Born July 3, 1793 ; Died July 6, 1862, Aged 69 Years
William Hamilton Merritt From the book Biography of the Hon. W. H. Merritt, M. P. by Jedediah Prendergast Merrritt Image courtesy of Wikipedia
If, in thy wanderings o’er this beauteous earth, ….A solemn thought should contemplate the doom
Of minds inheriting intrinsic worth, ….Go mark the spot where Merritt lies entombed !
An active life, the path he sought aright ….For his adopted country ;—through each change
He watched its progress with intense delight ; ….His mind capacious took extensive range.
A wilderness around his boyish days, ….When first he strolled through woods so dense so green ;
He lived to see vast schemes matured, and gazed ….With pride and admiration o’er the scene.
The Lakes’ bold shores, the angry waters stayed, ….Were altered in their course by one great plan ;
After comingling opened wide a trade ….And commerce vast to high-aspiring man.
Still incomplete to meet his restless eye, ….Which ever beamed with generous emotion,
He soared beyond a bright Canadian sky ….To carry on our commerce o’er the ocean.
But Death, that intervenes to mar our hopes, ….Cut short his measures for the country’s weal ;
A funeral dirge at last, in moving tropes, ….Proclaimed at large what all survivors feel.
The loss of one so useful in his day, ….A chasm left that none can e’er supply ;
The mourners walk abroad, and wend their way ….Each to respective homes, to heave a sigh,
Exclaiming, “Truly, wonderful is death !— ….A silent monitor to each from birth—
A power that robs the human race of breath, ….And levels giant minds to mother earth.”
Many men of talent still that path pursue, ….Which our departed friend so wisely loved ;
Walk in his footsteps, with the self-same view ; ….And ultimately rest — rewarded above.
July 13, 1862
Source: St. Catharines Constitutional, July 17, 1862.
Many thanks to historian Dennis Gannon for bringing this poem to the NFPP curator’s attention.
William Hamilton Merritt had many ties to Niagara Falls: he served with the 2nd Lincoln Militia during the War of 1812, stationed at Chippawa; was the driving force behind the Welland Canal, which followed Chippawa Creek part of the way; and was a driving force behind the construction of the first suspension bridge across the Niagara River.
Staring at the water Beside the top of Niagara Falls Thinking about throwing myself in.
My sister is visiting and I am exhausted by Pretending I don’t want to die Which makes me want death more.
I imagine my body smashing against the rocks Or Being pummelled under by the water.
I see my Fat Bald Sad Body Floating down the river On its back Disgusting the other Fat Bald Sad Bodies that stand looking at geography In this trash town As if it means redemption.
I stop myself By thinking What if I become a ghost.
What if In this horrible world Of horrible horrors The punishment for suicide Is an eternity on Earth?
I step away from the edge And tell no one How close I was To jumping.
Many of the pre-1921 poems published on the Niagara Falls Poetry Project website are found with the assistance of Charles Dow’s Anthology and Bibliography of Niagara Falls, published in 1921. Chapter 8 of this two-volume set deals with the music, poetry, and fiction published about Niagara Falls in chronological order, starting in 1604. Many entries are purely bibliographic; that is they list the author, title, and source of a poem. Others contain summaries or editorial comments by Dow about the poem, the full text of some of the shorter poems, and excerpts from some of the longer poems. Dow does have the habit of changing words and punctuation, and sometimes skipping sections without giving indication that he is doing so, so whenever possible, I go to the original source. Dow’s work is monumental, and I am in awe of what he accomplished. If I find a pre-1921 poem that is not in Dow, I feel a sense of accomplishment, and, I am somewhat embarrassed to admit, of smugness that I managed to find something that he hadn’t.
Case in point: in the entry for 1867, Dow cites a poem by M.F. Bigney – Visit of the Sunbeams to the Falls of Niagarain Bigney’s book The Forest Pilgrims and Other Stories. I searched for the book and found a full-text copy online through the Hathi Trust. After adding this poem to the site, I then looked at the rest of his poems, and discovered one called Lines Written for a Lady’s Hair Album, at Niagara, which I proceeded to add to the site. I admit that I had never heard of hair albums, so I conducted a search for them. My wife, Louise, had known about hair braidings that people (including her grandmother) had framed and hung to commemorate the passing of a loved one, but not albums. The search led to an interesting article Hairy Memories: Hair albums used braided hair to create memories by James Rada, Jr., and to a Brock University Archives online exhibition called Stories Told Through Scrapbooking. One of the scrapbooks in the exhibition is the Bradt Family Hair Album, with locks of hair from the Bradt family (United Empire Loyalists who settled in Niagara) from 1843 to 1976. David Sharron, Head of Archives & Special Collections at Brock University, tells me that “We love the Bradt hair album here. It is always a showstopper on tours.”
On the exhibition page, a poem from page 11 of the album had been transcribed. Titled Resignation to the Approaching Period of Decline and Decay, it had originally been written in 1812, just after the outbreak of the War of 1812, by James Melloy, and dedicated to “The Misses Price.” One of them, Susannah (Price) Dunn, had been born in 1808 and died in 1887. A lock of her hair had been included in the album.
So today feels like a real win for me. I’ve managed to add three 19th century poems to the website (only one of which had been indexed by Dow), learned about a death rite that I had previously never known about, and added a new dimension to my upcoming presentation, The Niagara Way of Death, to the 2023 Popular Culture Conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Days of my youth, ye have glided away ;
Hairs of my youth, ye are frosted and gray ;
Eyes of my youth, your keen sight is no more ;
Cheeks of my youth, ye are furrowed all o’er ;
Strength of my youth, all your vigor is gone ;
Thoughts of my youth, your gay visions are flown.
Days of my youth, I wish not your recall ;
Hairs of my youth, I’m content ye should fall ;
Eyes of my youth, ye much evil have seen ;
Cheeks of my youth, bathed in tears have ye been ;
Thoughts of my youth, ye have led me astray ;
Strength of my youth, why lament your decay ?
Days of my age, ye will shortly be past ;
Pains of my age, yet a while can ye last ;
Joys of my age, in true wisdom delight ;
Eyes of my age, be religion your light ;
Thoughts of my age, dread ye not the cold sod ;
Hopes of my age, be ye fixed on your God.
This poem is from a newspaper clipping dated December 8, 1893, pasted into The Bradt Family Hair Album in the Brock University Archives. The Bradt family were United Empire Loyalists who settled in Niagara-on-the-Lake and the St. Catharines area.
Above the poem is written:
“A Relic of 1812
The following beautiful lines were among the relics left by Mrs. Susan Dunn, (wife of William Dunn, J.P., late of the township of Wainfleet, and county of Welland, Ont.) and second eldest daughter of the late David Price, who for many years held the position of secretary of the government stores at Fort George, Niagara.”
Beneath the poem is written:
“James Melloy,
Conductor of King’s Stores, &c., &c., &c.
This is for the amiable the Misses Price to learn by heart, which will give great pleasure and joy to their devoted and very humble servant,
James Melloy,
Fort George, at Head Quarters, Oct. 29th, 1812”