Liberal-Conservative Association, and thus in a number of the
organizations with which he is allied he has been honored with
office. He regards the practice of law, however, as his real life
work, and he has at times been heard by the judicial committee
of the privy council of England. He has been throughout life
a student, and since his admission to the bar has remained a
close and discriminating student of law principles, thoroughly
qualifying himself for the conduct of all legal business
intrusted to his care.
WILLIAM FORREST ANGUS.
As vice president and general manager of the Canadian Steel
Foundries, Ltd., William Forrest Angus represents one of the
foremost industries of the Dominion. He was born in Montreal,
October 28, 1873, a son of Richard Bladworth Angus, the eminent
financier and railway promoter.
William F. Angus was educated privately in preparation for his
university course and entered for that purpose McGill, from which
he graduated as B. A. Sc. in 1895, completing his university work
with a post-graduate course in 1896. He then entered the employ
of the Dominion Bridge Company and subsequently was with the
Laurie Engine Company, which is now defunct. His next position
was with the Canada Switch and Spring Company, which was merged
into the Montreal Steel Works. He remained with this concern,
rapidly rising to more and more important positions until he was
made manager and managing director. When this company was bought
out by the Canadian Steel Foundries, Ltd., about two years ago
he was elected vice president and managing director of this vast
enterprise.
In November, 1904, Mr. Angus was united in marriage to Miss Grace
N., eldest daughter of Sergeant P. Stearns of Montreal. They
reside at No. 364 Peel Street. In his religious faith Mr. Angus
is a Presbyterian. He is prominent in club life, being a member
of the St. James Club, the Mount Royal, the Canada, the Forest
and Stream, the Montreal Hunt, the University, the Montreal
Curling, the Montreal Racquet and the St. Lawrence Yacht Clubs.
His name is also on the roster of the Canadian Society of Civil
Engineers.
Highly trained in his profession, careful in judgment, shrewd,
energetic and a man of rare executive force, Mr. Angus ably
administers the affairs of a vast industrial enterprise, and
his career bids fair to rival that of his distinguished father.
He is deeply interested in all that pertains to progress and
trade expansion and can always be found among those men who are
the most forceful exponents of advanced measures inaugurated to
exploit the vast resources of the Dominion. He bends his genius
to create new markets and increase trade facilities and gives
of the best of his ability so that the Dominion of Canada may
march in the van of the great industrial nations of the world.
Realizing that the natural resources lie but dormant, awaiting
the magic wand of man, he has linked himself with such men as
will guide the Dominion to the industrial position in the world
which is its due.
THOMAS GAUTHIER.
The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to
give voice to a man’s modest estimate of himself and his
accomplishments but rather to leave the perpetual record
establishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the
part of his fellowmen, and any history of Montreal introducing
biographies of her citizens whose activities and influence have
been for the city’s growth and betterment, would be incomplete
without reference to Thomas Gauthier.
His life has been so varied in activity, so honorable in its
purposes, so far-reaching and beneficial in its effects that it
has become an integral part of the history of the city and also
left an impress upon the annals of the province. His business
interests are extensive and important, but by no means cover the
scope of his activities, as he has been identified with various
movements and projects having to do with the public welfare along
material, political, social and moral lines.
Mr. Gauthier was born in Montreal in 1844 and attended the
Lachine Commercial School, but is largely a self-educated as well
as a self-made man. He has ever been a reader and thinker and in
the school of experience has learned many valuable lessons. At
times he has acquired with labor and difficulty the knowledge
which he has been so anxious should be given others, his efforts
in behalf of education being well known. He began his active
business career in Montreal in 1869, and for many years he
conducted the Place Chaboillez establishment with conspicuous
success. During this time, having become widely and favorably
known, he was elected president of the old Society of Mutual
Assistance--the Union St. Joseph.
[Illustration: THOMAS GAUTHIER]
In 1881 the Association of Retail Grocers, of which he was one
of the founders, appointed him president and through his active
exertions the Chamber of Commerce of Montreal was established.
