Dohertys founded Hill Electric Switch Company of Montreal in 1902

As it turns out, the Hill Electric Switch Company that employed my grandfather was founded by Judge Marcus Doherty and his sons Charles Joseph and Michael Joseph, an electrician named Hill, and Charles' son-in-law, Charles Austin Bernard.

A 10 Nov 1902 Montreal Gazette article headlined "From the Capital" and a subhead, "Some Official Notices", notes that among recent published declarations in the Canada Gazette is the following:

I guess since Mr Hill was the only electrician among the founders, that is why the company bore his name, and not, perhaps Doherty, Bernard and Hill or some variation thereof.

So, rather than my grandfather bringing electricity to Montreal, as family legend (okay, tall tale) would have it, it turns out that he worked at the company owned by relatives that brought electricity to Montreal. But at least my grandfather was an electrical engineer.

Sometimes in genealogy research you really can't make this stuff up.

The never ending story continues....



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