ROBERT STANLEY BAGG
Robert Stanley Bagg, son of Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Clark and Catharine (Mitcheson) Bagg, and the head of the family in the third generation in this country, was born at the manor house in Montreal in July, 1848, and was educated in the Montreal high school and McGill University, from which he graduated, after which he proceeded to England to complete his studies. On his return to Canada he was called to the bar of Montreal but never practiced law extensively, although he formed a partnership with Donald Macmaster, now a member of parliament. At his father’s death, however, the management of the largest landed estate on the island devolved upon him, so that he abandoned the active practice of the legal profession.
Much of his time and energy was also given to public life and he was considered a powerful platform orator. In 1896 he was nominated for the St. Lawrence division seat in the house of commons, but resigned for political reasons. His father, Lieutenant Colonel Bagg, was a Tory and a personal friend of the late Sir John A. Macdonald, and it was natural that the son should espouse early in life the conservative cause. He was frequently heard on the platform in support of principles of the party, being known as a stanch conservative both in and out of power, while at one time he was president of the Liberal-Conservative Club, giving a great deal of his time to the work of organizing as well as to public discussion. He was well known among the French Canadian people and spoke their language almost as fluently as his mother tongue. Mr. Bagg was mentioned several times as the party candidate in the federal contests, but the house of commons had no attraction for him. He was known personally to all the party leaders from the time of Macdonald down to the present day. Like his father, he was a most generous supporter of charities and benevolent projects, and he was a governor and benefactor of the Montreal General Hospital and the Montreal Dispensary. He was likewise a member of almost every social and sporting club on the island of Montreal; was a splendid horseman and a good soldier, being at one time commanding officer in the Fifth Royal Scots, taking part in the quelling of the Quebec riots and doing much active military duty.
Mr. Bagg had been ailing for several months, but the call came unexpectedly and he died July 22, 1912, at Kennebunk Port, Maine, where he was spending the summer, as was his custom. In his passing Montreal lost one of its foremost citizens, a most prominent representative of one of the old English families, and a man of distinction to whom opportunity meant activity, and who in all of his business and social relations maintained a position that reflected credit and honor upon an honored family name. His life was not self-centered but reached out along broadening lines for the benefit of his fellowmen and of his city, where the family has so long been well known in the best social circles.
Mr. Bagg was married in 1882 to Miss Clara Smithers, a daughter of the late Charles F. Smithers, president of the Bank of Montreal, and to them were born three children, Evelyn St. Claire Stanley, Gwendolen Katherine Stanley and Harold Stanley.
Evelyn St. Claire Stanley Bagg was married on the 26th of October, 1910, to Huntly Ward Davis, an architect of Montreal, and they have one daughter, Evelyn Clare Ward Davis, who is of the fifth generation of the family in Canada.
SERAPHIN OUIMET.
Seraphin Ouimet, member of the civil engineering firm of Ouimet & Lesage, connected with important municipal and railroad work in Montreal and in various other sections of the province and Dominion, was born October 8, 1879, in Ste. Rose, in the county of Laval, P. Q. The earliest record of the Ouimet family in this province is of Jean Ouimet, who was born in 1634 and died on the 19th of November, 1687, at Ste. Famille. He married Renee Gagnon about 1660 and their son, Louis Ouimet, who was one of nine children, was married February 3, 1693, at Ste. Famille to Marie Anne Genest, by whom he had thirteen children. Anselme Ouimet, father of Seraphin Ouimet, was born at St. François de Sales, about 1840 and married Emelie Gauthier, who was born in Montreal about 1850. Their son, Seraphin Ouimet, attended school in his native town of Ste. Rose and afterward pursued a classical course at Ste. Thérèse in the county of Terrebonne, where he remained for seven years and was leader of his class, and where he gained his B. C. es Lettres. Later he became a student in the Polytechnic school at Laval. He passed his examination with distinction, graduating June 10, 1904, with the degree of B. C. es Sciences. He next engaged with the dominion government as superintendent of Marconi stations on the Gulf, having charge of five stations. He continued in that position for one season and was appointed assistant engineer of the Georgian Bay Ship Canal survey. After four months in that position he was promoted to first assistant and two months later to chief. He continued for eighteen months in that capacity, rendering efficient, capable and acceptable service until, desiring to engage in the private practice of his profession, he opened an office in Montreal. He passed his examination as Quebec land surveyor on June 17, 1908, before the board of the Quebec Land Surveyors Association. For a year he was associated with James H. Parent, at the close of which time he entered into partnership with Royal Lesage and has since continued under the firm name of Ouimet & Lesage. Their clientage has steadily increased in the interim and their work today extends largely over the province, including many contracts for municipal engineering and railroad work. They have been connected with the building of a branch of the Transcontinental, extending from Montreal and have acted as experts for municipal civil engineering projects in connection with important work for electric and other companies. They employ over twenty men, and the business is one of growing importance. Mr. Ouimet is recognized as a clever, energetic and successful representative of his profession, widely known and highly respected. His ability, close study and developing powers have gained him wider and wider recognition until he stands today as one of the able representatives of the profession in Montreal.