Part 20

=Riddell, Hon. William Renwick= (Toronto, Ont.), Justice of the Supreme Court of Ontario, descended from the family of “Riddell of that Ilk,” a son of the late Walter and Mary Renwick Riddell; born in Township of Hamilton, County of Northumberland, April 6, 1852. Educated Cobourg Collegiate Institute and Victoria University; B.A. (1874), Prizeman in Chemistry and Mathematics, B.Sc. (1876), LL.B. (1878), L.H.D. (Syracuse University), J.U.D. (Trinity University, Hartford), LL.D. University of Toronto, McMaster, Lafayette, Northwestern, Wesleyan, Rochester and Yale Universities; graduated at Law School, Osgoode Hall. (Gold Medal and first in all examinations); called to the bar 1883, elected Bencher Law Society of Upper Canada 1891, re-elected until 1906, created a King’s Counsel 1904. Successfully practised at Cobourg and Toronto, and on removal to Ontario’s capital, enjoyed large counsel practice, civil and criminal; was retained during Toronto Municipal Investigation in 1904. Before taking up the study of the law was Mathematical Master of the Normal School, Ottawa, and afterwards Chairman of the Cobourg Collegiate Institute; President, Educational Society, Eastern Ont.; Pres., Alumni Association Victoria University, and member of the Board of Regents. Senator of Toronto University; a Governor, Western Hospital, Toronto. In October, 1906, the subject of this sketch was appointed one of the Judges of His Majesty’s Supreme Court for the Province of Ontario, (the last to be appointed to the King’s Bench Division), a position which he has since occupied with great distinction. His judgments are models of beautiful diction, in which the exposition of the law is clear and illuminating, while his grasp of the facts makes for that clarity of deduction which always characterizes his Lordship’s deliverances. Mr. Justice Riddell has been a generous contributor to various American and Canadian magazines and law journals, and the author of “The Canadian and American Constitutions.” As a lecturer he is recognized as possessing high gifts; his ripe erudition and polished style making his addresses of more than passing interest. During the past few years, among the addresses delivered and magazine articles contributed by His Lordship may be mentioned: The Dodge Lectures, Yale University; Robert Fleming Gourlay; La Rochefoucauld’s Travels in Canada, 1795; The First Judge at Detroit and His Court. Since the outbreak of the war Mr. Justice Riddell has taken a deep interest in recruiting and everything tending to forward the cause of the Allies and has given very largely of his time and great ability, presiding at many meetings and speaking at others in the interest of recruiting. A member of the Toronto, York, and Rosedale Golf Clubs. Mr. Justice Riddell finds recreation in the study of Canadian History, upon which he is an authority. He is Honorary Member of the Bar Associations of the States of Georgia, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and New York, and of the Lawyers’ Clubs of Buffalo and New York; he is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Royal Historical Society. He is a Freemason, a Presbyterian, and was formerly a Liberal. Married, March 5, 1884, Anna Hester Kirsop Crossen, youngest daughter of the late James Crossen and Margaret Hayden Crossen, of “Cedar Hedge,” Cobourg.

