kindergarten at the Nazareth Asylum in charge of the Grey Nuns in
Montreal and was afterward a student at the Catholic Commercial
Academy of this city. He was graduated from Montreal College with
the class of 1882 and from the Seminary of Philosophy in 1884.
He finished the course in the College of Theology in 1887 and
was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood March 17, 1888.
Immediately afterward he was sent as curate to Caughnawaga, where
he did excellent work among the Iroquois Indians. He held his
original position until 1892 and was then given the direction of
the Caughnawaga mission, serving until 1903. In that year he was
appointed parish priest of the Church of St. Anne de Bellevue, in
the province of Quebec, and he there remained until 1911, when
he was appointed rector of St. Jean Baptiste church in Montreal.
The parish of St. Jean de Baptiste in Montreal is one of the
largest and most important French-Canadian congregations in the
city, and its rector holds a very responsible position and one
which makes him a great individual force in Catholic circles. The
original church building was burned June 27, 1911, and is now
being replaced at a cost of three hundred thousand dollars, the
entire property being valued at five hundred thousand dollars.
Father Forbes had four assistants, Rev. Joseph A. Lefevre, Rev.
Charles A. de Lamirande, Rev. Auguste Paré and Rev. Hector
Quesnel, and had spiritual jurisdiction over thirty-nine hundred
families and nineteen thousand souls, all French-Canadians. He
became very popular and widely beloved among the people of this
congregation, who saw his simplicity of character, his greatness
of heart, his earnestness and sincerity, and who recognized
his administrative and business ability. On the 6th of August,
1913, Rev. Forbes was chosen by the Holy See to succeed the Rt.
Rev. Alfred Archambeault as bishop of Joliette. He received the
episcopal consecration in the cathedral of Joliette from the
hands of His Grace, Monseigneur Bruchesi, archbishop of Montreal,
on the 9th of October, 1913. A brother of Bishop Forbes, the Rev.
Father John Forbes, of the White Fathers, after a stay of sixteen
years in the mission fields of Africa, is since the year 1900
residing in Quebec, superior of the branch house of the Society
of the White Fathers in Canada.
Bishop Forbes is profoundly learned in Indian dialects and is
in addition an author of some note, his works being all of a
religious character. Besides his original volumes he has edited
and republished a Life of Catherine Tekakwitha and an Iroquois
almanac for the years between 1899 and 1903.
ARTHUR EDOUARD JOSEPH BISSONNET.
The name of Bissonnet has long been a distinguished one in this
locality, the first member of the family having been one Pierre,
a son of Jacques, who was born in 1626, and on the 3d of May,
1660, married Mathurène Des Bordes and who, as the records show,
had seven children. A brother of Pierre, Jacques, was married in
1670 and sixteen children are credited to him. Arthur Edouard
Joseph Bissonnet worthily upholds the honor of the family name,
having gained a reputation along legal lines in Montreal, where
he has successfully practiced since 1897. He was born at St.
Hyacinthe, Quebec, and is a son of Napoléon and Domithilde
(Scott) Bissonnet. The father was a well known manufacturer
of that city, where he passed away in 1887, the mother having
predeceased him in 1882. The paternal grandparents were Jérome
and Josephte (Courtemanche) Bissonnet, who died in 1870 and 1872,
respectively.
Arthur E. J. Bissonnet received an excellent education. His
preliminary courses were taken at the College of the Sacred Heart
at Arthabaskaville, which was followed by a classical course at
St. Hyacinthe that earned him the title of M. L. A. In 1894 he
studied law at Laval University and in 1895 and 1896 at McGill
University which he left in 1897 with the degree of B. C. L.,
being admitted to the bar of the province of Quebec in the same
year. His advent in Montreal soon followed and here he has ever
since been engaged in the practice of his profession. No long
novitiate awaited him for he soon demonstrated his ability to
successfully cope with the most intricate law problems and gained
a reputation which connected him with much important litigation.
He has represented some of the foremost firms and individuals as
well as other interests, having attained a name for preparing his
cases thoroughly and presenting them in an able manner. He has
all the attributes of a successful lawyer, clearly sets forth his
cause and by the weight of his character and his insight into
human nature has won a high standing in his profession. In 1909
Mr. Bissonnet was appointed king’s counsel and as such handled
important government cases which especially connected him with
provincial law revenue on duties on successions. His prominence
in fraternal circles has led to his election as legal adviser of
the Council of St. Henry (for 1913), a branch of the Knights of
Columbus at Montreal. Mr. Bissonnet is now at the head of the
legal firm, Bissonnet & Cordeau, occupying suite 606, in the
Royal Trust building.
