while the lower ranks of life are crowded, comparatively few
have the ambition and the energy to climb to the heights in
connection with business or professional interests. Recognizing
and utilizing his opportunities and wisely employing his time
and talents, T. Sterry Hunt became recognized as one of the
eminent Canadian scientists, his ability winning for him the
unusual honor of being made a fellow of the Royal Society of
London. He was born in Norwich, Connecticut, September 5, 1826,
a representative of an old New England family. It was his
parents’ desire that he should become a representative of the
medical profession, but a strong inclination toward the study of
chemistry, mineralogy and geology prevented him from becoming
a physician. In 1845 he pursued his studies under Professor
Benjamin Silliman of Yale University and later became his
assistant. His constantly expanding powers marked him a man above
the ordinary and distinguished honors came to him as the years
passed. As early as 1846 the result of his original research
work was published in an article which he wrote for the American
Journal of Science. When the Geological Survey of Canada, then
recently organized by Mr. (later Sir) William E. Logan, required
the service of a competent chemist and mineralogist, Mr. Logan
applied to Professor Silliman to supply the man and Mr. Hunt
was recommended for the position, which he accepted early in
1847. His connection with the survey continued until 1872, when,
much against the wish of the government, he resigned. His work
embraced a large amount of field geology. The most difficult
problems presented by the geological formation of Canada are
those of its crystalline rocks. To this study Mr. Hunt addressed
himself from the beginning and made the first clear exposition
ever presented of the earlier rocks of the country. He afterward
gave the names of Laurentian and Huronian to these rocks and in
his investigations, analyses and scientific research laid the
foundation of what he regarded as his life work. He also gave
constant attention to the economic and practical departments
of the survey and was the first to make known the deposits of
phosphate of lime in Canada and call attention to its commercial
value for fertilizing purposes, collecting and sending
specimens of the same to the foreign exhibits of 1851, 1855 and
1867. He analyzed soils, investigated the petroleums of Canada
and their distribution, and his studies of the mineral waters of
the Dominion were the first and most complete ever made. His work
in many respects constituted the foundation, basis and stimulus
of all later investigation.
[Illustration: T. STERRY HUNT]
During his connection with the survey work Mr. Hunt took part
in the great exhibitions of 1856 and 1867, acting as judge at
both, while his services in a similar connection were sought at
the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. His fame was
world-wide as the result of his investigations and researches
were made known, for he took the lead in much pioneer geological
work on the North American continent.
From 1856 until 1862 Dr. Hunt was professor of chemistry at Laval
University in Quebec and was continued as one of its honorary
professors until his death. His annual course of instruction
there comprised forty lectures in the French language and for
some years he was also lecturer at McGill University. In 1872
he accepted the chair of geology in the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in Boston, there remaining until 1878, when he
resigned in order to concentrate his efforts upon further study
and professional work. His scientific attainments have gained
him recognition both on the American and European continents.
Harvard University created him Master of Arts in 1852 and from
Laval and McGill Universities he received the degree of Doctor
of Science. In 1881 he had the unusual honor of receiving the
degree of Doctor of Laws from Cambridge University of England,
and in special recognition of his eminence as a geologist he
was created a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1859. In
1874 he was elected to membership in the National Academy of
Sciences of the United States and in 1882 he was one of those
called upon by the Marquis of Lorne to aid in the organization
of the New Royal Society of Canada, becoming that year chief of
the section of physical and mathematical sciences. In 1884 he was
elected its president. Thus year after year honors were conferred
upon him--honors well merited yet worn with becoming modesty.
He was one of the founders of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science at Philadelphia and in 1870 was elected
to its presidency. He was also an early member of the American
Institute of Mining Engineers and was its president in 1877,
while in 1880 he became the founder and president of the American
Chemical Society. Among the decorations conferred upon him was
that of the Legion of Honor, bestowed by Napoleon III, and the
cross of St. Mauritius and St. Lazarus from the king of Italy.
