Frederick Edmund Meredith (January 16, 1862 – September 23, 1941) was a Canadian lawyer and businessman. He was the 8th

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Diocese of Quebe ...

; President of the Mount Royal Club; Bâtonnier of the

Bar of Montreal The Bar of Montreal (french: Barreau de Montréal) is the section of the Bar of Quebec for lawyers in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has it beginnings in 1693 when, as a Royal Province of the French colonial empire, ''Canadien'' lawyers ...

; President of the

Montreal Victorias The Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey club. Its date of origin is ascribed to either 1874, 1877 or 1881, making it either the first or second organized ice hockey club after McGill University. ...

for three of their

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

championships in the late 1890s, and

Chief Counsel Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

to the

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

at the inquest into the sinking of

RMS Empress of Ireland RMS ''Empress of Ireland'' was a British-built ocean liner that sank near the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada following a collision in thick fog with the Norwegian collier in the early hours of 29 May 1914. Although the ship was ...

. The ''F.E. Meredith Memorial Prize'' is a scholarship given to students graduating in an English program with the best written

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Early life

Born at

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, F.E. Meredith was the youngest son of Chief Justice Sir

William Collis Meredith Sir William Collis Meredith, (23 May 1812 – 26 February 1894) was Chief Justice of the Superior Court for the Province of Quebec from 1866 to 1884. In 1844, he was offered but refused the positions of Solicitor General of Canada and then Att ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and his wife, Sophia Naters Holmes (1820–1898), grand-daughter of

William Holmes William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. One of his godfathers was his father's first cousin, Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, and the other was his uncle,

Edmund Allen Meredith Edmund Allen Meredith (7 October 1817 – 2 January 1899) was an Irish lawyer whose career was in public service in Canada. He was Under Secretary of State for Canada; a prison reformer, writer, president of the Literary and Historical Soci ...

, for whom he was given his middle name. Edmund Meredith was also uncle and godfather to Sir Augustus Meredith Nanton, with whom Meredith would later sit with on the board of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. Meredith's father was a first cousin of

John Walsingham Cooke Meredith * * John Walsingham Cooke Meredith (1809–1881) was an Irish–Canadian office holder and businessman, best remembered as the father of the ''Eight London Merediths''. He previously practised as a barrister and was a member of the first Eccentr ...

, the father of the ''Eight London Merediths'' who included among them Sir Vincent Meredith and Charles Meredith, both close friends and business associates. He was educated at

Bishop's College School Bishop's College School or BCS is an English-language non-profit independent boarding prep school in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada for students in Grades 7 to 12.Thomson, Ashley; Lafortune, Sylvie (1999). Handbook of Canadian Boarding Schools. To ...

. Following a year in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, he returned to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to read law at

(B.A., M.A.), and

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montm ...

(LL.B., LL.L., LL.M., LL.D.). He was called to the

Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec (french: Barreau du Québec) is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Ca ...

in 1884, commencing his career as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

specializing in corporate law in the firm of Abbott & Badgeley at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Legal and Business Career

In 1898, Meredith and his two closest friends from Laval,

Charles Sandwith Campbell Charles Sandwith Campbell, (1858–1923) was a wealthy corporate lawyer and benefactor who gave the City of Montreal the Campbell Concerts and Campbell Parks. He was a Governor of McGill University. Early life and education Born in 1858 at K ...

and James Bryce Allan (1861–1945) K.C. (brother of his cousins wife, Lady

Vincent Meredith Sir Henry Vincent Meredith, 1st Baronet (February 28, 1850 – February 24, 1929), was a Canadian banker and philanthropist. He was president of the Bank of Montreal, the Royal Victoria Hospital and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. He was gove ...

), took over from the ageing Sir

John Abbott Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party. Abbot ...

and

William Badgley William Badgley (27 March 1801 – 24 December 1888) was born in Lower Canada, educated there, and admitted to the Lower Canadian bar in 1823. He became a judge and attorney general for Canada East. He was also the founder of a law firm now kn ...

to become the firm's new senior partners. Since the departure of his father from

in 1849, the law firm of Abbott (who had articled under his father) and Badgley had become the most influential in the city, which was then the financial capital of Canada. The firm's major clients included

, the

Bank of Montreal The Bank of Montreal (BMO; french: Banque de Montréal, link=no) is a Canadian multinational investment bank and financial services company. The bank was founded in Montreal, Quebec, in 1817 as Montreal Bank; while its head office remains in ...

