1. William Hespeler, born Wilhelm, was a German-Canadian businessman, immigration agent, and member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.
15 Facts About William Hespeler
1. 2.
William Hespeler served as Speaker of the Legislature and as honorary consul of Germany to Winnipeg and the Northwest Territories.
3.
William Hespeler was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle for his services to Germany.
4.
William Hespeler was educated at the Polytechnic Institute at Karlsruhe.
5.
William Hespeler left school at the age of nineteen and emigrated to Canada with his mother in 1850, his father having died in 1840.
6.
William Hespeler married a Canadian woman and became a naturalized British subject at some time before 1867, adopting the first name of "William".
7.
William Hespeler reported back to his superiors in Canada, who sent him to Russia to persuade the Mennonites to choose Canada instead.
8.
William Hespeler moved to Winnipeg, residing in the suburb of Fort Rouge for the rest of his life.
9.
William Hespeler arranged for further Mennonite immigration and encouraged Icelandic immigrants and Jewish refugees from Germany and elsewhere to settle in Manitoba.
10.
William Hespeler planned the town of Niverville, Manitoba and erected the first grain elevator on the Canadian Prairies.
11.
In 1876 William Hespeler was elected alderman for Winnipeg's South Ward and was appointed a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Council of Keewatin.
12.
William Hespeler was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in the 1899 general election as an independent for the rural riding of Rosenfeld.
13.
Redistribution eliminated the riding of Rosenfeld in 1903 and William Hespeler chose not to run again.
14.
William Hespeler's retirement was marred during World War I by hostility from residents of Winnipeg arising from his German connections; he was opposed for attempting to assist German immigrants who had lost their jobs due to anti-German sentiment.
15.
William Hespeler died the next year at the age of 90.