Part 57

=Braden, Norman Short= (Hamilton, Ont.), is an electrical engineer by profession and one of the industrial chieftains of that city. He was born at Indianapolis, U.S.A., on June 15, 1869, the son of James Braden, a physician, and Lydia E. Braden. The Braden family are of Scottish descent, and his ancestors emigrated from the North of Ireland to the United States in the eighteenth century. Mr. Braden was educated at the public schools of Indiana and at Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington. After leaving college in 1892 he entered the employ of the Jenney Electric Motor Company of Indianapolis, and seven years later joined the staff of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, of Pittsburgh. Upon the formation of the Canadian Westinghouse Company, Limited, of Hamilton, Ont., in 1903, he moved to the latter city, and was appointed manager of the sales department, in charge of the commercial electrical development and activities of his Company for the entire Dominion. Under his direction the growth of the Canadian Westinghouse Company’s business has expanded with great rapidity, requiring an increase of capital from $1,500,000 in 1903 to $10,000,000 in 1918. It gives employment to upwards of three thousand hands, and is the largest manufacturer of electrical apparatus in Canada. In 1919, Mr. Braden was elected third vice-president of the company with executive charge of its commercial organization. The subject of this sketch is also identified with another of Hamilton’s leading industries, the B. Greening Wire Co., Ltd. On November 29, 1906, he married Mabel, daughter of Samuel Owen and Jennie H. Greening. The Greening family have been prominent manufacturers of wire products in England since the year Columbus discovered America, 1492, and have been established in Hamilton since 1858. Of that company Mr. Braden, who entered the family by marriage, is now a Director. He is a member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and of the Jovian Order, and belongs to the Hamilton Club, the Rotary Club of his city; the Golf and Country Club; the Engineers’ Clubs of Toronto and Montreal; the Electric Club of Toronto, and the Transportation Club of New York City. He is a Presbyterian in religion, and his recreations are hunting, golf, motoring, and motor boating. Mr. and Mrs. Braden have three children, Eleanore Greening Braden, William Greening Braden, and Margaret Owen Braden.

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=Bowie, Lieut.-Colonel Henry William= (Ottawa, Ont.), Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons and a Commissioner of Parliament, is the son of the late Captain Alexander Bowie, who, during his lifetime, was one of the most popular men residing in the capital of the Dominion of Canada, and Esther Shepherd, and was born at Ottawa, November 10, 1862, and educated in the public and private schools. In 1892, Lieut.-Colonel Bowie married Helen Louise Gouin, daughter of James A. Gouin, who for thirty-three years was postmaster for the City of Ottawa. There are five children, Guy Gouin, Henry William Shepherd, Louis Alexander, Marion Faith, and Adelaide Esther—three boys and two girls. An enthusiast in military matters, at the age of nineteen, in 1881, Lieut.-Col. Bowie became a member of the Canadian Militia, and qualified at the Royal Military College and the Royal School of Artillery, and for several years was a member of the Governor-General’s Foot Guards. In 1882 Colonel Bowie entered the service of the Ottawa River Navigation Company, in which his father was Ottawa Manager, and qualified as Master, Marine Department, Ottawa, in 1884. From 1891 to 1896, and again from 1911 to 1915, Colonel Bowie was Secretary to the Honourable the Speaker of the House of Commons, and from 1891 to 1918 (for 28 years) served as Deputy-Sergeant-at-Arms in that honourable Assembly. On the death of Lieut.-Col. H. R. Smith, I.S.O., C.M.G., J.P., A.D.C., Colonel Bowie was recalled from overseas, and, March, 1918, was appointed as Sergeant-at-Arms. Shortly after the Great War was declared Colonel Bowie made every effort to follow those who had already gone overseas, or to join those who were preparing to go, but, owing to official and other duties over which he had to preside he was unable to leave until 1916, when he went as second major of the 77th Overseas Battalion. In August, 1916, he became attached to the 60th Battalion in France, but was shortly afterwards, October, 1916, called from France to Bramshott, England, to command a Provisional Battalion, C.E.F. It was at this time, October, 1916, that Colonel Bowie’s eldest son, Lieut. Guy Gouin Bowie, left Canada for overseas with the 154th Infantry Battalion, C.E.F. Colonel Bowie remained in command of the Provisional Battalion until July, 1917, when he was seconded for duty with the Imperial Forces and proceeded at once to France. Arriving there he served under the Administrative Commandant, Third Army Railheads, as Staff Officer and O.C., Railheads Detail Detachment, till recalled to Canada in March, 1918. In the meantime his son, Lieut. Guy Gouin Bowie, who was born in Ottawa, October 10, 1892, followed in his father’s footsteps and had quite an eventful military career. He was appointed to the Active Militia, G.G.F.G., as Lieutenant on December 15, 1915, and received his certificate of qualification from the Officers’ Training School, Kingston, on January 20, 1916. On March 5, 1916, he was appointed Lieutenant in the 154th Infantry Battalion, C.E.F., and went overseas with that battalion on October 20, 1916. Arriving in England, October 31, he was appointed Lieutenant in the Imperial Land Forces, and on January 31, 1917, was transferred from the 154th Battalion to the 6th Reserve Battalion at Seaford, Sussex. On August 7, 1917, he was transferred to the 21st Battalion, C.E.F., France, and was dangerously wounded in front line trenches, Lens sector, December 14, 1917. Arriving at Clearing Station, Aubigny, December 14, 1917, he was transferred to the 24th General Hospital, Estaples, France, January 1, 1918, and on February 6, 1918, was transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital, London, England, where he remained until May 6, 1918, when he was invalided home. Lieut. Bowie was married October 10, 1916, at Ottawa to Lily Wright Brigham, daughter of T. G. Brigham, and has two sons, Thomas Guy and James Henry. Col. Bowie is a member of the Wellington Club, London, England, and the Royal Ottawa Golf Club, Ottawa. His home address is 82 Park Avenue, and his official address, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