, the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

, the

Allan Line The Allan Shipping Line was started in 1819, by Captain Alexander Allan of Saltcoats, Ayrshire, trading and transporting between Scotland and Montreal, a route which quickly became synonymous with the Allan Line. By the 1830s the company had off ...

, the

Bank of British North America The Bank of British North America was founded by Royal Charter issued in 1836 in London, England with offices in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, New Brunswick, Halifax and St. John's, Newfoundland. It was the first bank operating in ...

Molson Bank The Molson Bank (sometimes labeled Molsons Bank) was a Canadian bank founded in Montreal, Quebec, by brothers William (1793–1875) and John Molson, Jr. (1787–1860), the sons of brewery magnate John Molson. History In 1850, it was constitute ...

Dominion Textile The Dominion Textile Inc. or Domtex was a Canadian textile manufacturer that was founded in 1905 and closed in 1998 when its remains were purchased by the American Polymer Group, at the time headed by Jerry Zucker. History Following the instit ...

Hugh Allan Sir Hugh Allan (September 29, 1810 – December 9, 1882) was a Scottish-Canadian shipping magnate, financier and capitalist. By the time of his death, the Allan Shipping Line had become the largest privately owned shipping empire in the wor ...

's Merchant's Bank and the

Ritz-Carlton Hotel The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...

. Campbell, Meredith & Allan continued the firm's dominance, acting as lawyers to the majority of the residents of the

Golden Square Mile / ''Mille carré doré'' , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Neighbourhood , image_skyline = Ravenscrag.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = '' Ravenscrag'', built for Sir Hugh Allan ...

. Today the firm is known as

Borden Ladner Gervais Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (abbreviated as BLG) is a leading, full-service law firm in Canada. With almost two hundred years of history going back to the 1823 founding of McMaster Gervais, it now has offices in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Ottaw ...

. Created a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1899, Meredith became Syndic of the

in 1904/05; Councillor and Trustee of the Montreal Bar Association; Delegate of the Montreal Bar to the General Council of the Province, along with another close friend, Aime Geoffrion, 1906. In 1907, he was elected Bâtonnier of the

, and in an address in this capacity before the

Empire Club of Canada The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for many thousands of different speakers. Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and in ...

, he stressed the need for more justices in the

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

and declared his opposition to the proposed abolition of the

Admiralty Court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences. Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest ...

. He was the Solicitor to the

Shipping Federation {{no sources, date=August 2020 The Shipping Federation was an association of employers in the shipping industry. It was formed in 1890 in response to the London dock strike of 1889 and the successes of the National Union of Seamen The Nat ...

of Canada in the early 1900s, and represented his client company, the

, as their Chief Consul at the investigation into the sinking of the

, presided over by

Lord Mersey John Charles Bigham, 1st Viscount Mersey, (3 August 1840 – 3 September 1929) was a British jurist and politician. After early success as a lawyer, and a less successful spell as a politician, he was appointed a judge, working in commercial la ...

. In 1930, Meredith and Sir Edward Beatty were received at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

by President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

cases took him often to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and he twice turned down offers to become a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, preferring to maintain the business connections he held with many of his client companies. His personal popularity, derived from ''graciousness of manner and sincerity of feeling'', coupled with his intimate association with many of Canada's larger business concerns made him a desirable addition to the boards of a number of the country’s foremost corporations including: the

;

Royal Trust Company Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000 ...

;

Canadian Pacific Steamships CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...

;

Standard Life Standard Life is a life assurance, pensions and long-terms savings company in the UK which is owned by Phoenix Group. History 1825–2010 The Standard Life Assurance Company was established in 1825 and was reincorporated as a mutual assurance ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

;

Royal Securities Corporation Royal Securities Corporation Limited was a stock brokerage firm founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in early 1903 by John F. Stairs, its first president. The company was the first brokerage firm to be opened east of Montreal, Quebec, the then ...

