Born at Glencoe, Ontario on 29 January 1861, he came to Winnipeg around 1898 and began working as a building contractor. He was President of the Kelly-Simpson Construction Company (?-1911) and National Construction Company (1911-?) in partnership with Michael Kelly until the Winnipeg Law Courts was built, after which the partnership was dissolved. He and wife Laureen Montgomery Forbes (1878-?) had one daughter. He moved to Santa Monica, California around 1924, died on 4 January 1928 and was buried there.
Some of his building works in Manitoba included:
Building
Location
Year
Status
281 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg
1903
284 William Avenue, Winnipeg
1903
145 Scott Street, Winnipeg
1905
Destroyed by fire (1990)
10 Robinson Street, Winnipeg
1907
907 Rosser Avenue, Brandon
1910
Demolished (1989)
6 Ruskin Row, Winnipeg
1910
1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
“Activities great but memory poor,” Manitoba Free Press, 30 October 1915, page 1.
“Dramatic story told by witness,” Manitoba Free Press, 1 December 1915, page 2.
“Former builder of city dies in California,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 January 1928, page 5.
“C. H. Simpson, Winnipeg pioneer, dies in south,” Manitoba Free Press, 11 January 1928, page 11.
We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 6 July 2024
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