Alexander Wiseman Christie was Agnes Gray’s Grandfather on her Mom’s side of the family.
From an article in the newspaper January 22, 1900.
Well-known Barber dies suddenly at Lake Park
Attacked with Heart Failure While Fishing.
Alexander W. Christie, who has been the proprietor of numerous barber shops in the city for the past 34 years, died suddenly about 6 o’clock yesterday morning at his summer home at Lake Park.
Mr. Christie arose at 4 o’clock in the morning with the intention of going fishing. He got into the boat and rowed for some distance in the lake. A short time after he anchored two men fishing in another boat a short distance away noticed his actions were strange and rowed over to him. They towed the boat into shore and Mr. Christie was taken to his home, where he died about an hour later. The cause of his death was heart failure.
He had been in the best of health the previous evening and anticipated his fishing trip in the morning with pleasure. His death came as a sudden and violent shock to the members of his family and his friends, who have always considered him a remarkably healthy man. He was 61 years old.
Mr. Christie was well known in Minneapolis , where he has resided continually since 1865, during that period always living at 1803 Clinton Ave. He was a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias and other orders.
(According to Wikipedia, The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington D.C. on February 19, 1864. It was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone who was inspired by a play by the Irish Poet John Banim about the legend of Damon and Pythias. This legend illustrates the ideals of loyalty, honor, and friendship that are at the center of the order. For more info look at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Pythias)
Alexander Wiseman Christie was born in Elgin, Scotland, June 6, 1839. After attending the common schools he was apprenticed to J. Anderson, where he learned the barber and wig-making trade. As a boy he always had a longing for the sea and shipped as a mate on the Agnes of Aberdeen. When Lady Franklin Discovery was manned, Mr. Christie shipped aboard her and made a long cruise in the Arctic Waters. On the return to Scotland of the Lady Franklin, Mr. Christie came to New York, where he joined the Merchant Service. In 1862, he returned to Scotland and married Harriet Watson. * He returned to New York and later went to New Jersey, where he worked rigging vessels and making cruises to the West Indies.
After the Civil War broke out, he joined the United States Navy and sailed with the North Atlantic squadron on the Brooklyn, Atlantic, and Ajax. He was with General Terry at Fort Fisher. In 1865, he came to Minneapolis. (General Alfred Howe Terry was a Union general in the American Civil War and military commander of the Dakota Territory from 1866-1869 and again 1872-1886. In 1865, Terry led Union troops to victory at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher in North Carolina. -Wikapedia)
BAKE MENAGERIE 