Monday, October 30, 2017

Montreal's spookiest place: Lachine Canal, the watery graveyard, has claimed dozens

Dozens have drowned in the dark waters of the man-made Lachine Canal since it first flowed in 1825.
    The waters have not spared children or elderly women, as people of all types breathed their last breaths before their bodies were fished out in macabre scenes all too familiar to city-dwellers.
   Many were suicides, others murder victims and many others were people who just drowned after swimming or slipping in fully-clothed.   
   The following is merely a partial list compiled in an effort to remember those who were claimed by what might otherwise seem a benign waterway.
***
22 Sept 1882 John Sullivan died of suicide jumping into the Lachine Canal. He was as drunk who often took refuge in police stations. He was 64
24 Nov 1882 - Newspaper reports that Mrs. Stewart's husband drowned in the canal some time earlier.
21 Aug 1894 Boy named Auger, 9, from St. James Street died drowning while playing and collecting rocks. He tried to reach in. Other kids failed to be able to save him.
29 July 1902 John McGarrity of 218 Ropery, aged about 20, drowned after leaping into the canal in an attempt to escape after being caught stealing Fred Pomminville's horse and wagon at Chaboillez Square.
18 March 1903 Four boys, John Hayes, 15, William Niven, 7, Victor Fecheau, 9 and Patrick Curbeck, 11, drowned when they fell through the ice while attempting to cross the canal.
22 July 1906 Patrick May, 35, of Colborne Street drowned near Cote St. Paul. He had been working taking coal off a barge when the moorings broke. He attempted to leap onto another barge but fell in and drowned. He left a wife and five children.
28 Nov 1908 - an unknown drowning victim was fished out.
15 Aug 1908 Henri Chenier, 9 drowned. He was with his brother. His mom was a widow and had five kids.  
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Armand Chretien
5 April 1910 Jean Bohrer, 52, chef at the Oxford Cafe was fished out near Cote St. Paul. He disappeared 10 December. He was from New York and lived on Metcalfe.
21 June 1910 Arthur Sinclair drowned while swimming with a friend, he tried to swim across and was stricken by cramps. His friend was unable to save him. He was 28 and worked for the Dominion Wire company.
13 July 1910 Michael Burke, 14, from 9th Avenue in Lachine, drowned. He had a leg amputated some time before.
29 Aug 1911 Jean Baptiste Thilby 65, drowned near de Seigneurs. He lived on Delisle.
26 Aug 1912 Adelard Perron, 7, drowned while fishing with friends and two brothers. He lived on St. Ferdinand in St. Henri.
9 Dec. 1912 John Harris, 47 of Dominion Wire in Lachine drowned.
28 July 1913 Napoleon Lauzon, 14, of Rioux Street in St. Henri drowned swimming in the canal with several others. The others fled the scene.
29 July 1913 Zotique Beaudoin drowned bathing in the canal. He could not swim and perished when the rope he was pulling to get out of the water broke.
8 August 1913 Adelard Languepee, 8, of 857 Albert Street drowned near the Atwater Bridge. His body was recovered 45 minutes later. He had been playing on the banks with two friends, tossing items into the water when he tossed a large branch in and fell in.
William L'Ecuyer
13 Nov 1913 Seven workers died when their rowboat capsized . Volunteers picked bodies from the canal. The effort was hindered as neither Lachine or St. Paul considered the accident to be within their boundaries. Lachine said it was three miles from their town and it was property of federal government who had the responsibility of doing the work. Some of the reporting was questionable: "Negro struck boy in face in frantic struggle to secure hold on upturned boat." The ship went down when hit by waves by a passing tugboat. The workers were building new power plant for Montreal Light Heat and Power Company at the far end of Cote St. Paul. The workers were hired by subcontractors D.G. Loomis Sons, Dominion Bridge Company and Meade Morrison. They crossed the canal by rowboat in order to avoid travelling three miles from the bridge on the south side. The project employed 200 to 300 workmen, many Poles, Romanians and Italians and some natives from Kahnawake. Many workers rushed to the boat at 5 pm. in order to get home first.
Canal disaster of 1913 claimed at least 7
The boat was crossing when a tugboat of the Sincennes-McNaughton line was steaming to Lachine. The wash caused the smaller ship, already crowded and low in the water, to shift. It had already crossed over halfway. The people on the north side were not there to help the men tossed into the water as they had already left to catch streetcars. The tugboat backed up to help. A.E. Porter, 18 was hit in the face by a "burly negro" while "trying to secure a hold on the bottom of the upturned boat." The tug rescued him. "It's thought the negro drowned." The men were dressed in heavy corduroy suits and hob-nailed boots. Water was icy and bitterly cold. Survivor F.K. Pochler was a good swimmer but said it was impossible to move as his limbs were numb and clothes were heavy. He had trouble even grasping the oar tossed into the canal. Ferryman Michael Ruse and his brother George Ruse drowned,. Management was spared as they generally crossed last. Victims included Armand Chretien, aged 39, of Cadieux (now De Bullion), Leon Humaniuk, 19, of 4 Theatre Lane, Leslie Mesquite,  (or Mesquita), 33, (the "negro" referred to earlier) from  147 Lusignan, William L'Ecuyer, 27, married, lived at 88 Quesnel and John Ponchuk, (or Poncruk) of 253 St. Urbain. Others were initially missing, so it's not entirely certain that more didn't die.

18 Aug 1913 Wejeck Bromieck, 18, from Poland drowned swimming with friends. His body was not immediately found. He lived on 6th Ave in Lachine and all of his family was in Russia.
14 Nov 1913 Dieudonne Monette, 34 of Beaudoin St, who drowned 3 weeks earlier, was found. He left a widow and two children.
1 Aug 1913 - unidentified man near Black's Bridge, aged around 40.
29 July 1913 Napoleon Lauzon, 14 of Rioux Street in St. Henri drowned while swimming near Cote St. Paul.
5 May 1913 Thomas Burgess of Point St Charles drowned.
13 april 1914 R.E. Richardson, engineer,  working for Grand Truck Railroad fished from the canal
April 1914 Wassil Bokluk, 27, (81 Clark Street) and John O'Neil, 29, of Forfar St who came from the states last fall. Both were working for Dominion Coal.
10 July 1914 Unknown drowned near Charlevoix, thought maybe suicide
18 July 1914 George Greene, 20, drowned swimming. He lived at 1525 Dorchester with friend James Duncan.
17 Aug 1914 John Queen, 15, fell in the water and drowned. He lived on Nazareth Street. They were playing on the bank.
16 Aug 1915 Unidentified
21 dec. 1915 John Robert Taylor, 40, drowned on the way to work at Dominion Textile. He lived on Springland and had worked 10 years at the factory.
8 June 1915 Soldier William Walsh, 17, from Duke Street . He had been complaining of fever and dizziness and was thought to have fallen in the water while patrolling as sentinel. He was with the Irish Rangers 55th Battalion.
19 June 1915 Military sentinel Jules Fortin drowned Tuesday night after falling in the water while patrolling the banks. New instructions were to patrol 100 steps from the water.
5 April 1915 - Unidentified.
25 Aug 1915 unidentified near Wellington Bridge.
23 july 1916 Rosario Brunet, 13, of St. Louis street drowned near the reservoir in the Lachine canal. He got cramps while swimming.
15 May 1916 Unidentified body fished out of the canal, probably a worker.
21 aug. 1917 longshoreman Charles Dinelle, 45 of 339 des Carrieres fell into the canal and died.
9 nov. 1917 Body fished out after three months in the water. Mrs. Leduc identified it as her husband. 
15 Nov. 1917 Sandick Dowey of 581 Wellingon fished out of the canal at Black's Bridge.
1 April 1918 Nicolas Barry, 65, missing since November 1917 found. He was from Havre de Grace in Newfoundland and had lived in Montreal for 40 years.
3 Nov 1919 Omer Secours 112 Ste. Marie fished out of the canal.He hadn't been seen since October 12.
27 May 1920 A badly-decomposed corpse was found floating. Unidentifiable.
28 June 1921 Jeremie Beliveau drowned.
Jimmy Howard, 6
10 May 1922 Ulric Leonard, 6, of 213 St. Joseph Street Lachine drowned while playing with friends.
11 May 1922 George Hodge, 72, fished out. Ruled accidental.
26 July 1922 William MacCarthy, 69, of McCord Street drowned at the foot of Ottawa St.
2 July 1923 Armand Meloche, 10, of 12 St. Martin Street. Ruled accidental.
12 July 1923 Jimmy Howard, 6, of Drake Street drowned at about 3 p.m. near the bridge in Cote St.
Paul. Two other children he was playing with Gaston Daoust and William Boswell, ran to their parents to alert them.
4 June 1924 Walter Roku, 15, (143 Forar) fished from canal at Black's Bridge. He disappeared 23 May while searching for wood on shore.
P. E. Durand
9 July 1924 Paul Emile Durand, 15, of 43 Dagenais drowned while swimming in the Canal near Dominion Flour. He was swimming alone. His brother Marcel drowned seven years later in Riviere des Prairies.
10 July 1924 George Massinetti, 44,  of 265 Maple in Ville St. Pierre drowned Sunday morning.
14 July 1924 Thomas Fagan, 23 of 265 St. James in Ville St Pierre drowned at the foot of 5th Ave. He was swimming with three friends. Cramps blamed. Body found two hours later with grappling irons.
22 July 1924 T. Swidler, 4, of St. Louis Street in Lachine.
19 August 1924 Alexandre Charrette, ruled accidental.
15 Sept 1924 Unidentified man about 35
10 June 1925 Unidentified, found near Atwater.
30 June 1925 Henri Beriault, 9, of de Villiers Street drowned.
16 April 1926 Fred McFie (McVie?) hotelier of St. Armand found drowned in the canal. Police suspected murder.
28 April 1926 Tommy Remandini fished from foot of Guy street. He ran away 15 Oct and hadn't been seen since.
28 June 1926 Antonio Dupres, sailor from Sorel, fell in lock 2 Prince street and drowned around 8 p.m. on a Saturday evening. He died after hitting his head leaping from the ship to the lock. He sank and did not resurface. He was alone at the time of the mishap.
23 July 1926 William Mussin, 337 St. Patrick Street. Elderly man who did odd jobs and lived in a small home near the canal committed suicide and was fished out of the waters.
11 July 1927 Percy Philbin, 19 of 13 Springland while playing in an old boat they came across near the power dam in Lasalle.
Leo Bouchard, 12
12 September 1927 Leo Bouchard,12, of 294 Bourget Street drowned on a Friday evening.He seems to have fallen into the canal.
7 July 1928 Antoine Bergeron, 55, fell into the river and died. His body floated into the canal near Wellington.
27 July 1928 Man in his forties near des Seigneurs.
Lucien Lalonde, 30
12 January 1929 Lucien Lalonde, 30, of 208 Barre Street, drowned after
driving his Kendall Brothers truck into the canal.
29 July1929 Donat Desjardins, 15, of Beaudoin Street fell in an died at St.Marguerite. He was having fun wrestling with friends with he slipped in. His friends couldn't save him.
4 Aug. 1930 John Linz, 40,  of 1476 de Bullion found after missing 10 days.
6 August 1929 L. Lefebvre, 22, of 567 Richmond, worked at Bordena Farm Products at 215 Murray Street. He was delivering milk and his horse drowned as well near Ottawa Street.
9 September 1929 T.G. Isbester,21 drowned.
17 Sept 29 Unidentified, fished out near Colborne.
20 March 1930 Charles Desmarais recovered.
28 March 1930 Waclaw Simonskowitz and Alfred Denoncourt drowned.
3 April 1930 Two bodies fished out. Joseph Rutty, 40, who was living at the Meurling homeless refuge. The other was an unidentified man in his thirties.
23 May 1930 Patrick O'Donnell, 53, of 0654 Charleoix was found drowned at 7 a.m.
Patrick O'Donnell
He had been a detective in the Montreal police force and handled many big cases but quit one year earlier.
Lefebvre, 22, and horse
26 May 1930 Louis Henri Cote, 20, fished out in LaSalle. He lived on Ethel in Verdun
4 August 1930 John Linz, 30, of De Bullion fished out by the Verdun police.
20 Oct 1930 Unidentified man with grey hair found near Black's Bridge.
24 Nov. 1930 Romeo Robert, 12, fell in and drowned while playing with a dog.
31 July, 1931 James Allan, 9, of 1949 De Villies drowned at 10:30 a.m. He was sitting on his friend Stanley Saxton's, 10, bicycle handlebars when the bike slipped into the canal. Saxton swam away but Allan drowned.
6 August 1931 14 month old child was fished from the canal at 7:15 a.m.
11 August 1931 Herbert-Gordon Edwards, 19 drowned near Dominion Distilleries in Cote St. Paul 30 June. His parents came from England to find out whathappened.
17 Aug 1931 Godefroy Lecompte disappeared for 2 or 3 days, was found at 6 pm dead.

