Saturday
Musings
Spectator October 26, 1918
HAMILTON GHOULS DESCECRATE AN ANCIENT GRAVE
Seventy years ago
last March, there passed away in Hamilton a great and good man – eminent in his
profession and generous to the poor. Dr. William Case, a native of the United
States, settled in Hamilton long before the town had even a name on the map,
save the designation, the Head of the Lake. He came to Canada in the days when
the United Empire Loyalists were seeking a home where they could enjoy such
political rights as was at that time denied them, although they were mainly
natives of the United States. Dr. William Case was born in the state of New
Hampshire, studied medicine in Philadelphia, and practiced in his native town
till about the year 1810, when he came to the Head of the Lake, and bought a
farm in Barton township, about one mile east of the then limits of this
village, but years ago taken in as part of the corporation of Hamilton, where
he practiced medicine, and looked after the cultivation of his farm. There was
not much profit or demand in those days for the services of a doctor, and Dr.
Case had to do quite a bit of farming on the side to pay the family expenses.
Although an American born, he took sides with Canada in the war of 1812, and
for two years, his house was converted into a military hospital for the care of
sick and wounded soldiers. The patriotic doctor not only physicked the sick and
dressed the wounds of his patients, but his good wife prepared the nourishing
food that restored them to life and health. This was done without expectation
of fee or reward from the Canadian government, but as an act of humanity by the
doctor and his wife. Sometime after the close of the war, the government made
an appropriation to repay the doctor for his outlay, but the doctor positively
refused to accept a dollar more than the actual costs. A few years ago, the
ancient home and hospital was torn down in the march of improvement, but
fortunately we are permitted the use of a photographic view of the old homestead,
taken by Colonel McCullough, of the Ontario Engraving Co., a week or two before
the house was demolished.
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Up on the mountainside, at the head of
Ferguson avenue, the Hamilton family had a private graveyard, for in those days
such a place as a cemetery was not even dreamed of as a burial place for the
early settlers. It was first used as a sepulcher for the wife of Captain
Durand, the original owner of what was afterward the farm and homestead of
George Hamilton. The Durand farm, of one hundred acres, descended from the
mountaintop down to Main street, and in the year 1813 was platted and sold in
town lots to comprise the original town of Hamilton. When Captain Durand and
his wife, in 1805, were moving from Simcoe to this farm, in driving down the
mountainside, Mrs. Durand was upset from the carriage, and the lady killed,
dying almost at the moment of the accident. She was buried on the farm in that
mountainside graveyard. Captain Durand, some years afterward, had his wife’s
remains to the Ancaster graveyard, where he is also buried. After George
Hamilton bought the farm, he continued that spot as a family graveyard, and
also permitted a few of his personal friends to bury their dead in it. Dr. Case
was the Hamilton family physician, and when he died in 1848, the only cemetery
in Hamilton was owned by the English Protestant church. For some reason, Canon
Geddes, who was then incumbent of Christ’s church, would not give his consent
to the burial of Dr. Case in the cemetery, and George Hamilton tendered a place
in his private graveyard. It was a costly place in which to dig a grave, as the
mountain stone came up close to the surface, with not more than a foot of earth
as a covering. So popular was the good doctor case that the people came from
far and wide to do honor to his memory.
It was a bright, sunshiny day in the closing
days of the month of March when the funeral cortege climbed up the John street
hill to the place of burial. Hundreds were there to pay the last token of
respect for one who was not only a friend of everybody, but especially to the
poor, for no night was so stormy that the good doctor would not turn out to
answer a sick call. If the patient was able to pay, the doctor got his fee, but
there were scores in Hamilton in those days who were not able to pay much; but
they got the same care and attention as the wealthiest class. After the burial
service was read and the pallbearers were about to consign the coffin to the
rocky sepulcher, the sky suddenly became overcast, the thunder rolled, vivid
lightning flashed, and the rain came down in torrents. There was a wild
scattering of the audience, and the coffin was left unburied. Some of the
superstitious ones attributed the fierceness of the storm as evidence of the
Almighty’s displeasure at the burial of the good doctor in unconsecrated ground.
When the storm passed over, a few of the mourners returned and consigned the
remains of the doctor to his rocky grave. Many years later, the remains of the
Hamilton family that had been resting in that mountainside graveyard were moved
to the cemetery, where stands a monument to the memory of George Hamilton and
his family.