; The National Steel Car Corporation; Canadian Cottons Ltd.; Lake Superior Corporation; National Liverpool Insurance Company (

); Montreal & General Investor Ltd.; The Banker's Trust Company and the Liverpool, London & Globe Insurance Company in

. When the National City Company of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

had a subsidiary in

, Meredith was chosen as a member of the advisory board.

Bishop's and Université Laval

His interest in various educational and cultural undertakings was well known, particularly in the progress and welfare of

Bishops University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain, who ...

, where he led the successful financial campaign of 1924. As an advocate to many of the country's largest corporations, along with his family connections and strength of character, Meredith wielded a very considerable influence in

. In 1926, he succeeded his brother-in-law's first cousin, John Hamilton, becoming the 8th chancellor of Bishop's, a position he held until 1932. Principal Arthur McGreer later stated that all the substantial financial gifts from 1924 onwards had in some cases been entirely, and in most cases largely, due to Meredith. The ''F.E. Meredith Prize'' at Bishop’s was endowed after his death by his son, W.C.J. Meredith, awarded annually to the student with the best written English graduating from an English course. Fred Meredith also donated the ''Meredith Cup'' which is still competed for annually between the

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

ers of the college. In 1904,

conferred on him the degree of

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; la, Legis Civilis Doctor or Juris Civilis Doctor) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher ...

(D.C.L.) ''honoris causa''. To commemorate the event, Meredith instituted a scholarship payable each year to the graduating student of the law faculty who obtained the highest marks. He and his two former business partners,

and James Bryce Allan, also endowed the ''Prix Jette'', awarded annually to the best student in civil law at their shared alma mater,

Family

In 1903, Meredith married Anne Madeleine VanKoughnet (1863–1945), daughter of Mathew Robert VanKoughnet (1824–1874) of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

;

Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

of the

Law Society of Upper Canada The Law Society of Ontario (LSO; french: Barreau de l'Ontario) is the law society responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1797 as the Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC; frenc ...

. Her father practised law with his brother, The Hon. Philip Michael Matthew Scott VanKoughnet, later Chancellor of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

, and together they acquired the largest legal practice brought together in

. Mrs Meredith's mother, Elizabeth Hagerman Macaulay (1826–1899), was a daughter of George Macaulay (1796-1828) of Bath,

, and a niece of

John Simcoe Macaulay Colonel The Hon. John Simcoe Macaulay (13 October 1791 – 20 December 1855) was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada. In 1845, before retiring to England, he donated the land on which the Church of the Holy Trinity (Toronto) w ...

, Sir James Buchanan Macaulay,

Christopher Alexander Hagerman Christopher Alexander Hagerman, (28 March 1792 – 14 May 1847) was a Canadian militia officer, lawyer, administrator, politician and judge. Early life and family Known during his adult life as 'Handsome Kit', Hagerman was born at the Bay ...

and

John Solomon Cartwright John Solomon Cartwright, (September 17, 1804 – January 15, 1845) was a Canadian businessman, lawyer, judge, farmer and political figure in Kingston, Upper Canada. He was a supporter of the Family Compact, an oligarchic group which had do ...

. Mrs Meredith was the widow of Francis Wolferstan Thomas, by whom she had three children. From 1903, he lived at a house designed for him by

Robert Findlay Robert Findlay (1859–1951) was a Scottish-born Canadian architect. He was born in Inverness, Scotland, and moved to Montreal in 1885. He won the competition to expand the first Sun Life Building and was the architect for that project, which ...

on Pine Avenue in Montreal's

. He also variously kept rooms at the

Ritz Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addi ...

, Mount Royal Club and University Club. Meredith and his wife 'mutually consented to separate' in 1913, leaving one son, William Campbell James Meredith, who married the youngest daughter of

Louis de Lotbiniere-Harwood Louis de Lotbinière-Harwood (1866–1934) F.A.C.S., was a Canadian gynaecologist. He was Dean of Medicine at Université de Montréal, the second campus of Université Laval. He was President of the Medical Union of Canada, President of the Hôp ...

