In the acquirement of his education William Rutherford attended successively the schools of Cote St. Antoine, the high school of Montreal and the private school conducted by Hon. E. H. Springrice. He crossed the threshold of the business world as a junior clerk with Gillespie, Moffat & Company, general merchants, and subsequently became a clerk for the Pillow Hersey Manufacturing Company, owners of rolling mills, etc. Subsequently he entered the firm of William Rutherford & Sons of Montreal and upon the incorporation of the company became its treasurer. The business is today conducted under the style of William Rutherford & Sons Company, Ltd., dealers in and manufacturers of lumber and timber. The business is now one of mammoth proportions and in his official capacity William Rutherford of this review is bending his energies to administrative direction and executive control. Into other fields he has also extended his efforts and his business interests are now of considerable volume and importance, placing him among the prominent representatives of commercial and industrial activity in the province. He is now the president of the Dominion Box Company, Ltd., of the Grier Timber Company and the Dominion Park Realty Company, Ltd.
On the 16th of May, 1894, in Montreal, Mr. Rutherford married Miss Ida Bulmer, a daughter of John Bulmer and a representative of a well known Montreal family. Their children are William J., John B., Jean, Andrew S. and Marjorie. Presbyterians in religious faith, the family hold membership in St. Andrew’s church of Westmount. Mr. Rutherford is a liberal in politics, conversant with the leading questions and issues of the day. He has filled a number of local offices, having been elected alderman of Westmount in 1908, while in 1910 he was chosen mayor of the city. In 1913 he was made school commissioner of the city and in 1912-13 was a member of the executive committee of the Canadian Manufacturers Association. He is also a member of the committee of St. Andrew’s Society, while along more strictly social lines his membership is in the Canada, Engineers, Manitou and North Lake Fish and Game Clubs. His success permits him that leisure which enables him to enjoy fishing, hunting and other outdoor and indoor sports, but he is preeminently a business man and one whose successful methods might be studied by all who wish to gain prosperity within the legitimate lines of business.