Chapter L: Joseph Theophile Decary (6)

On the 20th of January, 1909, Mr. Campbell was married in Montreal to Miss Amy G. Dawson, elder daughter of William V. Dawson, head of the importing and manufacturing company of W. V. Dawson, Limited, of Montreal. Their religious faith is evidenced by their membership in the Presbyterian church. Mr. Campbell’s political views accord with the principles of the conservative party, and he is a member of the Liberal-Conservative Club. Something of the nature of his interests and recreation outside the strict path of his profession or in the field of citizenship is shown through his membership in the Montreal, University, Beaconsfield Golf, Hermitage Country and Canadian Clubs. He is also a member of the Montreal Art Association. He finds enjoyment in golf and in motorboating and also takes delight in amateur farming, all of which constitute an even balance to his intense professional activity.

WALTER JAMES PRENDERGAST, M. D.

Dr. Walter James Prendergast, a successful practicing physician, well read and holding ever to high professional standards, was born in August, 1857, at Cote des Neiges, before it became a part of Montreal. His father, Walter Prendergast, leaving his native Ireland, came to Canada in early life and for a number of years conducted a hotel at Cote des Neiges, but retired many years prior to his death. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Joanna Griffith, was a representative of an old family of Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Dr. Walter J. Prendergast pursued his education at St. Mary’s, from which he received the degree of B. A., and afterward spent three years as a student in McGill University, but finished his professional course at Bishop’s College, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1880. He remained throughout his later career a close student of his profession and thus his knowledge constantly broadened. Immediately following his graduation he began practice in Cote des Neiges and after ten years spent there removed to the city of Montreal, remaining in practice on St. Denis Street until his death. His widow and children returned to the old family home on Cote des Neiges road, where they now reside. Dr. Prendergast was a general practitioner and was much interested in his profession. In fact, anything which tended to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life was of interest to him and he ever read broadly upon subjects having to do with the safeguarding and restoration of health. In his professional capacity he did great good and was very charitable, for he would respond again and again to the call of the needy even when he knew there was no chance of remuneration for his services.

In Montreal, in 1892, Dr. Prendergast was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Scanlan, a daughter of Michael and Alice (Duggan) Scanlan. The latter, born in Montreal, was a daughter of Patrick Duggan, for many years a contractor of this city. For a half century Mr. Scanlan was connected with the growth of the import and export trade of this country. When seventeen years of age, or in 1857, he entered the service of David Torrance & Company and in 1872, when the Dominion line was established, he became wharf superintendent, which position he held until his death. During that period he was tireless in the faithful performance of his duty and in carrying out the wishes and furthering the interests of the corporation which he represented. Whether in Montreal, in Portland, Maine, or in Boston, Massachusetts, or wherever his duties called him he was the same genial, courteous gentleman, ever watchful of the interests under his care. He died October 20, 1907, at the age of sixty-seven years.

Dr. and Mrs. Prendergast became the parents of four children who survive, namely: Aileen, Walter Francis, Harold and Kathleen. Dr. Prendergast was a man of domestic habits, devoted to the welfare of his family. He was public-spirited and was interested in all those things which work for good and progress. In politics he was a liberal. He was a communicant of St. Agnes Catholic church, and belonged to the Knights of Columbus.

Dr. Prendergast passed away January 21, 1910. Those who knew him--and he had an extensive acquaintance--entertained for him warm regard and many there are who have reason to bless his memory because of timely aid which he rendered them. His practice extended among the poor as well as the rich because of his benevolent nature and it is probable that he derived greater satisfaction from his ministrations to the former than to the latter, for his kindly spirit prompted him to reach out in helpfulness at all times.

EDOUARD BIRON.

Edouard Biron, a prominent representative of the notarial profession, having been appointed secretary of the board of notaries for the district of Montreal on the 10th of July, 1912, was born on the 20th of August, 1877, in the city which is still his place of residence, his father being Samuel Biron, who was a wholesale grocer, conducting business at the corner of McGill and Notre Dame Streets up to the time of his death in December, 1883. The mother was Dame Philomene Olivier.

Edouard Biron was a student in St. Mary’s College in Montreal until graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in June, 1897. He next entered Laval University, where he won the LL. D. degree in June, 1900. He became a notary in July of the same year, practicing alone until February, 1903, when he formed a partnership with J. A. Savignac under the name of Biron & Savignac, an association which was maintained for more than ten years, or until September, 1913. On the 1st of that month the present firm of Biron, Savignac, Coderre & Poirier was formed. In addition to the business of that firm Mr. Biron, as previously stated, is acting as secretary of the board of notaries for the district of Montreal, through appointment received in July, 1912. He stands as a prominent representative of his profession and one whose ability in this line is unquestioned. As he has prospered he has made investment in property and is holder of some valuable Montreal real estate.

On the 1st of September, 1902, Mr. Biron was married to Miss Blanche Fleury, a daughter of the late A. Fleury, who was a merchant of Montreal. Mr. and Mrs. Biron are the parents of four children: Germaine, ten years of age; Roger, eight years; Marcel, six years; and Suzanne, a little maiden of five summers. The religious faith of the family is that of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. Biron is general secretary of L’Association St. Jean Baptiste de Montreal and he belongs to the St. Denis and Canadian Clubs and the Club Canadien of Montreal.

