Henry Pellatt
Encyclopedia
Major-General Sir Henry Mill Pellatt, C.V.O.
(January 6, 1859, Kingston, Ontario
, Canada
– March 8, 1939) was a well-known Canadian financier and soldier.
He is perhaps best known for his role in bringing hydro-electricity to Toronto, Ontario for the first time, and also for his famous château
, called Casa Loma
, in Toronto, which was the largest private residence ever constructed in Canada. Casa Loma would eventually become a famous landmark of the city. His summer home and farm in King City
later became Mary Lake Augustinian Monastery
.
Sir Henry was also a noted supporter of the Boy Scouts of Canada. His wife Lady Mary Pellatt
was the first Chief Commissioner of the Girl Guides of Canada
.
before leaving in 1876 to join his father's stock brokerage company, Pellatt and Osler, as a clerk. In 1882, Osler and Pellatt parted ways, and Henry Jr. completed his apprenticeship and became a full member of the stock exchange
. In the following year, Henry Pellatt Sr. set up a partnership with his son under the name Pellatt and Pellatt.
Pellatt enlisted as a Rifleman
with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
on November 2, 1876. In 1882 he married Mary Dodgson, who later became Lady Pellatt when he was knighted in 1905 for his service with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.
Much of Pellatt's fortune was made through investments in the hydro electricity and railway industries in Canada. The strain of maintaining his large castle led him to ill-advised real estate investments which were unsuccessful. The Province expropriated his electrical power generating business, and his aircraft manufacturing business was later taken over as part of the war effort during World War I
. Combined, these difficulties led to his near bankruptcy and forced him and Lady Pellatt to leave Casa Loma. Sir Henry Pellatt, virtually penniless, spent his final days at his chauffeur's home in the Toronto suburb of Mimico
where he died.
Pellatt was promoted to the rank of Major-General upon his retirement from The Queen's Own Rifles regiment and made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
(CVO) in 1910. When he died on March 8, 1939, thousands lined Toronto streets to witness his funeral procession. He was buried with full military honours.
He had three sisters and two brothers, Fred Pellatt (grandfather of Toronto
freelance writer John Pellatt) and Mill Pellatt (father of Mary Katherine Pellatt). The latter brother was paymaster of the Toronto Electric Light Company
, a job obtained by Sir Henry. His sisters were Mary Kate, Marian Maria and Emily Mountford Pellatt. One of his nieces, Beatrix Hamilton, was married to Canadian economist and humourist Stephen Leacock
.
Pellatt built Bailey House at the bend in Lake Shore near Fleeceline overlooking the commercial stretch on Lake Shore, in Mimico
. He moved in with his chauffeur, and it was in that house Pellatt died in 1939. He is buried at Forest Lawn Mausoleum in Toronto.
His life has been featured in the film The Pellatt Newsreel which aired on the Biography Channel and was nominated for a 2009 Gemini for Best Biography Documentary.
Several biographies have been written about Pellatt. In particular, Carlie Oreskovich's The King of Casa Loma gives a detailed and thorough account.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(January 6, 1859, Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
– March 8, 1939) was a well-known Canadian financier and soldier.
He is perhaps best known for his role in bringing hydro-electricity to Toronto, Ontario for the first time, and also for his famous château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
, called Casa Loma
Casa Loma
Casa Loma is a Gothic Revival style house in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a museum and landmark. It was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Casa Loma was constructed over a three-year period from 1911–1914. The architect of the mansion was E. J...
, in Toronto, which was the largest private residence ever constructed in Canada. Casa Loma would eventually become a famous landmark of the city. His summer home and farm in King City
King City, Ontario
King City is an affluent, unincorporated village in King Township, Ontario, Canada, located just north of Toronto. It is the largest community in King Township, with 1,629 dwellings and a population of 4,902.-History:...
later became Mary Lake Augustinian Monastery
Mary Lake Augustinian Monastery
The Mary Lake Augustinian Monastery, also known as Mary Lake Monastery, Mary Lake Shrine, or simply Mary Lake is an Augustinian monastery in King City, Ontario, Canada. The campus is nearly , residing on Keele Street, just north of 15th Sideroad . It is part of the Province of Saint Joseph...
