Part 58

Mr. Mullin is connected with the Masonic fraternity and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is active in the affairs of the local branches of both organizations. Mr. Mullin has done valiant service in the ranks of the liberal party. He has always been an enthusiastic supporter of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and ready to respond to his party’s call at any time. In the city where practically his entire active life has been passed his signal ability has gained him the respect of his professional brethren, while his constant courtesy and sterling qualities of character command everywhere high honor and regard.

J. A. ST. JULIEN, K. C.

J. A. St. Julien, K. C., was a member of the prominent and well known law firm of St. Julien & Theberge, having offices at No. 60 Notre Dame Street East. During the years of his connection with the Montreal bar he attained an enviable place in the practice of his profession.

Mr. St. Julien was a native son of Montreal, born in 1855. Liberal educational opportunities qualified him for important professional service. His early studies were supplemented by a course in the Montreal College, Laval University and in McGill University and from the last named institution he was graduated with the degree of B. C. L. He entered upon the active practice of his chosen profession in 1882 and was continuously before the courts from that time until his death. His ability was pronounced for he was ever a careful and discriminating student of the principles of law and was accurate in the application thereof. His devotion to his clients’ interests was proverbial, yet he never forgot that he owed a still higher allegiance to the majesty of the law, and neither the zeal of an advocate nor the pleasure of success permitted him to disregard this. His political allegiance was given to the liberal party, but he was never an aspirant for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his professional interests and perform his public service as a private citizen. His death occurred May 4, 1914, and was deeply regretted by all who knew him. In his demise Montreal lost one of her foremost representatives of the legal profession and a citizen who was always loyal to his city.

HON. CHARLES LAURENDEAU.

Hon. Charles Laurendeau, chief city attorney, the head of the city’s legal department, is one of the able members of the legal profession in Montreal. The Hon. Mr. Laurendeau belongs to one of the oldest families in the province of Quebec. He was born at St. Barthelemy, in 1865, and was educated at L’Assomption College and Laval University. In the latter institution he pursued the study of law and was graduated with the LL. B. degree in 1892.

In the same year he began practice as an advocate, and rapidly won a foremost position among his colleagues until his ability and power to successfully cope with the intricate and involved problems of jurisprudence became widely known.

He was at one time associated in practice with Justice Fortin, subsequently becoming the head of the law firm of Laurendeau, Pelletier & Pelletier. He was created king’s counsel in 1906, and on July 6, 1910, was honored with the appointment of puisne judge of the superior court of the province of Quebec.

Advancement at the bar is proverbially slow and yet he has progressed step by step, putting his knowledge to the practical test in his application of legal principles to the points at issue, in which connection he is seldom at fault.

Judge Laurendeau resigned his position on the bench, to accept the far more arduous one of city attorney, to which he was appointed October 26, 1913.

Judge Laurendeau is married to Miss Georgina Beaudet, the eldest daughter of G. J. Beaudet, of Coteau-du-Lac, P. Q. Judge and Mrs. Laurendeau hold membership in the Catholic church. The hospitality of their attractive home is enjoyed by many friends, and Judge Laurendeau is well known and honored among his professional colleagues by reason of his strict conformity to the highest ethics of the law.

WILL. H. WHYTE.

Will. H. Whyte, prominent and successful in the insurance profession and an eminent representative of Masonry in Canada, was born in Montreal, March 15, 1850, the eldest son of the late James Whyte of “The Greenlaw,” Paisley, Scotland, and Annie Gray (Shanks) Whyte, whose girlhood home was at Berwick on Tweed.

Will. H. Whyte became a student at the Montreal Collegiate school and entered business circles in connection with the wholesale dry-goods house of Ogilvy & Company. The steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible and his course has been marked by a continuous advance along lines of constantly broadening activity and usefulness. For six years he was business manager of the Montreal Herald when the Hon. Peter Mitchell was the principal owner and president. Since 1897 his attention has been given to the insurance business, and his constantly expanding powers have brought him into prominent relations with the profession. He is now secretary-treasurer and underwriter of the Royal Marine Insurance Company of Montreal.

His business connections alone would entitle him to distinction, yet he has, perhaps, an even wider acquaintance through his Masonic associations. Indeed, few Canadian Masons are better known throughout the Masonic world. He was initiated in Prince Consort Lodge, No. 52, and was installed worshipful master in December, 1876. He was elected to a number of important offices in the grand lodge and became grand secretary of the grand lodge of Quebec in January, 1902. He has passed through the various branches of Royal Arch Masonry and was grand first principal Z. of the grand chapter of Quebec, holding the office for the years 1888-9. He has held the office of grand scribe E. from 1893. He received the Cryptic degrees and has been illustrious grand master of the grand council of the maritime provinces. He was knighted as a Knight Templar in 1882 and was supreme grand master in 1895 and 1896 of the sovereign great priory of Canada and has been grand chancellor since 1897. He was the second Knight Templar to be elected an honorary member of the grand encampment, K. T., of the United States at the triennial conclave in Chicago in 1910. He is a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine and of the Royal Order of Scotland. The many important offices he has held, as well as his reviews and historical sketches have brought him very prominently before the Masonic craft for many years.

