as a practitioner and as professor of administrative law and
doctor of laws in Laval University, is now at the head of the
firm of Morin & Mackay, notaries of Montreal. His name is also
well known in literary circles and his activities and his
writings have had a far-reaching and beneficial effect upon
public interests. Born at St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, on the 15th of
August, 1865, he is a son of Jean Baptiste Morin and Aurelie
(Cote) Morin. In the acquirement of his education he attended
successively Girouard Academy, the St. Hyacinthe College, from
which he was graduated B. A. in 1884, and Laval University, which
conferred upon him the LL. B. degree in 1888 and that of LL. D.
in 1910. He studied law in the office of Papineau, Morin & Mackay
and was admitted to the practice of the notarial profession in
1888. For a brief period thereafter he was a resident of Acton
Vale, Quebec, but in 1890 returned to Montreal and is now senior
member in the firm of Morin & Mackay. He is also custodian of the
archives of his late partners, D. E. Papineau, C. F. Papineau,
Durand and Morin, whose office was established in 1841. Aside
from his business he has occupied many positions of importance
and of public trust. While a resident of the town of Acton Vale
he was secretary-treasurer of the town from 1888 until 1890.
He has been treasurer of the board of notaries of the province
of Quebec since 1897 and he has various important business
connections. He was president of the Imperial Electric Light
Company from 1899 until 1901, became secretary of the Montreal
Real-Estate Association in 1904 and is now its president. He is
likewise president of the Crédit Métropolitain, of the Caisse
Hypothécaire, of the Montreal Debenture Corporation, of the
Récollet Land Company, and of the Federal Real-Estate & Trust
Company; vice president of the Security Life Insurance Company,
and a director of the Provincial Life and of the Provincial Fire
Insurance Companies. From 1897 to 1910, he was notary to the
corporation of the city of Montreal and resigned this position
in order to run for aldermanic honors. His high standing in his
chosen profession is indicated by the fact that he has been
made professor of administrative law in Laval University and is
regarded as one of the prominent law educators of the country.
His public-spirited citizenship finds expression in active
support of many measures and movements for the public good and
his cooperation can always be counted upon when the welfare
of city, province or country is at stake. He has taken great
interest for many years past in social questions, and is vice
president general of the St. Jean Baptiste Society, the national
association of French-Canadians. He was a director of Montreal
Citizens Association from 1908 until 1910 and his position upon
the temperance question is indicated by the fact that he is now
the general secretary of the Montreal Anti-Alcoholic League.
[Illustration: VICTOR MORIN]
Prominent in the Independent Order of Foresters, Mr. Morin was
its supreme vice chief ranger from 1898 to 1902, and has been
its past supreme chief ranger since 1905; in 1895-6 he edited
and published a paper in the interests of that fraternity called
Le Forestier. Since 1890 he has delivered many lectures to
fraternal societies and no man is better qualified to speak on
the beneficent basic principles of the organization.
His authorship has made Mr. Morin equally widely known. He was
actively interested in the literary work of the Cercle Ville
Marie as its secretary from 1886 until 1888. He is the author of
Vingt Ans Après, the second edition of which was brought forth
in 1909. He is silver medalist of the Ligue Nationale de la
Prévoyance et de la Mutualité, of Paris, France, and honorary
vice president of the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of
Montreal. His active interest in affairs of vital importance
to the city has been manifest in his capable public service
as alderman of Montreal, to which position he was elected in
1910. His political support is given to the liberal party and
his religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic church. He
is prominent in club circles, is a member of the St. Denis and
Reform Clubs, and is secretary of the Maison des Etudiants. His
library, which is extensive and well selected, furnishes him his
chief source of recreation and interest.
Mr. Morin was married in 1893 at Biddeford, Maine, to Miss
Fannie, daughter of the Hon. D. Cote. In 1896 he wedded
Alphonsine, daughter of Victor Cote, of St. Hyacinthe. They
reside at No. 703 St. Urbain Street with their eleven children,
and spend their summer months in their attractive villa on the
slope of Mount St. Bruno. His life has been so varied in its
activities and so honorable in its purposes as to leave an
indelible impress for good upon the community and through his
professional, business and fraternal connections Mr. Morin has
come to be recognized as one of the leading residents of Montreal.
HUBERT ADOLPHE ELZEAR GRANDBOIS.
