Memorable Manitobans: George Huestis Campbell (1855-1928)

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George Huestis Campbell
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Railroad and immigration agent, municipal politician.

Born in Grand Village, Nova Scotia on 4 December 1858, son of John M. Campbell and Catherine Campbell, he was educated at local high schools then worked on construction of the Intercolonial Railway. He then took up blacksmithing for several years, before coming west in 1879 to work on the B section of the Canadian Pacific Railway near Rat Portage [now Kenora], Ontario.

He was the first CPR agent at Winnipeg in 1881 then, in 1890, was appointed its General Immigration Agent. He served as Dominion immigration agent from 1880 to 1892. He managed the Winnipeg Electric Street Railway from 1892 to 1900. He was a Winnipeg city alderman for two years and a candidate for the Winnipeg North constituency in the 1892 provincial general election.

In 1883, he married Mary Russell (?-1889) of Dalhousie, New Brunswick with whom he had a son. Following her death, he married her sister, Jean Russell (?-?). A keen curler, he was President of the Thistle Curling Club (1888-1891) and President of the Manitoba Curling Association (1892-1893).

He died at Toronto, Ontario on 6 February 1928.

Sources:

The Canadian Album: Men of Canada or Success by Example, Vol. III, Bradley, Garretson & Company, Brantford, Ontario, 1894.

1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

“G. H. Campbell, pioneer west rail man, dead,” Winnipeg Tribune, 7 February 1928, page 1.

“G. H. Campbell, first manager of st. railway, dies,” Manitoba Free Press, 8 February 1928.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

We thank Rick Mutton and Sandra Phillips for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 12 January 2024

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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