EDMUND PHILLIPS HANNAFORD.

Edmund Phillips Hannaford engraved his name high on the roll of the promoters of railway interests in Canada. To no other single agency is progress so largely indebted as to railway building and thus it is that E. P. Hannaford deserves to be numbered among the public benefactors of his country. Throughout his entire life he was connected with railway projects and the superb engineering department of the Grand Trunk system is largely a monument to his skill, ability and sagacity. A native of Devonshire, England, Mr. Hannaford was born at Stoke Gabriel, on the 12th of December, 1834, and he was a youth of but seventeen years when he entered the railway service as draftsman and assistant under Sir I. K. Brunel. Through the succeeding four years he was a member of the engineering corps of the South Devon Railway and in 1856 he became identified with the development of railway projects in Canada. Following his arrival in the new world he became connected with the Grand Trunk Railway and acted as assistant engineer of the company from 1857 until 1866. In the latter year he was appointed chief engineer of the western division and further promotion awaited him in his appointment in 1869 to the position of chief engineer of the company. He remained in that connection for twenty-seven years, resigning from active work in 1896. He was in charge of the engineering department during the period of the greatest development of the railway and managed the construction of all new lines and stations of the company. His particular talent made him very successful in drawing up the plans of yards or overcoming any difficulty in the way of construction. No better proof of his work can be given than the fact that it is now generally admitted that the Grand Trunk has one of the best lines of any railway in Canada. The general offices at Point St. Charles were also erected under his direction.

In addition to his work in connection with the Grand Trunk Railway Mr. Hannaford in 1879 was named chief engineer of the Montreal & Champlain Junction Railway. Ten years before he had been chief engineer of the International bridge and in 1883 he became chief engineer of the Jacques Cartier Union and United States and Canada Railways.

It was in 1859, in Belleville, Ontario, that Mr. Hannaford was united in marriage to Miss Mary W. Roy, a daughter of Robert Maitland Roy, of Scotland, who became a resident of Belleville in 1837. He served in the war of the rebellion in defense of his country’s interests and long held public office, serving for a quarter of a century as town clerk. Mr. and Mrs. Hannaford became the parents of seven children, of whom four survived the father: Elizabeth, who was Mrs. Harry B. Eastty, of Mount Vernon, New York, and died August 3, 1913; R. Maitland, assistant chief engineer of the Montreal Street Railway Company; Edmund P., who is located at Corpus Christi, Texas; and Miss Mary R. Hannaford, at home.

Mr. Hannaford belonged to the Church of St. James the Apostle and his social nature found expression in his membership in the St. James Club. He was a public-spirited man, deeply interested in all that pertained to the welfare and upbuilding of Canada, yet his tastes inclined him to domesticity and in the home circle he was a most devoted husband and father. He was a man of fine personal appearance and impressive manner, yet withal was most genial and affable, and, wherever he went and formed acquaintanceship, it constituted the beginning of warm and enduring friendships.

Mr. Hannaford died August 18, 1902.

ROBERT CARLYLE JAMIESON.

Robert Carlyle Jamieson, who stood as a man among men, ready to meet any obligation of life with the confidence and courage that come of conscious personal ability, right conception of things and an habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities, was born in Glengarry, Ontario, in 1836. He was a cousin of Thomas Carlyle, philosopher and historian, and a son of William Jamieson, a gentleman farmer, who married Jean Brodie, also a native of Scotland, and on coming to Canada settled in Glengarry.

Their son Robert Carlyle Jamieson pursued his education in the place of his nativity to the age of sixteen years, when he left home and taught school at Hawkesbury. In 1856 he came to Montreal and thereafter to the time of his death, which occurred almost a half century later, he was a resident of this city. He built up a large and profitable business through his industry, thrift and unfaltering honesty. It was in 1858 that he began the manufacture of varnish on St. Thomas Street, there establishing a plant that is yet conducted by the firm. In 1882 he purchased the plant of the Baylis Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of paints and colors, and later bought the plant of P. D. Dodds & Company at St. Patrick and Island Streets, where the main office is now located. Thus the business has steadily grown and developed, Mr. Jamieson remaining the active head of the firm to the time of his demise. Year by year the trade has increased until it today extends all over Canada and a branch office is maintained in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mr. Jamieson devoted his entire life to the upbuilding and control of this industry, which is still conducted by his sons under the style of the R. C. Jamieson Company, Ltd. It became one of the chief productive industries of the city and constituted and still remains a source of gratifying revenue to the stockholders.

In 1863, in Montreal, Mr. Jamieson was married to Miss Harriet Josephine McGowan, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, a daughter of John H. McGowan, who on leaving his native place, Aberdeen, Scotland, settled at Cincinnati, Ohio, but during the early ’60s removed to Montreal. Mr. and Mrs. Jamieson had a family of seven children, all of whom survive: Harriet A., now Mrs. W. de M. Marler; Helen L., the wife of A. W. Cochrane; Dr. William Hoves; Walter Lockhart; Robert Harry; Frederick Carlyle; and Ernest Temple. The death of the husband and father occurred February 17, 1905.

