Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Above: Afred Bonenfant. Below: A bird's eye view of Ottawa, looking south from Hull, in 1908. Alfred Bonenfant was parked at the Central Post Office (A) and crossed the river into Hull on the bridge at right, near the Chaudière falls (B).

Source:

Top: Ottawa Journal, June 12, 1908, p. 1. Bottom: Ottawa, 1908, published by J. L. Wiseman (Archives of Ontario, I0026563).

Last Trip: The Death of Alfred Bonenfant / 2

Alfred Bonenfant

Alfred Bonenfant's first name was actually Ferdinand but he preferred to be called either Alfred or Pierre. He was about 30 years old, married and the father of four children.

It is hard to see Bonenfant's features in the blotched and grainy portrait published in the Ottawa Journal but close examination reveals a thin young man in a hat wearing the rather grim expression that people adopted in those days when they had to sit still through long exposure times.

Bonenfant had worked as a driver for Mederic Landreville's cab stable in Ottawa for about four years. He was described as "one of the steadiest men in the stables and was never known to get drunk" although in 1908 a reputation for sobriety did not preclude taking the occasional drink on the job.

Landreville praised Bonenfant's trustworthiness while friends and acquaintances characterized him as genial and honest.