Robert Wilson Reford Jr. (1867-1951)
R. Wilson Reford Jr., President of Robert Reford & Co., Montreal
He was born in Montreal and was educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto; and, Lincoln College, Sorel. His early career was geared towards succeeding his father's principal business concerns and he started work as a purser aboard a Thompson Line vessel in the Mediterranean Sea. The following year, he took up the position of assistant manager of the Mount Royal Rice Mills Ltd. in Victoria, British Columbia, while being placed in charge of the SV Thermopylae, his father's 991-ton extreme composite clipper that imported rice from Rangoon and Shanghai to British Columbia. From 1891, he worked at shipping agencies in Antwerp and Paris before returning to Montreal as Secretary-Treasurer to Robert Reford & Co. He was admitted as a partner in 1901 and after his father died in 1913 he served as President until 1945.
In 1912, he was elected President of the Montreal Board of Trade. During World War I he served as Vice-President of the Montreal branch of the Canadian Patriotic Fund and Reford & Co. handled 95-troopships, moving about 139,000-troops. After the war he was appointed President of the Shipping Federation of Canada (1920-30); President of the Quebec Division of the Navy League of Canada; Vice-President of the Montreal Canadian Club; Vice-President of the Association of Canadian Clubs; President of the Canadian Club; and, Counsellor of the Montreal Sailor's Institute & Shipping Federation. He was a Director of the Cunard Steamship Company; the Lake of the Woods Milling Company; Keewatin Flour Mills; Iner-City Baking Company; and, New Brunswick Railway.
In his private life, Reford was a keen amateur photographer and in 1888 acquired one of the first Kodak cameras. In 1894, he married Elsie, daughter of Robert Meighen, of Montreal, and the maternal niece of 1st Lord Mount Stephen, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway etc. Elsie was President of the Women's Canadian Club in Montreal; one of the first Directors of the Montreal Maternity Hospital; Convener of the Quebec Battlefields Association; and the creator of today's Jardins de Metis. They lived between Estevan Lodge at Metis and 300 (later 3510) Drummond Street in Montreal, and were the parents of two sons and a daughter. Their elder son, Bruce, was a Brigadier in the Irish Guards and their younger son, Lewis, succeeded his father as President of the Robert Reford & Co.
In 1912, he was elected President of the Montreal Board of Trade. During World War I he served as Vice-President of the Montreal branch of the Canadian Patriotic Fund and Reford & Co. handled 95-troopships, moving about 139,000-troops. After the war he was appointed President of the Shipping Federation of Canada (1920-30); President of the Quebec Division of the Navy League of Canada; Vice-President of the Montreal Canadian Club; Vice-President of the Association of Canadian Clubs; President of the Canadian Club; and, Counsellor of the Montreal Sailor's Institute & Shipping Federation. He was a Director of the Cunard Steamship Company; the Lake of the Woods Milling Company; Keewatin Flour Mills; Iner-City Baking Company; and, New Brunswick Railway.
In his private life, Reford was a keen amateur photographer and in 1888 acquired one of the first Kodak cameras. In 1894, he married Elsie, daughter of Robert Meighen, of Montreal, and the maternal niece of 1st Lord Mount Stephen, President of the Canadian Pacific Railway etc. Elsie was President of the Women's Canadian Club in Montreal; one of the first Directors of the Montreal Maternity Hospital; Convener of the Quebec Battlefields Association; and the creator of today's Jardins de Metis. They lived between Estevan Lodge at Metis and 300 (later 3510) Drummond Street in Montreal, and were the parents of two sons and a daughter. Their elder son, Bruce, was a Brigadier in the Irish Guards and their younger son, Lewis, succeeded his father as President of the Robert Reford & Co.
