Richard and Samuel Hatt were sons of Richard Hatt, a well-to-do woollen draper from London, England. Richard, the son, came to the Niagara region in 1792, setting himself up as a merchant. After his mother died, his father and brother Samuel joined Richard in Canada in 1796. Richard and Samuel then decided to move away from Niagara to Ancaster, where they opened a general store. They also built a mill, the Red Mill, just north of Ancaster on the road called the Devil's Elbow. To drum up business for the Red Mill, they built a road from the Red Mill to Dundas, a road that still exists as the Old Ancaster Road.

Still ambitious, the Hatt brothers decided that the Red Mill was not successful enough so they looked for something better They found it in Edward Peer's Dundas Mill, which they bought in 1804 in partnership with Manuel Overfield. The partnership did not last long because, by 1807, Richard Hatt had bought out the others. Richard now turned his full attention to Dundas, buying more land and building more businesses until he owned a cooperage, all of the water rights of Spencer's Creek from Webster's Falls to Main Street, a distillery to use up all the grain unfit to grind, and a pig pen to use up the mash produced by the distillery.

He opened up Hatt Street and built a store. The street and the store are still there. The former end of Hatt Street at Governor's Road has been closed off and Hatt Street now bends east to end at Main Street. The store is now an electrical store. It was originally the last building on Hatt Street but is now in the closed-off part of the street behind the Town Hall. The address is still 2 Hatt Street.

Richard Hatt's store

The village growing around Richard's mills became known as Dundas Mills and gradually spread until it overwhelmed the old village of Coote's Paradise. Richard built a grand house, which he called Ogilvie Terrace; Ogilvie Street was once his front driveway.

In the War of 1812, both brothers fought and both were captains in the 5th Lincoln Militia. Samuel took a major part in repelling the Americans at Queenston Heights. He commanded a battery located at Vrooman's Point on the Niagara River north of Queenston. The battery was perfectly sited to be able to fire on the American invaders as they crossed from Lewiston to Queenston before the Battle of Queenston Heights. The major American force was never able to break out of the area of the Queenston Landing and this contributed to the eventual American defeat in the counterattack by Major General Sheaffe. There is a historical marker recognizing this incident on the east side of the Niagara Parkway just north of Queenston.

Marker for Vrooman's Battery, Niagara Parkway

After the war, Samuel was a commissioner administering oaths of allegiance. In 1816, he moved to Chambly, Quebec, built mills, and became prosperous. He died in 1842 in Quebec.

Richard did not have as famous a role as his brother but he did return home in 1814 having been severely wounded. About the time Richard came home, there was good news and bad news. The good news was that the government was to establish a post office named Dundas in Richard's store. The bad news was that Dundas had not been chosen as the county seat for the new Gore District; that honour went to the growing village on George Hamilton's farm. The bad news was not all bad for Richard because he was appointed the first magistrate for the new district.

After the war, Richard started Dundas' first, and the province's fourteenth, newspaper, The Upper Canada Guardian or Freeman's Journal. He hired Richard Cockerel to do two things: publish the newspaper and teach his children. Unfortunately the newspaper did not last long. Its last issue was on September 28 1819 and told of the death of its owner. Richard died on September 16 1819 aged 50. He had just been elected to the House of Assembly and was looking forward to becoming a father again. The child, Margaret, was born after his death.

Richard's grave was lost for many years. His gravestone was found in 1947 on an Ancaster farm, obviously not where his grave was located. His grave and that of his wife Polly have been recently located in the old Cooley graveyard on the farm once owned by his father-in-law, Preserved Cooley.