Miss Ethel Raeburn McIntyre, a daughter of the late Archibald
McIntyre, of Montreal, and their children are Morris A.,
Marguerite R., Walter James and David Russell.
While in Montreal Mr. Ewing is known as a successful,
enterprising and progressive business man, he has a wide
reputation throughout the continent in connection with his record
as a marksman. He made the highest amateur score at the first
annual shooting tournament of Canadian Indians at Montreal in
May, 1906, winning the Clarendon cup. He won the championship
of the world in trap shooting in July, 1908, at the Olympic
games in London, England. He has won the championship of Canada,
the Grand Canadian Handicap, the Brewers’ & Malsters’ cup and
the Provincial Individual. He also shot on all team trophies,
namely: 8-Man Dominion, 10-Man Provincial, 5-Man International,
5-Man Provincial and 5-Man Lansdowne cup. He is the only man who
ever held the above cups at the same time. Surely he has every
reason to be proud of his record in this connection. Mr. Ewing in
religious faith is a Presbyterian.
REV. JAMES BENNETT.
Rev. James Bennett was born in Scotland and when a young man
came to Montreal, where he continued his education, begun in the
schools of his native land. He entered McGill University, from
which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree, and
later, having determined to devote his life to the work of the
ministry, he took up the study of theology in Queen’s College at
Kingston, Ontario. He immediately entered upon ministerial duties
as pastor of the Presbyterian church on Cote des Neiges road, but
soon afterward was called to L’Orignal, Ontario, where he filled
a charge until his demise on August 17, 1901. His earnest effort,
his charity and his consecration to the cause was productive of
much good, his labors resulting in the accession of many to the
church.
Rev. Bennett was married in Montreal to Miss Agnes Phillips, a
daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Hodge) Phillips, and to them
was born a son, William Phillips Bennett, now of Toronto.
THOMAS PHILLIPS, JR.
Thomas Phillips, well known for many years as a valued resident
of Montreal, his native city, was at one time proprietor of that
section known as Woodbury. He was a son of Thomas Phillips,
Sr., who owned nearly all of what is now Beaver Hall Hill,
where the family home was maintained for many years. The father
was likewise the owner of what is now Phillips square, which
was named in his honor. His landed possessions in fact were
very extensive and their value increased with the growth and
development of the city, making his a valuable estate.
His son, Thomas Phillips, pursued his education in the schools of
Montreal, in Upper Canada College and in Dr. Workman’s private
school. He purchased a farm on the island of Montreal and later
became owner of what is now called Woodbury and constitutes an
attractive portion of the city, having all been laid out in city
lots. There he lived in comparative retirement. He named his
place Woodbury after the old home of Thomas Phillips, Sr., who
came from Woodbury, Devonshire, England, and settled in Montreal.
Thomas Phillips, Jr., married Miss Elizabeth Hodge, also a native
of this city, and a daughter of James Hodge, likewise a farmer on
the island of Montreal. They became the parents of four daughters
and a son: Martha Emily, now deceased; Charlotte E.; Agnes, who
became the wife of Rev. James Bennett and is now a widow living
in Montreal; Mrs. Eleanor A. Perham, the widow of L. D. Perham;
and Thomas Phillips, who at his death left two daughters, now
residents of Scotland.
Mr. Phillips, whose name introduces this review, was a
public-spirited man, and ever interested in the general welfare.
From early manhood he was a member of St. George’s church and
was its oldest member at the time of his demise. He died January
4, 1900, a day therefore that marked the passing of a prominent
representative of one of the oldest families of Montreal and one
whose name has ever been a synonym for honorable manhood and
loyal citizenship.
JOSEPH VERSAILLES.
