1908 - Macassa Steamer Opens the Season

 

As March 1908 was nearing an end, the Hamilton Times carried an announcement that the navigation season for traffic between Hamilton and Toronto was soon to begin:

 “The Hamilton Steamboat Company will open the season of navigation between Hamilton and Toronto on Wednesday, April 1, when the Macassa will leave Hamilton 9 a.m., returning leave Toronto 4:30 p.m.. Captain James Henderson will command the Macassa; Mr. Oscar Flumerfelt, chief Engineer, and Mr. James Beeton, purser. The fares will be as follows : Single Fare, 50cs., return fare, 75cs, ten trips, $2.50. The favorite steamer Macassa looks trimmer than ever, no expense having been  spared to keep up the reputation that this popular steamer has always borne in the past. For the convenience of patrons, strip tickets may be bought at various leading drug stores.”¹

¹“First Trip of the Season’”

Hamilton Times.    March 28, 1908.

The April 1 target for the start of the Macassa’s  regular schedule of over the lake trips between Toronto and Hamilton unexpectedly could not be met.

A combination of adverse weather and problems arising from the reconstruction of the pier at the Burlington Canal were too much to permit the Macassa to pass out from the bay into the lake:

 “The steamer Macassa, looking as if she had just come out of a bandbox and carrying a hundred and fifty passengers, opened navigation in Hamilton harbor this morning, leaving for Toronto at 9 o’clock. The Macassa was the first boat to go through the canal this year. The officials of the Hamilton Steamboat Company say the lake is not very rough today, and notwithstanding the snow flurries, the passengers were promised a pleasant voyage. The Macassa will make one trip each way a day.

“The 24-hour gale from the east made things very wild at the Beach last night. The waves rolled up high on the lakeshore, and scooped the usually sloping beach out in great caves. The water ran very high, and completely washed away all the post and wire fencing which the Toronto & Niagara Railway Company erected, from the Beach Road to beyond Dynes’ Had there been a railway on this right-of-way the tracks would have been undermined.

“The east wind also sent the water through the canal into the bay like a river.

“It was very high in the inlets, and gave the Radial Company trouble. The company has a gang of men at work building a breakwater. The change of wind during the night lowered the bay so quickly that by 8 o’clock this morning the tops of the rails were visible.”²

²“Macassa On Season’s Trips : Water Did Damage Along the Beach Yesterday : Radial Company Has Gang of Men at Work Along Its Submerged Tracks ”

Hamilton Times.    April 02, 1908

 

1909 Kinrade Murder Part 8

 

“The Kinrade murder mystery, which has captured public interest as no other crime has done since the celebrated Birchall-Benwell case, near Woodstock, twenty years ago, will be more than a nine days’ wonder. It is just nine days ago since Ethel Kinrade, the daughter of a wealthy and prominent citizen, was foully slain in her father’s home in the heart of the city’s fashionable district, and the interest that prevails in Hamilton and the surrounding country, is if anything, more tense now than the afternoon the details of the shocking tragedy were first given to the public.”

Hamilton Times.    March  06, 1909

For the first time since Ethel Kinrade had died in her own home, the victim of gun shots, the Kinrade murder had to share the front page of the March 6, 1909 Hamilton newspapers with another sensational shooting.

Hamilton Police Constable Smith, while investigating a robbery in progress, had found the burglar, exiting the rear of a house. The policeman only had time to order the burglar once to stop, before he was shot multiple time, fortunately not fatally.

Over in Toronto, where the Kinrade family had gone to escape the intensity of the public interest of the case, the news of the Hamilton shooting actually made them feel somewhat better as it seemed to bolster Miss Florence’s claim that Ethel had been shot by an intruder.

The Kinrade family was contacted by reporters the morning after P.C. Smith was shot . He was at the City Hospital and his condition was still considered to be life-threatening:

“The change of surroundings, as was expected, has benefitted the members of the Kinrade family. Yesterday, Mr. Kinrade and his son, Earl, Miss Florence and her younger sister, left the Arlington Hotel, Toronto, where they are registered, and had a long walk in the bracing air. Miss Florence Kinrade is said to be recovering nicely from the terrible strain that has weighed on her since the murder of her sister. She was with her fiancée, C. Montrose Wright, yesterday, when he talked to reporters about the case, and she seemed in a less melancholy frame of mind than at any time since the tragedy.