He contributed much to scientific literature and was a well
known lecturer on scientific subjects. He frequently went abroad
for study, spending much time in that way in Great Britain,
Switzerland and Italy. A chemical green ink which he invented in
1859 was the cause of giving the name of greenbacks to American
currency. His explorations on the American continent had extended
from the Gulf of St. Lawrence southward to the Gulf of Mexico and
westward to the Pacific.
In January, 1878, Dr. Hunt was married to Miss Anna Rebecca Gale,
the eldest daughter of Justice Samuel Gale of Montreal, who was
judge of the court of queen’s bench for Lower Canada. His wife
was Mary M. Hawley, who was born in Montreal and was educated in
this city and abroad. One of their daughters became the Baroness
von Friesen, of Dresden. After the death of the father in 1865,
Mrs. Hunt traveled extensively in Europe in company with her
two sisters. She is the author of one or two volumes of poems
of considerable merit, so that her name, like her husband’s, is
known in literary circles. Dr. Hunt passed away in February,
1892. His contribution to the world’s work was a valuable one.
His investigation, research and native intelligence constituted
the key which unlocked for us many of the portals beyond which
lay nature’s mysteries. The earth and its construction were
largely to him an open book and he made it a readable volume for
others, placing his investigations before mankind in a way that
has constituted the foundation for further research.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL FREDERICK WILLIAM HIBBARD.
Lieutenant Colonel Frederick William Hibbard has been frequently
before the public as a speaker and writer upon topics of
public interest. Although never a candidate he was for years
a participant in both federal and provincial politics and has
appeared on numerous public occasions both in the province of
Quebec and in that of Ontario. He is the senior member of the
firm of Hibbard, Boyer & Gosselin, and a successful member
of the Montreal bar. Ireland claims him as a native son, his
birth having occurred in Dublin on the 19th of October, 1865.
His father was the late Lieutenant Colonel Ashley Hibbard, of
Montreal, and his mother was Sarah Ann Hibbard, the second
daughter of the Rev. Ambrose Lane, M. A., perpetual curate of St.
Thomas, Pendleton, Manchester, England.
After spending some years under private instruction, Lieutenant
Colonel F. W. Hibbard entered McGill University, where he took
his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1886. After a couple of years
spent in teaching he returned to the university for the study of
law, graduating as B. C. L. in 1891. In addition to the degree
of B. C. L. received in that year he was also gold medallist.
In 1892 he received the degree of M. A. He began practice as a
barrister in 1893 and was created king’s counsel in 1907. His
advancement at the bar has been continuous and long since he
left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful few.
From 1907 until 1910 he was crown prosecutor for the district
of Montreal, and his clientele of a private character has been
extensive and important. In literary circles he is known and
has given papers and addresses upon a number of subjects. In
1903 he was president of the St. James Literary Society of
Montreal. His popularity as a lecturer is based both upon the
entertaining and the instructive nature of his discourses. He
has addressed various audiences upon the following comprehensive
subjects:--Canadian Constitutional Government, The Land Defence
of Canada, The Value of Organized Effort in Municipal Affairs,
The Prophecy of the West, and Canadians at Home and Abroad. He
is not merely a theorist, for his ideas have many times taken
practical, tangible form, and in 1910 his fitness for the
position led to his appointment to the presidency of the Quebec
public utilities commission. In military circles his name is
known, for he holds a first class certificate from the Royal
School of Artillery, and in 1894 joined the Second Regiment
Canadian Artillery as a lieutenant. He was advanced to the rank
of captain in 1895, major in 1897, lieutenant colonel in command
in 1901 and R. O. in 1906. He was one of the artillery officers
of the Second Canadian Contingent at Queen Victoria’s Jubilee,
received the Diamond Jubilee medal from the hand of King Edward,
and was presented to the late Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle.
In 1900 he was elected to the presidency of the Montreal Military
Institute and in 1905 became vice president of the Dominion
Artillery Association.
Lieutenant Colonel Hibbard was married in November, 1898, to Miss
Emily Laura Baker, the third daughter of Joseph S. Baker, of
Dunham, P. Q. He finds recreation in golf and has been president
of the Outremont Golf Club. He is a member of the St. James and
University Clubs and the Quebec Garrison Club. A liberal in
politics, he has been active in support of the principles of his
party, recognizing the duties and obligations as well as the
privileges of citizenship. In religious belief is an Anglican,
having twice served as warden of his church, is a member of
the synod of Montreal and of the executive committee of the
diocese. Mr. D. A. Lafortune, his colleague as crown prosecutor,
has characterized him as “a man of dignity and learning.”
His lifelong habit of study and investigation, his deep and
continuous interest in important public questions, and his
earnest purpose, prompting him to action in behalf of the public
welfare, have made him a citizen of value in advancing progress
and working toward that better ordering of things which is always
the goal of progress.
J. ADELARD OUIMET.
Among the better known advocates of Montreal is J. Adélard
Ouimet, who is a member of the firm of Ouimet & Guertin. He
is one of the most successful men in his line, and by his
career carries forward the tradition of the family which to a
large extent has been connected with the legal fraternity. The
grandfather, Michel Ouimet, was justice of the peace of St. Rose,
in the county of Laval, and also took an active part in the
insurrection of 1837. The father of J. Adélard Ouimet was Landré
Ouimet, and his wife was in her maidenhood Miss Euphémie Bourqué.
A brother of our subject, also named Landré Ouimet, was for ten
years an alderman for St. Jean Baptiste ward and an uncle on the
paternal side was judge of the court of appeals and president of
the City and District Savings Bank.
J. Adélard Ouimet was born at Ste. Scholastique, in the county
of Two Mountains, on the 7th of March, 1868. He pursued his
classical studies in the Seminary of Ste. Thérèse and at the
University of Ottawa and his law course at Laval University,
being admitted to the bar in 1895. He then became a partner of
the well known legal firm of Ouimet, Emard, Maurault & Ouimet,
but after the appointment of the Hon. J. A. Ouimet, his uncle,
to the judgeship of the court of appeals he entered into
partnership with A. Délisle, Q. C., then a member of parliament
for Portneuf county, but two years later decided to engage in
practice independently. In May, 1913, he formed a partnership
with C. A. Guertin, Q. C., under the firm name of Ouimet &
Guertin. He possesses every quality of which a lawyer may be
proud--skill in the presentation of his evidence, marked ability
in cross-examination, persuasiveness before the jury, a strong
grasp of every feature of the case, the ability to secure a
favorable ruling from the judge, unusual familiarity with human
nature and the springs of human conduct and, last but not least,
untiring energy. He has often occasion to demonstrate his ability
and has handled many important cases since his admission to the
bar, his clientele being of the most representative character. He
is dignified and impressive, deliberate in manner, his speeches
always commanding attention. Entirely free from ostentation
and display, he largely relies upon the simple weight of his
character and is ever prepared to meet any attack of the opposing
counsel, as his mind works with a rapidity which often excites
the wonder and admiration of his colleagues.
On the 3d of September, 1901, Mr. Ouimet was united in marriage
in Montreal to Miss Dersina Vaillancourt, a daughter of Benjamin
Vaillancourt, a well known grain merchant of Montreal, and they
have one son, George Etienne. As is but natural, Mr. Ouimet
has taken a conspicuous part in the public life of his city
and province, having participated in all elections since 1890,
not only in the province of Quebec but also in Ontario. He
is a conservative in his political affiliations and stanchly
upholds the principles of his party. He was the founder and
first president of Le Club Morin, holding the executive office
during 1893 and 1894. From 1894 to 1896 he was also president of
Le Club des Jeunes Conservateurs and is an active member of Le
Club Cartier, of which he served as treasurer from 1910 to 1912.
He is also a military man. After having been in the Sixty-fifth
Regiment for ten years, he then joined the Eighty-fifth Regiment,
becoming captain in 1900. He will be major of that regiment in
1914. Fraternally he is chief ranger of the Catholic Order of
Foresters and is a member of the Royal Guardians and of the
Catholic Foresters Club. His religious faith is that of the Roman
Catholic church, to the work of which he gives his moral and
material support. At the Ottawa University he was the founder
of La Société des Débats Canadien Français in 1889 and served
as its first president. In 1908 he was also elected president
of L’Association St. Jean Baptiste of St. Jean Baptiste parish.
