William Arthur Harper
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Born at Toronto, Ontario on 28 November 1879, son of Arthur Harper and Mary Richardson, he came to Winnipeg in the early 20th century and attended the Winnipeg Collegiate Institute. He worked in the Electrical Department of the Winnipeg Electric Railway (1898-1902) and Westinghouse Manufacturing Company at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (1902-1903). In 1904, he constructed an asphalt plant for the City of Winnipeg and was Superintendent of Plant and Quarries for the City of Toronto (1904-1909).
In 1909, he established the Harper Construction Company at Winnipeg, specializing in the construction of flour mills and grain elevators, building many of them in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
On 14 January 1914, he married Alexandra May Dunlop (1883-1949) at Neepawa. They had no children. He was a member of the Carleton Club, Canadian Order of Foresters, and Episcopalian church. His recreations included shooting and canoeing. Around 1915, he lived at 916 Jessie Avenue, Winnipeg.
He retired to British Columbia around 1936 and died at Victoria on 16 February 1962.
See also:
Manitoba Business: Harper Construction Company
Marriage registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Who's Who and Why, Volumes 6 and 7, 1915-1916, page 407.
Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Henderson Directories Limited, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
Death registration, British Columbia Vital Statistics.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 19 February 1962, page 25.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 19 March 2022
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