Mr. Jamieson was a man who occupied an honorable and enviable position in the regard of his fellows. His life work was permeated by noble and upright principles and he was untiring in his efforts to do good. He was one of the original governors of the House of Industry and Reform and for twenty years he was treasurer of the Congregational College. He served as deacon in Emanuel church and was one of the first trustees when the house of worship was erected in 1875. At one time he served on the council of the Board of Trade and he was one of the first members of both the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and the Montreal Curling Club. He was solicited to accept many important offices, both city and provincial, but refused, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business interests and duties and his activities in behalf of his fellow men along the lines of reform, intellectual progress and moral development.

JOHN KEITH MACDONALD.

Although a native of Scotland, born in Kintyre, John Keith Macdonald spent almost his entire active life in Montreal, where he arrived when a youth of sixteen years. He believed that better business opportunities awaited him on this side of the Atlantic and he made his initial step as an apprentice at the machinist’s trade under his uncle, John Boyd. Applying himself closely to the tasks assigned him, his knowledge and skill developed day by day until he became an expert workman in that line. Laudable ambition prompted the development of his latent powers and awakened in him the desire to engage in business on his own account, so that eventually he organized the firm of J. K. Macdonald, general machinists and contractors for iron work. Mr. Macdonald continually added to his knowledge through experience, reading and investigation along his chosen line and he continued in the business until his death, becoming one of the well known and leading representatives of industrial activity in Montreal.

In Montreal, in 1867, Mr. Macdonald was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Mackay, a daughter of Norman Mackay, of Glengarry, where he was born and spent his life. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Macdonald were born six children, five of whom are living, Mrs. Janette Macfarlane, Norman, Duncan, George and Margaret. The family circle was broken by the hand of death when Mr. Macdonald passed away at the age of sixty-three years. He was a Presbyterian in religious faith and his life was passed in consistent harmony with his professions, making him a man whom to know was to respect and honor.

COLONEL EDWARD ASHWORTH WHITEHEAD.

Colonel Edward Ashworth Whitehead, for many years one of the best known insurance agents and brokers of Montreal, his native city, was born April 16, 1845, and was here educated. He was the head of E. A. Whitehead & Company, insurance agents and brokers, for many years and thus became widely known in financial circles. In this connection he helped to build up the great insurance business conducted under the name of The E. A. Whitehead Company, Limited.

He had perhaps an even wider acquaintance through his military connections, for his military career was long, distinguished and honorable. He was one of the oldest officers in the volunteer military service in the Dominion and as original member of the Victoria Rifles he rose from the ranks to the command of the regiment and was placed on the list of reserve officers in 1876. He was on active duty during the Fenian raids from 1866 until 1870, was present at Eccles Hill and for his service received a general service medal with two clasps, while his active duty at the time of the Northwest rebellion in 1885 also won him a medal. He was chief transport officer under Colonel Middleton and held a long service decoration and he was a member of the Royal Commission on Canadian War Claims in 1885-6.

Colonel Whitehead was a veteran amateur athlete, was one of the founders of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and its first honorary president. In 1908 he was a member of the Canadian Olympic Games Committee and he was also a director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In Club circles he was long popular and prominent, holding membership in the Mount Royal Club; the St. James Club, of which he served as chairman; the Royal Montreal Golf Club; Forest and Stream Club; Montreal Hunt Club; Montreal Jockey Club; Montreal Curling Club; Montreal Polo Club; St. George Snow Shoe Club; the Isleway Club; the Military Institute; and the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club.

The end came to Colonel Whitehead September 7, 1912. He seemed almost to the last in the prime of life, his fine figure being erect and soldierly, and the years rested lightly upon him. His eye could still sweep down the long lines of the regiment, his step was elastic and he was enjoying life in all the mental riches that follow a career of activity and usefulness. The Victoria Rifles felt great pride in his brilliant record and in that regiment he was an outstanding figure, a symbol of duty well done, while his memory will ever be to them an inspiration for loyalty in the King’s service. In January, 1912, he was the leading figure at the dinner given by the regiment to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of its organization. He had been one of the first to spring to the colors when the corps was organized and had carried those colors in many fields. Even as in his youth, ready to fight for his flag, Colonel Whitehead was as willing to go to its defense in later years, when it might have been supposed that the fire of youth had died down. Years rolled onward, changes came and brought with them the boy scout movement. This appealed strongly to his military spirit and he entered heartily into the work of supporting and furthering the cause. Money was needed; he supplied it. He also raised the money for the trip to Europe a few years ago. He had always loved boys, the military had always been dear to him and in the boy scout movement these two were combined.

Colonel Whitehead was a man to whom a worthy appeal was never made in vain. His heart took in a great circle of friends and his purse was open to all calls of charity.

In the field of sport he was well to the front. In early manhood he was an excellent lacrosse player and old timers remember the games in which he participated against the Shamrocks for the Claxton flags in the early ’60s. He was also a splendid sprinter, making a notable record in the hundred-yard dash. This love of sport he retained to the last and he was a life member of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, of which he at one time served as president.

