Harrison Family History

Welcome to the Harrison Family History blog. 

Research done by previous researchers, including the huge contribution of Hearts of Oak by the late Leslie O'Connor, had pegged the William Harrison who married Mary Hutchinson in Egton in 1804 (my great great great grandparents) as the son of William Harrison and Elizabeth Alcon.   In 2012 a transcript of the prayer book of Elizabeth Underwood (nee Harrison), daughter of William Harrison and Elizabeth Alcon came to light which listed her brother William Harrison as dying in England in 1848.  This provided convincing proof that my William Harrison was not the son of William Harrison and Elizabeth Alcon.  I thus began the search for my William Harrison in the extended family tree of Catholic Harrisons from the Egton area of North Yorkshire.  As it turned out the key was the connection between my William Harrison and the Readman family.  It began with the fact that a Joseph Readman was the best man at William Harrison's wedding to Mary Hutchinson in Egton in 1804.  It also seemed to me to be more than a coincidence that a Joseph Readman had settled on the lot just south of William Harrison in Toronto Gore Township, Peel County, Upper Canada.  Further work on the Readman family determined that this Joseph Readman (there were 3 around at the same time) was the son of John Readman and Sarah Dowson.  Additional digging discovered that William Harrison was the witness to the will of the same John Readman.  Therefore there had to be a close familial link between the Readman and Harrison families.  Reviewing the marriages in the Anglican Parish Records of the area indicated that there was really only one possible marriage - that of Joseph Harrison to Mary Readman in Egton in 1770.  Mary Readman was the sister of John Readman.  Hearts of Oak provided the information on the family of Joseph Harrison and Mary Readman (in the chapter on the Ward Papers).  This was further confirmed by the marriage of Hannah Harrison and Isaac Linton in Egton in 1829.  Both William Harrison and Joseph Readman were witnesses.   This was therefore William's sister Ann (Hannah) as outlined in Hearts of Oak.  Thus, William Harrison was the son of Joseph Harrison and Mary Readman, the nephew of the John Readman who's will he witnessed; and the first cousin of the Joseph Readman who was the best man at his wedding; the witness at the wedding of his sister Hannah; and, who immigrated to Canada and settled on the lot just south of him (several other members of the Readman family also immigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto Gore Township, Peel County).  As such, Leslie O'Connor was pretty close in his work Hearts of Oak.  William Harrison was just the son of Joseph Harrison and not Joseph's brother William as indicated.  This was an understandable mistake as with so few siblings, and an obviously close relationship with the family of William Harrison and Elizabeth Alcon, William's first cousins were often the sponsors at the baptisms of his children at St. Hedda's Roman Catholic Church in Egton Bridge.  Leslie O'Connor naturally took the sponors of William Harrison's children to be his brothers and sisters.  All in all pretty good research for the 1950s and 1960s before the internet and digital records; and an indication of how valuable this work remains today for those researching their Catholic roots in the Esk River valley communities.

The following is my family history down to my grandparents. 

1. Henry Harrison (1656-1727)
married Dorothy Rudd (1663-1753)
lived at Green Houses, Glaisdale Township, Danby Parish, North Yorkshire

Children include:

• Mary (?-?)
• Dorothy (1723-1790) married William Hodgson
• Francis (?-1772) married Ann
• Barbara (?-?) married Robert Atkinson
• Joseph (?-1782) married Jane (or Mary)
• William (?-1778) married Ann
• John (?-1779) married Helen Lyth
• Henry (?-1785) married Ann

2. William Harrison ( b ? d. April 15, 1778

married 1.  Ann (?-?) (no marriage found) and 2. Ann Elders (? -d. April 9, 1784 buried Egton) at Egton on May 25, 1756.  William was listed as a husbandmen from Lythe Parish and Ann Elders was listed as being from the parish of Egton.  It is believed that all three of William's children were from his first wife also called Ann (last name unknown).  There is a William and Ann Harrison listed in the Egton Recusant List of 1735.  In the list of 1753 William Harrison, wife and two children are listed.  However, this would seem to contradict the fact that William Harrison was from Lythe Parish as listed on his marriage to Ann Elders in 1756.  His first wife must have died between 1753 and 1756 as in that year he married Ann Elders.  William Harrison lived in Glaisdaleside, Egton Township, Lythe Parish, North Yorkshire.  The family farm, leased from the Egton Estate, was located on the Glaisdale side of Egton Township (hence Glaisdaleside).  The farmhouse was called Toad Hall.  It was later pulled down and replaced with a new house at which time the farm became known as the New House Farm, a name that has remained until the present day.  Another cottage was located on the property called Poplar Hall.

