Memorable Manitobans: James Stirton (1847-1927)

Farmer, businessman, postmaster.

Born near Guelph, Ontario on 9 December 1847, son of David Stirton MP and Henrietta McGregor, he farmed, in 1869, married Maggie Martin (?-1879) of Dumfries, Ontario. They had three children: Henrietta Jean Stirton (?-?, wife of George Harcourt), David Stirton (?-?), and Margaret Stirton (?-?). Following his wife’s death in 1879, he married Elizabeth Lindsay Barclay (1858-1939), daughter of contractor James Barclay, at Guelph.

They came to Manitoba and settled on a farm at Calf Mountain, about fifteen miles west of Morden. They had six children: James Barclay Stirton (1880-?), Robert Wilson Stirton (1882-?), Mary Goodess Stirton (1884-?, wife of George Girouard), Norman Lindsay Stirton (1891-1896), Elizabeth Lindsay “Elsie” Stirton (1893-1982, wife of LaMert Young), and Marjory Stirton (1899-?, wife of James Roy Sypher). He carried on farming until 1887 when he moved to Manitou and ran a grain business until 1892 when he returned to Morden to engage in real estate and general financial business. In 1901 he was appointed the Morden postmaster. He was a member of the AF & AM (Belmont Lodge No. 13) and Morden Curling Club (President, 1909-1910).

He died at Morden on 3 June 1927 and was buried in the Morden Hillside Cemetery.

Sources:

1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

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

Marriage and death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Mrs. James Stirton, who came west in ’75, marks 80th birthday,” Winnipeg Tribune, 15 January 1938, page 2.

Obituary [Elizabeth Lindsay Young], Winnipeg Free Press, 12 April 1982, page 50.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

We thank Stan Barclay and Rick Mutton for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 25 October 2022

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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