1939-1960: Ed’s Early Life and Family History
Edward Brewington Hamill was born in 1939 in Belleville, Illinois, to Gertrude Hamill (née Brewington, 1904-1995) and Charles Pace Hamill (1882-1965). Ed had one brother, Charles Jr., who was 3 years his senior (1936-2018).
Ed’s paternal grandfather, James Millar Hamill, was a lawyer in the railroad industry. One of his clients was the legendary railroad magnate Jay Gould. At the time of his death in 1919, James had 10 railroad corporations in his practice.
Ed’s father, Charles, followed his father James into the law, and graduated from Harvard Law School. According to Ed:
“Dad confided to mom he probably would have preferred to study medicine, but his father was hopeful that he would join him in his law practice. Dad had an immense love and admiration for the law and its practice. He worked in concert with his father James and amassed all of their practice for the railroads after James passing.”
After his father James’ passing, Charles decided to reduce his concentration on the railroad legacy, as he wasn’t fond of railroad injury law, which had become central to running the railroad corporations due to all the workplace injuries that were happening at this time. He established and ran a bank, called the St. Clair National Bank in Belleville, and was quite successful with it (the bank was acquired by the First National Bank of Belleville in 1971). Later in life, Charles helped establish the Belleville Memorial Hospital, which is still thriving today.
Ed’s mother Gertrude was a nursing graduate of the University of Michigan. She was also an interior decorator, artist, and painted landscapes in particular. Her love of art and color helped shape Ed’s passion for design, form and color in his sports cars.
In his childhood, Ed spent his summers in Waterton Lakes National Park, in Alberta, Canada. His parents purchased a lot there in 1946, and designed and built a cabin with extensive collaboration with Doug Oland, one of the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel builders. Ed’s summers in Waterton helped establish his lifelong passion for the West and the outdoors.