“Miss Kinrade was present when Mr. Wright made this statement to a Toronto reporter:

‘Last night’s shooting in Hamilton will only corroborate Miss KInrade’s first story of her sister’s murder, that a tramp was the murderer. This story is undoubtedly the correct one. The family believe it, as I do.’

“He added that this morning the family were given courage by reason of the affair in Hamilton last night, as this would go far to establish beyond doubt the truth of Miss Kinrade’s first and authentic account of the murder, the tramp story.”

Hamilton Times.  March 6, 1909.

The Hamilton public were able to learn from the local press on Monday, March 8, 1909, that Miss ‘Flossie’ Kinrade had not been hysterical for some time and it was predicted that she would indeed be present at the Inquest scheduled for the following Wednesday:

 “It is announced definitely today that Miss Florence Kinrade will be able to attend and give her evidence at the inquest over the death of her sister Ethel on Wednesday night. Care has been taken to keep her mind off the tragedy as much as possible. In order to ascertain if it would be wise to have her give evidence on Wednesday evening, an examination was made by two eminent physicians from the Mimico Asylum yesterday – men accustomed to dealing with mental troubles of all kinds – Drs. Clark and Smith. They examined Miss Kinrade in the presence of the nurse, Miss Walker, and Detective Miller, Provincial Officer, was also in the Kinrade apartments at the Arlington. The physicians were quite satisfied with Miss Kinrade’s condition, physical and mentally. The ordeal through which she has passed has been a terrible one, but rest, quietness and good care have benefitted her greatly, and she will be here on Wednesday unless something unforeseen happens.”

Hamilton Times.    March  08, 1909.

While the Kinrade family was staying at the Arlington Hotel in downtown Toronto, they were under constant surveillance both by detectives and the press:

“Toronto, March 8 – Sunday passed quietly for the KInrades at the Arlington Hotel. None of the members left the building, but all remained for the greater part of the day in their apartments. Both Mrs. Kinrade and Miss Flossie Kinrade are able to come down to the dining room for their meals, instead of having them served in their rooms. The condition of Miss Florence continues to improve.”

Mrs. Kinrade, mother of the shooting victim, Ethel, was the focus of much attention by her family, fearing that she was not improving as was Florence:

 “There was a pathetic scene in the Arlington Hotel, Toronto, when Mrs. Kinrade was made aware of the fact that her daughter had been murdered She had been kept in ignorance of this fact all the time that the body of the victim remained in the Kinrade home, while the detectives were questioning Florence and while inquisitive people were haunting the neighborhood. “

Hamilton Times. March 9 1909

Mrs. Kinrade first was told that Ethel had met an accident, and had been taken to the hospital. Then she was told that Ethel was dead, but was not told the details of what had happened. :

“That terrible news had been broken as gently as possible and “the grief-stricken mother burst into a flood of weeping. Mr. Kinrade feared to break the news to his wife, lest the horrible details of how her daughter met her death might shatter what reserve strength the mother maintained. It became apparent, however, that the truth could not long be kept from the mother, and they decided  to try to pave the way for the final admission. This was done in as skillful a manner as might be.”

Hamilton Times. March 9 1909

Details of Ethel’s death were given to Mrs. Kinrade by the family’s nurse in attendance, Miss Walker:

“Mrs. Kinrade seemed crushed under this fresh grief.”

Hamilton Times. March 9 1909

As for Ethel Kinrade’s father, the toll of the matter of his daughter’s murder was very noticeable:

“Eleven days of constant mental and physical strain have told upon Mr. KInrade also. From the very first he has tried to look upon the fearful tragedy as calmly as possible, and has given every assistance in his power to the police in an effort to get at the bottom of the tragedy. He has given his consent to every suggestion made by the detectives, even at times when the condition of Miss Florence might have furnished him good reason for refusing. But the strain is telling. An intimate Hamilton friend who saw him in Toronto yesterday says the lines on his face have deepened and he has aged quite a bit. No one is more anxious than he to have the mystery solved and the good name of his family vindicated.”

