Memorable Manitobans: Andrew Kelly (1852-1930)

Andrew Kelly Click to enlarge

Miller and businessman, Mayor of Brandon (1890-1891).

Born at North Middlesex, Ontario on 10 July 1852, , the son of John and Sarah Kelly, he was educated at the local high school. He stayed on the family farm until age 25, then worked for G. Carter, Son & Co, millers and grain dealers at St. Mary’s, Ontario from 1878 to 1881.

In 1881, he arrived in Manitoba where he establised the A. Kelly Milling Company (traded under the name of Fisher and Company) at Brandon. In 1882, Messrs. Alexander, Kelly and Sutherland purchased Fisher's interests and, two years later, increased capacity of mill to 200 barrels/day and erected an oatmeal mill. The firm was known as Alexander, Kelly & Sutherland until 1885 when it changed to Alexander, Kelly & Co. In 1884, the mill burned. It was rebuilt, increasing its capacity to 400 barrels/day and 150 barrels/day of oatmeal. Alexander retired in 1901, at which time the firm became A. Kelly Milling Co. It amalgamated in July 1903 with Parrish & Lindsay, then on 1 May 1905, with Lake Huron & Manitoba Milling Co. to form Western Canada Flour Co. with mills in Goderich, Ontario (2,000 barrels/day flour) and Brandon, Manitoba (400 barrels/day flour and 150 barrels/day oatmeal), as well as a salt works at Goderich (200 barrels/day salt.) The company operated 62 elevators in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta with an average capacity of 32,000 bushels each. In 1906, the company built a mill in St. Boniface (estimated capacity 4,000 barrels/day flour & elevator of 500,000 bushels). Officers of the company: president Andrew Kelly, vice-president and managing director Samuel Alexander McGaw, treasurer E. J. Barclay, and secretary A. J. Mitchell. The Board of Directors included: Andrew Kelly, S. A. McGaw, A. J. Mitchell, W. J. Lindsay, Joseph J. Wright, Arthur Hills and Louis Lukes of Toronto. Kelly was also one of the original directors of Great-West Life Assurance Company of Winnipeg.

In 1882, Kelly married Mary Louise Bremner of Toronto, with whom he had three children: sons Ewart Cameron Kelly (accountant, Bank of Hamilton) and Allen Bremner Kelly (ledger keeper, Dominion Bank) and daughter Viva May Kelly (at school, 1906). Kelly was a keen baseball and lacrosse player.

In addition to his business interests, Kelly served as Brandon city alderman for three years (1898-1891), and mayor from 1890 to 1891. He was president of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange in 1912-1913.

Kelly died at Winnipeg on 5 January 1930. He is commemorated by Kelly Place in Brandon.

Sources:

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.

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

“Andrew Kelly, pioneer flour miller of west, dies, aged 78 years”, Manitoba Free Press, 6 January 1930, pages 1, 5.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

We thank James Burns for providing additional information used here.

This profile was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Profile revised: 24 October 2012

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