Unfortunately they had picked an area near Grandpa’s garden to have their match and in the process destroyed his garden. When Grandpa came home from work that day, seeing his destroyed garden and uncle Bob peaceably rocking on the porch - the sh-t hit the fan. He picked up both Bob and the rocker and threw them across the front lawn. Charles was nowhere to be seen.

I guess Grandpa Bill was pretty tough to live with at times although he was a hard worker and always supported the family. Whatever the reason Grandma unfortunately decided to leave Grandpa around 1920 - Grandma Lillie Mae and the “kids” (they were all grown and working) moved to 114 Woodside Ave. (Poor Grandpa came home one day to an empty house.)
I recently found some of my dad’s (Charles) old letters he had received when he was living there.

Uncle Bill, Uncle Lawrence and Aunt Lil were already married and did not live on Woodside. I guess my Dad (Charles), Bob, Betty and Marcella were still living with Grandma. Ken was living with them too. Ken always considered Charles and Bob his “other fathers” - who sort of guided him through these years. Ken whose given name is William Thomas, is the son of Uncle Bill and Ella McClure. His mother Ella unfortunately died when Ken was only 2 years old, leaving Ken more or less on his own. (Uncle Bill married Mina Fraser who had a boy of her own and did not seem to want Ken around.)
Bob was doing some prize fighting by then and Ken said - he would buy a new Model T Ford when he won a big fight. One time Ken and cousin Eddy Thruston (Aunt Lil’s oldest) took Bob’s Model T for a ride down the street and wound up running it up the guide wire of a telephone pole. (I wonder what Uncle Bob said about that!)

Ken also said that he and Eddie would take bike rides out Mckinley Parkway (which was just a dirt road at the time) to watch the construction of Our Lady Victory Basilica. He also said he caddied out at the Orchard Park Country Club - he would wait for a golfer to pick him up at South Park and Woodside and bring him out there - when they were done they would drive him back to Buffalo - he was about 10 or 11 years old at the time.

After the break up, Grandpa William moved back to Oshawa, Canada to some property he had inherited from his Grandparents, the Kendricks. (William’s father - John Robert Hamilton was born in Ireland and migrated to Vasey, Canada with his family when he was a child.
He later married Elizabeth Kendrick and they had 10 children (William Thomas was the oldest). After she died he married Elizabeth Beckett and they had 5 more children. After she died he married a third time but had no children. When Elizabeth Kendrick’s parents died they willed the property to their first grandson William T. instead of their former son-in law John Robert.
John Robert however leased the property from William for the remainder of his life. After Lillie Mae (Lily May?) and William Thomas broke up - William moved back to this property in Oshawa and lived there the rest of his life.)

I think Lawrence inherited the property after William died. I went up with my Dad to visit Grandpa once when I was about 16 years old. It was a small house out in the country, just enough room for one person. It was adjacent to his brother George’s house (we stayed at George’s that night after visiting with grandpa.
They were great people and I really enjoyed my visit with all of them.) I remember going into town with George Jr.(Dick) who had just come home after serving in the Canadian Army during World War 2 - he just wanted to enjoy hanging out on the corner once again.
It must have seemed strange to him to go from fighting in the war - to going back to the old town and hanging out at the corner with the rest of the guys again.
Another thing I remember is - Grandpa showing me his “invention” - he had put a set of coaster wheels on a case of beer which he could easily slide in and out from under his bed. It served him well.

Getting back to Woodside - both my mother (Lucille Trometer) and Aunt Betty worked for Larkins in the Larkin building at this time and I think Betty may have been instrumental in introducing my dad to my mother at a party. They went together for about 5 years before they got married June 22, 1927.
Bob had been going with Ethel Britton, whom he had met at a dance and they also were married around this time. Betty married Joe Myers and Marcella married Joe Abbott also about this time. (I am guessing this because all the cousins are close to the same age.)

All of a sudden all the “kids” had left and Grandma found herself living alone.
I don’t know if Ken was still living with her or not. Ken eventually married Celestine Work (June 27, 1936 at St. Teresa's in So. Bflo.) and became a Buffalo firefighter. They had four children and lived happily everafter. Anyway there was no money coming in for Grandma except what the boys gave her. There was no Social Security in those days. Things may have been OK for awhile - until the 1930's depression took hold and then things got tough. Everyone was trying to raise their family and some lost there jobs - I know my dad did for a while.

Grandma Lillie Mae was left to fend for herself and spent the remainder of her life living with one of the boys or as a boarder. She was living with Uncle Bob and Aunt Ethel when she died. I enjoyed knowing her when she stayed with us, her specialty was reading tea leaves after supper. She could see all sorts of things in them tea leaves that I never could.

Don Hamilton 1999

Hamilton Family Tree

Hamilton/Trometer Family

Trometer Family Tree

Hamiton/Freeman Story

Great Web LInks