,
Saturday Musings
Spectator January 18, 1919
PROSPEROUS
OLD HAMILTON
“When the city council of Hamilton selected a
young newspaper reporter as commissioner of industries, it hit the nail square
on the head, for he not only goes out after things but once he gets a pointer
he never lets up until he has accomplished something in the way of a ‘scoop’
that wakens the old town up. Mr. Kirkpatrick has just presented his first
official report to city council of what has been accomplished during the year
1918; and it is so bright and cheery now that the war is over, and sweet peace
has shaken out its wings, that one wonders at such growth and prosperity while
the old world has been rocked from stem to center. What manufacturing growth
this old town has made even in the past fifteen or twenty years! A few of us
old-timers can remember when the industries comprised three or four stove
foundries, with a bit of a machine shop on the side, one or two planning mills,
and when nearly every workman carried his own kit of tools, for it was all hand
work in those days. Printers, carpenters, brick layers, stone cutters and
masons, molders, tailors, shoemakers and indeed all classes of tradesmen
thought themselves rich if they earned a dollar and a half a day, and then got
to take off Saturday and an order for the balance on some grocery or store for
something to eat or clothes to wear. Now this same class of workmen drive their
own motor cars, and turn up their noses if their envelope on pay day shows up
less than five five-dollar bills at the very least. Well, the old-timers are
glad to be able to congratulate the younger generation on the bright days in
which they live, and may they continue.
“It does an old Hamiltonian’s heart good to
read such a cheerful report as ‘Kirk’ made the other day. He tells us of more
than fifty permits for new factories and additions to old ones, at a cost of
over one million dollars. Why it makes us old fellows wonder if there ever was
so much money in the world at any one time. It reminds this old Muser of an
incident away back at the time of the panic in 1857, when Canada and the United
States were in the slough of despond; business of all kinds was substantially
at a standstill, and here in Hamilton hundreds of workmen were glad if they
were only successful in securing work at half time. Money was very scarce, and
that with a lack of steady employment was a pretty dark outlook. This old Muser
decided that it was time to make a change, and we took Horace Greeley’s advice
to go west and grow up with the country. We first went to Cleveland, Ohio, and
were met at Plain Dealer printing office by the celebrated Artemas Ward, who
was then a reporter that paper. Artemas did not speak very encouragingly of the
prospects for work in Cleveland, and on his advice we went Cincinnati. There we
were fortunate arriving in that city at six o’clock in the morning and had a
job before nine on a lottery scheme that was being printed for L.D. Sine’s
lottery, on which we made about $5 that day, working till nearly nine o’clock
at night. That was as much as we made in Hamilton for a whole week on half
time. Well, this is not intended as a personal history, therefore we will start
out as we began and tell the story of Hamilton’s prosperity in these later
years.
“To begin with, prosperity came with the
national policy. It is true that the town had a little spurt when the Great
Western railway was built, but it did last for many years. When the east end of
the town changed from farm land to factory sites about twenty years ago, then
the sun of prosperity began to shine; and it has been growing brighter and
brighter every year since. “Kirk’s’ report
to the city council last week was another bright spot.
“Then read the reports of annual church
meetings, and they tell a story of financial prosperity far beyond what one
might expect during war times. One church with less than a thousand members
tells us that its communicants raised about $40,000 last year, out of which it
paid off nearly the fag end of its construction mortgage, sent $9,000 or
$10,000 to convert the heathen, paid their minister a high living salary, and
leaving a surplus with which to begin the new year. Another church tells of
paying off the last dollar of its mortgage indebtedness, and in addition,
throwing in a few thousands to convert the heathen; while others have done so
well financially that they have liberally increased their ministers’ stipends a
few hundred dollars. All this is certainly very encouraging, and make
old-timers prouder than ever of the dear old town. It is a pity that some of
that missionary money is not added to the salaries of the poorly-paid home ministries.
“Then Hamilton had added liberally to the
payrolls of its police and fire departments, as well as giving generous bonuses
to its civic employees. Every tag day during the year for war purposes has been
responded to by thousands of dollars, and the last dollar of indebtedness,
amounting to some $40,000, was gathered in one day recently to pay off the
mortgage on the handsome Y.W.C.A. building.
“It is certainly not out of place for the
Saturday Muser to brag about the prosperity of the old town in which he began
to live nearly severnty years ago. It was only a small town of about ten
thousand inhabitants; now it has grown to 110,000, with over 450 manufacturing
industries, and increasing every year, Just look at this picture and see where
the town is at. Away back in 1833, Hamilton had only one little machine shop
and foundry on the site of a goose pond, where now stands the old Royal hotel,
and it was in that foundry that the first threshing machine was made in Canada.
