William A. Slater
William A. Slater | |
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| Born | William Albert Slater (1857-12-25)December 25, 1857 |
| Died | February 25, 1919(1919-02-25) (aged 61) |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | Ellen Burdett Peck (m. 1885) |
| Children | 2 |
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William Albert Slater (1857–1919), was an American businessman, art collector, and philanthropist from Connecticut who was a member of the prominent Slater family.
Early life
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Slater was born in Norwich, Connecticut, on December 25, 1857. He was the son of John Fox Slater and grandson of John Slater (Samuel Slater's brother and partner).[1]
He was educated at Norwich Free Academy,[2] then studied abroad, and later graduated from Harvard College in 1881. He studied art history under Charles Eliot Norton, and after graduating, Slater went on to acquire a notable art collection, including works by Rembrandt, and eventually began lending his paintings to the Slater Museum.[3]
Career
Slater worked in the family's textile business, the Slatersville Mills and Jewett City Mills.
He also served as a trustee of the Slater Fund. In 1886, Slater presented the Slater Memorial Museum to Norwich Free Academy in memory of his father.[2] He also constructed Norwich's "Broadway Theater" and sponsored various shows there.
Personal life
On June 11, 1885, Slater married Ellen Burdett Peck (1858–1941), a daughter of Frederic Mathew Peck and Ellen Louise (née Young) Peck.[1] Together, they were the parents of two children:
- Eleanor Halsey Slater (1888–1928), who married Baron Boris de Struve, an attaché of the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C. and son of Baron Karl de Struve, in 1909.[4] After his death in 1912, she married A. Halsey Malone in 1914.[5]
- William Albert Slater, Jr. (1890–1962), who married Madeleine Allen of New York. They divorced in 1920,[6] and he married Frances Worthington Ames, a daughter of architect Worthington Ames of Ames & Dodge, in 1929.
In 1894, the Slaters and their two young children, William and Eleanor, travelled around the world in their 232-foot yacht, the Eleanor, named after their daughter.[3] It had been constructed at Bath Iron Works in 1893–1894.[3] Slater had an office in Boston, Massachusetts, and was a member of the Somerset Club and Tavern Club.[7] In 1900 Slater sold the village of Slatersville, Rhode Island and the mill within it to James Hooper.[8]
Slater died in Washington, D.C., on February 25, 1919.[9] He was survived by his wife Ellen and two children.[10] After his death, Slater's family sold the remaining Jewett City Mills.[8]
See also
References
- ^ abThe National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. XVIII. James T. White & Company. 1922. p. 220. Retrieved December 29, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ^ abMason, Marsha Levinson (March 20, 2021). "Trip to Norwich is a day of art, history". The Journal Inquirer. Manchester, Connecticut. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
- ^ abc"The Slaters Go Round the World"
- ^"AMERICAN WEDS RUSSIAN; Miss Eleanor Slater the Bride of Boris de Struve in Paris". The New York Times. November 28, 1909. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^"BARONESS DE STRUVE WEDS; Widow of Russian Diplomat Marries A.H. Malone in Cathedral". The New York Times. May 29, 1914. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^"Mrs. Wm. A. Slater, Jr., in Reno". The New York Times. March 23, 1920. p. 9. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
- ^America's Textile Reporter: For the Combined Textile Industries, Volume 33, March 13, 1919, p. (69)909
- ^ abLandscape of Industry: An Industrial History of the Blackstone Valley by Worcester Historical Museum, pp. 56-57
- ^"William A. Slater, Once Boston Clubman, Dead". The Boston Globe. Washington. February 26, 1919. p. 2. Retrieved December 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^"Slater, William Albert, 1857-1919 | Archives Directory for the History of Collecting". research.frick.org. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
External links
