Register entry 084 - Matthew P. Zindord - contractor


Visited the Bell Farm on Aug. 30, 1884 - Matthew Patrick Zindord (c.1858-1952), was born in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, and moved to Canada at some unknown time.

On March 1, 1883, he placed an advertisement for his contracting business in the first issue of the "Regina Leader", p. 4. As a building contractor, he also worked for the Canadian federal department of Public Works on various projects in the North-West Territories during the 1880s.

In 1883 he completed construction of the Indian Offices in Regina, Sask., and operated a Billiard Hall. He also built Regina's "Scarth Building", which was for some years rented to the federal government for use as a Court House.

Zindord visited the Bell Farm on the same day as William Henderson, another Public Works contractor, who signed the Visitor's Register just before him. Also present on this visit was the Hon. Hector Langevin, the federal Minister of Public Works, and E.F.E. Roy, Langevin's private secretary; and Samuel St. Onge Chapleau, who was Secretary for the Dept. of Public Works and Sheriff for the North-West Territories at the time of this visit.

He was married in Winnipeg. Manitoba on 25 Sept. 1885 to Nellie Ider Lander. He reportedly married Mrs. Daisy Alvord Rose some time after 1915. (Another man, Michael Zindorf, was married to Lucy Annie Lander on Dec. 28, 1898 in King County, Washington, USA - perhaps they were related).

On September 21, 1888, Zindord was still working in the North-West Territories. It was then reported in the "Winnipeg Free Press" that he was privately recruiting men to work on the construction of buildings for Sir John Lister Kaye's farms west of Manitoba.

Around 1890 he moved to Seattle, Washington, USA, where he changed the spelling of his surname to Zindorf (and sometimes Zindorff) and remained for the rest of his life.

During his half a century sojourn in Seattle, his name was regularly seen in the "Seattle Daily Times", relating to his construction business, family life, court battles and travels. In fact, Matthew Zindorf and / or members of his family have been mentioned in at least 300 newspaper articles.

Matthew P. Zindorf died in Seattle, Washington on 11 April 1952 at age 93.


SOURCES:

  • http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/bibliography/1530/15.html - 1885 Regina Directory

  • http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/western-land-grants/001007-119.01-e.php?sisn_id_nbr=99858 - land Grant - HTTP Error 404 -

  • "The History of Regina", by John Weston Powers, 1887, p. 14 and 28

  • Marriage: King County Marriage Index 1853-1900: Dec. 28, 1898, Certificate 7864. (Vol. G, P. 270, Return 3447.

  • Obituary for Daisy A. Zindorf, 1955: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109602112/daisy-zindorf

  • http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&lang=eng&rec_nbr=2058914&rec_nbr_list=2058914 -- HTTP Error 404 –

  • LAC - Blood Agency construction specifications - 1885

  • Zindord1 / "Winnipeg Free Press" - Sept 25, 1885 - wedding

  • Zindord2 / "Winnipeg Free Press" - Sept 21, 1888 – Lister Kaye Farm construction

  • Zindorf3/ "Seattle Daily Times" April 13, 1952 - obituary

  • Zindorf Apartment Building-Seattle project

  • President Hotel and Apartment - Seattle project

  • http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s65SAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RDcNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6746,7076947&dq=zindorf+seattle&hl=en The Leader Jan 12 1899

  • 1885 Dept. of Public Works Annual Report

  • http://media.digitalarchives.wa.gov/WA.Media/jpeg/C13C1DA0ABDF9528B05B4D83CEA824C6_1.jpg - 1891 birth record

  • http://media.digitalarchives.wa.gov/WA.Media/jpeg/477553D54201A47F690434690F5A71C1_1.jpg 1910 census/Seattle

  • http://cdm15015.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/searchterm/zindorf/order/nosort directories

  • http://yakimamemory.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/memory&CISOPTR=17575&CISOBOX=1&REC=1 MP Zindorf house

  • http://archive.org/stream/pacificreporter77compgoog#page/n609/mode/2up pg 587-589 The Pacific reporter – 1915 – law suit

  • http://archive.org/stream/historyofseattle02bagl#page/672/mode/2up Zindorph/Zindorf Apartment - History of Seattle, 1916

  • http://www.nw.epls.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/Properties&CISOPTR=66&CISOBOX=1&REC=1 – photo of Pioneer Block U. S.--Washington (State)--Snohomish County--Everett, 1892

  • http://nwda.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv77651/op=context.aspx?q=zindorf&t=k - Guide to the Thomas Burke Papers: 1875-1925

  • http://archive.org/stream/washingtonwestof01hunt#page/402/mode/2up 1892 Everett Washington

  • Exploring the Olympic Mountains:Accounts of the Earliest Expeditions,1878-1890 Mount Zindford "may have been named for Mathew Zindorf,a Seattle contractor, who for some reason was not listed in R.L. Polk & Co.'s Puget Sound Directory of the era"

  • "Regina Leader" March 1, 1883, p. 4 - advertisement

RESEARCH BY:

Michelle Cabana, Saskatoon, Sask.; JoAnne Matsumura, Issaquah, Washington, USA; and Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Saskatchewan.


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