1890s Hamilton

 “Travelers who journey to Niagara Falls, or the villages and towns between, on the Queen’s highway, cannot fail to have noticed, a short distance west of Stony Creek, and to the south of the road, a long, rambling sort of a wooden structure which would not present an appearance of habitation, were it not that the surroundings of vineyards, apple and peach trees and other products of luscious fruit, show that man is somewhere very near, and that, in all likelihood, he is to be found in the big wooden building before mentioned. That frame structure, odd as it looks, has a history, and a lively one; the chief events being connected with the great battle of Stony Creek in 1813. In and around the house occurred some strange events such as have not infrequently, changed the whole course of a country’s history.”           Hamilton Spectator.              October 17, 1896. The homestead of James Gage had been taken over by a group of American soldiers, under General Winder, during t

For weeks and weeks, Hamiltonians had been venturing to Zealand’s wharf to observe the construction of the first large ship to be built in the city for many years. The Arabian was a large, steel-hulled steamship. As the workers neared completion, the hull could be seen blocks away. The date selected, and publicized widely, for the launching of the Arabian was Saturday July 21 1892. The morning before the scheduled afternoon event the Arabian was the subject of much conversation. The Hamilton Times, in its early edition of the paper, carried the following, detailed summary of the Arabian story: ““Getting a large vessel off the ways in it has rested for months, while in the course of erection, is always an interesting event. This afternoon, the large steel propeller, built and owned by Messrs. J.B. and Hugh Fairgrieve, of this city, will enter the waters which she is expected to sail for some years to come, and will, at the same time, receive the name which she will make famil

At 2:15 p.m., Saturday September 23, 1899, four hundred citizens boarded a special train at the Hunter Street Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway station to be transported to the new Rifle Ranges. A formal opening ceremony was scheduled for that afternoon although the ranges had been is use since early that morning. Equipped by the Dominion Government in Ottawa for the use of Hamilton’s militia units, the ranges were very much needed for the training of the citizen soldiers. Located in the shadow of the Niagara Escarpment, the ranges were about midway between Hamilton and Dundas and close to the line of the T.H. and B. railway. The officers of the 13 th battalion anticipated that the T.H. & B. company would be willing to provide special trains on the occasions when special shooting matches were scheduled to take place at the new rifle ranges. The formal portion of the afternoon was scheduled to be held at 4 p.m.: “When the special train arrived at the ranges, the se

“In Wesley church last evening, a very large congregation was present to hear Rev. Mr. Wilson’s remarks concerning the late A.D. Stewart.” Hamilton Times.           September 25, 1899. There had been rumors that former Hamilton Police Chief and two-term mayor had died on the Klondike trail, but only vague references to that matter had been learned. On September 15, 1899, Mrs. Stewart received a definite notification regarding the fate of her husband when another Klondike gold seeker reached civilization and was able to send a telegram to her. It was said that he had died of scurvy the previous spring and his body had been buried on the trail. Six days later, Mrs. Stewart received a letter from a Mr. Cresswell who knew A.D. Stewart well, and who could describe some of the events of his final days. It was then that it became known that A.D. Stewart had become a Christian in his last days. A.D. Stewart had had a remarkable life, first coming to Hamilton as the city’s Ch

“Lulu Sayman, a son of Aaron Sayman, of James street north, was charged with assaulting a small boy named Walter Dunnett. The complainant swore that Sayman knocked him down and kicked him. The defendant did not appear and the Magistrate fined him $10.” Hamilton Times.    September 22, 1892. Yet again, the surname Sayman came up in the list of names entered into the Police Court Record book. Both Aaron Sayman and his father were well-known figures in Hamilton in 1892. The father operate an antique and curio, shop on James street north. He was a German Jew who had become a familiar figure in the city ever since his arrival. There were a few young sons in the family but it was one in particular who stood out. Alexear , aka Lulu, Sayman, was a flamboyant figure, who wore his hair very long and wavy. He was a young man who, in the parlance of the day, was a little off. Challenged in many ways, Lulu was loud, and was capable of outbursts such as happened with Walter Dunne

“The baseball season opened auspiciously at the cricket grounds yesterday.” Hamilton Spectator.  May 6, 1899. When the City of Hamilton purchased Dundurn park, the future of the baseball grounds at that location was in doubt. It was decided that, as the park was now in public hands, Hamiltonians would no longer have to pay to enter the park, and, that would also apply to anyone who wanted to watch a baseball game there, whether from the grandstand or from anywhere else. The Hamiltons, a professional team, operated by Billy Stroud, was therefore obliged to find another location at which to play their home games. The cricket grounds in the southwest part of the city, between Queen and Reginald street, Charlton Avenue West and Robinson street, was the spot chosen. Surrounded by a high fence, and entered only through a single gate, management of the team would be able to charge admittance.  As pointed out in the Spectator, liberal patronage of the team was important : ‘Now a

 “Since the first cross country around the bay, instituted last Christmas, no sporting event in Hamilton has been witnessed by such crowds of people as was the cross country run yesterday for the Herald Cup.” Hamilton Herald.   September 03, 1895. The first Herald Race, held on Christmas Day, had gone extremely well with considerable interest bo9th among Hamilton’s sporting community and among Hamiltonians generally. For the second Herald Around the Bay race, the officials with the newspaper decided not to wait until Christmas day 1895, but held it on Labour Day, September 2, 1895: “ The race was in every particular more exciting and successful than it was last year. Then it was a new thing in Hamilton, and of the thirteen starters not more than a couple of them were in condition to compete in such a race, but this year the majority of the men went to the post fit and well and able to stay the distance. For weeks, every man has been in training, and has submitted him