25 January 1932 Louis Aime Lavigne, 12, of 203 St.Augustin, drowned after his friends dared him to cross the ice.
2 September 1932 Albert Martel,l 1, of 1607 Hadley near the Fraser Basin.
De Repentigny, 7
3 October 1932 Wilfrid DeRepentigny, 7, fell off a sand barge of Consolidated Oka Sand. He drowned at 3 p.m. near Ottawa. Street.
26 October 1932 Unidentified man in his late thirties.
31 December 1932 Henry Peraglino, 8, of 234A St.Joseph in Lachine died near 8th Ave. at 2:45 p.m. He was playing on the ice in spite of warnings from his friends. His body was found 20 minutes later. Artificial respiration failed to save him.
Martel, 18
4 November 1933 Two drowned in a car. Gabriel Morin, 28, insurance agent for Capital Life and Blanche Beaudoin, 25, of Montreal. They drove in on a Friday night.
29 September 1934 Albert Sauve, 33, of 304 Etienne Cartier turned left instead of right on St. Patrick near Angers and his car plunged headlong into the canal.
9 Nov 1934 Archibald Gibson,  war veteran disappeared previous June, identified by John Kimberly. Turned out Gibson was alive and well and living in England, so this was someone else.
27 March 1935 Marcel Gosselin, 15, of 2532 St. Patrice, found drowned.
1 April 1935 Henri Savoie, 36, of 4404 Cartier, drowned. He had gone missing the year prior.
Dooley, 53
8 April 1935 Joseph Louis Letourneur, 72, of 1120 Chenneville, was found near 1654 St. Patrice in the water at 5:30.
15 May 1935 Clovis Masse, 50, of 4730 Berri, fished out in Cote St. Paul
31 May 1935 Patrick Dooley, 53, of 1100Ottawa, was found in the waters near Ogilvie Flour,after being missing for 10 days after leaving to go to St.Ann's church.
4 June 1935 Edwin Cromwell, 60, 1117 Anderson.
6 June 1935 Unidentified body fished out.
22 July 1935 Juliette Fillion, 9, of 5973 Mazarin drowns swimming during a heat wave.
29 June 1935 Leon Montion of Vankleek Hill, drowned with his truck.
13 July 1935 Barton Jolly, 59, of 1425 St. James Street West.
15 July 1935 Patrick O'Connell, 20, of 533 Chatham.
10 June 1936 Edouard Cote, 17, of 75 A 4th ave. Lachine drowned swimming on a hot day. He was fished out at 7 pm by his father who came to help the Lachine police.
16 June 1935 Patrick O'Connell, 20, of 533 Chatham drowned between Des Seigneurs and Canning.
6 April 1936 Gaspard Poirier, father of seven, missing for three motnhs, was foundfloating in the water. He lived at 3164 LaSalle in Verdun.
10 June 1936 Teddy Cote, 17, of Lachine drowned while swimming at around 2:30 p.m.
29 June 1936 Rene Francoeur, 16, drowned in front of a friend. He slipped off the sidewalk. It was ruled an accident.
Sanders, 60
14 September 1936 George Patrick Moore, 8, of 608 Canning found drowned. His father found him. He had been playing with friends on the bank of the canal.
27 April 1937 Leopold Berube,22,of 70 14th Ave.Lachine. Hisbrother Gerard,21, tried tohelp him butfailed.   
3 July 1937 Viateur Mallette, 25, of Hudson drowned after jumping from the S.S. Ottawan to the wharf at Colborne.
27 September 1937 N. D. Pinard, aged about 50, living a 6542 Casgrain, was found near 5120St.Patrice.
6 October 1937  Marcel Soucy, 24, of 8162 Henri Julien.
28 March 1938  Edouard Charbonneau in his fifties. Lived at 1018B St. Denis, found at Des Seigneurs.
16 April 1938 S. Willinson found dead in water. Was part of a Norweigan crew. 35 years old. Accident was from Oct 1937.
26 April 1938 Octavre De Repentigny, 60, of 3433 Lacombe found drowned atthefoot of Oak. His fathrew as a pomient police offier.
 7 May 1938 Unidentified man fished out.
Letourneau, 72
21 Nov 1938 Louis Gauthier, 64, of 6231 Dumas fished out. He had been missing eight days. Found by a grey cap floating in the water.
28 March 1938 Edouard Charbonneau of 1018B St. Denis.
24 May 1938 Dr. Herber Sanders, 60, teacher, organist, composer and organist at Westmount Park Church was found dead in shallow water at the foot of 16th. He was born in England and had moved to Montreal from Ottawa a decade earlier.
13 June 1938 Joseph Lemay,address unknown, found near Black's Bridge.He was identified by two homeless men he knew. Same page reports another man and woman had also been fished out dead.
16 June 1938 Gerald Huneault, 16, of 5014 Ste.Marie drowned. He was swimming with friends in the afternoon.
21 June 1938 Ephrem Lavoie,44, of no known address. He drowned after slipping in while crossing over an ecluse. His body was found an hour later.
21 November 1938 Louis Gauthier, 64, of 6231 Dumas was found drowned in the canal near the foot of Beaulieu.
20 June 1939 George Mannard, 5, of 5929 Hamilton drowned near ogues. He was playing with a friend Richard May and simply fell in.
22 July 1939 Walter Trottier, 36,of 3604 Ste. Famille drove in near Duke and Semainire and drowned.
