James and Ellen (Quinn) McShane, who came from county Armagh,
Ireland, and settled in Montreal in the summer of 1833. The
mother died during the cholera epidemic of 1834.
After pursuing his early education under Daniel Mahoney, a well
known Irish schoolmaster of that period, and spending some years
as a student in the Sulpician College, James McShane, at the age
of eighteen years, joined his father who had become an extensive
cattle exporter. The son eventually succeeded to the business and
it is a matter of history that he was the first to export cattle
to Europe, his first shipment of three hundred head being made
October 5, 1874, on the steamship George, to Liverpool. For four
years he also had the contract to supply the British troops when
they were stationed here.
While engaged in this business Mr. McShane, with the natural
love of the Celt for such matters, found time to devote to
political problems and activities, both municipal and federal.
In 1863 he was a justice of the peace and for twenty-one years
he represented St. Ann’s ward as an alderman. During those years
he became known as “the people’s Jimmie,” for he knew every man,
woman and child in the ward, calling them by their Christian
names and ever manifesting deep and sincere solicitude for their
welfare. He possessed a wonderful gift of memory enabling him to
readily recall names and faces and incidents connected with the
individual to whom he was speaking. All this made him personally
popular and was an effective element in his leadership.
At various periods Mr. McShane represented Montreal West and
Center in the legislature, continuing to sit from 1878 until
1892. In the formation of the Mercier cabinet he accepted the
important portfolio of minister of public works in which he
continued in 1887-8. When the late Mr. Justice Curran was raised
to the bench in 1875 Mr. McShane contested St. Ann’s division
in the liberal interests against Sir William Hingston whom he
defeated. In 1891 and 1892 Mr. McShane was mayor of Montreal,
and his administration of municipal affairs was characterized by
many needed reforms and improvements. In 1887 he was a member
of the Quebec Interprovincial Conference, and he was at one time
president of St. Patrick’s Society. He served as an officer in
the volunteer militia in the first administrative battalion in
the Fenian raids of 1866 and was granted a medal for his service.
He is now eighty years of age, but is splendidly preserved
physically and mentally, in both regards being the superior
of many men of sixty years. He possesses all the virtues and
specific activities of the sons of Erin. In 1910 when he was far
past the span of life allotted by the psalmist, he fell victim
to an acute attack of pneumonia, but by sheer force of will
passed through a crisis after he was given up by his old family
physician and friend, Mr. McShane remarking that “he felt quite
fit and that this business of making him stay in bed was only a
joke.”
Mr. McShane has been married twice. In 1863 he wedded Elizabeth
Jane Darrah, who died June 25, 1867. In 1870 he married Miss
Josephine Kathleen Meron of Plattsburg, New York, who died
January 1, 1910. Unto them were born six children, three of whom
survive the mother: Mrs. Richard Barry of Montreal; Mrs. Henry M.
Tracy of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who has two children; and
Mrs. Kathleen H. Buckley of New York city, who has five children.
HON. JEAN BAPTISTE ARCHAMBAULT.
Hon. Jean Baptiste Archambault, judge of the circuit court of
Montreal, took to his judicial duties an excellent record as a
lawyer whose ability and success had won for him a foremost place
among the strong and forceful representatives of the Montreal
bar. A deep thinker, logical reasoner and well versed in the
science of his profession, he was eminently well fitted for the
judgeship to which he was appointed November 29, 1913.
He was born at St. Antoine, Vercheres county, P. Q., on the 21st
of March, 1871, and comes from one of the old and prominent
families of the province, one that has given to the legal
profession more members than any other one family.
In the attainment of his education, Judge Archambault attended
St. Hyacinthe Seminary and Laval University, winning the degrees
of B. L. and B. C. L. in 1895. From the outset the science of
his profession, as well as its practical phases, proved a strong
attraction for him. He entered upon active practice in 1895 and
soon demonstrated his ability to successfully cope with intricate
and involved legal problems.
