Part 19

Mr. Couture is also interested in some syndicates, purchasing lots on the island of Montreal. He is a director of La Société du Boulevard Pie IX, Limitée and of Salmon River Gold Fields and of the Montreal Consolidated Real Estate and Investments, Limited. His connection therewith has resulted in bringing him good financial returns, while in his profession he is making continuous advancement.

On the 9th of October, 1905, Mr. Couture was married to Miss Mathilda Ida Lachapelle, a daughter of Alfred and Mathilde (Beauchamp) Lachapelle, the former in his life time a merchant of Montreal. Mrs. Couture died at Maisonneuve, at the age of twenty-seven years, on the 17th of December, 1913, leaving no issue. Mr. Couture is a member of the Roman Catholic church and in politics he was formerly a conservative but became a nationalist as he did not approve of the naval policies of either the liberal or conservative parties. He is still, however, a member of the Montreal Liberal-Conservative Club. He was for three years recording secretary of Court Gounod No. 3240, I. O. F., of which he is now deputy chief.

HON. J. O. VILLENEUVE.

The name of Hon. J. O. Villeneuve is inseparably interwoven with the history of Montreal and its progress. Modesty at all times characterized his bearing and simplicity his habits, yet the sterling worth of his character and the high order of his ability brought him to a position of leadership in connection with municipal and provincial affairs. He labored untiringly for the best interests of Montreal while acting as chief executive of the city and was equally faithful in his support of matters relating to the provincial welfare when serving as senator. A native of the county of Terrebonne, he was born at Ste. Anne des Plaines, on the 4th of March, 1837, and his life record covered the intervening period to the 27th of June, 1901, when he passed away at the age of sixty-four years. He was but a young lad at the time of the removal of his father, Octave Villeneuve, and the family to Montreal, so that he was indebted to the school system of this city for his educational opportunities. He started in the business world as clerk in a dry-goods store in 1853, when a youth of sixteen years, and his traits of loyalty and faithfulness were manifest from the beginning, as is evidenced by the fact that he remained with one establishment until 1865. Ambitious to engage in business on his own account, he carefully saved his earnings until his industry and economy had brought him sufficient capital to enable him to open a grocery store at Mile End. There he conducted business for some time and subsequently founded the wholesale grocery house of J. O. Villeneuve & Company, which rapidly gained patronage and a high and well merited reputation in commercial circles. He was a farsighted man and one who on recognizing a public need at once sought to meet it. Realizing the lack of communication between the extreme northern section of Montreal and the outlying parishes, he established an omnibus route in 1860 between Mile End, Terrebonne, Sault au Récollet and New Glasgow, which he later sold to the Montreal Street Railway when it seemed feasible to extend the railway lines into that section.

Mr. Villeneuve was frequently called to public office and it is a notable fact in his career that no public trust reposed in him was ever betrayed in the slightest degree. For more than seventeen years he was mayor of St. Jean Baptiste village and again, when the organization of the town took place, he served for four years more, carefully guiding the interests of village and town so as to bring about needed reforms and improvements. Following the annexation to the city in 1885 he represented St. Jean Baptiste ward from that date until 1894 in the city council and as a member of the finance committee his experience in financial matters was found to be of great service to the public. Higher official honors awaited him, however, for in 1894 he was elected Montreal’s mayor and filled that position for two years, proving a capable executive and one who most carefully and systematically safeguarded the public interests. For eighteen years he served as warden of the county of Hochelaga and in 1886 was elected to represent that county in the Quebec legislature, where his record was so commendable that he was reelected in 1890 and again in 1892. In 1888 he was made a member of the harbor commission and served for several years on that body. In January, 1896, he succeeded the late Hon. Joseph Tasse as senator for the De Salaberry division. All this, however, did not cover the many phases of his activity. For many years he was a member of the Board of Trade, and he had important business connections, serving as director of the Dominion Cotton Company, in addition to which he had other large manufacturing, mercantile and real-estate interests in the city. He was resident director of the Banque Nationale and a member of the harbor board and a governor of Laval University. He was also senior partner of the firm of L. Villeneuve & Company, wholesale lumber dealers.

