A. C. Henry, who succeeded Mr. Shaughnessy as purchasing agent, was with the company from its beginning, and died at a comparatively early age, and when he died there was general regret for he was highly esteemed.
One of the oldest employees of the company was Charles Spencer, who in 1864 was a conductor on the Brockville & Ottawa, and naturally was taken over by the C.P.R. when that road was purchased by the company. He was for years on the Montreal-Ottawa run, and was a great favourite with the travelling public. It was not until 1913 that he was pensioned, and he died at a ripe old age five years later. He was father of Charles and H. B. Spencer, two men who were closely connected with the C.P.R. Charlie became general superintendent and resigned in 1905 to accept a higher position in the Canadian Northern, and died some years ago, but Harry, who commenced work with the Canada Central (now C.P.R.) in 1870, as telegraph operator and assistant agent at Ottawa, is still on duty as superintendent in his native city. W. J. Singleton was another of the early workers, being agent at Ottawa, in 1882, and afterwards superintendent until 1909, passing away early in 1911.
E. J. Duchesney, who did wonderful work at the time of the Frank disaster; Molyneux St. John, of the publicity department, an accomplished writer, was assigned to become editor of the Winnipeg Free Press, and afterwards was appointed Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod at Ottawa.
Others Gone But Still Remembered.
P. A. Peterson was chief engineer in 1881, with John Canadian as chief clerk, who composed nearly the whole staff, and in 1903 was consulting engineer, and left the service the same year. The names of Major Rogers, who found the Rogers Pass, General Rosser, who was the last Southern officer to accept the inevitable, J. S. Schwitzer and A. B. Stickney, who was chief engineer in the West in the early days, are still remembered, although they have been laid at rest for many years. E. V. Skinner, who represented the company in New York city from 1887 to 1908, was a very prominent figure, and Horace Colvin, who was the company’s representative in Boston from 1887 to 1903, has also passed away. Another prominent figure was Archer Baker, who was an accountant on the Brockville & Ottawa road in 1870, and after several promotions was stationed at London, England, and was European manager of the company until his death in 1910. Alex Notman was a well-known figure and represented the company at several points. He was best known in Toronto, and when he died the company lost an energetic official. Then there were A. R. G. Heward, who was with President Van Horne for many years; Fred Tiffin, who was the company’s first freight agent at Toronto, and resigned to join the I.C.R. forces, he being succeeded by J. N. Sutherland, who has also passed away. The memory of J. Francis Lee, of Chicago; Con Sheehy, of Detroit; and Tom Harvey, of the Soo, Michigan, all of whom have gone to their last rest will not soon be forgotten, neither will Fred Gauthier, of Winnipeg, who, commencing as a freight clerk in ’82, became assistant purchasing agent in 1900, and died in 1919. Albert Dana was another one who commenced as general storekeeper in Montreal in 1881, and in ’86 entered the purchasing department in which he reached a high position and died recently. Jack Taylor came from a family of railway men, and began work as a train despatcher in Ottawa in 1878. In 1911 he was made general superintendent on several western divisions. General Superintendent R. R. Jameson, John Niblock and J. A. McLellan are gone.
Medical Staff.
Dr. Girdwood was the first chief surgeon and retired in 1902. Among the medical men on his staff scattered along the lines of the C.P.R. were Dr. Pringle, who for many years did excellent service on the north shore of Lake Superior, and Dr. McKid, of Calgary; Dr. Orton, M.P., and Dr. Brett, now Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta, and still in the land of the living, and Dr. Kerr, who afterwards was a prominent physician in Washington, D.C.
An old-timer was W. H. Kelson, who was general storekeeper from 1882 to 1904, and Jimmy Callaghan, who was with the company from 1886 to his death in 1912, and L. A. Genest, general storekeeper at Winnipeg, have departed this life. Geo. W. Henry was in the treasurer’s department for many years. His father was one of the officers who guarded Napoleon during his captivity at Elba.
Bob Morris, the general baggage agent at Montreal, Joe Heffernan, of Guelph; Joe Milward, of the freight department, who was killed in a bicycle accident at Boston, were connected with the Company for years.