Trouble did not pass him by, but through all he was the same kindly, upright gentleman, maintaining a high sense of duty and honor. In 1899 death robbed him of his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Whitehead, daughter of William Newcomb, whom he had married in 1868; and his son, E. A. Whitehead, Jr., died in 1908.

Edward Ashworth Whitehead, Jr., son of Colonel Edward Ashworth Whitehead, was born in Montreal in 1869 and acquired his education in England and in Kingston, Ontario, where he was graduated with honors at the Royal Military College. He was connected with The E. A. Whitehead Company, Limited, and for many years was a special agent for Montreal of the Phoenix Assurance Company, Limited, of London and was as popular in business as he was in social circles.

Mr. Whitehead, Jr., married Miss May Sicotte, a daughter of Victor Benjamin Sicotte, district magistrate at St. Hyacinthe and a granddaughter of Hon. Louis Sicotte, premier of Canada. Three children were born to them: Edward Ashworth, who is the third of the name to continue the business of The E. A. Whitehead Company, Limited; George Victor, a student at Bishop’s College School; and Margaret Whitehead.

ROBERT LINTON.

Robert Linton became well known in the business circles of Montreal in connection with the manufacture of woolen goods. He was regarded as a resourceful business man whose enterprise, progress and laudable ambition were constantly manifest in the success which he won. A native of Ireland, he was born in Newtown-Limavady in 1834, a son of Samuel and Martha Linton, who brought their family to the new world during the boyhood of their son, Robert. Settling in Montreal, their remaining days were passed in this city but both have long since departed this life.

Robert Linton acquired his education in the schools of Montreal and received his business training with the firm of William Stephen & Company. Of that firm Lord Mount Stephen was a partner and eventually took over the business upon the death of the senior member of the firm. Continuing in active connection with the business Robert Linton grew in usefulness and capability, as he thoroughly acquainted himself with the duties that devolved upon him. After the death of William Stephen the business was conducted by George Stephen & Company for some time and Mr. Linton was admitted to partnership in 1857. Upon the retirement of George Stephen, later Lord Mount Stephen, the business of the firm of George Stephen & Company was combined with that of Andrew Robertson under the firm style of Robertson, Linton & Company, this connection continuing until 1898, when the business was closed out.

Mr. Linton was married twice. At Three Rivers, Quebec, he wedded Miss Margaret McDougall, and they became the parents of six children, as follows: Robert M., deceased; Margaret M., who is Mrs. Denaston Breakey, of Breakeyville, Quebec; Ernest, a resident of Ottawa; Agnes H, who is Mrs. F. N. Southam, of Montreal; Percy L., deceased; and Alice L., who married Herbert Carter, of Montreal. The second marriage of Robert Linton was also celebrated at Three Rivers, Miss Margaret Paterson, daughter of John Paterson, becoming his wife on the 20th of October, 1886.

Mr. Linton was ever actively interested in those projects and measures bearing upon the progress, upbuilding and development of the city as well as upon his business affairs. He was widely recognized as an honorable and upright man, in whose life there were no esoteric phases. He was a member of the Montreal Board of Trade, a life governor of the Montreal General Hospital, and a justice of the peace for a few years before his death. He passed away in November, 1899, after having gained for himself a most creditable position in business circles and in the regard of his fellowmen.

ARTHUR O’CONNELL KAVANAGH.

A history of the insurance business in Montreal would be incomplete without mention of Arthur O. Kavanagh, who for many years figured prominently in connection therewith. He was one of the city’s native sons, born April 12, 1860, and in its schools pursued his education, while in the school of experience he also learned many valuable and practical lessons, thus constantly adding to his knowledge and ability. The family name indicates his Irish lineage and he manifested the sterling characteristics of the race. He was engaged in business with his brother, Walter Kavanagh, and they became prominent figures in insurance circles, representing the Scottish Union & National Insurance Company, the German-American Insurance Company and the Rochester German Insurance Company, of which they were chief agents. Arthur Kavanagh familiarized himself with every phase of the business and had gained a most creditable position as an alert progressive man and one ready to meet any emergency in business, when death called him on the 14th of September, 1896, when he was yet in the prime of life.

He had been married in Montreal less than five years before, having on the 7th of October, 1891, wedded Alice Mullin, a native of this city and a daughter of Patrick Mullin, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this publication. They became the parents of three sons: Harold Henry; Arthur Patrick, who died at the age of six years; and Walter John. Deep regret was felt at the passing of Mr. Kavanagh, because of his comparatively early age and because he had gained a firm hold upon the affectionate regard of his business associates and his many friends.

PATRICK MULLIN.

