steamship Sarmatian. A brother had broken the home ties with
him and with this brother he worked one year in Glengarry
county, where he acquired a fair knowledge of English. He then
made for Montreal in order to profit by the opportunities
which the fast growing center of population held out and for
seven months he worked in a humble capacity, earning but two
dollars a week. On Saturdays and Sundays he instructed two boys
in the Hebrew language and in this manner earned sufficient
to pay for his board. Quickly accommodating himself, however,
to the new conditions of life, Mr. Vineberg never lost sight
of his purpose and, husbanding his small resources, he strove
eagerly to establish himself in business. He opened a small
store at No. 662 Craig Street, near St. Peter, and devoted his
whole time for one year to that establishment with such good
success that at the end of that period he had to seek larger
quarters on McGill Street, where he remained until 1876, when
removal was made to Lancaster, Ontario. Careful of his profits,
he was there enabled to establish a general country store of
considerable size which he conducted for four years,--years
which brought him added prosperity. Mr. Vineberg has ever held
a warm place in his heart for the little village of Lancaster,
to which he largely credits his commercial education. There he
had already attained such prominence that he was moving in the
best of circles and was associated with and sought out by the
foremost men of that county. In 1880 Mr. Vineberg returned to
Montreal, having definitely decided to engage in the manufacture
of clothing and, beginning in a small way in a private house,
he formed a partnership with G. Burnett under the firm style of
G. Burnett & Company. Although the firm’s policy was such that
it should have resulted in success, it was forced to close out
in 1891 and liquidated in that year. Such means as Mr. Vineberg
had acquired up to that time were swept away by this unfortunate
venture, and when he started again in 1892, tenaciously holding
to his purpose, he had to begin practically without capital.
However, he enjoyed a good reputation and among his personal
following were many who had utmost confidence in his integrity
and ability. He secured the assistance of Mr. Westgate of the H.
B. Knitting Company, and it was this combination which formed
the beginning of Progress brand clothing, under which name the
output of H. Vineberg & Company is favorably known to the trade
in all the Dominion. His thorough understanding of the business,
his capacity for detail, his executive ability and understanding
of human nature led him to the position which he now occupies
at the head of one of the leading establishments of its kind
in the city. The firm was incorporated in 1908 and in 1912 was
transformed into a joint stock company, of which Mr. Vineberg
became the president.
Although Mr. Vineberg’s mercantile interests are large, he has
found time and opportunity to prove himself one of those men
to whom the progress of the city and the welfare of its people
is of foremost importance. Deeply grateful for such success as
has come to him--and in his modest way not at all ascribing it
to his personality, his energy, his patience, his judgment and
industry--Mr. Vineberg welcomes the opportunity of giving to
charitable institutions and of aiding those who strive to make
a success of life. He has never forgotten how he once started
himself--a poor Jewish boy without means and friends--and how he
had to struggle to obtain a place in society. It is therefore
but natural that he shows the deepest understanding and the
greatest sympathy for those who today find themselves in similar
conditions, even if these are not so trying as those which
the young emigrant from the Sarmatian met. Mr. Vineberg is a
director of the Jewish Colonization Institute, engaged in Jewish
communal work. He was president of the Young Men’s Benevolent
Hebrew Society from 1888 until 1892, during which time Baron de
Hirsch sent the first ten thousand dollars with which the Baron
de Hirsch Institute was founded. Before being president of this
society, Mr. Vineberg was a director and in that capacity wrote
to the famous Jewish philanthropist calling his attention to
the needs of such an institution, and it was he who was largely
instrumental in founding the institute at St. Elizabeth Street.
In addition to his duties in connection with the Benevolent
Hebrew Society for Young Men and the Baron de Hirsch Institute,
Mr. Vineberg was one of those who were most active in promoting
its religious school and he was chairman of the committee having
charge over that department for many years. He is a member of
the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue and also of the English and
German Synagogue on McGill College Avenue, in which latter he
held the position of secretary for four years. He was one of the
leading and most energetic spirits in moving the synagogue to
McGill College Avenue from St. Constant Street, being at that
time the secretary. He also is a director of the Hebrew Free Loan
Association and a member of every Jewish charitable institution
in Montreal. However, that his charity and his interest in those
who are afflicted is not limited by creed is evident from the
fact that he is a governor of the Montreal General Hospital.
