Memorable Manitobans: Joseph Bernhart (1853-1923)

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Joseph Bernhart
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Chef, hotelier, lumberman.

Born at Mommenheim, Alsace on 7 September 1853, son of Antoine Bernhart and Genevieve Weckel, he trained as a chef before emigrating to Quebec and, in 1873, working as a chef and steward in the Hotel St. Louis. He came to Winnipeg in 1881 and leased the European Hotel on Fort Street, changing its name to the St. Louis and operating it for 18 months before returning to Quebec for a time. He came back to Winnipeg in 1883 and leased the Cosmopolitan Hotel until 1902 when he retired and spent a number of months travelling through Europe with his wife and two of his daughters. He returned to Winnipeg and bought lumber tracts around the province. On 3 January 1882, he married Catherine Mary “Kate” Hogan (1857-1934) of Quebec. They had four daughters: Mary Margaret “Nina” Bernhart (1884-1965, wife of William Percival Curran), Alma Madeleine Bernhart (1892-1982, wife of Joseph Celestin McGreevy), Aimee B. “Amy” Bernhart (1895-1940), and Veronica Sarah Monica “Vera” Bernhart (1900-1962, wife of Joseph Eugene Couture). The family lived at 123 Matheson Avenue and 137 West Gate. He died at the Misericordia Hospital on 29 November 1923 and was buried in the St. Boniface Cathedral Cemetery.

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Cosmopolitan Hotel / Palace Hotel / Sutherland Hotel (785 Main Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Verhoeven House (137 West Gate, Winnipeg)

Sources:

Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.

Death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Pioneer hotel owner is dead,” Winnipeg Tribune, 30 November 1923, page 3.

“Joseph Bernhart is buried at St. Boniface,” Winnipeg Tribune, 4 December 1923, page 16.

Obituary [Catherine Bernhart], Winnipeg Tribune, 23 August 1934, page 17.

Obituary [Amy Bernhart], Winnipeg Tribune, 27 December 1940, page 19.

Obituary [Mary Margaret Curran], British Columbia Vital Statistics.

Obituary [Alma Madeleine McGreevy], Winnipeg Free Press, 23 January 1982, page 46.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 23 May 2020

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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