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Photo credit: Stephanie Bellissimo.
Sir Allan MacNab and his family were benefactors of the Sisters who had free access to their beautiful grounds at Dundurn Castle for an outing or picnic. After the death of Sir Allan, Dundurn Castle was offered to the Sisters for $15,000 but their coffers were empty. In 1867, Mrs. Sophia MacNab, sister in law of Sr. Allan MacNab presented the bell of her late residence, Dundurn Castle to the Sisters of St. Joseph, and it hung in their chapel tower ever since. When the Sisters moved to their new Motherhouse in Dundas in 1951, they moved the bell to their new chapel. Mrs. Sophia MacNab died in Toronto but her remains were conveyed to Hamilton. Her funeral was held from the Sisters’ chapel on Park Street, and her remains were interred in the family plot on Dundurn grounds. This bell was tolled for her funeral. The Junior Sisters looked after the ringing of the bell by a long rope which hung from the tower. From 1867 to 1967, the Sisters rang the Angelus in honor of the Incarnation at 6:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 6:00 p.m. The Sisters donated the bell to the Hamilton Centennial Committee to restore it in Dundurn Castle, and the Committee replaced the original bell with a different one.