Farmer, agricultural implements dealer, municipal politician, curler.
Born at Stornoway, Scotland in 1874, son of Angus McAskill and Isabelle Burns, he was educated in Scotland. In 1887, he came to Canada with his father, who homesteaded and started a tailoring business at Gladstone. McAskill attended the Winnipeg Business College and farmed with his father until 1906, and was a Road Agent for the J. I. Case Machine Company. He started an agricultural implements business in 1908, and served as Provincial Auto License Inspector from 1916 to 1919. He was a member of the Board of Trade, Gladstone School Board, and Gladstone Town Council for many years, being elected Mayor of Gladstone in 1924. He was a member of the Riding Mountain Association that advocated for the creation of Riding Mountain National Park, in 1930. He married Alice Mainwaring (?-?) of Birtle, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. His brother, Robert McAskill, farmed over 800 acres and played third man on the famous McAskill curling rink. He was one of Manitoba’s best known curlers, having skipped many rinks at Winnipeg annual bonspiels. He won the Empire trophy in 1908 and the Dingwall trophy in 1925. He died on 16 September 1957 and was buried in the Gladstone Cemetery.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Riding Mountain Visitor Centre (Wasagaming, Riding Mountain National Park)
Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 28 August 2020
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