John & Mary Slatter's story

1861 UK Census for 55 Leman St. in Whitechapel, London

The life of hubby's great-granddad, John Slatter (1838-1901), spanned two continents. He was born in Oxfordshire, Englandon Blackfriars Road, the son of John Slatter (a cook) and Sarah Harris Shatter. He lived in London for years and somehow got to Cleveland, Ohio by 1889, where he was a wallpaper cleaner and hanger.

John Slatter had two wives, and three of his six children (John, Henry, and Albert) grew up to become celebrated military bandmasters in Canada (see listing of posts, below). One of his grandchildren (Edgar J. Wood) and one great-grandchild were also musical.

Where/when did Mary, John's first wife, die? I now have proven that Mary Shehen Slatter was in not one but two notorious insane asylums and died of tuberculosis in 1889. Why did her husband John Slatter leave Mary in the asylum, cross to America, and meet his second wife (Louisa M.), whose maiden name is still a mystery?

What happened to Mary & John's first-born son Thomas John Slatter? Originally I believed he must have died young because he was in the 1861 Census but not in the 1871 Census--WRONG! A commenter found Thomas in the 1871 Census with his grandparents, apparently, so I need to research the rest of his life.

Children of John Slatter and Mary Shehen Slatter: 

Thomas John Slatter (1860-?), Albert William Slatter (1862-1935), John Daniel Slatter (1864-1954), Henry Arthur Slatter (1866-1942), Adelaide Mary Ann Slatter (1868-1947), and Mary Slatter (1869-1925)

Here are my posts about John Slatter and his children:

• The Slatter family lived in such poverty that all 5 children were placed in a workhouse at one point--possibly because Mary Shehen Slatter was too ill to care for them. 
• Seeking Slatter descendants (summary of John Slatter's progeny)
• John Slatter's grave in Cleveland, Ohio, includes his exact birth date
• Who was Louisa A.M. Slatter? (what I know about her occupation, obit, burial)
• John Slatter died in Cleveland (in 1901, info about his obit and cemetery)
• Mary Slatter marries James Edgar Wood (John Slatter's youngest daughter marries in Toledo, Ohio in 1898) AND their marriage cert from 21 September 1898.
• John Slatter's father, was a cook at Christ Church College, Oxfordshire (according to research by Slatter genealogist in UK). And in case you want more confusion, John's father was also named John Slatter. So there.
• John Slatter's Cleveland work (Cleveland city directory shows him as paperhanger/cleaner) 
• John Slatter's Cleveland cemetery card (before I knew exactly where he was buried)
• John Slatter and Mary Shehen's marriage cert (married in Whitechapel in 1859, son Thomas John was born in 1860). John Slatter's father John, also a cook, was listed as deceased when they married on Dec. 18, 1859.
• Quick summary of John Slatter Sr's dates and children's names. 
• Saluting the Slatters on Canada Day, 2014 with photos of WWI badges from Canada.



Newspaper item promoting Capt. Slatter and the 48th Highlanders

• Ada Mary Ann Slatter marries James Sills Baker in Cleveland. 
• John Slatter, son of a cook at Christ College, Oxford. 
• Thanksgiving 1909, 5 Slatter siblings, and 24 first cousins 
• John Slatter Senior's probate pages list vacant lots 
• Wish to time-travel and ask Mary Slatter Wood a few questions about her childhood
• Mary Shehen Slatter's sad life and death (have your hanky ready)
• Writing a family memory booklet about Mary Slatter and her husband, James Edgar Wood, for sharing with heirs.
• Sample pages from the booklet about Mary Slatter and James Edgar Wood.

Posts about Captain John D. Slatter (we call him "Captain Jack," informally of course):

• Band Sergeant at age 11, in the Boys' Band of the training ship H.M. Goliath
• Three Slatter brothers, all Canadian bandmasters 
• Captain John Slatter, bandmaster (of the 48th Highlanders Regiment in Toronto) 
• The musical Slatter brothers (a bit about the bandmaster careers of John Slatter's 3 musical sons)
• Capt. Slatter's obit (he was quite a famous bandmaster, as obit explains)
• Capt. Slatter at Camp Borden in Canada (photo and info about his military uniform, identified by one of my fabulous readers) - plus this photo referenced in a 2015 book!
• Remembrance Day: Capt. John Slatter (summary of his military career)
• Captain John Slatter's collection of Canadian military badges (more and more of his badges)
• Capt. Jack Slatter and the 48th Highlanders of Toronto (book found through WorldCat) 
• Tom Clark McBride's reminiscences of musical training under Capt. John Slatter at Niagara-on-the-Lake and in Toronto during the 1940s.
• The Slatter family was evidently quite poor, which is why John, Albert, and Henry were aboard the Training Ships Goliath and Exmouth. 
• Visiting the 48th Highlanders Museum in Toronto to see Capt. Slatter's medals and memorabilia.
• Three generations of "fighting Slatters"--Capt. John D. Slatter and his two sons (Albert Matthew and Frederick William) and his grandson (John Slatter), photo from 1940. 
• Operation: Picture Me kindly located the burial place of Capt. John Slatter, his wife Sophie Le Gallais Slatter, two daughters (Bessie and Edith), and a son (Albert Matthew Slatter) and daughter-in-law (Mary Maude Hutson Slatter). 
• A Slatter bandmaster brother gave Mary Slatter Wood a special WWI handkerchief that remains in the family to this day. 
• Documenting Capt. John D. Slatter's WWI activities as I researched his portrait.





Above, Captain John Slatter leading the band in Toronto; below, at Camp Borden in WWI

Obit of Henry Arthur Slatter (name is incorrect in obit)

Posts about Mary Shehan Slatter and family:

• Mary's parents, John and Mary Shehan, were born in Ireland around 1801. By 1841, they were living in Marylebone, London.
• Mary Shehan (the younger) married John Slatter in Whitechapel in 1859. At this time, Mary's father was working as a bricklayer, according to the marriage record.
• Mary Shehen of London, a family link to Ireland (and the mystery of her oldest son, Thomas John Slatter) 
• Was Mary Shehen Slatter admitted to a lunatic asylum? More research is needed to obtain detailed records.
• Local relative will help me access records in the asylum where Mary Shehen Slatter was kept for years. This can only be done in person but it should solve the puzzle on her identity and fate.
• Proof of Mary Shehen Slatter's time in and out of asylums.

Mary Shehan's mother and father were living in Marylebone in 1851, according to the UK census. Her dad, John, was a laborer and her mother Mary was a laundress. Also in the household: Thomas, age 17, Michael, age 11, and niece Bridget Waddinger, b. in Ireland (age 6).

By 1861, John and Mary were still in the same place (20 Gray's Buildings) and only their son Michael, age 21, was living with them. In the 1871 census, John and Mary were still in Gray's Buildings in Marylebone, he a laborer and she in laundry. What became of John and Mary Shehan? What became of their grandson, Thomas John Slatter, the oldest child of Mary Shehen Slatter and John Slatter?

Early in 2017, I connected with the archivist for the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada in Vancouver, who is helping me with more background about Capt. Henry Arthur Slatter, an early bandmaster. This Slatter brother served before WWI and rejoined in 1916 to go overseas with the 11th CMR, CEF. In 1920, the Seaforth Highlanders band gave concerts to attract recruits (just as Capt. John Slatter's 48th Highlanders did in Toronto). The archivist later pointed me to a photo of the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders in a 1918 parade. And more to come!