Memorable Manitobans: Duncan Steele Curry (1852-1925)

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Duncan Steele Curry
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Police officer, surveyor, financier.

Born at Sydney, Nova Scotia on 31 October 1852, he was educated in private schools there then, at the age of 17, joined the employ of the Glasgow and Cape Breton Coal and Railway Company. He later joined the North West Mounted Police, coming to Winnipeg with the second contingent in 1874.

He worked on the Dominion survey until 1883. He then became the City of Winnipeg’s auditor and comptroller in August 1884, eventually being succeeded by William Henry Ellis Evanson when he became a major organizer of financial and real estate transactions.

He and wife Bertha Laxdal (?-?) had three children: Evelyn Curry (1897-1962), Isabel Curry (1902-?), and Peter Duncan Curry. In 1910 he was listed by the Winnipeg Telegram as one of Winnipeg’s 19 millionaires.

He retired to San Diego, California in 1907 and died there on 2 October 1925.

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Curry Building (233 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)

Sources:

Birth registration [Evelyn Curry], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

A History of Manitoba: Its Resources and People by Prof. George Bryce, Toronto: The Canadian History Company, 1906.

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

“Duncan S. Curry, pioneer realtor of city, dead”, newspaper clipping dated 5 October 1925. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B8]

“D. S. Curry, formerly of Winnipeg, passes,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 October 1925, page 5.

We thank Norah Spear for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 10 October 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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