Arthur BARTON
Served 1953-1979
Arthur (Art) Barton was born on the Six Nations of the Grand River - First Nations Reserve in 1927. His mother was Mabel Laurena Barton (1903-1990) nee Atkins, a member of the Mohawk Tribe. His father was George Edward Barton, (1885-1959), born in Bolton, Lancaster, England. George Barton returned to England to seek employment, after the birth of Arthur. He told Mabel that he would send for them, but she never heard from him again. When Mabel Atkins married George Barton, she automatically lost her Indian Status according to the terms of the Indian Act at that time. And when Art was born, he was not eligible for Indian Status. 1
Art grew up on the First Nations Reserve and helped his grandfather, Peter Atkin, operate a General Store and Post Office. They were always up early to open that store. Later in Art’s life, he would recount that “life on the Reserve was where luxuries were sometimes limited, but loyalty plentiful”.
When Art was around twelve years of age, Mabel and Art moved to Hamilton so that he could attend a better school, according to Laura O’Grady who is a cousin of the family. He attended Central Collegiate Institute on Wentworth Street North. Financially things were tough for the family and Mabel relied on Mothers’ Allowance to support them. Although Art was a good student, he quit school at sixteen years of age to help support his mother. If possible, he had hopes of continuing his education, attending university, and going to medical school.
For the next 10 years Art worked in the steel mills and in the foundry of International Harvester. Then, in 1953, when Art was twenty-six years of age, he saw a recruitment advertisement for the Hamilton Police. He applied and was hired. His enrollment date is listed as February 7, 1953.
We believe Constable Barton (badge #283) was the first Hamilton police officer with Aboriginal heritage to be hired.
Much of the information written in this article was discovered in a Hamilton Spectator newspaper article we found at the Hamilton Police Historical Society and Museum. Neither the date of publication nor the reporter’s name are included, but we believe it was written around 1969. The headline caption in the sixty-year-old Spectator article reads: “Half-Indian policeman is ‘Chief’”.
Art told the reporter that classmates, and later friends on the force, sometimes called him ‘Chief’- in a good-natured manner. He talked about growing up on the First Nations Reserve and that his heritage was something he had great pride in. “Although he is aware of some Indians, who have encountered discrimination, he has not.”
In the news article Art said: “I think meeting and talking to RCMP officers on the reservation had something to do with my wanting to join the force”.
Laura O’Grady remembers Art as being very good natured. She remembered he carried a small bible under his police hat when he was working. She told us about when he was talking to a driver and was bent over, and a passing car clipped his uniform pants and tore a hole in them. She also recounted that he only drew his weapon on one occasion to protect another officer but did not find it necessary to fire.
The Hamilton Police Safety Division in 1960s
Art walked the downtown beat at Central Station, worked out of Kenilworth Station as a motorcycle officer and later worked at the Mountain Station. He was also a member of the Safety Division for four years.
During Art’s policing career, he became a member of the Hamilton Police Revolver Club and the Hamilton Police Pipes & Drums, where he was a tenor drummer and played the bagpipes.
Art Barton is shown here directing traffic in New York City in 1965, during one of the Bands many trips abroad. The band was in New York to perform at the New York World’s Fair. Art was a big guy at 6’1”.
Art met his wife Vera at a dance. According to Laura O’Grady, Vera was a talented dancer. Art told her about his heritage immediately, but she had no concerns. They married on November 5, 1955 and moved into a home at 15 Idlewood Ave, Hamilton. (Vera’s family lived nearby on Fennel Avenue East)
Lynda Bowen, retired Hamilton Police Service Superintendent, remembers working with Art at the Mountain Station. He was forever talking about Vera this and Vera that. It was apparent he was very much in love with Vera. Other Hamilton Police retirees remember Art as a very nice man and good police officer.
The photo on the left was taken of Vera in 1983 by Laura O’Grady, while the right photo appeared in the Hamilton Spectator article around 1969.
Art never forgot his Mohawk heritage. He talked about the small community on the Reserve where everyone looked after each other. In Hamilton, as a police officer, he often found kids who were locked out of their house after school, until their parents came home. Art said that would not happen on the Reserve.
He remembered as a child, joining in many tribal community games. Later, as an adult he attended the Longhouse during their meetings. Although he was not a member himself, he attended with friends and watched the ceremonial dances. He also fondly remembered ‘comfort’ foods such as corn bread and corn soup.
Art was a much honoured and loved member of his Mohawk family and the Police family. Art retired in 1979 as a Constable after 26 years of service. Sadly, he passed away in 1980 at the age of 53. His beloved wife died only four years later on January 8, 1984, at the age of 54.
1. In 1985, the Government of Canada enacted Bill C-31, an Act to amend the Indian Act, which ended various forms of discrimination that had been present in the Indian Act since the 1860s. The unfair terms of the Indian Act prior to 1985 caused many people to lose their status. Since Bill C-31, the names of more than 117,000 persons who had lost their status because of those terms have been added to the Indian Register.
Before Bill C-31, there were several ways a person could lose their Indian status as defined by the Indian Act, including, marriage to a non-Indian man. If a registered Indian woman married a non-Indian man, she automatically lost her Indian status. She and her children born after the marriage were no longer considered status Indian status under the Indian Act.
Information and photos courtesy of The Hamilton Spectator, Government of Canada website and Laura O’Grady.
The Hamilton Spectator, Joe Forster, (1965), “New York Loves Police Pipers”
The Hamilton Spectator, (1969), “Half-Indian policeman is ‘Chief’”
By Dave Bowen, Retired Inspector, Hamilton Police Service