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David Blyth Hanna
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Railwayman.
Born at Thoraliebank, Scotland on 20 December 1859, he emigrated to Canada in 1883 and worked for the Grand Trunk Railway at Montreal. He came to Manitoba around 1887 to work as an acountant with the Manitoba and North West Railway, residing at Portage la Prairie.
By 1902, he was Third Vice-President of the Canadian Northern Railway. He became President of the Canadian Northern Quebec Railway in 1903 and President of the Lake St. John Railway in 1907. He became the first President of the Canadian National Railways on its formation in 1918. He co-authored (with Arthur Hawkes) the book Trains of Recollection Drawn From Fifty Years of Railway Service in Scotland and Canada (1924).
On 3 April 1889, he married Margaret “Maggie” Garland (1866-1959, daughter of Thomas Garland) at Portage la Prairie. They had three children: Mary Garland Hanna (1891-1854), William Blyth Hanna (1893-1963), and Margret Jean Hanna (1903-1985). He was a founding member, in 1905, of the St. Charles Country Club.
He died at Toronto, Ontario on 1 December 1938. He is commemorated by the town of Hanna, Alberta.
See also:
David Blyth Hanna, Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.
Marriage notice, Manitoba Free Press, 5 April 1889, page 1.
Marriage registration [David Blythe Hanna, Maggie Garland], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Birth registrations [Mary Garland Hanna, William Blythe Hanna, Margaret Jean Hanna], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
“D. B. Hanna succumbs in east,” Winnipeg Free Press, 2 December 1938, page 4.
We thank Sherry Griffiths for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 1 March 2026
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