. Mrs. Meredith had served with Lady

as a Governor of the Montreal Maternity Hospital. When she separated from her husband in 1913, she moved to

, living in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

she served with the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. In 1942, Mrs. Meredith went to stay with her daughter Shearme and her husband, Lt.-Col. John Lionel Philips, at their home

Abbey Cwmhir Hall Abbey-Cwm-Hir Hall is a neo-Elizabethan country house in the Welsh county of Powys. History The hall was built in 1833 for Thomas Wilson, a London lawyer, on the site of a Tudor style house built for the Fowler family, which was later owned by ...

. During her stay she fell ill and three years later she died there, July 27, 1945. A funeral service was held for her at

Penybont Penybont (also sometimes spelled Pen-y-Bont) is a small village in Radnorshire, Powys, Wales. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 428. The community includes the settlement of Llandegley. Penybont colliery The Penybont colli ...

, where there is a bench in the churchyard to her memory. She was survived by her four children and two of her sisters, Mrs. Frank Wolff May of

and Lady

Casimir Cartwright van Straubenzee Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Sir Casimir Cartwright van Straubenzee, (11 November 1867 – 28 March 1956) was a Canadian-born officer in the British Army, who served as General Officer Commanding Singapore and Malaya Command.Pre ...

Private life

Meredith had been a noted sportsman. Playing

Rackets Racket may refer to: * Racket (crime), a systematised element of organized crime ** Protection racket, a scheme whereby a group provides protection to businesses or other groups through violence outside the sanction of the law * Racket (sports equ ...

, he was a

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

finalist on one occasion and frequently represented

in competitions against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1897 he won the championship of the Montreal Rackets Club, and was the runner-up in 1898. As a young man he'd also played

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

, and he was elected the honorary president of the

when they won the

in 1895, 1896 and 1897. He later sponsored an ice hockey team for the office boys in his firm, and amateur

competitions. He raced with the old Montreal Jockey Club, took flying lessons in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

and fox hunted with relatives in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and with the

Montreal Hunt Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

. He played

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

into his seventies, notably in

John Wilson McConnell John Wilson McConnell (July 1, 1877 – November 6, 1963) was a Canadian sugar refiner, newspaper publisher, humanitarian and philanthropist in Quebec, Canada. Early life J.W. McConnell was born to a farming family in the Muskoka region of Ont ...

's group, and at the

Mount Royal Tennis Club The Mount Royal Tennis Club has been the most-used venue for Canada hosting Davis Cup ties. It has been the country's most prominent grass court Davis Cup venue. The MRTC has played host to 28 Davis Cup ties between 1923 and 1964. All but the last ...

. He was Chairman of the Montreal

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Club and a generous donator to Martha Allan's Montreal Repertory Theatre. At university he developed a keen interest in

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

, and at one stage considered an apprenticeship with

William Notman William Notman (8 March 1826 – 25 November 1891) was a Scottish-Canadian photographer and businessman. The Notman House in Montreal was his home from 1876 until his death in 1891, and it has since been named after him. Biography Notman ...

. He belonged to many sporting and social clubs in

and served as President of three of them: the Mount Royal Club, the Montreal Racquet Club and the University Club. In

, he belonged to the

St James's Club The St James's Club was a London gentlemen's club which operated between 1857 and 1978. It was founded by two leading diplomats and its members continued to be largely diplomats and authors. It was first established in Charles Street and moved to ...

Travellers Club The Travellers Club is a private gentlemen's club situated at 106 Pall Mall in London, United Kingdom. It is the oldest of the surviving Pall Mall clubs and one of the most exclusive, having been established in 1819. It was described as "the ...

, Marlborough and British Empire clubs.

Obituary

Funeral monument of Frederick Edmund Meredith

F.E. Meredith
was well remembered for his dry sense of humour and was frequently described as "the most colourful and prominent figure" on the

and "one of the most eminent personalities not only in the Quebec Bar but in the whole of Canada".

