Part 29

JOHN EDGAR.

The late John Edgar, who for many years was connected with the fur industry in Montreal, was born in Woodstock, Ontario, March 12, 1843. During his boyhood the family removed to Hamilton, Ontario, where his school days were passed. He began his business career in the provision trade with Folingsby & Williamson in Hamilton and later came to Montreal as representative of that firm. Soon after his arrival in this city, or in 1866, he entered the firm of Greene & Sons Company, wholesale furriers, in which connection he worked his way upward, eventually becoming a partner in the business. About the year 1895, when Greene & Sons Company retired, Mr. Edgar succeeded to the business which he continued for some years under the firm name of Edgar, Swift & Company. When Mr. Swift retired Mr. Edgar formed a partnership with Mr. Charles Coristine under the firm name of Edgar, Coristine & Company, which relation was maintained for four years, after which Mr. Edgar continued the business alone until 1912, when he retired. He was one of the prominent furriers of the city, developing and building up a business of extensive proportions, and in commercial affairs his judgment was sound, his enterprise keen and his diligence unfaltering.

In Montreal Mr. Edgar was united in marriage to Miss Selina Kidner and unto them were born five children, three sons and two daughters: John Hamilton, who is connected with the Canadian Pacific Railway; Frank Clifton, connected with the Royal Bank of Canada at Montreal; William Dewar, of the custom house of Montreal; Katie Selina; and Lillian Maud. The death of the husband and father occurred September 12, 1913, and was the occasion of deep regret to many with whom he had been closely associated in business and social circles. In politics he was a conservative but without aspiration for public office. He belonged to the Royal Albert Lodge of Masons and was a faithful member of the Church of St. James the Apostle. In those connections are indicated the principles which governed his life and guided him in all of his relations.

CAMILLE TESSIER.

Camille Tessier, a young man possessed of laudable ambition and determination, is making continuous progress in the field of his chosen profession--that of the practice of law. He was born at Berthierville, Quebec, July 26, 1887, a son of Dominique and Odile (Des Rosiers) Tessier, the former a merchant at Berthierville. He is descended from French ancestors who landed here with the pioneers of the country. Like the greater part of Canada’s first inhabitants, they were farmers and spent their whole lives in cultivating the lands which they had first courageously conquered from the wilderness and from the forest on the north side of the St. Lawrence river, thus contributing in large measure to the actual prosperity of the country.

Camille Tessier was accorded liberal educational opportunities, which he improved, thus laying a broad foundation for his later success. He pursued a course in the commercial college of Berthierville, was a student in the Seminary of Joliette, attended St. Mary’s College at Montreal, Laval University at Montreal, in which he pursued his classical and professional courses, winning the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees. He subsequently attended Eastman’s Business College of Poughkeepsie, New York. As advocate, barrister and solicitor he is making for himself a creditable position in professional ranks. He has been a member of the Montreal bar since the 7th of July, 1910, and the thoroughness and care with which he prepares his cases and the logic of his deductions have gained him rank among those who are winning success in the difficult and arduous profession to which he devotes his energies. He makes a specialty of commercial law and is a member of the Commercial Law League of America. He is working his way to success vigorously but quietly and honestly. Mr. Tessier is a member of the Roman Catholic church. He was married in Montreal, on the 28th of January, 1913, to Edmee Paquette, and they have one child, Jean Marcel, born in Outremont on the 28th of October, 1913. His courage and a laudable ambition of living a life of usefulness to his family and to his country have brought Mr. Tessier the high regard of associates and all who know aught of his career.

CHARLES GIDEON HILL.

The life record of Charles Gideon Hill constitutes an illustration of what the new world has to offer to ambitious young men. Coming to Canada as an orphan boy, he steadily worked his way upward, each forward step bringing him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. He became in time a successful merchant of Montreal and in later years devoted his time to the supervision of his invested interests, which included large property holdings and stock in many financial and commercial enterprises. He was seventy-six years of age at the time of his death, which occurred on the 12th of June, 1893, at the old home at No. 247 Bleury Street, where he had lived for more than half a century. He was born in England, but lost his father and mother when quite young, after which he crossed the Atlantic and for a time resided in New York. He afterward came to Montreal and gradually he worked his way upward in a business way, realizing at the outset of his career, that industry and honesty constitute the foundation upon which success is built. In time he was the proprietor of a small dry-goods establishment on St. Paul Street and conducted it successfully for many years, but about 1870, retired from commercial circles in order to supervise his large estate which also included the estate of William Galt. From time to time he became interested in business enterprises, holding stock in many leading financial and commercial concerns. His judgment was sound, his sagacity keen and in the control of important interests he established his position as one of the leading and capable business men of the city.

