St.
Luke’s church, at Burlington, is beautifully situated in the western part of
the village, near the lake shore. A long walk leads from the street to the
church door, through double lines of locust trees; and these and others which
adorn the place droop their branches and cast their shade over the graves of
several generations who slumber in this peaceful and secluded resting place. Some
description of this venerable church would prove of great interest; but at
present our remarks must confined to one who rests beside it.
A few steps to the west of the church door is
a grave unmarked by any stone or other memorial of its occupant. And yet the man who is buried there was more
of more than ordinary note in his day – one who in the course of a long and
active life was a participant in many stirring scenes, fought for his King and
country, contributed materially to the success of the British arms in the war
of 1812, and who was chief in command in one of the most brilliant of the minor
engagements of that war.
William Johnson Kerr was a relative of Sir
John Jonson; and, though too young to take any part in the war of the
revolution in the United States, shared the fortunes of his distinguished
leader, and came to Canada with the great Indian chief, Joseph Brant, whose
relative he was by birth, and whose daughter his subsequently married. Some
time before the breaking out of the war of 1812, Kerr was appointed agent for
the Indians settled in this part of Upper Canada; and this position, as well as
his relationship to the great Thayendanegea, made him a leader over the tribes
of the Six Nations.
When the was of 1812 broke out he at once
offered his services to the military authorities, and induced the Indians to a
considerable number to take the field. He was engaged in conflicts more or less
serious at Fort Niagara, Fort Schlosser, Black Rock, Buffalo and Chippewa. In
the battle at the place last named, he was taken prisoner and not exchanged
till the close of the war. But the affair which reflected the greatest credit
upon him was the defeat and capture of 500 regular soldiers of the United
States army, under Col. Boerstler, at Beaver Dams, near St. Catharines, on June
24, 1813. The enemy at that time was in full possession of the Niagara
frontier, from Fort Erie at the south to the mouth of the Niagara river. More
than ten thousand men, mostly regulars, held this territory, to which the
British commander could oppose less than a third of that number, and these were
partly raw Canadian levies and Indians. The invaders seemed able to capture the
central part of Canada, while their desire of taking Kingston itself did not
seem a wild expectation. In the early part of June, a force of nearly four
thousand men, commanded by Generals Winder and Chandler, advanced against
Burlington Heights, where General Vincent had thrown up earthworks, the remains
of which may still be seen in the city cemetery. On the eve of the expected
attack, the enemy encamped at Stony Creek. Gen. Vincent sent a detachment of
six hundred men, under command of Sir John Harvey, who captured both of the
generals and inflicted such punishment upon them that they hastily retreated to
the Forty Mile Creek, and then more leisurely continued their retrograde march
to Newark (now Niagara.) Our forces followed them up, and restricted their
operations, but were not strong enough to make a regular attack. Small parties
were stationed at various places, which cut off the foraging parties of the
enemy, and kept the superior force of the enemy continually on the defensive.
The condition of affairs was very galling to General Boyd, who was in command
of the United States troops at Newark, and he determined upon reprisals. He,
therefore, dispatched Col. Boerstler, with about six hundred regular troops,
mainly of the Fourteenth infantry, supported by a small cavalry detachment and
two pieces of artillery, to capture a party of British regulars under Lieut.
Fitzgibbon, stationed at DeCew’s house, seven miles southwest of St.
Catharines. Fortunately, Mrs. Laura Secord, a brave and patriotic Canadian
woman, learned of the plan, and evading the enemy’s pickets, walked to DeCew’s
and gave warning of the intended surprise. The story of Laura Secord has been
so often and so well told that repetition of it here is unnecessary.
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The enemy set forth at nightfall, taking
every precaution to keep the movement secret, and marched call night. Toward
daybreak the force had reached a place known as Beaver Dams, directly south of
the present city of St. Catharines, and still several miles from DeCew’s, when
suddenly it was assailed by the Indians under the command of Captain Kerr, with
John Brant, son of the celebrated Thayendanegea, Captain DuCharme, of the St.
Regis Indians, assisting him. The fight lasted about two hours, when the enemy
was beaten to a standstill. At this time, Lieut. Fitzgibbon appeared upon the
scene, though he did not permit the enemy to discover the smallness of his
force. He sent a flag of truce to Colonel Boerstler, demanding unconditional
surrender; and the latter, after a show of reluctance, consented to the
conditions imposed. A few of his men had already stolen away, and eventually
reached their own lines, but practically the whole of the expeditionary force
was killed or captured. The Indians who gained this brilliant success consisted
of 203 Indians of the Six Nations; 180 from St. Regis, under Lieutenant
DuCharme; 70 from Rice Lake; and 12 from the River Thames. The enemy’s loss in
killed and wounded numbered about 100; the prisoners numbered 492, of whom 30
were militia. The latter were paroled and suffered to return to their own
country.
