Part 73

The identification of the Allan family with the shipping interests of the St. Lawrence dated back to about 1825, when Captain Alexander Allan sailed up the river in the brig Favorite from Glasgow. There were no wharves then. The vessel was assisted up the St. Mary’s current by oxen. The cargo was discharged on the beach, over long planks.

Sir Hugh Allan was the second son of Captain Alexander, and was born September 29, 1810, in Saltcoats, County Ayr, Scotland. Sir Hugh Allan was in his sixteenth year, when on the 12th of April, 1826, he sailed from Greenock for Montreal on the brig Favorite, commanded by his father, and on which his eldest brother was second officer. They arrived in Montreal on the 21st of May. Hugh Allan entered the employ of William Kerr & Company, and afterward travelled for some time in the United States. He then visited Scotland and a year later returned to Montreal, where he secured a position with J. Millar & Company, shipbuilders and shippers. So excellent was his service in that connection that after four years he was admitted to partnership and following the death of Mr. Millar in 1838 the business was conducted by the firm of Edmonstone & Allan, ship agents, shipbuilders, importers and general merchants. In 1846, Andrew Allan, a younger brother of Hugh’s, was taken into the firm. It owned a fleet of fast sailing vessels of about 350 tons register, full-rigged ships which, with ice-blocks round their bows, pushed their way through the ice, so that sometimes they would arrive in port on the 15th of April. In 1853 Hugh Allan, who was a man of great tenacity of purpose, and at the same time of remarkable foresight, saw that the time had come for the building of iron ships for the St. Lawrence trade. Besides, there was the consideration that they would run to Portland in the winter time, and connect with Montreal by rail. He enlisted the support of several wealthy men, including William Dow and Robert Anderson, of Montreal, and formed the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company. The Canadian and Indian were the first two boats built by the company. The boats cost about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars each and had a speed of eleven knots. They were wonders at the time and made a great impression, as the people had not been accustomed to see iron ships.

It happened that about this time the Crimean war broke out, and the government was at its wits’ end to provide transports. The Allans went into the business and while the war lasted made large profits.

The first ocean steamship, the Genova, reached Quebec in 1853 and proceeded to Montreal, where there was great rejoicing. She was an iron boat of eight hundred tons and was succeeded by the Cleopatra and the Sarah Sands. Newer and larger vessels were built in the succeeding year and what was deemed experimental at the start became fixed features of the new navigation, which was dangerous, owing to so many sunken reefs in the St. Lawrence and the poor lighting of the river. The Canadian government made a contract with Hugh Allan for carrying the mails, paying an annual subsidy of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. The Anglo-Saxon, a new boat, ran from Quebec to Liverpool in nine days on one occasion. This was thought to be wonderful, as the people had been accustomed to a voyage of forty days on the old sailing vessels. At that time the grain carrying charge was thirty cents per bushel.

The requirements of the service in 1858 demanded more accommodation, and the Allan brothers determined on a weekly service. Larger and faster boats were introduced. The government paid subsidies to the new service totaling four hundred and sixteen thousand dollars per annum. Year by year the Allans launched new boats, always bigger and faster, though speed was never the chief consideration with the company. In 1861 they had a fleet of over twenty vessels, but a sinister fortune befell the company in the first ten years of its existence. Eight ships were lost in as many years. The Indian, the Hungarian, a second Canadian, the North Briton, the Anglo-Saxon, the Norwegian, the Bohemian, all became total wrecks. The river was badly lighted, the tides did not run true, the pilots were incompetent and the compass deviated owing to some strange local attraction due, it was said, to mineral deposits in the gulf. Anyway, disaster followed disaster, and, as was said at the time, any other man than Mr. Allan would have given up in despair. But that gentleman had something of the firmness of his native granite in his composition and he never wavered. Difficulties in time were overcome, the Allans began to prosper and from this on their boats were singularly free from accidents.

To show, however, how little even the most perspicacious can see in advance of their time, it may be stated that at the banquet which the citizens tendered Hugh Allan in 1850, he said that ships of one thousand seven hundred tons were the most suitable for the Montreal trade. He lived to see his boats grow to five thousand five hundred tons. The line prospered; the number of boats was constantly increased to meet the need; the Northwest was opened up; and the Allan boats brought in many thousands of immigrants. The building of the Parisian in 1881 was supposed to be about the last word in shipbuilding. She was far in advance of anything to be seen on the route. Today she is, by comparison with the leviathans of the route, almost as antique as the old Favorite was when steamships came in.

As prosperity came to him in one direction, Sir Hugh Allan extended his efforts into other fields. He not only kept abreast with the times but was ever in the vanguard of progress. He became president of the Montreal Telegraph Company, of the Canadian Navigation Company, the Merchants Bank of Canada, and the Lake Memphremagog Navigation Company. He was also interested in mining as president of the Mulgrave Gold Mining Company and his activities extended to the presidency of the Montreal Warehousing Company, the Vermont & Canada Marble Company, and many other business enterprises of importance. Indeed, no citizen of Canada has deserved popular recognition in larger measure than Sir Hugh, and Queen Victoria acknowledged the value of his service to his country by knighting him with her own hand in 1871.

