Railway executive.
Born in Worth County, Missouri in October 1869, son of Peter MacPherson and Ellen Wallace, brother of Ewan A. McPherson, the family came to Manitoba in 1879 and settled at Portage la Prairie. In 1898, he moved to Winnipeg where he began working in the legal department of the Canadian Pacific Railway. When a separate department dealing with rights-of-way and leases in western Canada was established, he was placed in charge, holding the position until retirement in 1940. In 1899, he married Minto Toye (1873-1959) and they had six children: Charles Everett McPherson (1902-?), Helen Kathleen McPherson (1903-1987, wife of Robert Alexander Purves), Edythe Aileen McPherson (1904-?, wife of Robert Scott Irvine), Phyllis Ardelle McPherson (1905-1999, wife of John Alexander MacAulay), Allan Randolph McPherson, and John Roderick McPherson. He died suddenly at his Winnipeg home, 1169 Grosvenor Avenue, on 25 February 1946 and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery. His honorary pallbearers were William A. Mather, R. B. Hunter, R. B. Graham, H. A. Carman, John A. Flanders, and Louis J. Reycraft.
Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Peter McPherson dies suddenly,” Winnipeg Tribune, 26 February 1946, page 5.
Obituary, Winnipeg Tribune, 2 March 1946, page 18.
Obituary [Minto McPherson], Winnipeg Free Press, 2 December 1959, page 48.
Obituary [Helen Kathleen Purves], Winnipeg Free Press, 11 September 1987, page 40.
We thank Heather McFarland for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 1 May 2020
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