Victoria, King Edward and Queen Alexandra and of King George and
Queen Mary and for many years His Royal Highness the Duke of
Connaught regarded him as a close friend. He was the host of King
George and Queen Mary when as Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and
York they visited Montreal in September, 1911. By invitation he
was present at the coronation of King Edward and Queen Alexandra
in 1902 and at the funeral of the former in 1910 he was one of
Canada’s representatives. Again in his official capacity he was
present at the coronation of King George and Queen Mary in 1911.
Many academic honors were conferred upon Lord Strathcona. He
received the LL. D. degree from Cambridge in 1887; LL. D., Yale,
1892; LL. D., Aberdeen, 1899; LL. D., Laval, 1902; LL. D.,
Toronto, 1903; LL. D., Queen’s, Kingston, 1905; LL. D., Ottawa,
1906; LL. D., St. Andrew’s, 1911; and D. C. L., Durham, 1912.
He was presented with the freedom of the city of Aberdeen in
1902; of Edinburgh in 1903; of Bristol in 1908; and of Bath in
1911. Lord Strathcona’s portrait by Arless was exhibited at the
Royal Academy in London in 1890. Another portrait by Jongers
was presented to McGill University by the governors of that
institution in 1901. Still another portrait was presented to
the Canada Club of London in 1902. Lord Strathcona was honorary
president of the Mount Royal Club and also of the Canadian Club
of Montreal. In 1898 he was appointed honorary lieutenant colonel
of the Victoria Rifles, Montreal, a tribute to the interest he
had taken in the military movement in Canada. In 1902 he became
honorary colonel of the Eighth Volunteer Battalion of the King’s
Liverpool Regiment. In 1909 he was honored by being made honorary
colonel of the Fifteenth Light Horse and in 1910 he was made
the honorary colonel of the Seventy-ninth Highlanders. At the
house of the Royal Society of Arts, Adelphi, London, on November
15, 1912, Lord Sanderson, on behalf of the Duke of Connaught,
president of the society, presented the society’s Albert medal
to Lord Strathcona “for his services in improving the railway
communications, developing the resources and promoting the
commerce and industry of Canada and other parts of the British
empire.” Lord Sanderson read a message from the Duke of Connaught
in which His Royal Highness said: “In my present office of
governor general of Canada I have had special opportunities of
fully realizing the great services Lord Strathcona has rendered
to the Dominion and to the industrial and commercial progress of
the British empire. As an old friend of many years’ standing I
rejoiced that, as president of the Society of Arts, I had been
able to add another mark of appreciation of his long and valuable
career of usefulness.”
Lord Strathcona was a familiar figure at the Athenaeum Club in
Pall Mall, the center of British culture and exclusiveness. In
one of its handsome dining rooms he delighted to gather together
distinguished men of Great Britain to meet visiting Canadians
of high rank and greatly was the honor appreciated. Sir Wilfrid
Laurier and Mr. Borden have both enjoyed the High Commissioner’s
hospitality in this luxurious form and realized afresh what a
genius for entertaining was his.
A contemporary biographer has written:
“On November 12, 1913, Lord Strathcona suffered bereavement
by the death of Lady Strathcona, who died in her eighty-ninth
year, at their London home, Grosvenor Square, most unexpectedly.
Pneumonia was the cause of death. Lord Strathcona bore the blow
with much fortitude and made continuous acknowledgement of
many hundreds of messages of sympathy which came to him from
all quarters and classes, from the king and the royal family
downwards.
“Isabella Sophia, Lady Strathcona, was the daughter of the late
Mr. Richard Hardisty, long a resident of Montreal and also for
many years one of the trusted agents of the Hudson’s Bay Company
in Labrador. She became the wife of Lord Strathcona when he was
twenty-nine years of age. The early married life of Lord and
Lady Strathcona was spent in the bleak winds of Labrador. It was
a terrible country in those days. Winter comes early and stays
late--and such a winter! A few short hours of frozen day, then
night--a long uncanny night. Sometimes the snow falls through
weeks on weeks and no man dares to move beyond the circle of
the little settlement. Wolves in those days would sweep the
icy paths, truculent, hungry, seeking their sustenance. At
night about the little camp their hordes would sweep howling in
mournful unison. By day, men went their ways but cautiously,
watching the hard grey sky above and the hard white snow below.