Hubert Adolphe Elzéar Grandbois, who since October, 1911, has
been connected with the notarial profession in Montreal, was born
in St. Casimir, Port Neuf district, in the province of Quebec,
on the 15th of January, 1876, a son of Michel Adolphe and Marie
Aurée (Charest) Grandbois, the former a dealer in wood. The son
pursued his classical education in the Seminary of Nicolet,
from which he was graduated in 1895. He afterward entered upon
the study of law in Laval University at Quebec, which conferred
upon him the degree of Bachelor of Laws, in June, 1898. On the
completion of his studies he was admitted to practice as a
notary in the following September and located at St. Casimir,
where he remained in active practice from September, 1898, until
October, 1911. He then came to Montreal, where he has since
remained and has attained high standing among the representatives
of the profession owing to broad and accurate knowledge, close
application and fidelity to the interests of his clients.
Mr. Grandbois was married in the city of his nativity on the 7th
of January, 1899, to Miss Marie Laetitia Belisle, a daughter of
Octave Germain and Marguerite (Daly) Belisle. The children of
this marriage are Marie Marguerite and Marie Laurette Grandbois.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church,
and Mr. Grandbois has membership with the Chevaliers de Colomb.
JOHN EDGAR.
The late John Edgar, who for many years was connected with the
fur industry in Montreal, was born in Woodstock, Ontario, March
12, 1843. During his boyhood the family removed to Hamilton,
Ontario, where his school days were passed. He began his business
career in the provision trade with Folingsby & Williamson in
Hamilton and later came to Montreal as representative of that
firm. Soon after his arrival in this city, or in 1866, he entered
the firm of Greene & Sons Company, wholesale furriers, in
which connection he worked his way upward, eventually becoming
a partner in the business. About the year 1895, when Greene
& Sons Company retired, Mr. Edgar succeeded to the business
which he continued for some years under the firm name of Edgar,
Swift & Company. When Mr. Swift retired Mr. Edgar formed a
partnership with Mr. Charles Coristine under the firm name of
Edgar, Coristine & Company, which relation was maintained for
four years, after which Mr. Edgar continued the business alone
until 1912, when he retired. He was one of the prominent furriers
of the city, developing and building up a business of extensive
proportions, and in commercial affairs his judgment was sound,
his enterprise keen and his diligence unfaltering.
In Montreal Mr. Edgar was united in marriage to Miss Selina
Kidner and unto them were born five children, three sons and two
daughters: John Hamilton, who is connected with the Canadian
Pacific Railway; Frank Clifton, connected with the Royal Bank
of Canada at Montreal; William Dewar, of the custom house of
Montreal; Katie Selina; and Lillian Maud. The death of the
husband and father occurred September 12, 1913, and was the
occasion of deep regret to many with whom he had been closely
associated in business and social circles. In politics he
was a conservative but without aspiration for public office.
He belonged to the Royal Albert Lodge of Masons and was a
faithful member of the Church of St. James the Apostle. In those
connections are indicated the principles which governed his life
and guided him in all of his relations.
CAMILLE TESSIER.
Camille Tessier, a young man possessed of laudable ambition and
determination, is making continuous progress in the field of
his chosen profession--that of the practice of law. He was born
at Berthierville, Quebec, July 26, 1887, a son of Dominique
and Odile (Des Rosiers) Tessier, the former a merchant at
Berthierville. He is descended from French ancestors who landed
here with the pioneers of the country. Like the greater part
of Canada’s first inhabitants, they were farmers and spent
their whole lives in cultivating the lands which they had first
courageously conquered from the wilderness and from the forest on
the north side of the St. Lawrence river, thus contributing in
large measure to the actual prosperity of the country.
