Memorable Manitobans: John R. Turnbull (1864-1904)

Civil engineer.

Born at Perth, Ontario on 24 September 1864, son of tailor Henry Turnbull, he came to western Canada in the employ of the Canadian Pacific Railway, serving as assistant manager of the Crows Nest Pass Railway under M. J. Haney and aiding in construction work and road layout under chief engineer D. A. Stewart. He later worked in railway contracting, building stations and bridges in several places, and providing ties to the CPR. In 1890 he married Margaret Buchanan (1860-?) of Kempville, Ontario. They had four children: Helen C. Turnbull (b 1892), William A. Turnbull (b 1894), Ethel Margaret Turnbull (b 1896), and Allan Buchanan Turnbull (b 1900). The family lived at 115 Mayfair Avenue, Winnipeg. He died at Gull River, Ontario (about eight miles east of Ignace) on 29 June 1904, as a result of an industrial accident at a sawmill he had recently purchased.

Sources:

Birth registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

“Instantly killed by circular saw”, Manitoba Free Press, 30 June 1904, page 1.

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

This profile was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Profile revised: 27 December 2009

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