In former years Mr. Whyte was an active athlete and supporter of amateur athletics. He was one of the founders and is the historian of the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. He has also served as one of its directors. He was likewise president of the Montreal Lacrosse Club in 1885-6; was vice president and secretary for six years of the Montreal Snowshoe Club; is one of the oldest members of the Dominion Commercial Travelers’ Association; is a life member of the Caledonian Society; a member of St. Andrew’s Society; and of the Board of Trade of Montreal.

On the 3d of January, 1882, Mr. Whyte married Almeda Garratt, a daughter of the late Captain Robert Nelson Garratt of Kingston, Ontario, a representative of one of the families longest connected with the history of the city of Kingston. They are members of the American Presbyterian church, and they delight in dispensing the hospitality of their home at No. 4290 Western Avenue, Westmount.

JAMES PATON.

James Paton, a well known citizen of Montreal, died November 17, 1905. He was born in this city in 1853, a son of Laird Paton, a distinguished citizen of Montreal, who was at the head of the firm of Laird Paton & Sons, contractors.

It was to that business that James Paton turned his attention, when his school days were over, joining his father and acquainting himself with every phase of the business in which he was destined to win substantial success. The firm of Laird Paton & Sons took high rank among the contractors of the city and erected many of Montreal’s best buildings. James Paton was capable of watching and directing the slightest detail as well as the most important features of his business and could turn with equal energy and enthusiasm to sporting events. In a word, he had the power of concentrating his entire energy upon the interest of the moment and it was this that gained him prominence along each line. Whenever the name of James Paton was seen in connection with any sport, it was a guarantee that it was clean and honest and he rendered great service to the city in the promotion of amateur sports. He belonged to the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and was one of the moving spirits in the development of that organization and in the efforts which eventually lead to the securing of the present handsome quarters of the organization on Peel Street. He was also instrumental in securing the establishment of its swimming-pool and he belonged to the Montreal and Caledonian Curling Clubs, was always ready to take an active part in the water carnivals, and was a favorite of the membership in the different organizations with which he was identified. He found pleasure and manifested marked proficiency in ice-boating and tobogganing. He loved sailing and seemed a born sailor, displaying great ability in managing his craft and taking part in many sailing contests of note.

Mr. Paton married Miss Annie M. Thompson of Ottawa and they had four children. He was but fifty-two years of age at the time of his death. He possessed in a large measure the quality of camaraderie and his friends were legion so that his death was deeply regretted outside the immediate family circle.

RICHEMONT LE MOYNE DE MARTIGNY.

Richemont Le Moyne de Martigny, for many years engaged in the real-estate business in Montreal, was born at Varennes, Quebec, September 25, 1852, and is descended from a distinguished French family that was founded in Canada in 1654. Of the three brothers who first crossed the Atlantic to the new world Charles became governor of Montreal, Jacques established himself at Varennes and was a farmer and active participant in the early Indian wars, while Pierre proceeded westward to what is now Detroit.

Prime de Martigny, father of Richemont Le Moyne de Martigny, was a farmer at Varennes, well known in both military and official connections, serving as colonel of the militia and mayor of Varennes. He married Charlotte Perreault, of Quebec, and their sons were: Prime, a physician of Omaha, Nebraska; Richemont Le Moyne; and Alexander, chief engineer of the Ottawa River Navigation Company.

The second son was educated at L’Assomption College and studied law with La Coste & Globesky, of Montreal. In 1881 he was admitted to the bar and practiced his profession until 1885, when he devoted himself to the real-estate business, in which he has since been successfully engaged. It is generally conceded that he is one of the best informed men on real estate in the entire province. He is an expert valuator of property, and his knowledge of the real-estate market embraces every important piece of property that is offered for sale. A spirit of enterprise characterizes all of his business dealings and, guiding his activities, has brought him to a position of distinction and success.

In 1880 Mr. de Martigny was married, in L’Assomption, to Marie Louise Levesque, and they have one daughter, Jacqueline. Mr. de Martigny is a conservative in politics and in religious faith is a Roman Catholic. He has ever been fond of outdoor life, is an enthusiastic fisherman and spends much of his leisure in engaging in that sport.

HON. NAPOLEON CHARBONNEAU, K. C.

Hon. Napoleon Charbonneau, K. C., and a puisne judge of the superior court of the province of Quebec since 1903, was admitted to the bar in 1879 and in the intervening period has made continuous progress in his profession until he is today one of the leaders of the provincial bar. He was born at Cote des Neiges, Quebec, on the 12th of February, 1853, his parents being Augustin and Julienne (Dufort) Charbonneau. In the acquirement of his education he attended Montreal College and after thorough preparation for the bar was admitted to practice in 1879 and entered upon the active work of the profession in Montreal. At one time he was a partner of the late Senator Trudel and of the Hon. L. O. Taillon. He has successfully pleaded before the judicial committee of the privy council, and on the 11th of March, 1903, he was made a puisne judge, remaining continuously upon the bench to the present time. The Montreal Standard speaks of him as “a judge of uncommon perspicacity, thoroughly sound in his law and swift in his perception of relevant facts and issues; there are not two opinions as to his ability.”