“Lady Strathcona accompanied her husband everywhere in his long
years of service of the Hudson’s Bay Company. They saw Lake
Winnipeg before the city was. They traveled the dreadful wastes
where the great Mackenzie river tumbles across the Arctic circle.
Dreary Keewatin they learned from end to end, tramping in and out
from the posts on Hudson’s bay. They threaded the forests on the
Ontario hinterland and on foot or by dog sled paced the thousands
of miles of prairie that lie between Lake Winnipeg and the Rocky
mountains.
“Lord and Lady Strathcona spent over sixty years of happy married
life together. Lady Strathcona maintained her interest in
Canada to the very end and took the keenest interest in public
affairs. She followed events in Canada closely and was especially
interested in everything pertaining to McGill University. All
who were the recipients of her hospitality in London, either as
the wife of Canada’s high commissioner or as private guests were
charmed with the kindness displayed to them by Lady Strathcona.
Lady Strathcona was presented, with Lord Strathcona, to Queen
Victoria in Windsor Castle in July, 1886, and to King Edward and
Queen Alexandra at Buckingham Palace in March, 1903, and April,
1904. She was present, with Lord Strathcona, in Westminster Abbey
at the coronation of King Edward and Queen Alexandra. With Lord
Strathcona she was also present at the coronation of King George
and Queen Mary, in June, 1911.
“Although a woman of a retiring and altogether unostentatious
nature Lady Strathcona throughout her life splendidly seconded
her husband in his innumerable acts and schemes for the benefit
of the people of Canada and of mankind at large. With her
daughter, the Hon. Mrs. Howard, Lady Strathcona gave one hundred
thousand dollars to McGill University for the erection of a new
wing to the medical building. To Queen Alexandra’s fund for the
relief of the unemployed of Great Britain she gave fifty-two
thousand, five hundred dollars and from time to time she also
gave largely in many directions. Throughout she exercised a large
and gracious hospitality. At Knebworth House and at Glencoe in
Scotland she was beloved by the people for her many acts of
kindness and generosity.
“Lady Strathcona accompanied Lord Strathcona on his flying
visit to Canada in the autumn of 1913, when His Lordship came
to Montreal to take part in the ceremonies connected with the
congress of the American Bar Association. Lady Strathcona at that
time appeared to be in the best of health and spirits. They were
present together at the recent reception given by the Duke and
Duchess of Connaught at St. James Palace just before Their Royal
Highnesses left London to return to Canada.
“Lady Strathcona’s funeral took place to Highgate cemetery on
November 18, after a simple service in the Church of St. Mark.
Lord Strathcona was a pathetic figure as he followed the coffin
to the church, leaning on the arm of his daughter, the Hon. Mrs.
Howard. Among the numerous floral tributes was a handsome wreath
with a tender inscription from Queen Mother Alexandra. It bore
the words, ‘To dear Lady Strathcona--a sorrowing tribute to the
memory of a beloved wife and companion for sixty-five years--From
Alexandra.’”
It was but little more than two months after the death of Lady
Strathcona that Lord Strathcona passed away, his death occurring
January 21, 1914. His was a strikingly splendid figure even at
the age of ninety-three. He had learned well the lessons of life.
Nobility of character and high purpose had won for him imperial
honors and had made him one of the world’s empire builders.
ROBERT JAMES INGLIS.
At the time of his death, which occurred on the 25th of June,
1903, Robert James Inglis was at the head of the most extensive
merchant tailoring establishment and the best known business
of its kind in Montreal, which was developed entirely through
his efforts and capability. He was recognized as a self-made
man and his example should serve as a source of encouragement
and inspiration to others. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in
1856 and in 1875, when but nineteen years of age, he opened a
tailoring establishment on St. Joseph, now Notre Dame Street.