Children include:

• William (1741/2-1825) married Elizabeth Alcon
• Ann (c. 1745 - d. October 3, 1786) married Matthew Roe.  Matthew was a weaver and lived in Egton Township.
•  Joseph (c. 1750-1806) married Mary Readman 

3.  Joseph Harrison (c. 1750 - 1806) 

married Mary Readman at Egton on June 10, 1770 lived Glaisdaleside, Egton Township, North Yorkshire.  Joseph was a tailor.  In 1778 he was left £100 in his father's will out of which he was to pay his mother 20 shillings a year. Joseph died and was buried at Egton on July 11, 1806.  No existing will has been found.  In the Egton Anglican Parish records he is recorded as living in Glaisdale.  His father's farm was in Glaisdaleside the portion of the  Glaisdale valley within Egton Township (the boundary follows the beck that flows down the valley to the Esk River).  I need to do some more work but I think that he may have lived in a cottage on the farm of his brother William called Poplar Hall.  This cottage later became the home of his nephew Robert who was also a tailor. I wonder if Robert might have been an apprentice of Joseph?  Robert Harrison moved into Poplar Hall after his marriage in 1822. It is understood that at the time some work was necessary as the house had been vacant for some time.  It was pulled down about 1900.  Since Joseph Harrison died in 1806 perhaps the house was empty from that date - or sometime after.  

Children include:

• Unknown child - the 1780 Glaisdale Recusant list indicates that Joseph and Mary Harrison had 3 children.  However only 2 are known.  This child is most likely a girl given that William is named after his grandfather as per the naming convention of the time of naming the first born male after the father's father.
• William baptized 8/2/1773 – Egton Parish Register – married Mary Hutchinson at Egton in 1804. Immigrated to Canada in 1831.
• Dorothy b.? - buried 18/l0/1778
• Joseph baptized 8/5/1778 (Chapelry of Glaisdale, Danby Parish) - buried 6/12/1778
• Mary b. 1779 (bap April 12 1780 – Chapelry of Glaisdale, Danby Parish). Married William Lyth – October 21, 1822 – of Westonby Farm, Egton Township.  Mary Harrison was William Lyth’s second wife. She would have been about 43 years of age at the time of the marriage. His first marriage was to Elizabeth Mead on 10/8/1795 at Danby.  Home:  Westonby Farm, Egton Township.  William Lyth and Mary Harrison only appear to have had one child:
• August 21, 1823 – baptised at St Hedda’s RC Church – Egton Bridge- William Lyth son of Wm. Lyth & Mary Harrison.  Sponsors: Richard Lyth & Helen Barker
• Ann, baptized February 12, 1783 – Chapelry of Glaisdale, Danby Parish – Ann (Hannah) married Isaac Linton at Egton on April 21, 1829.  Witnesses were William Harrison, Joseph Readman and Faith Linton (George Harrison’s future wife – they were married in December 1829 at Goathland).  Ann was 46 years old when she married so it is no surprise that there are no known children.  Hannah and Isaac lived in Scalby, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire.  Hannah died there on August 16, 1849.  She did not leave a will.

4. William Harrison (February 8, 1773 - May 2, 1836) m. Mary Hutchinson (c. 1782 - August 17, 1856) at Egton (Church of England) Yorkshire on January 24, 1804. The witnesses were Joseph Readman and William Hutchinson.  Under the Marriage Act of 1753 only marriages performed by the Church of England were considered legal. They were no doubt married the same day by the priest at St. Heddas Roman Catholic Church in Egton Bridge. Mary was the daughter of John and Margaret Hutchinson of Egton Township. John Hutchinson was a tailor just like William's father.  William Hutchinson who was a witness at the wedding was her brother.   Joseph Readman was William Harrison's first cousin, son of John Readman and Sarah Dowson.

