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Frederick Walter Crawford
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Agriculturalist, municipal official.
Born at Chater on 12 August 1889, one of ten children of Scottish immigrants John Crawford and Abigail Maria “Abbie” Brooks (1864-1913), he attended Clinton School then moved to Winnipeg at the age of 17 to enroll in the University of Manitoba. During the First World War, he served with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and was later seconded for duty with the Royal Flying Corps. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field at Vimy. While serving in Europe, he met and later married Fanny Hayward Firrell. They eventually had two children.
Considered an authority on Aberdeen-Angus cattle, he wrote a book on the subject and listed his hobbies as “judging Aberdeen-Angus cattle at fairs and exhibitions and visiting with men who breed them.” In the 1930s, he was appointed bursar and comptroller for the University of Manitoba, serving 21 years in the positions.
He served on the Winnipeg city council from 1955 to 1964. During his time as a councillor, he was a member of the finance committee, being appointed chairman in 1955. He left civic politics in 1964, later becoming chairman of the Winnipeg Civic Election Committee (CEC) and a citizen member of the Winnipeg Police Commission. When the CEC merged with the Metro Election Committee to form the Greater Winnipeg Election Committee, he carried on as its chairman, a post he held to his death. He was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Manitoba (1955) and, in recognition of his community service, a Manitoba Golden Boy Award (1965).
He died at Winnipeg on 24 May 1967 and was buried in the St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Birth registration [Frederick Walter Crawford], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“‘U’ comptroller quits post,” Winnipeg Tribune, 18 February 1954.
“Party hails Crawford's 75 years,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 August 1964.
“He was called 'The Salvage Man' but tight purse strings helped,” Winnipeg Free Press, 30 December 1964.
“Golden Boys honor 12 Manitobans,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 November 1965.
“Ex-alderman dies at 77,” Winnipeg Free Press, 25 May 1967, page 3.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 27 May 1967, page 31.
Homesteaders and Homemakers: A History of Elton Municipality in its First Century by Elton Historical Committee, 1973. [Manitoba Legislative Library, F5648.E48 Hom]
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 13 August 2023
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