Arnold Heeney Arnold Danford Patrick Heeney, (April 5, 1902 – December 20, 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, diplomat and civil servant. He was born in Montreal, Quebec. He was educated at St. John's College, Winnipeg and received a Bachelor of Arts deg ...

especially recalled the generosity of F.E. Meredith, "that grand old

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...

... who would quite often have me home with him for lunch, and test me with the largest, strongest martinis I had ever known". Horst Oertel wrote ''An Appreciation'' to his friend that was published in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' of

in 1941, Meredith died shortly before his eightieth birthday (‘birthdays are not the kind of thing one wants to commemorate’ he once said), after an illness of several weeks. He died at his home on Pine Avenue in the

shortly after eleven o’clock of that morning, predominantly of old age. Meredith's funeral was one of the largest ever seen in

, and out of respect the practice division of the courts were closed for the day.The History of McMaster Meighen (1989). Doug Mitchell The city's legal and business communities turned out in full force, and both were represented among his

pall-bearer A pallbearer is one of several participants who help carry the casket at a funeral. They may wear white gloves in order to prevent damaging the casket and to show respect to the deceased person. Some traditions distinguish between the roles o ...

s who included Sir Edward Beatty,

Sir Montagu Allan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Andrew Montagu Allan, (October 13, 1860 – September 26, 1951) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the principal heir of his father, Sir Hugh Allan, and became deputy chairman of the family-owned A ...

, Sir Herbert Holt and Chief Justice

R.A.E. Greenshields Robert Alfred Ernest Greenshields (February 2, 1861 – September 28, 1942) was Chief Justice of the Superior Court of the Province of Quebec; Dean of the Faculty of Law at McGill University and 9th Chancellor of Bishop's University. Gre ...

. He was buried in the Meredith plot at

Mount Royal Cemetery Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, is within the Mount Royal grounds. Th ...

, Montreal, next to his cousins, Sir

and Charles Meredith and their respective wives.

References

Associated Articles

Election to the Directorate of the Bank of Montreal, 1923

Bishop's Convocation Speeches
Montreal Gazette, May 21, 1929
Bishop's College Closing Ceremony is Notable Event
Montreal Gazette, June 17, 1932
Hundreds at Rites for F.E. Meredith
Montreal Gazette, September 26, 1941
Seeing God The Banker Worth 35 Bucks to Him
Ottawa Citizen, November 25, 1953
Mr Corderre is Again Syndic, 1908

English-Canadian Leadership Has Faded Since '50s
Montreal Gazette, April 1, 1976
The Libel Suit of George of Wales Comes to Trial: Eminent Counsel Engaged in the Effort to Punish the Montreal Correspondent who sent out Dispatches about the Prince (1891)

Jockey Club Bill, 1909

Honored by Bishop's University
Montreal Gazette, June 21, 1930
Female Heroism
The Quebec Daily Telegraph, August 29, 1885
Accident to Quebecers - Two of Sir Wm. Meredith's Sons Injured By A Runaway
The Quebec Saturday Budget, August 28, 1886

Photographs

F.E. Meredith presents Mayor Médéric Martin of Montreal with a key to one of the new Campbell Parks, 1926

F.E. Meredith (1862-1941), 1894

One of Meredith's early photographs, showing his father at his desk at home, c.1890

Meredith in fancy dress for the Castanet Club Ball, 1886

Frederick E. Meredith dressed as Napoleon, 1897

Portrait of Frederick Edmund Meredith, Chancellor of Bishop's University

Meredith (centre right) with the Stanley Cup winning Montreal Victorias, 1894-95

Meredith (centre right) with the Stanley Cup winning Montreal Victorias, 1895-96

Meredith (seated centre) with the Stanley Cup winning Montreal Victorias, 1896-97

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, Frederick 1862 births 1941 deaths Lawyers from Montreal Université Laval alumni Bishop's University alumni Canadian King's Counsel Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery Bishop's College School alumni

Early life

Legal and Business Career

Bishop's and Université Laval

Family

Private life

Obituary

See also

References

Further reading

Associated Articles

Photographs