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=Paisley, Jas. K.= (Ottawa). One of the best known and highly respected citizens in the Capital of the Dominion and in many other parts of Canada, both east and west, is the subject of this sketch. Following in his father’s footsteps, who owned and successfully ran a popular hotel in Orangeville, at an early age he became, and for years remained, cashier of the well known hostelry—the Walker House, Toronto. His experiences in that popular public resort and his popularity prompted aspirations and ambitions which caused him to launch out in enterprises of his own, and he soon became proprietor of several of the best hotels in the principal cities and summer resorts in Canada. In 1902 he was one of the owners of the New Royal in Hamilton where business success and increased patronage prompted the owners to remodel it in 1907. He took management of the Penetanguishene Hotel at Penetang and made it one of the attractive features of the place. He reached out and got management of the Sans Souci at Moon River, the Belvidere in Parry Sound, the Iroquois Hotel in Toronto, the Victoria Hotel at Aylmer, Quebec, the Grand Union, Ottawa, and, with the late Daniel O’Connor, built the Temagami Inn at Temagami, Ontario. In each and all these ventures success and popularity followed in his train and created for him unstinted fame as an enterprising, progressive and popular hotel proprietor and manager. And while so actively engaged in the hotel business Mr. Paisley, being an enthusiastic lover of the horse, found time to give to that noble animal the most assiduous care and attention, and much of his time for years was devoted to the purchase, the raising, and the training of some of the finest saddle, harness and trotting steeds to be found in any part of Canada. They established, for their owner, on many a race track and at many a horse show enviable records. His Sealskin Joe was one of those that won distinction on the Winnipeg racecourse many years ago. Later his saddle horse, Jardie, was accorded the admiration of all. Shortly after his arrival in Ottawa, where he first established himself as proprietor of the Grand Union Hotel, he became interested in such affairs—public, charitable, patriotic and social—as had for their goal the prosperity of the city and the happiness and betterment of its people, and his many years activity in these lines are well marked in the memory of thousands. Mr. Paisley, never allowing his enthusiasm for the horse to die, took a keen interest in, and became one of the original members of, the Ottawa Hunt Club; was Treasurer of the Horse Show while it exhibited here; became Chairman of the Construction Committee that built the Connaught Park Jockey Club Track, and is now a director and one of the Management Committee of the Connaught Park Jockey Club. For years Mr. Paisley has been a Director of the Central Canada Exhibition Association, and held the office of Vice-President, and for a considerable time was Chairman of the Special Attraction Committee. In 1915, owing to the resignation of Mr. Edward McMahon, who had held the position of Manager and Secretary of the Central Canada Exhibition Association for over twenty years, and to replace whose efficient management the Association had to select a competent and reliable successor, Mr. James K. Paisley was chosen, with the result that up to date the fair has been an increased success financially and in attendance. In his management of the Exhibition’s affairs he carries with him a geniality and a business acumen that attracts, establishes confidence, and produces good results. When the Great War broke out, Mr. Paisley’s son, familiarly known as “Pep” Paisley, who had graduated from McGill as an architect, enlisted with A. Battery, R.C.H.A., as a gunner and was soon, owing to meritorious conduct at the front, promoted to a Lieutenancy. His valor and good work at the firing line received much praise from his superior officers. Mr. James K. Paisley is the son of John Paisley and Mrs. M. J. Kenniston of Orangeville, Ontario. He was born in 1858 and was educated in Orangeville High School and Rockwood Academy. In 1888 he married Minnie Bairdsall Harris, daughter of the late Isaac Harris. He has one son and two daughters. His recreations are sports of any kind. He is an active member of the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and the Foresters, and an executive member of the Hotelmen’s Mutual Benefit Association of America and Canada, Ex-President of the Ontario Hotel Keepers’ Association, and Ex-President of the Ottawa Hotelmen’s Association. In religion he is a Protestant, English Church. In politics a Conservative, and his address is Kenniston Apartments, Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