WHAT
HAMILTON HAS ADDED
TO THE INDUSTRIES
OF
CANADA
“In part we have told the story before, that,
as our enterprising commissioner of industries is preparing a booklet to let
the world know that there is an industrial city known as Hamilton, Canada on
the map, at his request we briefly repeat the story of some of the industries
Hamilton has added to Canada.
“How many ancient Hamiltonians have kept in
memory the fact that the first watch made in Canada was a Hamilton product? It
was the talk of the town in the old days but, no doubt, has long since been
forgotten, save by a few old-timers like Thomas Lees, the veteran watchmaker.
In a little shop on King street, opposite the Royal Connaught, where Dan Pease
kept a cigar store until recently, Paul T. Ware, who was a practical watchmaker
and jeweler, carried on a small business about seventy years ago. Till the
introduction of machinery in the United States, the best class of watches were
made by hand, and it took skillful workmen to make one. Take a Waltham watch,
for instance, and it is made uyp of over one hundred and twenty-five different
pieces, counting from the smallest screws. One would almost require a strong magnifying
glass with which to be able to see and handle some of the screws, so small are
they. In his shop on King street, Mr. Lees has the entire works of a Waltham
watch in separate parts fastened in a frame, and to look at it one would wonder
at the ingenuity of the original inventor of the watch. But we are not going to
write story about watches, only so far
as to tell of the first one made in Canada over seventy years ago, and that one
in Paul T. Ware’s little shop on King street. For a town of less than ten
thousand population, Hamilton was pretty well-supplied with Watchmaker shops,
there being three wholesale and thirteen retail. Here is a list of names, and
many of them will be recognized by old-timers: J.G. Birely and company, Samuel
Davidson, A.W. Gage and company, Henry James and company, Jesse Nickerson,
Robert Osbourne, John Pettigrew, Prince and Levy, William Taylor, John Van Gunten,
C.H. VanNorman and company, James Henry and company. Paul T. Ware and company,
retail dealers, and V.H. Tisdale, Einstein and Mandle, and Newbury and Bireley,
wholesalers. Nearly all the shops had expert workmen employed, mostly Germans, and Paul T. Ware
had one or two men of more than average expertness. It was not known to the
trade at that time that ever a complete watch was made in Canada, and as a
matter of business pride, Mr. Ware decided to make the experiment. It was no
small undertaking you may be sure, and an expensive one, as every screw and pin
of the most minute description had to be made by hand. Not only were the works
completed, but they were encased in a solid gold case, also turned and made by
hand in Mr. Ware’s little shop. That watch was the talk and pride of Hamilton,
and was exhibited at one of the provincial fairs as the first watch made in Canada.
Mr. Ware was proud of the recognition given it by the provincial board of
managers, and was highly complimented from one end of Canada to the other. An
enterprising Hamiltonian, who felt a just pride in his home town, bought the
watch, for which he paid a handsome price. What has become of the watch or its
owner, no one seems to know, but if that watch is still in existence it ought
to become the property of the city as a memorial of one of its earliest
manufactures.
“In the course of time, Mr. Ware branched out
on larger lines, and moved from the little shop opposite the Royal Connaught to
a room in White’s new block, which was then being finished, and kept one of the
finest jewelry stocks in town. That room is now part of the Stanley Mills and
company department store. Unfortunately for Mr. Ware, he could not stand
prosperity, and as a result, his expenses largely exceeded his income. He was a
man whose reputation stood high both in business and in his daily life, but in
his home, his family indulged in extravagance. When he owned the little shop
where Dan Pease afterward sold cigars, he could walk to and from his home, but
when he got up into the White block, he had to be driven to his place of
business in a fine carriage with a livered driver. Of course, there was only
one ending, and one day it was announced that Mr. Ware had retired from
business and was going to Chicago to begin over again.
“His case reminds us of the old song:
‘Move your family west, that good health you
may enjoy,
And
rise to watch and honor in the state of Illinois.’
“Whatever his fate, the oldest inhabitant
cannot tell, but being an energetic man, it is more than possible that he was
able to rebuild his shattered fortunes from the ground up.