Along these and various other lines he has promoted the business
activity of Montreal, pushing forward the wheels of progress in
such a way that the entire city has benefited thereby.
His public service in connection with municipal affairs has
been equally notable and commendable. He was one of Montreal’s
aldermen from 1890 to 1893, and his labors were effective
and beneficial as a member of the committees of police and
hygiene. He was largely instrumental in establishing the mutual
benefit fund among the members of the police force and also in
establishing the first public bath in Hochelaga ward. All this,
however, does not cover the scope of his activities, for in
various other fields of usefulness his labors proved resultant.
In the year 1883-4 he was general treasurer of the St. Jean
Baptiste Society and was treasurer of the Montreal Exposition
Company, in 1891, the only year in which it showed a surplus. He
was a member of the finance committee of the National Association
for a number of years, being also one of the promoters of the
building of the Monument National, and in 1909 he was elected
vice president and in 1911 became president, serving until April,
1913.
One of the most important of Mr. Gauthier’s public services
has been in behalf of education. It was largely through the
missionary work done by him and the assistance he received from
the Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Trade and the Builders’
Exchange that the government was induced to take up the
establishment of technical schools in Montreal and Quebec. In
this connection Mr. Gauthier has done a noble and patriotic work,
the value of which cannot be estimated. He has been president of
the Council of Arts and Manufactures continuously since 1897, and
more than three thousand scholars are now participating in these
classes.
He has ever believed in that special training which will enable
the individual to develop his native talents and thus qualify
for the business life to which he is best adapted. Mr. Gauthier
was associated with Dr. Adami in the general presidency of the
Child’s Welfare movement.
In the various movements and projects with which Mr. Gauthier has
been associated, whether financial, educational, philanthropic
or commercial, he has shown the same intelligent and careful
interest as in his own private business affairs.
In connection with the affairs of La Caisse Nationale d’Economie,
of which he was one of the founders in 1899, he has taken a very
active and prominent part. Ever since its organization he has
been chairman of the finance committee, also chairman of the
committee of administration, and has been no small factor in the
splendid success of this association.
He is an extensive holder of stock in the Montreal Light, Heat
& Power Company, as well as in the Lake of the Woods Milling
Company, and is president of the Amherst Park Land Company.
Mr. Gauthier is an exceptionally well preserved gentleman for one
of his years, and among his extensive acquaintance he is spoken
of in terms of admiration and respect.
He has continuously been a student of the signs of the times, of
existing conditions and keeps abreast with the best thinking men
of the age in his knowledge of political, economical and social
questions affecting the welfare and progress of the race.
WILLIAM DOUW LIGHTHALL.
The position of William Douw Lighthall has for many years been
one of leadership. He has exerted wide and beneficial influence
on public thought and action and as lawyer, author and the
promoter of various prominent societies his name has become
known throughout the length and breadth of the land. He has been
termed “a living example of good citizenship ... a man of high
culture, refined tastes and exceptional literary ability.” His
efforts along all the lines in which his activities have been
put forth have been productive of far-reaching and beneficial
results. He was born at Hamilton, Ontario, December 27, 1857,
a son of William Francis Lighthall, who is the doyen of the
Montreal notarial profession, and is descended from the Schuyler,
Van Renssalaer and Van Cortlandt families, three of the most
prominent Knickerbocker families of New York. The mother, Mrs.
Margaret Lighthall, was the eldest daughter of Captain Henry
Wright, of Chateauguay, who was a son of Major James Wright
(McIntyre), the commander of the British settlers of the district
in the War of 1812.
After being dux of the high school of Montreal William D.
Lighthall pursued a classical course in McGill University, from
which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree and the
Shakespeare gold medal in English literature in 1879. He then
entered upon the study of law at McGill, which conferred upon
him the B. C. L. degree in 1881, and he took the honorary degree
of M. A. in 1885. With the completion of his law course he was
called to the bar and began practice as an advocate. Nature
endowed him with keen mentality, and the thoroughness with which
he prepared his cases and the earnestness with which he presented
his causes before the courts won him success and advancement.
