of Ste. Marie de Monnoir at Marieville and was graduated in June,
1893, with the Bachelor of Arts degree. From 1893 to 1898 he
studied law at St. Hyacinthe, in the office of Taché & Desautels,
notaries. He was admitted to practice on September 10, 1898. On
November 1st of that year he established himself as a notary at
Montreal and in the evening kept an office in the town of St.
Louis. His entrance into the legal profession and his first years
thereafter were arduous but his ability, energy and honesty led
him to success. During the first ten years--as is so often the
case in professional careers--his clientele grew slowly. He was
notary of the corporation of the town of St. Louis and also of
the school commission of the various parishes of the town of St.
Louis and is counsel for various other important institutions.
He enjoys today a numerous and representative clientage which
recruits itself largely from the old town of St. Louis, which
is now the ward Laurier of the metropolis. Mr. Desautels is
interested in various enterprises, largely along real estate
lines, among which is La Compagnie Nationale d’Immeubles, of
which he has always been one of the directors. He has interested
himself actively in mutual societies and has held official
positions in nearly all those societies established in the town
of St. Louis.
At Beloeil, on the 8th of June, 1903, Mr. Desautels was united
in marriage to Miss Corine Bernard, a daughter of Elophe and
Mathilde (Lafontaine) Bernard. To them have been born four
children, Bernard, Robert, Thérèse and Bruno. Mr. Desautels gives
his political allegiance to the liberal party and is treasurer
of the Liberal Club of the town of St. Louis. He is an effective
worker for his party, in which he enjoys great prestige. An
excellent notary and public-spirited citizen, he is highly
esteemed and respected by all who know him. As a notary he enjoys
the highest reputation as to ability and integrity, and more and
more important interests have come under his direction as the
years have passed.
ZEPHIRIN HEBERT.
Zéphirin Hébert, president of the wholesale grocery firm of
Hudon, Hébert & Company, Ltd., the leading concern of its kind
in Canada, was born in Montreal, February 6, 1866, the son of
Charles P. Hébert, who was the first president of the above
mentioned firm. In 1883 Zéphirin Hébert became connected with the
business of which he is now the head. In 1893 he was admitted
as a partner. In 1906, on the incorporation of the company,
he became assistant manager and a director. In 1908 he was
elected to the office of vice president and in 1911 succeeded
his brother, the late Albert Hébert, as president. For about
twenty-five years he has been a member of the Montreal Board of
Trade and since the 1st of February, 1913, he has served on the
council of that body, and in December, 1913, was elected a member
of the transportation bureau of that organization.
[Illustration: ZEPHIRIN HEBERT]
Mr. Hébert is president of the Dominion Wholesale Grocers Guild,
chairman of the prize committee for the province of Quebec,
president of the Montreal Wholesale Grocers Guild, president of
the Montreal Wholesale Liquor Association, treasurer and governor
of Notre Dame Hospital, governor of the Montreal General Hospital
and governor of Laval University. He is also a member of the
Canada Club, the Montreal Jockey Club and L’Association St. Jean
Baptiste.
Mr. Hébert married Miss Blanche Robidoux and their four children
are, Marielle, Gertrude, Charles P. and Jacques R.
REV. WILLIAM O’MEARA.
A man of scholarly attainments, great force of personality and
broadness of mind, Rev. William O’Meara has made these qualities
the basis of many years of successful work as rector of St.
Gabriel’s church in Montreal and in the promotion of the work
along many lines in which the Catholic church is interested. He
was born in Sherrington, Quebec province, May 6, 1857, and is one
of twelve children born to the late Captain William and Judith
(McManus) O’Meara, the former a native of Waterford, Ireland, who
came to Canada in 1832.
Rev. William O’Meara acquired his early education in the grammar
schools of Sherrington, and later entered the College of Ste.
Thérèse, where he took a classical course, graduating with the
degree of B. A. in 1880. He then entered Grand Seminary in
Montreal, where he pursued his theological studies for three
years and a half, being ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood
December 22, 1883. He was first made curate at St. Ann’s church
in this city and was then transferred to St. Cecelia’s parish in
Valleyfield, where he remained as assistant from 1884 to 1889.
In the latter year he came to St. Gabriel’s church, Montreal,
and in January, 1890, was made rector, a position which he still
holds. This parish was organized in 1873 as a mission from St.
