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William Brinsmead

DEATH OF PIONEER - WILLIAM BRINSMEAD

Obituary in The Consort Enterprise, Alberta, Canada on February 22, 1945

William BrinsmeadAnother pioneer of this district answered the final summons last Thursday evening at Consort Municipal Hospital where death came to William Brinsmead.

Born at St. Mary's Ont. on. Sept. 21 1866, his parents were Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Brinsmead. Hugh Brinsmead had come from Devonshire, England, as a boy of 12 years, crossing the ocean in a sailing vessel, and eventually settling at St. Mary's, where he made his home and raised a family of five boys and five girls, one of these children being William. Needless to say these children led a busy but happy life and learned many of life's lessons the hard way.

It was the writer's good fortune to know the deceased quite well, and we enjoyed his company and conversation very much. Like all of us he had faults and human failings, but he was always a gentlemen at heart, kind and courteous. He sometimes mentioned his boyhood and young manhood. At one time his family lived in half of a large stone house, and the other half was occupied by the man who later became known as Timothy Eaton the founder of the mail order business in Canada.

As a young man William travelled quite extensively in the U. S., and at one time was a close friend of the man who invented the Linotype − in fact William held some stock in the Merganthaler Linotype Co. for some time and saw his friend's idea work into a business which encircled the earth.

As a young man William learned the optical business and also the watchmaking and jewelery trade. He had also one time worked as a baker, and when he first came west he could and did cook and keep house in a manner which put him in a class with the most tidy and capable housekeepers.

He spent some time in several of the eastern states, even as far south as Florida. He came to Alberta in 1913; located at Loverna in 1914, moved to Monitor in 1919 and from there to Consort in 1926. He had a little home in Pleasant Heights and lived there until last summer when the walk up the hill became a little too much for him, and he finally became a patient at the hospital, gradually becoming weaker, but occasionally toddling down town for a chat with his friends. He was a friend of everyone and he will be missed by all.