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Ferdinand Walter

Born:1830, Mar 18
Died: 1920, Nov 26
Municipality: Wellesley; 6th Division
Years on local council: 1863-65 Councillor, 1866-68 Deputy Reeve, 1869-1905 Reeve
Years on County Council; 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 Warden 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 Warden 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 Warden 1902 1903 1904 1905
Address: Bamberg to 1905; King Street, Berlin (from 1905)
Occupation; General merchant, postmaster and farmer; also innkeeper in 1861 (Tremaine)
Origin: Seekat, Baden, Germany
Migration date: 1849 left Germany; c1852 to St Agatha
Spouse: Agatha Dietrich
Children: Robert; John (Jack); Charles, Alexander; Mrs Ross Hummel; Mrs Anthony Starr; Mrs Jacob Matini; Mrs John Gies
Landholdings: 160 acres in lot 7, conc 4 E;
owned and operated 3 farms near Bamberg (obituary)
Politics: Conservative
Religion: Roman Catholic
Notes:
  • 1849 - left Germany and lived in Buffalo, NY. "His artistic bent of mind was utilized by those who were engaged with the interior decorations of St Mary’s Church, Buffalo, the difficult work of lettering over the chancel having drawn his attention. His advice was followed and he was engaged immediately" obituary Kitchener Daily Record. When first came to Buffalo was engaged in gardening for a few weeks and later at Silver Creek as a laborer on the Erie Railroad (obituary CT)
  • c1852 - passed his examination as a teacher at Guelph, and taught at St Agatha in winter, and worked as a carpenter in summer
  • 1854 - built a store and dwelling in Bamberg where he stayed for 36 years and "proved himself one of the county’s most successful businessmen" (obituary in Kitchener Daily Record). "For over thirty years his store in Bamberg was the center of activity for the farming community"
  • 1857-95 - postmaster of Bamberg. Suggested the village be named Bamberg, originally called Weimar (WHS1927 15:355)
  • 1868 - awarded $50 for arresting horse thieves (WHS1989 77:6)
  • 1873 - Conservative candidate in federal election, defeated by I.E. Bowman though Walter put up a "grand fight" (obituary Kitchener Daily Record)
  • 1885 - chaired the first Wellesley Township Local Board of Health (WHS1985 73:108)
  • 1901 - editorial in Berlin News Record 25/1/1901 entitled "Newspapers and the county" begins: 'Warden Walter is a level-headed man, and his speeches - long or short - are always meaty. His remarks on the good service being done for the county by its daily papers was timely" and goes on to say "Generally speaking, the newspapers of the county have neglected the County Council and its doings. The reason is not far to seek. The Council has gone to purely job offices for printing, cutting the papers off without a shilling."
  • 1905 - retired from politics and was appointed Licensing Inspector for N Waterloo. Moved to Berlin.
  • c1916 - retired
  • While member of the council moved to erect a House of Refuge, opting for a larger site of 100 acres, not 40. Also cast the deciding vote to have a high school, though was initially opposed. Also, "through his efforts" Galt had a hospital built (obituary Kitchener Daily Record)
Businesses and Organizations: 
  • St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Kitchener
Sources: WHS1927 15:355; WHS1985 73:108; WHS89 77:6; Maple Leaf Journal; obit KDR 27/11/1920 pi,2; obit CT 2/12/1920 p6 
Photo: Berlin Today 1906, as council member of Berlin Board of Trade

This information is excerpted from: "Waterloo County Councillors: A Collective Biography," researched and complied by Elizabeth Bloomfield and Linda Foster. (c) 1995 Caribou Imprints. It is reproduced by permission of Dr. Bloomfield.    ​The full text of the book can be seen here. ​