Born at Yorkshire, England in 1857, William A. Burman was persuaded to immigrate to Canada at the age of 18. After his arrival in Manitoba, he attended St. John’s College where he studied natural sciences and theology. In 1879 he was ordained deacon and was sent to the Sioux Reserve near Griswold (now the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation) to establish a mission. He worked there for ten years, became fluent in the Sioux language and very knowledgeable in the Indian work of the Church.
In 1886 he was appointed the first rural dean of Brandon, Manitoba. He organized and was the first head of the Rupert’s Land Industrial School at Middlechurch. He also helped build St. Peter’s mission in Winnipeg. Failing health forced him to give up parish work, and in 1903 he was appointed steward and bursar at St. John’s College, where he had been lecturing in botany and Biblical literature.
As an avid nature lover, he had a wide reputation as a botanist and became an examiner in botany for the University of Manitoba. He was also the founder of the Forestry and Horticultural Association of Manitoba which still promotes horticulture on the prairies. He served as the Manitoba Historical Society president from 1899 to 1901.
Burman died in Winnipeg on January 30, 1909.