Ruttan, Henry Norlande

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: David R. Dyck, “RUTTAN, HENRY NORLANDE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ruttan_henry_norlande_15E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Engineer, militia officer, and office holder; b. 21 May 1848 in Cobourg, Upper Canada, son of Henry Jones Ruttan and Margaret Pringle; m. 19 Aug. 1871 Andrina Barberie in Dalhousie, N.B., and they had nine children, of whom four sons and two daughters survived infancy; d. 13 Oct. 1925 in Winnipeg.
    • Henry Ruttan, the eldest of 10 children, was raised in Cornwall and Cobourg, Upper Canada. His paternal grandfather, Henry Ruttan, had been a militia officer, politician, and inventor. His father was editor of the Cobourg Star. In his teens Ruttan quickly established the first of the two occupations that would run as threads throughout the rest of his life, joining the Cobourg Volunteer Militia Rifle Company as a private and graduating from the School of Military Instruction in Kingston at age 18. In 1866 he fought with the militia to repel the Fenian raids; this service would later earn him the Canada General Service Medal.
    • In 1868 Ruttan began to develop the second aspect of his career when he was hired to work in the engineering department of the Grand Trunk Railway. In 1874 he transferred to the Canada Pacific Railway (Fleming had been named chief engineer in 1871) and he spent the next two years in charge of a track location party working through the Yellowhead Pass (Alta). In a letter to his wife he describes how he changed by many miles the line of track over the Saskatchewan River from Fleming’s original survey without consulting the chief engineer.
    • Although he left the employ of the Canada Pacific in 1880 and settled in Winnipeg, Ruttan continued to be involved in railway construction. Two years later the partnership of civil and mining engineers Ruttan and James Brady announced their interest in railway construction and mining.
    • The first of his lifelong interests had soon re-established itself when in 1883 he became captain of No.2 Company of the 90th (Winnipeg) Battalion of Rifles. In 1885 he fought with his battalion under Major-General Frederick Dobson Middleton in the North-West rebellion, serving at the battles of Fish Creek and Batoche (Sask.) and in the campaign to capture Big Bear. He returned to Winnipeg and was awarded the North West Canada Medal and clasp.
    • Ruttan became the first city engineer of Winnipeg in 1885 and remained in office until his retirement in 1914.
    • Henry Norlande Ruttan appears to have been a conscientious individual who served well in the posts he held. He was recognized in both the engineering profession and the military, becoming president of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers in 1910, for example, and being promoted brigadier-general in 1912, but he does not seem to have had a particular vision for western Canada, a vision that would have set him above the rest.
  • Great Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=7234
  • Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/213087729/henry-norlande-ruttan