Boot and shoe merchant.
Born at Berlin [now Kitchener], Ontario on 10 July 1852, son of German immigrants Peter Graban and Margaret Winters, he came to Winnipeg in 1873 and took a job making harnesses for Archibald Wright. In 1878 he went to Portage la Prairie and opened his own harness business. Two years later he switched to selling boots and shoes, which he continued until retirement in 1935. He married Agatha Grannis (1861-1945), a daughter of Portage pioneer Hiram Grannis, in 1882. They had five children: Frank Leslie Graban (1884-?), Charles Henry Graban (1887-?), Clifton Marquette Graban, Florence Edna Graban (1896-?), and Loren Bostwick Graban (1901-?). He served as a member of the Portage city council in 1893. He was a charter member of the AF & AM (Portage Lodge No. 3) and the IOOF. He died at Portage la Prairie on 31 January 1945 and was buried in the Portage Hillside Cemetery.
Birth registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
A History of Manitoba: Its Resources and People by Prof. George Bryce, Toronto: The Canadian History Company, 1906.
“Charles Graban, Portage pioneer, dies, aged 92,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 February 1945, page 5.
“Former resident of Portage dies,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 December 1945, page 3.
We thank Virginia Lockett for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 30 November 2020
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