15 September 1939 A sailor drowned after falling from his ship near Black's Bridge.
18 Sept. 1939 unknown at the foot of 12th Ave. A woman in her forties wearing 2 rings and a watch.
6 Dec 1939 Alex Ragolsky of Welland Ontario fished out. He was just 18. Foot of St. Ambroise Street. He was trying  to jump from ship to ship and fell in.
18 December 1939 George Etienne Beauchamp, 64, of 3466 Marcil found drowned.
18 Dec. 1939 Col. Georges-Etienne Beauchamp. A car was fished out containing his body. He disappeared a month earlier. He lived at 3166 Marcil, was a WWI veteran and was aged 64.
17 June 1940 Andreas Robitaille, 12, of 96 St. Marguerite drowned whiel swimming with friends. He had promised his parents he wouldn't go swimming.
3 Aug 1940  A soldier was fished out near Atwater. He was aged about 40, stood 5'7" and sported full battle dress.
24 April 1941 A boy, 6, drowned trying to pick up wood by the bank of the canal.
9 June 1941 Arthur Paradis, 12, of 716 St. Ferdinand drowned after swimming with friends near des Seigneurs.
21 Aug 1941 Jean Paul Joannis, 9, of 5341 Eadie died in the canal at 130 pm he was trying to reach a floating tire and fell in.
11 May 1942 Marcel Tessier, soldier, 35, living at 2315 St. Patrick was fished out.
8 June 1942 Henri Hamel, 40, from Mount Royal East. drowned Tuesday afternoon.
19 June 1942 Clayton Barrett, 56, of 947 Wolfe drowned afterhis car went into the canal near 5012 St. Patrice.
24 April 1943 Frederic-Thomas Watson, 49 of 4541 Earnscliffe. Disappeared previous fall. Found near 975 Mill.
19 March 1943 Louis Moore, 13, of 1031 Lacasse drowned trying to cross the icy canal returning from school.
21 April 1943 Edward Whitwell found drowned.
6 May 1943 Henri Valiquette, 60 of 4009 Henri Julien found near 6th Ave. He had been in the wter for several months.
25 June 1943 Two drowned: Hector Plouffe, 25 who drowned with his car, 600 feet from the Cote St. Paul Bridge. Ernest Bertrand, who was driving, also drowned. Both were from St. Chrysostome. He was driving north on Beaulieu when he got to St.Patrice.
30 June 1943 Godefroy Boyer, 9, of 2304 Le Caron drowned near Monk. He was playing on a raft.
19 October 1943 R. Paquette, in his 40s, of no known address. He worked at R.C.A. Victor. He was found near midnight near des Seigneurs. 
1 May 1944 Amedee  Brunelle,40, of 2476 Chteauguay Street, was found drowned at p.m. near Black's Bridge.
13 May 1944 Philippe Laurin, 40, of 2128 de Villiers was found near 435 St. Parick.
16 May 1944 Alfred Lafleur,28, of 2340 Carillon,found drowned near St.Patrice. also Joseph Duquette, 40, of 242 St.Philippe, at des Seigneurs.
31 May 1944 Unidentified man foundnear Des Seigneurs.
2 June 1944, Andre Lefebvre, 9, of 1303 Rotary drowned near Des Seigneurs.He had been playing with his friend Ovila Lauzon, 9 when he fell in.
14 June 1944 Andre Beaulieu, 15, of 1511 Berri drowned near Ottawa Street. He was gettingon a barge and fell in. Another article says he was eight years old 
22 June 1944 Edmon Moulin, 46, of 317 Tourangeau found dead after being missing nearly a month.
23 June 1944 William Currie, 52, of 5270 queen Mary fished outof the canal near Shearer. He was a manager at Royal Trust.
15 August 1944 Henri Bibeau, 13 of 719 Agnes drowned near 3970 St. Ambroise. He was with two friends. Also Lucien Desjardins, 19, of 584 Chatham was found near des Seigneurs. He was diving but didn't resurface. He had eaten green apples just prior to drowning.
7 September 1944 Eias Moreau, who went missing three weeks earlier was identified. He lived at 1353 Bonaventure and his family thought he was working on construction.
25 October 1944Arthur Sundberg, 53, of 155 Murrya in Greenfield Park died after his car plunged into the canal near Black's Bridge at around 2 p.m. He had been driving wets on Common Street and lost control after noticing the bridge was up.
11 April 1945 Delphis DesCoeurs, 67 of 3987 Hertel was found near Des Seinguers. He had been missing since the 23 October previous.
23 April 1945 Elko Chubby, 55, of 269 First Ave. in Lachine was found after several months near 6th Ave.
27 April 1945 Workers found a body floating. Probasbly there since the previous fall. Tattoos, including Mother.
4 May 1945 Bruce Duros, (or Duras) 2, of 593 Notre Dame W was fished out. He drowned Tuesday playing on the pier. The body was found near 42nd ave.
6 July 1945 Joseph Bracken, 47, 2137 Centre Street drowned near Guy Street. He was in the water two days before being fished out.
23 July 1945 Sailor Remi-Joseph-Lou Quesnel, 21, drowned near th Ave. His body was found a
Meloche and Lajoie
few minutes later. He was swimming in the water. He had three glasses of very cold chocolate milk and suffered cramps in the water.
