Ambrose Joseph Small (February 11, 1866 – disappeared December 2, 1919) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
magnate who owned several
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
-based theatres including the
Grand Opera House in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, the
Grand Opera House in
Kingston, the
Grand Theatre in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, and the Grand Theatre in Sudbury. The last known sighting of Small occurred the evening of 2 December 1919. He had been known to travel without notice, so his disappearance was not reported until early 1920. His body was never recovered.
[
Small's disappearance became a national news sensation. Various theories explaining Small's disappearance were publicly promoted, and the famed mystery writer ]Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
was consulted, although he elected not to pursue the case.
Early life
Peter Ambrose Joseph Small was born on January 11, 1866, in Newmarket, Ontario, to Daniel Small, an innkeeper, and Helen (Ellen) Brazell, each twenty years old. He was baptized Roman Catholic on January 21, 1866.
The 1871 Canadian census places his address in Albion, Cardwell, Ontario, age 6. The 1881 Canadian census places his address in St. Andrew's Ward, Toronto, at age 15. The 1891 Canadian census places his address in St. Thomas's Ward, Toronto, age 25.
Ambrose married Theresa Kormann on November 6, 1902, in Toronto.
Disappearance
On December 1, 1919, Ambrose Small sold all his theatre holdings at a profit of .[ The following day he met with lawyer F. W. M. Flock in Small's office at the Grand Opera House. Flock left at 5:30 p.m. and was the last person to see Small.
That night, Small disappeared from his ]office
An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...
.[ No one who testified for the police claimed to have seen him leave his office or in the Adelaide and ]Yonge Street
Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes.
Once the southernmost leg of provincial Hi ...
area outside the building. A newsstand operator, Ralph Savein, claimed to have seen Small and had an altercation with him regarding the late shipment of that day's newspapers. At the time, however, this claim was discounted by the police, who considered it to be an attempt by Savein to gain fame from the case.
Small had no motive to disappear: the millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. In countries that use the short scal ...
did not take money with him, nor was there any ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice.
When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...
note, let alone evidence of kidnapping. At 53, Small owned theatres in seven Ontario cities and was the controller of 62 other buildings, a self-made millionaire at the height of his career. Because Ambrose Small was known to disappear occasionally to womanize and carouse, his absence was not reported nor was it noted for several weeks. In January 1920, Small's attorney, F. W. M. Flock, along with Teresa Small, now alarmed by Small's lengthy absence, notified the local police. Theresa Small offered a $50,000 reward for information about her husband's disappearance and whereabouts if he was found alive, and $15,000 if dead. The reward went unclaimed.
The investigation
Original leads
The police launched an extensive investigation. Small was officially declared dead in 1924. The case remained unsolved until being closed in 1960.
The week of his disappearance, Small's Opera House was playing ''Revelations of a Wife'', a play that attracted full houses. Police analyzed the plot and its themes but found no leads. Small had not used this play to provide cryptic hints.
His wife Theresa suggested that Small had fallen into the hands of a "designing woman" but police found no candidates.
Along with his office, "Amby", as he was known locally, had a "private, secret room" with its own entrance. The room is said to have had a dual purpose: first and foremost, it was for the settling of gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
debts
Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The de ...
, and secondly, it was for Ambrose Small's many private liaisons with actresses and chorus girls, employees at his Ontario theatres. The room was scoured for leads but with no success.
Ambrose Small was not the only notable disappearance in December 1919. His former secretary, John (Jack) Doughty, had not been seen since December 2, 1919. The last sighting of Doughty in Canada was at a bank
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
where he was observed cashing in $100,000 in bonds. He was eventually located in the United States and extradited back to Canada to stand trial. He was convicted only of the theft of the bonds. No evidence was ever found he was responsible or had any knowledge of the disappearance of his boss, Ambrose Small.
The 1921 Des Moines Mystery Man
Reported in several newspapers in 1921, a man was purportedly discovered in Iowa bearing resemblance to the missing man. Private detective John J. Brothy stated that the man, who he claimed was Small, was a "half-crazed cripple." He stated that he had been dropped off in Des Moines, Iowa, by an unidentified motorist who claimed he'd accidentally struck Small with his car, badly wounding him and that he hoped he'd receive the best medical care available.
