Railway builder.
Born in Tipperary County, Ireland in 1828, he emigrated to Canada in the early 1850s where he worked for the Grand Trunk Railway. He came to Winnipeg in 1876 from Port Arthur, Ontario where he had been working to build the Canadian Pacific Railway. He helped to constructed the first railway track west of the Red River, and was reported to have constructed track across the frozen Red River that enabled the first locomotive to arrive at Winnipeg. He and wife Bridget Egan (1832-1909) had six sons (including Edward Charles Egan) and a daughter. He died at his Winnipeg home, 115 Sherbrook Street, on 2 March 1912 and was buried in the St. Mary’s Cemetery.
“Two respected Winnipeg pioneers,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 June 1908, page 13.
“Two pioneers buried,” Manitoba Free Press, 5 March 1912, page 14.
We thank Dennis Egan for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 20 December 2020
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