Camille Tessier was accorded liberal educational opportunities,
which he improved, thus laying a broad foundation for his
later success. He pursued a course in the commercial college
of Berthierville, was a student in the Seminary of Joliette,
attended St. Mary’s College at Montreal, Laval University at
Montreal, in which he pursued his classical and professional
courses, winning the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws
degrees. He subsequently attended Eastman’s Business College of
Poughkeepsie, New York. As advocate, barrister and solicitor
he is making for himself a creditable position in professional
ranks. He has been a member of the Montreal bar since the 7th of
July, 1910, and the thoroughness and care with which he prepares
his cases and the logic of his deductions have gained him rank
among those who are winning success in the difficult and arduous
profession to which he devotes his energies. He makes a specialty
of commercial law and is a member of the Commercial Law League of
America. He is working his way to success vigorously but quietly
and honestly. Mr. Tessier is a member of the Roman Catholic
church. He was married in Montreal, on the 28th of January,
1913, to Edmee Paquette, and they have one child, Jean Marcel,
born in Outremont on the 28th of October, 1913. His courage and
a laudable ambition of living a life of usefulness to his family
and to his country have brought Mr. Tessier the high regard of
associates and all who know aught of his career.
CHARLES GIDEON HILL.
The life record of Charles Gideon Hill constitutes an
illustration of what the new world has to offer to ambitious
young men. Coming to Canada as an orphan boy, he steadily
worked his way upward, each forward step bringing him a broader
outlook and wider opportunities. He became in time a successful
merchant of Montreal and in later years devoted his time to the
supervision of his invested interests, which included large
property holdings and stock in many financial and commercial
enterprises. He was seventy-six years of age at the time of his
death, which occurred on the 12th of June, 1893, at the old home
at No. 247 Bleury Street, where he had lived for more than half a
century. He was born in England, but lost his father and mother
when quite young, after which he crossed the Atlantic and for
a time resided in New York. He afterward came to Montreal and
gradually he worked his way upward in a business way, realizing
at the outset of his career, that industry and honesty constitute
the foundation upon which success is built. In time he was the
proprietor of a small dry-goods establishment on St. Paul Street
and conducted it successfully for many years, but about 1870,
retired from commercial circles in order to supervise his large
estate which also included the estate of William Galt. From time
to time he became interested in business enterprises, holding
stock in many leading financial and commercial concerns. His
judgment was sound, his sagacity keen and in the control of
important interests he established his position as one of the
leading and capable business men of the city.
[Illustration: CHARLES G. HILL]
[Illustration: MRS. CHARLES G. HILL]
On the 19th of August, 1840, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to
Miss Margaret J. Galt, a daughter of William Galt, who for many
years was one of the leading citizens of Montreal. He engaged in
the tanning business near Glasgow, Quebec, and amassed a very
considerable fortune. Following his death, Mr. Hill retired from
commercial interests to supervise the Galt estate. To Mr. and
Mrs. Hill were born eleven children, eight of whom reached adult
age. These children were: William Galt, deceased; Charles G.,
who also has passed away; Margaret Ewing, the widow of G. M.
Patterson, residing in Cleveland, Ohio; Robert Ewing, deceased;
Adelaide, who married Samuel P. Wigg and resides in Lakefield,
Ontario; Lewis E., deceased; Helena Augusta, residing in
Montreal; Jean Elizabeth, now Mrs. E. A. Hilton; Peter Alexander;
Emma Louise, who married Albert A. Adams and is deceased; and
Dr. Adolphus James Hill, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hill devoted the
greatest care to rearing their large family and bestowed upon the
children their tenderest love. Those who grew to adult’s estate
were an honor to the family name and in full measure repaid the
care of the parents, whom they ever held in reverent memory. It
is due to the kind cooperation of Miss Helena A. Hill,--and to
her the publishers are indebted,--that they are able to
present herewith the excellent steel etchings portraying her
parents.
[Illustration: HELENA A. HILL]
Mr. Hill attended services and held a pew in the First Baptist
church and also in the Church of England, in the Cathedral. His
membership was in the latter and his wife, who died in 1882,
was a member of the former. Both were greatly esteemed and an
extensive circle of friends indicated their worth and the high
regard in which they were held.
WALDO W. SKINNER.
Waldo W. Skinner, practicing at the Montreal bar as a member
of the firm of Smith, Markey, Skinner, Pugsley & Hyde, was
born at St. John, New Brunswick, a son of the late Hon. C. M.
Skinner, K. C. His youthful days were largely devoted to the
acquirement of an education in the schools of his native city and
at Upper Canada College, Toronto, and having determined upon the
practice of law as his life work, he entered McGill University
in preparation for the bar, and was graduated B. C. L. in 1901.
In 1913 Mr. Skinner was created a king’s counsel. The year
following his graduation he entered upon the active work of his
profession and his course has been marked by continuous progress.
