Chapter D: Aug. Fontaine

D. Aug. Fontaine is a well known lawyer and notary of Montreal, being located at No. 244 St. Catherine Street East. Born in the town of Marieville, Rouville county, February 2, 1872, he comes of distinguished French-Canadian ancestry. The Rev. Damase Limoges is an uncle and Morrainé Alphonsine Lemieux, his cousin. The Rev. Damase Limoges was curate of the Catholic parish of St. Jean Baptiste, in the county of Rouville, and our subject was baptized in the Catholic church in that parish on the 4th of February, 1872. His father was Felix Fontaine, a notary at Marieville, and his mother Claire (Limoges) Fontaine. The former was born at St. Charles sûr Richelieu or at St. Hyacinthe about November 24, 1832. He studied in the Seminary of St. Hyacinthe and served a legal clerkship at Marieville with the notary Laberge. He afterwards established himself in that city as a notary and there practiced for the rest of his life, being recognized as a brilliant lawyer and gaining great success. He was a member of the Chamber of Notaries for about twenty-five years and when he died was vice president of this institution. The mother was born at Terrebonne, about August 2, 1840, a daughter of Pierre Limoges, a blacksmith, and Dame (Viger) Limoges. The paternal grandfather of our subject was Felix Fontaine, a teacher at St. Hyacinthe. The maternal grandfather, Pierre Limoges, and Charlotte Luce (Viger) Limoges, his wife, were the parents of twenty-three children, three daughters of whom embraced holy orders, one of them having joined the Ladies of the Sacred Heart at Montreal. One of their sons, Joseph Magloire Limoges, is a curate at Sorel; another, Damase Limoges, a curate at Beloeil and Farnham. A daughter, Claire Limoges, is the mother of our subject.

Louis Fontaine received his education in the elementary school at the Hospice of Ste. Croix at Marieville. He completed his commercial and classical studies at the Seminary of Ste. Marie de Monnoir at Marieville, having terminated his course in 1893. He studied law at Laval University of Montreal from 1893 to 1897 and served a clerkship with Maître J. A. Dorval, of Montreal. He received his notaryship at Quebec (with distinction) September 14, 1897. Mr. Fontaine then formed a partnership with his former preceptor, Maître Dorval, under the firm name of Dorval & Fontaine. Following, he associated himself with his classmate, Oscar Desautels, continuing the partnership of Fontaine & Desautels until 1899. At the end of that time he succeeded his father, Felix Fontaine, as notary in Marieville. Taking up his father’s practice, he there followed his profession for about ten years and has been actively engaged in legal work in Montreal since 1910. He was secretary-treasurer of the school commission of Marieville and also was manager of the Marieville branch of a private bank, known as “La Caisse d’Economie de Drummondville.” He also was for some time collector of customs at Marieville. In politics he was a strict liberal until 1909 and although he yet gives his allegiance to that party, is a nationalist at the same time.

On the 29th of July, 1896, Mr. Fontaine was married in the town of Marieville, which is now annexed to Montreal and known as the town of Ste. Cunegonde, to Miss Marie Eugenie Anna Vezina, daughter of Alexandre and Emma (Chagnon) Vezina. The father is engaged in the saddlery business. Mr. and Mrs. Fontaine have three children: Marie Eugenie Claire Ubaldine, fourteen years of age; Marie Marguerite Jeanne, twelve years of age; and Joseph Alexandre Felix Auguste, aged eleven.

Mr. Fontaine is a member of the Roman Catholic and Apostolic church. He is a musical composer of no mean ability and has produced a pleasing repertoire of Canadian songs. He is the author of the Canadian national song, which was written to the words of Abbé A. Fournet, P. S. S. He was a prize winner in the competition between Canadian poets in 1908 and the newspaper La Presse paid him one hundred dollars, le prix de concours. He is adviser to the singers of Notre Dame parish church of Montreal. Mr. Fontaine deeply interests himself in all matters pertaining to public affairs and is interested in the cause of education and in arts and letters. He is a lawyer of ability, a patriotic citizen and a man who stands for the higher things in life and who finds great pleasure and satisfaction in following his aesthetic tastes and in implanting his art ideas in others. His talent along musical lines has been ably put to use in elevating the musical standards of the city and in bringing more closely before the public the idea of creating a home musical art particularly and peculiarly Canadian.

ARTHUR SURVEYER.

In the field of engineering the name of Arthur Surveyer is widely known. Liberal training and broad experience have brought him to a prominent position and won for him the liberal patronage that is accorded him as senior partner in the firm of Surveyer & Frigon, consulting engineers of Montreal.

Mr. Surveyer was born in this city on the 17th of December, 1878, son of L. J. A. and M. A. Hectorine (Fabre) Surveyer, of whom more extended mention will be found elsewhere in this book, and supplemented his course of study in St. Mary’s College by a course in L’Ecole Polytechnique in which he won the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Applied Science and was graduated as a civil engineer. He also pursued a special post-graduate course at L’Ecole d’Industrie et des Mines du Hainout, Mons, Belgium. His liberal training and broad experience have made him one of the most efficient representatives of the profession. From 1904 until May, 1911, he was in the service of the Canadian department of public works and was engaged on the survey, plans and estimates for the Georgian Bay Ship Canal project and the survey of the Richelieu river for a twelve-foot canal. He was supervising engineer during the construction of the Port Arthur Dry Dock and reported on several hydro-electric projects on the St. Lawrence river. In May, 1911, he left the public service, in which he was connected with many important works, to enter upon private practice, but has been retained as consulting engineer by the public works department in a number of important matters such as the preparation of Canada’s case against the Chicago drainage canal and the report on the plans submitted to the government by the Montreal Tunnel Company and by the Montreal Central Terminal Company. Mr. Surveyer is a member of the St. Lawrence River commission, is engineer for various municipalities and is a member of a number of professional societies and associations, including the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers and the Hydrotechnic Society of France. Thoroughness has characterized all that he has undertaken. That quality was manifest in his preparation for his profession. He was a most discriminating and earnest student and in his practice he has lost sight of no detail of his work and at the same time has given due prominence to its most important problems and features. His entire professional career has been characterized by continuous advancement.

J. F. OLIVAR ASSELIN.

J. F. Olivar Asselin was born at St. Hilarion, in Charlevoix county, P. Q., November 8, 1874, a son of Rieule and Cedulie (Tremblay) Asselin, the latter of whom is still living. He emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1892, and in Fall River, Massachusetts, J. F. Olivar Asselin was for two years employed in the cotton mills.

Taking up journalism, he was at first connected with small French weekly publications. He afterward became editor of La Tribune, a Woonsocket, Rhode Island, daily, in which capacity he enjoyed the friendship and confidence of the Hon. Mr. A. J. Pothier, then lieutenant governor, and now governor of Rhode Island. While practicing his profession in Woonsocket, Mr. Asselin was principal of an evening public school in that city in 1897 and 1898.

He was the first man to enlist in the First Rhode Island Volunteers, at the breaking out of the Spanish-American War.

Returning to Canada in 1900, he was successively connected with the Montreal Herald, La Patrie, Le Journal, La Presse, La Nationaliste and Le Devoir, with a two years intermission--1901-1903--during which he was private secretary to the Hon., now Sir Lomer Gouin, then minister of colonization and public works of the province of Quebec. In 1902 he organized the Nationalist league, being for several years president of the Montreal branch. This indicates his deep interest in political problems and to disseminate the principles in which he believed, he founded La Nationaliste as the organ of the party, and for a time was editor of that publication.

He has written much upon various subjects, his publications including a series of political brochures with the title, Feuilles de Combat. He is also the author of “A Quebec View of Canadian Nationalism, an Essay by a Dyed-in-the-Wool French-Canadian,” which was published in 1910.

