1888, and their children were Mrs. Annie Presnau, Mary, Julius,
Ethel, Goldie and Lazarus. In 1913 he married Leah Nochumofsky.
It would be difficult to determine how important has been the
life work of Hirsch Cohen, for there is no standard whereby to
judge influence, especially when it is exerted along lines of
intellectual and moral progress. His worth, however, is widely
recognized, not only by those of his own faith, but also by the
Gentiles who respect him as a man and honor him for his loyalty
to his belief and for his great work in behalf of his cause.
HARRY BLOOMFIELD.
A prominent representative of the Jewish element in the
citizenship of Montreal is Harry Bloomfield, a partner in the
well known wholesale jewelry firm of Bloomfield Brothers. He is
largely regarded as a representative business man, enterprising,
progressive, alert and energetic. He was born in Montreal in
1879, a son of Baruch Bloomfield, a scholar and educator who
for many years resided in Montreal and enjoyed the respect of
all who knew him. It was in the schools of this city that Harry
Bloomfield pursued his education and after entering business
circles he traveled for the American Clock Company of New York
for five and a half years, in which he gained much valuable
experience concerning business methods and procedure. On the
expiration of that period he entered the employ of the Canadian
jewelry house of Pinfort & Company, whom he represented upon
the road as a traveling salesman for another period of five and
a half years. All during this time he was ambitious to engage in
business on his own account, and in 1904 he saw the realization
of his hopes, for in that year he was the organizer of the
firm of Bloomfield Brothers, wholesale jewelers. Through the
intervening period the business has steadily grown and developed
under the careful guidance and management of its proprietors who
are energetic, progressive young men, realizing and utilizing
their opportunities. They carry a large and carefully selected
line of jewelry, and their trade is growing year by year, having
already reached extensive and profitable proportions.
On the 7th of June, 1905, Mr. Bloomfield was united in marriage
to Miss Sadie Davies, a daughter of Morton Davies of New York,
and their children are Bernard, Louis, Dorothy and Florence.
Mr. Bloomfield has been somewhat active in connection with
civic affairs. He was made justice of the peace for the city
and district of Montreal, October 12, 1904, and he was twice a
candidate in St. Lawrence ward in conservative interests as M. P.
P.
He is identified with a number of social and fraternal
organizations, for beside being president of the Independent
Voters League he is a director of the Baron de Hirsch Institute,
a director of the Hebrew Sheltering Home, a director of the
Montefiore Club and president of the D’Israeli Conservative Club.
At the time of the ritual murder charge against Mendel Beiliss
six judges were appointed by the Jewish citizens to forward a
protest to the governor general and Mr. Bloomfield was appointed
as one of the judges. He is a high type of young Jewish manhood
in Montreal and is rapidly winning for himself an enviable
position in business circles.
JOHN BRADFORD MCCONNELL, M. D., D. C. L.
Dr. John Bradford McConnell, an able educator in the field of
medical science and actively engaged in hospital and private
practice, was born at Chatham, Quebec, August 28, 1851, a son of
the late Andrew and Martha Jane (Bradford) McConnell, of Lachute,
Quebec. In the acquirement of his education he became a student
at Dr. Wanless Academy at Carillon, Quebec, and ultimately
graduated from McGill University with the degrees of M. D., C.
M. in 1873. Still not content with the opportunities that had
already been his for preparation for the medical profession, he
went abroad and did post-graduate work in Berlin under Professor
Koch. From the outset his professional career has been marked
by advancement and constantly expanding powers have enabled him
to successfully control and check disease when others of less
thorough training or of minor devotion to the profession would
have failed. His high standing is indicated in the fact that
Bishop’s College of Lennoxville selected him for the honor of
receiving the D. C. L. degree in 1905. He has long been eminent
in the field of medical education and was vice president of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons, while for many years he
was a professor on the medical faculty of Bishop’s College. He
has successively occupied the chairs of professor of botany,
professor of materia medica, professor of pathology, professor of
medicine and of clinical medicine, and was vice dean for a number
of years and was acting dean in 1905, when the medical faculty
was amalgamated with McGill University, so that his name is
inseparably associated with Bishop’s College and the high rank it
has attained. Dr. McConnell has also been a member of the staff
of the Western Hospital since its establishment and is medical
examiner for the Aetna and the Mutual Life Insurance Companies.
