| Haunted
Hamilton knows about quite a few hauntings at the beautiful home
of Whitehern. This location is a feature stop on our Downtown
Hamilton Ghost Walk!
The History
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Dr. Calvin McQuesten brought his family to Hamilton in search of industrial riches. He was successfully as a savvy businessman. It didn't take long for the McQuesten family to be accepted into the Hamilton community.
Dr. Calvin didn't build Whitehern, but bought a beautiful mansion from a local clerk called "Willowbank". They renamed it Whitehern. Part of the land was used for a backyard and the other part given to the city for the construction of the MacNab Presbyterian Church.
After Dr. Calvin died in 1885, all the family businesses and dealings were left to his son Isaac. Just like the story of Eatons, the son couldn't repeat the success of the father. Soon foolish deals put the family in debt (about $900,000 in 1800's money).
The pressure was too much and Issac took his own life in Whitehern mansion, overdosing on sleeping draught and alcohol. His wife Mary Baker was a strong and smart woman, keeping the family afloat and making sure her children were raised right (if not a little too controlling with them).
Thomas Baker McQuesten would become the next family star when going into politics and becoming the Minister of Roads for all of Ontario. Some of his accomplishments include:
- The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) Highway
- The Rainbow Bridge to the United States
- The Skyway Bridge
- The TB McQuesten Bridge (to Burlington, Ontario)
- The Royal Botantical Gardens
The Music
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One of our
friends has a family member who work at Whitehern. They experienced many strange things .
The voice of a woman lightly singing from the second floor can be heard at random times. A piano is usally playing behind it.
On one occasion, she was locking up for the night and heard a radio playing from the second floor. She ran up the stairs to turn it off before realizing there was no radio in the house. It was then the woman realized the music had stopped.
Isaac McQueston
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We have a
theory of who this apparition could have been. Isaac McQuesten,
the son of Dr. Calvin McQuesten.
The following
is an excerpt taken from the official Whitehern website:
"Isaac
died very suddenly on March 7, 1888, at the age of forty, after
consuming a combination of a sleeping draught and alcohol. His
death was immediately followed by bankruptcy with liabilities
of $900,000 and assets of approximately $20,000 in personal
and Real Estate. However, he had had the foresight to place
the house, Whitehern, in the hands of a law partner in trust
for his wife. His will left his entire estate to his wife and
she was named the sole executor."
The excerpt
from Isaac's "Obituary" provides some details of his
death:
I.
B. McQuesten, M.A.
All
classes of citizens will learn with regret that I.B. McQuesten
died at 9 o'clock yesterday. The deceased was enjoying the
usual health until Tuesday evening, but was taken sick about
midnight. Dr. Mullin was called in and was with him until
9 a.m. yesterday when he died. Mrs. McQuesten left him reading
in the library and went to bed. About midnight she heard a
fall, and on going downstairs found her husband lying in an
insensible condition. In a glass in the room were the remains
of a sleeping draught which the deceased was in the habit
of taking occasionally, and it is supposed that in his latterly
feeble state of health the dose proved too much for him. Dr.
Mullin was immediately summoned and stayed with him until
morning by which time he had partially regained consciousness,
but shortly after he relapsed into insensibility and died
in a few minutes.
(Hamilton Daily Spectator,
Thursday, March 8, 1888, p.3)
Isaac McQuesten's
story is a tragic one, beginning with the death of his mother
at the age of four and ending with his own untimely death at
the age of forty.
The happy period in his life was his loving
relationship with his wife, and his pride in his children and
his community. Isaac's father's story, Dr. Calvin McQuesten,
represents the rise of the house of McQuesten, while Isaac's
story represents the fall of the house of McQuesten.
Isaac's escape
_________________
This experience was conveyed to us directly from a staff
member who used to work in the museum. One day, while all alone
in the museum, she was walking down the main staircase towards
the main floor.
She was violently shoved aside... so strong that she braced herself
against the wall to stop herself from falling down the stairs.
Regaining her footing, she saw a shadowy figure
of a man, grey in colour, rush past her, down the stairs and
out the front door.
Could this be the ghost of Isaac trying to escape the house? Many staff and visitors believe this to be true.
Fortunately
the house of McQuesten was saved through the efforts
of Mary Baker McQuesten and her children, after the death of
Isaac in 1888. After the initial shock and grief, Mary took
on the role of the family matriarch of her six children who
were between the ages of three up to fourteen, and she struggled
through at least twenty years of genteel poverty to maintain
the home, guide and educate her children, and finally to restore
the house of McQuesten to social prominence and prestige, if
not to wealth.
For
more information and the full history of Whitehern
please visit their website at:
http://www.whitehern.ca
©
Photo taken by Stephanie Cumerlato
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