Memorable Manitobans: William Henry Carter (1874-1962)

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William Henry Carter
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Building contractor.

Born at Bismark, Illinois on 21 January 1874, son of Ninion R. Carter and Elizabeth J. Carter, he was educated at Danville, Illinois. He commenced his business career as a timekeeper for the M. Yeager & Sons construction firm, in 1896. He worked for ten years as Superintendent of Construction for the William Grace Company of Chicago, coming to Winnipeg in 1902 and organized the Carter-Halls-Aldinger Company. In 1944, the firm went into voluntary liquidation from which two companies were formed, one of which was the Carter Construction Company, with Carter as its President.

He served as President of the Western Drainage Company, Vice President of the Lake Bar Sand and Gravel Company, and a Director of the Walbridge Aldinger Company (Detroit), Aldinger Company (Detroit), Sovereign Life Insurance Company, and the Winnipeg Cartage Company. He was President of the Winnipeg Builders’ Exchange (1910, 1911, 1914), Master Builders Liability Insurance Company (c1915-c1916), and Winnipeg Board of Trade (1919-1920).

He was Chairman of the Manitoba Sugar Company (1939) and Vice-President of the Winnipeg Electric Company for several years, becoming its head in 1940 as well as Chairman of the Single Men’s Relief Commission in Winnipeg and the Industrial Development Board. In 1933, he was elected President of the Better Business Bureau and, in 1945, he was appointed Chairman of the Manitoba Regional Council to assist post-war reconstruction efforts. He was a founding director of the Lakeside Fresh Air Camp for Children on Lake Winnipeg. He operated a stock farm, known as Cloverleaf Farm near Cloverleaf.

On 5 October 1904, he married Mary Julia Tullis (?-1950) of Danville, Illinois, with whom he had one son, Tullis N. Carter. He lived at 251 Harvard Street (1913-?) and later at 523 Wellington Crescent. He was a member of the Manitoba Club, Carleton Club, Adanac Club, Commercial Travellers Club and St. Charles Country Club.

He died at Winnipeg on 1 December 1962 and was buried in the Springfield Cemetery in Illinois. He is commemorated by Carter Avenue in Winnipeg.

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Carter House (251 Harvard Avenue, Winnipeg)

Manitoba Business: Carter-Halls-Aldinger

Sources:

Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, edited by C. W. Parker, Vancouver: Canadian Press Association, 1911.

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

The Leading Financial, Business & Professional Men of Winnipeg, published by Edwin McCormick, Photographs by T. J. Leatherdale, Compiled and printed by Stone Limited, c1913. [copy available at the Archives of Manitoba]

Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.

“Free Press Necrology Files,” Winnipeg Elite Study, G. Friesen Fonds, Mss 154, Box 15, File 16, University of Manitoba Archives]

“Builder and carrier,” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 November 1948. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B10, page 77]

“Carter appointment,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 November 1958, page 40.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 4 December 1962, page 25.

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

We thank Nathan Kramer, Monica Ball, and Gabriel Young for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Sarah Ramsden.

Page revised: 30 December 2022

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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