Henry’s parish and was made an independent congregation two years
later. The first church was a wooden structure, presided over
by Rev. John J. Salmon, and here services were held until 1891,
Rev. Thomas McCarthy succeeding the first parish priest. The new
church was started in 1891 by Father O’Meara and was completed
in 1894, at a cost of one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars.
It is a beautiful structure, built of limestone, in the Roman
and Byzantine styles of architecture, having a capacity of one
thousand people and the dimensions being one hundred and sixty
by seventy feet. There is a main altar of white wood, a chancel
rail of oak and stations of the cross which are fine specimens of
work in terra cotta. Father O’Meara built in 1895 a parish house
costing eleven thousand five hundred dollars, and the entire
church property is valued at one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars. The affairs of the congregation, which numbers eight
hundred families, are administered in a capable and farsighted
way, Father O’Meara having proven himself a reliable business
man as well as an earnest and consecrated worker in the cause
of religion. He is particularly interested in the schools of
his parish and has now erected two excellent institutions of
learning, which are conducted in connection with his church.
These are a school for boys, built at a cost of thirty-seven
thousand dollars, and an academy for girls, representing a value
of fifty-five thousand dollars.
Father O’Meara was formerly a governor of the Catholic high
school of Montreal and was on July 1, 1905, appointed a Catholic
school commissioner. He was elected chairman of the commission in
1910 and since that time has been accounted one of the prominent
educators of the city as well as one of the greatest individual
forces in the promotion of Catholic education. He has given a
great deal of time and attention to this work and in 1907 was
sent as a delegate to the Dublin International Exposition in
order to study the national school systems of Ireland, France,
England and Belgium. He is interested in the work of St.
Gabriel’s Total Abstinence and Benefit Society, of which he is
president, and he has recently been appointed honorary canon
of the archdiocese of Montreal. He has, indeed, accomplished a
great deal of important and constructive work among the people of
his parish, and he holds their love in large measure, while he
enjoys the confidence and respect of people of all denominations.
He has demonstrated that the business affairs of St. Gabriel’s
parish are in the hands of a farsighted, capable and energetic
man, while his religious zeal is evidenced in his constant and
untiring labor in the promulgation of the doctrines in which he
believes. He is widely and favorably known in Montreal and has
earned mention by the Montreal Gazette as “a broad-minded, well
informed, energetic and popular priest.”
LOUIS BEAUDOIN.
In commercial circles of Montreal, Louis Beaudoin is widely known
as president of Beaudoin Limited, accountants and auditors. Louis
Beaudoin of this review occupies the executive position in this
firm, and Gérant L. M. Philéas Beaudoin is secretary-treasurer.
They maintain offices at 33 Notre Dame Street West and have been
eminently successful in their line, enjoying an extensive and
important clientage. Louis Beaudoin was born August 29, 1869, in
Repentigny, L’Assomption county, Quebec, and is a son of Pierre
and Melina (Lachapelle dit Jeannotte) Beaudoin, the former a well
known agriculturist of Repentigny. The paternal grandparents
of our subject were Pierre and Adelaide (Rochon) Beaudoin, the
former also a farmer of Repentigny. The great-grandfather, Jean
Baptiste Beaudoin, also followed that occupation at the same
place. The maternal grandfather, Pierre Lachapelle, was an
agriculturist of Mascouche. The Beaudoin family is historically
known in two variations, that of Baudoin and Bodin. The earliest
record of a member of this family goes back to Alexis Beaudoin,
born in 1694, who on November 27, 1720, married at Ste. Croix,
Angeline Houde and had seven children. Of these his son Louis
married Louise Barrat, at Montreal, on May 6, 1748, this being
the first mention of the family in Montreal archives.
Louis Beaudoin acquired his education in the College de
L’Assomption and began his career in the grocery business,
also being connected with butchering and merchandising. He
subsequently became president of Beaudoin Limited and has since
given his entire attention to the extension of the interests of
that firm. Recently a line of Assyrian products has been added.
Natural ability and keen observation of existing conditions make
him eminent in his profession, and he is today recognized as one
of the foremost men in his line in Montreal.
