Judge Samuel Davies Schultz

Judge Samuel Davies Schultz

Birth: October 21, 1865 in Victoria, B.C.

Death: August 25, 1917 (age 51) in North Vancouver, B.C.

Biography:
Samuel’s mother died not long after his birth. His father, Herman, was devastated so the baby was brought to the Davies home. Samuel was raised mostly by Elizabeth’s sister Cecelia until she married and moved into her own home. Cecelia’s brother Josh looked after him financially.

Samuel graduated with a BA from the University of Toronto in 1888. He went on to receive a law degree from Osgoode Hall. Samuel returned to British Columbia in 1893, and briefly practised law in Nelson before returning to Victoria. He was very active with Congregation Emanu-El and served as vice-president from 1897 to 1902.

Samuel moved to Vancouver in 1902. He married Maude Dunwell Squarebriggs in 1904. The couple had three sons. Samuel served as alderman in North Vancouver in 1909–10. He served three terms as president of the North Vancouver Conservative Association beginning in 1912.

In 1914 Samuel became the first Jewish judge in Canada when he was appointed to the Vancouver County Court in North Vancouver. Samuel had a reputation for fairness and great knowledge of Canadian Law.

Samuel was heavily involved in lacrosse, rowing, tennis, and especially baseball. He was renowned as a pitcher. He was credited for leading the baseball team at the University of Toronto to victory over Cornell in the first Canadian-American inter-varsity game. Until he was appointed to the bench, Samuel pitched for a baseball team of lawyers in Vancouver in an annual game against lawyers in Seattle.

He was also a journalist and wrote for the papers in Toronto, Victoria, and Vancouver. He was an accomplished musician and a composer. Perhaps his most celebrated composition was “The Charge at Dawn;” a march dedicated to the Canadian soldiers who died at Paardeberg during the South African War.

Samuel was well educated about Judaism and an outspoken advocate of Jewish rights. During his years in Victoria, he was an active member of the Congregation Emmanu-El. Samuel was Vice President from 1897-1902. Samuel was also the founding president of the Vancouver B’nai B’rith lodge and the Vancouver Jewish community’s first delegate to the national Zionist convention in 1917. He was was named to the board, but died several months later.

Samuel was a charter member of the Native Sons of B.C. He was an active member of the Masonic Lodge in Victoria and a charter-member of the Connaught Masonic Lodge in North Vancouver. While in Victoria he attained a high position within the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

He also won many prizes as a member of the Horticultural Society of North Vancouver.

On August 25, 1917, Samuel Schultz died suddenly while playing tennis. He was survived by his wife and three small boys. The Masonic lodge in North Vancouver assumed responsibility for Maude and the boys for some time.

Gravesite Details: Row E – Plot 33

Note:
There is a marker stone placed in Row C – Plot 44 by Arthur Levy

Inscription:
In Sacred Memory
Judge Samuel D.
Schultz
Born Oct.21 1865
Died Aug.25 1917
Esteemed by Many

Parents:
Elizabeth Davies Schultz (1844–1866)
Herman Schultz (1831–1878)

Spouse:
Maude Dunwell Squarebriggs Schultz

Children:
Charles Davies Schultz (1904–1983)
William Arthur Schultz (1912–1978)
Robert Dunwell Schultz (1914–1968)

Half-Siblings:
Sarah Schultz (died 1877)
Augusta Schultz (1869–1909)
Julius Bismark Schultz (1870–1934)
Maurice Moey Schultz (1873–1930)
Minnie Schultz (1877–1924)
Rudolph Schultz (1877–1935)

Vancouver Island Masonic History Project:
Samuel Davies Schultz

Jewish Museum of the American West:
Samuel Davies Schultz: First Hebrew in the Dominion of Canada Named to the Judiciary