JAMES JOHN EDMUND GUERIN, M. D., LL. D., T. C. D., K. C. S. G.
Dr. James John Edmund Guerin, medical practitioner and educator, and an influential figure in the political history of the province, having served with distinction as a member of the Marchand and Parent cabinets and later as mayor of Montreal, was born July 4, 1856, in the city which is still his place of residence, a son of the late Thomas Guerin, C. E., chief hydraulic engineer of the department of public works, Ottawa, and a brother of the Hon. Edmund Guerin, one of the judges of the superior court, Montreal. Dr. Guerin made his studies at the Montreal College, and later entered McGill University for the purpose of pursuing a course in medicine. He was graduated M. D., C. M. in 1878, and has since engaged in active practice in his native city where he has also done important hospital work. He is the president of the medical board of the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital and one of the governors of the Notre Dame Hospital; in educational circles he is well known as professor of clinical medicine in Laval University. He holds to the highest professional standards of ethics and enjoys the warmest regard of fellow practitioners. He is a director of the Royal Edward Institute and a governor of the Victorian Order of Nurses, and in 1909 he was appointed a member of the royal commission to prevent the further spread of tuberculosis.
Capable and prominent as is Dr. Guerin in his chosen profession, he has also become equally widely known in connection with political activity and has done much important work. In 1895 he was elected president of the St. Patrick’s Society and was reelected in 1896 and 1897. In the former year he was a delegate to the Irish National Convention at Dublin. In October, 1895, he was returned to the legislature for Montreal in the liberal interests by a majority of twelve hundred and fifty-four. In 1897 he was reelected in the general election and was called to the Marchand cabinet without portfolio on the 25th of May of that year. He was a minister without portfolio in the Marchand and Parent administrations from 1897 to 1904, and in 1901 was appointed member of the council of public instruction of the province of Quebec. His opinions carried weight in provincial councils and a discussion of any vital question with him at once indicated how widely and thoroughly he was informed concerning the points at issue. In February, 1910, as the candidate of the citizens’ party, he was elected mayor of Montreal by a majority of twelve thousand nine hundred and eighty-three and in his administration sought at all times to further the best interests of the city. He conducted its civic affairs along economical lines and yet never fettered municipal progress by a narrow conservatism. He represented the city of Montreal at the funeral of King Edward in London in 1910 and at the coronation of King George and Queen Mary in 1911. In 1911 he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great, and in 1912 he received the degree of LL. D. from Trinity College, Dublin.
In 1883 Dr. Guerin was married to Miss Mary Carroll O’Brien, daughter of the late Hon. James O’Brien; she died in 1886. Dr. Guerin resides at No. 4 Edgehill Avenue. His religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic church. Aside from serving as president of St. Patrick’s Society he has been president of the Shamrock Lacrosse Club and of many other organizations. He is a member of the Mount Royal Club, the University Club and the Montreal Jockey Club. His activity along various important lines indicates his worth and value as a citizen, and his indorsement at the polls testifies to the confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens. His ideals of citizenship are high, while in his professional career he manifests the keenest appreciation for the responsibilities and obligations which devolve upon him.
ANDREW STUART EWING.
Andrew Stuart Ewing, for almost half a century one of the best known business men of Montreal, was born in 1838 at Lisdillon House, Londonderry, Ireland, and was a representative of an old family of Irish origin, his parents being Samuel and Margaret (Hamilton) Ewing, who crossed the Atlantic to Canada with their family when their son, Andrew, was seven years of age. He was educated in the public schools of Montreal and in 1860 entered into partnership with his brother, Samuel H. Ewing, in the ownership and management of the extensive coffee and spice mills formerly owned by his father, who founded the business in 1845. In 1860 the firm style of Samuel Ewing & Sons was assumed and in 1892, after the retirement of Samuel H. Ewing, Andrew S. Ewing became sole proprietor of the business which was conducted at No. 55 Cote Street. The enterprise was one of extensive proportions and yielded a substantial profit as a result of careful management and wise direction.
During the last fifteen years of his life Mr. Ewing was a prominent member of the Montreal Board of Trade and was interested in its various projects for promoting the material progress of the city and advancing affairs of municipal and civic interest. In politics he was a conservative and a strong supporter of the national policy.
Mr. Ewing died at his home in Montreal, January 8, 1902, and was survived by his widow until June, 1913. The surviving children are Andrew Stuart and Royal L. H. Ewing and two daughters, Mrs. Robert Starke and Miss Adelaide Ewing. The sons are members of the firm of Ewing & Ewing, real estate and insurance, which was established in September, 1906, by the brothers in connection with A. F. Gault, but the last named retired from the firm May 1, 1912. A. Stuart Ewing is a member of the Art Association of Montreal, the Canadian Club, the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club, the St. James Club, the Manitou Club and the Park Toboganning Club, of which he is vice president.