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William Heamon Sutherland
is one of Edmonton's leading business men and as provincial manager for
the Northwestern Life Assurance Company he has made his influence felt
in insurance circles of the city. He was born on a farm in the township
of Mariposa, Ontario, in 1880, and his paternal and maternal
grandparents were both natives of Scotland. His father, James
Sutherland, was also a native of Ontario, and in 1865 he was married in
that province to Janet Carmichael, who was born at Mariposa, in 1845,
and has now reached the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. Sutherland was
born in 1837 and in 1880 he removed with his family to the States,
purchasing a farm in Erie county, New York, which he continued to
operate until 1885, when he left that state and went to Nobles county,
Minnesota, where he also followed agricultural pursuits. In 1895 he
established his home at Heron Lake, in Jackson county, Minnesota, and
there passed away in 1911, at the age of seventy-four years.
William Heamon Sutherland
The district schools of
Nobles county, Minnesota, afforded William H. Sutherland his early
educational opportunities and later he attended the public schools of
Heron Lake, afterward spending two years as a student at Morningside
College of Sioux City, Iowa. For six years he was employed by the
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company, starting as fireman and later
being advanced to the position of engineer. Having decided to return to
the land of his birth, he made his way to North Battleford,
Saskatchewan, and entered the service of the Canadian Northern in the
capacity of locomotive engineer. In 1919 he abandoned railroading,
turning his attention to the life insurance business, with which he has
since been connected. He became identified with the Northwestern Life
Assurance Company of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and was in its office at
Dauphin, Manitoba, until June, 1921, when he was promoted to his present
position as provincial manager for Alberta, with headquarters in
Edmonton. He is proving well worthy of the confidence reposed in his
ability and under his efficient leadership the company is rapidly
acquiring prestige in this territory, which promises to be one of the
most profitable fields in which it is operating. Mr. Sutherland is also
a director of the corporation and a director of the Northwestern Trust,
one of the subsidiary companies, and is highly esteemed by his business
associates.
At Sioux City, Iowa, on
the 19th of January, 1909, Mr. Sutherland was united in marriage to Miss
Essie Smith, a daughter of George A. Smith, deceased, who was a
prominent member of the legal profession, being at one time associated
in practice with Leslie M. Shaw, who served as secretary of the treasury
during the Roosevelt administration. Like most of his countrymen Mr.
Sutherland is keenly interested in all outdoor sports and is a devotee
of the rod and gun. He is independent in his political views, supporting
all movements calculated to advance the interests of good government and
promote national progress. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while his religious views are ill
accord with the tenets of the Presbyterian church. His business career
has been marked by continuous advancement and his success has been based
upon industry, determination and ability. He never undertakes a task
unless he considers it worthy of his best efforts and has become known
as a "square" man, thoroughly dependable in any relation and any
emergency. |
