On this week 100 years ago, Montrealers were enjoying an unusually mild winter and lots was happening. The next winter would become one of the coldest winters in the city's history and WWI would, of course begin soon after. Here are some police and court stories from this city from the week of Jan. 17-24, 1913. Note that the addresses no longer apply as they were switched around 1929.
Simonne Villmaire, 5, was hit by a car at Courcelles and Notre Dame at 5 p.m. Fri. Jan. 17, 1913. She hurtled by the motorcar driven by Eurgene Harst of 52 Cathcart while walking from the northwest to the southeast corner. The driver came out to assist, as did a medic from a nearby doctor's office but little Simonne only suffered some scratches.
Jeanne Bastien, 12 and Dorina Curadeaux, 10, failed to return after leaving on Wednesday afternoon to bring her father dinner on St. Lawrence around St. Viateur. They lived a few blocks lower, one on Coloniale, the other Drolet. The younger one had been given money to buy groceries. They were last seen in a movie theatre with another unidentified girl and were still unfound Friday.
George Tanguay, 28, who lived on Montcalm and Craig (aka Ste. Antoine) was chased down on the street after he tried to run away from a butcher’s store with a bucket of lard. Butcher Victor Chartier on St. Cat. just east of Pie IX and cop Constable Geraldeau ran him down.
A family on St. Hubert just north of St. Zotique (east side) was being poisoned by gas at 6 30 a.m. when dad was woken by an alarm clock. Dad overcame his intense desire to sleep and pushed the windows open, thus saving his entire family from poisoning. F.E. Lefebvre and his wife and two kids thus lived to breathe some more time.
A. Mace pleaded guilty of selling Three Weeks, “an obscene book tending to corrupt minds.” Mace was on the south side of St. Antoine just east of Richmond, near the immigration hospital. No word on the sentence handed down by Judge Lanctot following the bust by Inspector O’Keefe.
Napoleon Meunier was fined 10 bucks or one month in prison for driving a horse while drunk. Drunken carters were said to be a recurrent problem.
Two horses were killed by falling electrical wire in separate incidents on Sat. Jan. 19, 1913. One, driven by William Cowan of Workman St., was felled in front of the Windsor Hotel on Peel at 8:40 a.m. as the wire fell on the horse's head, and the poor equine “dropped to the street as if shot.” The other horse was killed at the corner of Center and Shearer in the Point at 8 30 p.m on the same day. That horse was pulling the Canadian Transfer Company mail delivery cart when the wire snapped and hit the horse’s back. Driver Jean Charlebois of St. Felix St. narrowly avoided the same fate.
Joseph Martel, 35, on Sunday Jan., 18, 1913, was picked up drunk by police on Logan St.was found dead in his jail cell. He had been rounded up Saturday night and was brought to the Craig St. East station, and charged with public drunkneess. Martel was so drunk that he couldn’t’ give his name or address. At 3 am. a turnkey found him dead in his jail cell.
John Lorinsky, 28, of Manufacturers St. in the Point was arrested by Contables Therrien and Terreault of the Grand Trunk Station after threatening with his wife with a.38 calibre gun. She had previously sought protection from his abuse. They were Polish Canadians.
Edward Maisonneuve was arrested for stealing the watch of a woman he was living with on Mary Ann St. on Sat. Jan. 17, 1913. Maisonneuve dropped the evidence in the snow on the way to the station but a small boy noticed and picked it up and gave it to cops.
Capt. Houle broke down the door of a blind pig run by Narcisse Bolduc and confiscated 15 bottles of whiskey at 10 p.m. Saturday night. Bolduc was cut badly cut in the process but said that he had fallen. The location was not described in the report.
A man was found dead in a room at the Hotel Richard at St. Paul and Bonsecours after coming to the hotel on 10 p.m. Friday January 16, 1913. He was discovered dead in the room at 8 p.m.on Saturday. The gas was turned on full. It’s not known whether or not it was a suicide.
Frank Robinson, 18, and Harry Milton, 19, were arrested on the evening of Sat. Jan. 17, 1913 for stealing a gold watch and three suits from a boarding house at 43 Craig W. (think St. Ant, northside, east of St. Urbain). The loot was found at a second hand store.