On the 14th of February, 1905, occurred the marriage of Mr.
Bissonnet to M. A. Ernestine Roy, a daughter of Amedée Roy and
Hemma (Rocher) Roy. The family has been long established in the
county of Bagot, in the province of Quebec, and her father was a
prominent merchant in his locality. Mr. and Mrs. Bissonnet have
the following children, Jean, Léon, Marie Laure, Louise Marie and
Paul.
His political convictions lead Mr. Bissonnet to support the
liberal party, and he is a member of the Montreal Reform Club and
other political institutions. Although not an active politician,
he takes a deep and helpful interest in the issues of the day
that affect the Canadian people as a nation and his province as
part of the Dominion and stands ever ready to support progressive
measures making for advancement, either material or intellectual.
His faith is that of the Catholic church. A distinguished and
influential lawyer, he is highly respected in the profession and
is esteemed by the general public as a public-spirited citizen
who loyally acknowledges and fulfills his duties to his city and
his country.
DUNCAN A. MCCASKILL.
Duncan A. McCaskill was a factor in Montreal’s commercial
development and progress, inasmuch as he was the founder and head
of the house of D. A. McCaskill Company, later McCaskill, Dougall
& Company, manufacturers of railway and carriage varnishes and
japans. The extent and importance of his business made him well
known in commercial circles, while his career demonstrated the
possibilities for successful achievement on the part of any
individual who must perforce start in life as he did, without
any capital to aid him. He was born in Victoria county, Cape
Breton, in 1845 and was a son of Murdo McCaskill, a justice of
two counties of Cape Breton. His education was acquired in his
native county, where the first thirty years of his life were
passed. The year 1875 witnessed his arrival in Montreal, where he
connected himself with one of the large business houses of the
city. During the succeeding five years he steadily progressed and
there awakened in him the ambition to enter commercial circles
on his own account. He took his initial step in the direction
in which his later labors brought him to the prominent position
which he occupied as the head of the house of what is now
McCaskill, Dougall & Company, manufacturers of railway and
carriage varnishes. He was ever a most industrious man, close
application and energy constituting the basis of his success. In
1902 he retired and spent his remaining days in those ways which
afforded him recreation and enjoyment, traveling extensively in
company with Mrs. McCaskill through the United States and Europe.
[Illustration: DUNCAN A. McCASKILL]
Mrs. McCaskill was in her maidenhood Miss Abbott, a member of
the Abbott family of Andover, Massachusetts, and one of the
old New England families. They were separated by death on the
12th of July, 1907, when Mr. McCaskill passed away at Lausanne,
Switzerland.
While an active factor in the business world, Mr. McCaskill also
took a great interest in political matters and for several years
was president of the Sir John A. Macdonald Club. In 1900, at the
solicitation of a large body of electors of his native county,
he became a candidate for political honors. The conservative
party lost in that connection and Mr. McCaskill was defeated at
the polls, although a large vote was accorded him and his course
gained him the general esteem of the people. By preference he
concentrated his efforts upon his business interests and private
affairs and worked his way upward until he stood among the
successful merchants and manufacturers of the city with a record
that commended him to the confidence and admiration of colleagues
and contemporaries.
SAMUEL HAMILTON EWING.
With intense activity intelligently directed and with ability
to plan and perform that amounts almost to genius, Samuel
Hamilton Ewing has become one of the prominent manufacturers and
capitalists of Montreal. He today has financial investments in
many of the most important corporate interests of the province,
and his opinion concerning complex business matters is eagerly
sought and constitutes a valuable element in the attainment of a
wise conclusion.
From his boyhood Samuel Hamilton Ewing has been a resident
of Canada. He was born May 10, 1834, at Lisdillon House,
Londonderry, Ireland, and is a representative of an old family of
Irish origin, his parents being Samuel and Margaret (Hamilton)
Ewing, who with their family crossed the Atlantic to Canada
during the boyhood of their son Samuel H. Entering the public
schools of Montreal, he pursued his education and afterward
joined his brother, Andrew S. Ewing, in the ownership and
management of the extensive coffee and spice mills formerly
owned by his father. The business, established in 1860, was
conducted under the firm style of Samuel Ewing & Sons, Samuel
Hamilton Ewing remaining an active factor in the management and
direction of the business until his retirement from the firm in
1892. In the meantime the efforts of the partners had resulted
in the establishment of an enterprise of extensive proportions.
Gradually he extended his efforts to other fields, becoming
financially and ofttimes actively interested in corporations
which are now recognized as among the foremost in the commercial
and industrial circles of the province. He is president of
the Montreal Cotton Company, president of the Canada Accident
Assurance Company, president of the Levis County Railway and the
Cornwall Street Railway, and is vice president of the Molson’s
Bank and the Sun Life Assurance Company, while he is a director
of the Atlantic Sugar Refinery, the Standard Clay Products,
Limited, the Crown Trust Company, and the Illinois Traction
Company. One of the local papers said of him: “It is doubtful if
there is a more active man of his age in the city of Montreal.”
What he undertakes he accomplishes, and he utilizes opportunities
that many others have passed heedlessly by. Moreover, he has the
ability to unify seemingly dissimilar elements, coordinating them
into a harmonious whole.
Mr. Ewing has been married twice. He first wedded Miss Caroline
Wilson Cheese, of London, England, who died in 1872, and later
he wedded Margaret Anna Knight, who passed away in March, 1908.
She was a daughter of George Knight, of Glasgow, Scotland. Mr.
Ewing’s attractive home, Seaforth, is situated at No. 100 Cote
des Neiges road. He is well known in club circles, holding
membership in the Mount Royal, Canada, St. James and Canadian
Clubs. He is a life governor of the Art Association of Montreal.
His political belief is that of the conservative party but the
honors and emoluments of office have little attraction for him.
He has preferred always to devote his leisure to such activities
as seek the public welfare along charitable or humanitarian
lines. He is a governor of the Montreal General Hospital and
served for several years prior to 1906 as its treasurer. He is
likewise a governor of the Protestant Hospital for the Insane,
and in 1906 was the delegate to the Sixth Congress Chambers of
Commerce of the Empire. Forceful and resourceful, his is a record
of a strenuous life, stable in purpose, quick in perception,
swift in decision, energetic and persistent in action.
ALBERT HEBERT.
Albert Hébert, deceased, who for many years was one of the
best known business men of Montreal, was born in this city,
February 28, 1864. He was educated in the Jesuit College and
the Archambault Commercial School, from which he was graduated.
At the age of seventeen years he entered the firm of Dufresne &
Mongenais and a year later became a member of the firm of Hudon,
Hébert & Company, wholesale grocers. Later, when his father,
C. P. Hébert, retired from the firm, Albert Hébert became the
general manager of the business and so continued throughout his
remaining days, directing the policy and stimulating the progress
of the business, which became one of the important commercial
concerns of the province. A man of resourceful ability, he
was a director of the Montreal City and District Savings Bank
and succeeded his father as treasurer of Notre Dame Hospital.
He was a prominent member of the Board of Trade, serving as a
councillor in 1904 and 1905, a governor of Laval University and
a governor of the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society. Mr. Hébert
was married in Montreal to Miss Loulou Barbeau, a daughter of the
late E. G. Barbeau, who was the first manager of the Montreal
City and District Savings Bank. Mr. and Mrs. Hébert had one
daughter, Joséphine, now the wife of Mr. LsRaoul de Lorimer, of
Montreal. While traveling in Europe Mr. Hébert died at Lucerne,
Switzerland, June 21, 1911, although when he left Montreal for
this trip he was in the best of health. He was but forty-seven
years of age at the time of his demise, yet he stood very high
in the opinion of the leading business men of the wholesale
district of Montreal and was also appreciated and esteemed in
financial circles. When Notre Dame Hospital was threatened with
a financial crisis in 1909 it was Mr. Hébert, the treasurer of
the institution, who opened the subscription and by his energetic
campaign raised the two hundred thousand dollars which saved the
day. One who knew him well and was, therefore, qualified to speak
of his sterling traits of character wrote to the Montreal Star:
[Illustration: ALBERT HEBERT]
“There were many sympathizing and sad hearts in Canada after it
was known that Albert Hébert, Esq., of your city died in the
prime of life, far away from home in Switzerland. In the death
of Mr. Hébert Montreal has lost the prince of the many princely
merchants. He was known far and near not only by reputation
but personally and wherever he was known he was respected and
beloved. I have had business dealings with the late Mr. Hébert
for over a quarter of a century and during that long period I
have had many opportunities of forming an opinion of his worth
as a man and of his splendid abilities as a business man. At the
annual business meeting of the Wholesale Grocers Guild, of which
he was a prominent and respected member and at which meetings
I have often had an opportunity of attending, it was always a
pleasure to hear him speak in his faultless English, with a
slightly French accent. His opinions and advice had a spirit of
fairness and good sense that invariably carried conviction with
them. No better argument in favor of a joint English and French
training could be had than to hear him address a meeting in
English. The late Mr. Hébert will be missed in Montreal. He will
be sadly missed by the many English speaking friends in the west
when they visit Montreal. It is men of his type that are needed
to build up Canada as a nation.”
