William Luxton

Who was William Luxton?

William Fisher Luxton was a Canadian teacher, newspaper editor and publisher, politician, and office holder.

Born in Bampton, Devon, England, his mother was Jane Palmer Luxton, daughter of Thomas Luxton and Jenny Palmer, of Hutchings Farm, Bampton, Petton, Devonshire. William was baptized on December 26, 1843 at St. John the Baptist Church, Skilgate, Somerset, where his mother was visiting with other members of the Luxton family for the Christmas holiday. In the 1851 English census William, age 7, was recorded residing at "Hutchings" with his uncle Thomas Luxton and his grandmother Jenny.

Luxton migrated to Canada in about 1855, and moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1871. In 1871, he moved to Winnipeg to teach in the first school established under the provisions of the Manitoba Schools Act of 1871. In 1866, he married Sarah Jane Edwards of Lobo Township, Canada West, and had six sons and two daughters. One of his son, Norman Luxton, was later known as "Mr. Banff" and founded the Craig and Canyon newspaper.

In November 1872, he along with John A. Kenny, a retired farmer from Ontario, Luxton started a pro-Liberal weekly newspaper, the Manitoba Free Press. The paper grew with the incorporation of the city of Winnipeg in 1874. It became a daily newspapers with over 1,000 subscribers. Employment jumped from five to 60 people and construction began on a two-story building.