Memorable Manitobans: George Franklin Williamson (1870-1914)

Mechanical engineer.

Born at Brooklyn, Ontario on 8 October 1870, son of T. N. Williamson and Mary J. Williamson, he was educated at Owen Sound, Ontario, quitting school at the age of 16 to worked for a year in the surrogate court. He then sailed on the Great Lakes for four months, seeking an improvement in his health. Returning to Ontario, he worked for two years as bookkeeper for a manufacturer of utensils, afterwards spending two years travelling throughout Canada. He then returned to Orangeville and assisted his father in the pump business. He became expert at mechanical engineering, leaving his father to become city engineer of Orangeville.

From there he came to Brandon, buying the Manitoba Pump Company and operating it until February 1903 when he organized the Manitoba Windmill and Pump Company, located on Ninth Street, Brandon. In 1912, he changed the name of the business to Manitoba Engines Limited.

On 16 November 1893, he married Ella Shields (1872-1940) of Orangeville, Ontario. They had four children: Franklin Truman “Frank” Williamson (1895-1960), Margaret Williamson (1897-?), Mary Williamson (1902-?), and Ella Florence Williamson (1903-1910). The family resided at 423 Fifth Street (1911) and 451 Third Street (1913). He was a member of the Masons and Methodist Church.

He died at Brandon on 20 August 1914 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery.

Sources:

The Story of Manitoba by F. H. Schofield, Winnipeg: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1913.

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

Death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Old timer’s death,” Manitoba Free Press, 22 August 1914, page 8.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 14 November 2021

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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