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William Henry Barry
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Hotelier.
Born in Dundas County, Ontario on 27 June 1859, son of Michael Barry (1819-?), he came to Winnipeg aboard the steamboat Manitoba in April 1877.
He worked in the Brouse House on Water Street and, two years later, was taken on as a partner with George I. Brouse. He became sole proprietor in 1880. The hotel was closed in 1882 and he soon opened the Belle of Winnipeg Hotel (later known as the Oriental Hotel), north of the Whalen Block. In 1883, in partnership with Jimmy Donohoe, he opened the Rossin House, the first hotel north of the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks.
When the Rossin House was destroyed by fire, he bought the Royal Oak Hotel on Market Square in November 1888 and ran it until 1905, when he built the Stock Exchange Hotel on Logan Avenue at Brant Street West. He retired from business in January 1910. In addition to his hotel work, he was also a building contractor and lumberman, with a sawmill at the Bad Throat River on Lake Winnipeg.
He and wife Catherine O'Donohue (1866-1940) had three children: Nettie Barry (1884-?, wife of C. W. Prowd), William A. Barry (1889-1917), and John Clarence Barry (1901-1939). He was a member of the Conservative party and Manitoba Hotelmen's Association. He owned race horses and was an avid curler.
He died at his Winnipeg home, 133 Home Street, on 25 January 1938 and was buried in the St. Mary's Cemetery.
Birth registrations [Nettie Barry, Clarence John Barry], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1901 and 1911 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.
“Pioneers of Winnipeg,” Winnipeg Tribune, 21 January 1911, page 2.
Death registrations [William Henry Barry, John Clarence Barry], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary, Winnipeg Tribune, 26 January 1938, page 20.
Obituary [Catherine Barry], Winnipeg Tribune, 8 February 1940, page 18.
We thank Glen Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 20 January 2026
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