Farmer, municipal official.
Born in Minnesota of Irish immigrant parents on 13 March 1860, his family came to Canada shortly after his birth and settled on a farm along the Assiniboine River.
He later established a 500-acre farm of his own, served as Municipal Assessor for the local government (1880) and was a municipal councillor. He was a candidate in a January 1888 by-election for the provincial Assiniboia constituency but was defeated by Duncan MacArthur. In 1886, he became Secretary-Treasurer of the RM of Assiniboia, serving until his death. He was a Returning Officer in the 1903, 1907, 1910, and 1914 provincial general elections.
In 1884, he married Mathilde Casselman (1865-1932) and they subsequently had eight children: Myrtle Edith Ness (1885-?), Garnet Ness (1890-?), Violet M. E. Ness (1892-?), Rose Lillie Bertha Ness (1893-?), Victor Ness (1894-?), Margaret Ivy Ness (1898-?), Olive Matilda Ness (1901-?), and Vincent Ness (1903-?).
He died on 29 March 1934 and was buried in the St. Charles Cemetery. He is commemorated by Ness Avenue in Winnipeg.
Birth registrations [Francisco Myrtle Anna Edith Ness,Rose Lillie Bertha Ness, Frank James Edmund Victor Ness, Aveline Margaret Ness, Olive Matilda Ness], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 and 1906 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.
Death registrations [Frank Ness, Matilda Ness], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Frank Ness, dean among municipality officials in Manitoba, dies, aged 74,” Winnipeg Free Press, 31 March 1934, page 1.
History of Ness Junior High, St. James Assiniboia School Division, 1974.
We thank the St. James Assiniboia School Division for providing information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 1 October 2023
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