During his long business career Mr. Vineberg has been the mentor
of many of the leading merchants and manufacturers of this city
who began their careers in his employ and who learned their trade
in his place and there laid the foundations of their fortunes.
Hundreds of well-to-do families in Montreal have been able to
establish themselves in comfortable circumstances through their
connection with the house of Vineberg & Company. There are a
number of professional men who occupy an honored place in their
spheres of activities and who are indebted to Mr. Vineberg for
timely help and advice and there are many who are well known in
the city today who reached these shores as emigrants with small
means, and friendless, and who found in him one who was willing
to assuage such troubles as beset them.
Mr. Vineberg is devoting much of his time to the care of his
wife, a sufferer, and it is therefore but natural that he does
not give so much of his time to the active operation of his large
business interests, the management of the house of H. Vineberg
& Company being entrusted largely to the husband of his eldest
daughter. Yet he is still active and his advice is highly valued
and often sought in commercial circles. He is a member of the
Board of Trade and in that connection has always stood for
things which would promote progress and prosperity in Montreal.
He is a member of the Canadian Manufacturers Association and a
director of the Canadian Credit Men’s Association. Although he is
interested in all movements that make for efficient government of
city, province and Dominion, for the highest type of sanitary
system, the best health conditions, the beautification of the
city, he has never actively entered the political arena.
On October 23, 1876, Mr. Vineberg married Miss Lily Goldberg,
daughter of the late Rev. Hyman Goldberg, who for a number of
years was assistant minister of the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue.
Mr. and Mrs. Vineberg became the parents of three daughters:
Libbie, who married Isidor Cohen, a member of H. Vineberg &
Company; Eva, who married A. J. Hart, president and general
manager of the Hart Manufacturing Company; and Malca, who is the
wife of A. Z. Cohen, a member of the firm of L. Cohen & Sons.
Mr. and Mrs. Vineberg have twelve grandchildren, and it may
be mentioned as illustration of his deep affection for his
family that the pictures of these children adorn the walls of
his private office. When deeply engaged in business thoughts,
these children’s faces, no doubt, smile to him encouragement and
fill him with satisfaction in the knowledge that around him are
growing up generations of his own blood who appreciate and love
him for what he is to them and will honor him for what he has
done to lighten their life’s burdens when they will occupy the
stage of life’s activities.
PHILEMON COUSINEAU, B. A., LL. D., K. C., M. L. A.
As a member of the firm of Bastien, Bergeron, Cousineau, Lacasse
& Jasmin, Philemon Cousineau, K. C., occupies a foremost position
among the legal fraternity of Montreal. Moreover, he has gained
a reputation as a legislator and is considered today one of the
foremost authorities on constitutional law in the province. He
has important commercial interests, and his career has had in
its various aspects a lasting influence upon the growth and
development of the city. He was born at St. Laurent, Quebec, on
October 25, 1874, and is a son of Gervais and Angelique (Grou)
Cousineau.
Philemon Cousineau was educated at Sainte Therese College
and Laval University, from which he graduated in 1896. Being
called to the bar, he began the active practice of law in July
of that year and has ever since continued with increasing
success. He is professor of constitutional and municipal law at
Laval University, which institution of learning conferred upon
him the degree of LL. D., after he had presented a thesis on
Corporations. He has also been for some time king’s counsel and
enjoys a profitable and representative practice.
Mr. Cousineau is extensively interested in industrial and
financial projects which have had to do with the city’s progress,
among them being the Mount Royal Telephone Company, of which he
was president, and previous to its absorption by the Canadian
Light & Power Company he was a director of the Saraguay Light &
Power Company. He is also president of the St. Lawrence Tobacco
Company. He was mayor of the town of St. Laurent from 1904 to
1908 and both as an official and citizen has had no little to do
with the progress of that flourishing town.
In 1897 Mr. Cousineau was united in marriage to Miss Helmina
Gendron, and they have four daughters. In politics Mr. Cousineau
is a conservative and in 1908 was elected to the legislature of
the province of Quebec from the county of Jacques Cartier and
reelected in 1912. He is a trusted counselor of the party and has
done far-reaching work on committees as well as on the floor of
the house. Public-spirited in the most noble sense of the word,
he has ever stood for that which is best for the greatest number.