He is now associated with one of the leading law firms of the
city, Smith, Markey, Skinner, Pugsley & Hyde, and is actively
interested in much important litigation, in connection with which
he is retained as counsel for the defense or prosecution. From
the outset of his career he has recognized the fact that careful
preparation is one of the indispensable elements of success, so
that thorough work precedes his presentation of his cause in the
courtroom. His reasoning is clear and cogent and his arguments
strong and forceful.
In June, 1907, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Skinner and
Miss Loulou Forget, the eldest daughter of the late Hon. L. J.
Forget, senator. Mr. Skinner in his social relations is well
known, being a member of the Mount Royal, St. James and Montreal
Clubs, while his interest in sports is further indicated in
his membership in the Montreal Racquet and Royal Montreal Golf
Cubs. Attractive social qualities render him popular in those
organizations, in which he has gained many friends.
THOMAS ROBB.
Organization is the watchword of the age. Promotion in every
field of endeavor is brought about through the agency of
organized effort and cooperation, and thorough study of each
situation constitutes the basis of effort in this direction. This
spirit and tendency of the age has led to the formation of many
companies or societies for the benefit of business interests and
it is in this connection that Thomas Robb is known, being manager
and secretary of the Shipping Federation of Canada. A native of
Scotland, he was born in the city of Glasgow in the year 1863,
his father being the late Thomas Robb, who for some years was
superintendent of police in Glasgow. Spending his youthful days
in that city, the son pursued his education in the public schools
and in the Glasgow Academy. Mr. Robb came to Canada first in 1883
and spent one year at farming in the Niagara district. Returning
to England he became identified with the shipping interests and
in connection therewith was located at different periods in
Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. He returned to Canada
in 1902 and upon the organization of the Shipping Federation of
Canada, which is incorporated by act of the Dominion parliament,
he was chosen manager and secretary. He still continues in
the dual position, his efforts being of marked value to the
organization in promoting its object and accomplishing its
purpose as he is actively engaged in all matters relating to
navigation and shipping. In 1913 Mr. Robb was appointed member
of the royal commission appointed to inquire into and report
upon the “Law Respecting Pilotage” and its administration in the
pilotage district of Montreal and Quebec.
In 1891 Mr. Robb was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth
McLaren, a daughter of Andrew McLaren. Their religious faith
is that of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Robb belongs to St.
Andrew’s Society. He is a justice of the peace for Montreal and
district. He is likewise a member of the Engineers Club and of
the Canadian Club and has gained the warm friendship of many in
both organizations.
HON. JOHN JOSEPH CURRAN.
Hon. John Joseph Curran, barrister, jurist and orator, whose
life record was an honor to the land of his ancestors and to the
land of his birth was born in Montreal, February 22, 1842, his
parents being Charles and Sarah (Kennedy) Curran, both natives of
Ireland, the former born in County Down and the latter in County
Wexford. Emigrating to the new world they retained the intense
love of native land, so characteristic of the Irish race and
instilled the same deep attachment into their son, who with his
increasing age and powers gave freely of his time and talents for
the benefit of Erin’s green isle.
In the pursuit of his education Judge Curran attended a Jesuit
school and St. Mary’s College at Montreal, where he entered upon
a classical course. He afterward became a student in St. Joseph’s
College at Ottawa and in 1891 the University of Ottawa conferred
upon him the LL. D. degree. In the continuance of his education,
he entered McGill University as a student in the law department
and won his D. C. L. degree in 1862. It was in the spring of 1859
that he began preparation for the bar, reading at times under
the direction of such distinguished lawyers as Bernard Devlin,
Hon. T. J. J. Loranger and Andrew Robertson, K. C. While pursuing
his classical courses he cultivated a taste for literature and
oratory and in his student days developed the natural gifts that
in course of time made him one of the foremost Canadian orators.
It was also in his early manhood that he joined the Irish
national movement and thus his life was taking shape along those
lines which were to make him a power in moulding the history of
province and country.
The year following his graduation from McGill, or in 1863, he was
called to the bar of Quebec. No dreary novitiate awaited him.
Almost immediately his talents won him recognition and he gained
prominence as one of the younger members of the profession, by
the important part which he took in the conduct of a number of
notable criminal cases, including the Shehan, Havern, Kehoe and
Considine murder cases and the Dunbar, Brown, Kearney and T. F.