In 1861 Mr. Villeneuve married Miss Susan Ann Walker, a daughter of Captain James Walker, of Sorel, Quebec, who survives together with their four children. Her father was a captain in the regiment stationed at Sorel and was a son of Dr. Edward Walker, surgeon of that regiment. Jacques Villeneuve, the eldest of the four children, residing at St. Jerome, Quebec, is proprietor of a stone quarry and brick manufacturing business there. He married Miss Lamontague and they had seven children, Jacques, Edgar, Charles Eugene, Lia, Adrienne, Marguerite and Jeanne. For his second wife Jacques Villeneuve wedded Miss Poitevin, and they have a son, Jean. Eugene W., the second member of the family, was born in Montreal in 1865 and was associated in business with his father until the latter’s death. He brought about the royal commission, giving a change of administration and management of the city by a board of control. In November, 1910, at a meeting held at St. Jean Baptiste market hall, he proposed that the centenary of the birth of Sir George Etienne Cartier should be appropriately commemorated and that steps should be taken for the erection of a monument to his memory. Since then the monumental enterprise has assumed not only national but empire scope and representatives of every portion of the empire will be present at the commemorative celebration September 6, 1914. Mr. Villeneuve has served faithfully as president of the executive committee in charge of the celebration and the erection of the monument. He married Miss Alice Crompton, and their children are James and Reginald. Frederic Villeneuve, the third member of the family, is a graduate of Laval University and was afterwards advocate in Montreal and in Edmonton, Alberta. For several years he was editor of Canadian West and for four years, from 1898 until 1902, sat for St. Albert in the legislature. In 1909 he was appointed librarian of the Montreal Civic Library. He married Miss Howie, of St. Johns. Rachel Villeneuve, the youngest of the family, married Alphonse Morin, protonotary of St. Johns. Their children are Josephine, Louise, Susan, Pierre Villeneuve, Lucie, Madeleine and Andre, and they reside at No. 629 Dorchester West.

The death of Hon. J. O. Villeneuve occurred on the 27th of June, 1901, at the family residence at 862 St. Denis Street. Editorially the Gazette said of him: “Senator Villeneuve is dead at the comparatively early age of sixty-four. His career was a typical one and included fully thirty years of public service, municipal and parliamentary. His straightforward conduct and good faith gained him general respect and for almost a generation he could count on election to whatever office in the gift of the county of Hochelaga or city of Montreal he aspired to. His municipal career was crowned by the mayoralty of Montreal and his political work by a senatorship. He was a thoroughly well meaning man, of modest bearing and simple habits, whose innate worth was behind his business and public success. In his death Montreal loses a good citizen and parliament a member of safe judgment and right purpose.” To thus win the merit and plaudit of the press shows that the life of Hon. J. O. Villeneuve was one of far-reaching usefulness and of importance in Montreal. He neglected no opportunity, slighted no duty nor passed unheedingly the chances to benefit city or province by helpful service on his part.

JOHN DILLON.

John Dillon, for many years one of the best known merchants of Montreal, was a member of the firm of Reford & Dillon. He was born in Chambly, March 18, 1836, a son of John Dillon, Sr., a native of Belfast, Ireland, who emigrated to Canada and for some years resided in Toronto and Montreal, his death occurring in the latter city in 1875. He was father of two sons, George Graham and John Dillon. The former passed his active business life in Toronto, where he was connected with the retail dry-goods house of George Bowes & Company. He died in Toronto, while his widow, Mrs. Catherine Jacques Dillon, passed away in Montreal. They were survived by a daughter, Miss Elisabeth J. Dillon, who for many years lived with her uncle, John Dillon, who never married.

It was in Toronto that John Dillon formed a partnership with Robert Reford under the firm name of Reford & Dillon, wholesale grocers, and in 1867 the business was moved to Montreal. This association continued for about forty years and the business was most successfully and capably conducted according to modern progressive methods. A few years prior to his death Mr. Dillon retired from the firm, but maintained his interest in other industrial and commercial institutions. Up to the time of his death he was a director of the Mount Royal Milling and Manufacturing Company and was also vice president of the Gould Cold Storage Company. His business judgment was sound, his discrimination keen and his enterprise unfaltering. He could see farther than many a man in business circles, foretelling the outcome of any enterprise from the beginning and, moreover, he had the power to coordinate and unify forces into a harmonious whole.

Mr. Dillon was much interested throughout his lifetime in charitable work and among other institutions with which he was actively associated was the Old Brewery Mission. He was an active member of the Dominion Square Methodist church, which he joined as a charter member upon its organization.

The Montreal Star in announcing his death on the 15th of May, 1908, said, “In the death of Mr. John Dillon which took place this morning very suddenly at his residence, 19 McGregor Street, Montreal loses one of its oldest and most respected citizens. Mr. Dillon, who had been in good health, was speaking to a relative about 11:30 today, when he was overcome by heart failure, his death taking place almost immediately. Thus passed onward one who always strove to do his duty by his fellowmen.”

CARLOS A. HAYES.

Carlos A. Hayes, who for a number of years was connected with the Grand Trunk Railway, lastly as freight traffic manager, was on July 1, 1913, appointed general traffic manager of the Canadian Government Railways, with headquarters at Moncton, New Brunswick. Mr. Hayes has long been prominently connected with Canadian railway service and has in that way contributed toward the opening up of vast natural resources in the Dominion.

