Charles May (Alberta politician)

Charles May
8th Mayor of Edmonton
In office December 11, 1905 – December 10, 1906
Preceded by	Kenneth W. MacKenzie
Succeeded by	William Antrobus Griesbach
Alderman on the Edmonton City Council
In office December 12, 1904 – December 11, 1905
Alderman on the Edmonton Town Council
In office December 14, 1903 – December 12, 1904
Personal details
Born	June 30, 1858 Wellington County, Ontario
Died	March 1, 1932(1932-03-01) (aged 73) Vancouver, British Columbia
Spouse(s)	Anna Galbreath (died 1897, 2 children), Marguerite Henderson (4 children)
Profession	Carpenter
Religion	Presbyterian
Signature

Charles May (June 30, 1858 – March 1, 1932^[1]) was a politician in Alberta, Canada and a mayor of Edmonton

Biography

May was born in Wellington County, Ontario on June 30, 1858. He left school in 1880 and moved to Manitoba to homestead. He later spent thirteen years as a carpenter and builder in Winnipeg before moving to Edmonton in 1902. He had two children by Anna Galbreath, his first wife, before she died suddenly in 1897. He remarried in 1901, to Marguerite Henderson with whom he would have four additional children.

He was elected to Edmonton Town Council as an alderman in 1903, finishing first of nine candidates. His term was to last two years, but was truncated by a year by Edmonton's incorporation as a city, which meant that the entire city council was elected afresh in the 1904 election. He was again elected to a two year term, finishing first of seventeen candidates, but this time resigned one year into his term in order to run for mayor in the 1905 election. He defeated Arthur Cushing by a count of 627 votes to 355, and became mayor of Edmonton. He served in this capacity for one term of one year, but did not seek re-election in 1906 and did not re-enter political life thereafter.

May was a prominent contractor in Edmonton's history. The buildings his company built included Edmonton's post office, its first Canadian Northern Railway station, the Bank of Montreal, the Bank of Commerce, the Hudson's Bay Company store, the provincial penitentiary, and the home of Frank Oliver. It also built the still-standing LeMarchand mansion, whose construction bankrupted May and forced him to move to a cottage on Coney Island on Cooking Lake in Strathcona County, Alberta until his debts were settled.

Charles May was active with the Masonic Order, the Presbyterian Church, the Edmonton Exhibition Association, and the Liberal Party of Alberta.

He moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1922, and, following a long period of illness, he died there on March 1, 1932.^[1]

References

• Edmonton Public Library Biography of Charles May
• City of Edmonton biography of Charles May
• History of the Lemarchand Mansion (Real Estate Weekly)
• Biography of Frank Oliver (Real Estate Weekly)

1. ^ ^{a b} Edmonton Bulletin, March 2, 1932

Preceded by Kenneth W. MacKenzie

Mayor of Edmonton 1905-1906

Succeeded by William Antrobus Griesbach

Persondata
Name	May, Charles
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 30, 1858
Place of birth	Wellington County, Ontario
Date of death	March 1, 1932
Place of death	Vancouver, British Columbia