Lambton County's Infamous Abduction: The John S. Labatt Kidnapping

Sarnia Observer, August 15, 1934.

John S. Labatt has the unfortunate privilege of going down in history as Canada's first wealthy businessman to be held for ransom. His misadventure exploded into newspapers in August of 1934 after Labatt was snatched off the highway near his summer home on Lake Huron. Here, you will find a description of the kidnapping and trials that followed the event, as well as an exploration of the material related to the kidnapping that can be accessed at the Lambton Room.

In the second week of August 1934, Labatt had been visiting his historic summer home "Faithorne," then owned by Sarnia realtor and broker H.F. Holland. The handsome property was nicknamed "The Lake Shore Gentry" and originally owned by Colonel Faithorne, commandant of the Essex, Kent and Lambton forces during the Fenian Raids. Labatt was heading from his Lambton County summer home to a meeting in London the morning of August 14th. He drove through Camlachie and decided to take a shortcut to Warwick, reportedly because he was running late for his meeting in London. He would never reach that destination.

After spotting a fast-traveling, suspicious vehicle, Labatt was snatched off Egremont Road by four men. They drove Labatt to a cottage hideout in the Muskoka district, where he was reportedly fastened to a bed with a dog chain while the kidnappers sent a ransom note to Labatt's brother Hugh. One of the kidnappers phoned Hugh and told him to go to London's Victoria Hospital, where Hugh found his brother's car with a ransom note pinned to the upholstery. They demanded $150,000.00 for the safe return of the beer tycoon.

Sarnia Observer, August 15, 1934.

Labatt was kept chained up in the kidnapper's cottage for three days. On August 17th, newspapers reported that Labatt "was turned loose from the kidnapper's car in [the early morning] in Northwest Toronto... about three and a half miles from the hotel where he turned up to join his brother Hugh." The episode deeply shook Labatt, who became reclusive and withdrawn after the incident.

Sarnia Observer, August 17, 1934.

 

 

The story does not end with the release of Labatt, and a flurry of media activity surrounded the subsequent criminal trials. In fact, the case culminated in Canada's first incident of mistaken identity. Three men were arrested and charged for the kidnapping (a fourth, the getaway car driver, was never found). One of the arrested men was David Meisner, a small-time gambler from Kentucky who was identified by Labatt from a series of mug shots. At Meisner's trial, Labatt looked him in the eye and asserted, "That's the man, there in the box. He left a picture in my mind I shall never forget." The stirring testimony landed Meisner in jail in spite of his excellent lawyer and alibi. The case was not sorted out until 1936, when "Piccolo Pete" Murray was pinned as Labatt's kidnapper and Meisner was re-tried with a verdict of not guilty. Meisner later sued and settled for $5,500.00 (around $95,000.00 today).

Testimony of Kenneth Richardson, Kerwood.

The Lambton Room has an interesting collection of material relating to Labatt's kidnapping and the trials that followed. There is a series of newspaper clippings from the mid-1930s that lead the reader through the tense days while Labatt was in captivity as well as the media circus that descended upon the criminal trials. John S. Labatt's sworn testimony from the trials can be found in its entirety. Notes from lawyers on both sides of the cases, as well as telegrams and letters from the RCMP and OPP relating to the case, are also available. We have photocopies of warrants from the investigation. A copy of the ransom note can be read, both the note written by kidnapper "Three-Fingered Abe" and the plea from John S. Labatt himself  (the original is part of the University of Western Ontario collection). These primary sources provide vivid and up-close snippets of thekidnapping and subsequen trials. For anyone interested in reading more, Susan Goldenberg's 2004 publication, "Snatched! The Peculiar Kidnapping of Beer Tycoon John Labatt" is available at the Sarnia and Corunna library branches and explores the affair in detail.

So the next time you sip a Labatt Blue or head down Egremont Road, take a minute to recall the extraordinary kidnapping of John S. Labatt and its intimate connection to Lambton County.

Sarnia Observer, August 16, 1934. Lambton County residents involved in kidnapping case.

History in Surprising Places: Lambton County's Scenic Postcards

Walnut Street, Alvinston. 1911.

The inconspicuous and ordinary material you encounter in your everyday life may be surprisingly relevant for the archives of the future.

Only a small portion of printed material created is actually intended for preservation in a collection. As it turns out, often the most captivating and fascinating pieces of a collection are made up of material that was never meant to be retained. It is referred to as ephemera, derived from the Greek ephemeros, "lasting only one day, short-lived." Examples of ephemera that can become coveted and valuable over time includes advertisements, menus, movie tickets and labels.