Although his start in life was comparatively unimportant, he soon
demonstrated his capability and proved that he was worthy of
confidence and support. Year by year his patronage grew and after
nine years at his original location he removed to Beaver Hall
Hill while later he was for five years on St. Catherine Street
West. Less than one month prior to his demise he opened his
establishment in a business block which he had erected, having
well appointed and attractive quarters in which he carried a
large and carefully selected line of goods. In style, excellence
of design and workmanship the output of his establishment could
not be surpassed, and progressive methods and honorable dealing
led to the establishment of a business of large and gratifying
proportions.
Mr. Inglis was survived by his widow and four sons: Douglas S.,
Robert J., W. Stewart, and Lockhart C. The first two are in
charge of the business of R. J. Inglis, Ltd., of Montreal, and
W. Stewart is in charge of the branch of the firm in Winnipeg,
established after the death of his father. Mr. Inglis had reached
a position where the comforts and luxuries of life were at his
command but death called him when he was only forty-seven years
of age. He was a prominent member of Victoria Lodge, No. 57, A.
F. & A. M., but he was never a club man, preferring the enjoyment
of the pleasures of his home. He possessed a strong character,
marked individuality and pleasing personality and was loved by
all who knew him. His acquaintance was a wide one, for his entire
business life had been spent in Montreal and he had gained for
himself a creditable position in business and social circles.
CHARLES BLAIR GORDON.
Manufacturing and financial interests in Montreal find a worthy
representative in Charles Blair Gordon, practical, progressive
and determined. His familiarity with the line of business in
which he is engaged, his recognition of opportunities and his
laudable ambition have gained him distinction and success, and
material progress has been largely promoted through his efforts.
Perhaps there is no other man in Canadian business life whose
career so aptly illustrates the reward of conscientious business
energy. Montreal has reason to be proud of the fact that he is
one of her native sons. He was born here in 1867, his parents
being John and Jane Gordon. After passing through consecutive
grades to the high school and mastering the branches of learning
therein taught, he took up the more difficult lessons to be
learned in the school of experience, entering business circles
in the employ of McIntyre, Sons & Company. In that connection he
gained his first knowledge of business methods and measures, and
the experience which he thus acquired led him to believe that he
might profitably pursue a business career independently. He left
that firm, therefore, to become the organizer of the Standard
Shirt Company, of which he became the manager, and which he
conducted very successfully. At the organization of the Dominion
Textile Company, Mr. Gordon became at first managing director and
vice president. He was elected to the presidency of the company
in 1909 and has since remained at its head, bending his energies
to administrative direction and executive control. The business,
which is one of the worlds’ largest cotton manufacturing
concerns, has developed steadily under his guidance, for he keeps
in close touch with trade conditions and studies every question
bearing upon manufacturing in his line. He was also at one time
vice president of the Montmorency Cotton Mills Company and of the
Colonial Bleaching & Printing Company. He was likewise a director
of the Merchants Cotton Company and is still financially and
officially connected with the Montreal Cotton Company. He is a
director of the Bank of Montreal, president of Penman’s, Ltd.,
president of Hill Crest Collieries, Ltd., vice president of the
well known financial bond and investment house of C. Meredith,
Ltd., and a director of the Ogilvie Flour Mills Company, Ltd. He
is likewise a director of the Ritz-Carlton Company, owners of
the magnificent new hotel, the Royal Trust Company, the Dominion
Bridge Company, and numerous other corporations in the Dominion
of Canada. His judgment is sought as a valuable factor in the
management of all the different business organizations with which
he is connected. McGill University has requisitioned his services
and made him one of its governors. To further the interests
of trade he has become a member of the Canadian Manufacturers
Association and was elected vice president of the Quebec branch
in 1911.
In 1897 Mr. Gordon was united in marriage to Miss Annie Brooks,
of Seaforth, Ontario, and they reside at Terra Nova on St. Luc
road, Ville Notre Dame des Neiges, Montreal. His social interests
largely center in his membership in the Mount Royal, Canada,
Montreal Hunt, Montreal Racquet, Montreal Jockey and Royal St.