1 Aug 1945 Lionel Meloche, 14 of 2822 St.Charles drowning while swimming with friends between the Atwater and Charlevoix Bridges. he slipped into the water after sittingon the bank. Later, near four p.m. Maurice Lajoie, 13, of 269 Colborne,drowned after suffering cramps while swimming. His brother Raymond, 22, found him five hours later.
27 October 1945 Sicile Cimara, 58, of 4865 6th Ave.Rosemont. He worked at Canadian import and is believed to have slipped and fallen in from 30 feet up from a ship from the Great Lakes.
6 Aug 1946 Andre Dussault, 62,  of 551 Chatham. Found behind 2050 Notre Dame E.
29 Aug 1946 Germain Boisvert, 28, of 65 2nd Ave. was found drowned near Ville St.Pierre. He had been strolling along the canal and likelyslipped in.
Sept 3 1946 James Bowen, 45,  of 5141 Durocher was fished out near Canning Street. Found at about 8 pm
25 Sept 1946 Unknown, aged around 65th near the Bascule Bridge between VSP and Lasalle. Drowned likely a few days earlier.
28 Nov 1946 John Schofield, 4077 Tupper, found Cote St Paul. He was in the water about 15 days. Was elderly.
23 Dec 1946 Robert Pitt, 45, of 1321 Conway drowned after slipping into the icy waters while working on repairs under the bridge. His body was only recovered the next 15 March 1947
22 April 1947 Alphohnse Chardonnet, 85 Beaudoin in St. Henri, aged 60,  found near des Seigneurs.
9 june 1947 A man fell in to the water near Point St. Charles,  a team sought him but couldn't find him. Meanwhile an arm was found floating in the water. It wasn't identified.
21 June 1947 Andrew Mearns,of England, drowned near Common and Prince.
14 July 1947 200 lb unidentified man near des Seigneurs.
16 July 1947 Paul Emile Lalonde, 28,  of 3938 Notre Dame West. He was a master painter and disappeared July 9. Some suspicion that he was killed by bandits or thieves.
7 August 1947 Unknown man found near McGill Street. He had his own teeth.
27 August 1947  Rene Richer, of 338 2nd Ave. in Ville St. Pierre.
24 May 1948 Joseph James Clifton, 27,  of Granby and Halifax. He had been there several months, worked for Canadian National Steamships.
10 June 1948 Emile Roy, 48, of 810 Ontario E.
19 July 1948 Kaymer, 64,  fished out.
2 Aug 1948 Marcel Salvatori, 6, 1403 Wellington drowned in canal trying to get a toy.
4 Oct. 1948 Bill Warnica, 72, of 3475 Jeanne Mance found near theAtwater Bridge.
2 May 1949 Bon Paul, 73 of 845 Notre Dame W. disappeared Thursday and was fished out of the canal two days later.
1 June 1949 Unidentified body fished out near 45 Colborne.
17 June 1949 Two bodes fished out on the same day. One at 10:30 had fallen in an hour earlier from the Victoria Pier. Paul Emile Girard, 35, of 9 Sherbrooke E. was fished out. Later around 11:45, another drowning victim, near the Cote St. Paul Bridge. Maurice Genest, 23, of 3934 Bannantyne.
20 September 1949 Arthur Tremblay, 50, of 1907 Beaudoin, found dead drowned.
5 October 1949 Thomas McAteer, 59, of 1590 Richardson found near Shearer. He was working on the side of the canal.
25 May 1950 Thomas Berube, 42,  of 320 Wilibrod in Verdun, worked for the Transport Ministry. He died near 20th Ave. He fell in in front of an engineer. Someone tossed him a lifesaver but he failed to grasp it.
24 July 1950 Claude Renauld, 18, of 6323 D'Aragon drowned swimming, fished out 9 pm
22 Sept 1950 A coroners jury decided there wasn't enough evidence to determine whether Mrs. Xavier Caron, 74, whose mutilated body was fished out of the Lachin Canal 20 Aug, was assaulted or died of an accident. She left to go to Ste. Anne de Beaupre and got into a taxi to Windsor Station and wasn't seen after.
5 Oct 1950 Armand Banville, 37, of the Meurlin refuge was fished out. He fell in the water near the Victoria Pier.
27 October 1950 Ralph Loach, 64, of 1764 Le Prohon found Oct 28. He was born in England.
24 March 1951 Workers doing maintenance found the body of a man who had been in for over a month. Near McCord Street. He was Henry Stewart Scott, 54, of 1575 Wellington. He likely drowned around 22 Feb.
Deschenes
18 April 1951 Unidentified body found near Crawford Bridge at 11 a.m.
Jimmy Abraham, 6
12 June 1951 Jimmy Abraham, 7,  of 718 Farm Street. He drowned after trying to jump in a boat.
4 July 1951 Harry Walker, about 25, found after about 5 days in the water near Black's Bridge.
21 June 1951 Sailor Wilfrid Deschenes, 47, of 1277 Robin, who was an employee of the Canada Steamships ship City of Montreal.
16 July 1951 - Michael Marchuk, 35, of 885 14th Ave. Lachine was fished out at the foot of 18th Ave. near St. Joseph.
7 July 1951 John Eccles, 55,  of 4555 Grand Blvd. apt 15. found near Cote St. Paul.
30 July 1951 Mrs. M. Murphy, 65, of 294 Ann found at the foot of des Seigneurs. She disappeared 13 July.

