Farmer, businessman.
Born at Leicester, England on 8 August 1863, son of William Luke Sharp and Elizabeth “Eliza” Mitchell, he arrived in Canada in February 1885 and farmed on the Portage Plains. He later had a dairy and, by 1901, was operating a coal, wood and sand business. During the 1885 North West Rebellion, he served with the Portage Company, 95th Battalion. He was president of the Portage Branch of the Army and Navy Veterans for three years and was president of the Manitoba Command for 17 years. He was Chairman of the Board of Work for Portage la Prairie, a member of the Portage municipal council for four years, and a member of the Portage School Board for three years. He served as Mayor of Portage la Prairie (1931-1932).
On 21 December 1887, he married Sarah Almina Thompson (1868-1957) at Portage la Prairie. They had eight children: William Harvey Sharp (1888-1967), Charles Jackson Sharp (1890-1916), Joseph Sharp (1892-1967), Edith May Sharp (1893-1977, wife of Forest Dufer Harris), Winnifred Estel Sharp (1896-1974, wife of James A. Whyte), Alice Sharp (1897-1990, wife of James Cargill), Walter Frederick Sharp (1899-1921), and Dorothy “Dora” Sharp (1903-1981). During the First World War, four of his sons served in Canadian forces, William Harvey and Joseph with the Strathcona Horse, C. Jack with the 29th Battalion (killed on the Somme), and Walter Frederick with the 27th Battalion. He was a member of the IOOF (Past Noble Grand of Portage Lodge No. 3), Knights of Pythias (Past Chancellor of Portage Lodge No. 8), First Baptist Church, and Liberal party.
He died on 3 September 1953 and was buried in the Portage Hillside Cemetery.
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871 and Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881.
Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, Library and Archives Canada.
Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 and 1911 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.
“2 lose lives in lake at Delta,” Winnipeg Tribune, 4 July 1921, page 11.
Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.
“Portage resident celebrates 90th birthday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 11 August 1953, page 4.
“Charles J. Sharp, former Mayor, buried at Portage,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 September 1953, page 33.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Timothy Kozmyk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 28 July 2020
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