 |
Harry Kirk
|
Civil servant.
Born at Woodcote, Oxford, England on 29 December 1842, he emigrated to the Red River Settlement in 1872 with his wife Annie Evans (1840-1926). The following year he was trapped in a winter storm and lost all of his fingers to frostbite. In July 1874 he was hired as a messenger by the fledgling City of Winnipeg. He soon took on additional duties as caretaker of City Hall and the Police Station, cleaner at the Market Building, and the city’s bell ringer. For most of his 28 years of service, the Kirks lived in a suite at Winnipeg’s first two city halls. There they raised five children: Harry E. Kirk, Herbert T. Kirk, Ellen M. Kirk (b 1877, wife of James McMillan), Albert Lawlor Kirk (b 1882), and Emily Alice Kirk (b 1884). He also had a sideline business breeding canaries and was a life member of the St. George’s Society. The Kirks retired in 1898 to a home at 318 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg. He suffered a stroke and died at Portage la Prairie on 8 March 1903 and was buried in St. John’s Cemetery.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Birth, marriage and death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary, Winnipeg Tribune, 11 March 1903, page 10.
Harry Kirk: Winnipeg pioneer and city hall’s “Mr. Everything”, West End Dumplings.
This page was prepared by Christian Cassidy.
Page revised: 1 October 2013
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.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
