- Thomas Underwood
Thomas Underwood (
May 6 ,1863 –May 10 ,1948 ) was a building developer and the 15th mayor of Calgary,Alberta .Born in
Asfordby ,Leicestershire ,England in 1863, Underwood emigrated toCanada in early adulthood. A carpenter by trade, he arrived inWinnipeg, Manitoba in 1883. At first, he worked as a farm hand. Two years later, he joined aCanadian Pacific Railway construction gang and was working inCraigellachie, British Columbia at the time of the last spike was driven to complete thetranscontinental railroad . After the railroad was completed, he settled in Calgary.Underwood spent the first two and a half years working for Jarrett-Cushing Lumber Company. Then he went into business for himself as a builder and contractor. Underwood was involved in the construction of many of the larger buildings in early Calgary. This includes the
Bank of Montreal building andBurns Manor for Senator Pat Burns.Underwood was elected to the
Calgary City Council in 1894. He spent eight years on City Council including two years as mayor from 1902-1904.In 1887, Underwood married Catherine Graves. Together they had nine children, three of whom died in infancy. He was deacon of First Baptist Church for over 30 years, director of the
YMCA for 25 years, and a member of the board of directors ofBrandon College for ten years. His wife died in 1934 and he died on May 10, 1948, both in Calgary.External links
* [http://folklore.library.ualberta.ca/dspImage.cfm?ID=312&Current=11 1937 newspaper clipping] about Underwood from the
Calgary Herald
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
