Sandham, Alfred, 1838-1910 : Alfred Sandham was born 19 November 1838 in Griffintown (Montreal). While still in his teens, he left Montreal for New York. Two years later he returned and began work with the Montreal Telegraph Company (soon absorbed by the Grand Trunk Railroad). In 1863 he began working with his father, a painting contractor, and his brother Frederick.
Sandham became actively involved in the Montreal branch of the YMCA, which was the first North American branch of the organization. In 1864 he became secretary of the Montreal branch, a position he held until 1875. During this time, Sandham began a lifelong love of history, research and collecting. In the mid-1860s, Sandham joined a group of collectors to form the Numismatic Society of Montreal, and began what would become an extensive collection of medals and coins, as well as autographs, letters, engravings, drawings, and portraits relating to the history of Canada and the history of Montreal. In 1870, largely due to his efforts, the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Montreal came into being.
He was the first editor (from 1872 to 1875) of the "Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Journal". He was also a contributor to the "American Journal of Numismatics" and a member of several learned societies in Canada and the United States. He wrote several books, booklets and monographs related to his research and collecting interests, including "Coins, Tokens, and Medals of the Dominion of Canada" (1869); "Ville-Marie, or Sketches of Montreal, past and present" (1870); "McGill College and its medals" (1872); a history of the Montreal YMCA (1873); and, "Montreal and its fortifications" (1874).
In 1880, Sandham left Montreal for Toronto, where he flourished as a publisher of evangelical magazines. This success allowed him the time to concentrate on his research and collecting passions. Alfred Sandham died on Christmas Day, 1910 at the age of 72. His death came six months after that of his brother Henry Sandham, the well-known painter and illustrator. See the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography XIII, 1901-1910". Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994, pp. 922-23.