His preparation of cases was always thorough and his presentation
of a cause marked by perspicuity. His standing among his
professional brethren is indicated by the fact that in 1905 he
was chosen by the council of the bar of the province of Quebec to
assist in editing the judicial reports of the superior court and
the court of king’s bench.
Vital political problems have always greatly interested him, and
he has been active and zealous in support of principles in which
he believes. He was a recognized leader of the conservative party
in his native county and was a candidate for the legislature
in 1904. He has ever been a close student of the signs of
the times and the questions of the day, and although still a
conservative in principle he holds to more independent views
than formerly, his comprehensive study leading him to see many
questions in a different light. He has been spoken of as “a man
who has thought out problems for himself and is an authority on
economics, political and social.” He was one of the first to
advocate proportional representation in Canada, has delivered
many lectures upon the subject and has written many articles
which have done much to foster and promote the idea.
[Illustration: HON. JEAN B. ARCHAMBAULT]
His wide general information is one of the strong elements of his
power and ability as a lawyer and jurist. His broad knowledge,
which enables him to understand life in its various phases, and
his masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution, are
qualities which, combined with a familiarity of the law and with
precedent, equip him for his work on the bench.
Judge Archambault withal is possessed of a genial nature, is
kindly in spirit and unfailingly courteous. He belongs to a
number of the leading social clubs and in their membership is
most popular.
SIR HUGH ALLAN.
Sir Hugh Allan, one of the foremost men in the early development
of Canada’s foreign commerce and the practical founder of the
Allan line of steamships, was a man whose initiative spirit
enabled him to recognize, appreciate and understand situations
incomprehensible to men of less sagacity and insight. The success
of his undertakings made him one of the foremost figures in the
history of Canada’s commercial greatness. He stood as a leading
representative of navigation interests and was almost equally
well known in banking and industrial circles. Indeed many
business interests profited by his cooperation and ability and
his memory is still honored by those who cherish the history of
their country and recognize its real upbuilders.
The identification of the Allan family with the shipping
interests of the St. Lawrence dated back to about 1825, when
Captain Alexander Allan sailed up the river in the brig Favorite
from Glasgow. There were no wharves then. The vessel was assisted
up the St. Mary’s current by oxen. The cargo was discharged on
the beach, over long planks.
Sir Hugh Allan was the second son of Captain Alexander, and was
born September 29, 1810, in Saltcoats, County Ayr, Scotland. Sir
Hugh Allan was in his sixteenth year, when on the 12th of April,
1826, he sailed from Greenock for Montreal on the brig Favorite,
commanded by his father, and on which his eldest brother was
second officer. They arrived in Montreal on the 21st of May.
Hugh Allan entered the employ of William Kerr & Company, and
afterward travelled for some time in the United States. He then
visited Scotland and a year later returned to Montreal, where he
secured a position with J. Millar & Company, shipbuilders and
shippers. So excellent was his service in that connection that
after four years he was admitted to partnership and following the
death of Mr. Millar in 1838 the business was conducted by the
firm of Edmonstone & Allan, ship agents, shipbuilders, importers
and general merchants. In 1846, Andrew Allan, a younger brother
of Hugh’s, was taken into the firm. It owned a fleet of fast
sailing vessels of about 350 tons register, full-rigged ships
which, with ice-blocks round their bows, pushed their way through
the ice, so that sometimes they would arrive in port on the 15th
of April. In 1853 Hugh Allan, who was a man of great tenacity
of purpose, and at the same time of remarkable foresight, saw
that the time had come for the building of iron ships for the
St. Lawrence trade. Besides, there was the consideration that
they would run to Portland in the winter time, and connect with
Montreal by rail. He enlisted the support of several wealthy
men, including William Dow and Robert Anderson, of Montreal, and
formed the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company. The Canadian and
Indian were the first two boats built by the company. The boats
cost about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars each and had a
speed of eleven knots. They were wonders at the time and made a
great impression, as the people had not been accustomed to see
iron ships.
It happened that about this time the Crimean war broke out, and
the government was at its wits’ end to provide transports. The
Allans went into the business and while the war lasted made large
profits.
The first ocean steamship, the Genova, reached Quebec in 1853
and proceeded to Montreal, where there was great rejoicing. She
was an iron boat of eight hundred tons and was succeeded by the
Cleopatra and the Sarah Sands. Newer and larger vessels were
built in the succeeding year and what was deemed experimental
at the start became fixed features of the new navigation, which
was dangerous, owing to so many sunken reefs in the St. Lawrence
and the poor lighting of the river. The Canadian government
made a contract with Hugh Allan for carrying the mails, paying
an annual subsidy of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars.
The Anglo-Saxon, a new boat, ran from Quebec to Liverpool in
nine days on one occasion. This was thought to be wonderful, as
the people had been accustomed to a voyage of forty days on the
old sailing vessels. At that time the grain carrying charge was
thirty cents per bushel.
The requirements of the service in 1858 demanded more
accommodation, and the Allan brothers determined on a weekly
service. Larger and faster boats were introduced. The government
paid subsidies to the new service totaling four hundred and
sixteen thousand dollars per annum. Year by year the Allans
launched new boats, always bigger and faster, though speed was
never the chief consideration with the company. In 1861 they had
a fleet of over twenty vessels, but a sinister fortune befell
the company in the first ten years of its existence. Eight ships
were lost in as many years. The Indian, the Hungarian, a second
Canadian, the North Briton, the Anglo-Saxon, the Norwegian, the
Bohemian, all became total wrecks. The river was badly lighted,
the tides did not run true, the pilots were incompetent and the
compass deviated owing to some strange local attraction due,
it was said, to mineral deposits in the gulf. Anyway, disaster
followed disaster, and, as was said at the time, any other
man than Mr. Allan would have given up in despair. But that
gentleman had something of the firmness of his native granite in
his composition and he never wavered. Difficulties in time were
overcome, the Allans began to prosper and from this on their
boats were singularly free from accidents.
To show, however, how little even the most perspicacious can see
in advance of their time, it may be stated that at the banquet
which the citizens tendered Hugh Allan in 1850, he said that
ships of one thousand seven hundred tons were the most suitable
for the Montreal trade. He lived to see his boats grow to five
thousand five hundred tons. The line prospered; the number of
boats was constantly increased to meet the need; the Northwest
was opened up; and the Allan boats brought in many thousands of
immigrants. The building of the Parisian in 1881 was supposed to
be about the last word in shipbuilding. She was far in advance
of anything to be seen on the route. Today she is, by comparison
with the leviathans of the route, almost as antique as the old
Favorite was when steamships came in.
As prosperity came to him in one direction, Sir Hugh Allan
extended his efforts into other fields. He not only kept abreast
with the times but was ever in the vanguard of progress. He
became president of the Montreal Telegraph Company, of the
Canadian Navigation Company, the Merchants Bank of Canada, and
the Lake Memphremagog Navigation Company. He was also interested
in mining as president of the Mulgrave Gold Mining Company
and his activities extended to the presidency of the Montreal
Warehousing Company, the Vermont & Canada Marble Company, and
many other business enterprises of importance. Indeed, no citizen
of Canada has deserved popular recognition in larger measure
than Sir Hugh, and Queen Victoria acknowledged the value of his
service to his country by knighting him with her own hand in 1871.
In 1877 he decided to associate his name with the Canadian
Pacific Railway enterprise. He, in fact, formed the first
syndicate to build it. The fall of the Macdonald government
defeated his plan.
On the 13th of September, 1844, Sir Hugh was married to Miss
Matilda Smith, the second daughter of John Smith, one of the
leading merchants of Montreal. They became parents of nine
daughters and four sons. Sir Hugh died in Edinburgh while on a
visit to Scotland on the 9th of December, 1882, having passed
the seventy-second milestone on life’s journey. His remains were
brought to Montreal in one of his own vessels, and laid to rest
in Mount Royal cemetery. Well merited encomiums were passed upon
him and high honors awaited him during his active life. He was
one who pushed forward the wheels of progress. Looking into the
future he saw something of the greatness in store for Canada
and became a factor in the fulfillment of the progress which he
believed possible for a country having the natural advantages
here offered. He builded perhaps even better than he knew, for
his work continues today, remaining an important element in
Canada’s enterprise, activity and greatness.