Mr. Ouimet is a successful lawyer in the truest sense of the
word, a man unusually broad-minded and intelligent, tolerant and
of wide experience, never mercenary or grasping, believing in
something greater than mere material wealth, who in the course of
a distinguished career, spent simply and unostentatiously, has
been a factor for good along various lines. His public-spirited
citizenship has been a boon to Montreal, who proudly claims him
as one of her citizens, and Mr. Ouimet returns the honor which
the city’s people entertain for him by a loyalty which could not
be more devoted.
CHARLES FRANCIS SMITH.
Charles Francis Smith, for half a century a leading figure in
the business and social life of Montreal, was born in Aylesford,
Hampshire, England, in 1841. He had reached the psalmist’s
allotted span of three score years and ten when death called
him in Montreal on the 30th of September, 1911. His position
was one which gained for him not only the respect but also the
admiration and love of his associates. Important and extensive as
were his business enterprises, they constituted but one phase
of an existence that was largely devoted to charitable works and
civic affairs and he was no less esteemed for his generosity and
unfailing kindness than he was admired for his business acumen.
His residence in Canada covered a period of forty-eight years. He
came to this country as a member of the standing army. The shed
in which he and his fellow soldiers slept the first night after
landing at St. Andrews, New Brunswick, is still standing near
the beautiful summer home which he afterward built for himself
there. His entrance into commercial circles in Montreal was made
as proprietor of a shoe store on St. Mary Street. He afterward
entered into partnership with the late James McCready and upon
the latter’s death became sole proprietor of the business and
so remained for almost one-third of a century; yet in order to
give his employes the opportunity of sharing in the profits of
the business he formed a limited company nine years prior to
his demise. In April, 1911, the business was sold to D. Lorne
McGibbon, although Mr. Smith retained an interest in the new
company,--the Ames, Holden, McCready, Limited,--of which he
became a director.
[Illustration: CHARLES F. SMITH]
Public affairs as well as private interests profited by the
efforts, the sound judgment and keen discrimination of Mr.
Smith. He was at one time alderman of Montreal; was a member of
the finance committee and was again and again urged to become a
candidate for the mayoralty. Native modesty, however, caused him
to remain in private life even when it was almost a certainty
that he would be elected to any office to which he might aspire.
He was the only English member of the French Commercial School
which was established by the Gouin government, and he belonged to
the Board of Trade for five or six years, being first a member of
the council and rising through the offices of treasurer and vice
president to that of president, being elected by acclamation.
He was also a vice president of the Dominion Express Company;
managing director of the Laurentide Pulp Company; a director of
the Merchants Bank; a director of the Montreal Trust Company; a
director of the Dominion Textile Company; was at one time the
president of the Western Hospital, and had been for years one of
the governors of both the Notre Dame and General Hospitals, and
vice president of the Royal Alexandra. He was a well known figure
in the city’s fashionable clubs, belonging to the Mount Royal and
St. James Clubs, the Royal Montreal Golf Club, the Forest and
Stream Club and the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club. He was also a
charter member of Canada Council of the Knights of Columbus; a
prominent parishioner of St. Patrick’s church, as well as warden
of the same; a director of St. Patrick’s Orphan Asylum, and
president of the Catholic Sailors’ Club. He was also a well known
member of St. George’s Society.
His kindness of heart was invariable, he was especially devoted
to his home and shunned ostentation. At St. Andrews where he
spent every summer, one of his greatest pleasures consisted in
the companionship of those friends of his who lived near him,
of whom Sir Thomas Shaughnessy was among the number. Taking
a great interest in matters pertaining to education, he was
one of the founders of the Catholic high school, and a member
of the administration of Laval University, and though, well
known in life as a conservative in politics, he was appointed
by Hon. Lomer Gouin as governor of L’Ecole des Hautes Etudes
Commerciales. Besides being a practical manufacturer, Mr. Smith
gave special attention to tariff matters, and his contributions
to the campaign against unrestricted reciprocity in 1891,
when Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Mr. Erastus Wiman and their friends
endeavored to establish free trade between Canada and the United
States, did more than a little to secure the protectionist
victory of that year.