Stanley Burns was busted for trying to cash a $31 cheque at a Bank of Hochelaga branch on Notre Dame. A.E. Imrie was also arrested for doing something similar at a Molsons bank.
Three boys aged 11 and under were arrestd for stealing from the poor box at the Notre Dame Church. Sat. morning. They had gotten $4.52. and were slated to appear in front of the Juvenile Delinquents Court Monday.
Seaman William O’Brien surrendered Sat. night to police after deserting a warship called The Halifax.
Gustave Lazeau was sentenced to three months of hard labour for stealing a horse and sleigh on Nov. 28 belonging to Mrs. Wilfrid Vienard.
John Hennessey stepped off a moving box car on Jan. 21 and fell beneath the wheels to his death. John was an accomplished athlete, having played hockey for the Shamrocks, while his brother Alvin "Spike" Henessey was known for being a lacrosse and hockey star, playing for the 'Rocks for six years. John had been living with his sister on Ontario St. but she left for Winnipeg so he moved to 89 City Hall Ave. Hennessy was unmarried. The incident occurred on Tues. Jan. 21, 1913 at 5 p.m. at the Grand Trunk Yards.
Rose Adleman of 205 St. George was hit by a horse at Craig and Bleury, one of the city's busiest corners at the lunch hour. The horse belonged to the McCormick Biscuit Company and was driven by Joseph St. Aubin, 52, who was drunk and driving recklessly. The young woman suffered a deep cut to the forehead. The horse driver was charged with drunk driving.
Frederick Fields, 29, a clerk, died when hit by a train at the Turcot yards on Jan, 21 at 7 p.m. The GTR employee was crossing the tracks when hit by the passenger train. He lived at 3 b Gordon in Verdun.
Longshoreman L. Costalas was awarded $200 from the Dominion Steamship Company for a broken arm injured at work. They sum was calculated as a percentage of his lost wages.
Eugene Lacasse fell down a flight of stairs at the Chinese Café on the south side of St. Catherine just east of Wolfe at 11:50 p.m. on Jan 21. one of his ears was nearly severed and he was found semi-conscious.
Rosaria Cyr, 22 and Orphilia Dupon, 21 were arrested for stealing a purse containing $9 from Mrs. Lambert Villeneuve who lived on St. Dominique, east side between Villeneuve and Mount Royal. The stole the purse Monday at Villeneuve and St. Dominique and hitched a ride on a coal cart up St. Dominique but other cars saw them so they dashed down an alleyway off Laurier into a lumber yard. The driver of the coal cart initially said he didn't know them but later gave their names.
Hyman's Cigar Store on Dorch between Drummond and Mountain, (south side) was the scene of an attempted burglary, which led a cop to shoot into the air as a warning at 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 22, 1913. Instead of freezing, the thieves escaped on foot down Mountain leaving their loot behind.
V.O. Reed of 1240 St. Andre was injured when a car he was in lost control while driving on the Main. The car hit a pole, which snapped in two.
Hector Lebruin and Sephyre Giroux of St. Henri were arrested at the GTR on Jan. 22 for stealing 25 bales of hay from a train car. Police found the hay in the barn of a man who bought it without knowing it wa stolen.
Seventeen Chinese pleaded guilty following a raid at 52 de la Gauchetiere on Dec. 12 for being in a gambling house. 21 had been arrested but only 17 showed up to court.
Joseph Cote fell down dead on the sidewalk, likely of a heart attack, near Place Viger Station after saying goodbye to his son who was leaving to Quebec City after getting married it happened at 11:30 p.m. on Jan 22.
About 30 striking workers of the Montreal Custom Clothing Company picketed the company’s new offices which had moved from notre dame to McGill College and didn't expect the strikers to follow. They cajoled other workers in the morning but police came out in the afternoon and they were nowhere to be seen.
Morgan Lane, about 70, who was staying at a boarding house at 26 St. Antoine, was reported missing. He was a college prof on pension and left academic texts and notebooks behind. He was five six, stout, had grey hair and was clean shaven.
