Memorable Manitobans: George White Murray (1856-1933)

Lumberman, contractor.

Born at Glasgow, Scotland on 17 January 1856, son of John Murray and Jannett Turnbull, he apprenticed as a carpenter and joiner. He emigrated to Canada in 1881, spending a year in Montreal before coming to Winnipeg in 1882 where he engaged in general contracting with James McDiarmid. In 1890, he established the Royal Planing Mills in Winnipeg where he employed over 100 men and built cabinetry and miscellaneous interior work for delivery throughout the prairie provinces.

He was married twice, first In 1889 to Flora Rachel Barr Lyon (1967-1908) of Rat Portage, Ontario [now Kenora] with whom he had five children: Gertrude Murray (1889-?, wife of Francis Cameron Jamieson), Margaret Lyon Murray (1892-?, wife of Cecil Forbes Sanderson), John Lyon “Jack” Murray (1896-?), Samuel Crawford Murray (1899-?), and William G. Murray (1903-?). His second wife was Ann ? (1873-?). He was President of the Winnipeg Builders’ Exchange and a member of the Winnipeg Board of Trade. He was a member of the Masons, Woodmen of the World, Ancient Order of United Workmen, Granite Curling Club, and St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church.

He died at his Winnipeg home, 288 Langside Street, on 11 February 1933 and was buried in the St. John's Cathedral Cemetery.

Sources:

Birth, marriage, and death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

A History of Manitoba: Its Resources and People by Prof. George Bryce, Toronto: The Canadian History Company, 1906.

1921 Canada census, Ancestry.

“Geo. W. Murray dies suddenly at age of 79,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 February 1933.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 19 December 2021

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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