Henry Timmins (born c. 1858) was a Canadian shopkeeper who, with his younger brother, Noah, became an influential

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

. The brothers are considered to be among the most significant founding fathers of the Canadian mining industry.

Early life

Timmins was born Louis-Xavier Henri Timmins, in 1858, to Henriette Mineur (aka Moyer, aka Miner) (1830–1894), a German immigrant, and Noël Timmins (1828–1887), a merchant, who had emigrated from England with his parents, Joseph Timmins (1795–1835) and Marguerite Hirschbeck (aka Aspeck, died 1805), the latter being of German and French descent — her mother, Louise-Amable Morin, was a direct descendant of 17th-Century

settlers A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

Noël Morin and his wife,

Hélène Desportes Hélène Desportes (1620 – June 24, 1675) is often cited as the first white child born in Canada (New France). There is considerable disagreement about when she was born and, in particular, if she was born in Quebec or just before she arrived o ...

, who is often counted as the first white child born in Canada. Both Miner and Timmins maternally descend from several early

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...

settler families, include Boucher, Langlois, Guyon, Gagné, Gaudry, Merlot, Proulx and Martin. Noël Timmins prospered plying the lumber and fur trades, and founded the Timmins General Store in the

hamlet of

Mattawa, Ontario Mattawa is a town in northeastern Ontario, Canada on Algonquin Nation land at the confluence of the Mattawa and Ottawa Rivers in Nipissing District. Mattawa means "Meeting of the Waters" in the Algonquin language. The first Europeans to pass th ...

, where the family had become "thoroughly francicized," according to Lucy Griffith Paré, daughter-in-law of Noah and Henry Timmins' sister, Josephine, and author of ''The Seeds: The Life Story of a Matriarch'', who had encountered them "more at ease in French than in English." Today, Mattawa remains one-third

francophone French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...

. Noël Timmins bequeathed his general store and fortune to his sons, Louis-Xavier-Henri and Noé-Antoine, who became better known as

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

. Eldest son Louis-Xavier-Henri was commonly known as Henri and, in the

industry, is remembered as Henry Timmins.

Mining career

Henry's mining career began with a telegram from his brother, Noah, that led to the pair buying into the La Rose silver claim in

Cobalt, Ontario Cobalt is a town in Timiskaming District, Ontario, Canada. It had a population of 1,118 at the 2016 Census. In the early 1900s, the area was heavily mined for silver; the silver ore also contained cobalt. By 1910, the community was the fourth h ...

, at the onset of the Cobalt silver rush. Fred La Rose, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, while working for brothers Duncan and

John McMartin John Francis McMartin (August 21, 1929 – July 6, 2016) was an American actor of stage, film and television. Life and career McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana, on August 21, 1929, and raised in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After graduating fro ...

in the construction of the

Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario. Originally built to develop the Lake Timiskaming and Lake Nipissing area ...

(T&NO) at Mile 103 from

North Bay, Ontario North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. North Bay developed as a railroad centre, and its airport was an important military ...

– where he had built a small cabin –there chanced upon

Erythrite Erythrite or red cobalt is a secondary hydrated cobalt arsenate mineral with the formula . Erythrite and annabergite, chemical formula , or nickel arsenate form a complete series with the general formula . Erythrite crystallizes in the monoclin ...

, often an indication of associated

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...

and native

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

. (A fanciful story later developed that La Rose discovered the vein when he threw a hammer at a pesky fox.) Noah Timmins subsequently heard of the claim from La Rose who, at the end of his contract, had stopped at the Timmins brothers' general store in Mattawa, while returning to his home in

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadia ...

. Noah cabled Henry, who was in

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 ...

at the time and immediately set out for Hull, where he met with La Rose and offered him $3,500 for a quarter share of the claim, effectively partnering with the McMartin brothers. The foursome soon added a friend of the Timmins brothers, attorney (1863–1924)– for whom the

David Dunlap Observatory The David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) is an astronomical observatory site in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1935, it was owned and operated by the University of Toronto until 2008. It was then acquired by the city of Richmond Hill, ...

was named –as a full fifth partner, after he had won a case lodged by then former

Commissioner M.J. O'Brien, who had bought out adjacent claimant, Neal A. King, then disputed the Timmins' claim. In 1910, the five partners incorporated as the Canadian Mining and Finance Company, Limited (later

Hollinger Mines The Hollinger Gold Mine was discovered on October 9, 1909, by Benny Hollinger, who found the gold-bearing quartz dike that later became known as Hollinger Mines. With his friend, professional prospector Alex Gillies, Hollinger had travelled to the ...

