Memorable Manitobans: William Ross Cahoon (1843-1924)

Machinist, engineer.

Born in Belfast, Ireland in 1843, he emigrated to the USA and fought in the American Civil War. He came to Canada in 1873 after his marriage to Sarah Matilda Arnold. He worked as a navigator on the Great Lakes, and a machinist and blacksmith in Ottawa and Winnipeg for the federal and provincial governments. He was commissioned to fit up the Countess of Dufferin locomotive for its first run west of the Red River. He was the first licensed engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway in Manitoba.

He died at his Winnipeg home on 11 December 1924 and was buried in Brookside Cemetery.

Sources:

Death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Oldest Union Man In Winnipeg Passes Away” Undated newspaper clipping. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B8]

Page revised: 13 March 2009

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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