Hamilton Times. March 9, 1909.

A reporter with the Hamilton Times managed to hold a brief interview with Miss Walker, the nurse who had been hired by the Kinrade family:

 “ ‘You can imagine what kind of condition Miss Florence Kinrade was in when I tell you that soon after the shooting of her sister, when she was being questioned in Hamilton by detectives, she suddenly identified one of them as being the man that forced his way in and shot her sister.

“ ‘I think she became nervous at the number of tramps that, just prior to the shooting, came around the house and, so far as the face goes, I think Miss Kinrade has got their features all tangled in one visage so that as yet she might not be able to identify the man if she did see him. But she is recovering her health and her shattered nerves are much stronger, and doubtless her recollection will become clearer also.

“ ‘What story will Miss Kinrade tell at the inquest in Hamilton?’ Miss Walker was asked.

“ ‘Just the one that she has always told, in the main. I am quite sure she is keeping nothing back, and that she is not attempting to hide anything. I think some of the rumors that some of the newspapers have printed are disgraceful. It is hard enough for members of the family to have this blow come on them without having anything else to bear. If Florence knew some of the reports in circulation, I believe she would lose her reason.”

Hamilton Times.           March 9 1909

 

1909 Kinrade Murder Part 7

 

“From an authoritative source, the Times learns that no new developments are expected before next week, probably not before the inquest, which will be resumed on Wednesday night it is expected that Florence Kinrade  and  her mother will have sufficiently recovered to permit them to go on the witness stand to tell their story.”

Hamilton Times.    March  05, 1909

A Mrs. C.N. Shafer was said to have heard three shots fired when she was passing the KInrade house shortly after 3 o’clock . The lady later claimed not to have said that, although many believed that her friends were trying to cover up the fact that she did.

“Driving twenty miles or more over drifted roads and snow-banked fields with a howling western wind blowing clouds of snow in one’s face and thermometer below zero, stopping at every other house to run down murder clues is no holiday trip. A Times reporter and a Toronto newspaper correspondent started out yesterday afternoon and scoured the country around Mount Hope thoroughly in hope of getting something definite to show that Mrs. Shafer really heard the shots fired and particularly to discover if possible how she fixed the time.

“Not since the sensational Baron murder mystery, when an unknown woman was found murdered in the fall of 1905 in a hickory grove back of Marshall’s lime kilns, off the James street road, has there been a crime in which that section of the country has been so greatly interested. The excitement is fully as intense as in Hamilton. The farmers read the papers every night, theorize and gossip about the probabilities of developments, and are as anxious to hear the views of everyone that comes along. Many of them have formed set opinions from what they have read from the newspapers, and nearly all of them wind up with the declaration, ‘It’s another Barton murder mystery. They will never get at the bottom of it.’

Hamilton Times  March 5 1909

At Glanford station, reporters discovered that Mrs. Shafer, along with her husband and her father had recently moved out of the area, relocating to Eden Centre, a small place near Buffalo, New York. The move had long been planned.

Discussing the KInrade case with residents, one who had talked with Mrs. Shafer before she left was told that she had had said that she heard shots while passing the KInrade house in a street car.

“ ‘It can’t be so,’ said one farmer, who seems to know something about city life. ‘There must be some mistake. Imagine anyone hearing three shots while riding on a Hamilton street car.’

A friend of Mrs. Shafer’s confirmed that she had in Hamilton on the day in question. When passing the Kinrade house, she noticed all the police presence. It was eventually decided that Mrs. Shafer’s father, Mr. Armstrong who was heard of hearing, had heard some of his daughter’s and did not hear it well, and when he went to the Glanford village grocery store, got the details incorrect when talking about what his daughter had seen.

