Part 33

André O. Rondeau after acquiring his preliminary education attended a commercial college at St. Aimé and the preparatory seminary of Ste. Marie de Monnoir, from which he obtained his bachelor’s degree. He received his law diploma from Laval University of Montreal, after having studied for two years at St. Hyacinthe under the supervision of Blanchet & Chicoine, well known barristers. Since Mr. Rondeau has joined the legal fraternity of Montreal he has made great strides towards success, having left the ranks of the many and joined those of the successful few. He is skillful in the presentation of his evidence, shows marked ability in cross-examination, persuasiveness before the jury and has a strong grasp of every feature of the case in hand. While his learning never intrudes itself when uncalled for and he makes no display thereof, it comes into requisition when wanted. He is a man who exemplifies in his conduct the lofty ideals of his nation and noble calling and he honors his profession by paying it honor and by his adherence to the solid virtues and enlightened principles underlying the law. It is his ambition to make his native talent subserve the demands of the social and business conditions of the day and he stands today as a splendid representative of a lawyer to whom personal prosperity is secondary in importance to the public welfare and less vital than many other elements which go to make up human existence.

On June 29, 1908, at Montreal, at the church of St. Jacques, Mr. Rondeau was united in marriage to Miss Rose Blanche Trudeau, a daughter of Louis Napoléon Trudeau, a well known dentist. The religious affiliations of Mr. and Mrs. Rondeau are with the Catholic church. In his political views he was during his earlier years a liberal but since 1906 has endorsed the nationalist movement as he is in sympathy with their ideas. Outside of his profession he has had important interests and is the builder of the Boulevard Trudeau and Rondeau, in the Prairie River district, which leads through lots Nos. 16 and 17. He was one of the founders and also one of the first directors of La Cie Zootechnique de Labelle, Limitée, at Macaza, P. Q., which has for its purpose the raising of fur-bearing animals. Mr. Rondeau is highly respected in Montreal as an able lawyer and as a citizen of public worth and is especially popular and influential with the French, of which race he is an able representative in this city.

SAMUEL COTTINGHAM STEVENSON.

There was no man to whom the success of Canadian expositions and exhibitions was more largely attributable than to Samuel C. Stevenson, who as a commissioner, represented his province and country in connection with a number of leading affairs of this kind on the continent. He was born in Montreal in 1848 and came of Scotch ancestry, being a son of James Stevenson, a native of Scotland, who after his arrival in Canada was identified with shipping interests, owning a number of boats. His wife was, in her maidenhood, Miss Elizabeth Cottingham.

Their son, Samuel C. Stevenson, pursued a high-school course and in 1872 was granted his Bachelor of Arts degree at McGill. He was assistant secretary to the first large provincial exhibition and was identified with all the expositions of the province from that time until his death. When the first one was held at Mile End, he was given entire charge of the industrial department. In 1876 he was appointed a commissioner of the province of Quebec to the great Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia and in 1877 when a permanent exposition committee was appointed for the province, he was made its secretary for the industrial department and held that position until the organization of the Montreal Exposition Company in 1889. He was chief organizer and manager of all the important expositions that were held in Montreal from 1886 until his demise and he represented the Canadian interests as commissioner for the province of Quebec at the Colonial and Industrial Exhibition in London, in 1886. In 1892 he was appointed a member and secretary of the provincial commission in connection with the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and was secretary of the council of arts and manufacture of the province of Quebec. His long experience enabled him to know adequately just what was most attractive for exhibition purposes and how to assemble such, and the success of Canada’s exhibits, both provincial and at the international expositions in the United States, was due in large measure to his efforts. He was a corresponding member of the Industrial Education Association of New York and a director of the Great Northern Railway of Canada.

Mr. Stevenson’s military experience began in his youth. When a boy he belonged to the High School Cadets and afterward joined the Victoria Rifles, going to the front with his regiment at the time of the Fenian raid of 1866. Later he received a commission in the Prince of Wales regiment and was a subaltern in the company of that corps which was sent to the relief of the force that engaged the Fenians at Eccles Hill. He remained in the corps until 1881, when he retired with the rank of major. Mr. Stevenson’s interests and activities aside from those already indicated were manifest from his membership in the Art Association and in the Crescent Street church.

At Saugerties, New York, in 1878 Mr. Stevenson was married to Mrs. Gertrude (Caldwell) Bennett, a representative of a southern family, that lived in Virginia until the time of the Civil war and then removed to New York. Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson had three children: James Corliss; Elizabeth Lois, the wife of Herbert Yuile; and Gladys Arnold, the wife of J. Hal Pangman.

Such is the record of Samuel C. Stevenson, who passed away January 2, 1898. As a public-spirited citizen he was widely known. None questioned his fidelity. He responded to every appeal when it was needed for the benefit of the general good; to build up rather than to destroy was his policy and he attacked everything with a contagious enthusiasm.

FARQUHAR ROBERTSON.