O’Brien frauds.
It is said that he had no superior in the conduct of election
cases. He was successful in the Devlin-Ryan, Tansey-Malone and
the James McShane-Loprairie contests and all these drew to
him the attention and favorable comment of the profession. He
was equally capable in the practice of civil law and was the
legal representative of some of the largest contractors of the
continent including men prominent in business in New York, Ottawa
and Montreal. His legal counsel was sought by men of prominence
again and again. Probably his last appearance as an advocate was
when he represented the Dominion government in an arbitration
with the province, the case being heard in the city of Quebec
about 1894.
Judge Curran was created a king’s counsel by the Marquis of
Lorne and was appointed secretary of the commission for the
codification of the statutes of the first De Boucherville
government. He was called to judiciary honor when made a puisne
judge of the superior court, December 5, 1892. He was appointed
solicitor general in the ministry of Sir John Thomas and
continued to hold that office after Sir Mackenzie Bowell became
premier. A contemporary writer said, “on the occasion of his
appointment his lordship was congratulated by the press without
distinction of party, both on public and personal grounds in
acknowledgment of his ‘indefatigable efforts to promote the
interests of his constituents’ and he was presented in 1890,
chiefly by citizens in Montreal, with a purse of seven thousand
dollars.” Judge Curran remained upon the bench for fourteen years
and proved himself the peer of the ablest jurist who has gained
the superior court bench. There were those who opposed him in the
beginning, but all came to acknowledge his capability, his record
being a credit and honor to the bench. His opinions were models
of judicial soundness and his record as a jurist was such as any
man might be proud to possess.
Politically his lordship was a liberal-conservative and he
rendered valuable service to his party. He was elected by a large
majority for Montreal Center to the house of commons in 1882,
1887 and again in 1891, and upon his appointment to the solicitor
generalship of Canada in 1892 he was reelected by acclamation.
On the organization of a law faculty in connection with the
University of Ottawa in 1892 Judge Curran was appointed to one
of the legal chairs and elected vice dean. He was also a member
of the senate of that university and president of its Alumni
Association. As an orator he swayed all by his eloquence. He
gained high rank as a lecturer and was frequently called upon to
address public gatherings.
In religious faith Judge Curran was a most earnest Catholic and
was ever watchful of opportunity to assist those of his faith
in public or in private. While his health permitted he never
failed to appear annually with his colleagues of the bench and
bar in the Tete Dieu procession and his piety and devotion in
the closing years of his life were an encouragement to the old
and an edifying example for the young. As a Canadian his life
work was one of conciliation and he strove to promote harmony
between all creeds and colors. He accepted invitations to address
gatherings of foreign colonists, and the Jews, Germans and
Italians knew him well, while among the people of his nationality
he was not only loved but respected. He yielded to none in the
breadth of his sympathy and generous desire for the union of all
denominations in the best and noblest objects. Following his
elevation to the bench he said “that as a public man it had been
his constant aim to bring about the union of hearts and minds
among all creeds and classes,” and “he was satisfied that if we
desired to have a prosperous country with a happy and contented
people we could only secure those blessings by all creeds and
classes uniting together for one common end, ‘the advancement
and welfare of Canada and the empire.’” In August, 1896, Judge
Curran was elected a delegate to the Irish Race convention,
which met in Dublin in September of that year. He had previously
been president of St. Patrick’s Society of Montreal and prior to
his elevation to the bench was one of the directors of the True
Witness Publishing Company. After his trip to the old country in
1907 the Burns Club honored him with an invitation to a banquet
and to respond to a toast to the memory of Robert Burns. On
rising to speak he said, that all had become brothers the world
over since men of such intense love for Old Scotia had, here in
our happy Canadian home, called upon a descendant of old Ireland
to do honor to the name and fame of Scotland’s greatest bard.
There are few, indeed, who have greater love for the land which
shelters their race than had Judge Curran. He was perfectly
familiar with Irish history, was a reader of Irish literature
and a lover of Irish music, and he was an ardent and unflinching
advocate of home rule.
In 1865 Judge Curran married Mary Elizabeth, the youngest
daughter of the late Patrick Brennan of Montreal. His third son,
Francis Joseph Curran, following his graduation from Manhattan
University of New York and McGill University of Montreal, was
called to the bar of his native province.