.
Sir Henry was also a noted supporter of the Boy Scouts of Canada. His wife Lady Mary Pellatt
Mary Pellatt
Mary, Lady Pellatt was the first Chief Commissioner of the Girl Guides of Canada. She was awarded the Silver Fish.Mary Dodgson was born on 1857-04-16 in Toronto, Canada. On 1882-06-15, she married Henry Mill Pellatt, later Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. She was created Chief Commissioner of the...
was the first Chief Commissioner of the Girl Guides of Canada
Girl Guides of Canada
Girl Guides of Canada - Guides du Canada is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started in 1910 and was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1928. As of 2006, the association had 116,206 members.-History:Mary Malcolmson...
.
Early beginnings
He was educated at Upper Canada CollegeUpper Canada College
Upper Canada College , located in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is an independent elementary and secondary school for boys between Senior Kindergarten and Grade Twelve, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The secondary school segment is divided into ten houses; eight are...
before leaving in 1876 to join his father's stock brokerage company, Pellatt and Osler, as a clerk. In 1882, Osler and Pellatt parted ways, and Henry Jr. completed his apprenticeship and became a full member of the stock exchange
Stock exchange
A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
. In the following year, Henry Pellatt Sr. set up a partnership with his son under the name Pellatt and Pellatt.
Pellatt enlisted as a Rifleman
Rifleman
Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th century musketeers and streltsy, the term rifleman originated from the 18th century. It would later become the term for the archetypal common soldier.-History:...
with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada
The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada is a militia regiment within the Canadian Forces, based in Toronto, Ontario. The regiment is part of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. It is the only Primary Reserve regiment in Canada to have a parachute role. The regiment consists of the reserve...
on November 2, 1876. In 1882 he married Mary Dodgson, who later became Lady Pellatt when he was knighted in 1905 for his service with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada.
Achievements
In 1910, Sir Henry took the entire 600 man regiment (including its horses) to England for military training at his expense to mark the Regiment's 50th anniversary. The military exercises lasted from 13 August to 3 October.Much of Pellatt's fortune was made through investments in the hydro electricity and railway industries in Canada. The strain of maintaining his large castle led him to ill-advised real estate investments which were unsuccessful. The Province expropriated his electrical power generating business, and his aircraft manufacturing business was later taken over as part of the war effort during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Combined, these difficulties led to his near bankruptcy and forced him and Lady Pellatt to leave Casa Loma. Sir Henry Pellatt, virtually penniless, spent his final days at his chauffeur's home in the Toronto suburb of Mimico
Mimico
The historic Town of Mimico is a neighbourhood in the south-western part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-east corner of the former Township of Etobicoke, and was an independent municipality from 1911 to 1967....
where he died.
Pellatt was promoted to the rank of Major-General upon his retirement from The Queen's Own Rifles regiment and made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
(CVO) in 1910. When he died on March 8, 1939, thousands lined Toronto streets to witness his funeral procession. He was buried with full military honours.
Personal
He was born in Kingston, Ontario, the son of Capt. Mill Pellatt, a Glasgow-born Stockbroker in Toronto and Emma Mary (née Holland) Pellatt and was thus descended from the famous glassmaker Apsley Pellatt (1763–1826). He married twice; firstly Mary Dodgson in Toronto in 1882 and secondly Catharine Welland Merritt in Toronto in 1927. He had one son by his first wife, Reginald, born in 1885.He had three sisters and two brothers, Fred Pellatt (grandfather of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
freelance writer John Pellatt) and Mill Pellatt (father of Mary Katherine Pellatt). The latter brother was paymaster of the Toronto Electric Light Company
Toronto Electric Light Company
The Toronto Electric Light Company was an early electricity supplier in Toronto, founded and presided over by John Joseph Wright and owned by Sir Henry Pellatt.Founded in 1882, TELC opened a steam driven power plant at Scott Street and The Esplande...
, a job obtained by Sir Henry. His sisters were Mary Kate, Marian Maria and Emily Mountford Pellatt. One of his nieces, Beatrix Hamilton, was married to Canadian economist and humourist Stephen Leacock
Stephen Leacock
Stephen Butler Leacock, FRSC was an English-born Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist...
.
Pellatt built Bailey House at the bend in Lake Shore near Fleeceline overlooking the commercial stretch on Lake Shore, in Mimico
Mimico
The historic Town of Mimico is a neighbourhood in the south-western part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-east corner of the former Township of Etobicoke, and was an independent municipality from 1911 to 1967....
. He moved in with his chauffeur, and it was in that house Pellatt died in 1939. He is buried at Forest Lawn Mausoleum in Toronto.
His life has been featured in the film The Pellatt Newsreel which aired on the Biography Channel and was nominated for a 2009 Gemini for Best Biography Documentary.
Several biographies have been written about Pellatt. In particular, Carlie Oreskovich's The King of Casa Loma gives a detailed and thorough account.
See also
- Adam BeckAdam BeckSir Adam Beck was a politician and hydroelectricity advocate who founded the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario.-Biography:...
- Casa LomaCasa LomaCasa Loma is a Gothic Revival style house in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a museum and landmark. It was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Casa Loma was constructed over a three-year period from 1911–1914. The architect of the mansion was E. J...
- Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-PowellRobert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-PowellRobert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, Bt, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB , also known as B-P or Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, and founder of the Scout Movement....
Further reading
- Flint, David. Sir Henry Pellatt: the King of Casa Loma (book review), Canadian Historical Review, December 1983, pp. 573(2). Gale Document Number:A3033604. Retrieved 25 Sept. 2009.
- Ford, Tom. "Canada's water power", Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, MB, April 28, 2008, pg.13, ISSN 0828-1785, Accession Number: 7BS7BS1111185262. Retrieved 25 Sept. 2009.
- Freeman, Bill and Pietropaolo, Vincenzo. Toronto's Fairy-Tale Castle and Its Owner, Sir Henry Pellatt, James Lorimer, 1999, ISBN 1550285955, ISBN 9781550285956.
- Globe & Mail. "Fight Will Centre on M'naught Bill: Measure Gives Great Scope To Hydro-Electric Commission: Sir Henry Pellatt Asks That Legislative Inquiry Be Started", The Globe & Mail, Toronto, March 13, 1911, pp. 1,9. Retrieved 25 Sept. 2009.
- Oreskovich, Carlie with forward by Sinclair, GordonGordon SinclairAllan Gordon Sinclair, OC, FRGS was a Canadian journalist, writer and commentator.-Early life:Sinclair was born in the Cabbagetown neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. In 1916, before finishing his first year of high school, Sinclair dropped out to take a job with the Bank of Nova Scotia...
. Sir Henry Pellatt, the King of Casa Loma, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Toronto, 1982, ISBN 0075484560, ISBN 978-0075484561. - Report on Business Magazine. 75 years ago: Auction of Contents of Henry Pellatt's Casa Loma. Report on Business Magazine, Toronto, July 1999: pg.234. Gale Document Number: A30527643. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
- Time Magazine. Canada: Stable Sonics, Time Magazine, October 28, 1946. An interesting account of the 4,800 ASDIC sonar devices secretly manufactured at Casa LomaCasa LomaCasa Loma is a Gothic Revival style house in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a museum and landmark. It was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Casa Loma was constructed over a three-year period from 1911–1914. The architect of the mansion was E. J...
during WWII. Retrieved 25 Sept. 2009.