Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthSeptember 26, 1893
Place of BirthWishaw, Lanarkshire
CountryScotland
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinAlexander Hamilton, father, Keewatin, Ontario
Trade / CallingClerk
ReligionBaptist
Service Details
Regimental Number721241
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion108th Battalion
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Infantry
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Address at EnlistmentStonewall, Manitoba
Date of EnlistmentDecember 13, 1915
Age at Enlistment22
Theatre of ServiceCanada
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathJuly 21, 1979
Age at Death86
Buried AtRegina Memorial Park Cemetery, Regina, Saskatchewan
Plot1C-03-A

Hamilton, Alexander

Alexander Hamilton was born on 26 September 1893 in the parish of Cambusnethan in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Both of his parents, Alexander Hamilton and Mary Lindsay, were from the area, marrying on 24 June 1892 in Cambusnethan. At the time of the marriage Alexander Sr’s occupation was given as sawmill engine keeper. Other children born to the couple were Agnes (Nessie) (1897), and James (1901).

Alexander, Mary, and the children immigrated to Canada in 1904, arriving in Montreal aboard the Corinthian on 13th of July. The passenger list indicated that they were on their way to Shoal Lake but the family ended up settling in Keewatin, Ontario, a community a few kilometres west of Kenora in northwestern Ontario. Mary gave birth to daughter Jane Elizabeth (Jean) in March of 1907 but sadly Mary died that August, interred in the Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora on the 12th. Alexander Sr was next found on a border crossing record of May 1910. He was travelling with John Stewart Cassels, both of Keewatin, on their way to San Fransisco. At some point Alexander Sr’s sister Agnes had immigrated to Canada and she and children Alexander Jr, Nessie, James, and Jean crossed the border in June of 1910, also on their way to San Francisco. By the time of the 1911 census John and Agnes had married and were back living in Keewatin. Alexander and the children returned at some point after the census was taken. Although living in Keewatin at the time, Alexander Sr married Euphemia (Effie) Ellis in March of 1913 in Port Arthur, Ontario. Born in 1867 in Orwell, Kinross in Scotland, Effie was the daughter of John Ellis and Christina Brand.

With occupation given as clerk, residence as Stonewall, Manitoba, and his father Alexander Sr in Keewatin as next of kin, Alexander signed his attestation paper in Winnipeg on 13 December 1915 with the 108th Battalion. The 1916 census found him listed as living with the William Botham family in Stonewall, training at Camp Hughes. However Alexander was found medically unfit, having a deformed/atrophied leg caused by infantile paralysis in 1896. He was discharged from service on 15 August 1916 at Camp Hughes.

Having just turned 16, Alexander’s brother  James enlisted in Winnipeg in May of 1917 and served in Europe with the 5th Canadian Division Military Transport Detachment, Canadian Field Artillery.

On 6 June 1917, in Stonewall, Alexander married Anna Dell Botham. Born in 1894, Anna was the daughter of William and Adeline (née Appleyard) Botham. By the time of the 1921 census Alexander, Anna, two year old son Harrison Lindsay, and Alexander’s sister Nessie were living in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan. Also living in Kerrobert was Alexander’s brother James. By 1935 the family had relocated to Regina where Alexander worked in sales over the years. Other children born to Alexander and Anna were Phyllis who died in infancy in 1918, and daughter Miros.

Alexander died on 21 July 1979 in Regina. He was predeceased by his wife Anna in 1954 and his daughter Miros Dean in 1968 as well as by his father Alexander in 1935, his stepmother Effie in 1936, and his sister Jean Brown in 1974, all in Port Arthur and his brother James in 1977. At the time of his death Alexander was survived by his son Lindsay and son-in-law Russ Dean, both of Regina, sister Nessie Boulter of Victoria, nine grandchildren, and eleven great grandchildren. Alexander and Anna are interred in the Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery in Regina.

Although his service was cut short, Alexander is commemorated for it on the Municipality of Keewatin for King and Country plaque.

By Judy Stockham

Gravemarker photo: courtesy of mrbloggins on findagrave.com


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