A Cyclopædia of Canadian Biography Brief biographies of persons distinguished in the professional, military and political life, and the commerce and industry of Canada, in the twentieth century

Part 35

Chapter 353,762 wordsPublic domain

=Carson, Hugh=, is one of Ottawa’s most successful merchants and his firm—Hugh Carson Company, Limited—has a successful branch at Brandon, Manitoba. Starting out in 1886, at Shelburne, Ontario, as a harness-maker, in 1890 he went to Ottawa and became connected with the well known firm of S. & H. Borbridge, Trunk and Harness Manufacturers, Rideau St. Three years later, in 1893, he went into business for himself and established a large trade. In 1900 he was burned out, but in 1904, having secured his present commodious premises, corner Elgin and Queen Sts., he opened up on a larger scale than ever and the business has grown to such vast dimensions that orders from all over Canada, and, since the war began, from Europe, have compelled the engagement of hundreds of extra hands to cope with the situation. Mr. Carson is President and Managing Director of the Hugh Carson Company, Limited, Manufacturers of Harness, Trunks and Valises, 47 Elgin St., Ottawa, and a director of the following companies: Ottawa Dairy Company; Ottawa Bakeries, Limited; Laurentian Realty Company, Limited; Canada Turpentine, Limited; and Ottawa Cartage Company, Limited. He was born at Orangeville, Ontario, February 8, 1868, and is the son of Gilbert and Ellen (Little) Carson. For years he was Quartermaster of the 5th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards and is now Captain. He has been prominent in all kinds of sports and has been a leading figure in rowing, yachting, lacrosse, curling and hockey contests. Mr. Carson is a member of the Laurentian, the Ottawa Hunt, Rivermead Golf, Jovial Fish and Game and Ottawa Motor Boat Clubs. From 1890 to 1898 he was captain of the Capital Lacrosse Club, which held the championship for that period. Mr. Carson attends the Presbyterian Church. His residence is 324 Cooper Street, Ottawa.

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=Woods, Lieutenant-Colonel James W.= (Ottawa, Ont.). Born at Kildare, Que., April 10th, 1863, son of Russel Woods, a successful farmer and lumberman, whose ancestors were from Kildare, Ireland, and Anne J. (Davis) Woods, of Canadian parentage, she being born at Longueuil, Montreal. Educated at private schools and Montreal College. At an early age entered service of Rankin, Beattie & Co., Montreal, later served with A. W. Ogilvie & Company, three years; next associated himself with Hodgson, Summer & Co., Montreal. Established business on his own account, 1895, and by his own effort and ability has built up the largest and most successful contractors’ and lumbermen’s supply house in Canada. This progressive concern, now known as Woods Mfg. Co., occupies a large factory, covering many acres, at Hull, Que. Besides constructing this plant he is also the builder of and owner of the Woods Building, now occupied by the Government and housing the Militia Department, also the Canadian building adjoining the same, as well as the Roxborough Apartments building. All of these splendid structures are of stone and modern in every respect. Woods Ltd., and Smart-Bag were merged as Smart-Woods Limited (the name being changed in 1918 to Woods Mfg. Co., Ltd.) with Colonel Woods as President, Jan. 1, 1913, with factories at Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Ottawa. Mr. Woods is one of the most active and progressive manufacturers, and a most substantial public-spirited and patriotic citizen of the Dominion of Canada. Is Vice-President, Canadian Manufacturers Association; President, Ashbury College, Rockliffe; and numerous other corporations. President, Ottawa Board of Trade, 1907-8, and was active in promoting the welfare of Ottawa. Chairman of Citizens’ Committee of Finance that raised a fund of $200,000 for the Y. M. C. A. of Ottawa, and one of the most active members of that body. President, Carleton General Protestant Hospital; President, Woods Mfg. Co., Ltd., largest contractors and Lumbermen’s Supply House in Canada; President, Imperial Realty Co.; President, Ottawa Uplands, Ltd.; President, Elgin Realty Co.; President, Empire Cotton Mills, Ltd., Welland; Lieut.-Colonel of Governor-General’s Foot Guards. Was elected an honorary member of famous Guards’ Club, London, England, during the time—1909, 1910—he was attached to the Coldstream Guards, England’s most exclusive military body. Is permanent Chairman of Finance of the Earl Grey Musical and Dramatic Competition, which is held in various parts of the Dominion for the purpose of promoting the higher forms of musical and dramatic art. Is a great lover of art, and has in his collection at Kildare House, Ottawa, examples of most of the Barbazon and Dutch schools of art—such men as Corot, Jacques, Daumier, Mauve, Israels, L’Hermith, Harupignies, etc. Married Ida E. Edwards, daughter of John C. Edwards, Ottawa, Oct. 18, 1893, and has three sons and two daughters. The eldest son, Captain J. R. Woods, was the first colonial to secure a commission in the household Brigade. He was killed in action in the Great War in the battle of the Somme on the 16th of September, 1916, receiving honorable mention in the despatches and made a captain on the field before he was twenty-one years of age. Captain Woods went through many notable engagements and was on active service for nineteen months before he met his death so gallantly on the field. Lieutenant-Colonel Woods belongs to the following Clubs: Ottawa Hunt (was its first president, H.R.H. The Duke of Connaught being Honorary President); Rideau Club; Country Club; Mount Royal (Montreal); Toronto (Toronto); Manitoba (Winnipeg); York Club, Toronto; Windham, London (Eng.); and numerous others. He is Vice-President of the Red Cross; President of the British Sailors’ Relief Fund and President of Finance of the Patriotic Fund. He is a member of the Church of England and Independent in politics. His principal recreations are golf, fishing and riding. He has a beautiful summer residence known as “Kildare Lodge,” St. Patrick, on the lower St. Lawrence.

