Born: 1877, Died: 1933
Married: Olive Graybill
Arthur Foster was born in 1877 in Leeds, England and came with his family to Canada c 1890 and settled in Berlin. After completing his public and high school education there, he attended the Normal School to become a teacher. He obtained a teaching position in Berlin and, in 1905, was appointed principal of Courtland Ave. Public School. However, in 1912 he resigned his position as principal to accept a job with the Waterloo Mutual Fire Insurance Company. He was appointed their secretary and assistant manager in 1915 and by 1925 he had been elected to the position of Manager. He had married Olive Graybill, daughter of Levi Graybill who was a prominent business man in Waterloo. Foster was interested in local politics, having served a number of years on Waterloo Town Council and declined the Mayor’s Chair due to pressing business commitments. He was an influential member of the Board of Trade and had a deep interest in fraternal organizations, especially the Mason’s Order in both Waterloo and Berlin (later Kitchener). Arthur Foster was, as his obituary said “a public spirited citizen with a deep interest in public affairs. His unfailing courtesy and public spiritedness made him a host of friends.”
Sources:
Confederation Number Diamond Jubilee, July 1, 1927, Waterloo Chronicle, 1927.
Obituary, Waterloo Chronicle, August 3, 1933.
Berlin, Celebration of Cityhood 1912.
Waterloo Chronicle, December 6, 1923.
Welcome to Waterloo
Middleton and London, "Arthur Foster", Province of Ontario- A History 1615-1927.
Waterloo County Councillors: A Collective Biography.
The Town of Waterloo, J. P. Jaffray.
Arthur Foster Biography
Description
- Creator
- Little, Ellis, Author
- Media Type
- Text
- Item Type
- Articles
- Description
- This is a handwritten biography of Arthur Foster from the Ellis Little Papers. This biography has been transcribed exactly as written. Ellis Little was a local historian, who was the principal of Elizabeth Ziegler Public School.On his retirement, he invested much of his time in researching and writing about Waterloo's history. The Ellis Little Papers consist of extensive notes, papers and historical works.
- Notes
- To see the original document please visit the Ellis Little Local History Room at the Main Branch of the Waterloo Public Library
- Date Of Event
- 1877-1933
- Subject(s)
- Personal Name(s)
- Foster, Arthur ; Greybill, Olive
- Local identifier
- ELP 51.60 and ELP 63.43.16
- Collection
- Ellis Little Papers: Men and Women of Our Past
- Language of Item
- English
- Copyright Statement
- Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Location of Original
- Ellis Little Papers
- Contact
- Waterloo Public LibraryEmail:askus@wpl.ca
Website:
Agency street/mail address:35 Albert Street, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 5E2
- Full Text