THE
SECOND WATCH MADE IN HAMILTON
“About twenty-three years ago, Thomas Less,
the veteran watchmaker and jeweler, had a first-class of workmen in his shop,
among the number being, James Davidson, who now has a shop of his own inking
street west; Alf. Baker, the watch expert in Levy Bros. and ‘Teddy’ Pass, the
English watchmaker on John street south. As all three have had bouquets thrown
at them at different times, we will spare their modesty on this occasion. Well,
Alf. Baker and ‘Teddy’ Pass took it into their heads that they would make a
watch by hand in their spare time, and christen it “Thomas Less, No. 1,
Hamilton,’ and that it what is engraved
on one of the plates. It was a proud thing to do, for they loved their employer
and wanted him to be honored by having the second watch made in Hamilton
inscribed with his name. The only thing about the watch that is machine-made is
the silver case, but every screw and pin, from the most diminutive, is the work
of their expert hands. That watch is now in possession of Thomas Lees’ oldest
son, and it would take a small fortune to get it from him. When you mention
that watch to ‘Alf’ or ‘Teddy’ just watch how their eyes glisten with pride. It
is Hamilton’s second watch contribution to its industries, and ought to be
carried by our present Goodenough mayor and all future mayors as a distinctive
badge of this industrial city.
“Now a word about the veteran watchmaker of
Hamilton. Thomas Less is a native of this city, and has lived long enough to be
called a veteran. When he was a boy, he clerked for a time in a hardware store
in Oakville, and then came back to Hamilton in 1857 and entered the shop of
John Pettigrew, where he took his first lessons in watch making. After spending
a couple of years with Mr. Pettigrew, he made a change, and went to work for
Paul T. Ware as an apprentice and afterward as a journeyman, and remained with
Mr. Ware till he left Hamilton. Soon after, he began business for himself, and
is now one of the oldest, if not the oldest business man in Hamilton. The name
and reputation of Thomas Lees is the standard for first-class goods in the
watch and jewelry line, and has been for more than half a century. And his boys
are genuine chips of the old block. He is the last of the old-timers in the
jewelry business in Hamilton, though there are a few still here who came into
the wedding ring business long after Mr. Lees opened his first shop.
“The elder John VonGunten, who kept a shop on
York street, had a son named John, and when the old man retired from business
the younger one took it up. About thirty years ago or it may be more, the
VonGuntens left Hamilton and went to Caledonia, and young John is there yet,
having prospered.
“Now that is about all this old Muser could
learn about the first watch made n Hamilton and in Canada and of the second one
made by ‘Alf’ Baker and ‘Teddy’ Pass.
FIRST
CANADIAN INDUSTRIES
BORN IN HAMILTON
“As we have given before a lengthy story of
the first industries that had their origin in Hamilton, for the use of Mr.
Kirkpatrick, we will briefly recall them, though it would not be out of place
to tell the old, old story for the benefit of the later generation.
“The first industry of which there is any
record was the manufacture of the first Sulphur matches made in Canada.. In
1840, an English family came to Hamilton. Three years before in 1837, John
Walker, an English druggist, experimented in the making of matches by dipping
splints into a mixture of Sulphur, chlorate of potash and sulphite of antimony.
By rubbing the prepared splints of wood on sandpaper, they burst into flame.
This became known as the first experiment in the making of Sulphur matches.
Prior to that time, the flint and steel were the means to ignite a fire.
Old-timers will remember the flint and steel period even long after sulphur matches were
first discovered by Druggist Walker. The English family that came to Hamilton
in 1830 brought the secret of matchmaking with them, the father having probably
learned it in Walker’s shop, and there not being anything of the kind in
Hamilton, he began the manufacture, or which he found ready sale. The family
lived on a cottage on Main street, near Cherry, and father, mother and children
worked till they had a good supply on hand, and ten went out and sold their
matches to the early residents, who were glad to get them as a substitute for
the flint and steel. The flint soon gave way to the more convenient block, cut through partly into one hundred
matches, then secured at one end by dipping in wax and the other end dipped in
the sulphur compound. The blocks were made in a cabinet shop at Merriton by
Michael Ferlover. The match trade outgrew the demands of Hamilton and the
manufacturer and his family moved to pastures new.