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=Harrison, Nathaniel Isles=, Principal Willis Business College, 139½ Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario, was born in Pembroke, Ont., July 13, 1877. He is the son of John and Margaret (Isles) Harrison, and was educated at the Public and High Schools in Pembroke and Renfrew Model School. He taught school in Renfrew County from 1896 to 1898, when he engaged in the lumber business in the Ottawa Valley, where he remained until 1902. In 1903 he accepted a position as teacher in Willis Business College, and left in 1904 to become Chief Accountant for J. Oliver & Sons, Ottawa’s extensive furniture manufacturers. In 1906 he went to British Columbia and became Secretary and Business Manager of the Cranbrook Electric Light Company, Limited; the Water Supply Company, Limited, and the Kootenay Telephone Lines, Limited, resigning from office in 1910, he branched out as auditor, Accountant and liquidator on his own account, at which he remained until 1912, when he returned to Ottawa. In June, 1913, he purchased the Willis Business College, of which he is now President. On January 20, 1908, Mr. Harrison married Helena Scott, daughter of David Scott, Merrickville, Ontario. He has one son and two daughters. He is a member of the Canadian Club, Glebe Curling Club and Kiwanis Club, the Business Men’s Club, and of the A.F. & A.M. society. In religion he is a Methodist. He is an ardent canoeist. His recreations are hunting, fishing, curling, canoeing. His address is 131 Sunnyside Avenue, Ottawa.

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=Berthiaume, Arthur= (Montreal), one of the best known of French-Canadian publicists and who holds the position of President and Managing Director of “La Presse,” the most widely circulated newspaper published in Canada in either the French or English language, was born in Montreal on April 10, 1874. He is the son of the Hon. Treffle and Hermina (Gadbois) Berthiaume. He was educated at the Ste. Hyacinthe Seminary, St. Laurent College and Laval University, where he graduated with the usual degrees. His father designed him for the Bar and he read law with Beaudin, Cardinal & Loranger of Montreal. He was called to the Bar of the province of Quebec in 1906 and for a time practised his profession as a member of the firm of Beaulieu & Berthiaume. At the same time he has been connected with “La Presse,” of which Hon. Treffle Berthiaume was President, his connection having begun in 1900 when the property changed ownership. In 1906 the subject of this sketch was appointed General Manager of the newspaper, and in 1915 on the death of his father succeeded to the Presidency, abandoning the practice of law to devote his whole attention to “La Presse.” Great as was its position and influence previously these factors have been greatly extended under his fostering care. Not only is it the most widely circulated and influential of French language newspapers in Canada but it has a very wide following among the many French-Canadians settled in the New England States. These fields combined give “La Presse” the premier position in the Canadian newspaper field in the matter of circulation. The wise and moderate conduct of its columns also give its editorial utterances great weight with all classes of the community. In politics Mr. Berthiaume is an Independent and in religion a Roman Catholic. He is a well known social figure in Montreal and is a member of the following clubs: St. Denis, Chapleau, National, Athletique Canadien, Automobile (Director) and Engineers. On September 2, 1902, he married Blanche, daughter of Nazaire Bourgoin, Montreal and has three sons and one daughter. His residence is at 197 St. Catherine Road, Outremont, Montreal.

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=Galbraith, Walter Stuart, M.D., C.M.= (Lethbridge), one of the most prominent physicians of Alberta, was born at Guelph, Ont., August 1, 1866, the son of the late Francis William and Jane Elizabeth Galbraith. The father was a well known merchant of that city, and Dr. Galbraith was educated at the Public and High Schools of Guelph, and went to Alberta in 1891. Subsequently he entered McGill University, Montreal, from which he graduated with the above degrees in 1899. He at once commenced practise in Lethbridge as a member of the firm of Mewburn & Galbraith, but since 1907 has practised alone and includes among his many professional activities those of surgeon of the Galt mines. His high standing among his fellow practitioners was signalized by his election as President of the Council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta in 1917; and he has been a Senator of the University of Alberta since the incorporation of that institution. Dr. Galbraith has also played a prominent part in municipal affairs, was Mayor of Lethbridge in 1907, and has been a member of the Public School Board for nine years, holding the post of Chairman in 1912. He is President of the Bow River Collieries, Ltd., and a Director of the British Canadian Trust Co., Ltd. In religion he is a Methodist, and is a supporter of Union government; is a member of the A.F. & A.M. and the Canadian Order of Foresters. He also belongs to the Chinook Club, Lethbridge, and his recreation is motoring. On August 6, 1901, he married Matilda S., daughter of Oliver Gallinger, a farmer of Mediva, Ont., and has four children, Ruth Eleanor, Francis Oliver, Jean Alexandra and Aileen Stuart (deceased).

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=Laidlaw, Lorne Nelson=, Barrister, Medicine Hat, Alberta, was born at Kitchener (then Berlin), Ont., on February 6, 1882, and his parents subsequently moving to Manitoba, he was educated at Brandon Collegiate Institute and Brandon College. He was called to the Manitoba Bar 1908, and practised at Brandon, 1908-10. In 1911 he went to Medicine Hat and formed the legal firm of Laidlaw & Branchard. Both as a lawyer and a business man he quickly achieved a prominent place in the community and in 1914 was elected President of the Medicine Hat Board of Trade. In religion he is a Presbyterian and in politics a Liberal; is a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Cypress Club, Medicine Hat. His recreations are motoring and shooting. On December 7, 1910, he married May, the daughter of the late Robert Hall, of Brandon, and has two children.

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=Wilson, Henry George Wilberforce, K.C.= (Indian Head, Sask.), Barrister and Solicitor, was born at Arnprior, Ont., on March 31, 1873, the son of George and Mary Cecilia Wilson. His father was a merchant, and he was educated at Almonte High School, and later qualified for the law at Osgoode Hall, Toronto, where he graduated in 1897. He first practised at Renfrew, Ont., as a member of the firm of Craig and Wilson, but went to Indian Head, Saskatchewan, in 1900, where he not only engaged in his own profession but took up farming on an extensive scale. He is in fact one of the great agricultural leaders of his province, for he owns and personally farms 2,060 acres in the Indian Head district. These interests have not prevented him from building up a large legal practice. He was appointed King’s Counsel on December 31, 1913, is solicitor for the Town of Indian Head, and also for the rural municipality of the same name; solicitor for the Bank of Montreal and the Union Trust Co., Ltd., and also a member of the High School Board of his town. He belongs to the Masonic Order, to the Indian Head and Union Clubs, Indian Head, and the Assiniboia Club, Regina. His chief recreation is motoring. In religion he is a Presbyterian, and in politics a Liberal. On June 21, 1910, he married Elizabeth Cameron, daughter of Mr. A. H. Edwards, lumber merchant, of Carleton Place, Ont.

