Memorable Manitobans: William Edward Crawford (1865-1947)

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William Edward Crawford
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Jeweller, optometrist.

Born at Georgetown, Ontario on 18 November 1865, son of William Crawford and Agnes Hammond, the family moved to Manitoba in 1974 and took up a homestead at Shoal Lake. He was educated in Winnipeg schools, leaving at the age of 12 years and later, in 1885, being apprenticed in the jewelry trade to C. F. Forest. He operated his own jewelry business at Stonewall from 1889 to 1892, then moved to Hartney where he continued as a jeweller. He was also a founding member of the Manitoba Association of Optometrists. He moved to Brandon in 1912 and established a jewellery business there.

On 25 December 1888, he married Harriet Jane Garrioch (1864-1934) at Westbourne and they had four children: William Edgeworth “Edgie” Crawford (1889-?), Jessie Crawford (1891-1940), Lily Rosa Crawford (1896-?, wife of Frank Williamson), and Evelyn Jane Agnes Crawford (1904-1986). He served for five years as a member of the Hartney School Board and was Mayor of Hartney in 1910. He was a member of the Masons (Hartney Lodge No. 52) and International Order of Foresters. After moving to Brandon, he served on the Brandon School Board for 17 years and was a member of St. Paul’s United Church and the Masons (Keystone Lodge).

He died at Brandon on 18 April 1947 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery.

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Crawford Building (213 East Railway Street, Hartney)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hartney Town Hall (West Railway Street, Hartney)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Zink Block (825-829 Rosser Avenue, Brandon)

Sources:

Birth, marriage, and death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

1901 and 1911 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.

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

“William Crawford dies at Brandon,” Winnipeg Free Press, 22 April 1947, page 4.

Obituary [Evelyn Jane Crawford], Winnipeg Free Press, 22 January 1986, page 43.

Death registration [Evelyn Jane Agnes Crawford], British Columbia Vital Statistics.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 18 July 2021

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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