Part 46

Mr. Bagg had been ailing for several months, but the call came unexpectedly and he died July 22, 1912, at Kennebunk Port, Maine, where he was spending the summer, as was his custom. In his passing Montreal lost one of its foremost citizens, a most prominent representative of one of the old English families, and a man of distinction to whom opportunity meant activity, and who in all of his business and social relations maintained a position that reflected credit and honor upon an honored family name. His life was not self-centered but reached out along broadening lines for the benefit of his fellowmen and of his city, where the family has so long been well known in the best social circles.

Mr. Bagg was married in 1882 to Miss Clara Smithers, a daughter of the late Charles F. Smithers, president of the Bank of Montreal, and to them were born three children, Evelyn St. Claire Stanley, Gwendolen Katherine Stanley and Harold Stanley.

Evelyn St. Claire Stanley Bagg was married on the 26th of October, 1910, to Huntly Ward Davis, an architect of Montreal, and they have one daughter, Evelyn Clare Ward Davis, who is of the fifth generation of the family in Canada.

SERAPHIN OUIMET.

Seraphin Ouimet, member of the civil engineering firm of Ouimet & Lesage, connected with important municipal and railroad work in Montreal and in various other sections of the province and Dominion, was born October 8, 1879, in Ste. Rose, in the county of Laval, P. Q. The earliest record of the Ouimet family in this province is of Jean Ouimet, who was born in 1634 and died on the 19th of November, 1687, at Ste. Famille. He married Renee Gagnon about 1660 and their son, Louis Ouimet, who was one of nine children, was married February 3, 1693, at Ste. Famille to Marie Anne Genest, by whom he had thirteen children. Anselme Ouimet, father of Seraphin Ouimet, was born at St. François de Sales, about 1840 and married Emelie Gauthier, who was born in Montreal about 1850. Their son, Seraphin Ouimet, attended school in his native town of Ste. Rose and afterward pursued a classical course at Ste. Thérèse in the county of Terrebonne, where he remained for seven years and was leader of his class, and where he gained his B. C. es Lettres. Later he became a student in the Polytechnic school at Laval. He passed his examination with distinction, graduating June 10, 1904, with the degree of B. C. es Sciences. He next engaged with the dominion government as superintendent of Marconi stations on the Gulf, having charge of five stations. He continued in that position for one season and was appointed assistant engineer of the Georgian Bay Ship Canal survey. After four months in that position he was promoted to first assistant and two months later to chief. He continued for eighteen months in that capacity, rendering efficient, capable and acceptable service until, desiring to engage in the private practice of his profession, he opened an office in Montreal. He passed his examination as Quebec land surveyor on June 17, 1908, before the board of the Quebec Land Surveyors Association. For a year he was associated with James H. Parent, at the close of which time he entered into partnership with Royal Lesage and has since continued under the firm name of Ouimet & Lesage. Their clientage has steadily increased in the interim and their work today extends largely over the province, including many contracts for municipal engineering and railroad work. They have been connected with the building of a branch of the Transcontinental, extending from Montreal and have acted as experts for municipal civil engineering projects in connection with important work for electric and other companies. They employ over twenty men, and the business is one of growing importance. Mr. Ouimet is recognized as a clever, energetic and successful representative of his profession, widely known and highly respected. His ability, close study and developing powers have gained him wider and wider recognition until he stands today as one of the able representatives of the profession in Montreal.

DUNCAN CAMPBELL MACCALLUM, M. D., M. R. C. S.

Distinguished honors came to Duncan Campbell MacCallum, M. D., in recognition of his marked ability as a medical practitioner, educator and author. He was in the vanguard of those men to whom science revealed in considerable measure her secrets, his wide research and investigation giving him place with the most eminent of the Canadians connected with the medical profession. He was a fellow of the Obstetrical Society of London, a foundation fellow of the British Gynecological Society and professor emeritus of McGill University. He was born at Ile aux Noix, in the province of Quebec, on the 12th of November, 1825, and died November 13, 1904. He came of pure Scotch ancestry, his parents being John and Mary (Campbell) MacCallum. His maternal grandfather, Malcolm Campbell, of Killin, was a near kinsman, through Lochiel Cameron, of the Earl of Breadalbane.

