Fonds

Following the Wars of Religion that ravaged France, some Huguenot (Protestant) members of the Guerin (Gueren) family immigrated to Ireland. In 1843, one such individual by the name of THOMAS GUERIN I (1818?-1887) chose to settle in Montreal. In 1848 he married MARY MAGUIRE (1822?-1906), a Montrealer of Irish ancestry, with whom he had five children: Mary Ellen (Bellelle), Michael, James John Edmund (Jas or Jemmy), Edmund William Patrick (Neddy) and John Maguire (Jack).

Thomas Guerin worked first as a professor, then a surveyor, before becoming a civil engineer in 1847. Although called to the Bar in 1852, he never practised law. Over the course of his engineering career, he carried out numerous projects in Canada as well as outside the country, notably in California and Australia.

MARY ELLEN (Bellelle) GUERIN (1849-1929) was a writer, poet, and the first president of both the Catholic Women's Club (1917) and the national association that grew out of it, the Catholic Women's League of Canada (1920). As a child, when her parents temporarily moved to Ottawa, Bellelle was a boarding pupil with the Congregation of Notre-Dame in Montreal. Although she never married, she did raise the children of her brother James John Edmund when he became a widower.

MICHAEL GUERIN (1852-?) was an estate agent. He never married.

JAMES JOHN EDMUND GUERIN (1856-1932) was a physician, politician and businessman. After completing the classical curriculum at Collège de Montreal, he obtained a medical degree from McGill University. He then continued his studies at the Royal College of Physicians in England before returning to Montreal to teach medicine at Université de Montréal. Taking an interest in politics, James was elected to the provincial legislature, representing Montreal Centre from 1895 to 1904. He also represented the riding of St. Ann in the federal House of Commons from 1925 to 1930. From 1910 to 1912, he was the thirtieth mayor of Montreal. His business activities included being Vice-President of Standard Gold Mines Limited. He married Mary Carroll O'Brien (1864-1888) in 1883, with whom he had two children: Thomas and Mary Carroll.

EDMUND WILLIAM PATRICK GUERIN (1858-1934) received a law degree from McGill University. Specializing in criminal cases, he became a Crown attorney before being appointed a judge in 1907. He also tried to enter politics, running as a candidate for the riding of Montreal Centre in 1891, but he was not elected. In addition, he was an officer in the Victoria Rifles Regiment. Edmund married his first wife Mary Evans in 1895, but she died in 1902. He then married Mary Catherine Sexton (1881-1913) in 1904. Neither of these marriages produced any children.

JOHN MAGUIRE (Jack) GUERIN (1868?-1936?) never married.

THOMAS GUERIN II (1886-1963) was the eldest son of Dr. James John Edmund Guerin. On August 18, 1928, in East Hampton, New York, he married ALICE CUDDIHY (1900-1984), the daughter of Robert J. Cuddihy, editor of the Literary Digest and the Standard Dictionary. The couple settled first in Montreal, then in Mont St. Hilaire. They had two children: Alice Theresa (1932-1986) and Mary Carroll (b. 1936).

Thomas Guerin received a PhD from Université de Montréal in 1948. He taught English at this institution from 1952 to 1955. He also held the position of consul general in Montreal for various countries, including Austria (1930-1938), Greece and Montenegro. In the field of business, he was a director and comptroller of Siscoe Gold Mines, Siscoe Metal Ltd and the Harricana & Gatineau Telephone Company. He was also a member of the Montreal Catholic School Board from 1953 to 1961.

Moreover, Thomas was active in politics and very involved in the military. A literary man and author, he published several works over the course of his life, notably studies on family history and genealogy. At the end of his career, he was awarded several honorary titles and founded the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Canada, of which he was president from 1957 to 1961.

Thomas Guerin died in Montreal on January 6, 1963, at the age of 76. He was buried in Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery on January 9, 1963.