George Hague (1825-1915)
of "Rotherwood" Montreal; General Manager of the Merchant's Bank of Canada
He was born in England at Rotherham, Yorkshire, and he was educated at a boarding school where he won the school prize for mathematics. He began his career with the Sheffield Banking Company and after eleven years there he began working for a firm of railway contractors with large interests in Canada. In 1853, he was sent to Montreal to oversee the construction of the Montreal & Bytown and Brockville & Ottawa Railroads. In 1854, the company’s British director, James Sykes, and the £250,000 of investor's money that he was carrying with him, went down with the SS Arctic when it sank off Newfoundland following a collision with another boat. The firm was immediately declared bankrupt and Hague took a job with the Bank of Toronto, during which time he successfully dissuaded the government from introducing the American system of currency into Canada. He was General Manager (CEO) of the Bank of Toronto in 1876 when he was enticed to take on the same role at the Merchant's Bank of Canada.
The Merchant's Bank had come close to failing during the Depression of the 1870s, but it was saved by Hague’s competent management and by the time he retired in 1902 it had offices across Canada as well as in New York and London, with a reputation as one of the most aggressive banks on the continent. Hague was highly respected in banking and political circles, both within Canada and the United States. In 1891, he was elected President of the newly created Canadian Banker's Association, and in the same decade he was appointed Chairman of the Civil Service Commission of Canada. In addition, he was a Governor of McGill University and wrote several books on banking and commerce.
The Merchant's Bank had come close to failing during the Depression of the 1870s, but it was saved by Hague’s competent management and by the time he retired in 1902 it had offices across Canada as well as in New York and London, with a reputation as one of the most aggressive banks on the continent. Hague was highly respected in banking and political circles, both within Canada and the United States. In 1891, he was elected President of the newly created Canadian Banker's Association, and in the same decade he was appointed Chairman of the Civil Service Commission of Canada. In addition, he was a Governor of McGill University and wrote several books on banking and commerce.
In 1852, in Sheffield, he married Sarah Cousins, and two years after she died he married his wife's "lady's companion," Fanny Mitcheson, who was originally from Philadelphia but came to Montreal to join her elder sister, Mrs. Catharine (Mitcheson) Bagg. Hague was the father of seven children (listed) by his first wife, six of whom survived to adulthood. In 1887, he built "Rotherwood" (see images) on several acres on the slopes of Mount Royal off Redpath Street, and the family summered at their cottage of the same name in Métis on the St. Lawrence River. A year after their stepmother died (1920), his children put Rotherwood up for sale but there were no takers and it was demolished soon afterwards.