Dr. MacCallum’s early professional training was received in McGill University, from which he was graduated M. D. in 1850. He then proceeded to Great Britain and studied in London, Edinburgh and Dublin, pursuing post-graduate courses in all three cities. Upon examination he was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons in England in 1851 and his preliminary training was so thorough and comprehensive as to place him beyond the point of mediocrity even at the outset of his professional career. Returning to Montreal, he entered upon active practice in this city and almost immediately became known, as well, as an able educator and writer upon medical topics. He was appointed demonstrator of anatomy in McGill in 1854 and was connected with the faculty of medicine until his death. In 1856 he was appointed to the chair of clinical surgery and in November, 1860, was transferred to the chair of clinical medicine and medical jurisprudence, occupying that position until April, 1868, when he was appointed professor of midwifery and the diseases of women and children. He retained that professorship until 1883, when he resigned, at which time the governors of the university made him professor emeritus, so that he retained his precedence in the university, in which he had continued as a professor for almost thirty years.

The active work of the profession aside from private practice was carried on by Dr. MacCallum as visiting physician to the Montreal General Hospital from 1856 until 1877, when, after twenty-one years’ service, he resigned and by vote of the governors was placed on the consulting staff of the hospital. From 1868 until 1883 he had charge of the Lying-in Hospital and for fourteen years was physician to the Hervey Institute for Children. His writings gained him almost a world-wide reputation. He contributed articles to the British American Medical and Surgical Journals, to the Canada Medical Journal and the Transactions of the Obstetrical Society of London, England. In 1854 he was associated with Dr. William Wright in establishing and editing the Medical Chronicle, which paper remained in existence for six years. Dr. MacCallum was vice president for Canada of the section of obstetrics in the Ninth International Medical Congress, which was held at Washington, D. C., in September, 1887. His eminent ability and broad learning made him looked upon as a leader in the ranks of the medical profession on the American continent and also gained him recognition abroad, so that he was elected to fellowship in the Obstetrical Society of London and was chosen to become one of the foundation fellows of the British Gynecological Society. On the 1st of March, 1855, he was appointed assistant surgeon of the Sixth Battalion of Montreal Militia and on the 15th of February, 1856, was appointed surgeon to the same.

In October, 1867, Dr. MacCallum was united in marriage to Miss Marie Josephine Guy, the second daughter of Hon. Hippolyte Guy, judge of the superior court of lower Canada and a representative of ancestry, honorable and distinguished. The children born to Dr. and Mrs. MacCallum were: Marie Josephine, who married Professor Thomas A. Starkey of McGill University, of whom there is mention in these volumes and by whom she has one son, Hugh Starkey; Esther Melina; Marianne, who married Edward Desbarats, of Montreal, and has seven children--Edward, Duncan, Josephine, Henry, Lucy Anne, Cecile and Henri; Flora Victoria, who married de Les Derniers Shepherd, of Montreal; and Duncan Guy, who won the degree of M. D. at McGill University in 1907 and is now a medical practitioner of Sherbrooke, Quebec.

The life work of Dr. MacCallum was one of signal service and benefit to mankind and his name deserves to be enrolled with those of the benefactors of the race.

JOSEPH ALEXANDRE BONIN.

Joseph Alexandre Bonin, one of the prominent and successful barristers of Montreal, where he practices as a member of the firm of Taillon, Bonin & Morin, was born in D’Autray, Lanoraie, province of Quebec, a son of the late J. B. Bonin. In the acquirement of an education he attended Joliette College and was called to the bar as advocate in 1874, being made king’s counsel in 1893. He has been for many years in the successful practice of his profession in Montreal, where the firm of Taillon, Bonin & Morin is regarded as one of the strongest in the city, connected through an extensive and representative clientele with a great deal of notable litigation. Mr. Bonin’s wide experience and successful practice have secured for him a large following, and his comprehensive knowledge of legal principles has made him very successful in the conduct of cases intrusted to his care. His mind is incisive, analytical and deductive and his powers have been developed through the years, until today he is one of the most able and prominent barristers in the city where he makes his home.