He was for several years editor of the Canada Medical Record.
He has written extensively on medical subjects and his opinions
elicit attention, admiration and consideration whenever publicly
expressed.
[Illustration: DR. JOHN B. McCONNELL]
Aside from the strict path of the profession Dr. McConnell has
been active and is now a senator of the Wesleyan Theological
College of Montreal. He also has an interesting military chapter
in his life record, having from 1875 until 1884 served as
assistant surgeon of the First Prince of Wales Regiment. In 1875
he married Miss Theodora Lovell, daughter of the late Robert
Miller, of Montreal. Dr. McConnell is yet in the prime of life.
He has not reached the zenith of his powers, which are constantly
unfolding and developing. He keeps in the vanguard of those to
whom science is revealing its secrets as the result of careful
investigation and wide research, and the broader knowledge which
each year brings is familiar to him.
JOHN GEORGE ADAMI.
Dr. John George Adami, scientist, educationist and author whose
eminent position in his profession was indicated in his election
to the presidency of the Association of American Physicians in
1911, was born in Manchester, England, January 12, 1862, a son of
the late John George Adami of Manchester and Ashton-upon-Mersey,
Cheshire. The mother of Dr. Adami, who in her maidenhood was
Sarah Ann Ellis Leech, was a daughter of Thomas Leech of Urmston,
Lancashire, and a sister of the late Sir Bosdin Leech, one of the
founders of the Manchester Ship Canal, while another brother was
Professor Leech, a leading member of the staff of Owen’s College
and the Manchester Medical School.
Dr. Adami began his more advanced schooling when he entered
Owen’s College, Manchester, and in 1880 entered Christ’s
College, Cambridge, becoming a scholar of the same and in
1882 gaining a first class in the first part of the Natural
Science Tripos followed in 1884 by a first class in the second
part of the same tripos. Following upon this he spent eight
months in physiological research at Breslau, Germany, under the
distinguished physiologist Heidenhain. In 1885, Dr. Adami was
awarded the Darwin prize of his college, for original research.
The Master of Arts degree was conferred upon him in 1887, and
with the completion of the course of medicine at Manchester in
this year, he was appointed house physician at the Manchester
Royal Infirmary, following upon which he was called to Cambridge
to become demonstrator of pathology under Professor Roy.
In 1890, he was appointed to the John Lucas Walker studentship
of pathology in the University of Cambridge, and went to Paris
for bacteriological research in the Institute Pasteur, under
Professor Metchnikoff. He won his M. D. degree in 1891, and in
the same year was elected a fellow of Jesus College.
The following year he was called to Montreal, as professor of
pathology in McGill University, and his continued success in
research work, in practice and in the educational field, led to
various degrees and honors being conferred upon him. In 1898,
McGill conferred upon him the degrees of M. A. and M. B. Ad Eund.
The University of New Brunswick honored him with the LL. D.
degree in 1900, the University of Toronto conferring the same
degree in 1911, while in 1912 he received the Sc. D. of Trinity
College, Dublin. He had previously, in 1905, been elected a
fellow of the Royal Society. He is also a fellow of the Royal
Societies of Edinburgh and Canada. In February, 1914, the
Fothergillian medal of the Medical Society of London was awarded
to Dr. Adami for his “work on Pathology in its application to
practical medicine and surgery.” The Fothergillian gold medal was
first awarded in 1787 and now is given every third year.
It would be tautological in this connection to enter into any
series of statements showing him to be a man of scholarly
attainments, for this has been shadowed forth between the
lines of this review in the work that he has performed as an
investigator and in the honors which have been conferred upon him.
