Memorable Manitobans: Donald Ross Dingwall (1851-1913)

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Donald Ross Dingwall
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Jeweler, financier.

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Donald Ross Dingwall
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Born near Halkirk, Caithness, Scotland on 11 January 1851, son of James Dingwall and Jean Ross, he came to Canada in his youth and he apprenticed in the jewellery trade at Lancaster, Ontario. In 1878 he established his own business at Port Hope, Ontario.

In 1882 he came to Winnipeg and established a jewellery business. He was also a Director of the Pacific Coast Fire Insurance Company, National Finance Company, Capital Loan Company, and Amalgamated Press of Canada; Vice-President of the Ontario and Manitoba Land Company, and the Canadian Finance Company.

In 1876, he married Margaret Frazer (1856-1886) of Montreal and they had four children: Frederick James Dingwall (1877-1918), Ada Isabel Dingwall (1879-1945, wife of Colin James Campbell), Donald Waverley Dingwall, and Margaret Ethel Dingwall (1883-1933, wife of Duncan Alexander MacDonald). After his wife’s death, he married Annie Laurie Ross (1855-1921) in 1891. They had a daughter, Jean Winnifred Dingwall (1895-1967, wife of Cecil Herbert Gunn). He was interested in curling and donated the Dingwall trophy, the grand challenge prize in the Manitoba Bonspiel. He was a founding member of the Carleton Club and also a member of the Manitoba Club.

He died at his Winnipeg home, 52 Roslyn Road, on 27 July 1913 and was buried in the Kildonan Cemetery.

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dingwall Building (62 Albert Street, Winnipeg)

MHS Resources: Manitoba 1912 License Plate Project

Sources:

Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

“Notice of incorporation,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 March 1907, page 5.

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.

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

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]

“D. R. Dingwall dies after long illness,” Manitoba Free Press, 28 July 1913, page 1.

“Col. Dingwall dies after short illness,” Winnipeg Evening Tribune, 13 Febuary 1918, page 1.

“Mrs. D. R. Dingwall dies at residence,” Winnipeg Tribune, 4 February 1921, page 1.

“Mrs. Margaret MacDonald buried in Old Kildonan,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 July 1933, page 2.

“Mrs. C. J. Campbell, city pioneer, dies,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 January 1945, page 4.

Pioneers and Early Citizens of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Manitoba Library Association, 1971.

We thank Oliver Bernuetz (Legislative Library of Manitoba) and Darryl Toews for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 27 May 2023

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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