Memorable Manitobans: Thomas Sinclair (1877-1913)

Thomas Sinclair Click to enlarge

Architect.

Born at Edinburgh, Scotland on 20 January 1877, he was educated there and at the University of Edinburgh. He served an architectural apprenticeship in Scotland before moving to Brandon. There he designed the largest indoor arena in Canada at the time, along with buildings elsewhere in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

On 21 March 1908, he married Mary Clarke (1882-?), daughter of John and Isabelle Clarke of Ednam Kelso, Scotland. They had no children. He died at Brandon on 19 December 1913 and was buried in the Brandon Cemetery.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Alexandra School	College Avenue, Brandon	1906	Demolished (?)
Harding School No. 1352	Harding, RM of Woodworth	1906	Demolished (?)
Brandon Armoury	1116 Victoria Avenue, Brandon	1907
St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church	401 First Street, Brandon	1907
St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church	Elva, RM of Arthur	1909	Demolished (?)
Kenton Municipal Hall	Kenton, RM of Woodworth	1909
Aikenside Methodist Church	Justice, RM of Elton	1909
Dauphin School No. 2 (addition)	Dauphin	1909	Demolished (?)
St. Michael’s Academy (supervision)	Victoria Avenue East, Brandon	1909-1910	Demolished (?)
A. E. McKenzie Building	30 Ninth Street, Brandon	1910
King George School	430 Victoria Avenue East, Brandon	1911	Demolished (?)
Souris School No. 285	Souris, Municipality of Souris-Glenwood	1911-1912
Park View Apartments	1330 Princess Avenue, Brandon	1912
Brandon Winter Fair Building	Eleventh Street, Brandon	1912-1913	Demolished (1970)
Gordon-Mackay Warehouse	638 Pacific Avenue, Brandon	1913

Sources:

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

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

Death registration [Thomas Sinclair], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“St. Michael’s day celebrated,” Brandon Sun, 7 October 1909, page 19.

“Brandon firm given contract,” Brandon Sun, 1 June 1911, page 2.

“Bright young Brandon architect dead,” Manitoba Free Press, 20 December 1913, page 13.

“Shepley Construction Company erect handsome building at Brandon,” Winnipeg Tribune, 28 February 1914, page 11.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

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

We thank Keith Davies Jones and Robert Hill for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 9 September 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!