The Toronto News printed a dispatch it had received from Norfolk Virginia :

“That Miss Florence Kinrade never had an engagement to sing in any church in this city has been established after careful investigation by the News’ correspondent. Nor has she ever sung in the Manchester Presbyterian Church.

“A Toronto Exchange this morning says :’Miss Florence Kinrade and her mother passed a quiet, restful night Wednesday night, and both felt considerably improved in health yesterday. The flutter of excitement caused by the family’s appearance in town is dying down, and the family are commencing to enjoy the peace and change for which they left Hamilton.”

Hamilton Times   March 5, 1909

 

1909 Kinrade Murder Part 6

While Mrs. Kinrade, mother of the deceased Ethel Kinrade and Miss Florence. the sister, could not be interviewed by members of the case given their conditions of nervous prostration and hysteria, the father, T.L. Kinrade was prepared to talk to the press:

 “When interviewed in his Herkimer street home, regarding the Virginia dispatch, Mr. Kinrade, father of the murdered girl, said:

‘My daughter had a position singing in the Manchester Presbyterian Church. She was a good musician, and was always fond of music. One night she was sitting at the window playing and the manager of an amateur theatrical company heard her. He offered her $20 a week to come and sing a couple of songs. As her duties in the church choir were not onerous, she was pleased with the opportunity of supplementing her income of $7 or $8 a week, which was paid her by the church.

‘We were fully informed of what she was doing, and acquiesced. There happened to be some people she knew in the amateur company, which made her work all the more agreeable. “

Hamilton Times. March 4, 1909

Mr. Kinrade went on to explain why Florence had been back and forth from Virginia and Hamilton recently as well as characterizing the relationship that his daughters, Florence and Ethel, had with each other :

“Mr. Kinrade spoke of her illness : ‘Some people never get acclimatized, and her southern doctor told her to come home. She came back to Hamilton in July, remaining a few months, and returned to Virginia in November. She came home again just before Christmas.’

“Mr. Kinrade remarked that the two sisters were always much attached  to each other.

“They were always together,’ he said ‘They could not have been more affectionate. I never remember of their having any serious quarrel in their lives. In her delirium, she has started up and cried, ‘Lock the door Ethel!’ as she says she did at the time of the tragedy.’

Hamilton Times March 4 1909.

Mr. Kinrade was quite angry with the way his daughter had been treated by the local police and the Provincial Detective :

“Mr. Kinrade criticized the methods of the detectives:

‘They interviewed her repeatedly and made her pass through those terrible scenes until she was practically out of her mind,’ he said. ‘We have come away from home in order to secure rest for her. During one of the interviews, she started up and pointed at one of the detectives, crying ‘There he is! There he is!’ This illustrates the condition of mind which she was in.

‘I wish to correct a few misstatements,’ continued Mr. Kinrade. ‘It is said that my wife attended the funeral. She did not, as she was under the influence of an opiate at the time. Further, I consider that report of my daughter’s attachment to a southerner absolutely without foundation. She may have had some friends down there, and perhaps  some of them were attracted by her. But she is and was engaged to a student, with whom she has been in constant correspondence.’

“Mr. Kinrade shows the traces of the severe mental strain to which he has been subjected during the last few days.”

Hamilton Times. March 4, 1909.

The Kinrade family had quietly left Hamilton for some rest and quiet in Toronto :

“The Toronto News yesterday said Mr. and Mrs. KInrade, Misses Florence and Gertrude, and Earl, the second son, are at the Arlington. They were accompanied by Miss Walker, the trained nurse, who has been attending Florence and Mrs. Kinrade since the tragedy. The family are maintaining the strictest seclusion. Instructions have been issued to allow no newspaper men near the rooms occupied by the family, who have apartments on the first floor. Only one or two friends were admitted this morning.

“Mr. C. Montrose Wright, a friend of the family, was asked if he had seen Miss Kinrade since her arrival in Toronto. He replied that he had not.

“ ‘You know there is no use of your staying around here,’ said he. ‘There is no possibility of your seeing any of the family. They were chased out of Hamilton by reporters and I don’t see why you can’t leave them alone here where they have come for a rest.’