He was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, March 10, 1865, and when a boy of seventeen entered the railway service in 1882, continuing along that line with various roads in the United States until the year 1892, when he was made New England agent and, in 1896, manager of the National Despatch-Great Eastern Line. He held this position until 1903, when he became connected with the Grand Trunk Railway as assistant general freight agent in Chicago. Readily grasping railroad problems and possessed of the true generalship of a railway executive, he was chosen in 1908 to succeed J. E. Dalrymple as general freight agent of the Grand Trunk, with headquarters at Montreal, and there remained, first as general freight agent and later as freight traffic manager, until his recent appointment. Mr. Hayes is a well known figure in Dominion railway circles and stands high in the estimation of business men.

JOHN EDWARD MARTIN.

John Edward Martin, K. C., a well known member of the Montreal bar, was born in September, 1859, at Shefford, in the province of Quebec. He received his early education in the public school at Waterloo, P. Q., and at McGill Normal School, and later entered McGill University, where he graduated with the Degree of Bachelor of Civil Law in 1883, being the medallist of that year.

In July, 1884, he was admitted to the practice of law and began the practice of his profession at Sweetsburg, P. Q., in partnership with the late Senator Baker. In 1893 he removed to Montreal and for over twenty years has been a member of the law firm of Foster, Martin, Mann, Mackinnon & Hackett, and his constantly expanding powers brought him prominently before the public as an able lawyer and led to his being named king’s counsel in 1903.

The litigated interests intrusted to his care have on the whole been of a most important character, and he has successfully practised before all the courts of the province, the supreme court of Canada, and has frequently appeared before the judicial committee of the privy council in London, England.

Mr. Martin has specialized in corporation and insurance law, and his preparation of cases is always thorough and exhaustive, and the court records indicate his ability in securing verdicts favorable to his clients.

He was a member of the council of the bar of Montreal for several years and batonnier of the bar of Montreal and batonnier-general of the bar of the province of Quebec during the year 1913-1914. In 1913 he was elected an honorary member of the American Bar Association.

Mr. Martin has been married twice. His first wife, Nellie, daughter of J. Rooney of Sweetsburg, P. Q., died in January, 1909. In December, 1910, he married Emily Violet, daughter of James Patterson of Guelph, Ontario.

In politics Mr. Martin is a conservative, and he is a member of the Anglican church. He is a member of the Mount Royal, Forest and Stream, Canada and the Laurentian Clubs. He has a wide acquaintance among the leading residents of the city, where his ability and personal worth have gained for him the high regard of those with whom he has come in contact.

JAMES ALEXANDER LAWRASON STRATHY.

James Alexander Lawrason Strathy, long a factor in financial circles in Montreal, was born in London, Ontario, July 22, 1857, where his father, James B. Strathy, was at one time collector of customs. The mother, Mrs. Elvira Strathy, was a daughter of Dr. Hiram D. Lee and of United Empire Loyalist stock. Liberal educational opportunities were accorded the son, who was educated in the Moncrieff Preparatory School, in Hellmuth College at London, Ontario, and in Upper Canada College. At the age of seventeen years he came to Montreal and entered the employ of the brokerage firm of Gordon Strathy & Company, later becoming a partner in the business. He subsequently was admitted to the Montreal Stock Exchange, while six years later he became a member of the Board of Trade. In the following years he devoted all his time to the Montreal Trust & Deposit Company, of which he was one of the organizers. He was appointed general manager of the business and remained with the company until his death. He was also a member of the executive committee of the Royal Electric Company and in business connections gave evidence of his ability to handle important interests and solve intricate problems.

Mr. Strathy was a justice of the peace of Montreal and in official position made a record equally creditable with that which he won in business. He was a member of St. Andrew’s Society and vice president of the United Empire Loyalist Association. Distinction and honors also came to him along military lines, his military record dating from his appointment as second lieutenant of the Fifth Royal Scots of Canada, in 1880. He was advanced to the rank of captain in 1884, became major in 1891 and was made lieutenant colonel, commanding his regiment, in 1893, so continuing until his connection with the regiment ceased in December, 1897. In 1894 he became vice president of the Canada Military Institute at Toronto and the same year was appointed to the staff of the governor general of Canada as an extra aide-de-camp.

Mr. Strathy was widely known in sporting circles. As a gentleman rider he was the winner of the Montreal Hunt Cup Steeplechase in 1880, 1881 and 1886 and of the American Grand National Hunt Steeplechase at Saratoga in 1882 and of the steeplechase open to gentlemen riders. His political allegiance was given to the conservative party and the interests and duties of citizenship found ample recognition in his life activities.

On the 9th of January, 1885, Lieutenant Colonel Strathy was married to Miss Margaret, daughter of Andrew Robertson, of Montreal, and they became the parents of six children, of whom five are living: Marguerite F., Isabella D., Alison L., R. Lee A. and Elvira M. The family circle was broken by the hand of death when on the 7th of October, 1901, Lieutenant Colonel Strathy passed away. He was a popular member of the St. James Club and his position as a business man and in military and sporting circles classed him with the representative residents of his city.