4 August 1951 Allen Cook,24, drowned while falling from a ship.
Eric Best, 6, with family and when found 
10 August 1951 Unidentified man, aged about 40, at the foot of McGill Street.
13 Aug 1951 Joseph Lapointe, 43, of 2376 Duvernay drowned near Des Seigneurs.
25 March 1952 Eric David Best, 6, drowned in the icy waters 50 feet from his house at 877 St. Joseph in Lachine.
31 March 1952 Emerson Dunsford, 30, 931 Canning found near Bourget Street.
18 April 1952 Gilles Trudeau, 11 and Lionel Theberge, 12, drowned when their boat drowned. They were pulled out an hour later.
28 April 1952 Toddler named Richard Collette drowned on a Saturday afternoon.
16 May 1952 Richard Collette, 7, 635 Farm Street found near 990 Mill. He fell in on April 2 tossing stones.
4 Aug. 1952 - William Dickson, 889 Moffat, around aged 60, fished out in Cote St.Paul.
2 September 1952 Unknown man about 65 fished from near Atwater.
26 January 1953 Pierre Lejour, 10, drowned after falling into the canal. Constable Walter Murdoch attempted repeatedly to save him but failed. His body was found four days later.
23 May 1953 Andre Sareault, 15,of 175 St. Patrick in Lasalle drowned while his little brother and anothe friend watched him disappear into the water. He fell in while playing boats on the side of the canal.
Search for Bernard Lefebvre, 6
29 June 1953 Unidentified man aged about 35.
3 July 1953 Unidentified man supervising the passage of a boat fell in and drowned.
24 July 1953 Unidentified man in his 30s with a Mother tattoo.
8 September 1953 1953 Sailor Herve Trepanier, 26, fell off the SS Hanildoc near Prince.
26 Sept 1953 William J. Bell of Toronto found after falling in the water after visiting his brother in law. His body had been mangled by propellers.
4 Nov 1953 Alex Galarneau aged about 50 from 97 de Castelneau.
23 March 1954 Unidentified body found near 3535 St. Patrick. Turned out to be Norbert Colas, 68 of 4748 Resther.
10 April 1954 Unidentified body found at the foot of Wellington near the Point.
19 May 1954 Unidentified, wearing a blue tie. It turned out to be James Francis Milloy, 57, ofnoknown address.
28 May 1954 Bernard Lefebvre, 6, of102 St. Augustin, drowned 17 May at the foot of Turgeon.
28 May 1954 A second unidentified body was found in the canal. It was a young woman found near Dezery.
Decelles,15
6 July 1954 Metro Glawacki, 49, of 1603 De Bullion found dead near Cote St. Paul. Passersby saw her on the surface.
21 July 1954 Michel Decelles,15, fished out near 5296 St. Paterice. The boy had been missing for 15 days after going to play in a nearby park. He left the park at 4 pm when a storm hit. He was seen near the canal an hour later.
3 August 1954 Serge Fournier, 8, of 100 Duke drowned. He fell into the water after slipping.
16 October 1954 Paul Emile Regimbald, 34, of 2225 Marie Anne E. He went missing five days earlier.
20 June 1955 Henri Marcotte, 18, of 100 Belanger in Lasalle drowned while swimming.
2 July 1955 David Gamache, 45, of 174 Spalding drowned swimming near Bourget St.
2 July 1955 Sailor Alfred Langlois, 55, of Gaspe died after falling from the cargo ship James Stewart.
Henri Marcotte
25 Aug 1955 Auguste Babeau, 38,  of Lapraire found by maintenance workers. He capsized fishing in Melocheville. His brother was found dead in the waters in Lac St. Louis.
26 Aug 1955 Alderic Leblanc, 45,  of 1214 Notre Dame W. fished out near Black's Bridge. He was a caleche driver usually found on Sherbrooke and McGill.
8 October 1955 John Muir, 14, drowned near Atwater. He lived at 2471 A Quesnel. He was tossing sticks to his dog when he went to get it in the water.
21 Aug 1956 Unknown body found in Ville Lasalle aged 30 - 35 drowned about two or three days earlier.
27 July 1956 Andre Lefebvre, 17, of 2400 Workman drowned near Turgeon.
20 August 1956 Unidentified male victim found near Lasalle at 6:15. Aged between 30 and 35.
11 July 1957 Edouard Lafontaine, 60, of Chambly rowned while working to repair a bridge at St. Patrick.
9 September 1957 A 16-year-old boy from Ontario died swimming near 6th Ave. His name was not immediately disclosed.
23 December 1957 Young man drowns in canal, no further details.
23 May 1958 Sante Siccone, 16 of LaTuque found near Cote St. Paul.
26 May 1958 Barry McCaughlin, 6, of Lachine drowned Saturday. His body was found near his home on Bergevin.
4 June 1958 Unidentified, found near Black's Bridge.
25 April 1959 John Kennett, 42, (misspelled in La Presse as Kenneth)  of Kinsella, Alberta fell in and drowned near Black's Bridge. He had been staying at the Russell Hotel at Peel and St. James. He went into the water around 2:45 a.m and was fished out dead about an hour later.
15 June 1959 Two unidentified bodies fished out.
15 July 59 Harold Wittington or Wattington, 460 St. Joseph. Had been missing for several weeks
6 April 1960 Jack Barr who lived in a cabin near the Dominion Bridge factory.
31 May 1960 Unidentified man aged around 35, near des Seigneurs, later identified as Napoleon Armstrong, 72, of 4835 Ste. Emile. Had disappeared 25 May.
29 June 1960 Robert Despres, 18, of 167 Rose de Lima, defied the swimming ban and
Depres defied the swimming ban in 1960
ended up drowning at the foot of St. Augustin Street. Arthur Paquette,25,tried in vain to save him. Cramps were blamed.
22 Aug 1960 Romeo Croteau, 16,  of 386 Sebastopol. Drowned while swimming with 3 friends.
26 September 1969 Nine-year-old boy recovered drowned in the canal at the foot of McGill.
3 October 1960 Donat Bouffard, 57 of Victoriaville drowns in canal near 400 Notre Dame.
28 April 1961 No details
22 June 1961 John Adams, 30, of Lafleche found near Colborne.
4 April1962 Andre Boyer, 39, of St. Hubert found near Black's Bridge.
24 April 1962 Gerard Pilon, 43. Lachine police found him.