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=Cowan, William Frederick, The Late=, who died on October 28, 1918, at his home in Oshawa, Ont., was long one of the noted industrial and financial leaders of Ontario. He was born in 1832, at Fintona, County Tyrone, Ireland, the son of Thomas and Charlotte Cowan. In 1841, his parents having decided to remove to Canada, he made with them the long sailing and overland voyage to Toronto, the journey occupying some months. Shortly after the family’s arrival the father died and the mother of the subject of this sketch was left with five young children. She managed, however, to give her boys a good education at Boyd’s Academy, Bay St., Toronto (conducted by the father of the late Chancellor Sir John Boyd) and one of the pioneer educational institutions of Toronto. On leaving school, W. F. Cowan first found employment with “The Colonist,” a newspaper founded by Sir Francis Hincks, an eminent statesman of the mid-nineteenth century. Subsequently he entered the employ of Alexander Laurie & Co., dry goods merchants, at the south-west corner of King and Yonge Sts., Toronto. Later he served with Walter McFarland & Co., dry goods merchants, on Market Square, King St. East, Toronto, then the heart of the retail district. In 1856 he and his brother John founded a dry goods business of their own, at the south-west corner of Yonge and Richmond Sts., Toronto. In 1862 he removed to Oshawa, establishing a large general store, and with a branch at Prince Albert some twenty miles north of the town. A few years later he acquired an interest in the A. S. Whiting Mfg. Co. of Cedar Dale, manufacturers of scythes, forks, hoes, etc., the firm becoming Messrs. Whiting & Cowan. Largely through Mr. Cowan’s modern methods of business organization, the wares of this firm became known throughout America; and Mr. Cowan was also successful in developing a large market for them in Great Britain. In 1872, in conjunction with Messrs. Wood & Winterbourne, of Albany, N.Y., he founded the Ontario Malleable Iron Co., of which Mr. D. S. Wood was the first president, and on his death was succeeded by Mr. Cowan’s elder brother John. On the latter’s death Mr. W. F. Cowan succeeded to the Presidency. He had been a director of the company since its inception. He was largely instrumental in making Oshawa one of the leading industrial centres of the province. In 1893 he established Fittings, Ltd., of Oshawa, of which he was also President at the time of his death. Altogether his interests furnished steady employment to about 1,000 citizens of the town, of which he was recognized as the industrial leader. Mr. Cowan’s financial interests were even more widely extended. In 1875 he became Vice-President of the newly formed Standard Bank of Canada, and in 1883, on the death of the President, the well-known capitalist, Hon. T. N. Gibbs, succeeded to that office, in which he continued until his demise, making weekly journeys to Toronto to attend meetings of the board until within a few days of his death. In 1886, in company with Mr. T. H. McMillan, he also established the Western Bank of Canada, which, after twenty-six years of

## active life, was amalgamated with the Standard Bank in 1912. Though

often pressed to enter Federal and Provincial politics, he contented himself solely with municipal service and held the post of Reeve of Oshawa, and of Mayor, after its incorporation as a town, for some years. He was a steadfast adherent of the Anglican Church in religion, and a Conservative in politics. In 1864 he married Susan, daughter of the late John Groves, a well-known citizen of Toronto. On his death he left one son, Mr. Frederick W. Cowan, of Oshawa, who succeeds to his interests, and one grandson, Major R. C. Cowan, who has been overseas for the past three years.

[Illustration: HON. W. L. MACKENZIE KING, C.M.G. Ottawa]

=Reid, Frank= (Simcoe, Ont.), Barrister and Solicitor, was born at Vittoria, Norfolk County, February 22, 1862, the son of the late Archibald Reid, a cabinet maker, and Elspit Shand. He was educated at the Vittoria Public School, Simcoe High School and Osgoode Hall. He married Katherine C. Ferguson, September 17, 1890, the daughter of the late Alexander Ferguson, railway agent, of Simcoe, and has one son, Francis Macdonald Reid. In politics he is a Conservative, is a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and a Mason. Mr. Reid is Town Treasurer of Simcoe, a member of the Presbyterian Church, and takes a great interest in golf as a pastime.

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=Minehan, Rev. Lancelot= (Toronto, Ont.), was born in Killaloe, County Clare, Ireland, son of Michael Minehan and Hanna Skehan. He was educated at All Hallows’ College, Dublin, came to Canada in 1884, and was ordained at Montreal. Served as Assistant Priest at Thornhill, House of Providence, Adjala, St. Helen’s, St. Mary’s, St. Paul’s, St. Michael’s, Toronto. Was Chaplain for two and a half years at Penetanguishene, transferred to Toronto, and appointed R.C. Chaplain of the Central Prison, Mercer Reformatory and Toronto Asylum; later, was pastor at Schomberg, Ont., where he spent three and a half years, following which he was first parish Priest of St. Peter’s Toronto, where he built a splendid new church and where he ministered for over eighteen years; he is now parish priest of St. Vincent’s Church, on Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto, which will be one of the finest edifices in Toronto diocese. For twelve or more years Rev. Father Minehan has been connected with “The Catholic Register,” and has been identified with various organizations for the promotion of temperance, social welfare and the moral uplift of the city. He is Vice-President of the Ontario Branch of the Dominion Temperance Alliance and Vice-President of the Moral and Social Reform League. Father Minehan is as famous for his gifts as a pulpit orator as for his eloquence as a platform speaker. His magnetic personality, frankness and loyalty have given him an assured place in the esteem of all classes. He is a man of indefatigable energy, opposed to intolerance and bigotry, with a mind fixed on the promotion of the highest ideals in all walks of life. He is a frequent contributor to the press, and is a writer of force and choice diction. His reverence favors a Canadian Navy and the development of a policy of protection under the British Flag. He exercises a wide influence both as a clergyman and a private citizen, and at his Silver Jubilee, in 1909, was presented with many proofs of his personal worth, and great popularity. Of him it has been said that he is “truly Catholic in spirit and in service and charity.”