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=Baskerville, William Joseph=, is the son of George Baskerville by his wife, Mary McDonnell, and was born at Townland, Ballyrushen, Tipperary, Ireland, October 2nd, 1843. His father was the son of Benjamin Baskerville, who was descended from an old Norman family which settled in Ireland about the time of William the Conqueror, in 1066. The family records were unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1858 and included a great deal of matter that would have been of interest to the public. His father, George Baskerville adopted the calling of a farmer in Ireland, but in 1847 concluded to come to Canada. In the summer of that year he landed in Bytown, now Ottawa, and engaged in the trading and grocery business. In the fire of 1858 they lost all their household effects, as well as whatever savings they had accumulated, and having no insurance, the family had to start anew in life, and at the time of their father’s death, in 1875, they were again in comfortable circumstances. Their mother died in 1867. They had nine of a family. The subject of this sketch, William Joseph Baskerville, was the fifth son. He received his early education in the common schools, and later at Ottawa College, now the University of Ottawa. In 1870 he formed a partnership with his brothers, Patrick and George, under the firm name and style of P. Baskerville & Bros., carrying on a retail grocery and liquor business until the year 1880, when they discontinued the retail, and carried on a wholesale business only. The business was carried on until the year 1904, when his two brothers having predeceased him, he retired. Since that he has been engaged in real estate, stocks, and bonds and building operations. In the year 1880, although still a partner in the firm of P. Baskerville & Bros., he engaged in the contracting business, along with James O’Connor and Patrick Cassidy. They were the successful bidders for the Locks at Saint Anne’s de Bellevue, which work they completed in 1884. He was always a keen admirer of good sport, particularly lacrosse, and was a Director of the Capital Lacrosse Club from 1892, the year of their amalgamation with the Ottawas, until 1898. He was also a Director of the Capital Athletic Association until 1901. He is a shareholder in the Ottawa Electric Railway, the Ottawa Car Company, Rideau Townsite Company, Nipissing Mining Company, Mining Corporation of Canada, the Bytown and Aylmer Union Company, the Northern Life Insurance Company, the Moose Jaw Electric Railway, the Southern Canada Power Company, Ltd., the Canada Cement Company, the Rosemont Realty Company, the British Columbia Permanent Loan, and is director of the Ottawa Electric Light Company, the Moose Jaw Electric Railway, the Rideau Townsite Company and the Rosemont Realty Company. Mr. Baskerville is a Roman Catholic, and in politics a Liberal-Conservative. He resides at 236 Stewart Street, cor. Stewart and Chapel Streets, Ottawa, Ontario.

=Godfrey, Oswald Julius= (Indian Head, Sask.), Chartered Accountant, was born at Sedbergh, Yorks, England, on October 7, 1875, the son of Robert and Margaret Godfrey. His great-grandfather was Julius Cæsar Ibbetson, a leading painter of the latter years of the eighteenth century, and his grandfather was Rev. Isaac Green, known to annalists as the closest friend of the family whose most celebrated member was Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poet. His father was a civil engineer by profession and he was educated at King Edward the Sixth’s School at Birmingham, England, and later had a thorough training in all branches of accountancy. He came to Canada in 1903, locating first at Qu’Appelle, Sask., and later founded the firm now known as Godfrey, Heathcote & Nicholl, Chartered Accountants, with offices at Indian Head, Medicine Hat and Prince Albert. Mr. Godfrey is known as an expert throughout Canada, and was President of the Dominion Association of Chartered Accountants, 1915-16, and of the Saskatchewan Institute of Chartered Accountants 1912-13-14. He was also President of the Saskatchewan Union of Municipalities for three years, 1915-16-17. On the practice and theory of his profession Mr. Godfrey has written many important treatises. His published work, “Municipal Finance and Accounting” has been especially valuable as a text book for the guidance of the growing municipalities of the West. His recreations are cricket, motoring and gardening, and he is a member of the Canada Club, Regina, and the Union Club, Indian Head. He is a member of the A.F. & A.M., and in religion an Anglican. On July 17, 1905, he married Cecile Maud, daughter of Robert Challoner, Warwick, England, and is the father of three boys and two girls.

