1885-03-09 Jail Escape

 “It is not often that the Times or any other paper is called upon to record an escape from the Hamilton Jail, which is admitted on all hands to be one of the safest and best-conducted institutions of the kind on the American continent.”

Hamilton Times     March 09, 1885.

It was very soon after the report of an escape from the jail on Barton street reached the attention of the staff at the Hamilton Times. A reporter was immediately dispatched to the scene.

The first person to be interviewed was the superintendent of the jail, Captain John Henery:

“ ‘Yes,” said Captain Henery, ‘a prisoner got away from us about 9 o’clock this morning. His name is Edward Wright, and he was doing a sentence of three months for larceny of a fur cap from a man named John Cunningham, of this city; he was admitted on Thursday. He escaped from the stone yard, and when you see the wall he climbed over, you will be astonished.’ ”¹

¹“ ‘Over the Garden Wall’ : Daring Dash for Liberty by a Hamilton Jail Bird : Remarkable Escape from Jail”

Hamilton Times     March 09, 1885.

Then the reporter was led to the area where the escape had been made :

“Turnkey Hawkins then courteously escorted the newspaper representative to the rear of the jail premises. ‘Here is the wall young Wright climbed over,’ remarked Hawkins, ‘and he must have made his exit from the that (northeast) corner. This is the way it happened : I had nine male prisoners in charge, escorting them from the jail to the stone yard. We were passing from the wood yard to the stone yard, and, of course, I had to stand at the gate to let the convicts file past me to see that they were all there. Wright was among the first to enter the yard, and he at once made a break for the fence and climbed like a cat to the summit and down the other side. I never saw such a quick move in all my life. I at once brought in the other prisoners and locked them up, and gave them the alarm. The other turnkeys, Sullivan and Ray, started out in search of the fugitive, and I went to the watch tower, but could see nothing of him. Governor Henery telephoned the police authorities.’ ”¹

The police immediately responded after hearing the news of the matter:

“It seems that on receiving news of the escape, the patrol wagon was dispatched with Detective McKenzie and Sergeant Vanater to scour the northeastern part of the city. These officers found the convict’s coat in the vicinity of the N. & N. W. elevator, and sent it to the jail. About 10:30 o’clock, Mr. Kenny, a milkman, called at the jail and told Governor Henery that one of his customers had seen the young man making tracks across Clark avenue about 9:20.”¹

As it seemed that the escapee had headed along the railroad tracks or the road towards the Beach Strip, he would be outside of the city limits, requiring the Hamilton police to be paid were they to pursue him:

“The Captain was quite content to pay all the expenses of the search.

“About 11 o’clock Chief Stewart dispatched two of his men – Reid and Campbell – in a buggy Beachward, with a view of running down the fugitive. Detective McKenzie and Sergeant Vanatter returned towards dinnertime, having scoured the country to the northeast, and around the Delta. They could find no trace.”¹

The Times representative provided his readers with some detail as to the challenges faced in making such an escape:

“The wall which young Wright scaled is 18 feet high, clean boards on the inside, and nothing from bottom to top upon which a foothold can be secured. On the outside of the structure are bevelled  binders which helped him somewhat to reach terra firma. The marks of his feet on the boards were plainly visible. On gaining his liberty, he hashed down the H. & N. W. Railway track and then – history may or may not reveal whither. The fact that he was in a position to discard the jail clothing after his escape gives color to the suspicion that he may have been assisted from outside. It was not impossible for a rope to have been thrown over at the corner of the stone yard to assist Wright in his dash for liberty, but if so it was removed immediately afterwards. How any human being could climb up the side of a perpendicular wall is a marvel; but then human beings sometimes do unheard of things to gain their liberty.”¹

Barton Street Jail (from 1876 Bird's Eye View Map)