James McCann, a porter for Goodwin's, was sentenced to 12 months hard labour, while Michael Lemmon was honorably acquitted for the charge of breaking into the P.L. Senne store on 351 Wellington. McCan’s thefts were for items $200. He took the goods from stalls and if questioned would tell co-workers that he was bringing to the shipping room for delivery. He’d leave them out in the yard and come around for the swag when the coast was clear.
Bellemare Jette was arrested for stealing typewriters from Geenshields, Greenshields and Languedoc law firm.
Thieves made off with $200 in jewelry from Pearce's at 418 St. James on 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 24 in a smash'n'grab.
Alphonse Labelle and Henri Lepine were charged with stealing a horse from Honore Rose a grocer on Rose de Lima. He ws delivering goods to a home at the time.
Jack Williams was the possibly-fake name a suspect gave on Jan. 24, 1913, at 11:30 p.m. at 577 Craig E. when arrested exiting a closed store carrying a gunny-sack loaded with three stolen hams. He was brought to jail and would not give any other information.
Odelia Charland, Paul Gagnon and Arthur Gauthier were sentenced to one month hard labour for stealing coal from the company they worked at. They were leaving after work with some bags of coal in their rigs which had been meant for delivery. Westmount police caught them Thursday
Mrs. George Aubin, 29, was overcome by coal gas in her home on the Back River Rd on Thursday. She was found unconscious by her husband when he returned from work. She died hours later. The gas escaped from a Quebec heater used to heat the front part of the house.
Marie Page, 35, a domestic for Lambert Paquet of 1289 St. Denis died suddenly at the age of 57, she had worked for the fmaily for 35 years and just died while getting dressed.
Fong Hong entered a restaurant with a gun looking for a friend name d Geoge who owed him money. He was sentenced to $10 or two months. Hong said he had been beaten and was toting the loaded revolver for self-defense. The restaurant was run by Barthelini Martini and Aurele Marrineau.
Jeanne Bastien, 12 and Dorina Curadeaux, 10, failed to return after leaving on Wednesday afternoon to bring her father dinner on St. Lawrence around St. Viateur. They lived a few blocks lower, one on Coloniale, the other Drolet. The younger one had been given money to buy groceries. They were last seen in a movie theatre with another unidentified girl and were still unfound Friday.
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| Lard thief foiled at Pix IX and St. Cat |
A family on St. Hubert just north of St. Zotique (east side) was being poisoned by gas at 6 30 a.m. when dad was woken by an alarm clock. Dad overcame his intense desire to sleep and pushed the windows open, thus saving his entire family from poisoning. F.E. Lefebvre and his wife and two kids thus lived to breathe some more time.
A. Mace pleaded guilty of selling Three Weeks, “an obscene book tending to corrupt minds.” Mace was on the south side of St. Antoine just east of Richmond, near the immigration hospital. No word on the sentence handed down by Judge Lanctot following the bust by Inspector O’Keefe.
Napoleon Meunier was fined 10 bucks or one month in prison for driving a horse while drunk. Drunken carters were said to be a recurrent problem.
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| Horse down at Center and Shearer |
Joseph Martel, 35, on Sunday Jan., 18, 1913, was picked up drunk by police on Logan St.was found dead in his jail cell. He had been rounded up Saturday night and was brought to the Craig St. East station, and charged with public drunkneess. Martel was so drunk that he couldn’t’ give his name or address. At 3 am. a turnkey found him dead in his jail cell.
John Lorinsky, 28, of Manufacturers St. in the Point was arrested by Contables Therrien and Terreault of the Grand Trunk Station after threatening with his wife with a.38 calibre gun. She had previously sought protection from his abuse. They were Polish Canadians.
Edward Maisonneuve was arrested for stealing the watch of a woman he was living with on Mary Ann St. on Sat. Jan. 17, 1913. Maisonneuve dropped the evidence in the snow on the way to the station but a small boy noticed and picked it up and gave it to cops.
Capt. Houle broke down the door of a blind pig run by Narcisse Bolduc and confiscated 15 bottles of whiskey at 10 p.m. Saturday night. Bolduc was cut badly cut in the process but said that he had fallen. The location was not described in the report.
A man was found dead in a room at the Hotel Richard at St. Paul and Bonsecours after coming to the hotel on 10 p.m. Friday January 16, 1913. He was discovered dead in the room at 8 p.m.on Saturday. The gas was turned on full. It’s not known whether or not it was a suicide.
Frank Robinson, 18, and Harry Milton, 19, were arrested on the evening of Sat. Jan. 17, 1913 for stealing a gold watch and three suits from a boarding house at 43 Craig W. (think St. Ant, northside, east of St. Urbain). The loot was found at a second hand store.
Stanley Burns was busted for trying to cash a $31 cheque at a Bank of Hochelaga branch on Notre Dame. A.E. Imrie was also arrested for doing something similar at a Molsons bank.
Three boys aged 11 and under were arrestd for stealing from the poor box at the Notre Dame Church. Sat. morning. They had gotten $4.52. and were slated to appear in front of the Juvenile Delinquents Court Monday.
Seaman William O’Brien surrendered Sat. night to police after deserting a warship called The Halifax.
Gustave Lazeau was sentenced to three months of hard labour for stealing a horse and sleigh on Nov. 28 belonging to Mrs. Wilfrid Vienard.
John Hennessey stepped off a moving box car on Jan. 21 and fell beneath the wheels to his death. John was an accomplished athlete, having played hockey for the Shamrocks, while his brother Alvin "Spike" Henessey was known for being a lacrosse and hockey star, playing for the 'Rocks for six years. John had been living with his sister on Ontario St. but she left for Winnipeg so he moved to 89 City Hall Ave. Hennessy was unmarried. The incident occurred on Tues. Jan. 21, 1913 at 5 p.m. at the Grand Trunk Yards.
Rose Adleman of 205 St. George was hit by a horse at Craig and Bleury, one of the city's busiest corners at the lunch hour. The horse belonged to the McCormick Biscuit Company and was driven by Joseph St. Aubin, 52, who was drunk and driving recklessly. The young woman suffered a deep cut to the forehead. The horse driver was charged with drunk driving.
Frederick Fields, 29, a clerk, died when hit by a train at the Turcot yards on Jan, 21 at 7 p.m. The GTR employee was crossing the tracks when hit by the passenger train. He lived at 3 b Gordon in Verdun.
Longshoreman L. Costalas was awarded $200 from the Dominion Steamship Company for a broken arm injured at work. They sum was calculated as a percentage of his lost wages.
Eugene Lacasse fell down a flight of stairs at the Chinese Café on the south side of St. Catherine just east of Wolfe at 11:50 p.m. on Jan 21. one of his ears was nearly severed and he was found semi-conscious.
Rosaria Cyr, 22 and Orphilia Dupon, 21 were arrested for stealing a purse containing $9 from Mrs. Lambert Villeneuve who lived on St. Dominique, east side between Villeneuve and Mount Royal. The stole the purse Monday at Villeneuve and St. Dominique and hitched a ride on a coal cart up St. Dominique but other cars saw them so they dashed down an alleyway off Laurier into a lumber yard. The driver of the coal cart initially said he didn't know them but later gave their names.
Hyman's Cigar Store on Dorch between Drummond and Mountain, (south side) was the scene of an attempted burglary, which led a cop to shoot into the air as a warning at 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 22, 1913. Instead of freezing, the thieves escaped on foot down Mountain leaving their loot behind.
V.O. Reed of 1240 St. Andre was injured when a car he was in lost control while driving on the Main. The car hit a pole, which snapped in two.
Hector Lebruin and Sephyre Giroux of St. Henri were arrested at the GTR on Jan. 22 for stealing 25 bales of hay from a train car. Police found the hay in the barn of a man who bought it without knowing it wa stolen.
Seventeen Chinese pleaded guilty following a raid at 52 de la Gauchetiere on Dec. 12 for being in a gambling house. 21 had been arrested but only 17 showed up to court.
Joseph Cote fell down dead on the sidewalk, likely of a heart attack, near Place Viger Station after saying goodbye to his son who was leaving to Quebec City after getting married it happened at 11:30 p.m. on Jan 22.
About 30 striking workers of the Montreal Custom Clothing Company picketed the company’s new offices which had moved from notre dame to McGill College and didn't expect the strikers to follow. They cajoled other workers in the morning but police came out in the afternoon and they were nowhere to be seen.
Morgan Lane, about 70, who was staying at a boarding house at 26 St. Antoine, was reported missing. He was a college prof on pension and left academic texts and notebooks behind. He was five six, stout, had grey hair and was clean shaven.
James McCann, a porter for Goodwin's, was sentenced to 12 months hard labour, while Michael Lemmon was honorably acquitted for the charge of breaking into the P.L. Senne store on 351 Wellington. McCan’s thefts were for items $200. He took the goods from stalls and if questioned would tell co-workers that he was bringing to the shipping room for delivery. He’d leave them out in the yard and come around for the swag when the coast was clear.
Bellemare Jette was arrested for stealing typewriters from Geenshields, Greenshields and Languedoc law firm.
Thieves made off with $200 in jewelry from Pearce's at 418 St. James on 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 24 in a smash'n'grab.
Alphonse Labelle and Henri Lepine were charged with stealing a horse from Honore Rose a grocer on Rose de Lima. He ws delivering goods to a home at the time.
Jack Williams was the possibly-fake name a suspect gave on Jan. 24, 1913, at 11:30 p.m. at 577 Craig E. when arrested exiting a closed store carrying a gunny-sack loaded with three stolen hams. He was brought to jail and would not give any other information.
Odelia Charland, Paul Gagnon and Arthur Gauthier were sentenced to one month hard labour for stealing coal from the company they worked at. They were leaving after work with some bags of coal in their rigs which had been meant for delivery. Westmount police caught them Thursday
Mrs. George Aubin, 29, was overcome by coal gas in her home on the Back River Rd on Thursday. She was found unconscious by her husband when he returned from work. She died hours later. The gas escaped from a Quebec heater used to heat the front part of the house.
Marie Page, 35, a domestic for Lambert Paquet of 1289 St. Denis died suddenly at the age of 57, she had worked for the fmaily for 35 years and just died while getting dressed.
Fong Hong entered a restaurant with a gun looking for a friend name d Geoge who owed him money. He was sentenced to $10 or two months. Hong said he had been beaten and was toting the loaded revolver for self-defense. The restaurant was run by Barthelini Martini and Aurele Marrineau.
Fascinating stuff. But I don't think the streets have changed enough for someone to be able to live at Coloniale and Drolet. They run parallel. I think maybe you meant Duluth.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how much police blotter stuff was reported in those days. The readers certainly got their two cent's worth.
ReplyDeleteIt's still done in the U.S., especially in the smaller local papers. I'll bet it's one of their most popular pages.
I wonder why they don't still do it here. It must be a confidentialty issue.
Reading the Gazette of the early '50s, you will see a lot more petty crime and armed holdup stories; "crime wave", etc., before Canadian TV even existed in the era before CBFT-TV started in 1952 and CBMT-TV in 1954.
ReplyDeleteOne theory was that juvenile delinquency back then was caused by all of those horror and crime comics.
Today TV, violent movies and video games are presumably the culprit.
It's nice to see those "hard labour" sentences - let's bring them back today!
ReplyDeleteWhy was there nothing about Westmount or NDG crime? Oh...of course they were to good concealing their white collar crimes in finance and were untouchable.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, reading newspaper archives reveals many such "white collar" crime events that regularly occured in Montreal including the usual embezzlements, stock frauds, counterfeiting, jewellery smuggling, the selling of illegal lottery tickets, etc., and certainly many of these criminals lived in the wealthier neighbourhoods.
ReplyDeleteFollowing WWII and during the early 1950s, it was also a common complaint by NDG residents that policing was lax in that neighbourhood as compared to other sectors of the city. Apparently there were too many cases of petty street crimes, holdups, burglaries, etc., which were not adequately dealt with.
ReplyDeleteThe City of Montreal would respond that there was a shortage of police officers.