On the 19th of August, 1840, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Miss Margaret J. Galt, a daughter of William Galt, who for many years was one of the leading citizens of Montreal. He engaged in the tanning business near Glasgow, Quebec, and amassed a very considerable fortune. Following his death, Mr. Hill retired from commercial interests to supervise the Galt estate. To Mr. and Mrs. Hill were born eleven children, eight of whom reached adult age. These children were: William Galt, deceased; Charles G., who also has passed away; Margaret Ewing, the widow of G. M. Patterson, residing in Cleveland, Ohio; Robert Ewing, deceased; Adelaide, who married Samuel P. Wigg and resides in Lakefield, Ontario; Lewis E., deceased; Helena Augusta, residing in Montreal; Jean Elizabeth, now Mrs. E. A. Hilton; Peter Alexander; Emma Louise, who married Albert A. Adams and is deceased; and Dr. Adolphus James Hill, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hill devoted the greatest care to rearing their large family and bestowed upon the children their tenderest love. Those who grew to adult’s estate were an honor to the family name and in full measure repaid the care of the parents, whom they ever held in reverent memory. It is due to the kind cooperation of Miss Helena A. Hill,--and to her the publishers are indebted,--that they are able to present herewith the excellent steel etchings portraying her parents.

Mr. Hill attended services and held a pew in the First Baptist church and also in the Church of England, in the Cathedral. His membership was in the latter and his wife, who died in 1882, was a member of the former. Both were greatly esteemed and an extensive circle of friends indicated their worth and the high regard in which they were held.

WALDO W. SKINNER.

Waldo W. Skinner, practicing at the Montreal bar as a member of the firm of Smith, Markey, Skinner, Pugsley & Hyde, was born at St. John, New Brunswick, a son of the late Hon. C. M. Skinner, K. C. His youthful days were largely devoted to the acquirement of an education in the schools of his native city and at Upper Canada College, Toronto, and having determined upon the practice of law as his life work, he entered McGill University in preparation for the bar, and was graduated B. C. L. in 1901. In 1913 Mr. Skinner was created a king’s counsel. The year following his graduation he entered upon the active work of his profession and his course has been marked by continuous progress. He is now associated with one of the leading law firms of the city, Smith, Markey, Skinner, Pugsley & Hyde, and is actively interested in much important litigation, in connection with which he is retained as counsel for the defense or prosecution. From the outset of his career he has recognized the fact that careful preparation is one of the indispensable elements of success, so that thorough work precedes his presentation of his cause in the courtroom. His reasoning is clear and cogent and his arguments strong and forceful.

In June, 1907, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Skinner and Miss Loulou Forget, the eldest daughter of the late Hon. L. J. Forget, senator. Mr. Skinner in his social relations is well known, being a member of the Mount Royal, St. James and Montreal Clubs, while his interest in sports is further indicated in his membership in the Montreal Racquet and Royal Montreal Golf Cubs. Attractive social qualities render him popular in those organizations, in which he has gained many friends.

THOMAS ROBB.