On February 4, 1889, Mr. Beaudoin was united in marriage to
Evelina Legault dit Deslaurier, a daughter of Jean Baptiste
Legault dit Deslaurier. The father for many years has been
connected with commercial interests. Mr. and Mrs. Beaudoin have
the following children: Philéas, Coramance, Armand, Honoré,
Adrien, Aurélien, Albert, Adolphe, Laurent, Amedée, Eveline and
Clément Marcel. In his political views Mr. Beaudoin is a liberal,
stanchly upholding the principles of his party. Although he has
never cared to participate in public life he has done much toward
promoting worthy public enterprises. He is a valued citizen of
Montreal, prominent in commercial circles and effective in his
private capacity in furthering the interests of the city, where
he has been so long and so successfully engaged in business.
THOMAS J. DAWSON.
“Not the good that comes to us but the good that comes to the
world through us is the measure of our success.” Judged by this
standard, Thomas J. Dawson was a most successful man. His life
measured up to the standard which all men acknowledge good.
His record was as an open book which all might read and there
were many who bore testimony to his kindness of heart and his
generous spirit manifest in active effort for the alleviation of
hard conditions of life for the unfortunate and for practical
improvement along the line of civic and moral reform. Mr. Dawson
was born at Knockmanoul, Ireland, April 29, 1843, and spent his
early life in Dublin and Belfast. His parents, Rev. Abram and
Anne (Graham) Dawson, were both natives of the Emerald isle.
The father was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church and
coming from Ireland to the new world engaged in preaching in
Ontario near Kingston. Thomas J. Dawson came to Canada in 1864
and spent several years at Sydenham and Guelph, Ontario. In
1870 he arrived in Montreal, from which date until his death he
was actively engaged in commercial pursuits. For fifteen years
prior to his demise he was connected with the custom service and
during the latter part of that period was the appraiser in the
postoffice department.
Mr. Dawson was a splendid type of the Irish gentleman,
possessing native wit and humor and scattering cheer wherever
he went. His geniality and cordiality ever made him popular in
social circles and his friends were almost as numerous as his
acquaintances. His spirit of benevolence was one of his strongly
developed characteristics and, again and again, found expression
in tangible effort for the benefit of others. He was deeply
interested in the Irish Protestant Benevolent Society, was a life
governor of the Montreal Homeopathic Hospital, was for years
secretary of the Old Brewery Mission and was an active member
of the Westmount Methodist church, which numbered him among its
earnest, helpful workers. Any movement tending to bring about
civic or moral reform received his indorsement and cooperation.
In 1866, upon its organization, he became a member of the Young
Men’s Christian Association, retaining his membership until his
death, and to the support of which he contributed liberally. He
gave, too, of his time and efforts for its upbuilding and always
took a most active interest in young men, realizing how necessary
are uplifting influences in the plastic age. Life was to him
purposeful and fraught with opportunity for good, which he did
not neglect, and when he passed away October 21, 1910, he left
behind him a memory that is a benediction to all who knew him.
In 1876 Mr. Dawson was married to Miss Louisa Holland, daughter
of George A. Holland, who came from Ireland as a young man
and was the active head of the G. A. Holland & Son Company,
dealers in wall paper, established by him in 1843. He built
up that business to large proportions and remained in close
identification therewith until his demise. His wife, who bore
the maiden name of Marian Hutchins, was a native of Canada. He
was one of the volunteer firemen of Montreal at an early day and
he passed away in this city in July, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Dawson
had three children: Ralph H. of Montreal; Arthur B. of Calgary;
and Mabel L., the wife of R. Macaulay Cushing, and they have two
children, Dorothy M. and Arthur M.
LOUIS ALFRED ADHEMAR RIVET.
“A man of ideas; a man with a future; a coming man,” is the
way the Toronto Globe describes Louis Alfred Adhemar Rivet, of
Montreal, and all who have come in contact with him during the
course of his brilliant and successful career as a barrister
and legislator fully concur in this opinion, adding also that
he is one of the most able members of his profession in Quebec
province, a distinguished statesman and one of the greatest
of the younger generation of French Canadians. He was born in
Joliette, Quebec, on the 15th of September, 1873, and is a son of
Charles and Herminie (Michaud) Rivet, of French Canadian origin.
