Lumberman.
Born in Middlesex County, Ontario on 28 July 1871, son of Samuel Barr and Margaret Ballah, he took a business course at the Forest City Business College and, in 1891, went to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba as a teacher in the Commercial Department of Lansdowne College. He remained in this position for a year then worked for ten years as a bookkeeper in the lumber company of Peter MacArthur at Westbourne. He then worked for two years as manager of the Manitoba Quarry and Transportation Company. He went to Gladstone in 1905 and opened his own lumber business.
On 19 September 1906, he married Olive Myric at Mosseley, Ontario. They had seven children. He served as Mayor of Gladstone (1908-1911) and was a member of the IOOF and COF. In 1913, he moved to Shaunavon, Saskatchewan where he established the George Barr Lumber Company and was the town's first Mayor.
He died on 6 November 1956 and was buried in the Hillcrest Cemetery at Shaunavon, Saskatchewan.
A History of Manitoba: Its Resources and People by Prof. George Bryce, Toronto: The Canadian History Company, 1906.
Birth registration, Ancestry.
“First mayor dies, 85,” Regina Leader-Post, 13 November 1956, page 2.
We thank Darryl Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 26 February 2024
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