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=Robinette, Thomas Cowper, K.C.= (Toronto, Ont.), enjoys an enviable reputation as a brilliant criminal lawyer, and as such has appeared with success in many famous cases, notably Macwherrel and Caledon wreck cases at Brampton, Healey and Blythe at Toronto, Mrs. Kyle at Woodstock, Dr. Robinson at Napanee and many others. Mr. Robinette is of U.E.L. descent, his family having come from Pennsylvania to Peel County, Ontario, in 1781. He was born at Dixie, Ont., near Cooksville in 1861, the son of the late Josiah Robinette and Esther J. Goodison. Educated at Public Schools, Strathroy High School and Toronto University, he graduated from the Faculty of Arts in 1884, and from that of law in 1887, with the Governor-General’s Gold Medal. He was Silver Medallist in Modern Languages and English Prizeman, also holding a Scholarship in General Proficiency. Although taking an active part in politics, Mr. Robinette has never yet represented any constituency, having contested Centre Toronto against E. F. Clarke unsuccessfully in 1904 and again in 1908 against Edmund Bristol, also North York, in 1911. He married Edith May Lindsay, of Pickering Township, Ont., in 1899, and has four sons, Thomas, Jr., John, George and Allan, also one daughter, Minnie. Thomas Robinette was made K.C. in 1902, a Bencher of the Law Society in 1911 and 1916; Member of the Royal Colonial Institute, London, Eng., in 1913; Director of the Moral and Social Reform League, Toronto, in 1913; President of the Methodist Young Men’s Association in 1906; President of the University Literary and Scientific Society in 1907; Chairman of the Young Liberal Convention, Toronto, in 1885; also Joint Secretary of the Dominion Young Men’s Association, formed at Montreal in 1886. Mr. Robinette is a Liberal in politics and a Methodist in religion. He is a member of the National Club, Ontario Club, R.C.Y.C., Canadian Club and Empire Club, all of Toronto, also of the Masonic, I.O.O.F., C.O.O.F., A.O.U.W., and Maccabean Societies. An ex-officer of the Queen’s Own Rifles and 34th Regiment, he is to-day engaged in the practice of law at Toronto as head of the firm of Robinette, Godfrey, Phelan and Lawson, in which J. S. Fullerton, K.C., late Corporation Counsel of Toronto, is associate counsel. “As a pleader, energetic, clear and painstaking”—“Toronto News.” “Has a trained mind, is accessible to new ideas, and has unusual gifts for the exposition and enforcement of his opinions”—“Toronto Globe.”