In 1877 he decided to associate his name with the Canadian Pacific Railway enterprise. He, in fact, formed the first syndicate to build it. The fall of the Macdonald government defeated his plan.

On the 13th of September, 1844, Sir Hugh was married to Miss Matilda Smith, the second daughter of John Smith, one of the leading merchants of Montreal. They became parents of nine daughters and four sons. Sir Hugh died in Edinburgh while on a visit to Scotland on the 9th of December, 1882, having passed the seventy-second milestone on life’s journey. His remains were brought to Montreal in one of his own vessels, and laid to rest in Mount Royal cemetery. Well merited encomiums were passed upon him and high honors awaited him during his active life. He was one who pushed forward the wheels of progress. Looking into the future he saw something of the greatness in store for Canada and became a factor in the fulfillment of the progress which he believed possible for a country having the natural advantages here offered. He builded perhaps even better than he knew, for his work continues today, remaining an important element in Canada’s enterprise, activity and greatness.

FREDERICK CLEVELAND MORGAN.

Frederick Cleveland Morgan, merchant, is one of Montreal’s native sons, his father being James Morgan. Liberal educational opportunitiess were afforded him and after pursuing his education at Cambridge, where he won the Bachelor of Arts degree, he continued his studies in McGill University, which conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. Throughout his business career he has been identified with commercial interests and is now a member of the firm of Henry Morgan & Company, Limited, proprietors of the Colonial House Department Store, which is one of the largest and best establishments of its character in the city.

In March, 1906, Mr. Morgan was married to Miss Elizabeth Marcia Shaw, the eldest daughter of C. Thaxter Shaw, of Montreal. They occupy an attractive home at No. 308 Peel Street. Mr. Morgan is a member of the University Club, Racquet Club, Forest and Stream, the Mount Royal Lawn Tennis, Arts Club, Art Association and Antiquarian and Numismatic Society. Mr. Morgan’s interest lies more in art and literature than in business affairs. He was the first secretary of the Arts Club, Limited, formed in 1913 for the purpose of encouraging art and literature.

HON. SIMEON BEAUDIN, K. C.

Hon. Simeon Beaudin, puisne judge of the superior court of the province of Quebec, took to his judicial duties an excellent record as a lawyer whose ability had won for him a foremost position among the strong and forceful members of the Montreal bar, where he had been a successful practitioner for more than one-third of a century.

He was born at St. Isidore, P. Q., September 12, 1855, and comes from one of the oldest families in the province.

He supplemented his early educational privileges by a course of study in Montreal College and in 1878 was called to the bar. He immediately entered upon active practice, forming a partnership with Messrs. Loranger & Loranger, in whose office he had previously studied. One of the partners was raised to the bench and on the death of the other Mr. Beaudin succeeded to the business of the firm. His partnership relations extended until he became the senior member of the well known law firm of Beaudin, Loranger, St. Germain & Guerin. His practice was of an extensive and important character. He argued the St. Blase parish and other cases before the judicial committee of the privy council of England, and was acknowledged as a leader of the French-Canadian bar. For many years he was a member of the bar council. In 1889 he was created Q. C. by the Earl of Derby. He was batonnier of the Montreal bar in 1902 and later batonnier-general. His close conformity to the highest standards of his profession and his devotion to his clients’ interests gave to him a standing that was an honor to his profession. He was elected an honorary member of La Chambre de Commerce of Montreal in 1902 and in 1904 he became one of the incorporators of the La Presse Publishing Company. He was also one of the promoters of Lafontaine Club and he likewise belongs to Club Canadien and Pointe Claire Golf Club.

Judge Beaudin has always given his political allegiance to the conservative party. He unsuccessfully contested Laprairie-Napierville for the house of commons at the general election in 1908.

For some years previous to his assuming judicial duties in 1912, he had been frequently referred to by the press and profession as a most competent man for the bench, and of him the Montreal Witness said: “He ranks high in his profession, his thorough legal sense, knowledge of the law and extensive experience qualifying him for early judicial preferment.”

In 1883 Mr. Beaudin was united in marriage to Miss Mary Norris, a daughter of John Norris, of Montreal, and they reside at No. 44 Bishop Street. In religious faith Mr. Beaudin is a Roman Catholic. In all matters of citizenship pertaining to the material, intellectual, political and moral progress of the community he is deeply interested, but after all he regards the law as his real life work.

SIR WILLIAM HALES HINGSTON, KT., M. D.

