Municipal official.
Born at Belfast, Ireland around 1888, son of James Black (c1860-1921) and Margaret Black (1854-1930), he came to Winnipeg in 1910 where he was employed by the T. Eaton Company and later the Canadian National Railway.
He and wife Martha Shaw (?-1962) had six chilren: Jean Black (wife of Robert Syme), Elizabeth Black (wife of A. J. F. “Fred” Banks), George Black, James Black, John Black, and Victor Jack. He was a member of Knox United Church. He was active in the Loyal Orange Lodge, being Master of Beaver Lodge and County Master of Winnipeg County. In 1938, he was elected to the Winnipeg School Board and served for three years before being elected to the Winnipeg city council in 1942. He served there, being known as the “queuing alderman” for his stance on how people should board public buses. He resigned in 1953 to become Secretary-Treasurer of the British American Insurance department of the Grand Orange Lodge, based at Toronto, Ontario.
He died at his home in Toronto, Ontario on 6 December 1958 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.
Death registrations [James Black, Margaret Black], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Ex-alderman James Black dead at 70,” Winnipeg Free Press, 8 December 1958, page 23.
Obituary [Martha Shaw Black], Winnipeg Tribune, 19 September 1962, page 26.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 2 September 2026
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