(8 Nov. 1857-26 Jan. 1947), judge. (J. A. Valin, Joseph A. Valin, Judge Valin) (date of birth 1856 also given) Born in Ottawa. Parents: Hyacinthe Valin and his wife Sara or Sarah Dunn. Alexandria has also been reported as the place of birth, and Hyacinthe Valin, who was a lumber merchant, is said to have been in business in Alexandria. The truth behind these statements may be that there was, indeed, some connection of the Valins with Alexandria before J. A. Valin became a law student there. J.A. Valin’s early education was in Ottawa and at the Collège de Montréal. As a law student, he was enrolled at Osgoode Hall. He studied law in the offices of E.H. Tiffany, Alexandria, and of “Mr McCarthy, Q.C., in Toronto.” It may be guessed the latter man was D’Alton McCarthy (1836-1898), a noted figure in Canadian history. J. A. Valin was in Tiffany’s office for over a year, leaving Alexandria as his place of residence finally in the spring of 1882, probably in April. When 1883 began, J. A. Valin, revisiting Alexandria, was described as now being a law student in Toronto.
While an Alexandria resident, and before the close of 1881, J.A. Valin founded a Glengarry branch of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, and acted as its president. He was still president when the new branch of the society held its first festival in Alexandria in June 1882, with a high Mass, picnic and speeches. It was noted that 150 of the 500 who attended were of Scottish descent, “a full proof of the harmony which exists between the different nationalities of the county.” (Le Canada).
Valin had passed his final examinations in law by Nov. 1884. He was admitted to the bar of Ontario in 1884, and practised law in Ottawa from 1884 to 1894. On 13 March or in May 1895 he was named judge of the District of Nipissing in Northern Ontario. This position he held till his retirement in March 1934. As a judge, he lived at North Bay.
In 1934, about the time he retired as judge, he was named one of the four guardians of the Dionne Quintuplets. There was a Board of Guardians for the Quints, on which he served as chairman. In a distinguished life, the guardianship of these world famous children, and the chairmanship, were the roles for which he is most remembered. Pierre Berton says he spoke “scholarly accentless English.”
Valin was married (1) on 23 May 1883 to Mary Salome Katrina Wagner, who died 3 Nov. 1940 (two children), and (2) on 30 April 1942 to Béatrice Provencher, one of the nurses of the Dionne Quintuplets. Roman Catholic. In 1896, he went on an official mission to Rome in connection with the attempt to establish the District of Nipissing as a diocese.
He was a delegate in 1910 at the founding congress of L’Association canadienne-française d’éducation de l’Ontario. At North Bay in 1913 and 1914, he was one of the founders of the Parish of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul. Valin Township in Northern Ontario is named after him. His son George Joseph Valin practised law in Sudbury.There is no evidence in the area press that J. A. Valin retained any strong connection with Alexandria after he established himself as a lawyer in Ottawa, though presumably some kind of connection with individuals would have remained. As a judge, he lived far away from Alexandria. North Bay Daily Nugget 27 & 28 Jan. 1947 (portrait) * Morgan (1898)1035 (but not Morgan 1912), Who’s Who in Canada 1945/46, 1949/50, & Jean Yves Pelletier, Nos magistrats (1989) 121 (portrait) * MacGillivray & Ross 162 * Pierre Berton, The Dionne Years: a Thirties Melodrama (1977): index * private information * life of his son George Joseph Valin, The Canadian Who’s Who, 1967/69 * St. Jean Baptiste Society, Tiffany, McCarthy: Cornwall Reporter, 19 Nov. 1881, 8 July 1882 (article trans. from Le Canada); Cornwall Freeholder 17 March, 14 April, 24 Nov. 1882, 5 Jan. 1883; CF 21 Nov. 1884 cited DTL Standard Freeholder 19 Nov. 1949. After considerable enquiry, no further evidence has come to light regarding the McCarthy connection. * Ottawa law office, CF 29 May 1885, cited DTL SFH 3 June 1947 * marries second time, SFH 2 May 1942 * information from Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names, Ottawa * M. Louise Corriveau Ford, former nurse to the Quintuplets, names, praises the guardians, letter to editor, Globe & Mail 30 Sept. 1977