Lawrence Yacht Clubs. Mr. Gordon is a typical man of the age.
He has gone beyond many who perhaps started out ahead of him
in the race of life, this being due to his close application,
unfaltering energy, and an earnest and persistent desire to
accomplish at any one point in his career the utmost possibility
for success at that point. He belongs to that class of valued and
representative citizens who in advancing individual interests
have also largely promoted the public good.
LESLIE HALE BOYD.
Leslie Hale Boyd is not only a student of the law but also of
the vital public questions which are engaging wide attention,
and is, as well, widely known in connection with many athletic
and similar organizations. Montreal numbers him among her native
sons, his birth having here occurred July 31, 1873, his parents
being Andrew and Georgina L. (Hale) Boyd. Passing through
consecutive grades in the public schools, he entered the Montreal
high school and eventually pursued the arts and law courses in
McGill University, which in 1894 conferred upon him the B. A.
degree and in 1897 that of B. C. L. In 1898 he began practice as
an advocate, and while advancement at the bar is proverbially
slow no dreary novitiate awaited him. Almost from the beginning
of his professional career he was accorded a liberal clientage
and is now one of the prominent practitioners of the Montreal
bar. In 1908 he was created king’s counsellor. As he has won
success in his profession, he has made investments in real estate
and is now the owner of considerable valuable property in the
city.
In 1898 Mr. Boyd was married to Miss Emma Constance, a daughter
of the late William Farrell, of Montreal, but her death occurred
in August, 1909. Mr. Boyd makes his home at No. 1036 Dorchester
Street West. He is a Presbyterian in religious faith and is
identified with various social organizations and with different
societies having to do with the material development and welfare
of the city. He belongs to the Montreal Amateur Athletic
Association, which has honored him with the presidency, and in
1908 he was vice president of the Amateur Athletic Federation
of Canada. He likewise belongs to the Canada Club and the
Engineers Club, the Caledonia and St. Lawrence Curling Clubs, the
Canadian Club and the Rangers, Fish and Game Club, and he figures
prominently in the various athletic and similar organizations to
which he belongs. His interest in affairs of general importance
is indicated in the fact that he is a governor of the Montreal
Homeopathic Hospital and a member of the Protestant board of
school trustees at St. Henri, P. Q. The conservative party
numbers him among its active workers and representatives, and in
1910 he was elected alderman of St. George’s ward of Montreal
as a reform candidate, and in 1912 and 1914 was reelected by
acclamation. In May, 1912, he ran in the St. Lawrence division
as the conservative candidate for the provincial legislature but
was defeated. The talents with which nature endowed him he has
wisely used, not only for the benefit of himself but for the
improvement of municipal and moral conditions and physical and
mental development.
COLIN MCARTHUR.
It is a natural thing that when the sons of Great Britain desire
to emigrate they turn toward one of the colonial possessions of
the great British empire, and thus it is that a large percentage
of Canada’s citizens have come from Scotland. Among the number
was Colin McArthur, who was born in Glasgow in 1835, a son
of James McArthur, a mason contractor of that city. He was
educated in St. Enoch’s school of Glasgow and for sixteen years
was associated with the firm of Wylie & Lockhead, wall paper
manufacturers, acting as manager of their interests most of the
time. While in their employ he frequently visited Canada and
the United States in the interests of the house, and eventually
taking up his permanent abode in Canada, embarked in business in
Toronto. In 1879, however, he came to Montreal and entered into
business with J. C. Watson in the manufacture of wall paper under
the firm name of Watson & McArthur. This relation was maintained
uninterruptedly until 1884, when Mr. McArthur withdrew from the
firm and established the present business, that of Colin McArthur
& Company, wall paper manufacturers. In the early days skilled
labor had to be brought from the States, but in time men of this
country were trained for the work and with the introduction of
improved machinery the business developed rapidly. The trade grew
enormously and Mr. McArthur was not only one of the pioneers in
his line but controlled one of the most extensive and successful
enterprises of that character. He thoroughly understood every
phase of the business and, watchful of details pointing to
success, his capable control was manifest in the excellent
results which rewarded him.
