Otis Slater was a grandson of my third great grandfather William T. Slater.* It was this obituary that led to me do some further research.**
[30 Mar 1936, Page 2 - The Decatur Daily Review at Newspapers.com]
In earlier days Otis was well known as a breeder of horses, mules and hunting dogs. I wonder if he's the person posed with the huge Percheron stallion in this 1910 front page newspaper spread?
Here's an excerpt from the above newspaper:
[12 Jun 1910, Page 1 - The Decatur Herald at Newspapers.com]
This notice of a public sale a year later gives a good idea of the size of his enterprise.
[15 Feb 1911, Page 11 - The Daily Review at Newspapers.com]
The caption to this 1913 picture of Mueller Company employees informs us that the coon dogs belonged to Otis Slater who "does a great deal of hunting and keeps the dogs for his own use, seldom loaning them to any one else."
[5 Oct 1913, Page 3 - The Decatur Herald at Newspapers.com]
However by 1917 he and his sons were proudly advertising his dogs in national publications like Country Life, Forest & Stream and Harper's Bazaar:
[The New Country Life: 1917, Volume 32. Google Books]
[Country Life, Volume 37, 1920. Google Books]
*Here's how we're related:
[Ancestry.com]
**While I found numerous newspaper articles that referred to him as Colonel there's no evidence that he ever saw military service.
© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.
Excellent posting about Otis Slater.
ReplyDeleteHow did you connect William T to James?
Hi! Thank you for your question!
DeleteThe connection to James originally came from his biography in "Portrait and Biographical Record of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois..."; Chicago Biographical Publishing Co., 1891 (see the transcription at http://www.genealogytrails.com/ill/shelby/biosS2.html).
This connection has been strengthened more recently by the 2 DNA matches at AncestryDNA from direct descendants of Otis Slater to my mother (who originally wrote this post), as well as 9 other matches from some of James Slater's other children (Horatio Slater, Sydney Slater, and Alta Matilda Slater).
Is your Mother related to Alta Matilda, (1868–1942),Otis' sister?
DeleteHere's what little bit I know:
Horatio and Sidney are children of James and 1st wife Ann Morrell
Otis and Alta are children of James and 2nd wife Ava Jane Turner Ishmael (her 1st husband)
Otis Slater & Catherine Morrell Wilmer Slater had 8 children, oldest of whom was Cecil Wilmer, my Mother's Father.
Do I have this correct? William T (1790-1847) is father of 11 children: James Slater (father of Otis); George W. Slater (1832 – 1899); William Tiller Slater (father of William V Slater and George W Slater (1851 – 1914); and 8 more. I don't know the birth order, nor the names of the other children.