Banker.
Born at Melbourne, Quebec on 31 August 1865, son of Andrew W. Hamilton and Helena Ann Fowler, he was educated at St. Francis’ College (Richmond) and Bishop’s College School (Lennoxville, Quebec). He served with the Ottawa Sharpshooters during the North West Rebellion of 1885. He joined staff of the Bank of British North America in June 1889, and transferred to the service of the Union Bank in 1910. His banking experience covered service in all parts of Canada from Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific coast, also New York and London. He was in charge of Union Bank in London at the outbreak of the First World War and some time afterwards. In 1925, he was appointed Assistant General Manager of the Union Bank of Canada, based in Winnipeg.
On 24 June 1896, he married Charlotte Ethel Spry (1874-1943) and they had one son and three daughters, including Elizabeth “Wiz” Hamilton (1911-2000, wife of William Culver Riley). He was a member of York Club, Hunt Club, Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Pine Ridge Golf Club (Winnipeg), and Anglican church. His recreations included hunting, fishing, and golf. He was a founding director of the Lakeside Fresh Air Camp for Children on Lake Winnipeg.
He died at Toronto, Ontario on 17 November 1945 and was buried at Barrie, Ontario.
Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.
Obituary [Charlotte Ethel Spry Hamilton], Toronto Star, 9 September 1943, page 30.
“Banking official, J. W. Hamilton dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 19 November 1945, page 3.
We thank Darryl Toews for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 23 May 2024
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