Mayor Robert Peter Slater

1846 - Yes, date unknown

• Name	Robert Peter Slater
  Prefix	Mayor
  Born	27 Apr 1846	Chippewa, Welland Co., Ontario, Canda   [1, 2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Historic Building	44 Wellington St., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  	Constructed in 1855, possibly by William Leslie (carpenter) house known as the "William Leslie House" historic listed property city of Cambridge. Former Residence of Alexander Baird and family, murals were painted in this home by "Jack" Baird. Also the former home of R.P. SLater and family. Galt councillor and Mayor of Niagara Falls, Canada.
  		Cambridge-WellingtonSt.N.004-WilliamLeslieHouse.jpg 44 Wellington St. N., Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
  Interesting	business, life story
  Name	R. P. Slater
  Name	Robert P. Slater
  Occupation	1871	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	Bookkeeper
  Residence	1871	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2]
  	W. Methodist
  Occupation	1881	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1]
  	Mallster
  Occupation	1891	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  	Maltster
  Residence	Niagara Falls, Welland Co., Ontario, Canada
  	Originally know as Glenview and more recently as the Pink Palace, this beautiful Victorian mansion was built by John Drew around 1865. The 27-room home was situated on an 85-acre estate that included fields, orchards, vineyards, stables, tennis courts and a grist mill. The property stretched from River Road west to Victoria Avenue and from the rail yards north to the Whirlpool. John Drew was the first of three prominent owners who played an important role in the history of Niagara Falls. Mr. Drew was a masonry contractor whose company built Clifton Town Hall which is still standing in front of the present city hall (Clifton changed its name to Niagara Falls in 1881). In 1860, Mr. Drew began the first of several terms as a Clifton town councillor. Dr. John Ferguson was the second owner of Glenview and a Conservative MP for Niagara Falls from 1882 to 1891 after which time he was appointed as senator. Described as "wealthy, well-travelled, suave and generous", Dr. Ferguson "entertained lavishly, holding dress balls and garden parties." Dr. Ferguson died around 1893 and Glenview was purchased by Robert P. Slater, a wealthy businessman and mayor of Niagara Falls from 1899 to 1901. Mr. Slater divided the Glenview estate into lots with the streets we know today and was key in bringing industry and hydro-electric development to the City of Niagara Falls. Glenview stayed in the Slater family until 1965 and was divided into apartments sometime in the mid 1950s. The house is currently painted pink, thus it's nickname the Pink Palace. It is rumoured two murders took place just outside of the mansion, the first in the late 1800s and the second in the early 1900s. The first story centres around a thief who tried to sell the home (which he didn't own) to a recent immigrant. Details of this story are sketchy but it ultimately ended in the murder. The second story concerns the murder of a man and woman who had attended a party at Glenview and were waiting in the driveway for their horse-drawn carriage when they were attacked and killed.
  		Robert P. Slater's home in Niagara Falls in 1947 image: Niagara Fall Public Library
  Residence	44 Wellington St., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada
  		44 Wellington St., Cambridge, Ontario Google image
  Residence	1891	Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3]
  	Anglican
  Eby ID Number	Waterloo-101692
  Died	Yes, date unknown
  Buried	Fairview Cem., Niagara Falls, Welland Co., Ontario
  Person ID	I101692	Generations
  Last Modified	25 Apr 2024

  
  

  Family	Mary L. Lutz,   b. 10 Dec 1835, Stoney Creek, Wentworth Co., Ontario ,   d. 23 Jul 1919, Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States  (Age 83 years)
  Children	1. Robert Dyson Slater,   b. Oct 1870, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 22 Dec 1890  (Age ~ 20 years)   2. Maude May Slater,   b. 31 May 1872, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   3. Frederick William Slater,   b. 14 Jun 1877, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 31 Jul 1897, Lake Erie, , Ontario, Canada  (Age 20 years)
  Last Modified	26 Apr 2024
  Family ID	F26127	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos		Robert P. Slater Mayor of Niagara Falls, image from Niagara Public Library
  		Robert P. Slater image from Niagara Public Library

  
  

• Notes

  ROBERT P. SLATER Robert P. Slater, prominent in public life in Niagara Falls,, where he is now serving as mayor, was born on the Niagara River above Chippewa, on the 7th of April, 1846. His father, Jonathan Slater, came from Lancashire, England, to Canada in 1832 and was employed as bookkeeper by the Chippewa Distillery Company for twenty-five years, retiring from the position he resided at the Slater homestead, living to the venerable age of eighty-two years. His wife was born at Chippewa Creek, her parents being United Empire Loyalists who came to Canada after the War of 1876. Robert P. Slater pursued his education in the Chippewa public schools and in a private school at Lundy's Lane. It was his desire and purpose to study law and to this end he was sent to Hamilton, where he was articled to Burton & Bruce, barristers. Soon, however, he abandoned the idea and turned his attention to the malting business in Galt, where he built a malt house and carried on business for nine years. He next went to Joliet, Illinois, where he established an oatmeal mill, but after operating that plant for two years he sold the mill and erected a malt house at Niagara Falls, New York. He met with a fair measure of success in the business there for fourteen years, until the malt house was destroyed by fire, when he purchased a large block of real estate at Niagara Falls, Ontario, where he has remained for thirteen years, during which period he has negotiated many important realty transfers and has taken great interest in the commercial advancement of Niagara Falls, Canada, being president of the Niagara Falls Building & Saving Loan Society for the last twelve years, president of the Niagara Falls Machine & Foundry Company, president of the Canadian Heating & Supply Company and president of Ford Automatic Fire Shutter Co. Mr. Slater was married to Miss Mary L. Lutz, a daughter of the late Henry Lutz of Hamilton, and they have one daughter, Maud May, who is the wife of D. S. Merwin and resides in Pasadena, California. Mr. and Mrs. Slater are communicants of the English Church, and in politics he is a Conservative and is vice-president of the Conservative Association of the county of Welland. He took a prominent part in the provincial election, which resulted in the annulling the one hundred year power monopoly that was held by the Canadian Niagara Power Company. In community affairs he has been active and influential and his prominence in his adopted city is indicated by the fact that in 1898, 1899, 1900 and again in 1906-1907 he was appointed mayor of Niagara Falls, in which position he is now serving. The consensus of public opinion concerning his administration was altogether favorable, for he stood for needed reform and improvement, for an economical expenditure of public funds and yet staunchly supported measures of progress, the value of which time has proven. A History of Ontario: its resources and development ______________________ One of Niagara Falls' most dedicated citizens and public servants was Robert Peter Slater. His life and career deserve to be remembered. Robert Slater's grandfather, also named Robert, was the first of the family to come to Canada. A British surgeon whose health had failed, he immigrated to this country in 1832 with his wife and eight-year-old son, Jonathan. The family settled in Drummondville, the early community centred around the Lundy's Lane, Main and Ferry intersection of present-day Niagara Falls. ...He went to school in Chippawa and then attended what is now Stamford Collegiate. While still a teenager, he got a job measuring the wood that was used for fuel at the Chippawa Distillery. Slater left Chippawa in 1866 and moved to Hamilton, where he studied law for three years. He never practised in that profession, however, but instead went into the grain and malting business in Galt, Ont. Similar ventures followed in Joliet, Illinois and Niagara Falls, N.Y. In early 1893, he returned to the Niagara Peninsula and purchased a 34-hectare estate known as Glenview that fronted on River Road at the north end of Niagara Falls. The focal point of the estate was a mansion that had been built about 1865 by local contractor John Drew. This grand old Victorian home still stands on a hill overlooking Terrace Avenue. ...Slater quickly realized free development of electric power on the Canadian side of the Niagara River was essential to Niagara Falls' progress. However, at the time, this was not possible since in 1892 what is now The Niagara Parks Commission had signed, with the provincial government's approval, a franchise agreement with the American-owned Canadian Niagara Power Company. The agreement granted the company exclusive rights for 20 years (with renewal options available for up to 100 years) to use Niagara River water from within the boundaries of Queen Victoria Park to generate electricity. Over the next several years, public sentiment became decidedly unfavourable toward the monopoly clause in the franchise. Slater, who was an eloquent and outspoken critic of the monopoly, became the local leader of those dedicated to having the objectionable clause cancelled. His hard work bore fruit. In early 1899, an act was passed by the Ontario Legislature that gave The Parks Commission authority to renegotiate the Canadian Niagara Power Company's franchise, whereby the monopoly clause would be removed. Now other companies, including those with Canadian backing, could develop power at Niagara Falls. Robert Slater became something of a hero. ....R.P., as he was popularly called, was a speaker of considerable ability, a talent he often used to help worthwhile causes. As an example, when a patriotic fund was being raised during the Boer War, his stirring speeches were of great help. Slater's hard work on behalf of his community resulted in his being elected mayor of Niagara Falls in 1899, 1900, 1901, 1906, 1907 and 1909. Slater helped Silvertown get its start - Niagara Falls Review 4 Aug 2007 Sherman Savitz author

  
  

• Sources

  [S336] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1881, Galt Division 1 Page 80. [S570] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1871, Div. 1, Pg. 32. [S1800] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1891, Section 2 Page 55.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 27 Apr 1846 - Chippewa, Welland Co., Ontario, Canda Historic Building - - 44 Wellington St., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Bookkeeper - 1871 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - W. Methodist - 1871 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Mallster - 1881 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Maltster - 1891 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - - Niagara Falls, Welland Co., Ontario, Canada Residence - - 44 Wellington St., Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Anglican - 1891 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Fairview Cem., Niagara Falls, Welland Co., Ontario  = Link to Google Earth