Memorable Manitobans: William Richard Bawlf (1881-1972)

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William Richard Bawlf
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Grain merchant.

Born at Winnipeg on 17 January 1881, son of Nicholas Bawlf and Katherine Bawlf, he was educated at St. Mary’s School and the University of Ottawa. He returned to Winnipeg and joined the family grain business.

He was President of the Bawlf Terminal Elevator Company, Peaker Gibson Grain Company, and Bawlf Securities Company. He was Vice-President of the Thunder Bay Terminal Elevator Company and Fort William Terminal Elevator Company; Director of the Bank of Toronto, Manitoba Power Company, Winnipeg Electric Street Railway Company, and Winnipeg Grain and Produce Clearance Association; and Manager of the Brooks Elevator Corporation (1944). He served on the Board of Grain Supervisors of Canada and was President of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange (1917-1918). He wrote extensively on grain marketing.

On 6 September 1905, he married Mary Ada Roe (1878-1943) of Hudson, Wisconsin. They had four children: Nicholas William Bawlf (1906-1975), Rowena Eleanor Bawlf (1908-?, wife of George J. Freeman), Robert Samuel Bawlf (1910-1980), and Margaret Ada Bawlf (1917-1979). In his youth, he was a member of the Victorias Hockey Club and was President of the Winnipeg Hockey Club (1929-1930). He was also a member of the Manitoba Club, St. Charles Country Club, Motor Country Club (charter member), Winnipeg Automobile Club, Knights of Columbus, Pine Ridge Golf Club, and Roman Catholic church. The family lived at 548 Stradbrook (?-1920), 514 Wellington Crescent (1920-1936), and 227 Yale (1936-?).

He died at Winnipeg on 6 January 1972 and was buried in the St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery.

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Gordon House (514 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg)

Sources:

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.

“Diamond Jubilee sketches,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 August 1934, page 3.

“Brooks Elevator Corporation opens Canadian branch,” Winnipeg Tribune, 27 July 1944, page 34.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 7 January 1972, page 25.

“William R. Bawlf dies here at 90,” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 January 1972, page 40.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 24 December 2023

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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