 In his book A History of the Ancient Parish of Lythe including Sandsend, East Row, Mulgrave Castle, Mulgrave Woods and grounds, The Hermitage, Foss Mill, published in 1888, John Crowther references the following entry in the Lythe parish registers and churchwarden's accounts: "1831 ...In this year many families from Lythe emigrated to America. Among them may be mentioned, Thomas Ward, W. Terry, John Ingledew, Thomas Coverdale, Wm. Harrison, John Bailey, Rt. English, Lennard Watson, John Readman, and Thos. Taylor." He then states: "They sailed out of Whitby in the ship 'Majestic' which was thought to be a lucky ship for emigrants. The voyage lasted eight weeks." The family immigrated to Canada aboard the 380 ton King William (not the Majestic) which left Whitby on April 11, 1831 with about 300 passengers for Quebec. I have confirmed with the Whitby Philosophical and Literary Society that the Majestic is not correct as it was not built until 1835. This is also confirmed by my research in the 1831 editions of the Quebec Mercury newspaper which lists the King William leaving Whitby on April 11, 1831 and arriving in Quebec City with 271 settlers on May 22, 1831; and Richard Weatherill's The Ancient Port of Whitby and its Shipping, published in 1908 that confirms the information in the Quebec Mercury. Upon their arrival in Canada they would have taken another ship to Montreal and then from there to the Town of York (Toronto).  The King William was a new ship which was launched on March 7, 1831 at Whitby built for Mr N Campion and Mr R Campion of Whitby.   The journey to Quebec was its maiden voyage.

The family then settled in Toronto Gore Township, Peel County, Upper Canada. William purchased Lot 8, Concession 9, Toronto Gore Township, 100 acres, from John Beikie, first clerk of the Executive Council in York and the original Crown patent holder, on June 5, 1835 for £75. Though the purchase of the property was not made until 1835 the Harrison family had settled on this property in 1831. I believe that the location of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church, established in 1830 a short distance to the north, was a critical factor in the selection of this lot by William Harrison. Interestingly William Porter in his mss History of Claireville, written in 1910, stated that "a half mile north" of John Dark's tavern in Claireville where "one Joseph Champlin kept his hostelry in good old Yorkshire Style" the settlement was named Egton. Egton would be located at the corner of present day Clarkway Drive and Highway 50 in the City of Brampton. This is the only reference that I have come across for the Egton name outside of North Yorkshire suggesting that a number of families from Egton settled in the area. Claireville was located at the intersection of Toronto Gore Township, Peel County and Etobicoke Township, York County. Remnants of the old hamlet of Claireville still exist close to present day Steeles Avenue West and Highway 50 centered on Codlin Crescent in the City of Toronto. 

Since they were married in 1804 you would expect there to be more children between then and when William was born circa 1812.  However, the existing baptismal records for St. Hedda's Roman Catholic Church in Egton Bridge only start in 1813 and Catholic families were generally no longer baptizing or registering their children in the Anglican Church in Egton at that time.  A note in the Egton Anglican Church records states that the Catholics had not been baptizing their children there since 1781 (though a few families did register their children).
  
William Harrison and Mary Hutchinson had the following known children:    

• William (1812-1849) married Mary O'CONNOR, April 19, 1838 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Peel County. Mary O'CONNOR remarried Edward GALVIN at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield on January 27, 1864 though her four sons soon sent Edward on his way. 

• Ann (1813-1855) was baptised at St. Hedda's Roman Catholic Church, Egton Bridge on January 14, 1813.  She married James C. SMYTH on July 20, 1841 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Peel County.  She died and was buried at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic cemetery, Wildfield in 1855. The age on her tombstone however suggests she was born in circa 1828. 

• Margaret (1814-1891) was baptised at St. Hedda's Roman Catholic Church at Egton Bridge on August 19, 1814.  She married George JACKSON on June 23, 1836 at St. James Cathedral (Church of England) Toronto - and then at St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church, Toronto on January 10, 1837 no doubt at the insistence of her parents. George and Margaret left Canada and immigrated to the United States in 1852 settling in Troy, Missouri, north west of St. Louis. 

• Mary (1818 - ?) was baptized at St. Hedda's Roman Catholic Church at Egton Bridge on February 8, 1818.  She did not come to Canada with the family that I am aware of.  I am not sure what happened to her?  She must have died as she would have been too young to leave in England alone.

• Jane (1820-1901) married James MIDDLETON on February 27, 1838 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Peel County. 