In the acquirement of an education Mr. Rivet attended Joliette
College and Laval University, from which institution he was
graduated B. A. in 1892 and LL. B. in 1895, in the same year
being called to the bar as advocate. He was made king’s
counsel in 1906 and for a number of years has been practicing
successfully in Montreal, where he is ranked among brilliant
and forceful barristers. For a time he was associated with the
late C. Beausoleil, M. P., but the death of the latter severed
this connection and subsequently he became associated with other
firms, the present one being Rivet, Glass & Sullivan. He is
recognized as a strong and able practitioner, a barrister whose
knowledge of underlying legal principles is comprehensive and
exact and whose application of points of law is always correct
and logical. His keen and incisive mind grasps quickly all
the details of the most intricate case, seizes upon the most
telling points and arguments, and his presentations are models
of conciseness and accuracy. Mr. Rivet has thus won distinction
in his chosen profession and has secured a representative
clientage in Montreal connecting him with a great deal of
notable litigation. He has been interested and active in affairs
affecting the Montreal bar, his ability being widely recognized
in professional circles.
[Illustration: L. A. RIVET]
As is often the case, Mr. Rivet’s success in law has carried with
it prominence in politics and his interest in the growth and
welfare of the province has carried him forward into important
political relations. At the bi-election of 1904 he was returned
to the house of commons and, representing Hochelaga in that body,
served with ability and distinction until 1911. During this time
he accomplished a great deal of constructive and important work
in statesmanship, leaving the impress of his personality and
standards upon useful, and beneficial legislation, his vote and
influence being always on the side of right, reform and progress.
A stanch liberal, Mr. Rivet has always supported the principles
and policies of that party and has been one of the greatest
individual forces in its expansion in Montreal, where he founded
the St. Gabriel Liberal Club, of which he served as president
in 1898. He has been a director of the Montreal Reform Club. He
calls himself an imperialist and is one in the sense that the
greatness of the empire depends to a great extent on the fair
development of the colonies. He is, however, a stanch advocate
of Canadian customs and institutions and has done as much as
any one man in the Dominion to promote their spread and growth.
Although of French Canadian extraction he speaks English fluently
and often addressed the house of commons in that language.
In a lecture on the dual language of Canada delivered before
the Nomads’ Club in 1909 he advocated Canada as a bi-lingual
nation and he has done much to promote the fusion of the two
great nations which dominate the country. He also addressed the
Canadian Club in Ontario, advocating closer relations between the
two races, in view of national unity.
Mr. Rivet married in January, 1898, Mlle. Rose Cypihot and both
are widely and favorably known in social circles of Montreal.
Their children are: Gaston, born June 23, 1901; Marguerite,
January 10, 1904; and Gerard, January 24, 1906.
Mr. Rivet has extensive and important club affiliations,
belonging to the Club St. Denis, the Club Canadien de Montreal
and the Reform Club, and socially is found to be genial, charming
and constantly courteous. In his profession he has made continued
and rapid advancement and his accomplishments in the political
field have been substantial and far-reaching, so that he is well
entitled to a high place among the representative and useful
citizens of the city where he makes his home.
JOSEPH ALCIDE CHAUSSE.
Since 1900 Joseph Alcide Chaussé has filled the important
position of superintendent of buildings and city architect of
Montreal and in that position has established for himself an
enjoyable reputation. He is one of the foremost men in the
profession, not only in the city, but in the Dominion and
recognition has come to him from numerous national as well as
foreign societies. Alcide Chaussé was born at St. Sulpice,
Assumption county, Quebec, Canada, on January 7, 1868, a son of
Edouard and Rose de Lima (Rivet) Chaussé, both natives of St.
Sulpice, Quebec. The father, a prominent lumberman there and
ex-alderman of the city of Montreal, died on March 15, 1909,
the mother having preceded him in death, passing away on July
20, 1896. The Chaussé family is of ancient lineage and one
of the old-established ones in the province of Quebec. Pierre
Chaussé, le Chaudronnier (the brazier), was born in 1630 and was
established at St. Anne de la Parade as early as 1681. Pierre
Chaussé, another of the name, called la Lumière, was born in
1651, a son of Jean and Catherine (Groleau) Chaussé. He married
Marie Madeleine Sel au Deselles on April 24, 1681, and they had
five children. These are among the earliest ancestors of Mr.