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=Wright, George= (Toronto), is one of the most widely known of Canadians, not merely in the hotel trade, with which he is especially identified, but in business circles generally. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, November 19, 1866, the son of William Wright of Barrhead and Elizabeth (McFayden) Wright of Islay, Scotland, and educated in the public schools of his native city. At the age of 12 he joined the British Navy, and at 19 entered the merchant marine as an ordinary seaman, serving on various seas. He came to Canada from Japan in 1887, settling at Vancouver, which remained his headquarters for six years, during which he served as steward with the C.P.R. Coast and Hotel Service. In 1893 he went to Winnipeg and was there engaged with the C.P.R., first in the news department and later with the dining car service until 1900. From 1901 to 1904 he was in charge of the C.P.R. dining station service at Brandon, Man., which he developed to a high point of efficiency; and also conducted hotels on his own account at Macleod, Alta., and Oak Lake, Man. In 1904 he purchased the Hotel Brunswick, Winnipeg, which he conducted for nearly two years; and in 1905 purchased the Walker House, Toronto, which has ever since been one of his properties. Later he acquired a large interest in the Grand Union Hotel, Toronto, and changed its name to the Carls-Rite. Mr. Wright in addition to conducting the Walker House is Secretary-Treasurer of the Hotel Carls-Rite Co., Ltd.; President of Wright-Carroll Investments, Ltd., and Vice-President of Carroll-Wilson, Ltd., Edmonton, Alta. In the last week of December, 1918, he was elected Vice-President of the American and Canadian Hotel Keepers Association of the United States and Canada for the fourth consecutive year. He is also a director of the Peterson Lake Mining Co., Ltd. Mr. Wright has of late years taken an active part in public affairs. He was the promoter of the First Municipal Year Book in Toronto. When in July of 1918 several hundred of the civic employees of Toronto went on strike he was appointed by the Ontario Government one of the Royal Commission to inquire into the grievances and settle the dispute, and was largely effective in reaching an amicable solution of the difficulty. He also served as a member of the Canada Food Board from 1917 until the close of the war, and was able, because of his great practical experience, to render the cause of food conservation signal service. In 1918 he was appointed a Member of the Hydro-Electric Commission, a most important executive office. He is a Conservative in politics and a Presbyterian in religion, and belongs to the following organizations: Canadian Red Cross (life member), Overseas Club (life), Navy League (life), St. Andrew’s Society (life), Caledonia Society (life), Y.M.C.A., Board of Trade, Scarboro Golf, Toronto Swimming Club (life), and Caer Howell Bowling Club (life). On March 3, 1897, he married Jessie Oswald, daughter of George Motion of Nelson, B.C., and has two children, Oswald George, and Jessie Ellen.

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=Mackie, George D.=, City Commissioner (Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan), was born at Perth, Scotland, on March 8, 1878, son of James and Jane Mackie. Educated at the Perth Academy and the Glasgow Technical College, Scotland, where he had a distinguished career, obtaining several degrees. Mr. Mackie was married on September 3, 1902, to the daughter of John Carnegie, of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is the father of two children, Douglas and Victor. Prior to coming to Canada, he was Engineer at Crieff, Scotland, 1900-05; Water Works Engineer of Clydebank Water Trust, Scotland, 1905-09; The Galt Engineering Company of Winnipeg, 1910-12; City Engineer at Swift Current, Saskatchewan, 1913-14, when he assumed his present position of City Commissioner of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Mr. Mackie is a Presbyterian in religion, and a member of the Prairie Club of Moose Jaw.

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=Payne, Francis Freeman= (Nelson, B.C.), one of the best known newspaper men of British Columbia, is a native of Worcestershire, England, where he was born November 8, 1888, the son of E. R. and Helen Freeman Payne. He was educated privately and at Bromyard Residential School, and as a very young man decided to come to America, finally settling in the growing centre of Nelson, B.C., and later becoming manager of the “Daily News,” the leading publication of that town, which serves a widely extended territory. Mr. Payne is widely popular in his district and a keen, progressive young journalist. On August 2, 1910, he married Ruby Virginia, daughter of Mr. J. Irving, San Francisco, Cal.

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