• Matthew (1821-1887) was baptised at St. Hedda's Roman Catholic Church at Egton Bridge on March 10, 1821.  He was married twice.  First to Ann HEWGILL and then after her death to Winnifred BULGER. 

William HARRISON died in 1836 and was buried at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church cemetery at Wildfield.  The age of 55 years on his tombstone suggested a birth year of 1781.  This led to years of confusion between him and his first cousin William who was born in that year.  Since William HARRISON was actually born in 1773 he was 63 years of age when he died in 1836.  Four years after his death his widow Mary HUTCHINSON married Thomas SMYTH on April 27, 1840 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Peel County. 

5. Matthew HARRISON (1822 - January 6, 1887) m. 1. Ann HEWGILL (August 9, 1829 - July 17, 1869) (converted to Catholicism on June 17, 1869) on May 29, 1849 in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Peel County. They were married a second time by a Wesleyan Minister on July 1, 1849.  Ann HEWGILL died of consumption on July 17, 1869 and was buried on the Harrison farm on Lot 9, Concession 10, Toronto Gore Township along with a child. The cemetery was protected and preserved as part of the residential development of the property. It is a mystery why she was buried here but I speculate that there was a dispute between the Harrison and Hewgill families over her last resting place. Given that she only converted to Catholicsm one month before her death I am guessing that Matthew Harrison wanted her buried in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Wildfield and her father William Hewgill wanted her buried at the Hilltop Gore Methodist Cemetery. Burial on the farm seems to have been a compromise for all concerned. The cemetery can be viewed here. Ann Hewgill's white marble tombstone lying flat on the ground can be easily seen under the tree in the centre - part of the original apple orchard. Recent work on the site however has resulted in the old apple tree being removed (contrary to what I was told by the City of Brampton). Matthew Harrison originally owned 100 acres on Lot 9, Concession 10, Toronto Gore Township where he built his house. Later he acquired another 100 acres of Part Lots 14 and 15, Concession 10, Toronto Gore Township. Part Lots 14 and 15, Concession 10 would be given to his son William Harrison (my great grandfather). Matthew Harrison and Ann Hewgill had the following children: 

• Mary Elizabeth (1850-1904) m. Martin BRYNE at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Peel County. They had 11 children. 

• unnamed twins - lived 2 days. 

• William (1854-1923) m. 1. Julia Ann O'BRIEN, m. 2 Mary Jane BRYNE. 

• John Francis (1857-1858) 

• Ann Jane (1860-1943) m. Thomas O'BRIEN on February 6, 1883 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Peel County. They lived in Huron County near Clinton, Ontario and had 6 children. 

• Unnamed child (1869-1869) buried on Lot 9, Concession 10, Toronto Gore Township with Ann HEWGILL 

Matthew HARRISON married his second wife, Winnifred BULGER on November 7, 1869 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Peel County. Winnifred was the daughter of James BULGER and Ann CULLITON. They had the following children: 

• Alice Josephine (1870-1937) m. John James KEHOE on February 23, 1892 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield. They had 7 children (including 2 priests and 1 nun). 

• Theresa (1872-?) She could have been registered as "Eliza" when she was born on March 26, 1872. There is a birth registration of a daughter of Matthew Harrison and Winnifered Bulger for this date with this name. She married William DAVIS on January 31, 1894 in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield. In the 1911 Census they had 6 children.

• Agnes Loretto (1873-1963) - never married. 

• John Francis (1875-1954) m. Mary ROBINSON on May 6, 1895 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Peel County. They had 7 children. Upon his father's death John inherited the 100 acres of Lot 9, Concession 10. However, due to bad investments in the late 1920s he became indebted to his brother-in-law John James Kehoe. In the early 1930s John James Kehoe took over the property in payment of the debt. It would remain in the Kehoe family until the 1950s. 

• Charles Augustus (1878-1898) - never married 

• Emanuel Victor (1879-?) m. Mary HORAN at St. John's Roman Catholic Church, Albion Township, Peel County. In the 1920 US census he is living at 1 Greenleaf Street in Rochester, New York. He indicated that he and his wife immigrated to the US in 1903. They had the following children: Henry (b. 1906, California), Theodore (b. 1908, New York), Mary (b. 1911, New York), Helena (b. 1915, New York) and Alma (b. 1918, New York). He and his family were living at the same location in the 1930 and 1940 census. 