After the close of the war, Mr. Kerr returned
to Wellington Square. There is some reason to think that he resided at times in
Hamilton. He was a member of the provincial legislature, and was a man of mark
and influence in this part of Upper Canada. In 1841, he affiliated with The
Barton Masonic lodge, and in 1842 he was its master. At that time the position
of the lodge was one of considerable uncertainty. Its original charter had been
granted by Athol, or so-called Ancient Grand Lodge of England, which had united
wi8th the original grand lodge : it had been for some years dormant, and its
members were uncertain that they held a legal charter authorizing them to do
regular Masonic work. Captain Kerr succeeded, after considerable correspondence
had passed on the subject, in having the matter satisfactorily arranged. The
original warrant was returned to the Grand Lodge of England, and a new charter
was issued, under which the lodge worked until the formation of the Grand Lodge
of Canada, when that charter in turn was surrendered, and the lodge received
the charter under which it now works. A fine oil painting of Mr. Kerr now hangs
in the lodge room. Many of the members of the Barton lodge that it not right to
permit the remains of a man who has done so much for the lodge, and so much
more for the country, to lie in an unmarked grave, and a movement is now on
foot to raise the necessary funds to procure a stone to mark the spot where he
sleeps.
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Hamilton is noted for the large membership of
its secret societies and for the number of lodges of different names. Barton
lodge set the pace away back in 1795, when it was organized by Davenport
Phelps, in Smith’s tavern, there being present seven farmers, a merchant, a
minister, a schoolmaster and two captains. The register gives the names of
those in attendance : Davenport Phelps, James Wilson, Captain John Ryckman,
Daniel Young, John Thomas, Warner Nelles, William Nelles, John Aikman, William
Smith, Saint John, John Young, Capt. Brant, chief of the Six Nations Indians, and
four visitors, Bros. Fry, Bradt, Clark and Cozen. The lodge expenses of the
first meeting amounted to 5 pounds, 6 shillings. Davenport Phelps came from the
United States as a missionary from what is now called the Anglican church. He
was educated in law, and being a man of deep religious conviction, although never
ordained as a minister, he preached on the Sabbath, or whenever occasion
presented, and during the week days followed his regular calling as a means of
earning a livelihood. The probabilities are that the first Protestant service
ever held in what is now Hamilton was by Mr. Phelps, and to his ministry can
date back the first Anglican church in this city. Davenport Phelps was the
first master of Barton lodge, and also the first grand secretary of the first
Provincial Grand Lodge of Upper Canada. On the occasion of the festival of St.
John the Baptist, June 24, 1803, the members “walked in procession to the house
of Richard Beasley, Esq., and heard a sermon given by Richard D. Phelps.”
Richard Beasley was then the owner of what is now Dundurn park, and his house
is part of the old castle.
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On April 14, 1869, Barton lodge was
entertained at its regular meeting with a lecture by James Charlton, then
connected with the Great Western railway, and in later years the general
passenger agent of the Chicago & Alton railway, the title of his lecture
being “The Barton Lodge Seventy Years Ago.” It was one of the largest Masonic
gatherings held in Hamilton, the members of other lodges being present as
visitors. It may be interesting, especially to members of the craft, to recall
the names of those prominent in Masonry in this city forty-five years ago. On
the dais were Wm. Edgar, W.M.; B. E. Charlton, P.M.; Hon. Harcourt B. Bull,
P.D.D.G.M.; W.W, Pringle, W.M. of Strict Observance, No. 27; Edward Mitchell,
W.M., of Acaia, No. 61; William Simcoe Kerr, W.M., Burlington lodge, No. 165,
Wellington Square; T. B. Bain, W.M. of King Hiram, No. 78, Tillsonburg; Wm.
Reid, P.M. of Acacia, No. 61; John McIntyre, P.M., of St. John’s lodge, No. 40.
After the routine business had been finished, the Hon. Harcourt Bull took the
chair, and introduced James Charlton as the speaker of the evening. From the
history we gather that the Barton lodge received its first warrant Nov. 20,
1795, and that the ldge continued to Feb. 9, 1810, when it ceased to work for
twenty-sixyears. Many of the names of its first members are historic in the
local history of Hamilton. When the lodge was first instituted there was no
Hamilton, and there was not till three years after it suspended that the city
was laid out. Smith’s tavern, in which the first meetings were held, was on the
corner of King and Wellington streets, about where the branch of the Bank of
Hamilton is located. It was later called the Grove Inn, because of the grove of
trees on the King street front of the tavern. Mr. Charlton gave an interesting
description of the future city, which is well worthy of being reprinted : “When
these records began (1795) Hamilton was not; the primeval forest and primeval
swamp covered the place of our present city. Where the workshops of the Great
Western railway now stand, the waters of the bay then stood. No vessel floated on
our bay, and Burlington Bay canal was thirty years in the future. There were no
roads, not even to the bay; and the music of the bullfrog and the mosquito and
the experiences of ague were as common as the elements. Niagara town, then
known as Newark, was the seat of government for the Upper Province. It was the
port of entry and market town for this part of the country, and the only road
to it was an Indian trail, and along that highway of red men, and in the gloom
of the forest, the early settlers travelled and conveyed merchandise. Instead
of palace cars and the advantages and pleasure and comfort of rapid transit by
rail, they had the dangers and inconveniences of the Indian trail. Their
pursuits were farming, fishing and shooting. The deer and wild fowl which then
swarmed everywhere in our neighbourhood, and the fish which filled our waters
afforded them such food as luxury cannot now always command. But they were
almost cut off from the outer world. Extensive Indian hunting grounds, though
which no road lay, intervened between them and the Lower Province, with which
they had no postal communication except once or twice a year. From 1793 to 1820,
only one newspaper existed in Upper Canada. The worshipful master of the Barton
lodge, writing on Aug. 1, 1843, to the right worshipful the grand secretary of
the grand lodge of England, and speaking of our lodge on its first
establishment, says “that the place where it was held was almost a wilderness.”
