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1 cm of textual records
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Biographical history
Ross Hamilton was born August 4, 1879 in Frontenac, Ontario to David Hamilton and Margaret Clyde. On February 23, 1916 he enlisted in the First World War, lying about his age and stating his birthdate as being in 1893. In 1938, he married Elizabeth "Bess" Heist (1910-1975) in Waterloo, Ontario. Hamilton worked for Waterloo Trust & Savings Co. where he met Homer Watson. Watson had been forced to sell his mortgage to the trust and saving company due to financial issues, and Hamilton became Watson's estate agent. After Watson's death in 1936, Hamilton and his wife Bess started the Doon School for the Arts in June 1948. Hamilton died June 10, 1952 and his wife took over the operations of the school until her death in 1975.
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Scope and content
Series documents the management of Homer Watson’s paintings by Ross Hamilton and the Waterloo Trust and Savings Company. Consisting of correspondence between 1942 and 1949, many of the letters are addressed to Hamilton, from various galleries and museums, regarding the possible purchase or exhibition of Watson’s paintings. Other correspondence to note is a letter from the Waterloo Trust and Savings Company to Prime Minister Leslie M. Frost on displaying Watson’s work in Canada’s parliamentary buildings. There is also a letter dating to July 14, 1917 that was written by Watson’s adopted daughter, Mary Margaret.
Correspondence
1. to Alma from Mary Margaret Watson, Doon July 14, 1917
Correspondence re: Homer Watson
2. to Ross Hamilton from Estates Manager Oct. 13, 1942
3. to Ross Hamilton, Waterloo Trust from O.W. Scott Feb. 28, 1944
4. to Ross Hamilton from Lillian MacIntyre, St. Catharines Dec. 30, 1947
5. to Ross Hamilton from D. I. McLeod, Toronto Jan. 23, 1948
6. to Ross Hamilton from Max Stern, Dominion Gallery, Montreal Feb. 23, 1948
7. to Ross Hamilton from Paul Rainville, Provincial Museum, Quebec April 1, 1948
8. to Ross Hamilton from Robert Tyler Davis, Art Association Montreal April 30, 1948
9. to Ross Hamilton from Blake- More Godwin, Toledo Museum of Art Oct. 2, 1948
10. to P.V. Wilson, Waterloo Trust from D. A. Wanklyn, Montreal Feb. 3, 1948
11. to Hon. Leslie M. Frost from P.V. Wilson Nov. 24, 1949
12. to P.V. Wilson from E. J. Young, Waterloo Trust, Toronto Nov. 30, 1949
13. note re Homer Watson's paintings