his place in business circles of Montreal. Ambition has been the
beacon light of his life and his career again is proof of the
fact that ambition, coupled with industry and energy, will lead
to success.
GEORGE BROWNING CRAMP, K. C.
George Browning Cramp was for many years a veteran member of
the Montreal bar and a distinguished representative of the
profession, his opinions being largely accepted as authority
on questions of real-estate law, in which department of
jurisprudence he specialized. He was born in England in 1833,
a son of Rev. J. M. Cramp, who came to Montreal to accept a
position at the Baptist College. For years he was at the head of
Acadia University in Nova Scotia and was one of the prominent
educators in the maritime provinces.
In the schools of England and of Nova Scotia George B. Cramp
pursued his education and qualified for the bar as a student in
the law office of J. J. Day, K. C., an eminent member of the bar.
Thorough and careful preliminary training resulted in his being
called to the bar about 1855 and he entered upon active practice
in connection with his former preceptor. The latter had been
called to the bar in 1837 and was one of the most distinguished
lawyers of Montreal at an early day. Following his retirement,
Mr. Cramp entered upon active professional association with A.
F. Lunn, K. C., under the style of Lunn & Cramp, a connection
that was continued until the death of Mr. Lunn in 1894. Four
years later, or in 1898, Mr. Cramp was joined by J. Armitage
Ewing, K. C., under the style of Cramp & Ewing, and two years
later they admitted George S. McFadden, at which time the firm
name was changed to Cramp, Ewing & McFadden. This relation was
maintained until the death of the senior partner, who was then
in his eightieth year. While well versed in the various
departments of the law, he specialized in the field of real
estate and became an expert on legal questions relative thereto.
He was regarded as an expert in the matter of titles. He was
retained in a consulting capacity by such corporations as McGill
University, Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Company, the
Montreal Loan & Mortgage Company, and the White Star Dominion
Line. He remained throughout his entire professional career an
active and discriminating student of law, constantly broadening
his knowledge by reading and investigation, as well as experience.
[Illustration: GEORGE B. CRAMP]
Mr. Cramp held membership in the Mount Royal Club and the St.
James Club and was a casual attendant of the Olivet Baptist
church. For many years Mr. Cramp spent the summer season at
Saratoga, New York, or at Lachine, while his city residence was
at No. 62 McTavish Street, where his sister, the last survivor
of the family, now resides. He passed away February 16, 1913, at
the age of eighty years, leaving behind him the record of a well
spent life, in which he had wisely employed his time and talents.
THOMAS PRINGLE.
High on the list of mechanical and hydraulic engineers appears
the name of Thomas Pringle. Scientific study, investigation and
experience brought him to the enviable position which he long
occupied, making his word authority upon many problems relating
to the profession. He was born in Huntingdon, province of Quebec,
in 1830, and died in Montreal on the 7th day of May, 1911. His
father, David Pringle, was a farmer of Huntingdon and it was
there that the son was reared and educated, but in 1850, when a
young man of twenty years, he engaged in business in Montreal as
a milling engineer and for many years was prominently connected
with many water power developments and mill building operations
throughout Canada. Every phase of the milling business seemed
familiar to him and each forward step that he made seemed to
bring him a wider outlook and broader opportunities. He later
interested himself in the Montgomery Cotton Mills, the Hochelaga
and St. Ann’s Mills, of the Dominion Cotton Company, and the
Magog Print Mills, owned by the same corporation. His connection
with all these different important projects constituted him a
forceful factor in the industrial development of the country. He
was thus associated with many of the chief productive industries
of Canada and beyond this he became one of the foremost
consulting engineers. It was in the ‘60s that his attention
was first attracted to the water power possibilities of the
Lachine Rapids, which were subsequently utilized by the Lachine
Rapids Hydraulic & Land Company. At that early date, now more
than half a century ago, he made preliminary plans and wrote a
report upon the feasibility of the development in the interests
of Hugh Fraser, founder of the Fraser Institute. Mr. Pringle
predicted then that the water power would some day be used and
he lived to see the day when the prediction was fulfilled. In
1891 he was again asked to report on this power in the interest
of the Royal Electric Company, and the following year was asked
to report on the Chambly water power for the same concern. In
1892 his eldest son was admitted to the business under the firm
style of T. Pringle & Son, hydraulic engineers, and during the
succeeding three years close observations were made and much data
accumulated concerning the water power resources of the country,
the firm being regarded as authority upon many questions relative
thereto.
Mr. Pringle retired from the firm in 1898 but the business has
since been continued by his son under the same name. His services
were greatly sought, owing to his sound judgment, his scientific
attainments, his keen insight, and his practical experience.
He was considered the soul of honor and none ever questioned
his integrity. He assisted many men to gain a start in life and
many others were benefited by his powers of perception and keen
insight. His services were in constant demand as an arbitrator
when insurance companies were concerned in milling matters. John
McDougall took delight in giving him credit for the creation
of the large McDougall fortune and others acknowledged their
indebtedness to him in a similar way. As a natural mathematician
he perhaps had no superior in all Canada and he was regarded as
one of the most distinguished members of the Canadian Society of
Civil Engineers.