In 1913 he was delegate of the Canadian government to the general
meeting of the International Institute Of Agriculture at Rome,
Italy.
[Illustration: PHILEMON COUSINEAU]
EDOUARD NAPOLEON HEBERT.
The house of Hébert has been one of the foremost families of the
Dominion since the early dawn of Canadian history. One of the
first Canadian farmers, Louis Hébert, arrived in Quebec with
his family in 1617. Tradition has it that previously he passed
some time in Acadia, where he “was the first to utilize the
salt-water marshes of the Bay of Fundy by building dikes to keep
out the tides.” He continued to cultivate the soil at Quebec and
on February 28, 1626, as a reward to him and an encouragement
to others, the Duc de Ventadour, viceroy of New France, issued
a patent granting Hébert “in fief noble to him and his assigns
forever” a seignorial domain on the River St. Charles, near
Quebec, and confirming to him a concession made by the preceding
viceroy, the Duc de Montmorency. It was expressly stated in the
deed that these grants were made in consideration of Hébert’s
“long and painful labors, perils and expenses, incessantly
supported in the discovery of the lands of Canada and that he is
the head of the first family which has settled and dwelt there
since the year 1600 till now * * * having left his relations
and friends to go and form this commencement of a colony of
Christian people in those lands * * * which are deprived of the
knowledge of God.” Charles Lecroix Hébert, a rich trader and the
first farmer on the island of Montreal, built a residence in
1655 on Jean Baptiste Street, which is still standing and which
is shown in one of the illustrations of this history. Hébert,
named Larivière, was born in 1633 and was a companion in arms of
Dollard and present at the massacre of Long Sault in May, 1660.
Edouard Napoléon Hébert was born in Montreal on March 10, 1874,
and is a son of J. Napoléon Hébert, who was born January 14,
1850. His father, Louis Hébert, the grandfather of our subject,
was born in Quebec in 1810 or 1812 and from that city removed to
Montreal, while his father was the proprietor of the Boulangerie
du Roi (bakery of the king) at Quebec. This establishment was
subsequently continued by one of his sons, a brother of the
grandfather of our subject.
E. Napoléon Hébert, in the acquirement of his education,
attended Montcalm school of this city and subsequently improved
his advantages by a commercial course. He entered upon active
business life in connection with Hudon & Hébert, engaged in the
grocery business, for whom he made customs entries and acted as
assistant cashier. He is now treasurer of the “Twelve Companies”
and largely engaged in the real-estate business, being a young
man of very great ability, pleasant in manners and of sound
judgment. In two years the “Twelve Companies” with which he is
connected have disposed of properties to the value of eleven
million dollars, which gives an indication of the magnitude of
their transactions. Mr. Hébert is considered one of the best
informed men as to realty values here and his advice and judgment
are often sought by large investors and he has in many ways been
instrumental in promoting the growth and furthering the welfare
of his city. He is also interested in a cigar box factory which
gives employment to eighty men.
On July 7, 1891, at Montreal, Mr. Hébert was united in marriage
to Miss Cécilia Drolet and they have become the parents of
twelve children, four sons and eight daughters. The eldest son,
Charles-Edouard, is married and the other three are Armand,
Charles and Jean. The daughters are Gabrielle, Herminie,
Adrienne, Cécile, Marie-Thérèse, Germaine, Gilberte and Paulette.
In his political affiliations Mr. Hébert is a liberal, stanchly
upholding the principles of his party. He is well known in
fraternal orders, in most of which he has held important offices,
being connected with the Independent Order of Foresters and the
Canadian Order of Foresters. He is a member of the L’Alliance
Nationale, of the Club Canadien and the Club St. Louis. His
religious faith is that of the Catholic church and he is
prominent in the church of the Immaculate Conception, in which
for twenty-five years he has been organist. A man of great energy
and vast information as regards his business, Mr. Hébert occupies
a high place among the business men of Montreal and can ever be
found in the front ranks of those who have at heart the welfare
of their city. Although he has never cared to participate in
official life, he gladly supports worthy public enterprises and
enjoys the high respect and regard of all who come in contact
with him in business or social relations.
CHARLES SAMUEL JOHN PHILLIPS.
