Lumber merchant.
Born in Huron County, Ontario in 1875, son of John Broadbent (1846-1927) and Ellen Broadbent (1850-1934), the family moved to Thornhill in 1881 where his father worked as a lumber merchant. He attended Wellington School then worked for his father until the age of 21 when he moved to Winnipeg to work for John Arbuthnot, first as bookkeeper and later as manager of the Arbuthnot Lumber Company. He eventually took over the company, renaming it the Broadbent Lumber Company. He was also a director of the Provincial Contracting Company and Manitoba Development Company.
On 5 June 1907, he married Clara Kalista “Nan” Semmens (1886-1971), daughter of John Semmens, at Stonewall. They had four children: Helen NeTannis Broadbent (1909-?, wife of J. F. Burritt), Doris Kalista Broadbent (1912-?, wife of E. H. Sharpe), Eleanor Broadbent (?-?, wife of David E. Paul), and Gerald John Semmens “Gerry” Broadbent (1915-1981). He was a member of Wesley Methodist Church and later Crescent-Fort Rouge United Church.
He died at his Winnipeg home, 575 Jessie Avenue, on 14 March 1950 and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Birth registration [Helen Broadbent], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.
1916 Canada census, Ancestry.
Death registration [John Broadbent], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Winnipeg lumber executive dies,” Winnipeg Free Press, 15 March 1950, page 26.
“Funeral Friday for G. A. Broadbent,” Winnipeg Free Press, 16 March 1950, page 36.
Obituary [Clara Kalista Broadbent], Winnipeg Free Press, 6 March 1971, page 39.
Obituary [Gerald S. Broadbent], Winnipeg Free Press, 1 May 1981, page 42.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Brock Sharpe for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 15 April 2022
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