William Stiven Paterson

The story of the life of William Stiven Paterson is the story of honest industry and thrift. It is the record of a strong individuality, sure of itself, stable in purpose, quick in perception, swift in decision, energetic and persistent in action. A native of Dundee, Scotland, born April 16, 1841, Mr. Paterson was but one year old when brought to this country by his father, James Paterson, who lived in Upper Canada and there engaged on the river Humber, in the manufacture of blankets. He afterward removed to near Meaford, Ontario, where he engaged in farming, and there he died.

The public-school system of Canada afforded William S. Paterson his educational opportunities. After leaving home he spent one year in the oil fields of Pennsylvania, and then came to Montreal and eventually with the late J. T. Wilson formed the firm of Wilson, Paterson & Company of which he remained an active member until his death. The business developed as the years passed, owing to the progressive methods instituted in its conduct, and prosperity attended the labors of the partners.

In Montreal, in 1875, occurred the marriage of William S. Paterson, and Miss Electa C. Childs, daughter of Charles Childs, who came from Massachusetts in 1851 and engaged in the retail shoe business in Montreal. He became the pioneer in the manufacture of shoe lasts in this city and built up an extensive trade, in which he continued until his death in January, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Paterson had a family of five children: Kate Elizabeth, who became the wife of R. B. Ross, Jr., secretary of the Mount Royal Milling Company, by whom she has three children; Dr. Robert C. Paterson, who is married and has two children; Charles S., a missionary in Calcutta, India; Arthur L., of The Wilson-Paterson Company, and who has two children; and E. Russell, secretary of the Boy Scouts.

Mr. Paterson was interested in outdoor sports, especially in fishing, and was a member of the Little Cascapedia Fishing Club and as a devotee of golf, a member of Westmount Golf Club. He belonged to the American Presbyterian church, in which he served as a trustee and elder, and his life was actuated by high and honorable principles. His record measured up to exalted standards of manhood and citizenship and when death called him on the 2d of June, 1907, he left behind him not only an excellent competence but an honored name. He never allowed personal interests or ambition to dwarf his public spirit or his activities, and he was prominent as a man whose constantly expanding powers took him from humble surroundings to fields of large enterprise and continually broadening opportunities.