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Francis Hector Clergue was the son of Joseph Hector Clergue and Frances Clarissa Lombard Clergue. Joseph Hector was born on 20 March 1830 to Jean Clergue, an Ensign in the French Navy, and Marie Josephine Rolland Clergue. Joseph Hector's father died when he was a year old. Marie Josephine subsequently remarried an event that reportedly induced Joseph Hector to leave home. He immigrated to the United States from Lorient, France as late as 1847. Frances, on the other hand, came from an old and established Maine family. Her parents, David Sawyer Lombard and Clara M. Lombard, both had roots in the United States that dated back to the seventeenth century. Frances's father was a master shipbuilder of international renown. Joseph Hector and Frances met sometime after Joseph Hector settled in Bangor and they subsequently married. They made their home variously in Bangor and Brewer, communities separated only by the Penobscot River. The Clergue's had at least six children who reached adulthood in addition to Francis Hector, namely: Bertrand Joseph, Ernest Victor, Helen, Grace E., Josephine C. and Gertrude Alice. Vital statistics for the City of Brewer indicate that there was another child, Mary B. Clergue, who was born 25 May 1866. Records for the City of Bangor confirm that Mary died at the age of one year and eight months on 20 January 1868. Coincidentally, her maternal grandfather, David Lombard died just one day later on 21 January 1868. According to an unpublished biography of Clergue written by Alan Sullivan entitled Before the Tide, Clergue lived with Sullivan at Bishophurst, the residence of the Bishop for the Anglican Diocese of Algoma, during the fall and winter of 1894, immediately following his arrival in Sault Ste. Marie. Clergue could have lived elsewhere but he chose to live at Bishophurst at this early stage of his involvement in the community, so as to avoid socializing with local residents.
Ernest Victor who had been a clerk in his brother's law firm and then managed the Howard Clock Company in New York relocated to Sault Ste. Marie in or about 1899. When all three brothers resided in Sault Ste. Marie, Francis lived in the Block House, while his brothers boarded nearby at the Tagona Inn. Once Ernest assumed his position as supervisor of the Helen Mine at Michipicoten, Bertrand moved into the Block House with Francis. Francis Hector Clergue decided to build a new and modern home after living in the Block House for a number of years. According to a weekly report submitted to A.J. Crane, Chief Engineer for the Lake Superior Corporation, by one of the assistant engineers in August of 1901: "I have in hand alterations to the plans sent by Mr. B.J. Clergue for a private residence." The site selected for the house, which was named Montfermier after the family's ancestral home in France , was the brow of a Moffley Hill, an area that was outside the town limits both of Sault Ste. Marie and Steelton but overlooked both. From all accounts, it was a magnificent two storied structure surrounded by 20 acres of land that had been cleared for lawns and gardens. Excavation of the house began in the spring of 1902 and by the fall the red sandstone portion of the structure was complete. The second storey, according to contemporary reports was of "fancy wooden construction". All of the surviving members of Clergue's family adopted Montfermier as their primary residence with the exception of the two sisters who married, Grace (Mrs. William Lynde Harrison married 12 November 1900) and Josephine (Mrs. Bernard Pol married 12 October 1876). Francis Hector and Bertrand Joseph moved into the house around Christmas of 1902. Their parents and two of their sisters joined him in early 1903. Sadly, Ernest Victor died before the house was constructed. Apparently never a robust man, Ernest local lore indicates that he strained his heart carrying a canoe over a long and arduous portage near Michipicoten. He went to Chicago for specialized medical treatment but died of heart failure while there. Ernest died intestate &endash; without a will. His parents, Joseph Hector and Frances Clarissa both renounced all right and title to administer the estate instead naming their son, Bertrand Joseph, as administrator. Ernest was the beneficial owner of a number of lots in the Town of Sault Ste. Marie as well as in the Townships of Parke and Awenge. More importantly, however, he was the beneficial owner of mining claims, leases and properties held in trust for the Algoma Commercial Company Limited and the Lake Superior Power Company. Although Francis
Hector did not continue to live in the Sault after
the collapse of the industrial empire he founded,
his parents and sisters remained in Sault Ste.
