Memorable Manitobans: Robert Nicholas Wyatt (1877-1954)

Building contractor.

Born at Port Hope, Ontario on 3 July 1877, son of Nicholas Wyatt (1852-1934) and Ellen Phillips (1855-1931), he was educated at Port Hope and moved with his family to Millbrook where his father operated a grist mill. In 1906, the family came to Manitoba and settled at Melita.

He worked as a carpenter building bridges, schools, barns, and banks before becoming the Melita agent for Ford (1910-1914) and Chevrolet (1914-1918) automobiles. He moved to Winnipeg in 1918, residing at 275 Harvard Avenue, and was the proprietor of the Wyatt Construction Company until retirement in 1953, punctuated by a couple of years in the 1930s when he lived at Melita. In retirement, he returned to Melita permanently.

On 18 February 1903, he married Bessie Wood (1875-1964) at Durham, Ontario. They subsequently had six children: Bessie Marie Wyatt (1906-?, wife of William Charles Brabant), David Melvin Wyatt (1907-1989), Robert Fred Wyatt (1909-1988), Orland Nicholas “Lefty” Wyatt (1911-1982), John Henry “Harry” Wyatt (1914-1977), and James Ronald Wyatt (1919-?). He was a member of Christ Anglican Church, Odd Fellows, Masons (Master, Oriental Lodge No. 54, 1909), and Rotary Club. He served on the Melita town council (1907-1908).

He died at Deloraine on 5 August 1954 and was buried in the Melita Cemetery.

Some of his construction work in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Coates School No. 1091	Municipality of Two Borders	1901	Demolished (?)
River Park Bridge and Pavilion	Melita	?
Bede School No. 1683	Municipality of Two Borders	1913-1914
Coultervale School No. 515	Municipality of Two Borders	1914
Wyatt's Garage	Melita	1914	Demolished (?)
Coulter School No. 1772	Coulter, Municipality of Two Borders	1915
South Antler School No. 351	Municipality of Two Borders	1915
Home for Incurables (expansion)	3rd Street NE, Portage la Prairie	1920
Emerson Customs Building	26 Main Street, Emerson, Municipality of Emerson-Franklin	1928-1929
Deer Lodge Hospital (new wing)	2109 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1929
Melita Skating Rink	Melita	1930	Demolished (?)

Sources:

Ontario birth registration [Robert Nicholas Wyatt], Ancestry.

Birth registrations [Bessie Marie Wyatt, David Melvin Wyatt, Robert Fred Wyatt, Nicholas Orland Wyatt, John Henry Wyatt], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“R. N. Wyatt gets contract for hospital wing,” Winnipeg Tribune, 5 July 1929, page 3.

Marriage registration [Bessie Marie Wyatt, William Charles Brabant], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Ex-Winnipeg contractor dies,” Winnipeg Free Press, 6 August 1954, page 6.

Obituary [John Henry Wyatt], Winnipeg Free Press, 2 December 1977, page 108.

Our First Century: Town of Melita and Municipality of Arthur by Melita-Arthur History Committee, 1983, pages 127, 187, 235, 289, 291, 363, 474, 796-798.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 25 June 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: 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 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!