Businessman.
Born at Fingal, Upper Canada [now Ontario] on 27 December 1849, he came to Winnipeg in 1880. He founded Blackwood Brothers (later Blackwoods Limited) in 1882, that initially manufactured mineral water, carbonated water, and fruit syrups, and later cider, beer and soft drinks, and operated it in partnership with his brother A. Thomas R. “Tom” Blackwood.
He had large real estate holding around Winnipeg and, in 1911, sold land from his bottling works to the Hudson’s Bay Company for its Portage Avenue store. He also bought and sold fish on Lake Manitoba and operated a large general store at St. Laurent. He was a director of the Manitoba Cement Company (c1903) and Milwaukee Brewing and Malting Company (c1903). He retired from business in 1922 and moved to California.
He married Lizzie Maria Simpson (1866-1936, sister of Harvey Cathcart Simpson, James Cathcart Simpson, and Robert Mills Simpson) and they had a daughter, Mary Kathleen Blackwood (1903-?, wife of ? McCallister).
He died at Long Beach, California on 5 July 1935.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Blackwood Soda Factory Building (421 Mulvey Avenue East, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Blackwood Pickle Factory Building (415 Mulvey Avenue East, Winnipeg)
Manitoba Business: Blackwood Brothers / Blackwoods Limited
“Blackwood Brothers,” Winnipeg Tribune, 1 August 1891, page 13.
“Drink,” Manitoba Free Press, 23 December 1893, page 8.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Birth registration [Mary Kathleen Blackwood], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“W. Blackwood, city pioneer, dies in south,” Winnipeg Tribune, 5 July 1935, page 3.
“Wm. Blackwood is dead at age of 85 in California,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 July 1935, page 2.
“Mrs. W. Blackwood, widow of pioneer business man, dies in Long Beach, Calif.,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 August 1936, page 3.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 24 November 2022
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