Organization is the watchword of the age. Promotion in every field of endeavor is brought about through the agency of organized effort and cooperation, and thorough study of each situation constitutes the basis of effort in this direction. This spirit and tendency of the age has led to the formation of many companies or societies for the benefit of business interests and it is in this connection that Thomas Robb is known, being manager and secretary of the Shipping Federation of Canada. A native of Scotland, he was born in the city of Glasgow in the year 1863, his father being the late Thomas Robb, who for some years was superintendent of police in Glasgow. Spending his youthful days in that city, the son pursued his education in the public schools and in the Glasgow Academy. Mr. Robb came to Canada first in 1883 and spent one year at farming in the Niagara district. Returning to England he became identified with the shipping interests and in connection therewith was located at different periods in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. He returned to Canada in 1902 and upon the organization of the Shipping Federation of Canada, which is incorporated by act of the Dominion parliament, he was chosen manager and secretary. He still continues in the dual position, his efforts being of marked value to the organization in promoting its object and accomplishing its purpose as he is actively engaged in all matters relating to navigation and shipping. In 1913 Mr. Robb was appointed member of the royal commission appointed to inquire into and report upon the “Law Respecting Pilotage” and its administration in the pilotage district of Montreal and Quebec.

In 1891 Mr. Robb was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth McLaren, a daughter of Andrew McLaren. Their religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Robb belongs to St. Andrew’s Society. He is a justice of the peace for Montreal and district. He is likewise a member of the Engineers Club and of the Canadian Club and has gained the warm friendship of many in both organizations.

HON. JOHN JOSEPH CURRAN.

Hon. John Joseph Curran, barrister, jurist and orator, whose life record was an honor to the land of his ancestors and to the land of his birth was born in Montreal, February 22, 1842, his parents being Charles and Sarah (Kennedy) Curran, both natives of Ireland, the former born in County Down and the latter in County Wexford. Emigrating to the new world they retained the intense love of native land, so characteristic of the Irish race and instilled the same deep attachment into their son, who with his increasing age and powers gave freely of his time and talents for the benefit of Erin’s green isle.

In the pursuit of his education Judge Curran attended a Jesuit school and St. Mary’s College at Montreal, where he entered upon a classical course. He afterward became a student in St. Joseph’s College at Ottawa and in 1891 the University of Ottawa conferred upon him the LL. D. degree. In the continuance of his education, he entered McGill University as a student in the law department and won his D. C. L. degree in 1862. It was in the spring of 1859 that he began preparation for the bar, reading at times under the direction of such distinguished lawyers as Bernard Devlin, Hon. T. J. J. Loranger and Andrew Robertson, K. C. While pursuing his classical courses he cultivated a taste for literature and oratory and in his student days developed the natural gifts that in course of time made him one of the foremost Canadian orators. It was also in his early manhood that he joined the Irish national movement and thus his life was taking shape along those lines which were to make him a power in moulding the history of province and country.

The year following his graduation from McGill, or in 1863, he was called to the bar of Quebec. No dreary novitiate awaited him. Almost immediately his talents won him recognition and he gained prominence as one of the younger members of the profession, by the important part which he took in the conduct of a number of notable criminal cases, including the Shehan, Havern, Kehoe and Considine murder cases and the Dunbar, Brown, Kearney and T. F. O’Brien frauds.

It is said that he had no superior in the conduct of election cases. He was successful in the Devlin-Ryan, Tansey-Malone and the James McShane-Loprairie contests and all these drew to him the attention and favorable comment of the profession. He was equally capable in the practice of civil law and was the legal representative of some of the largest contractors of the continent including men prominent in business in New York, Ottawa and Montreal. His legal counsel was sought by men of prominence again and again. Probably his last appearance as an advocate was when he represented the Dominion government in an arbitration with the province, the case being heard in the city of Quebec about 1894.

Judge Curran was created a king’s counsel by the Marquis of Lorne and was appointed secretary of the commission for the codification of the statutes of the first De Boucherville government. He was called to judiciary honor when made a puisne judge of the superior court, December 5, 1892. He was appointed solicitor general in the ministry of Sir John Thomas and continued to hold that office after Sir Mackenzie Bowell became premier. A contemporary writer said, “on the occasion of his appointment his lordship was congratulated by the press without distinction of party, both on public and personal grounds in acknowledgment of his ‘indefatigable efforts to promote the interests of his constituents’ and he was presented in 1890, chiefly by citizens in Montreal, with a purse of seven thousand dollars.” Judge Curran remained upon the bench for fourteen years and proved himself the peer of the ablest jurist who has gained the superior court bench. There were those who opposed him in the beginning, but all came to acknowledge his capability, his record being a credit and honor to the bench. His opinions were models of judicial soundness and his record as a jurist was such as any man might be proud to possess.

Politically his lordship was a liberal-conservative and he rendered valuable service to his party. He was elected by a large majority for Montreal Center to the house of commons in 1882, 1887 and again in 1891, and upon his appointment to the solicitor generalship of Canada in 1892 he was reelected by acclamation.

On the organization of a law faculty in connection with the University of Ottawa in 1892 Judge Curran was appointed to one of the legal chairs and elected vice dean. He was also a member of the senate of that university and president of its Alumni Association. As an orator he swayed all by his eloquence. He gained high rank as a lecturer and was frequently called upon to address public gatherings.

In religious faith Judge Curran was a most earnest Catholic and was ever watchful of opportunity to assist those of his faith in public or in private. While his health permitted he never failed to appear annually with his colleagues of the bench and bar in the Tete Dieu procession and his piety and devotion in the closing years of his life were an encouragement to the old and an edifying example for the young. As a Canadian his life work was one of conciliation and he strove to promote harmony between all creeds and colors. He accepted invitations to address gatherings of foreign colonists, and the Jews, Germans and Italians knew him well, while among the people of his nationality he was not only loved but respected. He yielded to none in the breadth of his sympathy and generous desire for the union of all denominations in the best and noblest objects. Following his elevation to the bench he said “that as a public man it had been his constant aim to bring about the union of hearts and minds among all creeds and classes,” and “he was satisfied that if we desired to have a prosperous country with a happy and contented people we could only secure those blessings by all creeds and classes uniting together for one common end, ‘the advancement and welfare of Canada and the empire.’” In August, 1896, Judge Curran was elected a delegate to the Irish Race convention, which met in Dublin in September of that year. He had previously been president of St. Patrick’s Society of Montreal and prior to his elevation to the bench was one of the directors of the True Witness Publishing Company. After his trip to the old country in 1907 the Burns Club honored him with an invitation to a banquet and to respond to a toast to the memory of Robert Burns. On rising to speak he said, that all had become brothers the world over since men of such intense love for Old Scotia had, here in our happy Canadian home, called upon a descendant of old Ireland to do honor to the name and fame of Scotland’s greatest bard. There are few, indeed, who have greater love for the land which shelters their race than had Judge Curran. He was perfectly familiar with Irish history, was a reader of Irish literature and a lover of Irish music, and he was an ardent and unflinching advocate of home rule.

In 1865 Judge Curran married Mary Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of the late Patrick Brennan of Montreal. His third son, Francis Joseph Curran, following his graduation from Manhattan University of New York and McGill University of Montreal, was called to the bar of his native province.

Something of the position which Judge Curran occupied in public regard is indicated in works written of him ere his demise, which occurred on October 1, 1909. Morgan in his volume of Canadian Men and Women said, “by the Irish community of Montreal he was regarded as one who had stood the test of devotion to their common fatherland, but it is to Canada that he has given his best service and by his fellow-Canadians, without distinction of origin or creed, he is held in the highest esteem and honor.” A Montreal citizen wrote of him, “he bears a character without reproach and is as popular in legal and political circles as he is respected.” The Montreal Gazette said editorially, “no constituency in Canada has ever had a representative who gave up more of his time, his talent and his energy to the promotion of its interests than did Mr. Curran during the thirteen years he has enjoyed the confidence of his electors. His genial kindly nature, his large-heartedness, his conspicuous liberality of mind, absolutely free from every trace of bigotry, and his splendid oratorical powers caused him to be in constant requisition whenever men were gathered together in the promotion of worthy objects for the discussion of public affairs or the advancement of the material and social welfare of the country.” The Montreal Herald concluded an admirable eulogy with the following paragraph: “Unselfishness and genuine consideration for others, probably explained his personal popularity and his political success. He used to say that the man in public life erred in dodging office seekers. ‘When I saw one who looked as if he wanted to get at me I always went to him first, and gave him his chance to speak,’ he once explained. He gave freely of his presence where he thought a good cause could be served, or a good example be set. He did his duty, as he saw it, without flinching. He was a good citizen, and he leaves a name to be held in honor.”

PIERRE-CHRYSOLOGUE LACASSE.