Memorable Manitobans: George Young (1821-1910)

Click to enlarge

George Young
Click to enlarge

Cleric, author.

Born in Prince Edward County, Upper Canada, 31 December 1821. He was of United Empire Loyalist descent. In 1842 he became an itinerant preacher for the Methodist Church and served in various parts of Eastern Canada in this capacity. He was so impressed by the Reverend George McDougall’s missionary work that he asked for and received a mission at the Red River Settlement. He became Superintendent of Methodist missions in the west in 1868, travelling by wagon from St. Paul, Minnesota. He was the first President of the Manitoba and North-West Conference.

He established many missions around the province before settling at Winnipeg where he preached at Fort Garry, Sturgeon Creek, Headingley, Poplar Point, High Bluff, Rockwell, Springfield, Prairie Grove, and Pembina Mountain. He was in Red River throughout the Riel uprising of 1869-1870. He supported the Canadian Party and ministered to the spiritual needs of Thomas Scott at his execution, and served as one of Scott’s principal hagiographers. He remained in Winnipeg eight years, during which time he saw the original Grace Church (1871) and Zion churches built and the Wesleyan Institute, the first Methodist educational institution, established in 1873.

On 13 July 1848, he married Mary Alsy Holmes.

He returned to Toronto in 1876 but came back to Emerson in 1879, finally retiring in 1883 to Toronto, where he died on 1 August 1910. He is commemorated by Young Street in Winnipeg.

Author of Manitoba Memories, being leaves from my life in the prairie province (Toronto, 1897).

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Young Methodist Church / Young United Church (222 Furby Street, Winnipeg)

Manitoba Memories by George Young (1897).

George Young, Dictionary of Canadian Biography XIII, 1,122-23.

Sources:

Pioneers and Early Citizens of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Manitoba Library Association, 1971.

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

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 6 September 2015

Memorable Manitobans

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:
1978 | 1979 | 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!