Memorable Manitobans: William Newman (1866-1952)

William Newman Click to enlarge

Civil engineer, building contractor.

Born at Tilbury West, Essex County, Ontario on 22 January 1866, one of ten children born to James Newman (1828-1901) and Mary Ann Hillier (?-?), he attended the Galt High School and the School of Practical Science at the University of Toronto, graduating from the latter in 1891 with a degree in civil engineering. He worked as a civil engineer at Windsor, being City Engineer from 1895 to 1905.

Sometime before 1906, he moved to Winnipeg although his family remained at Windsor. He established the construction firm of William Newman and Company that was responsible for grading the tramway from Lac du Bonnet and Pointe du Bois, building numerous bridges around rural Manitoba, and other work. In the early 1930s, he also managed the Western Construction Company.

On 8 October 1891, he married Lorana “Laura” Wilkinson (1869-1918, daughter of John James Wilkinson) at Leamington, Ontario and they had three children: Earl Clinton “Clint” Newman (1892-1972), Lena Clara “Clare” Newman (1895-1954, wife of C. Morrell), and William Harold Newman (1906-1993). He was a member of the Masons, IOF, and Canadian Society of Civil Engineers. For the final few years of his life, he lived at the Royal Albert Hotel.

He died at Winnipeg on 6 January 1952 and was buried at Leamington, Ontario.

Some of his construction works in Manitoba included:

Structure	Location	Year	Status
Louise Bridge (piers)	Red River, Winnipeg	1910
Concrete Culvert Bridge No. 64	Scallion Creek, RM of Wallace-Woodworth	1916
Concrete Beam Bridge No. 131	Bosshill Creek, RM of Wallace-Woodworth	1916
Concrete Bowstring Arch Bridge No. 367	La Salle River, RM of Portage la Prairie	1919
Concrete Bowstring Arch Bridge No. 374	Mill Creek, RM of Portage la Prairie	1919
Concrete Arch Bridge No. 630	Assiniboine River, Millwood, Municipality of Russell-Binscarth	1920-1921
Concrete Beam Bridge No. 756	Turtle River, Ste. Rose du Lac, Municipality of Ste. Rose	1921
Concrete Bowstring Arch Bridge No. 778	Turtle River, Municipality of Ste. Rose	1921
Concrete Culvert Bridge No. 870	Old Highway 5, Municipality of Ste. Rose	1921
Concrete Culvert Bridge No. 992	Bear Creek, Municipality of WestLake-Gladstone	1923
Concrete Beam Bridge No. 1061	Clubb Coulee, RM of Montcalm	1924
Concrete Culvert Bridge No. 1063	RM of Montcalm	1924
Concrete Culvert Bridge No. 1064	RM of Montcalm	1924
Concrete Culvert Bridge No. 951	Municipality of North Norfolk	1925
Concrete Culvert Bridge No. 1157	Municipality of North Norfolk	1925

Sources:

Ontario birth registrations, Ancestry.

1901 and 1911 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.

“William Newman Company gets first power contract,” Manitoba Free Press, 10 May 1907, page 16.

Death registration [Laura Newman], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Builders of Greater Winnipeg,” Winnipeg Tribune, 18 June 1931, page 33.

“Congratulations,” Winnipeg Tribune, 22 January 1949, page 20.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 8 January 1952, page 22.

Henderson’s Winnipeg and Brandon Directories, Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.

William Newman, Curriepedia.

We thank Michael Currie and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 28 April 2023

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. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!