J. GEORGES PICHE, M. D.
Among the successful physicians of Montreal is Dr. J. Georges
Piché, who has been in practice since 1900. He was born in St.
Gabriel de Brandon, Berthier, province of Quebec, September
4, 1872, and descends from one of the oldest families of that
section.
His father, Camille Piché, was a notary of St. Gabriel for forty
years, occupying the position at the time of his death. He was
regarded as one of the best known and most highly respected
citizens of the locality. He married Sophie Desparrois dit
Champagne, a native of St. Sulpice, province of Quebec.
Dr. Piché acquired his early education at St. Gabriel and later
attended the normal school at Montreal, leaving there in 1887.
He then went to the United States and for several years was
a bookkeeper in the employ of a wholesale grocery house at
Providence, Rhode Island. In 1896 he returned to Montreal and,
having determined upon a professional career, began the study of
medicine at Laval University, where he was graduated in 1900 with
the degree of M. D.
Dr. Piché immediately began the practice of his profession in
Montreal on DeMontigny Street, where he continued with gratifying
success until 1914, when he removed his offices to No. 287
St. Denis Street. He is now accorded a liberal practice and
his ability is constantly increasing as the result of broad
experience and wide reading and research. He is now physician to
the Merchants & Employers Guarantee & Accident Company, and he is
a member of La Société Médicale de Montreal.
In 1894 Dr. Piché was married in St. Gabriel de Brandon, province
of Quebec, to Albertine Bellemore, a daughter of John Bellemore,
of that place, and they have four children: Julien, Georges,
Albert, Ernest and Rachel.
JOHN S. ARCHIBALD.
John S. Archibald, an architect holding to the highest
professional standards and one of Montreal’s native citizens,
is a son of the late David A. Archibald, formerly of Inverness,
Scotland. Reared and educated in Scotland. Mr. Archibald prepared
for the profession which he has made his life work and which he
has successfully followed in Montreal. He is a member of the
firm of Saxe & Archibald and as such has been connected with the
execution of some important professional contracts. A number
of the fine structures of the city stand as monuments to his
skill and ability. Moreover his position is indicated by the
fact that in 1905 he was honored with election to the presidency
of the Architects Association of the province of Quebec and at
the congress of architects held in July, 1906, he moved the
resolution favoring statutory qualifications of architects. He
has never believed in deviating from the highest standards of the
profession.
In December, 1900, Mr. Archibald was united in marriage to
Miss Edith Thurston, the third daughter of J. D. Thurston,
of Montreal. In politics Mr. Archibald is a liberal and is
interested in all projects that are opposed to misrule in civic
affairs and which seek to promote the interests of the many
rather than of the few. He is now a councillor of the Montreal
Reform Club, and he belongs also to the Engineers Club. He has
carefully cultivated the powers and talents with which nature
endowed him and thus has gained more than local recognition as a
capable architect, well versed in the science of his profession.
ESIOFF LEON PATENAUDE.
Among the younger members of the bar of Montreal is Esioff Léon
Patenaude, a member of the well known firm of Leonard, Patenaude,
Filion & Monette, who maintain offices at No. 26 St. James
Street. Not only has Mr. Patenaude attained a prominent position
along strictly legal lines but he has been prominent politically,
having for several terms been elected a member of the provincial
legislative assembly of Quebec and serving at present in that
capacity. He is a member of one of the old French-Canadian
families.
Esioff L. Patenaude was born at St. Isidore on February 12, 1875,
and is a son of Hilaire and Angèle (Trudeau) Patenaude. Early
showing a preference for a legal career, he laid the foundations
of his classical education in Montreal College, from which he
graduated with the degree of B. A., and subsequently studied law
at Laval University, receiving the degree of LL. L. He has since
taken up his practice in Montreal and, having been able soon to
demonstrate his knowledge and ability, has built up a reputation
as one of the foremost advocates of the city. He is a member
of the firm of Leonard, Patenaude, Filion & Monette, who are
connected with much of the foremost litigation before the courts,
their patronage being distinctive and important.