Mr. McArthur was first married to Margaret Jamieson, of Largs,
Scotland, and had two children. David married Rose Wilkinson and
died in 1902, leaving a widow and three children, Colin, David
and Margaret. Margaret, the daughter, is now living in Montreal.
Mr. McArthur married in England, in 1869, Miss Annie Williamson,
who survives him and resides in Montreal.
Mr. McArthur was an active factor in public interests as well as
in business circles. He joined the Board of Trade in 1888, and
he was much interested in public institutions and in plans for
the general welfare. He was a life member of the General Hospital
and was a member of the Caledonia and St. Andrew’s Societies.
He also was a life member of the Protestant Insane Hospital and
took an active interest in the founding of that institution.
A Presbyterian in religious faith, his many good deeds had
their inception in his Christian belief. He did much for charity
and in fact was continually assisting others, yet all in a most
unostentatious manner. He never spoke of his benevolent acts and
shrank from all publicity of that character, yet there are many
who have reason to bless his memory for aid rendered in an hour
of need.
[Illustration: COLIN McARTHUR]
GEORGE EDWARD DESBARATS.
The late George Edward Desbarats was head of the well known
printing firm of Desbarats & Company of Montreal, which, for
many years has set the standard for all that is progressive in
this field of business activity. He was a representative of a
family that through many generations has been closely connected
with the printing business, successive generations being in the
vanguard of those who have been most active in bringing about
the advancement and improvement in connection with the art
preservative of arts. The History of Printing and Bookbinding in
the State of Bearne gives account of Pierre Desbarats, bookseller
from 1638, who established in 1651 the first printing office to
have more than a transient existence in the state of Bearne;
while Jean Desbarats, 1656 to 1687, was named printer to the
Royal College of Bearne in 1662, printer to the Jesuit College
at Pau in 1663 and printer to the King and the Royal College in
1680. Jean Desbarats, 1687 to 1714, was appointed King’s printer
and printer to the Royal College in 1687. Isaac Desbarats, 1714
to 1737, was printer to the States of the Province of Bearne
and on the 24th of December, 1719, was officially appointed to
succeed Jean Desbarats as King’s printer. Parliamentary decree
of April 27, 1730, admitted him to the ranks of the nobility as
“Isaac Desbarats, King’s Printer, Seigneur de Labarthe Buisson.”
Isaac Charles Desbarats, 1737-1787, was made printer to the King
and to the States of the Kingdom of Navarre, September 20, 1737.
He succeeded to the rank of Seigneur de Labarthe Buisson and was
“Avocat au Parlement.” The printing establishment was inherited
by Jeanne Desbarats but the government would not allow a woman to
carry on the printing business and it had to be sold. The above
indicates the close connection of the family with the printing
business in France from 1638 to 1787. The family name has figured
with equal prominence in Canada. Pierre Edouard Desbarats was
named King’s printer January 27, 1800, and so continued until
his death in 1828. His son, Georges Pascal Desbarats, father of
George E. Desbarats of this review, succeeded his father and in
1844 was named Queen’s printer.
The family had been founded in Canada by Joseph Desbarats, who
came to this country in 1756 and in 1761 married Marie Louise
Crête at Beauport. He died in 1810. Their son, Pierre Edouard
Desbarats, was married in September, 1798, to Josephte Voyer
and at the time of his death, in 1828, was not only printer of
His Majesty’s laws, but was also assistant clerk of the house,
lieutenant colonel and justice of the peace. His son, Georges
Pascal Desbarats, married Henriette Dionne, daughter of Hon.
Amable Dionne. She died in 1839, while G. P. Desbarats passed
away in 1864. He had succeeded his father in business and in 1844
was named Queen’s printer, in which connection he removed with
the Government to Kingston, Toronto and Quebec as the government
was successively established in those cities. He was also
lieutenant colonel of militia.