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In that lonely grave on the mountainside, the
remains of Dr. Case have rested for seventy years as peacefully as though he
had been buried in Canon Geddes’ consecrated graveyard. The passersby are
attracted to it and ask many questions about it. Some old Rip Van Winkle, whose
head is frosted with a few score Hamilton winters, delights to sit on the stone
wall at the head of Ferguson avenue and tell the story of that stormy day
seventy years ago and recount the charitable deeds of mercy performed by the
good doctor in caring for the indigent sick. As a covering to the rocky
sepulcher there was placed a slab on which was carved, ‘Sacred to the memory of
William Case, M.D., who died on the 24th of March, 1848, in the 72nd
year of his age.’ Only that and nothing more. As the good old doctor was simple
in his habits, living only that he might do good in his day and generation, may
it be as well that no eulogy should be placed on the stone.
Dr. William Case was the father of the
venerable Dr. William I. Case, who died a few years ago. From time immemorial
the doctor the later generations knew occupied an ancient frame house on the
southwest corner of King and Walnut streets. Old timers involuntarily look
across to where the frame building stood in full expectation of seeing the face
of the doctor, with his long white beard, peering through the window facing
Walnut street. Mrs. Robert Land, who was close to one hundred years old when
she died, was the daughter of Dr. William Case and the sister of the Dr. Case
that later generations knew. A granddaughter, probably the last one of the
family, still survives and makes her home in Hamilton.
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The Hamilton vandals, some of whose
grandmothers Dr. Case many a time attended in sickness and never received a
penny for his services, cannot keep their vile hands from desecrating the grave
that has for seventy years been his resting place. Recently the stone slab was
ruthlessly torn from the grave and broken, and leaving a gaping hole in the
rocky sepulcher. It is not creditable to the city officials of Hamilton that
this condition should exist. The patriotic doctor of the war of 1812, who
freely gave his professional services to the sick and wounded Canadian and
British soldiers, and also opened his home for a hospital, deserves better
treatment from a community in which he spent his life in doing good to the
afflicted. His grave should be the care of the city and protected by a
substantial mausoleum, carved to tell the story of his life, and so surrounded
that the vandal and ghouls of Hamilton can nevermore despoil it.
Case Sepulcher Date of photo unknown
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A GOOD SON PROVIDES FOR THE FUTURE COMFORT OF
HIS FATHER AND MOTHER
It is with pleasure that the Muser tells the
story of a thoughtful son who has provided for the future comfort of his father
and mother. The son is a young man in years and is the loving husband of a dear
wife, their joint possession being the sweetest baby that ever was born.
Naturally all parents think the same of their babies. We are not going to tell
the name of the son, for the reason that we do not think he would like to be
made a hero of, though he is a hero all the same. He is not a native of
Hamilton, but was born within fifty miles of this town, between Lake Erie and
Lake Ontario. He was an ambitious boy when in his teens and declared that as
soon as he arrived at man’s estate, he would hie him to some foreign country
and make a name for himself as well as some money, both of which he has been
successful in doing. He is an architect by profession, and in the years of his
foreign residence has had charge of the construction of many costly public
buildings as well as private residences. That he has made money goes without
saying when we consider the handsome provision he has made for his father and
mother, as well as laying by for the future of his own family. He has two
sisters, one married and one single, the single one holding a responsible
position in Hamilton.
The other day, the younger sister was happily
surprised on receiving a letter from her brother, containing a foreign draft
for $15,000, with instructions that his sister invest in some long-time bonds
of undoubted security. Now this dear young lady has all the confidence in the
world in the financial standing of the city in which she is making her home, so
she called City Treasurer Leckie on Tuesday last and subscribed for $15,000
worth of long-time Hamilton bonds, making them payable to her father and mother
jointly or to the survivor, thus insuring to them an income during their lives
of $900 per annum. This, added to what his father and mother have laid by for a
rainy day, as well as being the owner of a good home in the town in which they
live, will make the burden of years fall very lightly on them, and provide them
with not only the comforts but many of the luxuries of life.
Then there was no string attached to that
splendid gift, for when it has done its beloved work for the care of father and
mother, that loving son and brother directed that after their death, the money
be divided equally between the two sisters, so that it would continue to be a
blessing and a provision for those near and dear to him. On that foreign draft
was a premium exchange of $285. The young lady will add to that the balance of
$15 and purchase Victory Bonds worth $300, and the interest on those bonds will
be payable to father and mother.
