George Washington Stephens Sr.
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George Washington Stephens (22 September 1832 – 20 June 1904) was a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
businessman, lawyer, and politician.


Biography

Born in
Swanton, Vermont Swanton, Vermont may refer to: *Swanton (town), Vermont *Swanton (village), Vermont Swanton is a village in the town of Swanton in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. It is sometimes called Swanton Village to distinguish it from the surrou ...
, the son of Harrison Stephens (1801–1881) and Sarah Jackson, his father was a wealthy
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
merchant from Vermont who had moved to Montreal in the 1830s. Stephens was born at Swanton while his mother was on a visit there. Stephens was one of the first boys to attend the newly established
High School of Montreal The High School of Montreal was an English-language high school founded in 1843, serving Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the area eventually known as the Golden Square Mile. It was less formally known as Montreal High School and from 1853 to 1870 was ...
. After leaving school, he worked in the retail hardware trade and with his brother in the family business, then in 1863 Stephens received a law degree from
McGill College McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
and was admitted to the
Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec () is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Canada (). History The begi ...
. He started practicing law in a partnership but soon practiced alone.


Family

In 1865 he married the much younger Elizabeth Mary McIntosh, who was of Scottish origin. They had a son, George Washington Stephens Jr. (1866–1942). After the sudden and unexpected death of Elizabeth, Stephens married her younger sister, Frances Ramsey McIntosh, in 1878. They had a son together, Francis Chattan Stephens (1887–1918), who went to become a stockbroker and, during
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, a Captain in the Canadian 13th Battalion. Chattan, as he was called, married a daughter of Canadian military minister
Albert Edward Kemp Sir Albert Edward Kemp (August 11, 1858 – August 12, 1929) was a Canadian businessman and politician. Kemp was a Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence and Minister of Overseas Military Forces during World War I. A Conservative and ...
in 1912. Their daughter, Frances Elizabeth (1912–2014) married Murray Gordon Ballantyne, son of Charles Colquhoun Ballantyne, politician.


Political career

In 1868, Stephens was elected to the Montreal City Council as a councillor for the Saint-Laurent ward. He served on the council from 1868 to 1879, 1881 to 1882, and from 1889 to 1892. In
1881 Events January * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The Chilean army ...
, he was elected as the
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...
candidate to the
Legislative Assembly of Quebec A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...
for the electoral district of Montréal-Centre. He was defeated in the 1886 election and again in the 1890 election. He was elected again for
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in the
1892 In Samoa, this was the only leap year spanned to 367 days as July 4 repeated. This means that the International Date Line was drawn from the east of the country to go west. Events January * January 1 – Ellis Island begins processing imm ...
and
1897 Events January * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedit ...
elections. He was appointed minister without portfolio in the cabinet of
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Félix-Gabriel Marchand Félix-Gabriel Marchand (January 9, 1832 – September 25, 1900) was a journalist, author, notary and politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the 11th premier of Quebec from May 24, 1897, to September 25, 1900. Born in what is Saint-Jean-sur-Riche ...
in 1897. He was re-appointed to the same office in the cabinet of Premier
Simon-Napoléon Parent Simon-Napoléon Parent, KC (September 12, 1855 – September 7, 1920) was the 12th premier of Quebec from October 3, 1900 to March 21, 1905, as well as serving as President of the Quebec Bridge and Railway Company. Background Parent was bor ...
. He did not run in the 1900 election and was appointed a provincial commission on colonization in 1902.


Death and family legacy

He died in Quebec on June 20, 1904 at the age of 71. He is interred in Montreal’s
Mount Royal Cemetery Mount Royal Cemetery ( French: Cimetière Mont-Royal) is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It opened in 1852. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, ...
. His son, George Washington Stephens, was also a politician in Quebec. His second wife, Frances, perished in the sinking of the British luxury liner ''
RMS Lusitania RMS ''Lusitania'' was a United Kingdom, British ocean liner launched by the Cunard Line in 1906. The Royal Mail Ship, the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of her sister three months later, in 1907 regained for Britain the ...
'' in 1915. Her body was recovered and the coffin sent back to Canada on the ''
Hesperian The Hesperian is a system (stratigraphy), geologic system and geologic timescale, time period on the planet Mars characterized by widespread Volcanology of Mars, volcanic activity and catastrophic flooding that carved immense outflow channels acr ...
'' which was sunk by a torpedo allegedly by the same German submarine that had sunk the ''Lusitania''.


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, George 1832 births 1904 deaths High School of Montreal alumni McGill University Faculty of Law alumni Montreal city councillors Lawyers in Quebec Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Anglophone Quebec people People from Swanton (town), Vermont Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec