The Bagg Family

The Bagg family is one of the oldest English families on the island of Montreal and one whose members have been foremost in social, financial, religious, political and military circles for the past century, or since the arrival of the first representative of the name, Stanley Bagg, Esq., who was born in County Durham, England, where this branch of the family possessed large landed estates. In Canada for the past three-quarters of a century such men as Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Clark Bagg, scholar, financier and philanthropist, and his son, the late Robert Stanley Bagg, a worthy son of an honored sire, have placed the name on a high plane.

Stanley Bagg, Esq., the first of this family to settle in Montreal, was born in England in 1786 and died at Fairmount, the family residence on Sherbrooke Street, October 31, 1853, aged sixty-seven years. He left to his son, Stanley Clark Bagg, large landed estates in Montreal and County Durham, England. Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Clark Bagg, son of Stanley and Mary Ann (Clark) Bagg, was born at the manor house in Montreal on December 23, 1820. He studied law and afterwards took up the notarial profession, which he practiced successfully for a number of years but abandoned it in order to give his attention to the management of estates which he inherited from his grandfather, as well as a freehold property in County Durham, England. He was at one time the largest landholder on the island of Montreal, gave many streets and squares to the city and made very substantial benefactions to the citizens. He was an honorary member of the Montreal Field Battery and Artillery and of the Light Infantry, and his name figured in connection with public office through appointment to the position of one of Her Majesty’s justices of the peace in 1859, after which he performed judicial duties for a time. In 1865 he was solicited to become mayor of Montreal but declined the proffered honor. In politics he was a conservative but without political ambition, refusing nomination for a seat in parliament. He was, however, a deep student of the questions of the times, wrote largely for the press and his writings were received warmly in both England and America. He was greatly interested in philanthropic projects and in efforts to promote intellectual progress. He became one of the founders and the first president of the English Workingmen’s Benefit Society, was one of the founders of the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society, which honored him with its presidency, and a life member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He also belonged to the Cathedral Young Men’s Christian Association, the Natural History Society and the Mechanics Institute. His activities had their root in principles inculcated by the Church of England and he was a devoted member of Christ Church Cathedral. He married Miss Catharine Mitcheson, a daughter of Robert and Frances (MacGregor) Mitcheson, natives of England and Scotland respectively, and died at his residence, “Fairmount,” in Montreal, August 8, 1873.

Robert Stanley Bagg, son of Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Clark and Catharine (Mitcheson) Bagg, and the head of the family in the third generation in this country, was born at the manor house in Montreal in July, 1848, and was educated in the Montreal high school and McGill University, from which he graduated, after which he proceeded to England to complete his studies. On his return to Canada he was called to the bar of Montreal but never practiced law extensively, although he formed a partnership with Donald Macmaster, now a member of parliament. At his father’s death, however, the management of the largest landed estate on the island devolved upon him, so that he abandoned the active practice of the legal profession.

Much of his time and energy was also given to public life and he was considered a powerful platform orator. In 1896 he was nominated for the St. Lawrence division seat in the house of commons, but resigned for political reasons. His father, Lieutenant Colonel Bagg, was a Tory and a personal friend of the late Sir John A. Macdonald, and it was natural that the son should espouse early in life the conservative cause. He was frequently heard on the platform in support of principles of the party, being known as a stanch conservative both in and out of power, while at one time he was president of the Liberal-Conservative Club, giving a great deal of his time to the work of organizing as well as to public discussion. He was well known among the French Canadian people and spoke their language almost as fluently as his mother tongue. Mr. Bagg was mentioned several times as the party candidate in the federal contests, but the house of commons had no attraction for him. He was known personally to all the party leaders from the time of Macdonald down to the present day. Like his father, he was a most generous supporter of charities and benevolent projects, and he was a governor and benefactor of the Montreal General Hospital and the Montreal Dispensary. He was likewise a member of almost every social and sporting club on the island of Montreal; was a splendid horseman and a good soldier, being at one time commanding officer in the Fifth Royal Scots, taking part in the quelling of the Quebec riots and doing much active military duty.

Mr. Bagg had been ailing for several months, but the call came unexpectedly and he died July 22, 1912, at Kennebunk Port, Maine, where he was spending the summer, as was his custom. In his passing Montreal lost one of its foremost citizens, a most prominent representative of one of the old English families, and a man of distinction to whom opportunity meant activity, and who in all of his business and social relations maintained a position that reflected credit and honor upon an honored family name. His life was not self-centered but reached out along broadening lines for the benefit of his fellowmen and of his city, where the family has so long been well known in the best social circles.

Mr. Bagg was married in 1882 to Miss Clara Smithers, a daughter of the late Charles F. Smithers, president of the Bank of Montreal, and to them were born three children, Evelyn St. Claire Stanley, Gwendolen Katherine Stanley and Harold Stanley.

Evelyn St. Claire Stanley Bagg was married on the 26th of October, 1910, to Huntly Ward Davis, an architect of Montreal, and they have one daughter, Evelyn Clare Ward Davis, who is of the fifth generation of the family in Canada.