For years Mr. Smith did not actively participate in civic
affairs, but in 1890, when a reform wave was sweeping over the
commercial metropolis he was asked to come forward as a candidate
in one of the civic divisions. He hesitated for some time, but
finally consented to contest the west ward if his warm personal
friend, the late Mr. Frank Hart, would also seek a seat in the
city council. At that time the late Colonel Stevenson was a
landmark in civic politics as well as in military and social
circles, and so well was the colonel known that there were many
who considered that with him as an opponent Mr. Smith had hardly
a fighting chance. It was contended that a Roman Catholic could
not be elected in such a pronounced Protestant district as the
west ward, but the success achieved by Mr. Smith in that contest
proved that the reform candidate’s reputation was too well
established to leave him a victim of the religious cry. He served
in the council during 1890 and 1891, on the finance committee,
and though assured that he could have a second election by
acclamation, he declined both the aldermanic and mayoralty honors
that were offered him.
In a quiet and unostentatious manner he was a generous
contributor to deserving charities, irrespective of nationality
or creed. He was one of the most prominent English-speaking
Catholics in Montreal. As a personal friend of Archbishop
Bruchesi, Mr. Smith was frequently consulted in the church’s
temporal affairs.
Mr. Smith twice married: His first wife was Miss Mary A. McGlynn
and his second wife who survives him, was Miss Margaret M.
McNally, daughter of the late Bernard McNally. Two sons were the
issue of the first marriage, Clarence F. Smith, vice president
and general manager of the Ames, Holden, McCready, Limited, and
Frederick H. Smith, who lived in the West Indies, until his death
in April, 1912. To the second marriage the following children
were born: Rose M.; Charles F., who died on August 20, 1911;
Marguerite M.; Francis C.; May G.; and Geraldine M.
The Montreal Herald said of Mr. Smith: “There was no better
citizen of Montreal than the late Charles F. Smith. He had
made his way in the world by dint of rare power of business
organization. In addition he was a man who made friends and held
them. He had no taste for public life himself, but he had a deep
interest in public affairs and in the men who in public life
supported his views. It was so in the affairs of the Board of
Trade and resulted in his becoming president of that body. It
was so in civic affairs and resulted in his being much against
his inclination, elected to the council. It was so in Dominion
politics, and if he has passed away before his party friends had
the opportunity of showing their appreciation, it is certain that
the fighting ranks of the conservative party had few more prudent
or more generous counsellors.
“Mr. Smith went to the city council with Mr. Laporte, Mr. Ames
and the late Mr. Hart at a time when the city had just been
aroused to the need of wholesale reforms. He played a part of
much importance, for with two or three other trained business men
he sat in at the centre of things, on the old finance committee
and supervised a general cleaning up of the city hall. It was the
good work of those days that made possible the larger reforms of
later years.”
The Montreal Gazette said editorially of him: “By the death of
Mr. Charles F. Smith another able and successful man has been
taken from Montreal’s commercial life. Mr. Smith through years of
painstaking energy built up a successful business, from which the
city benefited as well as himself.
“In the process he won the respect of all with whom he became
associated. Commercial organizations valued his advice. The
Board of Trade counted him as a wise counsellor. When the city’s
affairs were in need of improvement he served in the council
and with his associates did useful work in its behalf. He could
have had other public offices had he desired, but his preference
was for private life. He has passed away at a ripe age, held in
regard alike for the qualities of his mind and of his heart,
and leaving a memory that will encourage others to follow his
footsteps.”
GERALD OTHO ROUSSKI ELIOTT.
Since 1908 Gerald O. R. Eliott has occupied the position of
assistant marine superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railroad
Company’s Atlantic steamship lines. He was born March 28, 1874,
in Dalhousie, India, and is a son of George Augustus and Helen
(Jardine) Eliott.