The township of Barton commenced settling in 1787, eight years before our
charter was granted; and the township of Ancaster commenced settling in 1795.
The two first settlers in the latter were Bros. Saint Jean Baptiste Rousseaux,
whose name appears in the list of members at the second meeting, and is the
thirteenth signature to the original rules, and who built a log grist mill
where the village of Ancaster now stands; and James Wilson, who was senior
warden at the first meeting, and whose signature is the first to the original
rules.”
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There is much of interest in Mr. Charlton’s
lecture pertaining to the early history of Hamilton, but space forbids at this
time any further extracts, save the reference to Smith’s tavern. To Miss Nisbet
we are indebted for the pamphlets containing the history. We will take it up
again. The locality of Smith’s tavern, at which the lodge held its first
meetings, was not very definitely established, but was believed to have been
what is at present the northwest corner of King and Wellington streets, where
the branch of the Bank of Hamilton is now located. There the lodge probably met
up to Nov. 6, 1797, when it was removed to the house of John Aikman, a short
distance outside the eastern limits of the city. Meetings were held there up to
Mar. 12, 1802, when the lodge was removed to the house of Mr. Dexter, upper
John street, afterward Robert J. Hamilton’s residence. On Aug. 12, 1803,
another removal took the lodge to the house of Richard Beasley, which, with but
few alterations, forms the present western wing of Dundurn castle. The last
resting place for Barton lodge in the early part of the last century was at the
house of William Wedge. There the lodge met till Feb. 9, 1810, when it closed
its records and history for 38 years.
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The St. Andrew’s society of this city held
its annual banquet at the Hotel Royal on last Wednesday night. From an old copy
of the Spectator we learn that fifty-seven years ago, the annual banquet was
held at Young’s hotel. The officers of the society were : President, John
Young; vice-presidents, Daniel McNab and James Nammo; committee of
arrangements, Mr. McKendrick, J. T. Gilkison, R. Roy, A. E. Wyllie, James
Osbourne, W. H. Harvey; Chaplains, Rev. A. McKidd and Rev. R Robb; physician,
Dr. Craigie; secretary, J. Samuel; Treasurer, J. Young, Jr.; marshals, W. F.
Murray, T. C. Kerr; standard bearers, T. Bain, James Drake, Wm. Murray, J. Skinner.
The account of the celebration, which occurred on the 30th of
November, we copy from the Spectator, dated Dec. 1, 1847:
“Yesterday being the anniversary of Scotalnd’s
titular saint, was celebrated in this city with great spirit. The ‘sons of the
mist’ mustered more numerously than upon any previous occasion; and the
representatives of the sister societies of St. George and St. Patrick
contributed a fair share toward the enjoyment of the anniversary. The weather
was most propitious – a regular Canadian winter day, clear and cloudless. It
was, however, much too cold to permit even the hardy mountaineers to appear in
the national costume; a slight disappointment, we fancy, to many of the fair
forms and sweet faces which congregated in various quarters to catch a glimpse
of the procession. Banners, flags and emblems were displayed in profusion, and
a very creditable amateur band discoursed appropriate music at the head of the
procession. About 3 o’clock, the sister societies arrived at the quarters of
the Caledonians, and shortly afterwards the whole proceed to St. Andrew’s
church, where a sermon was preached by the Rev. Alexander McKidd. The line of
march was subsequently formed, and the procession traversed some of the
principal streets, and finally broke up, the different societies having
previously given expression to those feelings of cordiality and good will which
so happily exist in Hamilton between the natives of the different countries.
In the evening the St. Andrew’s society, with
the representatives of the sister societies, sat down to dinner at Young’s
hotel. Everything which the field and forest of Western Canada could produce
was spread out in tempting variety, and the manner in which the dinner was got
up was generally noticed and admired. Thus ended St. Andrew’s day in Hamilton,
and although there may be many places which can turn out larger assemblages,
and others which can make greater display, yet as regards good feeling and real
enjoyment we will venture to say that Hamilton holds its own among the most
envied places in the province."
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