Progressive development finds a worthy exponent in Joseph
Versailles, whose connection with real-estate operations has been
an element in the material development of his section of the
province. He was born in Montreal on the 28th of March, 1881, a
son of Joseph Versailles and Julie Monarque. Mention is made in
L’Histoire de l’Eglise by Rhorbacher of a companion of Jeanne
d’Arc of the name of Pierre de Versailles. In early Canadian
records the family name frequently appears with many variations,
including that of Martin and Louis Martin of this family who was
born in 1639 and was massacred by the Iroquois Indians at Long
Sault on the 21st of May, 1660. The first record found under the
present family name is that of Guillaume Versailles, who was born
in 1731 and died on the 27th of November, 1751, at Trois Rivières.
Joseph Versailles of this review was a student in St. Mary’s
College (Jesuit) on Bleury Street, Montreal, from which he was
graduated in 1903 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, having
completed the classical course. Turning from the educational
field of business he was for six years proprietor of a hardware
store and thus laid the foundation for the success which has
since come to him through his activities in the real-estate
field. Three years ago he founded the town of Montreal East and
his real-estate operations there have been a foremost element in
its development and substantial growth. He has recently erected
one of the finest office buildings of Montreal on St. James
Street, its height making it known as one of the skyscrapers.
Mr. Versailles displays marked energy and determination and in
his business career brooks no obstacles that can be overcome by
persistent, energetic and honorable effort. He has thoroughly
qualified himself to discuss every phase of the real-estate
business and with remarkable prescience he has recognized the
possibilities for the city’s growth and the extension of its
suburban interests. The town of Montreal East which he founded
was incorporated June 4, 1910, and since that time he has
continuously served as its mayor, in which connection he has
largely promoted its interests and development.
On the 20th of September, 1904, Mr. Versailles was united in
marriage to Miss Marie Prendergast, a daughter of the late M. J.
A. Prendergast, managing director of La Banque d’Hochelaga for
twenty-five years. He was with the pontifical zouaves in Italy
from 1867 until 1870, engaged in the practice of law following
his return to Canada and then entered upon active connection
with banking interests. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Versailles
are Marguerite, Pauline, Joseph and Yvan. The religious faith
of the family is that of the Roman Catholic church and Mr.
Versailles was founder and the first president, in 1903 and 1904,
of L’Association Catholique de la Jeunesse Canadienne-Française.
In politics he does not maintain a position of aggressive
partisanship. He believes in Canada first, rather than party,
and in Canada for the Canadians and acting upon this belief his
public service has been of benefit to the municipality and the
general interests of society.
LEWIS D. PERHAM.
Lewis D. Perham, who for many years was connected with the
customhouse of Montreal, was born in Russelltown, Quebec, in
1854, a son of Freeman Perham, a farmer of Russelltown. In the
public schools of his native place Lewis D. Perham pursued his
education and also attended a business college in Montreal. His
life in one way was quietly and uneventfully passed, most of it
being devoted to service in the customs department of his adopted
city. For many years he was thus active in the government service
and was occupying that position at the time of his demise. His
long connection with the customs office plainly indicates his
fidelity, capability and promptness in the discharge of his
duties.
In 1885, in Montreal, Mr. Perham was united in marriage to Miss
Eleanor Phillips, a daughter of Thomas Phillips, of whom mention
is made elsewhere in this volume. Four children were born to
them, of whom two are living, Lewis P. and Ruth E.
Mr. Perham was a conservative in politics. For a few years
he held membership with the Orangemen and he belonged to the
American Presbyterian church. Death called him December 10,
1907, and those who were his associates in life mourned his
death, for substantial qualities and commendable characteristics
had endeared him to all who knew him. His life was upright and
honorable, for he closely followed ethical and moral standards.
PATRICK MCKENNA.