He is perhaps even better known in the field of authorship than
in educational circles. The work by which he is most widely known
is his “Principles of Pathology” in two volumes (the second in
connection with Professor A. G. Nicholls of McGill).
Dr. Adami has written various papers on pathological subjects
which have appeared in a number of the leading medical journals
in England and America and have also been translated into French.
His smaller text-book upon pathology written along with Dr. John
McCrae, is being translated into Chinese.
That his activities have not been solely in the path of his
profession are indicated by not a few addresses he has delivered
on biographical and literary subjects. He stands prominently with
those men of broad humanitarian principles and high scientific
attainment who are doing everything in their power to prevent
the spread of disease and educate the people to a knowledge of
preventive methods and sanitary conditions.
He presided at one of the meetings of the International
Tuberculosis Congress held in Washington in 1908, and was one
of the promoters of the Royal Edward Tuberculosis Institute in
1909. He was a member of the Royal Commission, of the province of
Quebec, re spread of tuberculosis in 1909, and in that same year
became president of the Canada Association for the Prevention
of Tuberculosis, being reelected for three years in succession.
In 1911 he was honored with election to the presidency of the
Association of American Physicians. He has been president of
the local Medico-Chirurgical Society and is a joint secretary
of the Victorian Order of Nurses. In 1899 he was president of
the Montreal branch of the British Medical Association and was
president of the pathological section of that organization at
the meeting in Toronto in 1905. He was a vice president of the
section of pathology at the International Congress of Medicine,
London, 1913.
He has been offered many prominent positions in the educational
field both in England and the United States, but has preferred
to remain in Montreal, recognizing that he has a broad field of
labor in this city.
His teaching ranks him as one of the foremost educators of the
land, and in the class room he enthuses his pupils with much of
the high idealism which has always characterized his professional
connections.
Aside from all of these activities and interests, bearing upon
the practice and science of medicine, Dr. Adami was chosen
president of the City Improvement League in 1909, and was elected
vice president of the University Club in the same year. He holds
membership in the St. James Club, and in the Savile Club of
London.
Dr. Adami was married in 1894, to Mary Stuart, a daughter of
James A. Cantlie of Montreal, and a niece of Lord Mount Stephen.
Their residence, No. 34 Macgregor Avenue, is one of Montreal’s
attractive homes, while the family are well known in the best
social circles of the city. The Herald has said of Dr. Adami:
“Endowed with youth, energy and enthusiasm, his investigations
have been important and of great benefit to mankind.” His name
in connection with his professional ability and research work
is known not only throughout the American continent but in many
educational centers of Europe, as his authorship has made him
known to the profession.
RODOLPHE MONTY, K. C.
Since admitted to the bar in 1897 Rodolphe Monty has continuously
and successfully practiced in Montreal, advancing step by
step to the position which he now occupies as one of the able
representatives of the legal profession in this city. He is a
member of the firm of Monty & Duranleau and their clientage
is of an extensive and important character. Montreal claims
Mr. Monty as a native son. He was born November 30, 1874, and
in the acquirement of his education attended Ste. Marie de
Monnoir College, McGill University and Laval University, his
classical course winning for him the Bachelor of Arts degree,
while his professional course gained for him the degree of
LL. L. In January, 1897, he was called to the bar and at once
entered upon the active practice of a profession for which he
had fully prepared. No dreary novitiate awaited him. He came
almost immediately into prominence and in 1909 was created a
king’s counsel. He is now senior partner of the firm of Monty
& Duranleau, one of the strongest at the Montreal bar, and the
thoroughness and care with which he prepares his cases excites
the admiration and surprise of his contemporaries, who find him
prepared not only for attack but for defense as well. For eight
years he has been a member of the council of the bar of Montreal
and for five years has been examiner. He has served as delegate
to the general council of the bar of the province of Quebec for
three years and as treasurer of the bar of Montreal for two years.