Marie until September of 1909 when Joseph Hector
died. Responsibility for transporting Joseph
Hector's body back to Bangor for interment fell to
Bertrand Joseph since Francis Hector was in Europe
at the time of his father's death. Presumably the
entire family departed soon after Joseph Hector's
death since there is no further mention of them in
locally held records.
By 1903 Clergue's control over industrial development in Sault Ste. Marie had diminished significantly. He resigned as a director and as an employee of the Allied Companies in April of 1903 at the request of Speyer and Company, dramatically curtailing his role in corporate direction and management. For all intents and purposes, Clergue ceased to be a resident of Sault Ste. Marie at this time. He traveled extensively as a lobbyist before associating himself with the Canada Car and Foundry Company of Montreal. He acquired a residence in Montreal and made that city his new base of operations. He remained as the director of only one company he helped to found the Algoma Commercial Company Limited and even here his tenure was brief. As a director of the Algoma Commercial Company, he was a co-incorporator of the Land Improvement Company, a company created solely for the purpose of selling shares in the reorganized Lake Superior Corporation. In 1908 he failed to be reelected to the Board of the Lake Superior Corporation and he subsequently abandoned his interests in the Improvement Company. His ties with Sault Ste. Marie and local industry were severed for all time. Clergue returned to Sault Ste. Marie only twice - in August of 1923 for Discovery Week when he was invited to lay the cornerstone in the Cenotaph and again briefly in 1937 for a testimonial dinner in his honour. After the collapse of his industrial empire, Clergue renewed his career as a promoter and entrepreneur. It was in connection with his promotional enterprises that he spent almost a year in Russia during which time he became friends with numerous important people, most notably Grand Duke Nicholas. He also travelled throughout the rest of Europe, often in the company of his brother, Bertrand. Following his return to Canada in 1910, Clergue renewed his association with the Canadian Car and Foundry Company of Montreal. It was in connection with this Company that Clergue found himself back in Europe specifically France and Russia in the years prior to the First World War. He sold patents to the governments of each of these countries for a universal transmission device for heavy gun turrets. In addition, Clergue secured two other contracts from the Russian Government: one for the sale of two million shells on behalf of the Canadian Car and Foundry Company and the other for the sale of three million shrapnel and high-explosive shells on behalf of himself. Clergue subsequently transferred his personal contract to the Canadian Car and Foundry Company despite the fact that the prices specified in this contract were much higher than the prices specified in the original contract as between the Government of Russia and the Canadian Car and Foundry Company. Given Clergue's penchant for failure, it is hardly surprising that this enterprise, too, turned sour. First of all there was a major fire in the munitions plant where the shells were being produced and stored. Then, before the Company could be paid for the shells, the Government of Imperial Russia was overthrown. Needless to say, the failure of this particular contract could hardly be blamed on Clergue. There has been some suggestion, however, that despite the failure of the shell scheme, Clergue was paid $1.5 million in commissions (half in cash and half in Company stock) and that he subsequently received another $75,000 for services rendered. In January of 1920, Clergue was elected as a director of the Canada Car and Foundry Company and within a matter of weeks of his election he was appointed to the executive committee of the Company. He held both of these positions until his death. In addition, Clergue was the president of his own engineering company, the Universal Engineering Corporation. It would appear that he didn't embark on any further great schemes after the First World War but rather devoted his time to Canada Car and Universal Engineering. Francis Hector Clergue died in Montreal on January 19,1939 at the age of 82 years. According to an article which appeared in the Globe and Mail, he was taken to hospital three days after suffering a heart attack. He rallied briefly but then died within a matter of days. His sister, Gertrude, who was living with him at the time of his death, continued to live in the house they shared on Mountain Road in Montreal. His parents predeceased Clergue. Joseph Hector, as mentioned above, died in 1909 and Frances Clarissa died in 1912 in New York, presumably while at the home of her daughter, Josephine. He was also predeceased by his brother, Ernest Victor who died in January, 1902 in Chicago, Illinois while in the employ of his brother's mining operations, by his brother Bertrand Joseph who died in Waterbury, Connecticut in March of 1930 also while engaged in business for Francis Hector and his sister Helen who died in England in May of 1938. Interestingly enough, all of these family members were buried in a lot in Mt. Hope Cemetery in Bangor, which Francis Hector purchased in 1902.
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