Those dear parents can never cease thanking
God for being the father and mother of such a son and such loving daughters.
This little story is told in the hope that other sons and daughters will not
forget the father and mother who cared for them during the years of childhood,
providing them with every comfort.
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THE MARCH OF
IMPROVEMENT
The T. H.& B. railway company must have
more room in its freight yards to accommodate its increasing business in
Hamilton. The only that stands in the way is the elegant Aged Women’s Home at
the head of Wellington street, and this the company must have to carry out its
plan of engagement. Probably it may not be a bad move after all that the
managers of the home must search for a new location, for the freight yard is
certainly a detriment to the property. There no doubt will be regret that a
change must be made, for the home is fitted up with all the comforts to make it
attractive and desirable to the dear old ladies who are spending the declining
years of life free from care and worry. When Albert Bigelow endowed the Girls’
Orphan Home with $20,000, and which served its day and purpose till there were
no orphan girls to need a home in That building, he probably never dreamed of
the benevolent use that home was to be put to in the future.
Added to the $20,000 given by Albert Bigelow,
there was another good angel to increase the power of the home to do good. When
Mrs. John Thompson died, she provided in her will the sum of $10,000 for the Aged
Women’s Home, and with this added income the managers were able to make
improvements that have added to the comfort of its inmates. The property has
largely increased in value in the past twenty or thirty years, and it will be
difficult to find another location equal to it before the railway company
occupied that part of town. There is one other location that would be desirable
if it can be purchased at a price within the means of the managers, and that is
the George Rutherford property, on the corner of King street and Sherman
avenue. It has all the desired requisites on which to build such a home that
would be an ornament to the city.
It may be interesting to give some items from
the report of Mrs. W. C. Breckenridge, who had been treasurer of the Aged Women’s
Home for many years. Before going into the report, let us state that in
addition to the $10,000 given by Mrs. John Thompson for improvements on the
building, she also gave $5,000 towards a trust fund, the interest on which was
to pay the entrance fee of old ladies without money or friends. William
Vallance generously provided in his will the sum of $1,000 to be invested as an
endowment fund. No mention seems to have been made of the donation of $20,000
given by Albert Bigelow, and which was really the foundation upon which was
built the Children’s Industrial school, the Hamilton Orphan asylum, and the
Boys’ home. The Industrial school is now known as the Girls’ home, on George
street, the Orphan asylum is now known as the Aged Women’s home, the Boys’ home
has kept its original name. To each of the institutions named Albert Bigelow
left $20,000.
Let us go back seventy years ago, when the
Ladies’ Benevolent society, which was
organized in 1846, established an orphan asylum, and I connection with it a day
school for the children of the poor. The ravages of the cholera in 1847 left
many destitute orphans who found a home in the asylum. A larger building was
needed than was then occupied to accommodate the number of orphans and children
attending the day school, and in 1851, Mayor John Fisher, the proprietor of the
first foundry built in Hamilton, gave his year’s salary as mayor, $400, towards
building an orphan asylum, to which was added a number of donations from the
churches, and the surplus from a firemen’s ball. The city council voted $3,2000
toward the building fund, but for some reason it was not accepted by the board
of managers. The site of the present Aged Women’s home was selected, and it was
a lovely spot before the railroad came and despoiled it, and in 1854, the
building was finished and occupied, at a cost of $6,408. The government gave a
grant of $400 a year. When the Central school was opened, there was no
necessity for the continuance of the day school. The home was liberally supported
by the contributions of the people. It was in the year 1873 that Albert Bigelow
made his will and made glad the hearts of the lady managers of the home by a
contribution of $20,000. Mr. Bigelow was a prosperous businessman in Hamilton,
being a dealer in china, glass and earthenware. He was a bachelor, but not from
choice for it was told of him that in his younger days he was engaged to a
beautiful young lady, and that all arrangements were made for their marriage
when the prospective bride sickened and died. He had two sisters tgo whom he
left $10,000 each, and to his housekeeper he left $1,000. The remainder of his
fortune was left to found homes for the unfortunate. From all indications the
Aged Women’s home will pass from its present location.
Aged Women's Home ca 1878
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