Chaussé recorded in Canadian history.
Alcide Chaussé received his fundamental education at St. Mary’s
Academy in Montreal. He studied architecture with the late
Alphonse Raza, of Montreal, from the 3d of March, 1884, to
the 14th of March, 1887. From the 17th of March of that year
until July 24, 1889, he was in Chicago, perfecting himself in
the profession, and was admitted to practice in 1888. On the
20th of November, 1889, he opened an office for the practice
of architecture at Montreal and continued with ever increasing
success until May 21, 1900, when he was appointed to his present
important position. A wide and comprehensive knowledge fits him
particularly for this work and Mr. Chaussé has been in a large
measure responsible for the upbuilding of the city along lines of
the “plan beautiful.” He also holds the position of commissioner
of the superior court for the district of Montreal and that of
justice of the peace for the same district.
Mr. Chaussé is a charter member of the Province of Quebec
Association of Architects, of which he served as president in
1906. In 1907 he was the promoter of and since its inception
is, honorary secretary and a member of the Royal Architectural
Institute of Canada; is an associate of the Canadian and American
Societies of Civil Engineers; a member of La Chambre Syndicale
de la Construction; a member of the Board of Plumbers’ Examiners
in Montreal; chairman of the committee on fire prevention
of the American Society of Municipal Improvements; a member
of the American Public Health Association; a member of the
council of Le Comité Permanent des Congrès Internationaux des
Architectes; member of the British Fire Prevention Committee;
corresponding member of La Société Centrale des Architectes
Français; the American Institute of Architects; La Société
Centrale d’Architecture de Belgique; La Société Nationale des
Architectes de France; Architekten-Verein at Berlin, Germany;
Sociedad Central de Architectos, Madrid, Spain; and the Society
of Portuguese Architects. He is a member of the council of
the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society. Mr. Chaussé has been
awarded gold, silver and bronze medals by various architectural
societies for technical papers and lectures. He was a member of
the International Congress of Architects held at Paris in 1900;
at Madrid, in 1904; and London, England, in 1906; and of the
International Fire Prevention Congress, held at London in 1903;
a delegate to the Sixth Commercial Congress of the Empire, held
at London, in 1906. In 1907 he conceived the project for the
Institute of Architects of Canada. He is the author of several
articles on fire prevention and fire protection; of the “Building
Inspector’s Handbook,” published in 1902; the “Code of Building
Laws of the Province of Quebec,” published in 1906; the “Handbook
of Building Laws of Montreal”; and the “Supplement to the Code
of Building Laws,” published in 1913, all of them published in
English and French.
At Ste. Bridgide’s church, Montreal, on Saturday, September
8, 1894, Mr. Chaussé was united in marriage to Miss Rose de
Lima Renaud, a daughter of Cyrille Renaud and Rose de Lima
(Favreau) Renaud, both of Montreal. The father is a well known
manufacturers’ agent of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Chaussé have
two sons: Marcel, who was born July 7, 1902, and Fernand, born
December 29, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Chaussé are members of the
Blessed Sacrament Congregation, Church of the Holy Sacrament, on
Mount Royal Avenue.
The political views of Mr. Chaussé coincide with the principles
of the conservative party. He is a member of Le Club Canadien of
Montreal, a member of L’Alliance Nationale, of which he served
as grand marshal; and a member of the Association of St. Jean
Baptiste, of which he has been president of Ste. Bridgide’s
Section. He was also president of the Cêrcle Jeanne D’Arc of
L’Alliance Nationale. Fraternally he is a member of the Knights
of Columbus. Mr. Chaussé finds recreation in curling and is a
member of the St. Lawrence Curling Club of Montreal. His city
residence is at No. 1433 St. Hubert Street, while the summer home
of the family is Villa Iris, Sault-au-Recollet.
MORTIMER BARNETT DAVIS.
Manufacturing interests of Montreal find a prominent
representative in Mortimer Barnett Davis, one of the leaders in
the tobacco trade of the Dominion, being active in the management
of an enterprise of mammoth proportions. It is true that he
entered upon a business already established, but in enlarging and
developing this many a man of less resolute spirit and of more
limited business sagacity would have failed. Each step he has
taken in the business world has been one of progress, bringing
him a broader outlook and wider opportunities.