The Disappearance of Ambrose Small
Ontario, Canada

By Daniel Cumerlato

There is no dark mystery here. Ambrose disappeared on a sunny afternoon back in December of 1919. All seemed well for him and his family as he walk out of a meeting that would claim Mr. Small a multimillionaire.

The darkness here was in the heart of the person who planned to remove him from the face of the planet. This person must have only felt hate, for to strike down those who are happiest is to commit a terrible crime. Their hatred would begin a mystery lasting almost a century long, a mystery that would ask the question, “What happened to Ambrose Small?”

Ambrose is Gone!
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A crime has been committed and the Toronto police made the decision to spare no expense to find out who committed it. Once the clues and evidence stopped supporting the solution, a more straight-laced detective would replace the first detective. The first one remained on due to a personal connection with one of the top suspects, and so began a conflict that would affect the professional nature of the police. This may sound to you like a movie plot, it’s not, what we have here is the real life script for an investigation of Ambrose Small’s disappearance.

Meet Austin Mitchell. Detective Mitchell is a great investigator, so great that he attracted the most mysterious disappearance in Canada’s history. He has been asked to find Ambrose Small, dead or alive, and put to rest all of the questions that surround this legendary case.

It would be the Commissioner of Ontario horse racing and friend of Ambrose, Thomas Flynn, who would approach the great detective Austin Mitchell. His “outside-of-the-box” methods were perfect for this strange case. He relies on psychics, which back in the 1920’s was seen as very strange for a professional. Psychics were gypsies and fakes; they could not be trusted as the ability to see the future was impossible. Mitchell was ahead with his thinking, but psychics would prove to be unhelpful in this case.

Detective C.D. Hammond was brought in on the case after public uproar on the lengthy and unsuccessful efforts of the police were heard. Hammond was a true straight-lace professional. He followed the clues, corresponding to the law and making no friends along the way. Together, the two detective’s competition would unearth the best clues to ever be found.

The Evidence
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Ambrose’s secret life
Within the walls of the Grand in Toronto, Detective Hammond discovered a small room setup to be apparently used for extramarital affairs. The room was described of having wall-to-wall, thick and expensive Oriental carpeting. Expensive fabric was draped along the walls to act as soundproofing. A bar stacked with whiskey and wine, and a bed, dressed with satin sheets and many pillows. There were no electrical lights in this room, only candles were found.

The paperboy
Ralph Savein sold newspapers to Ambrose Small almost every morning. He claimed to be the last person to see Ambrose alive, a day after the disappearance. Police would debunk his claim, and found out that Ralph was only seeking attention and fame.

Bodies everywhere
After word got out that Ambrose Small was missing, and that a $50,000 reward was placed on finding him alive, or $15,000 dead, bodies began to be found everywhere. Every body was claimed to be Ambrose by those would found them. In many cases the dead fit his physical description and it would come down to only one anomaly, Ambrose had hammertoes. They would disprove every claim.

The Main Suspects
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Theresa Small:
Who is she? The socialite wife of Ambrose.

Why was she a suspect? Her cold reaction to his disappearance, and seemingly emotionless actions towards efforts to find him. The fact that she had almost two million dollars all to herself now that he was gone. She knew about his cheating and despised him for it.

John Doughty:
Who is he? Ambrose’s assistant at the Toronto Grand where he made his head office.

Why was he a suspect? At the same time of Ambrose’s disappearance, John was reported missing as well. After talking to the people closet to them, the detectives would find out that John had hated Ambrose for being greedy and cheap. John felt that he had help build Ambrose’s fortune and wanted part of the profits. Ambrose would only continue to pay the pittance of a salary to John and never even buy him a present at Christmas. It was found out that John even told a friend that he wanted to kill Ambrose.

The Disappearance of John Doughty
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The day after Ambrose disappeared, his assistant John Doughty arrived in Montreal. After that day, John was never seen from again. The only evidence of his still being alive was found by his sister. There was evidence at his apartment around Christmas time that showed he had arrived and left quickly.

Years later John was found in Oregon City, Oregon, hiding out under a new identity with a brand new life. One of his current employees, known as “Three Fingers” for obvious reasons, saw a wanted poster for John Doughty and immediately called the police to report his manager, Charlie Cooper.

John was brought back to Toronto and his case was met with huge public interest. This would turn out to be one of the most anticipated trials in Canada’s history as thousands gathered inside and outside of Old City Hall. Disappointment abound when it was found out that there wasn’t enough evidence to try him for Ambrose’s death. The jury would find John guilty, but only for the theft of $104,000 worth of bonds. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

His Hauntings and the Theatre he Loved
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The claim to his ghost belongs to London’s Grand Theatre. This is said to be his favorite.

As has been credited with some ghost sightings at the Grand, more famous is the time he caused the construction delay that would save a priceless artifact. Renovations were being done on the old theatre and a bulldozer was brought in by the construction company to assist in the demolition and rebuilding according to the plans.

Just as the demolition machine got ready to break through, and begin tearing out the old for the new, it stalled. Confused, they started it back up and prepped to destroy the wall again, only to have the machine cut out again. Since this strange occurrence would only happen with the wall, the construction workers got curious. In behind the doomed spot they found one of the theatre’s original archways, with a priceless and irreplaceable mural painted upon it. Ambrose Small was said to have stopped that bulldozer in a successful attempt to save the mural he loved so dear.

Although many more stories come out of London’s Grand Theatre, this is not the only place that has become accustom to Ambrose’s post-death visits. The Tivoli Theatre in Hamilton has seen it’s share of Mr. Small. Reports from its staff have placed the apparition of what was thought to be a homeless man in different locations around the building. The described him as Victorian dress, not the usual type of cloths seen on the homeless of Hamilton. He wasn’t a tall man at five and half feet tall, but stood with the confidence of a tall man. The most noticeable feature was his mustache, which was long and curled out at the ends.

Knowing the history, Loren Lieberman, the manager of the Tivoli and witness to the ghost, took out a book on Ambrose Small from the Hamilton Public Library. With out telling his staff who it was, he showed them a picture of Ambrose from the book. One by one, the staff members agreed that the man in the picture was the one they say loitering about the theatre.

More details about the connection between Ambrose Small and the Tivoli Theatre are coming soon, when Haunted Hamilton presents The Investigation of Hamilton’s Most Haunted Theatre.

You can also hear about his hauntings on the Ghost Walk of Downtown Hamilton, visit: http://www.ghostwalksofhamilton.com.

Article By: Daniel Cumerlato
Founding Partner of Haunted Hamilton

References
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McClement, Fred. The strange case of Ambrose Small. McClelland and Stewart; ASIN: 077105498X

Loren Lieberman, General Manager/Artistic Director, The Tivoli Theatre

Other Interesting Related Links
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http://www.grandtheatre.com/index2.html

http://www.corrystuart.com/Ambrose%20Small.html

http://www.russianbooks.org/small.htm