The history of Cote des Neiges would be incomplete and
unsatisfactory were there failure to make reference to Patrick
McKenna, who reached the venerable age of ninety-three years--a
respected citizen, whose life, though quietly and uneventfully
passed, was ever a useful and upright one. A native of Ireland,
ambition stirred him to activity with the dawning of young
manhood, and feeling that better opportunities might be
secured in the new world, he left County Cavan and made his way
to Canada where he arrived in 1847. The voyage was made in one
of the old-time sailing vessels which dropped anchor in the
river and there the immigrants, according to the law of the
land, passed into quarantine. Mr. McKenna, anxious to get to
work, chafed under this restraint but when he and his fellow
travelers were liberated he hastened to make his way into the
city where he immediately sought employment. He scorned no labor
that would give him an honest living and so showed that he was
possessed of the spirit of undaunted industry and determination.
In May, 1850, he came to Cote des Neiges, which at that time was
a village somewhat remote from Montreal but now included within
the corporation limits of the city. He accepted the position of
gardener with the late Mr. Donald Ross, but after a year had
passed, became a tenant of that part of the property that borders
the present Westmount Avenue, although it was years afterward
before that thoroughfare was laid out. In 1866 he purchased
from the Greenshields estate a tract of fifty acres to which
he removed in about 1870 and upon it began the erection of a
greenhouse and with the growth of the business in subsequent
years additional hothouse space was added. The original firm
name, P. McKenna & Son, remains unchanged to the present day.
[Illustration: MR. AND MRS. PATRICK McKENNA On the Sixtieth
Anniversary of their Marriage]
On the 1st of October, 1849, Mr. McKenna had married Miss
Mary Kearney, who in the previous year had left her home at
Fanningstown, County Limerick, Ireland, and sailed for the new
world. In the succeeding May Mr. McKenna brought his young
wife to the home which they occupied for twenty years and on
the expiration of that period they took up their abode in the
residence where they lived until death called them. Mr. McKenna
at first gave his attention to market gardening, conducting a
successful business for eighteen years, but gradually withdrew
from that branch of business to give his entire attention to the
florist business, making the raising of fruit and vegetables
merely a side issue.
The McKenna greenhouses became well known and the business
prospered from the beginning, bringing Mr. McKenna a substantial
financial return which enabled him eventually to retire from
active business life.
Mr. and Mrs. McKenna became the parents of thirteen children but
six of the number died in infancy, and Elizabeth died a member
of the Nuns of Jesus and Mary, under the name of Sister St.
Pancratius. Patrick died in 1880 and Mary in 1872. Four children
survive the parents: James, a sketch of whom follows; Miss Sarah
McKenna; Frances N., the wife of F. Allan Beauchamp; and Sister
McKenna, who for seven years was bursar of a nunnery at Lawrence,
Massachusetts, and for the past fifteen years has been bursar of
the noted Grey Nunnery of Montreal.
Mr. and Mrs. McKenna lived to celebrate their diamond wedding
on the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage. The occasion was
made a memorable one to all who participated therein. Both Mr.
and Mrs. McKenna were enjoying good health, although both were
octogenarians, and the celebration was participated in by Mrs.
McKenna’s sister, Miss Sarah Kearney, who witnessed the original
marriage sixty years before. On the occasion of the diamond
wedding the ceremony was marked by the celebration of pontifical
mass by His Lordship Bishop Racicot, assisted by others. From
1851 Mr. McKenna was a continuous holder of a pew in St.
Patrick’s church.
His long residence at Cote des Neiges enabled him to tell much
concerning the history of that section and to relate many
interesting incidents connected with its development and growth.
He had occupied the position of councillor in the village before
its incorporation into a town and about 1889 was succeeded by his
son. He was a justice of the peace for the district of Montreal
for twenty-five years until his death. He possessed a retiring
disposition but nevertheless manifested keen interest in all
that pertained to the city’s welfare and never failed to perform
a public duty that devolved upon him. He was ever loyal to the
land of his adoption and maintained a deep love for the land of
his birth. As a boy he received a temperance medal from Father
Matthew, the Irish apostle of temperance, which is now treasured
by his son.