In 1861 Mr. Pringle was united in marriage to Miss Catherine
Ross, a daughter of Alexander and Isabella (Lang) Ross, of
Chateauquay Basin. The mother, who came from Scotland in 1832,
made her home at Chateauquay Basin, until death called her at
the notable old age of ninety-seven years. Alexander Ross was a
builder and assisted in the construction of the locks at Lachine
Canal but his death occurred when he was yet a young man. Mr. and
Mrs. Pringle had two sons: David Alexander, a mechanical engineer
of Montreal; and R. E. T. Pringle, of Toronto, an electrical
engineer.
ANDREW JOSEPH DAWES.
One of Montreal’s foremost business men, whose prominent
identification with the financial and industrial life of this
city has made him an important factor in business circles, is
Andrew J. Dawes, president of the National Breweries, Ltd.,
and also president of Dawes & Company, Ltd. The latter is the
oldest established industrial institution in the Dominion, and
was founded more than a century ago by Thomas A. Dawes, the
grandfather of Andrew J. Dawes, who was the first of the family
to leave England and settle in Canada.
Thomas A. Dawes was first connected with the brewery at River
St. Pierre. Ambitious to engage in business on his own account,
he established the Dawes Brewery in 1811, placed it upon a
substantial and profitable basis and was later joined in its
management by his sons, Thomas A. and James P., who were admitted
to a partnership in the business. When James P. Dawes passed
away in 1878 his share in the business passed to his two sons,
James P. Dawes, Jr., and Andrew J. Dawes, who then became
associated with their uncle, Thomas A. Dawes, in continuing the
business which developed steadily until it became one of the most
extensive enterprises of its kind in the Dominion.
Thomas Dawes, Jr., son of Thomas Dawes, the founder of the
family in Canada, was familiarly and affectionately styled Tom
throughout Lachine and wherever he was known. He there resided
for nearly eighty years and it was said that such was the
regularity of his habits that one could tell the time of day
by his actions. He always took the same train into town each
morning and the same walk in the evening and visited the bank at
the same hour each day. His life was to the utmost methodical
and systematic, and he was modest in demeanor and of retiring
disposition. He occupied a beautiful home on the river bank of
Lachine with his maiden sister. There he passed away on the 14th
of May, 1908, when he was in the seventy-ninth year of his age,
his birth having occurred in Lachine on the 19th of September,
1829.
James P. Dawes, Sr., another son of Thomas Dawes, the founder of
the family in Canada, married a Miss Leishman, who died in 1856,
leaving three sons, James P., Andrew J. and Thomas A. James P.
Dawes, Sr., was prominently identified with the business during
his active life, and contributed his part towards its progress
and expansion. He died in 1878. His son, Andrew Joseph Dawes is
now at the head of the mammoth business, which had its inception
in the brain of his grandfather and took on material form
through his efforts, and grew and developed through the labor of
representatives of the family in intermediate generations to the
present.
To accumulate a fortune requires one kind of genius; to retain
a fortune already acquired, to add to its legitimate increment
and to make such use of it that its possessor may derive
therefrom the greatest enjoyment and the public the greatest
benefit, requires another kind of genius. Mr. Dawes belongs
to that generation of business men called upon to shoulder
responsibilities differing materially from those that rested upon
their predecessors. In a broader field of enterprise they find
themselves obliged to deal with affairs of greater magnitude and
to solve more difficult and complicated financial and economic
problems. Such is the position in which Andrew J. Dawes found
himself and he has proven at all times equal to the occasion and
the demands made upon him.
Born in Lachine, June 15, 1846, he received his education in
that town, and also in Montreal. His business career began early
in connection with the interests of his father and on the death
of that parent he assumed additional responsibilities in the
business, which have been continued to the present time. Mr.
Dawes has been a prominent factor in the development of the
business. With its gradual growth facilities were increased, new
buildings were added and the plant has thus expanded until it
is represented by immense blocks of buildings, covering several
acres on each side of the main street in Lachine. Aside from his
extensive interests in the brewery business, Andrew J. Dawes is
prominently identified with various projects and organizations
for the development and improvement of the province along
horticultural and agricultural lines, being especially interested
in the subject of fruit growing.
He is a director of the Montreal Horticultural and Fruit Growing
Association; is president of the Council of Agriculture of the
Province of Canada, and at one time was president of the Lachine
Horticultural Association. He is a director of the Merchants Bank
and holds the same official position in regard to the London
and Lancashire Fire Insurance Company, Ltd. He is well known in
social and club circles and was president of the Auto Club of
Canada from 1903 to 1906, while his membership relations extend
to the Mount Royal, St. James, Forest and Stream, Royal Montreal
Golf, Royal St. Lawrence Yacht, Montreal Hunt, Auto and Aero,
Montreal Jockey, Montreal Polo, and St. George Snow Shoe Clubs
and to the Rideau Club of Ottawa.
Mr. Dawes married Miss Mary O. A. Wilgress, of Lachine, and
they have two daughters: Rachel M., the wife of F. L. Bond, of
Montreal; and Frances H., the wife of B. Hazen Porteous, of
Montreal.
A man of unusual energy whose exceptionally well preserved
physical condition enables him to display a capacity for business
more becoming to one twenty years his junior, success has made
possible for Mr. Dawes the enjoyment of many social pleasures and
interests. Yet prominent club man, that he is, Mr. Dawes’ first
interest is the extensive business of which he is the controlling
head and he is everywhere recognized as a forceful, resourceful
man, ready to meet any emergency and ever looking beyond the
exigencies of the moment to the opportunities and possibilities
of the future.
T. STERRY HUNT, LL. D., F. R. S.