1899 - Death of Dr. William Ira Allen Case
As he was in his 96th year on
earth, his passing was not unexpected, and the Times already had most of an
obituary written for Dr. William Ira Case died early in the morning of December
2, 1899.
For the afternoon of the Times, accompanied
by a drawing by Times artist, J. Thompson, the following informed Hamiltonians
of the death of one of its best known, and arguably oldest citizens :
“Old
Dr. Case is dead. In his passing away, Hamilton loses its oldest citizen, and
at the same time a gentleman who more than any other man of the century, was
prominently identified with the first half century of the city’s existence. His
death, which occurred at 6:30 this morning , at the old Case homestead in East
Hamilton, ended a long period of invalidism and a life which for length of days
and usefulness may never be duplicated in the history of the city. William Ira
Allen Case was in his ninety-sixth year, having been born on February 29th
1804. His father, who was also a doctor, came to Canada from New England in the
first decade of the century, settling in Burlington and later moving to
Hamilton. About 1811, he built a house on King street, about half a mile west
of the Delta, and the house, which is standing yet, was known as the frontier
hospital during the war of 1812. The
subject of this sketch early manifested a love for the practice of medicine,
and was sent to old Fairfield College, near Albany, New York, to be educated. On
graduating he practiced for a long time with his father and then moved up town,
establishing his house and surgery at the corner of King and Walnut streets,
where he practiced for half a century. He was widely known as a physician of
exceptional skill, and attended most of the families of the early settlers in
the then village of Hamilton and the surrounding country. His old surgery was
torn down but a few years ago, the doctor going back to the old homestead. He
practiced his profession up to about fifteen years ago. The late Dr. Case was a
man of ready sympathy for those in distress, and with a purse that was always open
to relieve the unfortunate. He was also a living encyclopedia of information
regarding the settlement and growth of this city.
“He took a keen interest in politics in the
early days and was a lifelong Reformer. A son, Dr. William Case, and a
daughter, Miss Elizabeth Case, survive him, also three sisters, Mrs. James
Cahill, Mrs. Robert Land and Mrs. James Harvey, all of this city.
“Interesting features of the life of the
deceased were his lifelong abstinence from the use of tobacco in any form or of
intoxicating liquor. He was also a vegetarian. Of late years, he complained of
weakness in his back, due to injuries received about 25 years ago by the
breaking down of his gig while driving to visit a patient.”1
1 “In His Ninety-Sixth Year : Death of
Dr. William Ira Allen Case : Brief Sketch of His Life”
Hamilton Times. December 02, 1899.
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