© 2011, Christian Cassidy
Daniel McIntyre was born on a farm outside Dalhousie, New Brunswick in 1852. He became a teacher in a rural school district at age 17 and a few years later was appointed the superintendent of schools for the town of Portland, just outside of Saint John.
McIntyre decided to change careers and attended law school from 1880 to 1882. After what he called a "brief lapse at law", he realized that teaching was his true calling and the following year accepted a job in Winnipeg to teach at Carlton School.
In 1885, McIntyre was appointed inspector for Winnipeg's Protestant schools and in 1890, at age 38, he became the Superintendent of Public Schools for Winnipeg.
When McIntyre took charge, Winnipeg's school system consisted of ten school buildings and 2,200 pupils.
1891 Census of Canada, Library and Archives Canada
Daniel married Mary S. Getchell of Chatham, New Brunswick in 1878 and the couple moved to Winnipeg with their eldest son Andrew. In Winnipeg, two children died at childbirth and four others survived: Donald, Margery, Henry and Stuart.
The above image from the 1891 census of Canada shows the McIntyre family, (minus Henry, born in 1892, and Stuart, born in 1897), living at 349 York Avenue which at the time was a residential district of downtown. Around 1894, the couple purchased 123 Middle Gate in Armstrong's Point.
The McIntyres dedicated their personal lives to charitable work mainly related to children. They were active in the founding of the School for the Blind, the Children's Home of Winnipeg and the Children's Aid Society. (The latter, McIntyre served as its inaugural president.)
The above image from the 1891 census of Canada shows the McIntyre family, (minus Henry, born in 1892, and Stuart, born in 1897), living at 349 York Avenue which at the time was a residential district of downtown. Around 1894, the couple purchased 123 Middle Gate in Armstrong's Point.
The McIntyres dedicated their personal lives to charitable work mainly related to children. They were active in the founding of the School for the Blind, the Children's Home of Winnipeg and the Children's Aid Society. (The latter, McIntyre served as its inaugural president.)
March 16, 1918, Winnipeg Tribune
Youngest son Stuart S. McIntyre was attending Varsity University in Toronto when he enlisted with the 196th Battalion (Western Universities) in March 1916. He was reported as missing in action in October 1917 and the sad news came In March 1918 that he had been killed.
According to Daniel McIntyre's Prominent People of Manitoba entry, Mary McIntyre died in 1921, though no obituary can be found for her in local papers that year. Around 1925, he sold the family home and moved to 258 Dromore Avenue.
There was more tragedy to come. Two of McIntyre's grandchildren, a son and a daughter of Andrew, drowned in the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon in 1924 and 1926 respectively.
Source: readreidread.com
McIntyre travelled extensively throughout his career to offer advice to other school systems and to bring new ideas back to Winnipeg.
Earl Grey School, for example, is Canada's first junior high school. In 1915, William Whyte school opened as the only public girls school in Canada, (it didn't become co-ed until 1955).
McIntyre also serve as the University of Manitoba's registrar and was a member of the 1923 - 24 Royal Commission on Education that reviewed the future direction of school systems across Canada.
Top: January 19, 1929, Winnipeg Tribune
McIntyre retired in 1928 after 43 years in the job. By that time, the public school system he oversaw had grown from 10 schools with 2,200 students to 70 schools with an enrolment of about 40,000.Even in retirement, McIntyre was a busy man as his advice was sought by numerous boards and commissions at the local, provincial and national levels.
Daniel McIntyre died at the Misericordia Hospital on December 14, 1946 at the age of 94.
Tributes
Source: City of Winnipeg Archives
In 1921, the old Winnipeg Collegiate Institute, which was desperately in need of a new home, was renamed for McIntyre. Construction soon started on a new building that cost more than half a million dollars. It opened in April 1923 with 1,019 pupils and 34 teachers.
Other accolades included an honourary doctorate from the University of Manitoba in 1912 and the Order of the British Empire in 1935.
At a celebration dinner after receiving his OBE, McIntyre said:
"(This) honour belongs to the teachers and the public-spirited men who have composed the school board. Without them nothing could have been accomplished, certainly not without the whole-hearted support and co-operation of the teachers, which I always had."
January 25, 1935 Winnipeg Free Press
January 25, 1935 Winnipeg Free Press
Related:
Daniel J. McIntyre Manitoba Historical Society
Daniel McIntyre Winnipeg Citizens Hall of Fame
Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute history Winnipeg School Division
Winnipeg's Giant of Education Winnipeg Time Machine
Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba Peel's Prairie Provinces
McIntyre dies at age Winnipeg Free Press, Dec. 16, 1946
1 comment:
Stimulating.
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