Many of the organized efforts for benefiting the general
interests of society have felt the stimulus of the cooperation
and indorsement of Charles Samuel John Phillips, whose position
in the business world is that of head of the firm of Morton,
Phillips & Company, stationers and printers. He was born in
Quebec on the 13th of October, 1844, and is a son of the late
Thomas Osmond Phillips, of Quebec, and his wife, Agnes Ritchie
Leslie, a daughter of Dr. S. W. H. Leslie, of the army medical
department. He was but a youth of thirteen when he accompanied
his parents to Montreal, where he has made his home continuously
since 1857, being, therefore, one of the older residents of the
city in years of continuous connection therewith.
It was in Montreal that Mr. Phillips was married in 1873 to Miss
Jessie Amelia Thomson, a daughter of the late William A. Thomson,
and her death occurred in May, 1910.
With the attainment of his majority Charles S. J. Phillips
entered business life and gradually advanced to the position of
head of the firm of Morton, Phillips & Company, stationers and
printers, which business was established in 1869. His activities
have been exerted with energy, force and effectiveness along
other lines, some of which have been of a semi-public and others
of a public character. He was formerly president of the Montreal
Citizens League and of the Montreal Dispensary and is now a
director of the Citizens Association. He is likewise a member of
the Business Men’s League and is a director of the Mount Royal
Cemetery Company. He belongs to the Natural History Society and
is deeply interested in the Boys Home, of which he is honorary
treasurer, and the Boys Farm and Training School at Shawbridge,
Quebec. He has been a student of the important political,
economic and sociological questions and has investigated
conditions which bear directly upon the interests of society at
large in its relation to citizenship and the opportunities which
are placed before the individual for his normal development and
advancement. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church,
and his political belief that of the conservative party. He is
well known as a member of the Montreal and Canadian Clubs. While
the winter months are spent in the city, he has an attractive
summer home, Mes Délices, at Notre Dame du Portage on the St.
Lawrence.
ALEXANDER GEORGE CAMERON.
Alexander George Cameron is one of the younger representatives
of the legal profession in Montreal. Since his admission to the
bar in 1910 he has made continuous progress. He was born in
Winchester, Ontario, May 11, 1884, a son of Alexander and Louise
(Reddick) Cameron, the former a native of Inverness, Scotland,
while the latter is of Canadian birth.
In the public schools of Winchester Alexander G. Cameron laid the
foundation for his education. He was a student in the Morrisburg
Collegiate Institute and received his law training in McGill
University, from which he was graduated B. C. L. with the class
of 1910. He at once entered upon the practice of law. His name
is also well known in the business world, being a director of
several commercial enterprises.
Mr. Cameron is known in military circles, being a captain in
the Fifth Royal Highlanders of Canada. His political allegiance
is given to the conservative party, and he is prominent in club
circles, his membership being in the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht
Club, the Manitou Club, the Kaniwakee Golf Club, the Beaconsfield
Golf Club, the University Club, the Montreal Club and the
Montreal Art Association. He is a Presbyterian in religious
belief.
GILBERT SCOTT.
Gilbert Scott was for many years a resident of Montreal and
a witness of its development and progress. He came to rank
prominently among the representatives of commercial and
financial interests and for an extended period was a member of
the Dow Brewery Company of this city. He was born at Chagford,
Devonshire, England, April 16, 1820. In early life he was a clerk
in a bank in London and came to Montreal in 1845. In the ’60s he
entered into partnership with William Dow, a well known Montreal
brewer and continued in active connection with the business until
his life’s labors were ended on the 9th of June, 1891, when he
was seventy-one years of age. The other members of the firm at
various times were John Harris, A. C. Hooper, J. Philip Scott,
son of Gilbert Scott, Angus Hooper and Major George Hooper.
Capable management led to the continuous growth and success of
the business until the year 1912, when the Dow Brewery became a
part of the National Breweries Company.
Gilbert Scott was connected officially with many large financial
and commercial institutions and was well posted upon financial
and commercial matters, but his fund of knowledge went further
and made him familiar with many other questions and interests
of the day. He was a director of the Bank of Montreal;
senior partner of the Dow Brewery Company; president of the
Intercolonial Mining Company; vice president of the Shedden
Company; a director of the North British and Mercantile Insurance
Company, and of the Canada Sugar Refining Company.
