1890s Hamilton

 For Benjamin Parrott Jr., the time was getting short. On June 19, 1899, the Times carried an article, “His Last Week : Preliminary Preparations for Hanging of Parrott on Friday: “Sheriff Middleton went to Toronto this morning to get instructions from the Inspector of Prisons regarding the execution of Ben Parrott on Friday morning. It is likely he will arrange with some Toronto man to do the job unless Radcliffe is likely to be here in time. “The scaffold will be erected tomorrow by an expert carpenter, and will be thoroughly tested with weights before the execution. The machinery of death sent here by Radcliffe, the Government hangman, will not be used. Instead, the old scaffold, upon which McConnell was swung into eternity, will be used. It was a plain drop, there being just one trap door in it, which works from one side. Radcliffe’s trap is a double arrangement, opening in the middle.” 1 1 Hamilton Times. June 19, 1899. Parrott’s family had tried to save him

 “At 1:02 the jury returned, after being out one hour and twenty minutes. Their solemn faces were a strong indication of what was to follow.” Hamilton Times.                        April 19, 1899. Barely four hours since the start trial of Ben Parrott for murdering his mother, it was over. Just over an hour since the jury had left the court room for their deliberations, they returned : “Juror John B. Davis carried in his hand the paper having on it the written question of the chief justice; but it was not put to any use. “ ‘Have you agreed on your verdict?’ asked Clerk Ghent. “Juror Davis rose from the twelve and read from a paper these solemn words: ‘We find the prisoner Parrott is guilty of murder.’ Chief Justice Armour asked Parrott to say why sentence should not be passed, but the prisoner was silent.” 1 1 “Ben Parrott, Jr. is Guilty of Murder” Hamilton Spectator.   April 19, 1899. In his summation to the jury Parrott’s lawyer, George Lynch-Staunt

 “Hendrie wins! “Butterscotch wins! “ ‘Rah’ for Butter Scotch! “Three cheers for Wm. Hendrie! “These and similar cries rent the air at the Woodbine track on Saturday as the gallant bay filly Butter Scotch, wearing the brown and yellow of the William Hendrie stables, of this city, shot past the Seagram horse, Dalmoor, the favorite in the stretch, and took the lead over a larger field with her stable companion and half-sister Toddy Ladle so close up that it was no sure thing Seagram colors would even hold the place. Hamilton Times.   May 22, 1899.         The pre-race predictions for the running of the 1899 Queen’s Plate focused on Dalmoor, the big stallion owned by the Seagram family as the surefire potential winner. That sentiment was shown in the betting on the race as the odds were decidedly in Dalmoor’s favor, while Butterscotch, the smaller bay filly were very long.         As the race was nearing the home stretch, those predictions were no longer valid. Th

“Next week will see another act of the east tragedy which cost Mrs. Parrott her life, when her son, Benjamin Parrott, will be placed on trial at the Assizes, which open on Monday next, for the murder of his mother.” Hamilton Times. April 10, 1918. It was just past two months since Mrs. Bridget was killed on the street in front of the Parrott home on Steven street. Her son Ben Parrott junior had been in the Barton Street jail since his arrest. Parrott had trouble deciding on the legal representation he would have for his case : “There is yet considerable doubt as to who will have the honor of defending Parrott. Mr. J.H. Long, of the legal firm Farmer & Long, first held the brief. Then he was deposed in favor of Mr. Geo. Lynch-Staunton. Of late, it is understood, Parrott has declined the services of Mr. Staunton, preferring to trust to the generosity of the court in the matter of getting counsel. The prisoner, who has between $100 and $2000 in the bank, is chary of