King Street, Forest. 1906.

Postcards are another example of ephemera, and the postcards that have survived throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries are valuable additions to our collection. The Lambton Room has acquired scenic postcards that provide excellent glimpses of Lambton County's rural and urban scenery. These postcards are a powerful addition to our collection; sometimes a postcard provides the only image of a particular building or place.


Although not all the postcards in our collection have messages and addresses (some are blank), the ones that were used provide us with extra information. They create a small window into the life of the individual who wrote and mailed the postcard. Occasionally the postcard writer comments on events occurring in their town, providing us with insight into the community. Additionally, the postmark provides exact information regarding when and where the postcard was sent. This is critical from a historical point of view; the postmark can be used to help estimate when the image on the postcard was produced.

Vintage postcards are a fun and fascinating window into the past. Sometimes, the best parts of a collection are comprised of material that was never built to last.

Main Street looking East, Petrolia. 1913.

Forest Resident Branches Out: The Brown Family Travel Documents

Sometimes our archive receives donations that hint at Lambton County's connections with the rest of Canada and even extend internationally in scope. The Brown family travel documents are an excellent example.

Floyd Albert Brown lived in Forest from 1893 until his death on March 23, 2009. A native of Windsor, Brown was an intrepid pharmacist who, in his own words, "closed my pharmacy in Windsor [in 1973] and embarked on a two and a half year round the world odyssey with my family to study world pharmacy practices." Brown's work rejuvenated his profession and his adventurous spirit took him as far as Egypt, Indonesia and New Zealand. Brown's obituary in the April 2, 2009 issue of the Forest Standard reads: "Floyd lived a remarkable life as an innovative pharmacist, avid sailor, writer, photographer, gardener and active member of Christ Anglican Church in Forest."

CPR Hotel Menu first page, c. 1929.

In 2008, Floyd Brown made an interesting donation to the Lambton Room. Apparently his father George Brown was also bitten by the travel bug, and in 1929 George and his family embarked on a two-month vacation along the Canadian and American west coast. George Brown saved a remarkable amount of material from his trip, including postcards, photographs, CPR schedules and menus, hotel brochures and travel guides. Floyd Brown's donation to the Lambton Room contained these travel records, and they form a fascinating snapshot of North American travel and tourism. Material comes from locations as varied as Banff, Victoria, Yosemite National Park, San Diego and Tijuana.

Floyd Brown noted in a letter that accompanied his donation, "I am amazed by the quality of the brochures and the passenger service, 80 years ago, provided by many connecting North American Railroads. They were indeed the travel industry of the day."

Banff National Park postcard, c. 1929.

Collections of this nature serve several important functions for our county archive. They provide insight into the history of the Brown family and the family's activities. They communication information about the CPR's marketing campaigns, scheduling decisions and areas of service in the 1920s. Additionally, they speak to the growth of the travel and tourism industry. Lambton County families have diverse and exciting stories to tell, and those stories open up new avenues that take us in interesting and, in this case, even international directions. Enjoy the scans from the Brown travel collection.

Bardell Miniatures are collections of 9cm X 7cm photos encased in a cardboard folding envelope for easy mailing to loved ones back home. Front and back scanned here. c. 1929.

 

Brochure for the Hotel Agua Caliente Casino in Tijuana. Rates for a Private Spanish Villa were $8.00 for a Single and $10.00 for a Double!

The Lambton Room's New Blog: Exploring the Past

                The Lambton Room is excited to present its new blog, a place where you can experience some of the interesting pieces of history I encounter as an archivist. My name is Dana Johnson, and I am the voice behind this blog and the Lambton Room Historian. Join me as I investigate thought-provoking documents from our collection, and stop by to learn more about the history of the County of Lambton.

The traces left by the past are sometimes confusing, often fragmented, and ultimately fascinating footprints in the ongoing effort to chronicle the past. Archives are a unique place where history comes to life in the form of primary documents, the diverse records that have withstood the test of time and tell the past’s stories. Whether it be hundred-year-old leather-bound scrapbooks, negatives from the 1950s or a series of letters from the beginning of the twentieth century, there are always intriguing stories. Not only do they shed light on the history of the County of Lambton and the generations that have thrived here, they also provide insight into how Canada has grown as a nation, and how drastically the world has changed.

I look forward to sharing the interesting stories that come out of the Lambton Room’s collection. I also look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences reading these stories or anything you would like to share about research from your own visits to the Lambton Room.