|
John H. McIntosh, land
agent for the Hudson's Bay Company, has been intimately associated with
the development and uphuilding of the Edmonton district from pioneer
times to the present and personal experience has made him familiar with
the various phases of life on the frontier. A native of the province of
Quebec, he was born June 29, 1880, on a farm seven miles from Sherbrooke,
in the beautiful St. Francis valley, known to tourists as one of the
most picturesque spots in eastern Canada. He is of Scotch ancestry in
both the paternal and maternal lines and his father, the Hon. John
McIntosh, was born at Laprairie, Quebec, in 1841. He was married at
North Georgetown, in that province, to Janet Greig, a native of Quebec,
and died in 1904, when sixty-three years of age. The mother is still
living and enjoys excellent health.
John Robert McIntosh
completed his education in the high school at Sherbrooke, Quebec, and
his initial experience in the business world was obtained as clerk in
the office of a live stock firm of Montreal, Quebec, with which he
remained for three years. When twenty years of age he went to Slater,
Colorado, which is eighty miles from Rawlins, Wyoming, the nearest
railroad center, and there he obtained a clerical position in a general
store owned by a large horse rancher. Believing that he would find the
climate of western Canada as invigorating as that of the American west,
Mr. McIntosh decided to return to his native land and in April, 1902,
started for Calgary, Alberta. His financial resources were very limited
and he gladly accepted the first job offered him in the city, that of
junior clerk in the retail hardware store of J. H. Ashdown. He carefully
saved his earnings and by fall had accumulated a sum sufficient to
enable him to reach his ultimate destination, Edmonton, the garden of
western Canada. The city, located on the banks of the Saskatchewan, with
its valley beneath, was the nearest approach to his old home in the way
of a beauty spot and the rich black loam and productive qualities of the
soil far excelled those of even the famous St. Francis valley. After
arriving in Edmonton he secured employment with P. Heininck, then land
agent for the Hudson's Bay Company, and for two years was in his
service, acting as bookkeeper, stenographer and general clerk. In 1904
he acquired a section of land from the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company
and also entered a homestead in the Vegreville district of Alberta. The
Canadian Northern had not as yet extended its road into this section of
the country and two or three times each year Mr. McIntosh was obliged to
make the trip by team from his farm to Edmonton, the nearest and only
business center, a distance of one hundred and ten miles by trail. This
was no easy task when the roads were muddy and during extremely cold
weather, but the hardships which he endured enabled Mr. McIntosh to
build up a rugged physical constitution and he brought his land under
cultivation through much hard work and persevering effort. 1-laying an
opportunity to dispose of his farm to advantage, he accepted the offer
and returned to Edmonton, where the lure of real estate speculation was
attracting thousands of men from all quarters of the globe. In 1907 he
embarked in a general real estate and brokerage business, specializing
in the valuation of property and in the loaning of private funds, and
one of his most successful ventures was the purchase for himself and his
associates of a three hundred and twenty acre farm immediately adjoining
the shops of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad Company. This locality is
now known as Calder and is the home of most of the employes of that
system. Mr. McIntosh continued his operations in real estate with
ever-increasing success until July 1, 1920, when he was appointed land
agent for the Hudson's Bay Company at Edmonton, in which capacity he is
now serving. He is a sagacious, farsighted business man and his
experience in the real estate field has been of great value to him in
his present office, the duties of which he discharges with marked
ability and efficiency.
In Montreal, Quebec, on
September 25, 1907, Mr. McIntosh was married to Miss Grace Elizabeth
McBean, a daughter of George McBean, now deceased, who was a prominent
grain dealer of that city. Mr. and Mrs. McIntosh have become the parents
of two sons and a daughter: John George, born in August, 1910; James
Ewing, whose birth occurred on the 30th of September, 1912; and Grace
McBean, born August 31, 1915. Mr. McIntosh is a strong Conservative in
his political views and he has been selected to fill many public offices
in Edmonton. From 1904 until 1907 he served as justice of the peace,
being the youngest incumbent in that office in what was then known as
the Northwest Territories but now comprises the provinces of Alberta and
Saskatchewan, and for three years he has been president of the Edmonton
Exhibition Association. He is a Master Mason and his religious views are
in accord with the doctrines of the Presbyterian church. He has been
both the architect and builder of his fortunes and his history is proof
of the fact that success and an honored name may be won simultaneously.
For many years his interests have been closely allied with all that
pertains to Edmonton's growth and advancement and his life has ever been
an upright, active and useful one, characterized by a progressive spirit
that has kept him prominently before the public in business and
political relations. Mr. McIntosh's home environment and training were
of the best and he says: "The credit of any success which I may have
attained must be given to my parents. The reputation for honesty of my
late father has assisted me more than anything else, and it is the best
asset and legacy a boy could be given. This, together with the careful
bringing up and good influence of a good mother, are bequests which I
will always prize more than anything else." |
