Memorable Manitobans: Alvin Keyes Godfrey (1871-1956)

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Alvin Keyes Godfrey
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Businessman.

Born at St. Louis, Missouri on 30 January 1871, son of John Washington Godfrey (1824-1895) and Elizabeth Keyes (1841-1931), he received a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Minnesota in 1897 then worked for the Peavey Grain Company at Minneapolis.

In 1902, he came to Winnipeg to assist in forming the Canadian Elevator Company. A few years later, he founded the Monarch Lumber Company, later serving as its General Manager, President, and Chairman. He was Chairman of the Canadian Consolidated Grain Company, President of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange (1913-1914) and Winnipeg Board of Trade (1917-1918), a member of the Sanatorium Board of Manitoba, and a prominent member of the Citizens’ Committee of 1,000 during the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919.

He was a founding member, in 1905, of the St. Charles Country Club, and was a member of the Manitoba Club, Masons (Prince Rupert Lodge), Khartum Shriners, Empire Club, and Canadian Club. His Winnipeg home was designed by architect Herbert Bell Rugh.

He died at the St. Boniface Hospital on 4 July 1956 and was buried at Minneapolis, Minnesota. Predeceased in 1923 by his wife, he was survived by a son and a daughter.

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Godfrey House (144 Kingsway, Winnipeg)

Sources:

“Prominent woman dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 October 1923, page 3.

“Grain man, A. K. Godfrey dies at 85,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 July 1956, page 8.

“Alvin K. Godfrey, prominent in city,” Winnipeg Tribune, 5 July 1956, page 31.

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

We thank Brenda Roman and John Alvin Godfrey for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 10 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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