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Alberta, Past and Present, Historical and Biographical
Vol 3
William Heamon Sutherland


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.


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