FREDERICK CLEVELAND MORGAN.
Frederick Cleveland Morgan, merchant, is one of Montreal’s
native sons, his father being James Morgan. Liberal educational
opportunitiess were afforded him and after pursuing his education
at Cambridge, where he won the Bachelor of Arts degree, he
continued his studies in McGill University, which conferred
upon him the degree of Master of Arts. Throughout his business
career he has been identified with commercial interests and is
now a member of the firm of Henry Morgan & Company, Limited,
proprietors of the Colonial House Department Store, which is one
of the largest and best establishments of its character in the
city.
In March, 1906, Mr. Morgan was married to Miss Elizabeth Marcia
Shaw, the eldest daughter of C. Thaxter Shaw, of Montreal. They
occupy an attractive home at No. 308 Peel Street. Mr. Morgan is a
member of the University Club, Racquet Club, Forest and Stream,
the Mount Royal Lawn Tennis, Arts Club, Art Association and
Antiquarian and Numismatic Society. Mr. Morgan’s interest lies
more in art and literature than in business affairs. He was the
first secretary of the Arts Club, Limited, formed in 1913 for the
purpose of encouraging art and literature.
HON. SIMEON BEAUDIN, K. C.
Hon. Simeon Beaudin, puisne judge of the superior court of the
province of Quebec, took to his judicial duties an excellent
record as a lawyer whose ability had won for him a foremost
position among the strong and forceful members of the Montreal
bar, where he had been a successful practitioner for more than
one-third of a century.
He was born at St. Isidore, P. Q., September 12, 1855, and comes
from one of the oldest families in the province.
He supplemented his early educational privileges by a course
of study in Montreal College and in 1878 was called to the
bar. He immediately entered upon active practice, forming a
partnership with Messrs. Loranger & Loranger, in whose office he
had previously studied. One of the partners was raised to the
bench and on the death of the other Mr. Beaudin succeeded to the
business of the firm. His partnership relations extended until he
became the senior member of the well known law firm of Beaudin,
Loranger, St. Germain & Guerin. His practice was of an extensive
and important character. He argued the St. Blase parish and other
cases before the judicial committee of the privy council of
England, and was acknowledged as a leader of the French-Canadian
bar. For many years he was a member of the bar council. In 1889
he was created Q. C. by the Earl of Derby. He was batonnier
of the Montreal bar in 1902 and later batonnier-general. His
close conformity to the highest standards of his profession and
his devotion to his clients’ interests gave to him a standing
that was an honor to his profession. He was elected an honorary
member of La Chambre de Commerce of Montreal in 1902 and in 1904
he became one of the incorporators of the La Presse Publishing
Company. He was also one of the promoters of Lafontaine Club and
he likewise belongs to Club Canadien and Pointe Claire Golf Club.
Judge Beaudin has always given his political allegiance
to the conservative party. He unsuccessfully contested
Laprairie-Napierville for the house of commons at the general
election in 1908.
For some years previous to his assuming judicial duties in 1912,
he had been frequently referred to by the press and profession
as a most competent man for the bench, and of him the Montreal
Witness said: “He ranks high in his profession, his thorough
legal sense, knowledge of the law and extensive experience
qualifying him for early judicial preferment.”
[Illustration: HON. SIMEON BEAUDIN]
In 1883 Mr. Beaudin was united in marriage to Miss Mary Norris,
a daughter of John Norris, of Montreal, and they reside at No.
44 Bishop Street. In religious faith Mr. Beaudin is a Roman
Catholic. In all matters of citizenship pertaining to the
material, intellectual, political and moral progress of the
community he is deeply interested, but after all he regards the
law as his real life work.
SIR WILLIAM HALES HINGSTON, KT., M. D.