The nature and variety of his interests and activities at once place Farquhar Robertson among those citizens whose lives constitute a most useful and serviceable force in bringing about modern day conditions, progress and prosperity. While he is well known as a business man, he has at the same time been a close student of the sociological, economic and political questions of the day, and has been actively allied with many movements seeking the betterment of conditions for the benefit of the individual physically, intellectually and morally. He has also been connected with many projects that promote the municipal welfare, and thus his life has come to be one of great usefulness in his adopted city. A native of Ontario, he was born April 14, 1850, at North Branch, Glengarry, a son of Hugh and Flora (McLennan) Robertson and a brother of Lieutenant Colonel D. M. Robertson, Toronto, Ontario. His education was acquired in his native county and since entering upon his business career, he has largely given his attention to the coal trade. In business affairs he carries forward to successful completion what he undertakes, and his well formulated plans are productive of far-reaching and beneficial results.

His activities along other lines have been equally broad and beneficial. He is identified with many movements which seek to meet and improve modern conditions, and to this end he is serving as a director of the Parks and Playgrounds Association, and is vice president of the Montreal City Improvement League. He was one of the promoters of the Montreal Typhoid Emergency Hospital, and is one of the managing committee of the Montreal General Hospital, a member of the committee of management of Royal Edward Institute, and vice president of Victorian Order of Nurses. Mr. Robertson is president of the firm of Farquhar Robertson, Limited, and director of Merchants Bank of Canada, Montreal Transportation Company, Canada Cement Company and the Prudential Trust Company. He was president of the Montreal Board of Trade in 1909, and it was largely due to his efforts during his term of office, that a change in civic administration took place, to a board of commissioners.

Mr. Robertson represented St. Andrew’s ward in the Montreal city council for six years and was the council’s representative on the Protestant board of school commissioners for the same period.

Mr. Robertson married Miss Flora Craig, daughter of the late James Craig, M. P. P., Glengarry. They reside at No. 30 Ontario Avenue, Montreal. They are Presbyterians in religion.

While not an office seeker in politics (in which he is a conservative), in the usually accepted sense of the term, he is deeply interested in all that pertains to the public welfare, and the present government thought fit to appoint him as one of the present harbor commission.

Mr. Robertson is president of the St. Andrew’s Society of Montreal. He is well known in club circles, being a member of St. James, Montreal, Montreal Hunt and Outremont Golf Clubs, and life member of The Caledonian Society and Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. His recreation is devoted to curling and farming.

JOHN ALLAN.

John Allan was a splendid example of what industry and determination will accomplish for a man. Born in Strathmiglo, Scotland, on the 28th of November, 1863, a son of David and Christian (Roy) Allan, he became one of the successful merchants of Montreal, dealing in clothing, hats, caps and men’s furnishings. He was educated in the schools of his native country and when eighteen years of age crossed the Atlantic to Canada, making his way to Montreal, where he entered the employ of Henry Morgan & Company. After some time spent with that house he joined his brother, Robert Allan, who was engaged in the bottling of ginger ale. Subsequently he embarked in business on his own account on Craig Street in a small way, having a limited line of clothing, hats, caps and men’s furnishings. He closely applied himself to the development of the trade and in that connection steadily worked his way upward, his patronage increasing as the years went by until he won a substantial measure of success. He was truly a self-made man, having been both the architect and builder of his own fortunes and his record proved what may be accomplished when determination and energy point out the way.

Mr. Allan was married in Cupar, Scotland, in 1894, to Maria Isabella Hood, a native of that place and a daughter of Robert and Agnes (Moncrief) Hood, and they became parents of five children: John Roy, Agnes Isabelle, Robert Bruce, Douglas Hood and Malcolm Moncrief. Mr. Allan enjoyed curling as a recreation and his more serious interests were represented in membership in the Masonic fraternity and in Knox church. He was a member of the Young Men’s Christian Association for many years and took a deep interest in its affairs. His death occurred January 11, 1912, and thus was ended a life of activity and usefulness. He had made good use of his time and opportunities and had proved that prosperity and an honored name may be gained simultaneously.

REV. JOSEPH LEONIDAS DESJARDINS.

Rev. Joseph Léonidas Desjardins, secretary general of Laval University at Montreal since September 14, 1907, was born at Ste. Thérèse, in the county of Terrebonne, on the 27th of November, 1880, a son of Joseph and Odile (Boileau) Desjardins, the former of whom followed agricultural pursuits. The son pursued his early studies in the Seminary of Ste. Thérèse and in the Grand Seminary of Montreal. His determination to prepare for the priesthood, followed by a thorough course of study, led to his ordination by Monsignor P. La Rocque on the 3d of July, 1904. His time and energies have ever since been devoted to educational service save for a period which he devoted to further study. Following his ordination he became a professor in the Seminary of Ste. Thérèse, where he remained during 1904 and 1905. The following year he went abroad for further study in Rome, where he remained from 1905 until 1907, winning the degree of Doctor of Theology. Following his return to the new world he entered again upon active connection with educational interests as secretary general of Laval University at Montreal, being appointed to his present position on the 14th of September, 1907. In his life work mental and moral instruction go hand in hand, and his efforts constitute an important element not only in the upbuilding of character among individual students but also in the extension of Catholic teachings and influence.

