b. 1832 d. 1905
Married - Elizabeth Wenzel, Elizabeth Lippert Lutz
Jacob S Roos was the son of John R. Roos, an early settler in Preston. The Roos family originated in Alsace and emigrated to America, staying for a time in Buffalo New York. One of the sons, Jacob, remained there to establish the Iroquois Brewery but the rest came to Canada and to Preston. Jacob S. was apprenticed as a shoe maker to his uncle Charles Roos who later moved to Galt. About 1861 Jacob S. Roos decided to move to the village of Waterloo where he purchased a home on King St N (now #___) and used part of the building as a shoemaking and shoe repair shop. This early store was called the Penitentiary Boot and Shoe Store. Later, in the early 1880s he built a large retail store and shop on King St N (now # ____ now next to the CIBC Bank). He had besides, sales clerks, a number of workers who made and repaired shoes in the back. Unfortunately in 1888 the building burned down but was soon replaced along with two other stores that had been lost in the fire. The four units are almost identical except for modern storefront remodelling. His son Charles and daughters Mary and Annie worked in the retail section and when their father died in 1905 they carried on in the store for some time.
Sources:
1. Obituary, Waterloo Chronicle, May 25, 1905.
2. Sutherland Gazeteer, 1867 1877
Jacob S. Roos Biography
Description
- Creator
- Little, Ellis, Author
- Media Type
- Text
- Item Type
- Articles
- Description
- This is a handwritten biography of Jacob S. Roos 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
- Please scroll to the bottom of the page to see the transcribed text. 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
- 1832-1905
- Subject(s)
- Personal Name(s)
- Roos, Jacob ; Hensel, Elizabeth ; Wenzel, Elizabeth ; Lippert, Elizabeth ; Roos, Charles ; Roos, Mary ; Roos, Annie
- Corporate Name(s)
- Penitentiary Boot and Shoe Store ; Iroquois Brewery
- Local identifier
- ELP 51.169
- 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