22 May 1962 John Garland, 58,  of 2049 Coleraine.
22 May 1962 Roger Goyette, 7, of 2471 St. Charles didn't return to class Friday and was found dead in the canal Saturday morning.
2 August 1962  Unidentified man at foot of McGill around 35 years old with a tattoo reading Pauline
15 August 1962 Emile Lalonde aged about 40 living at 4544 De Lorimier was in water for at least a week.
29 August 1962 Man found at 4 pm.
22 October 1962 Henri Bastien, 50, of 791 Outremont Ave. drowned near Charlevoix. He supposedly slipped in.
29 Nov 1962 Phillip Henry, 74,  near St. Patrice Street in Lasalle. He lived at 7504 Casgrain and had gone missing a day earlier.
17 December 1962 Jean Paul Cardinal, 42, of 935 St. Joseph drowned when the ice gave way near 15th Ave and St. Joseph.
11 July 1963 Unidentified aged between 25 and 30 tattoo reading Mary.
5 Aug 1963 Unidentified around 55 years old in the water for many days near Lasalle Coke at 570 St. Patrice in LaSalle
13 Aug. 1969
23 Aug 1963 Antoine Couillard 23, near 6th ave. had disappeared four days earlier -
26 Aug 1963 Alfred Durocher, 57, of 2309 Ryde fished out. Was missing about one week.
27 May 1964 RealPambrun, 5, found five days after his disappearance in the canal. He lived at 520 des Fleurs near Notre Dame.
16 March 1965 Mabel Curtis, 69, of 1676A Grand Trunk. Had gone missing several weeks earlier. She was found 3 pm.
4 August 1965 Roger Jarry, 7, of 280 St.Augustin died playing with his friend.
10 Sept 1965 Unidentified woman fished out. She was about 20 and stood 5 foot five and was black.
6 Oct 1966 Unidentified man fished out near Dominion Sugar
24 Aug 1967 Unidentified body found at foot of 6th Ave.
24 Oct 1967 Charles Turcot, 52, a merchant from Mont Laurier shot 5 times and his body found near the bottom of des Seigneurs. His car was in the muddy water. Michel Kontowt was charged.
19 Aug 1968 Body found in water near 4207 St. Ambroise
24 March 1969 Man in his 50s found at 6:30 pm near Atwater.
11 June 1969  Horace Desgrosseillers, 71, found drowned near Guy Street. He was living at a homeless shelter and had disappeared three days earlier.
6 Aug 1969 Jeanne Bedard, 45, of 6830 Monk found near Cote St Paul.
13 Aug 1969 Unidentified man near Charlevoix found at 9:45 pm
20 May 1971 Unidentified man found near des Seignuers. He stood 5'9" and weighed 160 lbs and had been a long time in the water.
25 June 1971 Paul Emile Menard, 35, found in his 1962 Austin Cambridge in the water near Lapraire and St. Patrick. He lived at 1740 Roberval and was inside the car. The father of five was in advanced decomposition. He had disappeared 29 April 1970 after driving a friend back from work. He owned Fred Oil Service and it
Menard - murdered
was suspected that he had committed suicide until Rejean Goyette, 23, and Serge Daigneault, 25, both of Point St. Charles, were arrested and charged with  murder.
26 July 1972 Robert Laroche, 5, of 2394 Manufacturers died near Charlevoux after being pushed in by a six-yera-old boy.
13 Sept 1972 Jacques Caron of 1860 Jacques Hertel aged 35 found dead in the canal at 425 St. Patrick
25 Oct 1975 Jean Guy Dubois and Jacques Ouimet manager of Iroquois murdered Guy Fournier of the Hotel Iroquois on Oct 23, 1975. He was fished from the Lachine canal. The duo were found guilty 28 April 1977
20 June 1978 Roger Lachapelle,14, fished out near Olivier where he was fishing with friends. He fell accidentally and didn't know how to swim.
30 June 1979 Matthew Craig, 16 of 1616 Crasford in Verdun drowned. Someone dropped a pum in the water and offered him a one dollar reward ifhe'd fetchit. He leaped from the Crawford Street bridge, swam 150 feet before disappearing.
7 April 1980 Mark Robertson, 7, drowned at 5 p.m. after falling through the ice near St. Patrick Street.
April 1985
29 Dec 1982 Norman Boyer, 10, drowned while his brother Patrick, 6, was on life support after jumping in to save his older brother near the 6th Ave. bridge.
6 Oct 1984 car went in the water and it wasn't immediately known how many inside.
24 April 1985 A Verdun man in his 40s was found in a Chrysler LeBaron in the waters near 32nd Ave. It was believed to be suicide. Drove fast enough to get 75 feet from the shore. It occured the previous October.
27 Nov 1986 Diver Alain Vienneau drowned working on a clean up operation for Parks Canada.
31 March 1988 unidentified man
10 April 1993 unidentified man near 4850 St. Ambroise
3 Nov. 1993 Gabriel Villarosa and Norma Casaclang Villarosa drove into the canal and drowned. Survivors sued the city for $300,000, claiming not enough salt had been put on St. Patrick Street, leading their car to slip into the waters after hitting tree.
15 Nov 1998 -A woman aged 25-30 fished out near Charlevoix
2 July 1999 Clinton Bennett, 6, of Bourget Street was walking along the canal with his friends they left him when it rained. He likely slipped in.
20 July 2007 Melanie Meunier, 27 found near Cote St. Paul. She had gone missing two weeks earlier.
21 Dec. 2010 Matthew Besner, 27, 
The Villarosas
disappeared after dining at the Original restaurant on St. Alexis near Notre Dame and is believed to have fallen through trying to cross over the thin ice. Besner, who worked at an insurance company, had texted his girlfriend at 3 a.m to say he'd be be home soon but was then spotted looking disoriented and asking for directions.
20 June 2011 - a man unidentified, around 25, found dead near des Seigneurs and Wellington
30 June 2014 Man drowned after leaping in near St. Remi at 6 a.m.
29 May 2016 Man, aged 34, fished out of canal near Pitt and St. Patrick after drowning while swimming.
6 Sept. 2020 A man, 37, drowned on a Sunday afternoon at 3:15 after tumbling into the watery drink while washing his clothing in the canal. He cried for help, saying he didn't know how to swim. 