He was created king’s counsel in 1906. For a long period he has
been accounted one of the distinguished representatives of the
Montreal bar, practicing as senior member of the law firm of
Lighthall & Harwood.
What he has accomplished as a member of the legal profession
would alone entitle W. D. Lighthall to mention among the
representative men of Montreal, yet he has gained equal
prominence as an author, as a promoter of various societies, as
an antiquarian greatly interested in historical and antiquarian
research, and as a public-spirited citizen who takes cognizance
of the needs of the hour and employs practical methods in working
for high ideals for the benefit of city, province and Dominion.
He was the founder of the Society of Canadian Literature, the
Canadian National League, the Westmount Liberal Club, the
Montreal Tourist Association, and originated and, in connection
with De Lery Macdonald, established the Chateau de Ramezay
Historical Museum. He was also the founder of the Union of
Canadian Municipalities. He was one of those largely instrumental
in securing the erection of the Maisonneuve monument at
Montreal and was the discoverer of the Indian burying ground at
Westmount. He is interested in all that pertains to the history
of the country from prehistoric times down to the present, and
his researches and investigations have been carried far and
wide, bringing to light many interesting points bearing upon the
travel history of the North American Indians as well as upon the
period of the early colonists and the development of Canada. He
is a member of the Scotch Society of Literature and Art; a vice
president of the National Municipal League of America; a fellow
of the Royal Society of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Society
of Literature; an honorary member of the Women’s Historical
Society of Canada and of the Chateauguay Literary and Historical
Society; life corresponding member of the Quebec Literary and
Historical Society; president of the Numismatic and Antiquarian
Society; a governor of the Congregational College of Canada and
of the Joint Board of Theological Colleges of McGill University;
and has been a representative fellow of the University. In 1910
he was appointed a member of the Metropolitan Parks Commission.
In all these years, retiring to the quiet of his study, he has
devoted hours to writing, and his authorship has gained him
equal renown with his efforts in other directions. His first
published volume, Thoughts, Moods and Ideals (verse), came from
the press in 1887 and was followed in 1888 by The Young Seigneur.
Then came The Battle of Chateauguay, in 1889; Montreal After
250 Years, in 1892; The False Chevalier, in 1898; a Prehistoric
Hochelaga Burying-ground, in 1898; A Link in Iroquois History,
in 1899; The Glorious Enterprise, in 1901; Hiawatha the Great,
in 1901; and Westmount: a Municipal Illustration, in 1902.
This last book followed his three years of service as mayor of
Westmount, so that he was qualified to discuss the subjects of
which the volume treated. The same year he brought forth a volume
entitled To the Boers: A Friend’s Appeal from Canada. In 1904
he published Canada, a Modern Nation, and Thomas Pownall: His
Part in the Conquest of Canada. In 1908 he added to the list
of his publications A Romance of Prehistoric Montreal and The
Master of Life; and in 1910, The Governance of Empire and Sights
and Shrines of Montreal. He also published Songs of the Great
Dominion (Windsor series) in 1889, and Canadian Poems and Lays
(Canterbury Poets series) in 1891.
There are few men in possession in so eminent a degree of the
habits, tastes and ability of the scholar and at the same time in
so large a measure the practical qualities which find expression
in successful professional service and in public-spirited
citizenship. Mr. Lighthall has studied as closely the signs of
the times and the questions of the hour as he has the history
of the past. His deep interest in the cause of education was
manifest in his service as chairman of the board of school
commissioners of Westmount, to which office he was appointed in
1909. He is an imperialist in principle and at the same time a
strong believer in the necessity and advantage of organizing the
intellectual and higher interests of Canadian nationality and
retaining state ownership and control of forests, railways, land
tenure, coal mines and other public resources.
In October, 1890, Mr. Lighthall was married to Miss Cybel
Charlotte Wilkes, a daughter of John Wilkes and a granddaughter
of the late Rev. Dr. Henry Wilkes. Mrs. Lighthall is vice
president of the local branch of the Zenana Bible and Medical
Mission, and is also a vice president of the Canadian Handicrafts
Guild. Something of the nature of his recreation is indicated
in the fact that Mr. Lighthall belongs to Lac Tremblant Fishing
Club, of which he was elected president in 1909, and in the
same year he was admitted an Iroquois Indian chief with the
name of Ticonderoga in recognition of services to that race. He
furthermore belongs to the University, Canada, Reform, Montreal,
Country and Canadian Clubs of Montreal and the Royal Societies
Club of London, England. His winter residence, Chateauclair, is
at No. 14 Murray Avenue, Westmount, while his summer home, Camp
Beartracks, is at Lac Tremblant. In the review of his history it
seems that his constantly expanding powers are opening to him
a still broader field of usefulness and establishing him more
firmly in the position of prominence which he today occupies.
JOSEPH DROUIN.
Joseph Drouin, a member of the Montreal bar, was born at Two
Mountains, in the province of Quebec, on the 15th of November,
1875, a son of Firmin and Mathilde (Lafrance) Drouin, sturdy
French Canadian farmers. He is of the eighth generation in
descent from Robert Drouin, of Pin au Perche, France, who became
the founder of the family in the new world, establishing himself
at Quebec in 1635. The principal branch of the family remains in
Quebec and Orleans, but in 1751 one branch detached itself from
the main Quebec stem and was transplanted to Montreal, where
representatives of the name have since been found in the city and
surrounding districts.
[Illustration: JOSEPH DROUIN]
Joseph Drouin pursued a classical course in the seminary of Ste.
Thérèse and won his B. C. L. degree upon graduation from McGill
University in April, 1904. He engaged in the practice of law,
winning a liberal clientage that connected him with the important
work of the courts. Of late Mr. Drouin has devoted his attention
to the management of his own private interests.
Mr. Drouin is a Roman Catholic in religious faith. He was married
in Montreal on the 22d of November, 1904, to Marie Orpha Leduc,
a daughter of Augustin and Philomène (Lefebvre) Leduc, who were
farming people at St. Benoit, Deux Montagnes, province of Quebec.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Drouin have been born five children: Cécile,
Thérèse, René, Marguerite and Gabriel.
HON. HONORE MERCIER.
Among contemporary Canadian statesmen a foremost place must
be assigned to the late Hon. Honore Mercier, premier of the
province of Quebec. He was not only distinguished by reason of
his position at the head of the government of one of the foremost
provinces of the Canadian federation but attained distinction
along various other lines having to do with the progress and
upbuilding of the country and the upholding of its political,
legal and moral status. A native of the province of Quebec, he
was born at Iberville, October 15, 1840. He came of a family
of unpretentious farmers, or habitants, as they are styled in
Lower Canada, the ancestors originally from Old France, although
several generations have been represented in the county of
Montmagny below the city of Quebec. His father had to provide for
the needs of a large household, but he was a man of energy and
foresight and counted no personal sacrifice too great if he could
thereby equip his children for the later responsibilities and
duties that fall to the lot of every individual. The maiden name
of the mother was Marie Catherine Laflamme.
When fourteen years of age Honore Mercier became a student in the
Jesuit College in Montreal, where he completed his education,
making an excellent record. Some time afterward he determined
upon the practice of law as his life work and became a student in
the office of Laflamboise & Papineau, who directed his reading
until he was admitted to practice in 1865. While a law student
he turned his attention to journalism and in 1862 became editor
in chief of the Courier de St. Hyacinthe, winning distinction
because of his able political editorials, his support being given
to the Macdonald-Sicotte liberal administration.
Following his admission to the bar Mr. Mercier retired from the
profession of journalism to concentrate his energies upon his
law practice. His thorough training, his natural powers and his
ambition soon brought him a prominent position at the bar and
from that time forward his advancement was continuous as a factor
in those affairs and events which have shaped the history of
province and Dominion.
In 1871 he appeared in the political arena at Bagot as a
supporter of M. Langelier, the liberal candidate. The following
year, upon the earnest solicitation of his friends, he became a
candidate for Rouville in the house of commons and was elected.