Sir William Hales Hingston, Kt., M. D., whose professional activities constituted valuable contributions to the world’s work, his ability winning him wide recognition and high honors from various scientific bodies, was born at Hinchinbrooke, province of Quebec, June 29, 1829, a son of the late Lieutenant Colonel S. J. Hingston, of His Majesty’s One Hundredth Regiment. He was a representative of a distinguished Irish family, closely related to the Cotters of Cork, the Latouches of Dublin and the Hales. He supplemented his early education, acquired in a local academy, by study in St. Sulpice, now Montreal College, and having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he prepared for his chosen calling by a course in McGill University, which he completed with the class of 1851. He further carried on his investigation, study and research abroad, obtaining a diploma in the Royal College of Surgery at Edinburgh in 1852, and subsequently obtaining diplomas in France, Prussia, Austria and Bavaria. He was the first Canadian to whom was accorded the honor of membership in the Imperial Leopold Academy at Vienna.

Dr. Hingston entered upon the active work of his profession in Montreal and continued an eminent member of the profession to the time of his death, winning notable renown in surgery. His ability along that line constantly developed. He possessed the steady hand and the cool nerve of the surgeon and his professional skill gained him rank with the most prominent representatives of the profession on the American continent. For many years he was surgeon in the Hotel Dieu Hospital, where he gave clinical instructions in surgery. He was also governor of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and at one time was its president. He was honored with election as a first secretary of the Canadian Medical Association, and later was called to its presidency.

He was the organizer of the first board of health in the Dominion, and his efforts in behalf of sanitary interests were far reaching and beneficial. Not only did he display marked skill in surgery, but also eminent ability as an educator, and upon the organization of Bishop’s College Medical School was chosen professor of surgery and clinical surgery, and became dean of the faculty, but at length was forced to sever his connections with that institution, owing to the many other demands made upon his time and services. He never refused to respond to a call for professional aid if he could possibly meet it, and it would be difficult to name a physician and surgeon of Canada whose labors have reached out beneficially to a larger number of people. When, during an epidemic of smallpox, a local board of health was organized, Dr. Hingston was made its chairman, and he also became chairman of the provincial board of health, when in 1885 the province was again being visited by that calamity. He was an energetic advocate of vaccination.

It was but natural that a man of his ability and position should have written much upon professional topics. He was a valuable contributor to the medical literature of his day, one of his most important publications being his “Climate of Canada and its Relation to Life and Health,” published in 1885. Competent authority pronounced this “the fullest work, which has appeared on the subject and apart from its economic and ethnological value, is, from its pleasing style, delightful to read.” Scientific bodies conferred high honors upon Dr. Hingston and in addition, he was elected an honorary member of different state boards of medicine and by many state medical societies in the United States. When the British Association for the Advancement of Science visited Canada some years ago, he was chosen vice president and not long afterward was elected an honorary member of the British Medical Association.

His professional activity would alone entitle him to wide distinction, yet he was active in other fields and in connection with the public affairs of the country.

He became president of the Montreal City & District Savings Bank, and also vice president of the City Passenger Railway Company. In 1875 Montreal elected him its mayor, and he served one term, when he declined renomination. For coolness and judgment, which he displayed during the Guibord affair in Montreal, he received the thanks of the Earl of Dufferin, then governor general of Canada. Bishop’s College University at Lennoxville conferred upon him the honorary degree of D. C. L., while Victoria University of Toronto gave him the honorary degree of LL. D. He was made vice president of the Montreal branch of the St. John’s Ambulance Association and in 1875 was appointed a commander of the Roman Order of St. Gregory. Twenty years later, or on the 24th of May, 1895, he was knighted by Her Majesty, the late Queen Victoria, and he was called to the senate of Canada by the Earl of Aberdeen, January 2, 1896. His political allegiance was given to the conservative party, and his study of vital questions and issues of the day brought about the familiarity of Canadian politics, which enabled him to discuss such subjects with those to whom such study was a life work.

In 1875 Dr. Hingston was married to Miss Margaret Josephine Macdonald, a daughter of the late Hon. D. A. Macdonald, at one time lieutenant governor of Ontario. Her mother was Katherine, the second daughter of the late Hon. Colonel Alexander Fraser of Frasersfield, Ontario. Lady Hingston was educated in Montreal and has been very prominent in charitable and benevolent work. She is a member of the Ladies Committee L’Institute des Ecoles Menageres, vice president of the Needlework Guild, honorary president of the Loyola Literary Club; prominently identified with the local League for the Prevention of Tuberculosis; formerly president of the Woman’s Park Protective Association; etc., and was elected president of the Catholic Girls’ Club of Montreal (an association largely founded by her), in 1911.

Sir William Hingston was a member of the Roman Catholic church to which Lady Hingston also belongs. He passed away on February 19, 1907, but there lives in the minds of those who knew him and of the professional world at large, the memory of distinguished service for the benefit of his fellowmen, in the path of his chosen profession. A keen intellect, splendidly developed, was brought to bear upon complex medical and surgical problems and the result of deep thought, wise research and careful investigation, made his contribution to the world’s work of the utmost benefit.