Mr. Bonin married a daughter of the late J. L. Leprohon, M. D., vice consul for Spain in Montreal, and Mr. and Mrs. Bonin are well known in social circles of this city. Mr. Bonin is a member of the Roman Catholic church and is a conservative in his political beliefs, taking an intelligent and public-spirited interest in municipal growth and advancement. He has gained prominence and distinction in a profession where advancement depends entirely upon superior merit and ability and stands among the barristers whose work is important as an element in the legal history of this province.

GUY FAMILY.

The Guy family is one of the oldest and most prominent in Montreal. Pierre Guy, the first of the name to settle in Canada, joined the French army under M. de Vaudreuil and rose rapidly through intermediate positions to the rank of captain. He participated in the engagements which occurred with frequency between the French in Quebec and the English in Massachusetts and New York and he died at the age of forty-eight years. His son, a namesake, Pierre Guy, Jr., was educated in France and also joined the French army in Canada, serving under General Montcalm in the French and Indian war. He participated in the battles of Caillion, Montmorency and the battle on the Plains of Abraham. When the power of France in Canada was set at naught, he with others left for France, where he remained until 1764. He then returned to Canada and accepted a business situation in Montreal, becoming a loyal subject of Great Britain. Soon afterward when General Montgomery invaded Canada he took up arms for the defence of the country which so exasperated the Americans that they sacked his stores after the capitulation of the city. In 1776 he received from the Crown the appointment of judge and in 1782 became a colonel of militia. He was also active in founding the college of St. Raphael and was thus prominently identified with the military, commercial and educational interests of the province of Quebec. He received from the Crown a large land grant in Montreal in that part of the city known as Bourgoyne and he it was who gave Nuns Island to the nuns and he also gave one-half of Viger Square to the city. At one time he conducted a large business as a fur trader between Montreal and France. His activities were so important and his ability so pronounced that he was a recognized leader in the different fields in which his labors and efforts were put forth.

Pierre Guy, Jr., died in the year 1812, leaving several sons and daughters. Of these Louis Guy, who by the death of his father became the oldest representative of the family, was made a councillor by King William in February, 1831, and died in 1840. Guy Street in Montreal was so called in his honor.

He had six children: Emily, who married Lieutenant Colonel De Salaberry; Caroline, who became the wife of Joseph Baby; Henry, who was a colonel in the British army; Hippolyte; Joseph, who was a lawyer of Montreal; and Adine, who married Mr. Pemberton of Quebec.

Judge Hippolyte Guy, judge of the superior court of Lower Canada, and the second son of Louis Guy, married Marianne Esther Nelson, a daughter of James Frederick Nelson and his wife Mary Ann Adelaide Regnault, the adopted daughter of Chief Justice Vallieres of Three Rivers, P. Q. Judge Guy died April 19, 1860. Unto him and his wife were born three daughters and a son. Marie Louise, the eldest, became the wife of Hon. Chief Justice Austin, of Nassau and they had three children: Barry, Gloucester and Charlotte, now Lady Napier. Marie Josephine married Dr. Duncan Campbell MacCallum, of whom there is made mention on another page of this work. Marie Ann became the wife of Alex de Lusignan by whom she had two children, Guy de Lusignan and Esther de Lusignan. She afterward married Gustave Fabre and by him has one daughter, Terese, the wife of Mr. L’Africanne. Pierre, the youngest in the family, died at the age of four years.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL ALFRED EUGENE DAMASE LABELLE.

Few men occupy a more enviable position in business and military circles than Lieutenant Colonel Alfred E. D. Labelle. He has been termed “the beau ideal of a soldier,” and his position as one of the captains of industry in Montreal none question. Montreal claims him as a native son. He was born August 23, 1866, his parents being Hospice L. and Leocadie (Masson) Labelle, the former a grain inspector of Montreal. The son was a student in Bishop’s Academy and in a commercial school of his native city, his training in that institution fitting him for the responsibilities which came upon him after he entered business circles in 1883 in the employ of the late W. W. Ogilvie, the miller king. He remained in that connection until the business was merged into the Ogilvie Flour Mills Company, Limited, in 1897, at which time he became sales manager for Montreal, so remaining until his retirement from active connection with the business in 1910. In that year he became managing director of the St. Lawrence Flour Mills Company, of which he was one of the principal promoters and as such he stands today as one of the leading representatives of the productive industries of the province, bending his energies to constructive direction and executive control of a business that has already reached mammoth proportions.

He has active connection and voice in the management of many organizations looking to the betterment of trade and commercial relations. He is a member of the Montreal Harbor board, the Montreal Board of Trade, was president of the Chambre de Commerce, and is vice president of the Montreal Industrial Exhibition Association and the Montreal Vehicular Traffic Association. He is also connected with movements touching the general interests of society outside the strict field of business, being councillor of the Red Cross Society and of the Boy Scout movement. His military career is perhaps even more brilliant than his business record. He has been long connected with the volunteer militia service, having joined the Sixty-fifth Regiment as a private in 1882. He was advanced through various ranks until he became lieutenant colonel, commanding in 1897 and in 1902 his name was placed upon the list of retired officers. Subsequently he commanded the Seventh Infantry Brigade, was appointed a second time to the command of the Sixty-fifth Regiment in March, 1907, and is now in command of the Twelfth Infantry Brigade. He served in the Northwest rebellion in 1885 and was one of its medallists. He was on the staff of the Victoria Jubilee contingent in London, England, in 1897, when he was again accorded a medal. He commanded the troops sent to Valleyfield, P. Q., during the trade riots in 1900, and he commanded the Canadian Bisley team in 1908. In the previous year he received a long service decoration and became actively connected with military training in 1896 as president of the Montreal Military Institute. He was likewise president of the Montreal Amalgamated Rifle Association in 1901-2. The Montreal Witness speaks of him as a “splendid officer, popular and respected by all.”

Colonel Labelle was married in 1900 to Amelie Sicotte, the second daughter of the late Hon. L. W. Sicotte. Colonel Labelle is a Roman Catholic in religious faith and a conservative in political belief. His club relations are with the leading organizations of that character in Montreal, including the St. James Club, Club Lafontaine, Club Canadien, the Military Institute and Club St. Denis. The analytical trend of his mind readily enables him to understand the various factors which enter into the successful control of military interests and of business affairs. He has ever followed the broad policy of building up rather than of destroying and in all of his commercial interests has employed constructive measures, never sacrificing interests of others to corporation gain. While in military circles he is a strict disciplinarian, he has at the same time, those qualities which win personal popularity and respect among subordinates and the expressions of praise again and again heard from those who have served under him show that he is justly entitled to be termed “the beau ideal of a soldier.”

DUNCAN LIVINGSTONE MACDOUGALL.

Duncan Livingstone MacDougall, a merchant of Montreal for many years and an active church man, whose life was one of broad usefulness as well as of material success, was born in Kendelton, Scotland, in 1848, a son of Archibald L. MacDougall, who in the year 1861 established his home in Montreal. He married Agnes Livingstone, a cousin of the great explorer and missionary who was the first man to penetrate into the heart of Africa. Mr. and Mrs. MacDougall became the parents of two sons, Duncan L. and John, and a daughter, Mrs. Robert Logie.

Duncan L. MacDougall was a youth of thirteen years when the family crossed the Atlantic to Canada. His education was acquired in the schools of Scotland and of Montreal and he crossed the threshold of business life as bookkeeper for Cochran, Cassills & Company, boot and shoe merchants, in whose employ he was continually advanced in recognition of his merit and capability until eventually he was admitted to partnership, continuing a member of the firm to the time of his death. He devoted his undivided attention to the interests of the business and became an active factor in guiding its affairs. He possessed in large measure that quality which for want of a better term has been called commercial sense, seeming to recognize almost intuitively the points and propositions of business that led toward prosperity.

Mr. MacDougall was married in Montreal in 1872 to Miss Margaret B. Patterson, a daughter of William Patterson, who came to Canada from Edinburgh, Scotland, at an early day and was a veterinary surgeon of the city to the time of his death. His wife bore the maiden name of Isabella S. Dunnett. Mrs. MacDougall by her marriage became the mother of three sons and two daughters, Archibald Lorne, Alice Maud, William Percival, Edith Margaret and Duncan Livingstone.

Mr. MacDougall was a member of the Metropolitan Club and was a very active worker in the American Presbyterian church cooperating in various lines of church work and contributing generously to its support. His life was actuated by high and honorable principles, that found expression in noble deeds and helpfulness toward those who needed assistance.