Memorable Manitobans: Norman John Black (1881-1955)

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Norman John Black
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Railwayman, manager.

Born at Waverley, Ontario on 12 August 1881, son of John Black (well-known as Schoolmaster, Lecturer and Writer in Barrie and Simcoe County, 1860-1885) and Mary Dougal, he was educated at Barrie and Toronto. He came to Winnipeg in 1901 where he worked in the Traffic Department of the Canadian Pacific Railway and later with the Canadian Northern Railway as Secretary to Traffic Manager George H. Shaw.

He left the CNR in 1908 and engaged in business with W. Sanford Evans. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and served with 1st Battalion, 8th Battalion, and 3rd Battalion, on Staff as D.A.Q.M.G. with the rank of Major. Following his military discharge, he returned to Winnipeg and became Manager of the United Grain Growers Securities Company.

On 25 June 1912, he married Margaret Clinkskill Dickie (c1884-1964) at Winnipeg and they had three sons and a daughter. Active in the Masons, he was Past Master of Ancient Landmark Lodge, No. 3 and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba (1931). He was a member of Norwood Golf Club and St. Andrew’s River Heights United Church where he founded the Order of the Black Square. In 1925, he lived at 1036 Dorchester Avenue, Winnipeg.

He died at his Winnipeg home, 311 Ash Street, on 8 May 1955 and was buried in Brookside Cemetery.

Sources:

Marriage registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 9 May 1955, page 22.

“Norman J. Black funeral Tuesday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 May 1955, page 30.

Obituary [Margaret C. Black], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 November 1964, page 24.

“Free Press Necrology Files,” Winnipeg Elite Study, G. Friesen Fonds, Mss 154, Box 15, File 16, University of Manitoba Archives]

We thank Stan Barclay for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 22 December 2021

Memorable Manitobans

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.

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