Patrick Mullin had traveled life’s journey for more than four score years when he was called from this life on the 14th of August, 1913. He was a native of Tyrone, Ireland, and for more than six decades was a resident of Montreal, arriving in this city in 1850. He was associated with various business enterprises. With his brother, James E. Mullin, he became associated with another brother, John Mullin, who had, in 1845, established a wholesale grocery business, which they conducted on College Street, now St. Paul Street. There they built up a very extensive and successful enterprise, their patronage constantly growing, as their trade interests extended over a wide territory. In the early years of the business there were practically no railroads in this section of the continent, while means of water transportation were but slightly developed. They hauled much of their stock with teams and, notwithstanding the difficulties involved, they were enterprising enough to compete for business as far west as Toronto. Their merchandise was taken from Montreal to that city by team, the journey requiring two weeks. John Mullin died in 1853, after which the business was conducted by James E. and Patrick Mullin, under the firm name of J. E. Mullin & Company. Both brothers had great faith in the ultimate growth and prosperity of the city and because of this they made large investments in real estate, gradually acquiring the ownership of the block upon which they conducted their business, extending from the rear of the Grand Trunk offices to the Haymarket. Patrick Mullin also invested in other real estate until his holdings were extensive and important. The large block which the brothers acquired on St. Paul and William Streets later became the location of the present plant of the Canada Cold Storage Company and Mr. Mullin became a pioneer in that line of business in the city. He was a man of indefatigable energy and strong purpose and as the years passed on he carried forward to successful completion whatever he undertook.

Mr. Mullin was united in marriage, in Montreal, to Alice O’Neil, a native of County Tyrone, Ireland. She died on November 29, 1903, the mother of seven children, as follows: Mary A., the wife of Joseph A. Cloran, of Boston, Massachusetts; Margaret J.; Alice, the widow of Arthur O. Kavanagh; John F., who died in March, 1904, aged twenty-nine years; Patrick; Elizabeth M., who is Mrs. Harry J. Trihey; and Emma M., wife of William J. Hart.

A long and useful life was Mr. Mullin’s. He was a man of quiet habits, but greatly enjoyed a good game of forty-five. In manner he was always courteous, kindly, and considerate to others. In religious faith he was a Catholic and devoted much time to increasing the usefulness of St. Bridget’s Home and of St. Patrick’s Asylum, being a trustee of the latter institution. He gave liberally to the church and did everything in his power to promote its influence.

ROSAIRE DUPUIS.

Rosaire Dupuis, one of the rising young notaries of Montreal, is a son of Louis Napoleon Dupuis and Melanie Panet Levesque. The father is ex-controller of Montreal and one of the founders of the well known mercantile house of Dupuis Freres, Limited. The mother of Rosaire Dupuis is a daughter of the late Pierre Thomas Levesque and comes from a family that has for generations been prominent in the judicial and legislative history of the province and Dominion. Mr. Dupuis was born in the parish of La Longue Pointe on the 17th of October, 1888. He made his classical course at L’Assomption College, from which he was graduated in 1908 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He then took up the study of law in Laval University in 1908 and won his LL. L. degree upon graduation with the class of June, 1911. During the summer seasons of 1909 and 1910 he attended the famous Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, New York, where he was graduated with honors on the 30th of August, 1910. During the succeeding year he traveled abroad, visiting the Holy Land and many European countries.

In January, 1912, Mr. Dupuis began practice and has met with gratifying success in following his profession, in which he is well versed. He is a conservative in politics and a Roman Catholic in religious belief. He holds membership with the Canadian Club, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and the Knights of Columbus, and for the past two years has been secretary of the Anti-Alcoholic League. During the years 1909 and 1910 at Laval he was secretary of the Laval Students-at-Law. He is a young man of promise as well as a credit to one of Montreal’s best families.

DONALD ALEXANDER SMITH.

Donald Alexander Smith, Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal, whose career has been so wonderful as to appear almost magical, was born on August 6, 1820, in the ancient town of Forres, in Morayshire, Scotland. His father, Alexander Smith, was a small tradesman of Archieston and was born in the parish of Knocando. He married Barbara Stuart, of Leanchoil, Abernethy, a capable, thrifty woman, ambitious for her children. It was her desire that her son Donald should prepare for the bar, but, though he did not see fit to follow this wish, the mother heart never lost faith in her son and it was said that after he came to Canada as a fur trader she was frequently heard to remark: “They’ll all be proud of my Donald yet.” It was said that in boyhood he was shy, yet amiable, and displayed sturdy resolution and even hardihood if circumstances called those qualities forth. After leaving school he took up the study of law, his reading being directed by Robert Watson, solicitor, for two or three years. At length, however, he determined to enter the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company, influenced somewhat by a previous suggestion made by John Stuart, his uncle, who was then visiting Scotland. In 1838 he sailed for the new world and after a voyage of between forty and fifty days upon an eight hundred ton vessel, one of the largest on the seas at that time, he landed on Canadian shores. The rebellion of Mackenzie and Papineau had just been suppressed. Donald A. Smith at once entered the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company, but in a minor position. He met various hardships, but he proved his fidelity to the company as well as his capability in performing every service intrusted to him. He was first sent to the Labrador coast, where he spent thirteen years in a cold, bleak, barren, desolate region, with no companionship save a few employes, but during that period he learned the business methods of the company, how to manage Indians and how to secure the best returns. It has been said that power grows through the exercise of effort and year by year Donald Smith became more powerful. The hardships which he was forced to endure developed him. There is probably no other country in the world where there exists a longer or more dangerous postal route for men and dogs--two thousand miles of land travel from Quebec to Ungava in the depth of an Arctic winter, continuing from December until June--yet Lord Strathcona covered that route not once but many times.

His apprenticeship was, indeed, a difficult one, but he was undeterred by all obstacles he encountered and privations which he endured. At length, however, his eyesight became impaired, making it necessary that he go to Montreal for treatment. He covered the journey from Labrador by dog sled and on his arrival in Montreal he was greeted by Sir George Simpson, governor of the company, with the remark: “Well, young man, why are you not at your post?” “My eyes, sir,” came the reply, and he pointed to his blue goggles; “they got so very bad I have come to see a doctor.” But the governor thundered: “And who gave you permission to leave your post?” It would have taken a full year to obtain official consent, but when Mr. Smith was forced to reply, “No one,” the governor answered: “If it is a question between your eyes and your service in the Hudson’s Bay Company you will take my advice and return this instant to your post,” and Mr. Smith started almost immediately upon that return journey of nearly a thousand miles. The weather became so bad that both of his Indians succumbed to the cold and he arrived at the post more dead than alive. He once remarked: “A man who has been frozen and roasted by turns every year must be the tougher for it if he survived it at all.” Donald A. Smith did survive and advanced steadily. He learned the dialect of a number of Indian tribes and he so managed business affairs that his services were ever a matter of profit to the company. His advancement was slow at first, but his worth was eventually recognized and promotion came quicker. His duties were many and onerous because of his remoteness from civilization. He was called upon to minister to the sick and half a century later, when speaking to the students of the Middlesex Hospital in London he described the antiseptic which he used in Labrador in the ’40s, saying: “It was a primitive and somewhat rude form of treatment that was practiced in those days before Lord Lister introduced his discovery. For the treatment of wounds, ulcerated sores, etc., a pulp was made by boiling the inner bark of the juniper tree. The liquor which resulted was used for washing and treating the wounds and the bark, beaten into a plastic mass, was applied after the thorough cleaning of the wound, forming a soft cushion, lending itself to every inequality of the sore. Scrupulous cleanliness was observed and fresh material used for every application.”

When in Labrador, at the age of twenty-nine years, Donald A. Smith married Isabella Sophia Hardisty, with whom he traveled life’s journey for sixty-five years, separated in her death, which occurred in London in 1913. In the meantime he was advancing from one post to another in the service of the Hudson’s Bay Company, becoming trader and then chief trader, while his splendid administrative ability won him further promotion to factor and to chief factor. In 1851 he was transferred to the Northwest provinces and became most active in their later development. He eventually reached the position of supreme head of the company, becoming the last resident governor of the corporation that had its beginning under the Merry Monarch. The year 1868 witnessed his arrival in Montreal, as chief executive for the Hudson’s Bay Company. He is described at that time as “a man of middle stature, rather slight in build, and looked not at all the typical northerner, except when one studied his countenance.” “The snow tan of the north had made him dark as an Indian. He wore a full beard, black and wiry. Black brows met above his eyes, enhancing the stern, uncompromising aspect of his face. He looked what he was--a commander of men and of forces, a man made strong by a life of struggle and conquest in the wilderness.” He had not yet become a wealthy man, although he had saved his money and had invested it in land at various points in the northwest--land that many would have regarded as valueless. With wonderful prescience he discerned something of what the future had in store for that great country and with the growth of its population and the onrushing tide of civilization his holdings increased in value, making him one of Canada’s more prosperous citizens.

While Donald A. Smith had reached the pinnacle of service in connection with the Hudson’s Bay Company when he came to Montreal, he was destined to gain equal eminence in other directions. In the interests of the Canadian Confederation it was seen that the title to the territory of the Hudson’s Bay Company in Rupert’s Land must pass to the crown and a purchase was arranged whereby the company received a million dollars and large reserves of land, although the transfer was not made without great difficulty and danger, culminating in what has been known as the Red River rebellion, or the first Riel rebellion.

Discontented people of that region had been trying to produce an agitation that would separate their settlement from that of the Hudson’s Bay Company. The rapid growth of population in Assiniboia was imperilling the company’s hold and its rule, hitherto wise and practical, was denounced as arbitrary. A contemporary biographer has written:

“Better representation was demanded and, by dint of much uproar and noise, considerable sympathy was obtained from outside. To understand fully the character of this Red River settlement it must be explained that the population was considerably mixed. In all there were about twelve thousand souls. There were Europeans, Canadians, Americans and French half-breeds. With a mixed population like this it was difficult to deal and when, on November 9, 1869, the deed was signed in London, whereby the company surrendered its interests in the northwest to the crown, with reservations for the company, rebellion broke out. The leader was the famous Louis Riel, a Metis, described as ‘a short, stout man, with a large head, a square cut, massive forehead overhung by a mass of long and thickly clustering hair and marked with well cut eyebrows--altogether a remarkable looking face.’

“The Hon. William McDougall had been appointed lieutenant governor of Rupert’s Land and the Northwest territories in September, 1869, but when he went, by way of the United States, to possess himself of his power he was turned back on the borders of his domain by Louis Riel and his followers, the Metis of the plains, who absolutely refused to recognize his authority on the ground that they had not been consulted in the new arrangement. Mr. McDougall found himself unable to cope with the situation and was compelled to remain at a farm house several miles south of the boundary line for six weeks.