On the 8th of May, 1900, Mr. Patenaude married Miss Georgiana
Deniger and they have two children, Rose Angèle and Alphonse. In
religious faith the family are Roman Catholics. The political
allegiance of Mr. Patenaude is given to the conservative party
and, as he has become widely known in his profession, it was
but natural that he should be chosen to the Quebec legislative
assembly, to which he was elected at the general election of
1908. He was returned to his seat in 1912, his reelection being
the confirmation of his record. He has always exerted himself to
the best of his ability in the interests of his constituents and
has done valuable work in committee rooms as well as on the floor
of the provincial house of parliament. Prominent among the French
colony, Mr. Patenaude is highly respected by all who know him for
what he has attained and for those characteristics which have
made possible his success. He is ever willing to gladly bear his
share in promoting the public welfare and the advancement of the
city and is a forceful factor in Montreal not only along legal
and political lines but in building up material progress and
promoting measures which elevate moral and intellectual standards.
JOSEPH GUSTAVE AVARD.
Joseph Gustave Avard, one of the best known men in real-estate
circles in Montreal, has been instrumental in promoting some
of the largest projects in this city during the past ten
years, notwithstanding the fact that his life record does not
cover one-half the span of time of many other real-estate
dealers of the city. He was born January 29, 1881, at Shirley,
Massachusetts, a son of Louis and Philomene (Sasseville) Avard,
both of whom are natives of St. Hyacinthe county, Quebec. For
some years the father was a saddler at Shirley, Massachusetts,
but since 1883 has resided at St. Hyacinthe.
The son was educated in the schools of St. Hyacinthe, the
Brothers of the Sacred Heart Academy and in the St. Hyacinthe
Practical Business School. For a year he was a clerk in St.
Hyacinthe Bank and through the ensuing four years was with the
Eastern Townships Bank at St. Hyacinthe and Waterloo, Quebec.
In 1903 Mr. Avard came to Montreal as an accountant for the firm
of McPherson & Company, wholesale dealers in cheese and butter.
In 1905 he opened a real-estate office at 47 St. Vincent Street
under the firm name of Avard & Dagenais. This firm continued in
business successfully for five years at that location. On the
expiration of that period the partnership was dissolved and Mr.
Avard opened an office in the Royal Trust building, where he
remained for two years, removing thence to the Transportation
building at No. 120 St. James Street in 1912. In that year
the business was incorporated under the name of J. G. Avard &
Company, Ltd. He promoted the Viauville Lands, Ltd., one of the
largest deals carried through in the past decade. The firm owns
the Tetreauville Annex and are agents for Hudonville Lands, Ltd.
Mr. Avard is also a director of the Dominion Quarry, Ltd., of
the Metropolis Apartment Company, Ltd., Montreal Playhouses,
Ltd., and of the Practical Business School of St. Hyacinthe. His
offices in the Transportation building are models of good taste
and the casual visitor has only to glance around to see that Mr.
Avard is a lover of the fine arts.
On the 2d of October, 1904, Mr. Avard was married, in Montreal,
to Rachel Eva Simard, a daughter of the late Adelard Simard, a
well known lawyer of Waterloo, Quebec. To Mr. and Mrs. Avard have
come three children: Elise; Gaston, who died at the age of eleven
months; and Jean.
Active in the social life of the city, Mr. Avard is a member of
the Canadian Club, the National Sporting Club, the Reform Club,
St. Denis Club and is the vice president of the Laurentide Summer
Home Company, Ltd. Politically he is a liberal, and his religious
faith is indicated in his membership in St. Leon’s Roman Catholic
church at Westmount, where he resides.
ALBERT H. CAMPBELL.
Albert H. Campbell, an active factor in business circles in
Montreal as a member of the firm of A. C. Leslie & Company,
iron, steel and metal merchants on St. Paul Street, remained in
connection with that business until his death, which occurred
August 27, 1907. He was a native of Ontario, born May 13, 1866,
and a son of Dr. Donald P. Campbell, who was also born in the
province of Ontario, where his father had settled upon coming
to Canada from Scotland. Dr. Campbell was a graduate of McGill
University and after preparing for the medical profession
practiced in Vankleek Hill, Ontario, until his death which
occurred in 1870. He was married in Montreal, in 1863, to Miss
Alice Bell, a daughter of James Bell, who came to this city in
1832 from Scotland and was prominent as a contractor and builder
here until his death in 1860. Following the death of her husband,
Mrs. Campbell returned with her family to Montreal, where she has
since resided.