Educator, community activist.
Born at Rossland, British Columbia on 31 October 1900, daughter of Alex and Blanche Weir, she came with her family to Manitoba and lived on a farm in the Hunter district northwest of Brandon. After graduating from the Brandon Normal School at the age of 16, she taught at Roseland School (1918-1919), Rivers School (1919), and Rapid City School (1920).
On 29 March 1923, she married Peter Alexander “Alex” McPhail (1897-1989) at Transcona. They farmed near Forrest and had a daughter and three sons. The family moved to Brandon in 1950 where she was active in community affairs, including the Brandon Council of Women, Brandon United Church Women, and the Assiniboine Historical Society. She was one of the founders of the Daly House Museum. As Chair of the Westman Oral History Association, she helped to produce Voices of Yesteryear, a collection of audio recordings of early Brandon-area pioneers now held at the S. J. McKee Archives.
She died at Brandon on 7 July 1999 and was buried in the Humesville Cemetery.
1901 and 11 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.
Marriage registration [Effie Irene Weir, Peter Alexander McPhail], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Oral historians told time prime factor,” Brandon Sun, 16 April 1981, page 8.
Voices of Yesteryear [Audiocassette], 1982. Westman Oral History Collection by the Westman Oral History Association (Effie McPhail, Chair). S. J. McKee Archives.
“McPhail tireless in farm, city circles,” Brandon Sun, 29 June 1989, page 48.
“McPhail remembered as extraordinary man,” Brandon Sun, 20 July 1989, page 16.
“McPhail honored on 90th birthday,” Brandon Sun, 6 November 1990, page 10.
Obituary, Brandon Sun, 9 July 1999, page 12.
We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 18 September 2024
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