          “On leaving the dining room for their apartments, Mrs. KInrade smiled wanly. The nurse was in advance. Then came Miss Kinrade, leaning on the arm of her mother. She looked very weak and pale. There was no life in her movements, and all the vivacity of action was gone. Mr. Kinrade, Earl and Gertrude followed. They passed upstairs at once to a parlor on the first floor above the main entrance to the hotel.

“Something must have happened to bring the remembrance of the few terrible moments of last Thursday back to the girl, for her sobs and smothered cries could be heard by those passing the room. A bell hop stood on guard and all the curious and inquisitive persons were kept from the place.

“Some old gentleman, believed to be a minster, called and had an interview with Mr. Kinrade. He refused to talk to the reporters, however, only stating that none of the family were in any condition to say anything. The elderly gentleman was quite indignant at being spoken to by reporters.”

“A Toronto Star correspondent shared what he had learned about the KInrade sisters plus the prominence of the KInrade family in Hamilton society:

‘Ethel Kinrade, the dead girl, was seldom with a young man, said a friend, in discussing the murdered young lady. He did not mean that she was uninteresting by any means, but that she was rather disposed to avoid the society of young men who crossed her path.

“In features, Ethel was rather attractive, and in conversation bright and cheerful. Just the night before her death, she attended a little house party of the Centenary Methodist Church choir, of which she was a member. Those who noticed her recall that she was very quiet – though that was nothing unusual for her.

“Ethel and Florence were both singers. Mr. W.H. Hewlett, choir leader at Centenary Methodist Church, told the Star last night that Ethel had been in his choir ever since he organized it. In her early ‘teens, she learned to sing, and liked it. Her voice was a contralto, rich and full.

“She was always quiet and unobtrusive,’ said Mr. Hewett, ‘always ready to do her part and never ambitious to appear in the limelight.’

“Her younger sister, Florence, had a soprano voice. She too, was for sometime in the Centenary choir. Three years ago, however, she received an offer to join the MacNab Street choir as a paid soloist. She took it, and remained there till her removal to Virginia last spring.

“ ‘And on her return at Christmas,’ recalled the choir leader, ‘we had her sing for us. Her voice had developed considerably, and I remarked how well she was getting along.’

“Some people estimate Mr. KInrade’s fortune at one hundred thousand dollars, others at a higher figure. It is known that he owned a good many houses in the city. Their wealth would permit them to be members of the fashionable set of Hamilton, but they haven’t accepted this privilege.

“There’s no more highly respected family in Hamilton than that of T.L. KInrade. And that very fact makes the terrible tragedy that befell the household last Thursday all the more unexplainable. The KInrades are amongst the oldest families of Hamilton.

“One who knows the KInrades as well as any Methodist clergyman can know a portion of his flock, after three years’ acquaintance, is the Rev. Richard Whiting. He is the pastor of Centenary Church. He speaks of the KInrades as among the most consistent of his congregation

“So far as he knew, said Mr. Whiting, the family relations of the KInrades were of the best. He was inclined to think that Miss Florence Kinrade’s story – the tramp theory – was the one that should be watched for definite development.

In the Valley City of neighboring Dundas, the following editorial appeared in the Banner:

 “Has a reign of terror been instituted in Wentworth? Hardware men report a phenomenal sale of revolvers, locks, window catches and door bolts. Husbands complain that their wives will not let them in if they have forgotten the prearranged signals. Deliverymen have to state their business before locked doors, all strangers are regarded with suspicion. Why? Just a case similar to locking the doors after the horse is stolen. Why the fear of tramps and marauders? There is little to be feared from these gentlemen at present. We are in reality now much safer than before the tragedy , since the police all over the country are aroused to unusual activity. Why become needlessly alarmed?”

Even as far away as the city of Belleville, the subject of the Kinrade case was a major topic of conversation as noted in the Belleville Intelligencer)

“It is to be hoped that the Hamilton mystery will soon be cleared up, or some people in this city will get nervous prostration.””

(To Be Continued)

Pictured: Centenary Church Choir