“History tells us that the first threshing
machine was invented in Saxony by a man named Holhfield in 1711. The first
threshing machine was not dreamed of by the pioneer farmers of Canada until the
year 1833, when John Fisher made it in Hamilton. Mr. Fisher was a Yankee who
came to Hamilton from the state of New York, and built the first foundry on the
site of the Royal hotel, and perfected a model machine of his own. That machine
is in substance the model of the complete threshing machine now manufactured by
the Sawyer-Massey company, and was a success from the day it was first put on the
market. Dr. McQuesten, somewhat connected with Mr. Fisher in the old New York
home, was able to furnish the necessary capital to build the machines, and he
came to Hamilton and formed the partnership of Fisher and McQuesten. During the
winter seasons, the partners travelled through this part of Canada and sold the
machines they were able to make, and they gave such satisfaction that the
demand more than equaled the supply.
THE
FIRST RAILWAY OF IMPORTANCE
IN
CANADA
“Hamilton has the honor of building the first
railway of Importance in Canada. There was a short line of twelve or fourteen
miles built in 1834 from Laprairie, across the river from Montreal to St.
John’s, a village on the American border. In the year1832 a few enterprising
businessmen in Hamilton, with Sir Allan Macnab, conceived the idea of building a
railway from Hamilton to London as a starter, and eventually finishing it off
at both ends by connecting with the Niagara and Detroit rivers, thus making a
through line from New York to the western states. It was an heroic enterprise
for a village of not more than two thousand population to undertake; but there
was nothing that an enterprising Hamiltonian would not undertake in those early
days. In 1834, authority was derived from the provincial parliament to organize
a stock company, under the name of London and Gore railroad, defining the
terminals at Burlington bay, at the head of Lake Ontario, and at the town of
London. The towns along the line appreciated the advantage they would derive
from the road, and subscribed liberally to the stock. In 1847, the first sod of
the proposed line was turned in the village of London, the name of the company
being changed to the Great Western railway. The first passenger train came into
Hamilton in the fall of 1853, a through train from Niagara Falls to Detroit.
“The first railway locomotive made in Canada
was built in Hamilton, for the Great Western road, by D.C. Gunn, who owned a
small machine shop at the foot of Wellington street. The first engines used on
the road were brought from the old country, and they suggested the idea to Mr.
Gunn. He built about fifteen locomotives, part for the Great Western and part
for the Grand Trunk, and then was compelled to go out of business. Canada was
then run on the free trade plan, and as there was no duty on locomotives, the
American builders, with larger facilities and unlimited capital, were able to
underbid him for the contracts, and they supplied the companies. In the panic
of 1857, Mr. Gunn failed in business.
“Samuel Sharpe, the master mechanic of the
Great Western road, planned and built the first dining and sleeping cars not
only used in Canada, but also in the United States, and the work was all done
in Hamilton. Mr. H.B. Witton, the venerable car painter and decorator, is
probably the only living person who had a hand in the construction of these
cars. The Wagner and the Pullman sleeping
and dining coaches followed suit soon after.
“Williams & Cooper, a Hamilton firm of
carriage builders, built a number of passenger and freight cars for the Great Western
and the Grand Trunk, and to Hamilton enterprise is due the building of the
first railway coaches in Canada.
“Prior to the American civil war in 1861,
Canadian women had to use American sewing machines or stick to the needle. Some
years before, when sewing machines first came into use, Lawson Bros., a
Hamilton firm of clothing manufacturers, whose store was on the corner of King
and James streets, now occupied by Treble’s, bought a couple of machines as an
experiment in their tailor shop. The tailors refused to use them, nor would
they allow their use in any shop in Hamilton. They went out on strike, and as a
result, the Lawson’s had to forgo the use of the machines in their business.
The tailors thought that the sewing machines
would ruin their trade, but they found in time it to be one of their
best earning friends. Mr. Wanzer, who was connected with the sewing machine
business in Buffalo, was induced to come to Hamilton and start a manufactory.
At first, it was uphill work, as he had but limited capital, and free trade was
his deadly enemy, but with genuine Yankee grit he made the fight and succeeded.
The Wanzer was the first sewing machine made in Canada, and Hamilton was its
birthplace. He began with a working force of less than a dozen men, and when he
had made up a wagonload of machines, he started out through the country selling
them. It was a good machine and was sold for less than the American machines,
and in the course of time he won out. From making only a dozen machines a week,
the demand increased till he turned from his factory not less than a thousand
weekly; and from a working force of not more than a dozen men, his payroll
provided for over eight hundred people.
“At one time Hamilton was the headquarters
for the sewing machine industry in Canada, there being no less than seven
factories in this town, and all manufacturing different machines, giving
employment to an army of skilled workers of both sexes. For some reason, the
great industry was lost to Hamilton.
“Our space is more than filled, so we will
have to quit, and next week give the remainder of the industries that Hamilton
first started in Canada.
