ARTHUR WILLIAM PATRICK BUCHANAN.
In the practice of law devotion to the interests of his clients, careful preparation of his cases and comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence are salient features which have gained Arthur William Patrick Buchanan a place among the well known representatives of the Montreal bar. He was born at Montreal in 1870, the son of Alexander Brock and Elizabeth Ann (Best) Buchanan and grandson of the late Alexander Buchanan, Q. C., a distinguished lawyer and in his day the leader of the Montreal bar, who married Mary Ann, the daughter of James Buchanan, H. B. M. consul at New York from 1816 to 1843. After attending the Montreal high school our subject entered McGill University and later pursued his law course in Laval University, where he took the degree of LL. B. in 1893. He was admitted to the bar of the province of Quebec in 1894 and the same year began practice as an advocate. He was created a king’s counsel in 1908 and practices in partnership with W. J. White, K. C. Their clientele is extensive and of a representative character, and Mr. Buchanan has proved himself a capable and careful lawyer. He is interested in genealogy and has written a history of his family, The Buchanan Book (1911).
In 1897 Mr. Buchanan married Berthe Louise, elder daughter of William Quirin, of Boston and resides at No. 731 Pine Avenue West. Mr. Buchanan is a life member of the Buchanan Society, a governor of the Montreal General Hospital and a member of the St. James Club, the Canada Club, the Montreal Hunt and the Royal Montreal Golf Club.
ANDREW ROBERTSON.
In many public positions Andrew Robertson gained wide acquaintance and the efficiency of his service in public behalf marked him as one of Montreal’s most valued and prominent men. In commercial circles he was well known as the founder and senior member of the firms of Andrew Robertson & Company and Robertson, Stephen & Company, wholesale dry-goods merchants, and later he became a factor in insurance and financial enterprises. This however represented but one phase of his life, as he became connected with many public projects having to do with the general development and improvement of the city, or with its charitable and benevolent activities. Abraham Lincoln said, “There is something better than making a living—making a life,” and it was that spirit which actuated Andrew Robertson at all times. He recognized his obligations to his fellowmen and again and again he played the part of the Good Samaritan, not from any unavoidable sense of duty but from a deep love for his fellows.
Mr. Robertson was of Scotch birth, the place of his nativity being Paisley, and the year, 1827. When he arrived at school age he entered the Paisley grammar school, where he gained a working knowledge of the common branches of learning. All through his life he was a student,—a student of books, of men, of affairs and the signs of the times, and he became a thoroughly well read man, whose judgment was regarded as sound and his sagacity keen. After leaving school he learned the weavers trade and in 1840 was sent to Glasgow and entered upon a four year’s apprenticeship in a drapery and clothing establishment. Subsequently he became an employe of a manufacturing firm and displayed such ability and resourcefulness in this connection that he was soon afterward admitted into a partnership, and as most of the work of the firm devolved upon him, his health gave way and his physician recommended that he go either to Australia or Canada.
Mr. Robertson’s choice fell upon the latter country and in 1853 he sailed for the new world, accompanied by his wife and two sons. He at once joined the wholesale dry-goods firm of Brown & Swan and, on retiring therefrom two years later, founded the firm of Andrew Robertson & Company which in 1867 was merged with the older established business of William Stephen & Company and continued under the style of Robertson, Stephen & Company. With the firm and its successors he was continuously connected until 1885, when he retired. Early in the 60’s he built the Auburn Woolen Mill at Peterboro, Ontario, for the manufacture of Canadian tweeds, and successfully directed it from Montreal until 1867, when he sold it as part of the purchase price of the Stephen business. His methods were ever progressive, and his close application and indefatigable energy constituted the foundation upon which he builded his prosperity.
ANDREW ROBERTSON