For over two years after the celebration of the diamond wedding
the parents continued to travel life’s journey and then death
called the husband and father, who passed away March 14, 1912,
at the age of ninety-three years. The wife and mother survived
for only a few months, her death occurring on the 12th of July,
following, at which time she had reached the age of eighty-two
years. They were perhaps the most venerable couple in Cote
des Neiges and among the oldest witnesses of the growth and
development of the tiny village into a city which eventually was
absorbed in the metropolis.
JAMES MCKENNA.
James McKenna, who is his father’s successor in public office
and business, was born at the family home in Cote des Neiges,
November 11, 1851, his parents being Patrick and Mary (Kearney)
McKenna, whose sketch precedes this. When the father retired
from the position of councillor of Cote des Neiges in 1889,
James McKenna succeeded to the position which he continuously
and acceptably filled for nineteen years, while from 1908 until
1910 he was alderman of Montreal. He was appointed justice of the
peace for the district of Montreal to fill the vacancy caused by
the death of his father. He married Margaret Quinn and to them
were born eight children: Rose; Evaline, the wife of Antoine
Marchand by whom she has a son, Charles; Maud, who was known as
Sister St. Margaret of Notre Dame and has passed away; Charles
P., who died at the age of eighteen years; Frank J., who married
Evaline McCarthy; Leo James, who married Gertrude Eagan and has a
son, Leo Martin; Harry W.; and E. Phillip.
ROBERT THOMAS HOPPER.
Ability to recognize opportunities that others passed heedlessly
by, combined with an ambition that brought about their immediate,
practical and resultant utilization, brought Robert Thomas Hopper
to a position in the foremost ranks of Montreal’s manufacturers
and business men. He had the distinction of being the first man
to ship asbestos abroad and later became a prominent figure in
the mining industry in the province, while at the time of his
death he was president of the Dominion Marble Company.
Mr. Hopper was born in Quebec, February 25, 1858, and was
educated there in the public school and in Thom’s Academy. His
father, Thomas Hopper, was senior partner of the firm of Hopper
Brothers, a prominent firm of cattle dealers in the province.
Thomas Hopper married Miss Agnes Davidson and their children
were six in number. Robert Thomas Hopper came to Montreal in
1876, when he was eighteen years of age and secured a position
as bookkeeper with the firm of James Linton, continuing in that
connection for a year. He then organized the firm of Irwin Hopper
& Company, which existed until 1889, when the business was taken
over by R. T. Hopper & Company. This firm engaged in the mineral
business, specializing in crude and fibrized asbestos, being
among the pioneers in that industry in Canada. Mr. Hopper was
regarded as father of the asbestos business in this country.
He was the first Canadian to ship asbestos abroad and has the
distinction of being the first man in the business to take up the
installation of crushing machinery which has since revolutionized
the asbestos business.
About 1891, Mr. Hopper established the first Portland Cement
plant in Canada, known as the English Portland Cement Company
of Canada. Difficulties confronted him, for it fell to his
lot to educate the people to the use of cement. He entered
upon a campaign which ultimately resulted in success, for his
persistency and energy overcame the obstacles placed in his
way. Moreover, time tests the merit of all things and the worth
of Portland cement is demonstrated in its successful use.
Later Mr. Hopper consolidated his interests with the Rathburns
of Deseronto, Ontario, organizing the Beaver Portland Cement
Company, and with the development of the business and the
formation of new associations the Canadian Portland Cement
Company came into existence. Their plants were located at
Marlbank and Deseronto, Ontario, and with the passing of the
years the business developed until it assumed large proportions.
Eventually, Mr. Hopper sold his interests after having materially
assisted in building up a large and successful business. In 1906
he organized the Dominion Marble Company, of which he continued
as president until his death on the 13th of November, 1912. This
business was established on a small scale but was developed
along modern, progressive lines until the company is now one of
the largest in Canada, engaged in the marble business, owning
extensive quarries located at South Stukely, Quebec, and Mr.
