Capt. William Hall, Deputy Harbor Master at Toronto

Capt. William Hall is one of the best known men on the great lakes. He is Deputy Harbormaster of Toronto, and lives in a pretty cottage on the Queen's wharf at the western end of Toronto harbor. The cottage is made especially snug against the winter blasts from Lake Ontario.

Capt. Hall was born in Manchester, England, on April 20, 1833, his father being Mr. William Hall. His mother's maiden name was Miss Whitehead. They had a family of nine children and William was their fourth. William Hall, the elder, was a wealthy English farmer. Securing a competency comparatively early in life he retired and lived for many years in Manchester before he died at a good age in 1879. Young William Hall was educated at the parish schools in Manchester, and when fourteen years old he was appointed to the trade of carpenter and joiner. Once through his apprenticeship he set up in business as a builder and contractor, succeeding well. When the Crimean war broke out he was appointed General Foreman of Builders in the army works corps, under Sir Joseph Paxton. Until peace ensued he was located at Balaclava; afterward the corps returned to London and was disbanded.

When Mr. Hall left the army he returned to Manchester, and subsequently Miss Elizabeth Bentley, of Manchester became his wife. After the wedding in 1857, Capt. and Mrs. Hall came to Canada and settled in Hamilton. Whilst there Capt. Hall was appointed clerk of the works of buildings underway in the Hamilton yards of the Great Western Railroad Company, at that time one of the main steam roads in Canada. Subsequent to the fatal accident at the Desjardins Canal in 1870 it was realized that a competent bridge inspector was required, and Capt. Hall was given the position. Then he became official contractor for the railway company. He erected the Hamilton elevator, and later built an elevator and other works for the company in Sarnia.

Following the business of builder and contractor until 1873, he at that time conceived the idea of building a mill to cut oak timber for the British market. In pursuit of his scheme he moved from Hamilton to Waubaushene, on the Georgian Bay. Here he erected his mill, and the lumber trade boomed under his energetic direction, so that presently a thriving village grew about his property. He continued in the business for ten years, but in 1881, on May 29, his wife died. This somewhat disheartened Capt. Hall, so when Messrs. A. P. Dodge & Company made him a favorable offer for the mill in 1882 he sold out and removed with his four sons and two daughters to Toronto.

Once settled in Toronto, Mr. Hall entered into an agreement with President Barlow Cumberland of the Northern railway to put on a line of barges to carry lumber from Toronto to Oswego, N.Y., in connection with the railway. This business Mr. Hall continued for some years, during which time he earned the title of captain. He owned the powerful tug W. T. Robb, and the schooners Marquis,John Bentley,Andrew Stevens,Annie Mulvey and Baltic. Later he built the propeller W. B. Hall. In 1883 he married Mrs. Mary Mathews of Toronto, and in the same year ran for Alderman in St. Andrew's Ward, and was elected by a considerable majority over Ald. Defoe. Capt. Hall sat for the St. Andrew's Ward one year. In 1884 he returned to stand for re-election, but in 1885 he again came out and was returned, defeating Ald. Farley. Whilst in the Council he was a member of the Waterworks Board, the Board of Works, and was the Council's nominee on the Harbor Commission for the three years while he was Alderman.

During his life Capt. Hall has travelled a good deal in Canada and the United States, has crossed the Atlantic Ocean over a dozen times, and has visited almost every point of interest in the British Isles. He is a Freemason, he belongs to the Anglican Church, and in politics he is a Conservative. About four years ago Capt. Hall had a serious illness and almost died. His physician ordered on his recovery that he should abandon all business or civic worry. Accordingly he retired for some time. When it was proposed that he become Deputy Harbormaster he resigned his seat from the Board of Commissioners at which he sat for the Board of Trade, of which he is a member, and accepted the post. His appointment to the position of Deputy Harbormaster of Toronto port, over a year ago, was a popular one; the captain finds the work congenial and healthful.

Return to Home Port

The entire file of the Globe and Mail and its predecessors is now online via subscription at Micromedia ProQuest