Robert Harvey immigrated to Canada in the early 1900s, first farming and later receiving ordination as a Presbyterian (later, United Church) minister. Harvey served in congregations across Manitoba, and authored several volumes after retiring in the 1950s. While Harvey’s other books deal explicitly with Christianity, “Pioneers of Manitoba” contains brief biographies of more than 20 individuals whose lives shaped Manitoba’s development in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Nearly all the book’s subjects are men (Nellie McCLung is the lone woman), but Harvey’s pioneers hail from towns across the province (from Mountain Road in the Interlake to Lauder in the southwest) and work in a variety of occupations (from architects to farmers). Biographies are succinct, follow their subjects beyond Manitoba’s borders where necessary, and emphasize the subject’s contribution to Manitoba.
