1914-02-21

“The body of Robert Hannah, the well-known wholesale butcher, was found this morning about 7 o’clock on the Caledonia road, about two miles south of the Mountain View hotel.”

                              Hamilton Spectator. February 21, 1914.

          The road heading southward from the head of the James street incline towards Caledonia was heavily travelled, particularly on days when the market was held in downtown Hamilton.

          For those on that road, passing by the lime ridge, early in the morning of February 21, 1914, it was an unfortunate experience to come upon the body of Hannah:

          “His legs were in the cutter and his head was within a few inches of a gate post, against which he had evidently been hurled from his cutter. A buffalo robe, which was in the cutter, almost concealed the body, and several butchers and farmers drove past it without noticing it.”¹

¹ “Met Tragic Death on the Caledonia Road : Well-Known Market Butcher Found Frozen : Probably Hurled Out of Cutter on Way Home”

          Hamilton Spectator. February 21, 1914

          How Hannah met his death would remain a mystery as the area where the body was found relatively remote in 1914. It was thought that it was not an accident but it was probably a health-related matter:

          “For some time, Hannah had been subject to severe attacks of heart failure, and it is of the opinion of the butchers who had known him for years that he was seized with heart failure and was probably dead before the cutter swung against the gate post. His eyes and face were clotted with blood when he was found, and Thomas J. Hines, a butcher, who had stood on the central market with him for years, did not recognize.”¹

               When found Hannah’s body was completely frozen, and it was thought that he had died about 8 hours before found.

          As soon as the police were informed of the discovery of Hannah’s body, Coroner McNichol ordered an inquest and a jury was quickly assembled to view the remains after they had been transported to the city morgue.

          The police made a thorough investigation and concluded that there had been no foul play involved with Hannah’s death, particularly as his personal effects had not been taken. The rumour that the horse-drawn cutter had been struck by an automobile was declared to be unfounded.

The police investigator noted that tracks on the road indicated that the cutter had been veering from one side to the other, and it had then gone off the road, striking a fence. Hannah had then been thrown from the cutter. The police were convinced that the horse pulling the cutter had started to run away after Hannah’s had suffered heart seizure.

          Ironically, Robert Hannah met his death at the gate of the home where he had spent his boyhood days. He had been raised in the house just a short distance from where he had died.  

          Robert Hannah was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.