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=L’Esperance, Hon. David Ovide= (Quebec City), Member of the Senate and Chairman of the Harbor Commission of Quebec, was born in the thriving town of Montmagny, in the County of Montmagny, in the Province of Quebec. He is the son of Edouard L’Esperance, his mother’s maiden name having been Morin. His career as a business man, banker and broker, has been a successful one, his connection with sundry influential exploiting firms having given him an influence in public circles which has been enhanced by his acumen as a parliamentarian. He has been for years a Director of the Quebec Railway Light, Heat and Power Co., a Director and President of the Quebec Exposition Board, President of the Grande Allee Apartments Company, and President of L’Evenement Publishing Company. He is President of the Amable Belanger, Ltd., Manufacturing Co., Montmagny, and of the General Car & Machinery Works of the same place. His prominence as a successful business man and his influence as a public-spirited citizen, did not fail to bring him into touch with the political circles of the Conservative Party; and in the year 1911 he was elected a Member of the Federal Parliament for Montmagny. While a member of the House of Commons, his influence as a deliberate speaker and his industry as a member of committees were acknowledged by all associated with him in parliamentary work; and, when the vacancy occurred on the Harbor Commission of Quebec, on the withdrawal of Sir William Price, he was selected to succeed the latter as Chairman of that Board. In July, 1917, he was called to the Senate. His efforts to improve the harbor facilities of the port of Quebec have been appreciated and seconded by the Federal Government and his associates in office, with due recognition of his public spirit and energy by his fellow-citizens and the country at large. In 1888, he married Miss Clara Dionne, of Ste. Anne de la Pocatiere, of the Province of Quebec. Their family residence is on Ste. Genevieve Avenue, and their summer residence at Percé, Co. of Gaspé. Mr. L’Esperance has won for himself a prominence in all the movements that have had for their purpose the advancement of the city in which he has his home. He is a loyal Quebecer. As a Conservative, he has won an influential place in his party. And as a philanthropist he has won the good opinion of his fellow-men and co-workers.

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=O’Reilly, His Honor James Redmond=, is the eldest son of the late James O’Reilly, Q.C., M.P., and Mary Jane (Redmond), born at Kingston, Ontario, February 14, 1862, and educated at Regiopolis College, Kingston, Collegiate Institute, Kingston, St. Mary’s (Jesuit) College, Montreal, and Queen’s University, Kingston, from which latter institution he graduated with the degree of B.A., and Gold Medal in Political Economy in 1882. Called to the Bar, May, 1885. Created a K.C., 1899, successfully practised his profession at Prescott for several years until his appointment as Senior County Judge for Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, in March, 1900. His Honor was formerly a Liberal. President of the South Grenville Liberal Association for 13 years. Married December 31, 1889, Rose Mary, fourth daughter of the late James Bermingham, and is the father of two children: James, born November 16, 1891, and Wm. H., born December 26, 1896. In religion the Judge is Roman Catholic. He resides at Cornwall, Ont., and is a member of the Cornwall Club. In earlier years Judge O’Reilly had some military experience, being Bombardier in Wellington Field Battery.

