Memorable Manitobans: James Barton Gass (1881-1954)

Building contractor.

Born at Ecclefechan, Scotland in October 1881, he came to Winnipeg in 1904 and worked as a general contractor. He and wife Jemima “Mima” Booth (1877-1953, sister-in-law of James Bertram Mitchell) had a daughter, school teacher Muriel Jean McLellan Gass (1912-1988). The family lived at 674 McMillan Avenue (?-1954). He was a member of First Presbyterian Church, St. Andrews Society, and Granite Curling Club. He died at the Misericordia Hospital on 9 February 1954 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.

Some of his construction works in Manitoba included:

Building

Location

Year

Status

Mitchell House

45 East Gate, Winnipeg

1930

 

Gilchrist House

1015 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg

1932

Demolished (2022)

CKY Radio Building

Headingley

1934

 

Equipment Depot No. 2 (renovation)

1569 Orange Street, Winnipeg

1935

 

Manitoba Telephone System Building (renovation)

166 Portage Avenue East, Winnipeg

1936

 

Sources:

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

Birth registration [Muriel Jean McLellan Gass], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Buried today [Mrs. Mary M. Booth],” Winnipeg Tribune, 10 April 1935, page 10.

Obituary [Mima Gass], Winnipeg Free Press, 29 April 1953, page 44.

“City contractor, J. B. Gass, dies in hospital,” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 February 1954, page 24.

Death registration [Muriel Gass], British Columbia Vital Statistics.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 24 February 2024

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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