A Cyclopædia of Canadian Biography. Various

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Название A Cyclopædia of Canadian Biography
Автор произведения Various
Жанр Языкознание
Серия
Издательство Языкознание
Год выпуска 0
isbn 4064066200541



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persuaded Mr. Harris to accompany him to the Ottawa Valley. When they reached again the region of kingly pines and booming waterfalls, they were everywhere met with testimony from river experts, saying that the Ottawa was not suitable for the safe driving of saw logs, but Mr. Bronson recommended to his partner the purchase of hydraulic lots at the Chaudiere Falls, then held by the Crown. At the sale of the lots, made by Mr. Horace Merrill, general superintendent of the Ottawa River works, a purchase was made, and here, under the personal supervision of Mr. Bronson, their mills were built within sound of the thunder of the falls. The mills having been erected, Mr. Bronson removed his family to Ottawa, and there they were established permanently. The relation of Mr. Bronson to the sawn lumber trade of the Dominion of Canada will be better understood when it is learned that his was the first movement in the Ottawa District for the manufacture of sawn lumber for the United States market. The original mill embodied all the modern improvements of the times, including iron gates of novel model, a contrivance planned by Mr. Bronson himself, and afterwards used in most of the gang saw mills on the Ottawa River. Several other gentlemen, stimulated by the enterprise and success of Mr. Bronson and his partner, likewise set out for Ottawa; and, after a time, chiefly owing to the persistency of Mr. Bronson, a series of costly river improvements were constructed, which made the driving of logs upon the Ottawa a matter of greater convenience than upon many a smaller stream, which has no large lakes to act as a reservoir for checking the fury of the spring freshets. In 1864, Mr. Harris retired from the business, Mr. Bronson still continuing the extensive manufacture of sawn lumber, and owing to his splendid abilities as a manager, his operations not alone maintained their ground, but gradually increased. The present firm at Ottawa is known as The Bronson Company. Mr. Bronson married, on November 5, 1840, Editha E. Pierce, of Bolton, N.Y., and had four children. Gertrude, the only daughter, is the wife of Levi Crannell. The sons are Erskine Henry, Frank P., and Walter G. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Bronson, like another great prince of business men, Sir Hugh Allan, did not care for political life, and held himself aloof from parties, but he was connected with several benevolent institutions and business enterprises. In 1889, death called this pioneer Canadian lumberman and high-principled citizen. His private and social relations had won for him everywhere good will and highest regard. Men had learned to esteem the man because of his tested and sterling worth. In the commerce of Canada Mr. Bronson’s name will go down in history as the first lumberman in the Ottawa Valley to manufacture sawn lumber for the American market, and as a pioneer in the development of the resources of that section of Canada to the point where its principal city was deemed worthy of being named as the Capital City of the Dominion. Business courage and keenness of perception were required to accomplish these ends, but in more ways than one Mr. Bronson had shown himself to be a man of practical vision and rare foresight. To men like the late Henry Franklin Bronson, Canada and in particular the business life of the Capital, must ever remain in debt.