Dr. Augustus A. Soper^[1]

1853 - 1928  (75 years)

• 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/
  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	7 Nov 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)
  Last Modified	12 Nov 2024
  Family ID	F31954	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Dr. Augustus A. Soper frazho originally shared this to Ancestry Public Member Trees

  
  

• 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 ______________ SOPER, AUGUSTUS The Galt Reporter May 28, 1880 commenting on final examinations at Toronto, said "Dr. Soper of Preston also passed successfully and has received his licence. In the same issue was an account of a patient treated by him. There is no other mention of his practice in this area, but his retirement was spent in Galt, and he was a benefactor of some note. His obituary is in the Galt Evening Reporter of November 16, 1928. 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. Dr. Alexander D. Campbell, Doctors in Waterloo County 1852-1925, 1986

  
  

• 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.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 30 Apr 1853 - Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp., Oxford Co., Ontario, Canada Honoured - Soper Park named in his honour - - Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England Occupation - Medical Student - 1873 - Tillsonburg, Dereham Twp., Oxford Co., Ontario, Canada Married - 10 Mar 1873 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Occupation - Physician - Doctor - Dr. - 1881 - Preston (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - 1902 - Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA Occupation - Doctor, Medicine - 1911 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Methodist - 1911 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 16 Nov 1928 - Galt (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - - Mount View Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth