Leather merchant, municipal official.
Born at Charlottesville Township, Norfolk County, Ontario on 14 August 1873, son of William McKnight (1836-1911) and Elizabeth Ann Dick (1851-1914), he came to Manitoba in 1889 and worked in farming for a few years, after which he returned to Ontario and attended business college and had subsequent dealings with the lumber industry at Callander, Ontario. In 1900, he came West again and settled at Winnipeg, where he worked as a traveling salesman for paper and school supply company MacAllister & Watts. In 1906, he joined the saddlery, harnessing, and leather goods firm of E. N. Heeney Company Limited of Montreal where worked for many years, gaining renown in Western Canada.
He married twice, first to Anna May Lemon (1878-1899) on 19 August 1896 at Jarvis, Ontario. He later remarried, on 13 April 1909 at Simcoe, Ontario, to Myra Martha Hunter (1871-1947). He had no children. He resided at 174 Lenore Street (1911-1918) and later held a joint residence/office at various places in the 100-block of Princess Avenue in Winnipeg. In retirement, he moved to Charleswood and took interest in municipal affairs, serving as Reeve of Charleswood (1927-1928, 1931, 1933-1935). He was also heavily involved in the Charleswood Horticultural Society as an organizer, exhibitor, and member.
He died of a heart attack on 10 August 1939 at his Winnipeg residence, 109 Jefferson Avenue, and was buried in Brookside Cemetery.
Death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1881 and 1891 Canada censes, Library and Archives Canada.
1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
“Deaths and Funerals” [Thomas McKnight], Winnipeg Free Press, 11 August 1939, page 2.
“Deaths and Funerals” [Thomas McKnight], Winnipeg Free Press, 18 August 1939, page 2.
Obituary, Winnipeg Tribune, 18 August 1939, page 5. Obituary [Myra Martha McKnight], Winnipeg Free Press, 15 October 1948, page 20.
Henderson’s Winnipeg Directories, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
Family line of Cecil S. McKnight, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 20 January 2019
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!
