Emmanuel Berchmans Devlin

Emmanuel Berchmans Devlin, KC (December 24, 1872 – August 30, 1921) was a Canadian lawyer and politician.[1]

Emmanuel Berchmans Devlin, BA, BCL, MA, KC
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Wright
In office
1905–1921
Preceded byWilfrid Laurier
Succeeded byRomuald Montézuma Gendron
Personal details
Born(1872-12-24)December 24, 1872
Aylmer, Quebec
DiedAugust 30, 1921(1921-08-30) (aged 48)
Montreal, Quebec
NationalityCanadian
Political partyLiberal
Spouse(s)Cecile Masson, daughter of the Hon. L.R. Masson, former Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec
RelationsCharles Ramsay Devlin, brother, Bernard Devlin, QC, MP, uncle
ChildrenEileen, Mary
Alma materLaval, McGill, Canisius College, Mount St. Mary's, College Sainte-Marie de Montreal
ProfessionLawyer

Born in Aylmer, Quebec,[1] the son of pioneer Aylmer mayor and merchant Charles Devlin (b. Meera, County Roscommon) and Hellen Roney (b. Stewarton, Scotland), and the last of nine children, Devlin was educated at the Collège Sainte-Marie in Montreal and Mount St Mary's College in Derbyshire, England. He received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws degree from McGill University and a Master of Arts degree from Laval University in Quebec.[2]

Called to the Quebec bar in 1895 and named King's Counsel in 1906; Devlin practised law in Montreal until 1901 when he moved to Hull. There, he became a partner in the law firm of Devlin and Ste. Marie, pleaded many notable cases, both civil and criminal in nature,[3] and served as solicitor for Wright County.[4]

Devlin was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the electoral district of Wright in a 1905 by-election called after Wilfrid Laurier resigned his seat in Wright, having been elected for Quebec East also. A Liberal, he was re-elected in 1908, 1911, and 1917.[1] He died in office in 1921 in Montreal.[4]

His elder brother, the Honourable Charles Ramsay Devlin, served not only as an MP in the Canadian House of Commons, but also as Minister of colonization, mines, and fisheries in the Quebec provincial government of Lomer Gouin, and as an MP representing Ireland in the British House of Commons at Westminster.[1]

In 1907, Devlin married Cécile, the daughter of Louis-Rodrigue Masson, a former Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Emmanuel Berchmans Devlin – Parliament of Canada biography
  2. ^ The Canadian Parliament; biographical sketches and photo-engravures of the senators and members of the House of Commons of Canada. Being the tenth Parliament, elected November 3, 1904
  3. ^ "Canadian Men and Women of the Time 1912" by Henry James Morgan
  4. ^ a b c Johnson, J.K. (1968). The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967. Public Archives of Canada.