Henry Mill Pellatt CVO (1859 - 1939)

Born 6 Jan 1859 in Kingston, Canada West

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Dodgson) Pellatt — married 15 Jun 1882 (to 1924) in Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada

Husband of Catherine Welland (Merritt) Pellatt — married 12 Mar 1927 in St Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada

Died 8 Mar 1939 at age 80 in Mimico, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

Henry Pellatt CVO is/was a significant Ontarian .

Henry Pellatt CVO is Notable.

Sir Henry Mill Pellatt was a Canadian financier, best known for building Casa Loma, a Toronto landmark.

Born in 1859 in Kingston, Canada West (Ontario),^[1] he was the son of Henry Pellatt and Emma Holland.^[2] He grew up in Toronto with three sisters and two brothers. In 1876 he enlisted as a rifleman with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and eventually became its Commanding Officer.^[3][4]

Henry joined his father's brokerage firm and when his father's partner left, he took his place. In 1882 he married Mary Dodgson.^[5] Their son, Reginald, was born in 1885.^[6] After Mary's death in 1924, he married Catharine Welland Merritt in 1927.^[7]

When his father retired in 1892, Henry took control of Pellatt and Pellatt. By this time he had become a wealthy man by shrewd investments in the Canada North-West Land Company and the Toronto Electric Light Company (TEL). In 1895 he became president of TEL. He invested in property and art, became involved in the life insurance industry, and was a well-known philanthropist. Between 1907 and 1913 he held more than 21 directorships, in addition to his involvement in the Electrical Development Company of Canada (EDC) and the Cobalt Lake Mining Company. In 1913 the Pellatts moved into their mansion, Casa Loma, designed by E.J. Lennox. “I intended it for a spectacle,” he confessed to a journalist.

Millions spent on Casa Loma, bad business decisions, and mounting debt brought about the financial ruin of Henry Pellatt in the 1930s. His final residence was a room in his former chauffeur's house in Mimico.^[8]

He died in 1939 and was buried at Forest Lawn Mausoleum, Toronto.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ "Ontario Census, 1861," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQ7B-2TR : 5 September 2017), Henry Pellatt, Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; citing p. 111, line 5; Library and Archives Canada film number C-1103-1104, Public Archives, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,435,836.
2. ↑ "Canada Census, 1881," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVFS-VR4 : accessed 11 December 2015), Henry M. Pellatt in household of Henry Pellatt, St-Thomas Ward, Toronto (City), Ontario, Canada; citing p. 14; Library and Archives Canada film number C-13246, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; FHL microfilm 1,375,882.
3. ↑ Wikipedia:Henry_Pellatt
4. ↑ Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archives
5. ↑ "Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FMJF-326 : 11 March 2018), Henry Mill Pellatt and Mary Dodgson, 15 Jun 1882; citing registration , Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,869,761.
6. ↑ "Ontario Births, 1869-1912," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNG3-9FT : 9 August 2017), Henry Mill Pellatt in entry for Reginald Pellatt, 30 Jun 1885; citing Birth, Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada, citing Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,845,877.
7. ↑ "Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKMR-K86B : 15 March 2018), Henry Mill Pellatt and Catherine Welland Merritt, 09 Mar 1927; citing registration , Toronto, York, Ontario, Canada, Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,435,219.
8. ↑ David Roberts, “PELLATT, Sir HENRY MILL,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 16, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed June 14, 2019, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/pellatt_henry_mill_16E.html.
9. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 June 2019), memorial page for Sir Henry Mill Pellatt (6 Jan 1859–8 Mar 1939), Find A Grave Memorial no. 10487, citing Forest Lawn Mausoleum, Toronto, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada ; Maintained by Find A Grave .

See also:

• Canadian Encyclopedia entry