“Meanwhile the armed resistance to authority had attained serious proportions. Riel seized Fort Garry, made the editor of the local paper prisoner and was issuing proclamations to the inhabitants. So matters went on until sixty of Riel’s enemies were confined in Fort Garry and the insurgents’ flag hoisted.

“Meanwhile in his office in Montreal Donald A. Smith was slowly but surely studying the position. Understanding the character of both McDougall and Riel, he saw how hopeless the situation was. Understanding them better than they understood themselves, he realized that what was needed was a man who knew the inner mind of the company well and could clear its character of the imputations cast upon it. He was the man--he felt it and although the journey involved grave personal risk he resolved to go. The government promptly accepted his services and he was appointed special commissioner to proceed at once to Fort Garry.

“With characteristic courage he went unarmed and almost alone. No sooner had he arrived at Fort Garry than he was treated as a prisoner of ‘President’ Riel. That, however, did not check his determination. He had made up his mind to avoid bloodshed and yet to enforce the decision of the government. To quote his own words: ‘The part I had to act was that of a mediator. Not only would one rash or unguarded word have increased the difficulty but even the pointing of a finger might, on more than one occasion, have been sufficient to put the whole country in a flame.’ But the unguarded word was never spoken, the finger was never pointed in a wrong direction and the rebellion ended in a bloodless expedition. Yet before Sir Garnet Wolseley marched to the Red river many a heated discussion was held and probably never before in history has a regularly ordained meeting been held in British territory under such conditions. If the moral atmosphere was warmly excited, the physical atmosphere was depressed enough to chill the fiercest rebels.

“The first meeting was a memorable one. In the open air, with the thermometer twenty degrees below zero, a cruel, biting wind penetrating through the warmest clothing, there they stood, men of all nationalities and ages. On the small, raised platform were the four most concerned in the rebellion--Riel, O’Donoghue, De Salaberry (a man beloved by thousands) and Donald A. Smith. At first the meeting was wholly with Riel, who cleverly got himself appointed French interpreter. But when things were at their worst and men of the opposite sides glared at each other with hate in their eyes, Mr. Smith rose to speak. His facts, his practical wisdom and, above all, his reasonableness had their effect upon the swaying multitude. If he did not gain much that day, at any rate he averted bloodshed.

“In the open air, with the thermometer twenty degrees below zero, in the teeth of a biting blast, this meeting was conducted with a respect for decorum and ancient parliamentary methods worthy of Westminster itself.

“The next day things went better. The proposition that representatives should be chosen from both sides was accepted, and when Riel agreed to disband the men at Fort Garry all classes felt that the worst was over. However, matters were not so easily arranged. Riel broke his word and the murder of a young man named Scott complicated the situation. Nevertheless, the excitement slowly cooled and there is little doubt that but for the tactful courage of Mr. Smith a spark would have been put to the flame of rebellion.

“‘I am as certain as I can be of anything,’ said Dr. O’Donnell, one of the old timers of Winnipeg, who was at Fort Garry in 1869, ‘that Donald A. Smith saved the northwest of Canada. On December 10, 1869, he was appointed a special commissioner to explain to the people of the Red River settlement the principles on which the government of Canada intended to govern the country and to take such steps as he might consider necessary to bring about a peaceable transfer from the Hudson’s Bay Company to the Dominion. At that time everything was in confusion; Mr. McDougall had been refused admission, Riel was king, an American element was trying to bring about the annexation of the settlement to the United States and last but not least the Indians were disaffected. When he reached Fort Garry Mr. Smith was virtually made a prisoner, Riel would not allow him to go outside the fort and kept an eye on his correspondence. In January, 1870, a mass meeting was held at Fort Garry and Mr. Smith was allowed to state his case and tell what he wanted the people to do. Riel was present, together with O’Donoghue and other insurrectionaries. It was a critical moment, I assure you; in fact, when Mr. Smith got up to read his commission from Sir John Young most of those present expected to see him arrested or shot on the spot. As it was he had a stormy time, but managed to impress many of the hot-headed with the belief that the interests of the settlement would be properly safeguarded by Canada. Riel was afraid of Mr. Smith’s influence and at once hurried on preparations for having himself made president of a provisional government. Then came the wholesale arrests culminating in the murder of Thomas Scott. Mr. Smith risked his life in an attempt to save Scott. Notwithstanding Riel’s antipathy to him, he went boldly to Riel and pleaded for Scott, even going so far as to warn Riel that if Scott was shot his blood would be upon his head. Riel was intoxicated with power and more than half disposed to shoot others on the loyal side, but Mr. Smith told him to his teeth that such a crime would not go unpunished.

“‘In the discussions that took place over the Bill of Rights to be sent to Ottawa, the chief part was borne by Mr. Smith. His coolness and sagacity undoubtedly prevented the collapse of the negotiations. “This man Smith,” said O’Donoghue at one stage, “knows too much for us, he is too able for us. We must get rid of him or the northwest cannot be made either an independent republic or part of the United States. He is a Hudson’s Bay Company officer and as such a friend of the half-breeds, and will be able to persuade them that union with Canada is to their interest.” It was a wonder all along that Mr. Smith was not shot. He was warned often enough that his life was in danger, but seemed quite willing to risk it in behalf of the cause he represented. A good many English-speaking settlers, while loyal enough, did not at first care to belong to Canada; they thought Rupert’s Land would be better off as a crown colony than as a Canadian province and Mr. Smith had to convince them that they were mistaken. In reality, therefore, he was between two fires--the Riel or disaffected party and the loyalists who did not favor the idea of confederation--whilst, as I have said, there was an American element working for annexation.