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=Murray, Hon. Robert, K.C.=, Provincial Secretary-Treasurer of the Province of New Brunswick, is one of the best known and widely respected public men of the Maritime Provinces. He was born at Chatham, N.B., where he still resides, on July 17, 1855, the son of Robert and Jane Murray. His father was a millwright, and the younger Robert was educated at the Presbyterian Academy in his native town, from which he graduated in 1871. At school he had shown himself to be of a naturally studious turn of mind, and decided to qualify himself for the bar. He was Police Magistrate for the town of Chatham, N.B., from 1887 to 1891, when he resigned. For upwards of forty years he followed his profession as a barrister in the town of Chatham, and has built up a large practice in the County of Northumberland, where he is held in general esteem and confidence. Subsequently, in 1902, his standing was recognized when he was created a King’s Counsel. In addition, he devoted himself to public and municipal affairs, and was identified with the Liberal party. His first public service was as a member of the County Council of Northumberland, and he was later an alderman of the town of Chatham. In 1905 he was elected by acclamation in a by-election as one of the representatives of Northumberland County in the Provincial Legislature, where he served till 1908. During the past few years, there have been several political upheavals in the province of New Brunswick, and in 1917, when the Conservative ministry, headed by Hon. G. Clarke, sought the franchise of the people, there was a demand for new men. In that contest, Mr. Murray was induced to stand as one of the Liberal candidates for Northumberland, which sends four members to the Legislature. He was elected, and at the same time the Murray administration, of which Hon. J. A. Murray was Premier, was defeated. Hon. Walter E. Foster, who was called upon to form a ministry, at once sent for Mr. Murray and offered him the portfolio of Provincial Secretary-Treasurer, in succession to Hon. D. V. Landry. The offer was accepted, and Mr. Murray has since conducted the finances of the province to the satisfaction of everyone. From his youth Mr. Murray took an active interest in the militia of his district, and retired in 1910 with the rank of Major, receiving the long service decoration. During the late war he played an energetic, useful part in promoting Canada’s military and patriotic effort. In religion he is a Presbyterian, and is a member of the A.F. & A.M., and the I.O.O.F. His recreations are hunting, curling and quoit playing. On June 11, 1889, he married Jane, daughter of Simon F. Simpson, of Negnac, Northumberland County, N.B., and has three children, Nina Helen, Vera Alice, and Robert Blaine, all of whom are now married. Though his public duties compel him to spend much of his time in Fredericton, his home is still at Chatham, N.B., and he continues the practice of his profession there.

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=Wood, Rev. William Robertson= (Winnipeg, Man.), General Secretary of the Manitoba Grain Growers’ Association. Was born on June 6, 1874, at Weir, Orkney, Scotland. Son of William Wood and Margaret Robertson. Came to Canada in 1887. Educated at primary school in his native island, and at Port Elgin High School, Owen Sound Model School, Toronto University and Knox College. From this latter institution he graduated in 1904. On his ordination, he served the Presbyterian Church as Minister in Dunbarton, Ont., 1904-8; Claremont, Ont., 1908-13; Franklin, Man., 1913-16. Opposed Hon. J. H. Howden, Attorney-General for Manitoba, for the constituency of Beautiful Plains, Man., and was defeated by thirty-two votes. First elected a member of the Manitoba Legislature for Beautiful Plains, August, 1915, opposing J. H. Irwin, Neepawa. General Secretary of the Free Trade League of Canada, 1916-17. Became Secretary of the Manitoba Grain Growers’ Association, August, 1917. Married, in June, 1904, to Margaret, daughter of Andrew and Ellen Workman, of Rothsay, Ont., and has one daughter, Rhoda Marguerite, born in December, 1906. In politics Rev. Mr. Wood is an Independent Liberal.