Sir William Hales Hingston, Kt., M. D., whose professional
activities constituted valuable contributions to the world’s
work, his ability winning him wide recognition and high honors
from various scientific bodies, was born at Hinchinbrooke,
province of Quebec, June 29, 1829, a son of the late Lieutenant
Colonel S. J. Hingston, of His Majesty’s One Hundredth Regiment.
He was a representative of a distinguished Irish family, closely
related to the Cotters of Cork, the Latouches of Dublin and
the Hales. He supplemented his early education, acquired in a
local academy, by study in St. Sulpice, now Montreal College,
and having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life
work, he prepared for his chosen calling by a course in McGill
University, which he completed with the class of 1851. He
further carried on his investigation, study and research abroad,
obtaining a diploma in the Royal College of Surgery at Edinburgh
in 1852, and subsequently obtaining diplomas in France, Prussia,
Austria and Bavaria. He was the first Canadian to whom was
accorded the honor of membership in the Imperial Leopold Academy
at Vienna.
Dr. Hingston entered upon the active work of his profession in
Montreal and continued an eminent member of the profession to the
time of his death, winning notable renown in surgery. His ability
along that line constantly developed. He possessed the steady
hand and the cool nerve of the surgeon and his professional
skill gained him rank with the most prominent representatives
of the profession on the American continent. For many years he
was surgeon in the Hotel Dieu Hospital, where he gave clinical
instructions in surgery. He was also governor of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons and at one time was its president. He
was honored with election as a first secretary of the Canadian
Medical Association, and later was called to its presidency.
He was the organizer of the first board of health in the
Dominion, and his efforts in behalf of sanitary interests were
far reaching and beneficial. Not only did he display marked skill
in surgery, but also eminent ability as an educator, and upon
the organization of Bishop’s College Medical School was chosen
professor of surgery and clinical surgery, and became dean of
the faculty, but at length was forced to sever his connections
with that institution, owing to the many other demands made upon
his time and services. He never refused to respond to a call for
professional aid if he could possibly meet it, and it would be
difficult to name a physician and surgeon of Canada whose labors
have reached out beneficially to a larger number of people.
When, during an epidemic of smallpox, a local board of health
was organized, Dr. Hingston was made its chairman, and he also
became chairman of the provincial board of health, when in 1885
the province was again being visited by that calamity. He was an
energetic advocate of vaccination.
It was but natural that a man of his ability and position should
have written much upon professional topics. He was a valuable
contributor to the medical literature of his day, one of his
most important publications being his “Climate of Canada and
its Relation to Life and Health,” published in 1885. Competent
authority pronounced this “the fullest work, which has appeared
on the subject and apart from its economic and ethnological
value, is, from its pleasing style, delightful to read.”
Scientific bodies conferred high honors upon Dr. Hingston and in
addition, he was elected an honorary member of different state
boards of medicine and by many state medical societies in the
United States. When the British Association for the Advancement
of Science visited Canada some years ago, he was chosen vice
president and not long afterward was elected an honorary member
of the British Medical Association.
His professional activity would alone entitle him to wide
distinction, yet he was active in other fields and in connection
with the public affairs of the country.
He became president of the Montreal City & District Savings Bank,
and also vice president of the City Passenger Railway Company. In
1875 Montreal elected him its mayor, and he served one term, when
he declined renomination. For coolness and judgment, which he
displayed during the Guibord affair in Montreal, he received the
thanks of the Earl of Dufferin, then governor general of Canada.
Bishop’s College University at Lennoxville conferred upon him the
honorary degree of D. C. L., while Victoria University of Toronto
gave him the honorary degree of LL. D. He was made vice president
of the Montreal branch of the St. John’s Ambulance Association
and in 1875 was appointed a commander of the Roman Order of St.
Gregory. Twenty years later, or on the 24th of May, 1895, he was
knighted by Her Majesty, the late Queen Victoria, and he was
called to the senate of Canada by the Earl of Aberdeen, January
2, 1896. His political allegiance was given to the conservative
party, and his study of vital questions and issues of the day
brought about the familiarity of Canadian politics, which enabled
him to discuss such subjects with those to whom such study was a
life work.