Farmer, railway contractor, businessman.
Born in Bruce County, Ontario on 21 April 1862, brother of Colin William McMillan, he came to western Canada in 1882 and began farming at Shoal Lake. He later moved to the Gladstone area where he had large farm holdings. Around 1901, he began railway construction as President of McMillan Brothers. It became one the largest contractors in western Canada, responsible for more than 1,000 miles of the Canadian Northern Railway, and grading the Hudson Bay Railway from The Pas to Port Nelson. He was also involved in the McMillan Grain Company, Williams Motor Company, and Carnefac Stock Foods.
He and wife Sarah Ann McLean (1871-1960) had four children: Annie Ellen McMillan (1894-1965, wife of Earl Ira Cummings), Archibald Colin “Archie” McMillan (1896-1982), Florence Mary McMillan (1897-1989, wife of Hal McGrew), and Catherine Isabella McMillan (1905-1911). The family moved to Winnipeg in 1911 and lived at 965 Dorchester Avenue. He died at the Winnipeg General Hospital on 20 March 1920 and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery.
See also:
Manitoba Business: McMillan Brothers / McMillan Grain Company
Birth registrations [Ann McMillan, Archibald Colin McMillan, Florence Mary McMillan, Catherine Isabell McMillan], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Ontario death registration [Catherine Isabella McMillan], Ancestry.
Death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Malcolm M’Millan, contractor, dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 March 1920, page 1.
Obituary, Winnipeg Tribune, 22 March 1920, page 6.
Obituary [Mrs. Malcolm McMillan], Winnipeg Tribune, 11 February 1960, page 38.
When the West Was Bourne - A History of Westbourne and District, 1860-1985 by Westbourne-Longbourne History, 1985, page 429.
Obituary [Florence Mary McGrew], Winnipeg Free Press, 2 August 1989, page 38.
We thank Conrad MacMillan for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 24 June 2023
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