Besner
*Addresses prior to 1929 were different than those of today.

NOT DEAD
8 August 1913 George Anderson, 78, of St. Dominique, was saved by William Mondon after the inveterate old alcoholic tossed himself in the water in a suicide bid
26 Aug 1936 Joseph Kamitsky 30, of 5282 Ste. Marie Street tried twice to kill himself. He claimed he was just drunk and not suicidal.
10 aug 1937 Helen Deans, 48, fell into Lachine Canal off the Atwater Bridge.Traffic cop Gaston Veillette jumped in and saved her.
3 May 1948 William Sutherginn, 86, was saved by four people after falling in. (saviours were J. King of 204 Coleraine, W.H. Boyle 318 Bourgeois John McKernan 1053 Grand Trunk and John Bryson 1053 Shiller)
17 Aug 1931 Mrs. William Lefebvre 22, of 3065 Albert was saved from drowning by a passerby.

11 comments:

  1. LachIne Canal @ Lachine. November 01, 2017.

    My Father and I used to go down to Lachine Locks of the Lachine Canal just upstream from Dominion Bridge. There were two swing bridges still in place, the one nearest the St. Lawrence still in use, and another fixed bridge on the land side shore.

    The bridge still in use broke down, and it had to be turned by 4 men revolving a large T-Shaped key inserted into a shaft similar to winding a toy, and thru gearing under the deck swung the bridge open or closed.

    The middle canal thus formed had a set of water control gates operated by a large electric motor running a long shaft at right angles to the canal, and raised and lowered the vertical gates thru gearing engaged and disengaged by lever-operated cone clutches to govern the flow of water to industries and locks downstream.

    In spring all the gates would be shut, the canal drained, inspected and repaired before shipping recomenced once the ice went out.

    They used to scrap canallers at Century Metals by the lift bridge in St Pierre opposite the Tramways substation and Wye, and left the final cutting until the canal was empty and the torches could get to the bottom and keel.

    Anyway, the big thrill was watching a Canaller Locking Thru up into Lac St Louis, or downbound, as one of the crew swung off on a rope on a boom to visit the Dep nearby for soft drinks and smokes.

    One day we arrived to view a large crowd at the middle bridge and we wandered over.

    The Police were rowing back and forth in a row boat at right angles to the canal channel pulling a rope aft. When lifted out of the water, a large four-prong hook came into view and they threw it back in time and time again.

    I asked, What are they doing? Fishing??

    My Father said they were looking for a body and that we leave before they Got a Bite.

    Glad we did.

    Years ago, in Lachine.

    Thank You.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool story. Thanks for sharing.

      Delete
    2. Here is another view of the Lachine Locks showing Canaller downbound. Centre Left.

      http://archivesdemontreal.com/greffe/vues-aeriennes-archives/jpeg/VM97-3_7P13-02.jpg

      The Police and the row boat were cycling shore to shore in channel to right of hexagonal cofferdam.

      Have to bring in the Tramways where ever possible.

      The Tramways used to turn some streetcars at Notre Dame and 6th in a Wye at the West entrance to the Dominion Bridge Works.

      https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.4348976,-73.6689858,3a,75y,84.44h,104.18t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYSMmVJhySDqD6Kt2WROOEQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

      The Tail of the Wye where the tree is growing is far right, centre in 1947 image, with a streetcar facing West to turn right and go back Downtown.

      https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YPmjHM6kNs4/maxresdefault.jpg

      The tree would be about where the woman is standing at left.

      https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/-D4AAOSwTEJZ73F1/s-l1600.jpg

      Thank You.

      Delete
  2. Two things I didn't mention in the article. Denis Delaney told me that kids would dive in around Black's Bridge at Common Street and sometimes a ship would shift, blocking the child from being able to swim back up. He said some drowned due to that.

    Secondly, there was an initiative to fence off the canal in the 1970s, as a group claimed that over 60 people had died in its waters up to that point. That article is what got me searching this in the first place. Perhaps I'll add those two items into the body of the story later.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I believe those aforementioned swing bridges located upstream from the Dominion Bridge Company are the ones seen in the aerial view photo below. When clicking the link, wait a second or two for the picture to pop up.

    https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&biw=1600&bih=769&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=xQz7WeDZEYzqjwPl-KyoCA&q=national+archives+of+canada+photographs+lachine+canal&oq=national+archives+of+canada+photographs+lachine+canal&gs_l=psy-ab.3...12925.14709.0.15470.14.12.0.0.0.0.319.1880.0j5j3j1.9.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..5.0.0....0.qjVag_NZPfs#imgrc=KINVkCtphDjTQM:

    For further historical information, see this:

    https://www.amazon.ca/Lachine-Canal-Riding-Waves-Development/dp/2894483317/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1509625617&sr=1-1&keywords=the+lachine+canal



    ReplyDelete
  4. Was there a boy (who's image on the cement wall down by Ash park, who apparanorate tly was thrown off the Atwater walking bridge and drowned. I think it was summertime but I don't what year. Can anyone collaborate this story.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The kids from point would jump off the black bridge and swim in the canal with the rats.



    ReplyDelete
  6. Growing up in the Point in the 60's say firemen in a row boat with their grappling hook at least twice, looking for bodies. My grandpa and I once stood on the swing bridge at Charlevoix while in operation to let a boat thru, around 1960.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My god how de you succeed to collect all these informations ? It looks a huge task ! And thank you !

    ReplyDelete
  8. Not to mention all the drowning deaths that occured simply by driving into the canal at the lasalle drive-in, literally.

    ReplyDelete
  9. today a car went in the lachine canal nov 13 2022

    ReplyDelete

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