HIRSCH COHEN.

Hirsch Cohen, most actively identified with the educational and moral progress of the Jewish people in Montreal, may point with justifiable pride to various schools and synagogues which have been established through his instrumentality. A Russian by birth, his natal day was in April, 1863, his parents being Hircom and Sarah Cohen, both of whom have now passed away, the latter dying in 1896 and the former in 1911 at a ripe old age, being over ninety years old. Liberal educational advantages constituted the foundation for the important and far-reaching life work of Hirsch Cohen who was educated in a Hebrew college in Russia. The year 1890 witnessed his arrival in Montreal, since which time he has been active in promoting work among the people of his own faith. He has established eight synagogues, including one in Lachine and one in the city of Quebec. At that period the people of his faith could not stand the regular tithing system and there were only a few small synagogues to carry on the work among the Hebrew people. Prosperity, however, has come to many and a fair degree of success to others and as they have prospered they have contributed to the work of intellectual and moral progress with a result that there are today a number of large congregations and various smaller ones, each an active force in promoting the moral development of the Hebrew people. Mr. Cohen has been a leader in this work and he is also a director on the school board of the Baron de Hirsch Institute. For the past seven years he has been acting as chaplain for the Jewish prisoners in the province of Quebec. He is chairman of various Hebrew schools in the city and has been practically the founder of them all and in the meantime has established places of study where adult Hebrews can acquaint themselves with various lines of knowledge. He has founded three different synagogues in Montreal since his arrival and another important branch of his work has been the care which he has given to newcomers during the periods of largest immigrations to Canada among the Hebrew people. Moreover, he has taken a most active and helpful part in bringing about the amalgamation of the charitable institutions of the Jewish people into a coordinate whole. He has seemed to neglect no line of effort that contributes to the welfare of people of his faith. It was through his instrumentality that all Jewish slaughter houses were brought under the required supervision. He was one of those who took part in the organization of the Free Loan Association, and he was one who aided in establishing the Jewish Daily Eagle, to the columns of which he makes frequent and welcome contributions. He is one of the officers in the Zionist movement and one of the officers in the Association of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada, in which he is also a member of the executive committee.

Mr. Cohen’s first wife was Miss Sarah First, whom he married in 1888, and their children were Mrs. Annie Presnau, Mary, Julius, Ethel, Goldie and Lazarus. In 1913 he married Leah Nochumofsky. It would be difficult to determine how important has been the life work of Hirsch Cohen, for there is no standard whereby to judge influence, especially when it is exerted along lines of intellectual and moral progress. His worth, however, is widely recognized, not only by those of his own faith, but also by the Gentiles who respect him as a man and honor him for his loyalty to his belief and for his great work in behalf of his cause.

HARRY BLOOMFIELD.

A prominent representative of the Jewish element in the citizenship of Montreal is Harry Bloomfield, a partner in the well known wholesale jewelry firm of Bloomfield Brothers. He is largely regarded as a representative business man, enterprising, progressive, alert and energetic. He was born in Montreal in 1879, a son of Baruch Bloomfield, a scholar and educator who for many years resided in Montreal and enjoyed the respect of all who knew him. It was in the schools of this city that Harry Bloomfield pursued his education and after entering business circles he traveled for the American Clock Company of New York for five and a half years, in which he gained much valuable experience concerning business methods and procedure. On the expiration of that period he entered the employ of the Canadian jewelry house of Pinfort & Company, whom he represented upon the road as a traveling salesman for another period of five and a half years. All during this time he was ambitious to engage in business on his own account, and in 1904 he saw the realization of his hopes, for in that year he was the organizer of the firm of Bloomfield Brothers, wholesale jewelers. Through the intervening period the business has steadily grown and developed under the careful guidance and management of its proprietors who are energetic, progressive young men, realizing and utilizing their opportunities. They carry a large and carefully selected line of jewelry, and their trade is growing year by year, having already reached extensive and profitable proportions.

On the 7th of June, 1905, Mr. Bloomfield was united in marriage to Miss Sadie Davies, a daughter of Morton Davies of New York, and their children are Bernard, Louis, Dorothy and Florence. Mr. Bloomfield has been somewhat active in connection with civic affairs. He was made justice of the peace for the city and district of Montreal, October 12, 1904, and he was twice a candidate in St. Lawrence ward in conservative interests as M. P. P.

He is identified with a number of social and fraternal organizations, for beside being president of the Independent Voters League he is a director of the Baron de Hirsch Institute, a director of the Hebrew Sheltering Home, a director of the Montefiore Club and president of the D’Israeli Conservative Club. At the time of the ritual murder charge against Mendel Beiliss six judges were appointed by the Jewish citizens to forward a protest to the governor general and Mr. Bloomfield was appointed as one of the judges. He is a high type of young Jewish manhood in Montreal and is rapidly winning for himself an enviable position in business circles.

JOHN BRADFORD MCCONNELL, M. D., D. C. L.