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=Keefe, R. Daniel= (Penetanguishene, Ont.), Principal of the High School of that town; was born at Iroquois, Ont., June 10, 1877, and is the son of Patrick Keefe, a native of Cork, Ireland, who came to this country when a child and later settled on the St. Lawrence in the Town of Iroquois and became a builder and contractor, erecting a large planing mill, installed an electric light plant for the Town and bought the waterworks system which was afterwards sold to the municipality. Principal Keefe’s mother was of United Empire Loyalist descent. He was educated at the Iroquois High School, McGill University, Montreal, and the University of Toronto, and the School of Pedagogy, Hamilton. Graduated in 1901 with the degree of B.A., Toronto University. On graduating, taught successively in the High Schools of Port Elgin, Colborne and Gananoque, and was then appointed Principal of the Penetanguishene High School, where he has been for over twelve years teaching Science and Classics. Principal Keefe has the reputation of being one of the best after-dinner speakers in Northern Ontario. Besides the father, one brother, W. S. Keefe, a School of Science graduate in Electrical Engineering, survives. Principal Keefe has been an active member of the Carnegie Library Board, having acted as Secretary and Chairman of the Buying Committee for several years. Is President also of the Penetanguishene Hospital. Married in 1905 to Ethel Madeline, daughter of Norval Manning, of Toronto, and is the father of two children, Beverley Hartle, born 1913, and Wilbur Neville, born 1916. He is a member of the Masonic order, being Past Master of Georgian Lodge, No. 348, and Past Z. of Kichikewana Chapter No. 67, Midland; P.G.S. of the Grand Lodge of Canada. Is keenly interested in all manner of sports and prominent in Association football, hockey and curling. Has played football in the Champion team of Eastern Ontario and the Champions of Hamilton District League, winning the Spectator Cup. Has managed several hockey teams and is a Past President and Past Secretary-Treasurer of the Penetanguishene Curling Club, and has been one of the District Tankard Skips for the past four years. In religion, Mr. Keefe is a member of the Methodist Church, and politically, a Liberal.

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=MacLean, Archie=, R.R. No. 4, Paisley, Ont., was born in Bruce Township, County of Bruce, in 1868, of Highland Scotch parents, and glories in the fact that he has Highland Scotch blood flowing through his veins. He attended the public school in the section in which he lived until he was about thirteen years of age, when, being the eldest of the family, he had to leave school to assist on the farm. His ambition for an education was unquenched and he studied at home, and at the age of twenty-one took a three-months’ course in the public school, secured his matriculation. He went to Port Elgin and Walkerton High School and succeeded in creditably securing a second-class certificate. He taught school for a few years, but the profession at that time not being over-remunerative, he again took up farming, and also engaged in grazing and shipping cattle, which occupation he still successfully follows. In 1901 he was elected to the Township of Bruce Council, where he served for two years. In 1903-4 he was elected to Reeveship of the Township. In 1910 he again contested the Reeveship successfully and held the office until 1912. This office he did not covet for office sake, but being enthused with the true spirit of co-operation for the benefit of all he set the log rolling for the establishment of a municipal telephone system, for the benefit of nine different municipalities, his own native township being the initiating one. This enterprise is now looked upon as the greatest example of co-operation in the whole county. In his efforts he was ably seconded by men who caught his vision. He is at present one of a commission of three, the other two being, D. McNaughton, Ex-M.P.P., and J. J. Hunter, who handle the business of this system. Mr. MacLean is a man of splendid executive ability, which has been shown by his able judgment in all public enterprises with which he has been connected. It has been said that the farmer needs ideas. In his case he has ideas—big ones—and is not afraid to champion them even in the face of strong opposition. He is a leader and a safe one to follow, because of his canny Scotch nature. He is a good public speaker and has such splendid control of himself that he has never been known to show anger even under trying circumstances. In patriotic endeavor he is always to the fore, having done his part ably and conscientiously ever since the war began. As yet he has not taken unto himself a wife. He is a Liberal in politics, and his name has often been mentioned in connection with Parliamentary honors. He is a member of Port Elgin Lodge, No. 429, A.F. & A.M., Camp McCrimmon, S.O.S., and the I.O.O.F. His genial good nature, wide knowledge of municipal affairs and splendid physique, make him an outstanding farmer in any company.

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