He has been in business for four years as manager of the Credit Metropolitain, one of the well known real-estate and financial firms of Montreal.

In 1912, he was appointed by the federal government, a special commissioner to French and Belgium, to study the question of emigration from those countries to Canada. Mr. Asselin has made a special study of municipal questions, and is well known as a member of the National Municipal league, as well as a contributor to the Municipal Journal. Mr. Asselin stood twice as a candidate for parliamentary honors, without success, a result which, in one case at least, was said to be due to his caustic spirit. In 1913 he was elected general president of the great St. Jean Baptiste Society, the national society of the French.

In 1903 Mr. Asselin wedded Mlle. Alice Le Bouthillier of Montreal.

JOSEPH ASSELIN, M. D., C. M.

A specialist in the treatment of children’s diseases and prominently known in connection with both hospital and private practice, Dr. Joseph Asselin is one of the best known physicians of Montreal. He was born in Joliette, Quebec, August 10, 1858, a son of Eusebe and Elmire (Cornellier) Asselin. The father was a merchant and proprietor of an important seigneury.

Dr. Asselin acquired his classical education in Joliette College, and in further preparation for the profession which he had determined to make his life work, he studied for two and a half years in hospitals for children, in Paris, under the direction of such eminent men as Parrot, Bouchert, Simon and Descroizilles. Since entering upon active practice in Montreal his advancement has not only been continuous but rapid, winning speedy recognition for his ability. He has served as a director of the town dispensary of the Sisters of Providence, Montreal, an institution in which many thousands of children have been treated each year. He has also been physician of the Orphelinat St. Alexis at the corner of Mignonne and St. Denis Streets, Montreal.

On the 10th of October, 1883, Dr. Asselin was married to Miss Albina Laurier, daughter of Dr. Louis Laurier, and their family numbers five children. Dr. Asselin is a conservative in politics and in religious faith a Roman Catholic. He holds membership with the Independent Order of Foresters, but his chief interest is that of his profession. He gives untiringly of his service for the benefit of mankind and is highly esteemed not only by his colleagues but by the community generally.

LOUIS THEOPHILE MARECHAL.

In a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit, talent and ability Louis Theophile Marechal has attained distinguished rank. Firmly entrenched in the principles of jurisprudence, he adds to his forensic knowledge and ability the rare gift of eloquence, which has been an effective force in winning for him a high position in his profession. He represents one of the old and distinguished French families in the Montreal district. His birth occurred at St. Henri, near Montreal, on the 13th of March, 1864, and in the pursuit of his education he spent some time as a student in Montreal College and in St. Mary’s (Jesuit) College. He afterward entered Laval University, where he pursued his law course until graduated with the class of 1889. The same year he was called to the bar and has since practiced as an advocate of Montreal. He was made a king’s counsel in 1903 and was appointed a councillor of the Montreal bar for the year 1908-9. His advancement in his profession has been continuous. He accurately applies law principles, being seldom, if ever, at fault in the citation of a fact or legal precedent. He speaks French and English with equal fluency and has been gifted with oratorical power that enables him to sway his hearers with the force of his eloquence. Moreover, his statements are convincing, and his legal utterances are always based upon a thorough understanding of the legal principles involved.

Mr. Marechal was united in marriage to Marie, the only daughter of Hon. C. B. de Boucherville, but lost his wife in death in 1902. His recognition of the duties and obligations of citizenship is manifest in many tangible ways. In politics he is a conservative of the pronounced type. He unsuccessfully contested St. Mary’s (Montreal) for the house of commons in the general election of 1904 and was again a candidate for the same seat in 1908. It is a recognized fact that he is a leader in party ranks and has done much to mold public thought and action. His religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic church. The spirit of progress dominates him in all things, especially in his professional and public relations, and his position of leadership is one to which his ability, public spirit and eloquence have brought him.