Hopper was also a director in the Sherbrooke Railway & Power
Company and remained a director of the Canadian Cement Company
after he withdrew from active connection with the management of
the business. He was a prominent member of the council of the
Canadian Mining Institute and thus kept in close touch with the
mining projects of the country.
In 1882, in Montreal, Mr. Hopper was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Agnes Mathews, a daughter of Richard Mathews, of this city,
and two daughters and a son were born to them.
Mr. Hopper was a member of the Board of Trade and was a
public-spirited citizen, interested in all that pertained to
civic betterment and improvement. He was a member of the Montreal
Amateur Athletic Association, the Montreal Club, the Chapleau
Club, the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club and the Beaconsfield
Golf Club. He attended Douglas Methodist church and was deeply
interested in many local charities. He sought ever the welfare
and development of the community in which he lived along lines of
material, intellectual, moral and public progress and his labors
were attended with far-reaching results and benefits.
JOSEPH FRANCOIS VICTOR MARTINEAU, K. C.
Standing among the foremost men of the legal profession in
Montreal, Joseph François Victor Martineau enjoys an important
and representative practice. Moreover, he holds the position of
general secretary of the bar of the province of Quebec, to which
he was admitted over twenty years ago. Mr. Martineau was born at
Montreal on the 28th of August, 1867, and is a son of the late
François Martineau and Emérentienne (Bouthillier) Martineau.
The father was a well known hardware merchant in this city and
represented for six years, from 1885 to 1891, St. Mary’s ward,
now Papineau, in the city council. In 1892 he was elected as a
conservative member of the legislative assembly of Quebec for
division No. 1 of Montreal (St. Mary’s division) and continued as
a member of parliament until the next general election, in 1897.
[Illustration: J. F. V. MARTINEAU]
Victor Martineau received his classical education at Ottawa
College in Ottawa, St. Mary’s (Jesuit) College of Montreal, and
for three years attended the law department of Laval University,
from which he obtained the degree of LL. B. He was admitted to
the bar of the province of Quebec in July, 1892, and ever since
he has practiced in Montreal, having attained a high position
among his colleagues. He is sound in his logic, terse in argument
and forceful in presenting his pleas and, as he is a deep
student, is familiar with precedent and all the technicalities of
the law. Upon this structure is built his reputation for success.
On the 5th of October, 1910, Mr. Martineau was appointed king’s
counsel by the lieutenant governor and at the nomination of
Hon. M. Arthur Globensky as judge of the superior court of the
province of Quebec he was appointed general secretary of the bar
of the province in August, 1910.
On the 6th of June, 1893, Mr. Martineau was married to Miss
Emmeline Jodoin, a daughter of Isaië A. Jodoin, a well known
advocate of the bar of Montreal. To this union were born two
daughters. Mr. Martineau is a conservative in political matters
and takes the interest of an active and earnest citizen and
voter in public matters although he has never aspired to office.
He can be ever found among those who make for public progress
and readily places his means and ability at the disposal of
undertakings that have this end in view.
JOHN JENNINGS CREELMAN.
The life work of John Jennings Creelman has brought him into
close connection with the general interests of society as
affected by legislative procedure, by activity at the bar and by
educational interests. In the year 1913 he was appointed lecturer
upon railway economics in McGill University and sustains that
relation to the present time. Born in Toronto on the 14th of
February, 1881, he is a son of Adam R. and Margaret Cumming
(Jennings) Creelman. The former was a son of James Creelman,
whose father came from Ireland in childhood and settled in New
Brunswick in 1790. Adam R. Creelman, preparing for the bar, was
created king’s counsel, gained distinction as a member of the
legal profession and in 1900 was made general counsel of the
Canadian Pacific Railway Company. He married Margaret Cumming,
daughter of Rev. John Jennings, D. D., the first Presbyterian
clergyman from Scotland to settle in Toronto, which city was then
known as Little York.