Miller, engineer, inventor.
Born at Cannington, Somersetshire, England on 25 January 1847, he emigrated to Canada in 1870 and settled initially at Hamilton, Ontario, staying there only two days when he was offered a job to take charge of a four mills owned by Robert Tait at Silver Heights. In 1883 he moved to Selkirk set up a grist mill which operated until it burned down in 1906. He was later Chief Engineer of the Selkirk Asylum.
On 28 November 1871, he married Rebecca Jane Sellick (1845-1930) of England and they made their home at Middlechurch for eleven years. They eventually had eight sons and two daughters. He served for twenty years on the Selkirk town council, fourteen years as people’s churchwarden of Christ Church, and fifteen years on the Selkirk School Board. He served as Selkirk librarian when a Carnegie Library was built there. He was a member of the IOOF.
In poor health for two years, he died at Selkirk on 27 July 1925.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Comber House (309 Eveline Street, Selkirk)
“Selkirk loses one of its oldest residents,” Manitoba Free Press, 28 July 1925.
Death registration [Rebecca Jane Comber], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 24 June 2021
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