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William Allan Black
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Businessman.
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William Allan Black
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Born at Montreal, Quebec on 17 November 1862, son of Charles Robson Black (1835-1927) and Elizabeth Hall (1832-?), he was educated at Montreal.
He was a clerk for the Grand Trunk Railway at Montreal before coming to Winnipeg in 1882 where he entered the service of the Canadian Pacific Railway. He joined the Ogilvie Four Mills Company in 1884, becoming its Secretary in 1890 and General Manager for the Western Division in 1902. He was also Vice-President of the Royal Crown Soap Company, Director of the Home Investment and Savings Association, Managing Director of the Kamanistiquia Power Company, President of the Manitoba Cold Storage Company, and a member of the Grain Standard and Survey Board and the council of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange. By 1912, he had returned to Montreal and retired in the 1920s, at which time he moved to St. Aubin, Jersey Channel Islands.
In 1890, he married Mary Campbell “Polly” McEwan (1864-1958) of Portland, Maine. They had four children: Charles McEwan Black (1891-1954), William Allan Black (1893-?), Edith Black (1901-?), and Margaret “Meg” Black (1903-?, wife of C. Howard Gordon). He was a member of the Manitoba Club, St. Charles Country Club, Conservative party, Anglican church, and Mount Royal Club (Montreal). In 1911, the family lived at 18 Edmonton Street, Winnipeg.
He died at St. Aubin, Jersey Channel Islands on 1 March 1951.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Black House (22 Edmonton Street, Winnipeg)
Birth registrations [Charles McEwan Black, William Allan Black, Edith Black, Unnamed Black], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901, 1906, and 1911 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.
Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, edited by C. W. Parker, Vancouver: Canadian Press Association, 1911.
A History of Manitoba: Its Resources and People by Prof. George Bryce, Toronto: The Canadian History Company, 1906.
“Free Press Necrology Files”, Winnipeg Elite Study, G. Friesen Fonds, Mss 154, Box 15, File 16, University of Manitoba Archives]
We thank Catherine Black for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 13 November 2026
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