Mr. Scott was married to Miss Janet Cooper of London, England,
who died in 1875. He was survived by one son, James Philip, who
was a member of the Dow Brewery Company from 1876 until his
death, in 1898, and four daughters.
Mr. Scott was a member of St. Paul’s Lodge of Masons and was
always loyal to the teachings and purposes of the craft. He had
vivid recollections of the important points in the history of
Montreal, from the time when he located here in 1845, until his
death. As a man, he possessed many attractive social qualities
and was beloved by a large circle of friends.
JOSEPH RIELLE.
In the long years of an active professional career Joseph Rielle
has made continuous advancement until he stands today not only
as a veteran civil engineer and surveyor, but also as one of the
most capable representatives of his chosen calling in Montreal.
Each year has found him in advance of the position which he
occupied the previous year, because of his developing powers and
growing ability. He was born at Laprairie on the 6th of October,
1833, and received his initial business training with the firm of
Ostell & Perrault, architects and land surveyors, whose service
he entered in 1850 when a youth of seventeen years. He continued
with that firm for four years and then became assistant to Mr.
John Page, chief engineer of public works. He next accepted the
position of assistant engineer to the harbor commission and
eventually entered upon the general practice of land surveying in
Montreal and the surrounding district. He has been connected with
extensive surveys for the Grand Trunk and the Canadian Pacific
Railways and the harbor commissioners of Montreal and in addition
to his general practice has made a number of important hydraulic
surveys. In 1904 he was presented with a testimonial by members
of the society of land surveyors to mark the fiftieth anniversary
of his entry into civil engineering and land surveying.
While this has been his chief life activity, Mr. Rielle has
done important work in other connections. He was formerly
vice president of the Pontiac Pacific Junction Railway, and
he has done much work of a public and semi-public character,
whereby the general interests of the country at large have been
greatly promoted. He was secretary and manager of the Montreal
Turnpike Trust for about fifteen years. He was a member of
the council of Verdun, Montreal, from 1875 until 1900 and was
intrusted with many important public works. He is a life governor
of the House of Industry and Refuge, also of the Montreal General
Hospital, and is president of the Fraser Institute and Free
Public Library of Montreal. His activities have been of a nature
that have contributed largely to the general development and
good, but he has never taken an active part in politics.
[Illustration: JOSEPH RIELLE]
Mr. Rielle married Miss Jeannie T. Goldie of Laprairie, P. Q.,
who was vice president of the Montreal Industrial Rooms and who
died in June, 1904. Mr. Rielle has his home at No. 90 Union
Avenue and is a member of the St. James Club. He has now reached
the advanced age of more than eighty years, but is still active
in his profession and in spirit and interest seems yet a man in
the prime of life.
JOHN STUART BUCHAN.
No phase of life affecting the political and local status of the
province or its educational or moral development fails to elicit
the attention and interest of John Stuart Buchan and seldom
fails to receive his hearty cooperation and support. He is ever
willing to divide his time between his profession and public
service, recognizing ever the duties as well as the privileges
of citizenship and the obligations which devolve upon man in
relation to his fellowmen. He is well known as a practitioner
at the bar and his reputation as a capable lawyer has been well
earned. He was born at St. Andrews, P. Q., October 28, 1852,
the only son of the late William and Katherine (Stuart) Buchan,
of St. Andrews. The family is descended from the old earls of
Buchan. After attending public schools of his native city John
S. Buchan entered McGill University and won his B. C. L. degree
in 1884. He had determined to make the practice of law his life
work, and following his graduation he became an advocate, since
which time he has continued a representative of the Montreal
bar. Here he has worked his way up to leadership and in 1899 was
created a king’s counsel. For almost a third of a century he has
been engaged in practice here, and his ability has long since
placed him in a position of distinction among the leaders of the
legal profession in Montreal. At one time he was a member of the
editorial staff of the Canadian Jurist, and in 1904 he was a
royal commissioner for the revision of the provincial statutes.
Thus important governmental problems in connection with his
profession have elicited his deep interest and called forth his
abilities.
In 1885 Mr. Buchan was married to Miss Katherine McMartin, the
second daughter of F. McMartin, of St. Andrews. She died in
August, 1894, and in 1896 Mr. Buchan wedded Annie, the eldest
daughter of the late J. H. Henderson, of Montreal.