Brothy claimed that the man had a gunshot wound in his neck, a serious concussion and both his legs had been severed from the knee down. He further stated that the man didn't speak for three weeks before finally breaking his silence, stating, "I am John Doughty. I came here from Omaha. That is all I remember." At this time however John "Jack" Doughty was incarcerated in Canada and had been for several months, meaning the crippled man could not have been him.
Brothy further claimed that he showed a photo of Ambrose Small to the man to which he responded by pointing at the photo and stating, quote "Yes, that is me." Brothy stated the man's facial characteristics were identical to the missing magnate's, however the mystery man weighed a significant amount more than Small had at his disappearance, having weighed only around 100 pounds.
Further reports state that the man was taken into custody by the P.I.(s), however the Des Moines police were quoted as being unaware of any of these actions and had not been contacted by the investigator(s).
It can be assumed that this lead turned out to be a dead end, as the case continued on long after this event.
1936 Ontario Provincial Police Re-Investigation
In 1936 the case was re-investigated by the Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorpo ...
at the behest of the Attorney General. O.P.P. inspector Edward L. Hammond consulted with the original investigators from the Toronto police, obtained typed copies of their report and various other source documents, and re-interviewed some witnesses.
Hammond's conclusion, that Small was murdered in a plot of which his wife was the "prime mover," is in marked contrast to the Ontario government's public position that Mrs. Small (and hence also her large monetary bequest to the Catholic church) was beyond reproach. Hammond also strongly implies that the original chief investigator, Austin Mitchell of the Toronto Police, ignored or repressed evidence which would lead to Mrs. Small as a suspect.
The Reuter Confession Letter
Theresa Small died October 14, 1935, bequeathing the majority of her holdings to the Roman Catholic Church, valued at over 500,000 pounds. In June 1936, her remaining possessions were to be auctioned off. Ambrose Small's sister, Florence Small, presented a letter of confession from someone known only as "Reuter," who claimed to have been the murderer.
''"Poor Ambrose was killed on December 2, 1919, and I know that part of his body, the trunk, was buried in the Rosedale ravine dump and other parts of the body were burned in the Grand Opera House furnace. You will be surprised, my dear Florence and Gertrude, to learn that I am more responsible for your brother's death. God forgive me. — Reuter."''
The sale, however, continued, and the letter was published in several news publications worldwide, including the ''New York Daily News'' and the ''Portsmouth KEvening News''.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Toronto reporters contacted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
about the case when the author was on a New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
visit. Doyle politely ignored the case, but it produced the headline "Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
takes Small case under wing".[
]
Charles Fort
American writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena Charles Fort
Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold w ...
wrote about the unexplained disappearances of Ambrose Small and Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...
, and asked "Was somebody collecting Ambroses?"
In popular culture
Small appears as a major character in the Michael Ondaatje
Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...
novel ''In the Skin of a Lion
''In the Skin of a Lion'' is a novel by Canadian– Sri Lankan writer Michael Ondaatje. It was first published in 1987 by McClelland and Stewart. The novel fictionalizes the lives of the immigrants who played a large role in the building of the c ...
''. The events concerning him in the novel after his disappearance are fictitious.
Small appears as a real-life disappearance case in ''The Convict Lover'' by Canadian author Merilyn Simonds.
In 2019 a book by ''Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' feature writer Katie Daubs, marking the 100th anniversary of Small's disappearance, was widely anticipated.[
In 2019, the Grand Theatre in ]London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
commissioned a play about the disappearance from Trina Davies. Grand Ghosts, a theatrical, Vaudeville-influenced play, made its debut in October of 2022.
See also
* List of people who disappeared
Lists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated. Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ''in absentia''. Some of these people were possibly subjected to enfo ...
References
External links
Ambrose Small: Among the Missing
*Daubs, Katie
"The Missing Millionaire: The True Story of Ambrose Small and the City Obsessed with Finding Him"
Penguin RandomHouse Canada, 9780771025174, 2019.
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Small, Ambrose
1863 births
1910s missing person cases
Canadian theatre managers and producers
Missing person cases in Canada
People from Simcoe County
Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople
Year of death unknown
People declared dead in absentia