Mr. Learmont died March 12, 1914.
FREDERICK WILLIAM THOMPSON.
Centuries past the history of a country consisted of a record of wars and conquests—the contest of man with man; today the history is the record of man’s contests with material forces and those who are making the history of a country are the men who are controlling its important agricultural, commercial and professional interests. It is they who are shaping the annals of the nation and those who rise to leadership in any given line are the men who are preparing the records that in years to come will be eagerly read as the history of the past. In this connection the name of Frederick William Thompson stands prominently forth, for he became one of the foremost figures in connection with the milling industry of Canada. He was born in Montreal, January 16, 1862, and was but in the prime of life when he passed away in London, England, May 7, 1912. His parents were the late Andrew and Josephine (DeLesperance) Thompson. The son was educated in Montreal and in Brooklyn, New York, living for some years in the latter city. Subsequently he returned to Montreal and entered the service of the Exchange Bank as a clerk, remaining with that institution for seven years. It was thus that he gained his preliminary business experience which he later turned to account in the management of milling operations. In 1882 he joined the Ogilvie Mills in Winnipeg, becoming general manager of the Ogilvie Milling Company in 1888. Following the death of W. W. Ogilvie in 1900 the entire company’s interests were consolidated and the business purchased by Mr. Thompson and C. R. Hosmer. In 1911 the Ogilvies were made millers to the King. The business gradually grew and developed and became a focal point in the milling industry of the country, setting the standard for activity along that line. Mr. Thompson was active in coordinating forces and in developing an enterprise which became second to none in all Canada. He had wonderful powers of organization and could unite seemingly diverse elements into a unified and harmonious whole. He considered no detail as too unimportant to claim his attention, while, at the same time, he gave due regard to the major points in his business. His executive force and management were many times called forth in other connections.
He had voice in the control of many important business and financial interests and in affairs of a public and semi-public character. He was a director of the Canadian branch of the Liverpool & London & Globe Insurance Company, the Montreal Transportation Company, the Canadian Appraisal Company, the Electric Flour Patents Company, the E. N. Heney Company, the Royal Bank of Canada, the Manitoba Assurance Company, and was president of the Keystone Transportation Company and of the Canada Appraisal Company. He was also the originator of the Kaministiqua Power Company and of a large number of other enterprises which contributed to the history of the country in its commercial and financial development.
As stated, Mr. Thompson was a prominent figure in relation to many public and semi-public interests. He was a governor of the Winnipeg General Hospital; and a life governor of the Protestant Hospital for the Insane, the Western Home and the Boys’ Home. In 1908 he lectured on Plain Business Facts. He was president of the Winnipeg Industrial Exchange Association and of the Winnipeg Board of Trade. He was likewise a vice president of the Winnipeg Rowing Club; president and patron of the local branch of the Royal Caledonia Curling Club, and honorary president of the Winnipeg Hockey Club. He was a director of the Montreal Association for the Blind, governor of the Montreal Western Hospital, councilor of the Montreal Board of Trade, and in Montreal no less than in Winnipeg he was greatly interested in all public enterprises and philanthropic undertakings. In 1903 he was a delegate to the Fifth Commercial Congress of the Empire.
In the previous year Mr. Thompson received the Prince and Princess of Wales, now King George and Queen Mary, at the Ogilvie Mill in Winnipeg and subsequently presented the Princess with the picture of the largest flour mill in the British Empire. It was in the same year that the largest shipment of flour to South America from the Dominion of Canada was made.
In 1882 Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Wilhelmina Reid, a daughter of the late William Reid of Bedford, province of Quebec, and their children were Marion, Fred, Alice and Helen. The first named became the wife of D. C. Rea, of Winnipeg, manager of the Royal Bank. Mr. Thompson was prominently known in club and social circles, holding membership in the St. James, Mount Royal, Canada, Forest and Stream, Royal Montreal Golf, Montreal Jockey, and Auto and Aero Clubs; Montreal Amateur Athletic Association; the Montreal Curling Club; the Rideau Club of Ottawa; the Constitutional of London; Manitoba of Winnipeg; and the York Club of Toronto.
Perhaps no better estimate of the life and character of Mr. Thompson can be given than by quoting from an editorial which appeared in one of the papers at the time of his demise and which read: