WILLIAM SMITH.
Clearly defined purposes and close application were salient features in the career of William Smith, who died in Montreal on the 14th of March, 1910, when nearly eighty-four years of age. He was born in Lanarkshire, Scotland, September 20, 1826, and came to Canada when a young man. He practically spent his remaining days in this city. He at first engaged in the dry-goods business, which he followed for many years with good success. Eventually he became a manufacturing tobacconist and again prosperity attended his efforts in the commercial field. He also owned valuable real estate, having taken advantage of early opportunities for investment along that line. The soundness of his judgment and the clearness of his vision were indicated in the rise in his property values, making his holdings well worthy of consideration.
WILLIAM SMITH
Mr. Smith was married in Montreal to Miss Margaret Watson, daughter of George and Margaret (Selkirk) Watson of Montreal. He continued to make the city his home until his life’s labors were ended in death, when he had reached a venerable age. He was a man respected by all and such was the regard entertained for his opinions, that his advice was frequently sought upon important questions. He was an attendant at Erskine church. Mr. Smith is survived by his widow, who resides in what has been for years the family residence, built by Mr. Smith at No. 56 Simpson Street and which home stands on the site of the former home of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, discoverer of the Mackenzie river and the first European to cross the Rocky mountains.
JOSEPH ARTHUR BOURGAULT.
Joseph Arthur Bourgault is one of the most prominent figures in real-estate circles in Montreal, his well defined and carefully executed plans constituting a potent force in the substantial development and improvement of various sections of the city. He is yet a young man but has already attained a position that many a one of twice his years might well envy. He was born May 30, 1887, at St. Louis de Bonsecours, Richelieu county, P. Q., his parents being Henri and Caroline (Loriviere) Bourgault, the former a native of Ste. Victoire, Richelieu county, and the latter of St. Judes in St. Hyacinthe county, P. Q.
Joseph Arthur Bourgault pursued his education in the schools at Sorel, P. Q., and was graduated from St. Bernard College on the 19th of June, 1905. He started in the business world as a bookkeeper and afterward was traveling salesman, but eventually turned his attention to the real-estate business, which he conducts under the name of J. A. Bourgault & Company with offices at No. 97 St. James Street in Montreal. His progress has been continuous, and his efforts have been constantly of greater public value, as he has developed and improved property which hitherto had been an unsightly waste or had little commercial value. In 1911 he developed and sold Montmorency Park including eleven hundred lots which brought three hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars; and in 1912 he sold a part of Niagara Garden including thirty-two hundred lots, of which nineteen hundred brought four hundred and twenty thousand dollars. He also sold a subdivision on the south shore called Woodbine Park including over eleven hundred lots. All this extensive property has been sold exclusively by Mr. Bourgault. He is a wide-awake, alert, enterprising young man thoroughly in touch with the real-estate market. He knows what property is for sale, is conversant with values and seems never to make a mistake in his investments. He was graduated at the National Salesmen Training Association, which has its headquarters in Chicago, and he is a member of the Headquarters International Realty Company of that city.
On the 25th of November, 1912, in Montreal, Mr. Bourgault was married to Miss Berthe Daignault, a daughter of the late J. Daignault. They have gained many friends during the period of their residence here. Mr. Bourgault has attractive social qualities which render him popular socially and add not a little to his success in the management and control of an extensive and growing real-estate business.