The city is called upon today to mourn the loss of one of its best known citizens, and one who enjoyed the respect and esteem of all with whom he came in contact, Patrick Monaghan.

Few knew that Mr. Monaghan was seriously ill. He was a man advanced in years and many thought that his indisposition was merely one of the ailments of old age. His death this morning was consequently a painful surprise to all who learned of it. Few men will be so generally mourned as the deceased, for his genial disposition and sterling upright character endeared him to all.

He can be truly termed the nestor of the Sons of Temperance in Nova Scotia, as no man ever took a more sincere interest in that order in particular and in the whole temperance cause in general than did the deceased. He was regarded as an authority on local temperance matters and was a valuable mine of information in almost any discussion having temperance or philanthropy as its theme.

In short he was a man among men and in his death Nova Scotia loses one of her worthiest sons.

The late Patrick Monaghan was born of Irish Catholic parentage in Sydney, Cape Breton, almost 72 years ago. His father, Michael Monaghan, was esteemed all over Cape Breton, and when he decided to move to this city, his departure was regretted by all.

Michael Monaghan was before confederation clerk of works under the old Nova Scotia government, a position which he held for some time after Nova Scotia became a portion of the Dominion. He was later appointed inspector of the present post office building during the time of its construction.

When the family arrived in Halifax from Sydney, Patrick Monaghan was apprenticed to a mason, which trade he mastered in its entirety, but later his talents led him into other fields of work in which he attained success. He was a frequent contributor to the local press, writing on subjects of an historic character and of public moment.

During the last few years he had been engaged in the real estate business and was at the time of his death agent for several estates.

Mr. Monaghan was a widower, his wife having died some years ago. His family surviving him consists of six sons and one daughter, all residing in this city. They are Edward Monaghan, who is in the employ of James Dempster; W. Albert Monaghan, of T. C. Allen & Company’s; James D. Monaghan, shipping clerk in Moir’s bakery; Joseph D. Monaghan with the N. S. Furnishings Company; Charles V. Monaghan, also employed in Moir’s, and Fred L. Monaghan, the deputy city clerk. His daughter is Miss M. A. Monaghan. She resided with her father at 319 Windsor Street, Willow Park.

Although the deceased had been in failing health for some time, he had been confined to his bed for only about three weeks. Yesterday his condition was critical and he died this morning about five o’clock.

The funeral will be held on Wednesday afternoon at 2.30. The remains will be interred in Holy Cross cemetery.

His Temperance Career

Volumes could be written on the prominent part which during the last sixty years the deceased has taken in all temperance matters. His history is practically the history of the Sons of Temperance in this province, and his death will be mourned by thousands of temperance workers who, although they had not the pleasure of his personal acquaintance yet knew him by reputation as an indefatigable laborer in the cause-one who had seen the Sons of Temperance cause successful through all the vicissitudes and difficulties which threatened that society shortly after its organization. It is mainly due to the heroic efforts of the deceased gentlemen and his co-workers that the order in this province enjoys its present prosperity.

Mr. Monaghan took the total abstinence pledge from Rev. John Laughlin, on Sunday, January 31st, 1841. For a few years, although a total abstainer, his interest in temperance matters was rather of a passive nature, until an incident occurred which made him one of the foremost workers in the cause. That was a formation of the old St. Mary’s and St. Patrick’s Temperance Society by Archbishop Walsh. Young Monaghan was asked to become a member and he did so. His temperance career practically dates from that time.

In June, 1849, he became a member of the Chebucto Division of The Sons of Temprance, and after passing through the minor offices there he was elected a Worthy Patriarch and subsequently joined the Grand Division on July 28th 1852.

He was made a member of the National Division on June 7, 1860, at the session held at Portland, Me., and ever since he has taken a deep interest in that body, having the record of attending more sessions than any Nova Scotia representative. In the General Division he occupied the important position of Grand Scribe from 1856 to1873, and in 1887 was elected Grand Worthy Patriarch. His first office in the Grand Division was that of Grand Sentinel, to which he was elected on October 28th, 1853.

The Sons of Temperance, though dear to him, did not by any means constitute the field of all his temperance works. He was active in other matters for the benefit of the cause, one of the most important of which was the organization of St. Mary’s Catholic Total Abstinence Society which was effected by him in 1857 in company with the late John Heenan, Joseph W. Quinnan and Daniel Cronan, assisting Rev. Father Higgenbottom, who had the affair in charge. For several years Mr. Monaghan was an officer of St. Mary’s.

In the same year as the organization of St. Mary’s, he was made an honorary member of the old Halifax Temperance Society by William M. Brown, and other officers, and acted as secretary to several temperance conventions. He was made secretary and subsequently president of the Temperance Aid Association and at the organization of the Nova Scotia branch of the Dominion Alliance in November, 1878, he was elected secretary, and in February 1882, was elevated to the vice-presidency. In 1857 the late Dr. Cramp, secured his services as assistant editor of the Abstainer, and in October, 1860, he was made editor-in-chief and subsequently became the proprietor of the paper which he afterwards sold. His most important position in the line of temperance work was that of secretary of the Royal Commission on the Liquor Traffic, which was ordered by the Dominion government on March 14th, 1892. In this capacity he travelled over the United States and Canada, and was of signal service to the commissioners in their deliberations. He was a historian and at the Grand Division’s 50th anniversary, held in Yarmouth, in April 1898, Mr. Monaghan entertained a large audience by an interesting and valuable paper on the history of the order in Nova Scotia. No man was better fitted to write such a paper.

It is doubtful if his active temperance career can be duplicated. He had seen the cause of temperance brought prominently to the front as one of the burning questions of the day, and he had seen its advocates increase from a mere handful to the thousands they now number.

Some idea of this increase can be gleaned from the fact that during his term of office as Grand Scribe he affixed his signature to the characters of no less than 225 subordinate divisions.