Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Some of you may know that, as a gravy wrestler, I use the name Johnny Topliss...but many of you won't know that that is my birth name. I am adopted from an early age, as a Barnardo's baby, before being renamed Matt Parker with my new family.
With no real connections to my birth family, Tom did my family tree....and ine name stood out. My 5x great grandfather, John Topliss, married Elisabeth Slater, the sister of Samuel Slater
a man with a very controversial past!
Born in Derbyshire, Samuel Slater established a profound connection to Belper when he began working at a local cotton mill at age ten. In 1782, he entered a rigorous apprenticeship under Jedidiah Strutt, who operated mills in Belper and Milford using Richard Arkwright's revolutionary water-powered spinning frame. Over seven years, Slater mastered the mechanical engineering, logistics, and management of the world’s most advanced textile machinery.
Recognizing that Britain's strict monopoly laws capped his career potential at home, the 21-year-old decided to illegally emigrate to the United States in 1789. Because British law banned the export of machinery blueprints and prohibited skilled textile workers from traveling abroad, Slater disguised himself as an agricultural labourer and relied entirely on his exceptional memory to smuggle the complex designs out of Derbyshire. Upon arriving in America, Slater partnered with Rhode Island industrialist Moses Brown to replicate the advanced machinery he had mastered in Belper.
In 1793, they opened the first successful water-powered cotton spinning mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, effectively launching the American Industrial Revolution. Slater went on to establish a vast manufacturing empire, owning 13 mills and founding the industrial town of Slatersville. This mill town allowed the United States to shift from an agrarian economy to a global manufacturing powerhouse, dramatically reducing its financial dependence on Great Britain.
Today, Slater's historical legacy varies significantly depending on which side of the Atlantic evaluates his actions. In the United States, he is celebrated as a visionary hero and the "Father of the American Revolution," a title originally bestowed upon him by President Andrew Jackson. His preserved mills function as prominent museums like the Samuel Slater Experience and stand as revered national landmarks. Conversely, in Great Britain, history traditionally branded him as "Slater the Traitor" for committing acts of industrial espionage and abandoning his homeland to enrich a foreign rival.
Over two centuries later, however, British perspectives have softened; Belper has embraced its shared history by twinning with Pawtucket, celebrating Slater as a clever, opportunistic entrepreneur with a commemorative blue plaque at his childhood home
Some of you may know that, as a gravy wrestler, I use the name Johnny Topliss...but many of you won't know that that is my birth name. I am adopted from an early age, as a Barnardo's baby, before being renamed Matt Parker with my new family.
With no real connections to my birth family, Tom did my family tree....and ine name stood out. My 5x great grandfather, John Topliss, married Elisabeth Slater, the sister of Samuel Slater
a man with a very controversial past!
Born in Derbyshire, Samuel Slater established a profound connection to Belper when he began working at a local cotton mill at age ten. In 1782, he entered a rigorous apprenticeship under Jedidiah Strutt, who operated mills in Belper and Milford using Richard Arkwright's revolutionary water-powered spinning frame. Over seven years, Slater mastered the mechanical engineering, logistics, and management of the world’s most advanced textile machinery.
Recognizing that Britain's strict monopoly laws capped his career potential at home, the 21-year-old decided to illegally emigrate to the United States in 1789. Because British law banned the export of machinery blueprints and prohibited skilled textile workers from traveling abroad, Slater disguised himself as an agricultural labourer and relied entirely on his exceptional memory to smuggle the complex designs out of Derbyshire. Upon arriving in America, Slater partnered with Rhode Island industrialist Moses Brown to replicate the advanced machinery he had mastered in Belper.
In 1793, they opened the first successful water-powered cotton spinning mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, effectively launching the American Industrial Revolution. Slater went on to establish a vast manufacturing empire, owning 13 mills and founding the industrial town of Slatersville. This mill town allowed the United States to shift from an agrarian economy to a global manufacturing powerhouse, dramatically reducing its financial dependence on Great Britain.
Today, Slater's historical legacy varies significantly depending on which side of the Atlantic evaluates his actions. In the United States, he is celebrated as a visionary hero and the "Father of the American Revolution," a title originally bestowed upon him by President Andrew Jackson. His preserved mills function as prominent museums like the Samuel Slater Experience and stand as revered national landmarks. Conversely, in Great Britain, history traditionally branded him as "Slater the Traitor" for committing acts of industrial espionage and abandoning his homeland to enrich a foreign rival.
Over two centuries later, however, British perspectives have softened; Belper has embraced its shared history by twinning with Pawtucket, celebrating Slater as a clever, opportunistic entrepreneur with a commemorative blue plaque at his childhood home
