Police Chief McKinnon's Absence (Part 1) - January 1895

“The disappearance of Chief McKinnon has caused no end of comment, and inquiries as to his whereabouts have been on a great many persons’ lips”.”

Hamilton Herald.   January  09, 1895.

Hamilton Police Chief Hugh McKinnon had not been seen for several days. One of 1895 Hamilton’s most prominent, and recognizable, citizens the chief was a familiar figure but his office at Hamilton City Hall had been unoccupied for several days.

Unsubstantiated rumors of the chief being seen “accompanied by two young women of attractive appearance” were dismissed as too ridiculous to contemplate.

The Hamilton Herald, in January, 1895, employed a man based in Toronto to provide the Herald with the latest news from that city.

On January 8, 1895, that one man Toronto bureau sent the following dispatch to the Herald. The afternoon edition had already gone to press, but when the story appeared the following morning, it caused a sensation:

           “Chief of Police McKinnon is in Toronto. He drifted here last Saturday evening and registered at the Grand Union Hotel as H. P. Collins, of New Haven, Conn. He was accompanied by two winsome maidens of 18, who registered as Maud and Ethel Collins, of the same place.

“The young ladies, the one a brunette and the other a blonde, attracted much attention on account of their youthful appearance, loud dress and manners.

“The three occupied adjoining rooms and have been high carousing, but the joy was brought to an end. It is said some of McKinnon’s friends dropped in on this party and persuaded him to return home. The young ladies are still here.”¹

¹ In the Primrose Path : Chief McKinnon Appears to Have Been Straying”

Hamilton Herald.   January 9, 1895.

By the time the Hamilton Herald was able to publish its stringer’s dispatch, the news about Hamilton’s Police Chief was all over the Toronto newspapers.

The following article from the Toronto Mail in the main corroborated the story:

“Hamilton’s chief of police, formerly of Belleville, and a well-known man in athletic circles, has been having a really pleasant time in Toronto since Saturday last. Late on that evening he appeared at the Grand Union Hotel, at the foot of Simcoe street, in company with two very distinguished looking young ladies, and the trio were enrolled on the register as ‘H. B. Collins, New Haven Conn.’ ‘Miss Ella diito,’ ‘Miss Maude ditto.’

“Sunday, Monday and yesterday were spent in Toronto, and last night, ‘Mr. Collins’ settled up by check signed ‘High McKinnon’ and the three left the hotel.”¹

The chief had asked Hamilton Mayor A. D. Stewart for a leave, presumably for a day or two, in order to attend a wedding in Toronto. In fact, he did attend a wedding there, accompanied by members of his family. He then sent his family back to Hamilton, claiming that he had business to attend to in Guelph.

The Herald noted that the chief’s behavior had been erratic in recent days:

“The chief’s inattention to duty dates further back than last week. He has not given proper attention to his work since Christmas, and it was only at intervals that he was seen in his office prior to Tuesday of last week.”¹

The women identified as being in company with the chief were the wife of Mr. Tommy Gould and her sister. Gould and his wife had been separated for some time, but he had continued to provide monetary support for her.

“Mrs. Gould and her sister returned to the city by the noon train today, but the chief was not with them. Tommy Gould is very indignant over the way his wife is conducting herself. He said today that he had instructed Lazier & Monck to commence proceedings to secure a divorce, and says he will name Chief McKinnon as correspondent.”¹

The Herald provided a few details about Chief McKinnon’s tenure in the city:

“Unfortunately, this is not the Chief McKinnon’s first escapade in this direction, he having received other warnings by the Police Commissioners for neglect of duty, brought about by similar lapses.

“He was appointed to the position on October 28, 1886, coming from Belleville, where he had been chief of police. During his control of the force, he has been well-liked, and there is much regret that he should so far forget himself as to act in the way he has acted.”¹

Police Magistrate George Sinclair was one of the three members of the Hamilton Police Commission, the others being Wentworth County Judge Muir and Hamilton Mayor A. D. Stewart. (A. D. Stewart had been McKinnon’s predecessor as Hamilton Chief of Police.)

Magistrate Jelfs hastily called a meeting an emergency meeting of the Police Commissioners to discuss what course to pursue on the McKinnon matter.

The Herald ended his explosive article about the police chief with a paragraph headed by the words, “Expressions of Sympathy”

“The news of the chief’s escapade spread like wildfire throughout the city today, and was the one great topic of conversation everywhere. On all sides were to be heard expressions of pity for Mrs. And Miss McKinnon in the unfortunate position in which they are placed through no fault of their own.

“Both ladies have won the high esteem of the people of Hamilton by their many estimable qualities, and it is most pathetic and unjust that they should have to bear the terrible burden forced upon them by one whom they have always regarded as an exemplary husband and father.

“Such poor consolation as is to be found in the sincere sympathy of the people of Hamilton is theirs in this hour of trouble.”¹