While pursuing his study in the university Mr. Monty was
president of the law students of Laval in 1895-6 and at the same
time was one of the most active members of the model parliament
established among the students. His eloquence and skill as a
debater secured for him the leadership of the opposition in those
early days. He also filled the offices of minister of railways
and canals and speaker of the house. He is now governor general
of the model parliament. He could undoubtedly win parliamentary
honors today if he cared to do so, but, while possibly not
without that laudable ambition which is so useful as an incentive
in public life, he regards the pursuits of private life as in
themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts and concentrates
his energies upon his professional duties. His devotion to his
clients’ interests is proverbial and on many occasions he has
proven himself capable of solving some of the most involved and
intricate problems of the law. In politics he is a conservative,
while socially he is connected with the St. Denis Club, the Club
Canadien and the Délormier Club.
THE HON. SIR GEORGE A. DRUMMOND, K. C. M. G., C. V. O.
Sir George A. Drummond, whose strong intellectual force gave him
mastery over the grave problems which confronted him as a member
of parliament and enabled him to wisely direct his individual
interests until success placed him among the most prosperous
residents of Montreal, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1829.
He enjoyed the educational opportunities offered by the high
school of his native city and then entered the university in the
Scottish capital. His laudable ambition and keen insight into
conditions prompted him to seek the advantages offered in the
new world when but twenty-five years of age, and therefore in
1854 he embraced the opportunity to come to Canada and assume the
practical and technical management of a sugar refinery which was
established in Montreal by John Redpath. In this connection the
Gazette, at the time of his death, wrote: “The superior education
he received in the institutions of his native Scotland was a
powerful help to him when he was called upon to grapple with the
problems which demanded solution in an undeveloped country like
the Canada of that day. When he became interested in the Redpath
sugar refinery in the year 1854 he was perhaps the best educated
business man in the city, and whether as a member of the Board of
Trade, a commanding figure in the realm of banking and commerce,
or in social life, he maintained that scholarly supremacy and
distinction which was willingly accorded him by his fellow
citizens more than half a century ago.”
The Redpath sugar refinery proved a profitable enterprise from
the beginning until tariff changes forced the plant to close
down in 1874. Before resuming operations in that line in 1879,
in which year he founded the Canada Sugar Refining Company, of
which he became president, Sir George spent five years abroad
in study, travel and recreation. In connection with the Canada
Sugar Refining Company he developed one of the most important
productive industries of the country and into other fields
extended his efforts with equal discernment and success. He
became a director in the Bank of Montreal in 1882 and in 1887 was
elected vice president and subsequently president, so continuing
until his death. He became president of the company owning
and developing the coal and iron mines at Londonderry, Nova
Scotia, and was prominently connected with many other commercial
interests and projects. He was prominent as a stockholder and
officer in the Mexican Light, Heat & Power Company and was a
director of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company and the Ogilvie
Milling Company and vice president of the Royal Trust Company.
He was also largely interested in the Cumberland Coal &
Railway Company, and his connection extended to various other
corporations which have been important factors in the development
and upbuilding of Canada’s manufacturing interests.
[Illustration: SIR GEORGE A. DRUMMOND]
From the time that he became a resident of Canada Sir George
Drummond also became a student of the conditions of the country
as affected by political interests. Perhaps no better account of
his prominent connection with political affairs can be given than
by quoting from one of the local papers, which wrote: “Though
coming from a country wedded to free trade ideas, he discovered
that new industries could not thrive here in competition with
the advanced and enterprising industrial activity on the other
side of the line. Hence his early advocacy of protection,
designated during the campaign of 1878 as the National Policy.