Following the downfall of the conservative government in 1873,
he yielded his seat to Mr. Cheval in 1874, to avoid dividing
the vote of the liberal party in the case of the redoubtable
conservative candidate, Mr. Gigault. Following his retirement to
private life he entered upon a partnership with Mr. Bourgeois of
St. Hyacinthe. He was made the candidate of the liberal party
in 1878, standing for St. Hyacinthe, but lost the election
by six votes. The following year a majority of three hundred
and seven votes elected him to the legislative assembly to
represent St. Hyacinthe and he became solicitor-general of the
Joly administration, filling out the unexpired term of Hon. P.
Bachand, deceased. Mr. Mercier continued in the office until the
administration went out in the same year.
In 1881, following his removal from St. Hyacinthe to Montreal,
Mr. Mercier became a law partner of Messrs. Beausoleil &
Martineau and was again called into the field of political
activity when in December, 1881, at the general provincial
election he was chosen by acclamation for his old constituency,
St. Hyacinthe. In the beginning of the session of 1883 Hon. Mr.
Joly resigned the direction of the provincial liberal party and
Mr. Mercier was unanimously chosen his successor, on motion of
Mr. Joly, as the leader of the opposition. Here his dominant
qualities found fitting scope, his ability and qualities of
leadership placing him within a brief period among the foremost
French-Canadian statesmen. Within the short space of three
years he demonstrated what could be accomplished by an able and
intrepid leader with the support of a small but disciplined and
trusty band of parliamentary followers to retrieve the fallen
fortunes of his party and to defend and lead to victory a
popular cause the moment circumstances placed it in his hands.
As the accepted leader of the new national party formed by a
combination of liberals and conservative bolters, Mr. Mercier not
only directed the whole movement but personally traversed the
province of Quebec almost from end to end, addressing as many as
one hundred and sixty meetings and leaving the impress of his
influence as a factor in the promotion of his cause. The election
of October, 1886, resulted in a victory for the nationals. After
the struggle, which ensued in the final overthrow of the Ross
administration, Mr. Mercier was called upon by the lieutenant
governor to form a new cabinet and in less than twenty-four
hours, as a result of his quick decisions and promptness in
action, he had made choice of his colleagues, announcing the
result to the legislature and the country, both receiving it with
marked satisfaction.
The close of the first session found him more popular and more
firmly established in the good graces of the people than ever, a
position that was augmented later by the marvelous success of his
administration as evidenced in the settlement of the long pending
dispute with Ontario respecting the division of the common school
fund and the unusually advantageous negotiation of the new
provincial loan of three and a half millions. His adversaries
attributed these and other valuable results to good luck, but a
real student of politics knows that good management and thorough
understanding of the situation lay back of them. Mr. Mercier
remained in power until December, 1891, when he was dismissed by
Lieutenant Governor Angers as a result of an investigation held
by a royal commission on what then became known as the Baie des
Chaleurs Scandal.
On March 8, 1892, at the general elections, though Mr. Mercier
was returned for Bonaventure, which he had represented since
the general elections of 1890, his party was annihilated and he
ceased to be a factor in provincial politics.
Following his retirement to private life he joined his
son-in-law, Sir Lomer Gouin, and Mr. R. Lemieux in a law
partnership, but he rarely appeared in court. However, he
won the highest professional honors. He was actually the
attorney-general as well as the premier of Quebec. He was twice
batonnier of the bar of the Montreal district, and the respect
entertained for him by his legal colleagues was so great that
they unanimously elevated him to the still more distinguished
eminence of batonnier-general of the bar of the province. Of him
it has been written: “Heralded to the world as the apostle of
an advanced radicalism which in reality had no representative
in this country, he not only preached but practiced a different
gospel and in office proved himself unusually moderate and
conciliatory as well as a man of broad and generous views, free
from sectionalism and exceedingly anxious to do justice to all
races, classes and creeds, yet fully determined to work out the
regeneration of his native province on the great lines of reform
which he ever regarded as essential to that desirable end.”