Memorable Manitobans: Samuel Frank Peters (1847-1926)

Samuel Frank Peters Click to enlarge

Architect.

Born at Yeovil, Somerset, England on 7 November 1847, eldest son of Samuel and Anne Peters, he emigrated to Canada with his parents, his father practicing as a civil engineer at London, Ontario. He was educated at public schools and Hellmuth College (London, Ontario), and the University of Toronto. He began the practice of architecture at London, Ontario in 1872. He came to Winnipeg in July 1892 where he served as an architect for the provincial and federal governments. It is said that Peters designed the first apartment block in Winnipeg. He served as the first President of the Manitoba Association of Architects.

On 30 October 1873, he married Sarah Lucinda Jones (1850-1943) at London, Ontario. They had three sons: Edgar Horace Peters (1875-1935), Harry Allan Peters (1877-?), and Frank Roy Peters (1888-?). During the 1885 North West Rebellion, he was a Captain of the 7th Fusiliers, suffering injuries that resulted in the loss of an arm. He was a member of the Winnipeg Military Institute, Manitoba Navy League, AF & AM, and the Anglican Church. His recreations included all outdoor amateur sports.

He died at his son’s home in St. Vital on 29 May 1926 and was buried in the St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Ashdown Warehouse	167 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1894
Wesley Hall	515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg	1894-1895
Ironside House	94 Roslyn Road, Winnipeg	1895
St. James Anglican Church	535 Mountain Avenue, Neepawa	1897
Alloway Building	179 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg	1898
Osler, Hammond & Nanton Building	Main Street, Winnipeg	1898
London Building	432 Main Street, Winnipeg	1898
Union Bank Annex	500 Main Street, Winnipeg	1898
Manitoba College of Pharmacy Building	422 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg	1899
McClary Building	185-87 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1899
Merchants Bank	371 Main Street, Winnipeg	1900
Temple Building	325 Donald Street, Winnipeg	1900
Joseph Maw Warehouse	McFarlane Street at Point Douglas Avenue	1901
Cockshutt Plow Building	238 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1902
Maycock Block (renovations)	586 Main Street, Winnipeg	1902
Manitoba Club	194 Broadway, Winnipeg	1904
Massey-Harris Building	294-296 William Avenue, Winnipeg	1904
Pilkington Brothers Warehouse	Market Street East, Winnipeg	1904
Miller and Richard Warehouse	121-123 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1904-1905
Strathclair Town Hall	Strathclair	1904-1905
Bank of Montreal Building	464 Stradbrook Avenue, Winnipeg	1905
Cockshutt Plow Warehouse (addition)	238 Princess Street, Winnipeg	1906
Hamiota School (addition)	Hamiota	1908
Western Canada Military Institute Building	10 Osborne Place, Winnipeg	1910
Erzinger House	50 Yale Avenue, Winnipeg	1911
Mott House	139 Middle Gate, Winnipeg	1911
Cornish Library	20 West Gate, Winnipeg	1914

Sources:

Ontario birth and marriage registrations, Ancestry.

The Canadian Architect and Builder, Volume 10, Issue 1, page 4, 1897.

1901 and 1911 Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.

Who's Who and Why, Volumes 6 and 7, 1915-1916, page 499.

Who’s Who in Western Canada: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Men and Women of Western Canada, Volume 1, edited by C. W. Parker, Vancouver: Canadian Press Association, 1911.

Death registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“Capt. F. S. Peters dies after brief illness,” Manitoba Free Press, 31 May 1926, page 3.

Obituary, Manitoba Free Press, 1 June 1926, page 20.

Obituary [Edgar Horace Peters], Winnipeg Tribune, 23 April 1935, page 6.

Obituary [Sarah Lucinda Peters], Winnipeg Free Press, 4 March 1943, page 2.

Winnipeg Buildings Index

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 27 December 2021

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