1890s Hamilton

“Hatts, Hairs and Heads – these are three of the oldest families in the historic town of Dundas, and, they, in their various branches know a good deal of the records of the place. In their honor streets are named and big business blocks are christened” Hamilton Spectator.    January 02, 1897. In the 1897 perspective, the Valley Town was “historic.”   Although not immune from the advances that all communities around were making in the latter years of the nineteenth century, Dundas residents were proud of the town’s heritage, seeking to retain the ‘old’ with the ‘new’ as the town was growing rapidly. In January, 1897, the Hamilton Spectator carried an extensive look at Dundas through the words of Miss Alma Dick-Lauder, and the artwork of J. R. Seavy. Alma Dick-Lauder, then resident in the Hermitage, in Ancaster Township, was a sharply observant person, who also wrote with style and grace. She was sensitive to the changes that Dundas was undergoing at the time: “To r

“ Some of the ‘bhoys’ of the lake district commenced the New Year badly. About 2 o’clock this morning, they filled themselves with beer and the air on Bay street north with foul language.” Hamilton Spectator.    January 02, 1897 It was not long into the year 1897 before the Hamilton Police department had to swing into action in response to an unruly group of men loudly ‘celebrating’ : “P. C. Yeats heard their noise and cautioned them. They told him to go to Florida and warmer climates, but instead he went to a call-box and summoned the patrol wagon, which brought Constables Miller, Gibbs, English and Aiken. “The officers then swooped down on the gang and succeeded in getting a prisoner each. The men were around two beer kegs. “Jaime McKeever, a big chap who weighs about 220 pounds, was the chairman, and he wore a white plug hat. The names of those placed under arrest are : Geo. Cross, Bay street north; John Crofton, Catharine street north; John Eatree, Pict

“The custom of lighting up the whole house on New Year’s eve so that not a nook or corner in any room remains in shadow is an appropriate one. It leaves no spot for the least show of gloom or sadness even in one’s thoughts and aids in the introduction of the new year in a spirit of joyousness and gladness.” Hamilton Spectator.    January 02, 1897. Thursday, December 31, 1896 it was not unusual for people walking along Hamilton’s residential streets to see house after house brightly lit as the hour of midnight approached. The Spectator reporter assigned the task of covering the exit of 1896 and the entry of 1897 expressed bewilderment at how people react to those events: “It is a rather sad commentary on the past of the great majority that they welcome with a great a joyous shout the new year and farewell the old without a regret or a longing backward look at some goodness of other days in their lives. “There are a few people – a very few – who hate to give

“Yesterday was the quietest public holiday the city of Hamilton has seen in many summers. During almost the entire day, the streets were almost as devoid of people as the lanes of Ancaster .” Hamilton Times.    July 02, 1897. The thirtieth anniversary of Confederation, Dominion 1897, was so quietly observed, the reporter with the Hamilton Times went into some detail to explain why that was so: “The reasons for this are not hard to find. The baseball games were the only attraction within the limits of this good city, while there were excursions by boat or rail to every part of the compass. “Excursion managers generally are of the opinion that business in their line was the heaviest in years. This speaks well for the prosperous condition of citizens, in that the surest evidence of people having money is the fact that they spend it freely when on pleasure bent.” 1 1 “Dominion Day Observed : Most Pleasure Seekers Were Out of Town” Hamilton Times.     July 2, 1897.

Hamilton municipal politics, never for the faint of heart, were particularly intense during the mayoral election for the 1896 Mayor’s office.   Alexander Stewart was the incumbent mayor facing re-election. Stewart was a controversial figure, to say the least. His time in office, in 1895, had been marked with his fighting with the Roman Catholic Church joining forces with a Mrs. Sheppard. He also led the charge to have Police Chief McKinnon fired after that man was caught cheating on his wife. It was rumored that Stewart, who had once been Hamilton’s Police Chief but had lost it in a dispute with the mayor of the day, was trying to become police chief again.           Alex. Stewart was a well-know “sport” – a term which in the day meant, mainly that he gambled, drank in hotels, and was a denizen of the Star Theatre, a place which had been condemned from the pulpit for having scandalous performances. Stewart himself had received condemnation from the pulpit of many churches f