Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.
William Henry Breithaupt

William Henry Breithaupt

Male 1857 - 1944  (87 years)

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  • Name William Henry Breithaupt 
    Born 25 Jan 1857  Buffalo, Erie, New York, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5
    Gender Male 
    FindAGrave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/154309221 
    Immigration 1861  , Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Immigration 1862  , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Residence 1871  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Evang. Assoc. 
    Naturalization 1872  , Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Occupation 1881  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Student 
    Residence 1881  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Evangelist 
    Residence 1891  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Civil Engineer 
    Residence 1891  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [5
    Methodist 
    Occupation 1906  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [6
    Berlin & Waterloo Street Rail co. - President 
    Occupation 1911  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Engineer (Civil) 
    Residence 1911  64 Margaret Avenue, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    66 Margaret Ave, Kitchener, Ontario
    66 Margaret Ave, Kitchener, Ontario
    Home of William Henry Breithaupt - image from Waterloo Historical Society
    Residence 1911  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Presbyterian 
    Occupation 1921  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Engineer, Civil 
    Residence 1921  64 Margaret Ave., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    • KITCHENER - A downtown developer has plans to build a 112-unit apartment complex on vacant land that was once the site of W.H. Breithaupt's mansion.

      Vive Development Corp. is proposing to build a six-storey, 94-unit apartment building on land fronting Victoria Street North, and a 2 ½-storey 18-unit building on the site of the former mansion at 64 Margaret Ave.

      The smaller building along Margaret Avenue would be built in a style reminiscent of the mansion that once stood there, said Vanessa Hicks, a heritage planner hired by Vive. The stucco and limestone building would be designed to look like a large home from the street and would have a roofline and tall, eight-paned windows reminiscent of those on the original Breithaupt mansion, which was demolished in 2003.

      Hicks is also recommending the developer put up a plaque explaining the history of the site and the reasons the building is built in that architectural style.

      "Someone walking by might easily recognize that building as an interpretation of what the original house would have looked like," she said in a presentation this week to Kitchener's heritage committee.

      The larger building on Victoria is a more modern design. Four homes, from 217 to 229 Victoria St. N., will be demolished to make way for the six-storey building.....

      Apartments planned for former Breithaupt mansion site in Kitchener. (2017). Therecord.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017, from https://www.therecord.com/news-story/7228229-apartments-planned-for-former-breithaupt-mansion-site-in-kitchener/
    Residence 1921  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [4
    Zion Evangelical 
    Died 26 Jan 1944  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Hall of Fame - Waterloo Region Bef 2012  , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [7
    Interesting life, engineer, history, business, railway 
    Interesting story, railway, business, honoured 
    Name W. H. Breithaupt 
    Residence 166 Adam Street, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Eby ID Number Waterloo-138754 
    Buried Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I138754  Generations
    Last Modified 26 Nov 2023 

    Father Mayor Philip Ludwig "Louis" Breithaupt,   b. 8 Nov 1827, Allendorf, Kurhessen, Germany Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 3 Jul 1880, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 52 years) 
    Mother Catharine Hailer,   b. 16 Aug 1834, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Jul 1910, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 75 years) 
    Married 8 Feb 1853  Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [8, 9
    Family ID F13816  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Martha Cunningham Murphy,   b. 24 Jul 1865, , Quebec, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1950, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 84 years) 
    Children 
     1. Philip William Breithaupt,   b. Dec 1898, , USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     2. Margaret C. Breithaupt,   b. Oct 1901, , Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
     3. Martha Elizabeth Breithaupt,   b. Apr 1906, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown
    Last Modified 26 Nov 2023 
    Family ID F185292  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Photos
    William Henry Breithaupt
    William Henry Breithaupt
    William Henry Breithaupt
    William Henry Breithaupt

  • Notes 
    • William Henry Breithaupt, C. E., (Berlin, Ontario,) son of Louis and Catherine (Hailer) Breithaupt, was born in Buffalo, N. Y., January 25th, 1857. Prepared at High School, Berlin, Ontario, and at North Western College, Naperville, Ill., entering the Institute in September, 1877. Took a position on construction work on the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railroad August, 1881, working mainly on West Point tunnel. Private business kept him at Berlin, Ont., during 1882. Appointed bridge inspector for Pennsylvania railroad company, January, 1883, and in October, 1883, assistant engineer in the office of C. Shaler Smith, of St. Louis. In 1886, of the firm of Breithaupt & Allen, civil engineers and specialty, iron and steel structures. Member of the Rensselaer Society of Engineers. P. O. address, Kansas City, Mo

      Biographical record of the officers and graduates of the Rensselaer polytechnic institute, 1824-1886, W.H. Young, 1887

      _______________________


      William Henry Breithaupt, an extremely accomplished civil engineer, was a builder of railway bridges on this continent and the author of many technical papers.

      Born in Buffalo in 1857 to Louis and Catherine Breithaupt (later citizens of Berlin), he took up residence here in 1900 and promoted the family interests - the Berlin and Waterloo Railway, and the Berlin Gas Works - and built a rail line to Bridgeport. First chairman of the City Planning Commission, he brought in a famous New York town planning expert for consultation. He visited the Carnegie Foundation in New York, successfully seeking funds for the Berlin Library on three occasions.

      Breithaupt served as president of the Ontario Historical Society, was first president of the Waterloo Historical Society and a founder of the Waterloo County Pioneers' Memorial Association that erected the Pioneers' Memorial Tower near Preston. The first to propose flood control, Breithaupt also pioneered Grand River Conservation.

      Waterloo Region Hall of Fame

      ____________________

      Kitchener Pioneer, W. H. Breithaupt Buried; Died in 88th Year

      KITCHENER-A pioneer of Kitchener and a recognized authority on historical matters, William H. Breithaupt, C.E., was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery here, today. Mr. Breithaupt, who was 87, died in K-W Hospital a few days after he fell on a street near his home on Margaret Ave.

      Born in Buffalo, N.Y., he was the son of the late Louis and Catherine Hailer Breithaupt. He attended Zion Evangelical Church.

      Mr. Breithaupt was very prominent in the development of Kitchener, assisting in promotion of the gas works, the electric street railway which succeeded horse-drawn cars which connected Kitchener and Waterloo and nearby Bridgeport. He was also instrumental in. establishing the Grand River Golf club, the first club of its type in this district.

      Deceased was also very active in lirecting modernization of the Kitchener public library and was named the first president of the Waterloo county historical society when it was first founded by the Berlin Library Board in 1912. He was an accepted authority on the history of Waterloo county and for wo years, served as president of the Ontario historical society.

      During his long and untiring life, Mr. Breithaupt personally made a complete survey of the Grand River on foot, walking from one end of it to the other, and one of the dreams of his life was fulfilled in 1942 when the Grand Valley Dam at Lake Belwood, near Fergus, was formally opened by the premier of Ontario.

      A member of the Engineering Institute of Canada, Mr. Breithaupt was the author of numerous technical papers, including: History of the Grand Trunk Railway and others. He was a life member of the American Institute of Consulting Engineers. Fellow of the American Geographical Society, and of Rigma (golden key) of American colleges.

      Besides his wife, Mr. Breithaupt is survived by one son, Sqdn.-Ldr. Philip William, R.A.F.. in the Middle East, and two daughters, Mrs. E. S. Sargeant and Mrs. H. G. S. Dinsmore, both of Toronto; two sisters, Mrs. Caroline Augustine. Mrs. Melvina Bauman; two brothers. John C. and Albert J. all of Kitchener.

      Five grandsons and one grand- daughter, all of Toronto, also survive.

      Waterloo Chronicle, 4 Feb 1944, p. 1

  • Sources 
    1. [S158] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1881, Div. 2 Pg. 51.

    2. [S229] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1871, Div. 1, Pg. 54.

    3. [S340] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1911, Div. 38 Page 7.

    4. [S2264] Census - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - 1921, Sub Dist. 25 Page 7.

    5. [S1592] Census - ON, Waterloo, Berlin - 1891, Section 4 Page 52.

    6. [S2481] Annual Report of the Board of Trade of the Town of Berlin, Twenty-First.

    7. [S220] Waterloo Region Hall of Fame Waterloo Region Hall of Fame.

    8. [S107] Book - The Canadian Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-Made Men, Ontario Volume, 1880.

    9. [S244] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Deutsche Canadier (1841-1865) - Index to Births, Deaths and Marriages Announced in the Deutsche Canadier, Berlin, Canada West. originally indexed by Simone Nieuwolt and Sylvie Kuppek..organised by Rosemary Ambrose.
      BREIHAUPT, Louis married 8 Feb 1853 Of Buffalo. To Catharina HAILER, Berlin. minister Uilhelm Schmitt newspaper date 10 Feb 1853 Pg: 6

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - 25 Jan 1857 - Buffalo, Erie, New York, United States Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsImmigration - 1861 - , Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsImmigration - 1862 - , Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - Evang. Assoc. - 1871 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsNaturalization - 1872 - , Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Student - 1881 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - Evangelist - 1881 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - Civil Engineer - 1891 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - Methodist - 1891 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Berlin & Waterloo Street Rail co. - President - 1906 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Engineer (Civil) - 1911 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - Presbyterian - 1911 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsOccupation - Engineer, Civil - 1921 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - 1921 - 64 Margaret Ave., Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - Zion Evangelical - 1921 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDied - 26 Jan 1944 - Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsHall of Fame - Waterloo Region - Bef 2012 - , Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsResidence - - 166 Adam Street, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBuried - - Mount Hope Cemetery, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth