1853 - 1928 (75 years)
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Name |
Augustus A. Soper |
Prefix |
Dr. |
Born |
30 Apr 1853 |
Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp., Oxford Co., Ontario, Canada [1, 2, 3] |
Gender |
Male |
Honoured |
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England |
Soper Park named in his honour |
- Postwar, enter park neighbour Dr. Augustus Soper. Dissatisfied with Todd's natural-look ideas and stalled work, he contributed $10,000 and suggested draining wet areas, lining Mill Creek's banks with stone along its entire length, building rustic bridges, laying down driveways and adding amenities such as a swimming pool, midway, sports fields and a huge peony garden.
In return for Soper's ideas and money, Galt rechristened the site Soper Park in 1920 and a new boulevard through the park was named Marion Way after Soper's wife. Most of Soper's suggestions were carried out and for decades, that was the way the park appeared to its many visitors. During the 1990s, the city decided to revert to a more natural look '97 many features were removed and the creek allowed to return to a more natural state.
mills, r. (2017). Flash from the Past: Surviving photos preserve 90-year-old Galt park scenes | TheRecord.com. TheRecord.com. Retrieved 30 September 2017, from https://www.therecord.com/living-story/7580405-flash-from-the-past-surviving-photos-preserve-90-year-old-galt-park-scenes/
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Interesting |
honoured, medical, life story |
Occupation |
1873 |
Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp., Oxford Co., Ontario, Canada [1] |
Medical Student |
Occupation |
1881 |
Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [2] |
Physician - Doctor - Dr. |
Residence |
1902 |
Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA |
Occupation |
1911 |
Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [3] |
Doctor, Medicine |
Residence |
1911 |
Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [3] |
Methodist |
Eby ID Number |
Waterloo-129486 |
Died |
16 Nov 1928 |
Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada |
Buried |
Mount View Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada |
Person ID |
I129486 |
Generations |
Last Modified |
11 Jun 2024 |
Family |
Marion Elizabeth McCrum, b. Oct 1853, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada , d. 8 Sep 1925, Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada (Age ~ 71 years) |
Married |
10 Mar 1873 |
Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada [1] |
Children |
| 1. Ida May Soper, b. May 1876, Windsor, Essex Co., Ontario, Canada , d. 8 Mar 1958 (Age ~ 81 years) |
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Last Modified |
11 Jun 2024 |
Family ID |
F31954 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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Notes |
- In the passing of Dr. Augustus Soper, whose death occurred this morning at the hospital, Galt loses a citizen who exemplified to a striking degree the true spirit of public service. Possessed of considerable wealth and actuated by a desire to advance the best interests of his adopted town, he was generous in his givings to any worthy object. The greatest monument to his generosity will always be Soper Park to the development and beautifying of which he devoted a great deal of his time and money. The thousands of people who frequent this popular resort through the summer months, not only from Galt, but from the surrounding towns and cities, will always entertain for Dr. Soper a kindly and grateful remberance.
Dr. Soper was born in the township of Dereham, Oxford County on April 30, l853 and was therefore in his 75th year. His father was a farmer and was a native of Oneida County, New York, and his mother was a daughter of Cornelius Veder who lost his life in the war of 1812.
He obtained his early education in the public schools of Canada, attending the Tassie school in Galt 1871-2, after which he entered the University of Michigan where he remained one year. He later entered Trinity Medical School, Toronto.
After becoming a licentiate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in 1880, he became a licentiate of medical colleges in Philadelphia and New York. He early conceived the idea of making the treatment of chronic diseases a specialty and with this end in view he attended various hospitals in Europe to familiarize himself with the course pursued in those institutions for the treatment of such cases. His practice proved very successful and he invested largely in real estate along the Canadian side of the Detroit river, a place which he had long prophesized had great potential value. The last seven years of his professional career were spent in Pittsburg, Pa., and in Toronto, after which he retired to Galt. The doctor, while his health had not been good for the past couple of years had only been confined to the hospital for ten days.
Galt Evening Reporter, November 16, 1928
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Sources |
- [S4] Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, 012881-73.
D. Augustus Soper, 21, occ. Medical Student, b. Durham, res. Tilsonburg, son of Augustus and Charlotte married Marion McCrum, 20, b. Galt, res. Galt, daughter of Henry and Marion, witnessed by: Mrs. L. Miller and Miss Gooding both of Galt, 10 March 1873 in Galt
- [S297] Census - ON, Waterloo, Preston - 1881, Page 31.
- [S572] Census - ON, Waterloo, Galt - 1911, Div. 15 Page 39.
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Event Map |
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| Born - 30 Apr 1853 - Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp., Oxford Co., Ontario, Canada |
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| Honoured - Soper Park named in his honour - - Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England |
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| Occupation - Medical Student - 1873 - Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp., Oxford Co., Ontario, Canada |
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| Married - 10 Mar 1873 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada |
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| Occupation - Physician - Doctor - Dr. - 1881 - Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada |
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| Residence - 1902 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA |
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| Occupation - Doctor, Medicine - 1911 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada |
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| Residence - Methodist - 1911 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada |
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| Died - 16 Nov 1928 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada |
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| Buried - - Mount View Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada |
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