), with Noah appointed President. In 1916, officers of the corporation were reported as: "President, L. H. Timmins, Montreal; vice-president, J. McMartin, Cornwall, Ont.; treasurer, D. A. Dunlap, Toronto; secretary, John B. Holden, Toronto; general manager, P. A. Bobbins, Timmins, Ont." While the family company explored stakes and mining operations around the globe; their greatest development was ever the important Hollinger Gold Mine in

Timmins, Ontario Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 (2021). The city's economy is based on natural resource ext ...

, the city that bears their name. Despite Henry's early reservations, Noah had purchased stakes from

Benny Hollinger Benjamin Hollinger (1885–1919) was a Canadian barber turned prospector from Haileybury, Ontario, now considered one of the Founding Fathers of Timmins, Ontario, Canada. He was born April 10, 1885 in Point Alexander, Ontario, the youngest son of s ...

and

Alec Gillies Alexander Gillies (14 June 1875 – 1932) was a Scottish association football, footballer who played in the English Football League, Football League for Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers, Leicester City F.C., Leicester Fosse, Manchester Cit ...

, along with several adjacent claims, which were soon incorporated into

. Noah had first sent his nephew Alphonse "Al" Paré, then a geology engineering student, to assess the Hollinger mine's potential. Following incorporation, Noah then put him in charge of operations at the Hollinger Mine for the initial start-up phase of two years. Hollinger Mines became known as one of the "Big Three" Canadian mines, together with the

Dome Mine Dome Mine is situated in the City of Timmins, Ontario, Canada; and was developed during the Porcupine Gold Rush. It is now known as part of Newmont - Porcupine. The original Dome Mine (Tisdale Township) was discovered by Jack Wilson of the Harry ...

and the

McIntyre Mines The McIntyre mine is an abandoned underground gold mine in Schumacher, Ontario, Canada, which has earned a place in Canadian mining history as one of the nation's most important mines. Its iconic headframe, located near downtown Timmins, has come ...

. ''The Canadian Statesman'' reflected, in 1968, that, during the early days of the Canadian mining industry:

Death

Timmins died between 1941 and 1943, when his son of the same name passed away.

Family

Henry's son, Jules Robert Timmins (1888–1971), succeeded Noah Timmins, upon his death in 1936, as president of Hollinger Consolidated Gold Mines. His 1971 obituary in ''The New York Times'' commended Jules as "a leading figure in the great iron ore development of

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

"; he was inducted into the

Canadian Mining Hall of Fame The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame was conceived by Maurice R. Brown as a way to honor Canada's mine finders and builders, in recognition of accomplishments by leaders in the Canadian mining industry. The Hall was established in 1988; in 2022 it ha ...

, in 1989, for first developing iron ore fields of northern Quebec and Labrador, called "one of the greatest projects in Canadian mining history," and, in the 1950s, for building an "iron ore empire which was truly one of the most imaginative, most difficult mining projects ever undertaken." The Alphonse and Lucy Griffith Paré Foundation was founded by the nine children of Henry's nephew, by sister Josephine, Al Paré, and his wife, Lucy.Paré Foundation website
Paré Foundation, "About the Foundation". Retrieved October 29, 2017.

References

Sources

''The Davis handbook of the Cobalt silver district: with a manual of incorporated companies'': "Historical Sketch of Cobalt", by Harold Palmer Davis, Canadian Mining Journal, Ottawa, Canada, 1910, pages 7-14. Retrieved December 5, 2017.

''Changing Places: History, Community, and Identity in Northeastern Ontario'' by Kerry M. Abel, McGill-Queen's Press, 2006, age 147. Retrieved October 28, 2017.

''The Seeds: The Life Story of a Matriarch'', by Lucy Griffith Paré (with Antoine Paré), Les Entreprises de Carpent Perdu Inc., Ste-Lucie-des-Laurentides, Québec, Canada, 1984.

* ttp://www.timminstimes.com/2015/09/24/over-the-hill-by-diane-armstrong-for-september-24-2015 "Small Town Links", by Diane Armstrong, September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
"Top 10 Mining Events in Northern Ontario", by Stan Sudol, ''Republic of Mining, March 2, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2017.