“‘At a later period when Governor Archibald came in (September 2, 1870), Mr. Smith rendered services to Canada of the highest moment. The Governor did not receive a very cordial reception, but Mr. Smith, who accompanied him, set about the work of conciliating the French, the old time English-speaking settlers and the new or Canadian settlers, who constituted three distinct factions. Mr. Archibald frequently told me that but for Mr. Smith the little community would have been torn to pieces by intestine strife. He was the one man who brought the northwest into Canada, who, indeed, saved it to the British empire, and we think he should get credit, even at this late day, for so great a work.’

“Many are the anecdotes concerning Mr. Smith’s dangerous mission to Fort Garry during the first Riel rebellion and of the commencement of his political career in the far west.”

With Sir Garnet Wolseley were Captain Buller, afterward General Sir Redvers, and Lieutenant Butler, afterward General Sir William. The tyranny of Riel had become irksome to the people, who received the newcomers joyously, and at the approach of the “red coats” Riel, with his co-conspirators, fled, taking up his position on the shores of St. Boniface. All was now quiet in the settlement, the purchase price of one million, five hundred thousand dollars had been paid and the territory transferred to Canada.

Donald A. Smith was by this time recognized as the most powerful man in the west. The governor general thanked him for his services and in 1870, after the organization of the province of Manitoba, he was returned to the legislature for Winnipeg and St. John. He was also called to the Northwest territorial council and was returned for Selkirk to the house of commons. He supported the conservative government then under direction of Sir John A. Macdonald and the party soon found that in him there was another man fit for leadership. It was found that the builders of the railway from ocean to ocean had trafficked with contractors and taken money for election purposes. This became known as the Pacific Scandal and the intense feeling manifest throughout the country centered in the house of commons. The house divided upon a motion of the Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, the leader of the liberal opposition to Sir John Macdonald. Feeling was intense. At one o’clock in the morning of November 5, 1873, Mr. Smith arose and uttered what became an oracular speech, for the people he represented were vitally interested in the building of the railway so necessary to the development of their country. It is said the house became deadly calm; no one knew whether he would adhere to his party’s policies or otherwise. He said: “For the honor of the country no government should exist that has a shadow of suspicion resting upon it, and for that reason I cannot give it my support.” These were his closing words, greeted by frantic cheers by the opposition, and the government was doomed. Feeling ran high and was most intense and bitter, but in later years the two leaders, the great statesman and the great financier, built together the Canadian Pacific Railway. Both were master builders and the executive capacity of the financier was necessary to the constructive genius of the statesman. It was in no idle spirit of laudation that Sir Charles Tupper stated that “had it not been for Mr. Smith’s indomitable pluck, energy and determination the road would never have been constructed.”

Mr. Smith thoroughly understood the fact that colonization could not be carried forward in the west without the building of the railroad. Another has written concerning this:

“It must have been with profound reluctance that he voted for the overthrow of the Macdonald government. He knew that the fall of that administration would set back the construction of the Pacific Railway and of the necessity of that great work to the unity and stability of the confederation he was thoroughly convinced. He was not well satisfied with the slower and less heroic policy of Mackenzie, although it is said he believed the road should be built by the government and ‘not by any company, however honorable or competent.’ He said in 1876, ‘Nothing short of a guarantee from the government of interest on the whole amount of the bonds could induce capitalists to embark on the enterprise.’ He, therefore, well understood the magnitude of the contract into which the syndicate entered in 1880 and the peril to his fortune and reputation involved in the assumption of that gigantic undertaking.

“There is no doubt that the syndicate received great subventions, but Mr. Smith and his courageous associates undertook to build a railway through thousands of miles of unknown and uninhabited country, along the sterile shores of Lake Superior and across the Rocky mountains. They had to go out in advance of settlement. They had to lead the march of civilization across leagues of unsettled prairie. They had to seek a silent port on the Pacific. It was a more daring idea than the Cape to Cairo Railway, which united two great centers of world activity. The Canadian Pacific was a plunge through nothing to nothing. It was a stupendous guess at the future. As we look back we recognize that few human achievements rank higher than the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway across this enormous stretch of territory, its operation during the first ten years of its history and the maintenance of its credit in face of persistent attack, slow growth of population and unpromising national outlook. The whisper goes that when the great enterprise hung on the verge of collapse, Mr. Smith pledged his private fortune to the last dollar in support of its credit, as he held his associates to the scrupulous performance of every detail of their contract with the country.”

One of the initial steps of the work was the purchase of the bankrupt St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway, which, extending over Minnesota and Dakota had a branch line to Pembina, Manitoba. Built by Dutch capitalists, it became bankrupt in 1873, yet Messrs. Smith and Hill recognized that with the return of prosperity this would become a profitable undertaking. These two, together with George Stephen, later Lord Mount Stephen, and N. W. Kittson purchased the road.