Toronto Lighthouse Keeper John Paul Radelmüller

J.P. Radelmüller Remembered as Ghost of Toronto Island Lighthouse

Jan 3, 2009 Sarah B. Hood

Was J.P. Radelmüller murdered on the 13th step of the Gibraltar Point lighthouse? No one may ever know how he died, but his life was fascinating.

The residents of the Toronto Islands tell of J.P. Radelmüller (or Rademiller, or other variants), a ghost who haunts the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse. Legend paints him as a raffish bootlegger, and says he was killed on the 13th step by soldiers because he refused to sell them liquor. Historical record paints a different picture: that of a sobre, well educated family man charged with responsibility for customs duties in Toronto Harbour in return for a life of service to the British Crown.

John Paul Radelmüller was born in Anspach in Franconia (now Bavaria, Germany) about 1763. He spoke, read and wrote English and German fluently. He had brown hair and blue eyes, and stood 5’10" tall. As a young man he left home for England, where, on September 25, 1782, at the age of only 19, he was appointed as a Chamber Hussar to Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, the younger brother of King George III. He stayed with the Prince for 16 years.

In 1798, Radelmüller left the position, intending to return home, and with the dream of becoming a farmer. However, finding Franconia still in a state of chaos since its 1792 annexation by Prussia, he returned to what he called "old England" with the belief that he would never go back to his family and old friends.

He then became a porter for Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, fourth son of George III and later to be father to Queen Victoria. Prince Edward was named Commander in Chief of British North America in May of 1799, and Radelmüller spent the following year in charge of the Prince’s baggage at Halifax.

He was offered a chance to stay in Canada, and hoped to receive land in Nova Scotia, but the plan fell through. He made one more trip of about a year to England (in 1800-1801) with Prince Edward, then returned to Halifax, where peace between England and France put him out of work. He later would travel to Upper Canada, where he would be be offered a position as a lighthouse keeper and be murdered under mysterious circumstances.

Sources:

• Archives of Ontario, Court of Oyer and Terminer Minute Books, 1810-1835 RG 22-134, MS 530-12
• Archives of Ontario, Secord Heirt Devises Commission, Case File 40-0259 (July 15, 1816)
• Archives of Ontario, Upper Canada Land Petitions, Book F, p. 314 (May 15, 1805)
• Archives of Ontario, York County Surrogate Court Estate Files, "John P. Radelmiller, 1815", RG 22-305, MS 638-97
• National Archives of Canada, Upper Canada Sundries, pp. 2789-2796 (Jan 1, 1808). Available on microfilm at the Archives of Ontario.
• Toronto Island Archives, News from the Archives, Vol. 17, No. 2, June 1, 2008.
• Toronto Reference Library, Baldwin Room, J.P. Radelmuller’s Oath of Allegiance
• Malcomson, Robert, Capital in Flames, The American Attack on York, 1813, Robin Brass Studio, 2007, pp. 179, 347.
• Marriages at St. James Anglican, Toronto
• Burkholder family – genealogical notes
• Personal communication from genealogist Ruth Burkholder of Stouffville, Ontario

The copyright of the article Toronto Lighthouse Keeper John Paul Radelmüller in Historical Biographies is owned by Sarah B. Hood. Permission to republish Toronto Lighthouse Keeper John Paul Radelmüller in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Gibralter Point Lighthouse