Hamilton Brothers in Glen Huron
This account of the Hamilton Brothers of Glen Huron is taken from Centennial Stories of Creemore, Nottawasaga, Their People compiled by C. B. smith, editor of The Creemore Star, 1967.
“William Hamilton and Margaret McMurray were married in the year 1830 in the County of Farmanah, Northern Ireland near Belfast. They emigrated to Canada in 1831 and settled on a farm at Lake Beauport near Quebec City.
“Their eldest son, James, came by boat to Toronto in 1850 and walked from there to a small farm in Osprey on the Nottawasaga Town Line just south of Singhampton. In 1858 he went back to Quebec and married Sarah Taylor. They returned to Osprey and a short time later opened a small store in Singhampton. It was said that Singhampton derived its name from the Sings and the Hamiltons. In 1874 he and his family moved to Glen Huron where he purchased 400 acres around the Glen. He remodelled and built the original mill, residence and store. He also built a new dam and a saw mill. He was prominent in public life and was a director on the Hamilton and North-Western Railroad which came through this district. He was a staunch Conservative and a pioneer member of the church of England at Duntroon. He died on November 21, 1898 and was buried in Singhampton.
“The sons were William Henry, Frederick, John, James and Joseph, the daughters were Margaret (Mrs. George Hannah), and Clara (Mrs. James Leach).
“The eldest son, William Henry, married Nell Boyes; Fred never married; John married Ellen Leach; James married Alice Cramm; and Joseph married Margaret Hewson.
“The business went under Jas. Hamilton and Sons and in 1890 became Hamilton brothers. They engaged in various lines of business, flour mill, feed mill, woollen mill, saw mill, general store, farming, logging,, real estate, etc. A good portion of the City of Regina today is built on the homestead of the elder Hamilton, William Henry, who incidently was at the trial of Louis Riel.
“The Hamiltons engaged in business in Glen Huron, Singhampton, Feversham, Regine, Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask., Sault Lookout and Copper Cliff, Ontario.
“Henry’s family resided in Western Canada. John’s only daughter Ellen married James shield of Glen Huron. James’ only son, Douglas was killed on the Second World War and Joseph’s family remained in Glen Huron. Margaret’s (Mrs. Hannah) lived in Toronto and Clara’s are the William Leach family of Duntroon.
“The third generation of Hamilton Bros. was Harry, Jack, Frank and Fred. Their sisters were Marjorie, Josephine and Joan. Fred lost his life in World War Two and Jack who was involved in the business, died unfortunately young.”
To update the history written in 1967, I add the following. Jack had two sons, Fred and Jim. (The fourth generation). Jim died in a car accident in 1971. Today Fred is carrying on the tradition of keeping the business running along with his sons, John, James and Joseph (fifth generation), and his grandsons, Austin and Ayden (sixth generation).
A remarkable and proud family history.
This ends my series on the Eighth Line and Glen Huron. I haven’t decided what comes next.
Helen Blackburn is a retired teacher, avid gardener and a long-time contributor to The Creemore Echo. She writes about local history.