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=Weld, John=, publisher (London, Ont.), was born on a farm in Middlesex County, Ont., on September 7, 1854. His father, the late William Weld, son of an Anglican Church clergyman, emigrated from Tenterden, Kent, England, in 1843, and made a home for himself amid the forests of Delaware Township. After living the life of a pioneer farmer for twenty years, he founded “The Farmer’s Advocate” of London in 1866 as a means of assisting other settlers who were continually coming to him for advice, and it is through his long association with this journal and its colleague, “The Farmer’s Advocate and Home Journal” of Winnipeg that the subject of this sketch became so widely known. After receiving his early education in the London schools, Mr. Weld learned the printing business in a local shop and completed his apprenticeship with a short post-graduate engagement with a large New York publishing house. Returning to Canada, he was attracted by the West, which was then opening up for settlers, and he staked his claim in Saskatchewan, where he “proved up” on a half-section in 1885. The growth of “The Farmer’s Advocate” then necessitated his return to London, where he became business manager of the publication until his father’s death on January 3, 1891. He then became general manager, and when the Wm. Weld Company, Ltd., was organized and incorporated in July of the same year, he acquired a controlling interest in the firm, which he has since held. The first issue of “The Farmer’s Advocate” of Winnipeg appeared in 1890. It was edited in the West, but a separate company was not organized until July 31, 1905, when The Farmer’s Advocate of Winnipeg, Ltd., was incorporated with Mr. Weld as President. A building was erected on Princess Street in that year, but it proved inadequate to meet the ever-growing requirements of the business, so it was sold in 1911, and a five-story concrete, fire-proof building was constructed at the corner of Notre Dame and Langside Streets. In order to keep the two publications inseparably linked with practical and progressive farming, as well as to provide means whereby the editors might keep constantly in touch with varying agricultural conditions, a farm was purchased in the neighbourhood of London, and, incidentally, a separated portion of this is a part of the Weld homestead which has always been owned by the family under the original Crown grant. The subject of this sketch spends many enjoyable hours on Weldwood Farm, where pure-bred Yorkshire swine and one of the largest herds of pure-bred dual-purpose Shorthorns in Canada are maintained. The Bryant Press, Toronto, of which Mr. Weld is President, was acquired in 1903, and he is also President of the London Printing and Lithographing Company, Ltd. He has held various offices in the Canadian Press Association, and was the only representative of the Agricultural Press to visit Britain and the war zone in company with Canadian publishers and editors, the party being the guests of the Imperial Government in the summer of 1918. He is a member of the Anglican Church, and a life member of the Masonic Order, Tuscan Lodge 195, A.F. & A.M.

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=Foster, Hon. Walter Edward=, Premier of New Brunswick, is also one of the most prominent business men of that Province. He was born at St. Martins, N.B., on April 9, 1874, the son of Edward H. and Elizabeth (Pattison) Foster, and educated at the public and grammar schools of St. John, N.B. As a boy of fifteen he entered the Bank of New Brunswick as a junior clerk, and remained in its service until 1899, when he became a member of the firm of Vassie & Co., Ltd., wholesale dry goods merchants, St. John. Of this firm he is now Vice-President and Managing Director. He is also actively connected with transportation and shipping interests, and is President of the St. Martins Railway Co. He was Vice-President of the St. John Board of Trade in 1906-7, and President in 1908-9. He was Third Arbitrator and Chairman of the Conciliation Board which successfully settled differences between the longshoremen of the Port of St. John and the Shipping Federation, 1913. In the autumn of 1915 differences having again arisen between the Longshoremen’s Association and the shipping companies at St. John, he was appointed Chairman of the Conciliation Board by the Minister of Labor of Canada, and succeeded in effecting an agreement for two years. Coming as it did in the midst of the war, this settlement was of the highest importance in a military sense. Hon. Mr. Foster was formerly an officer in the New Brunswick Regiment, Canadian Artillery, retiring with the rank of Captain in 1903. He has been for a good many years identified with the Liberal party, and is a Past President of the Young Liberals Club of St. John, but not until comparatively recently did he become a candidate for political office. In 1916 the Liberal party in the Legislature decided on reorganization, and offered the leadership of the Opposition to Mr. Foster. He accepted, and at once threw himself with energy into the task of putting the party on a fighting basis. At the general elections of February 24, 1917, he was victorious at the polls, and he was shortly afterward sworn in as First Minister. His business-like and economical administration in a difficult period has given satisfaction to all classes of citizens. He is a member of the Union Club, St. John, and was President of the Cliff Club, 1915-7. In religion he is an Anglican. On January 18, 1900, he married Jehan Mary, daughter of William Vassie, St. John, and has one son and three daughters. His residence is at 36 Cobourg Street, St. John, and his summer residence at Rothesay, N.B.

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=Charlesworth, Hector=, journalist (Toronto, Ont.), was born at Hamilton, Ont., September 28, 1872, the son of Horatio G. and Charlotte (McEachern) Charlesworth. He is a Canadian of several generations, some of his forbears having come to Quebec after the British conquest in the eighteenth century. His maternal grandfather, John McEachern, whose parents went to Manitoba with Lord Selkirk’s party, was born at Fort Garry on the site of the present city of Winnipeg, in 1811. When he was but very young, his parents travelled in canoes through the waterways of Northern Ontario to Montreal, and later made their home at Chateauguay Basin, Que. Mr. Charlesworth has lived in Toronto since 1876, and was educated at Wellesley School and Jarvis Street Collegiate Institute. His father was a shoe manufacturer; and in 1887 he was articled as a chartered accountant with a view to his ultimately becoming office manager of the firm. At seventeen he commenced writing anonymously under the _nom de plume_ of “Touchstone” for Toronto “Saturday Night.” In 1891 Mr. E. E. Shepherd, editor of the journal, inserted an advertisement asking the contributor to disclose his identity, and on learning it offered him a position on the staff of that journal. He remained with Mr. Shepherd for a year, and then resolved to qualify himself by practical experience as a reporter. During the next eighteen years he worked on several daily newspapers, including “The World,” “The News,” and “The Mail and Empire,” of which latter journal he was City Editor from 1904 to 1910. Shortly after the reorganization of “Saturday Night” as a national weekly he was offered and accepted the post of Assistant Managing Editor, which he still holds. Though he has been a copious writer on political, financial and social topics, he is perhaps best known as a musical and dramatic critic. He acted as Chairman of the Board of Judges at the Earl Grey dramatic competitions, Toronto, 1911, and of Winnipeg, 1912, and eliminating judge in the Duke of Connaught’s competition, 1913. He was also chief judge in the “Collier’s Weekly” competition to secure suitable English words for “O Canada” in 1909. He has written essays and sketches for many publications, including the “International Studio,” the “New York Evening Post,” “Christian Science Monitor,” “New York Times,” the “Canadian Bankers’ Journal,” and the “Canadian Magazine.” His name appears among the contributors to volume one, number one, of the latter publication. He was one of the special writers engaged in connection with the Victory Loan Campaigns of 1918 and 1919, his work being syndicated throughout Canada, and has edited and contributed to many Canadian books of reference. His other published work includes a treatise on modern methods of treating tuberculosis published by the National Sanitarium Association, and the narrative introduction to Dr. Herbert A. Bruce’s controversial book “Politics and the Canadian Army Medical Service.” In 1900 he was personally thanked by the family of the late Robert Louis Stevenson for two sonnets protesting against a movement to remove the remains of that author from Samoa, which have since been reprinted in the “Oxford Book of Canadian Verse.” He was also one of nine accredited Canadian correspondents who accompanied the present King and Queen (then Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York) on the Royal tour of 1901, and later reported His Majesty’s visit to the Quebec Tercentenary in 1908. On February 15, 1897, he married Katherine, second daughter of Peter Ryan, Toronto, and has two children, Constance Charlotte (born 1904) and Lionel Victor (born 1906).

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