Sir George Drummond had formed strong friendships with Sir
John A. Macdonald, Sir Charles Tupper and the more aggressive
leaders of the conservative party as represented in the Canadian
parliament. He was induced, much against his will, to accept
the party candidature in Montreal West against one of the most
popular men of the day, Hon. John Young. The contest will be
remembered by some of the older citizens as one of extreme
bitterness, although Mr. Drummond’s utterances on the platform
were marked by ability, force and breadth of view, and those who
heard him during that campaign of 1872 were not by any means
surprised when he developed later into an authority on banking
and finance and a leader in the discussion of matters pertaining
to trade and commerce. That contest preceded by two years the
fall of the Macdonald government and the acceptance of office
by pronounced free traders. As delegation after delegation went
to Ottawa, and were told by the finance minister that ministers
were as flies on a wheel in the matter of bringing prosperity
to the land, Sir George Drummond and his friends, recruited
from both of the old political parties, started to organize the
downfall of free trade in Canada. It was, however, when the
victory had been won at the polls, when Sir Charles Tupper’s
powerful efforts at the by-elections in Ontario, Quebec and Nova
Scotia had brought forth their fruit that the hardest work had
to be done, and here the ability of Sir George came powerfully
into play. Sir Leonard Tilly was finance minister, Sir Mackenzie
Bowell was in charge of the customs and Sir John Macdonald was
powerful in the country and in parliament. He had received a
mandate to bring the National Policy into force; but this was
easier to say than to do. The fiscal and customs policy of the
country had to be changed. It was at this time that the counsel
and business experience of Sir George Drummond were brought
into requisition and with a great degree of success. Time
convinced men of good-will and fair mind that the broad device
of ‘Canada for the Canadians’ and ‘that which is beneficial to
the manufacturer will be equally beneficial to the consumer and
to the country at large,’ were right. Mr. Drummond was not a
conservative during his active participation in party conflicts
because of individual gain. He adhered to principle rather than
to party name. In 1888, Sir John Macdonald being premier, Mr.
Drummond was called to the senate, and up to the time of his
death was the ablest representative of the mercantile classes
in the upper house of the Canadian parliament. As chairman of
the banking and commerce committee of the senate his word was
as law. His opinions relating to matters of financial import
were received without question by minister and member alike, and
when Senator Drummond had spoken upon a question of this kind
there was a general consensus of opinion that little remained
to be said. It was by his mastery of his subject and by his
prominence in all matters affecting the moneyed interests of the
Dominion that he won the respect of his fellow legislators at
the capital. There are many men who are members of the Montreal
Board of Trade who look back to the days when Sir George Drummond
was the president of that organization and remember the manner
in which he filled that office, the highest in the gift of
the merchants of the commercial metropolis of the Dominion.
They remember the high character of his addresses and his wise
contributions to the deliberations of the council. It was
accepted as a matter of course that he should lead off either
as the mover or the seconder in any great question that was
to be presented to the government or to the other colonies or
for the consideration of the whole empire. It was as director,
vice president and president of the Bank of Montreal that the
citizens of the financial center of the Dominion will remember
Sir George Drummond long. His ability was freely acknowledged
on both continents. He was at headquarters early and late,
and his attention to the interests of the bank was as marked
when the financial atmosphere was serene as when there were
lowering clouds on the horizon. His attitude at the annual bank
meetings was the personification of tact and courtesy, and his
able addresses on such occasions, uttered as they were with a
practiced finger resting upon the financial and commercial pulse
of the continent, were read by Wall Street and London as eagerly
as by the public men and bankers of his own country.”
Sir George Drummond was married twice. In 1857 he wedded
Helen, daughter of John Redpath, and following her demise he
was married in 1884 to Mrs. Grace Julia Hamilton, the widow of
George Hamilton and a daughter of A. Davidson Parker, a Montreal
pioneer. Two sons of the first marriage, Huntly R. and Arthur L.,
are living. The former succeeded his father as president of the
Canada Sugar Refining Company, Ltd., and is ex-president of the
Montreal Board of Trade; while the latter is actively identified
with the Canada Sugar Refining Company, Ltd. One son, Guy, of the
second marriage, is living and is a resident of Montreal.
The death of Sir George Drummond occurred February 2, 1910,
removing from the stage of Canadian activity one of its most
prominent and honored figures. He was a member of the St. James
Club, the Rideau Club of Ottawa, the Reform Club of London,
England, and the Manhattan Club of New York.