William Fisher Luxton (12 December 1844 – 20 May 1907) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

teacher, newspaper editor and publisher, politician, and office holder. Born in

Bampton, Devon Bampton is a small town and parish in northeast Devon, England, on the River Batherm, a tributary of the River Exe. It is about north of Tiverton, Devon, Tiverton, 19 miles (31 km) north of Exeter and the parish borders Somerset on its nort ...

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, his mother was Jane Palmer Luxton (1819–1859), daughter of Thomas Luxton (1773-1840) and Jenny Palmer (1791–1860), of Hutchings Farm, Bampton, Petton, Devonshire. William was baptized on December 26, 1843 at St. John the Baptist Church,

Skilgate Skilgate is a village and civil parish east of Dulverton and west of Wiveliscombe in the Somerset West and Taunton district of Somerset, England. It has a population of 96. The parish, which covers an area of 866 ha, straddles the boundary of ...

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, where his mother was visiting with other members of the Luxton family for the Christmas holiday. In the 1851 English census William, age 7, was recorded residing at "Hutchings" with his uncle Thomas Luxton (1825–1849) and his grandmother Jenny. Luxton migrated to Canada in about 1855, and moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

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in 1871. In 1871, he moved to Winnipeg to teach in the first school established under the provisions of the Manitoba Schools Act of 1871. In 1866, he married Sarah Jane Edwards of Lobo Township,

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, and had six sons and two daughters. One of his sons,

Norman Luxton Norman K. Luxton (November 2, 1876 – October 26, 1962) was a pioneer in the Canadian Rockies known as "Mr. Banff". With John Voss, he attempted to sail around the world in an old red cedar Indian dug-out canoe. On his return to Canada, he wo ...

, was later known as "Mr. Banff" and founded the Craig and Canyon newspaper. In November 1872, he along with John A. Kenny, a retired farmer from Ontario, Luxton started a pro-

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

weekly newspaper, the ''

Manitoba Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well a ...

''. The paper grew with the incorporation of the city of Winnipeg in 1874. It became a daily newspapers with over 1,000 subscribers. Employment jumped from five to 60 people and construction began on a two-story building. Luxton became a leading citizen of Winnipeg and in 1872 he helped establish the Winnipeg General Hospital (later the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre). He ran and lost for mayor in 1874 (the first civic election in Winnipeg) but went to serve as a school trustee, a

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

for the Rockwood area from 1874–1878, and sat again in the Legislative Assembly for South Winnipeg from 1886-1888. He also served on the council of the Winnipeg Board of Trade. Luxton was a founder of the Winnipeg Humane Society. He served as chairman of the Winnipeg School Board from 1885-87. As a politician, Luxton's main goals in 1876 were

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, the establishment of a secular school system and the abolition of French as an official language in

. He was strongly opposed to the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

(CPR) and was critic of the Conservative government of Manitoba. Luxton made enemies of both Liberals and Conservatives over the years. It led to him being deposed as owner and editor of the ''Free Press'' in 1893 when he missed the repayment deadline of a loan he had taken in 1888 from Sir

Donald Alexander Smith Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal (6 August 182021 January 1914), known as Sir Donald A. Smith between May 1886 and August 1897, was a Scottish-born Canadian businessman who became one of the British Empire's foremo ...

. Luxton started another newspaper shortly after being replaced at the Free Press. He started the '' Daily Nor'Wester'' which he sold in 1896. He finished his journalistic career working for the '' St. Paul Globe'' in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Another son, George, joined his father at the ''Globe'' as a photographer, and went on to be a prominent garden columnist in the local media with a park named after him."George Luxton—of The Star," ''The Minneapolis Star'', October 23, 1969. In 1901, Luxton returned to Winnipeg and served as inspector of public buildings for the Government of Manitoba until his death. His funeral procession was one of the longest in Winnipeg's history, with the Typographical Union providing a guard of honour. In the fall of 1907, in recognition of one of the city's earliest teachers, Luxton School which backs on to the street that also bears his name in Winnipeg's North End was named after him.

References

External links

*
Manitoba Historical Society profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luxton, William F. 1844 births 1907 deaths English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba People from Mid Devon District Politicians from Winnipeg Immigrants to the Province of Canada