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Alexander McMicken was born Aug 27, 1837 in Queenston, Lincoln Co., Upper Canada and died July 30, 1916 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He was the son of Gilbert McMicken  and Ann Theresa Duff. On Sept 1, 1859 at Niagara-On-The-Lake he married Margaret Sarah Johnson.  She was born 1834, and died May 18, 1929 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They had no children.

 

Archives of Ontario; Series: MS248_10; Reel: 10:

Alexander McMicken served as Postmaster and collector of customs at Clifton. In 1860 he went into the grain business at Windsor, and after Confederation became head of the western division of the government secret service.  In 1871 he came to Winnipeg and became a banker, initially assisting his father at the Government Savings Bank and then opening his own bank (McMicken’s Bank) in 1872. He was a member of the second and third city councils in Winnipeg and was elected mayor in 1882; his term was marked by the failure of the city to recover from the economic bust after the boom of 1881-82. He lost heavily in land speculation, like many others. As banker, he had raised funds for the City of Winnipeg through bond issues, and as mayor, he became associated with overspending. Among his accomplishments were construction, with A. W. Ross, of the traffic bridge over the Assiniboine River at Osborne Street in 1882, the developmentof the first race track, and the establishment of the first cricket club. He was considered one of the best rifle shots in Canada. He was provincial police magistrate from 1900 toMarch 1913, when he retired due to ill health. He was a founding member of Augustine Presbyterian Church. McMicken also established the IOOF in the province.

 

 

 

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Sources:

Records of R G McMicking Collection

Records of D Meighan  (Email to Reg McMicking)

Records of D McEwan  (Email to Reg McMicking)

Ref: Manitoba Historical Society - Alexander McMicken

Ref: Dictionary of Canadian Biography  

 

 

 

Alexander McMicken

date unknown

credit: Manitoba Historical Society

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