• Mary Helena (1882-?) m. Bernard CAMPBELL on January 16, 1907 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield 

• still born male child - twin of Mary Helena (1882-1882) 

Matthew Harrison died on January 6, 1887 and is buried in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Wildfield. I have not been able to locate a death registration for him. According to her death registration, Winnifred Bulger died on February 19, 1921 of old age. She is buried in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Wildfield. 

6. William HARRISON (February 28, 1852- June 22, 1923) m. 1. Julia Ann O'BRIEN (1855 - February 24, 1882) on March 12, 1881 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Dixie, Peel County. According to her death registration Julia died of septicemia 10 days after the birth of her daughter. When Julia died she was buried in the Fifth Line Cemetery (also known as Elmbank Cemetery). The cemetery later became landlocked within the ground of the Malton Airport (now Pearson International Airport). Though many opposed it (including me), The cemetery was "closed" in 2005 to allow for further expansion of the airport and the 634 remains were moved to Assumption Catholic Cemetery on Tomken Road just south of Derry Road East in Mississauga. The remains were placed in a dedicated section at the east end of the cemetery with a ceremonial plaque listing all the names of those buried there. From the excavations it was possible to identify a number of the remains but unfortunately Julia Ann O'Brien was not one of them. William had 100 acres of land on the west side of present day Clarkway Drive south of Mayfield Road. He sold this circa 1906 and moved to the north east corner of Dixie Road and Dundas Street in Toronto Township (present day City of Mississauga) where he operated a market garden. They had one child: 

• Mary Clare (Febraury 14, 1882 - April 23, 1932) m. Thomas COLLINS on May 5, 1908 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church. They had no children.  

William Harrison married his second wife, Mary Jane BRYNE (1857 - August 31, 1932) at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, Arthur, Ontario on June 11, 1883. Mary Jane Bryne was the daughter of James and Ann Bryne. William Davis and Lizzie Bryne were the witnesses. The marriage registration writes "Bryne" as "Burns". They had the following children:

• Matthew Joseph (August 2, 1884 - 1946) m. Anne Loretto KELLY on November 22, 1916 at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Port Credit, Peel County Annie was born in Streetsville and was the daughter of William KELLY and Anna MCKEOWN. Witnesses to the marriage were James Francis Harrison (my grandfather) of New Toronto and Nellie Madigan of 321 Brock Avenue. They had 5 children together. Matthew worked as a Stationary Engineer for Dominion Bridge Company making sure that the machinery in the facility was running properly. Matthew lived with his family first on Brad Street, then Dundas Street West, and later on Pacific Avenue across the street from St. Cecelia's Roman Catholic Church. Originally in the Town of West Toronto, it was a short streetcar ride down Dundas Street West to the Dominion Bridge Company located on Sorauren Avenue just south of Dundas Street West. 

• Anne Easther (March 24, 1886 - April 7, 1905). According to her death registration Anne died of consumption after an illness of 2 years. She never married. 

• James Francis (April 8, 1888 - 1948) m. Helen Teresa SANDFORD (1889-1975) 

• William Joseph (October 3, 1890 - April 19, 1931) According to the 1911 census Bill was a linesman employed by the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario. According to his death registration record, William was listed as a Market Gardener. He died in St. Michael's Hospital on April 19, 1931 of tuberculosis meningitis, an inflammation of the brain. His sister told me that this was a result of infection after he had a number of teeth extracted. He never married. He is buried in Mount Peace Cemetery in Mississauga. 

• Bridget (1892-?) 

• John (Jack) Joseph (September 6, 1893 - May 26, 1922) According to his death registration he was an auto mechanic and died of a stroke. He never married. 

• Martin Ambrose (October 28, 1895 - 1980) m. Madeline BOYCE (1895-?) at St. Cecilia's Roman Catholic Church in December 1917. Their marriage registration however says January 1917 with a "1918" written on the page. They were both 22 years of age. Madeline was the daughter of Alex BOYCE and Mary FARLEY. Witnesses were William J. Harrison, Ambrose's brother and Evelyn Boyce. At the time Ambrose was living at 195 Perth Avenue and Madeline at 136 Edwin Avenue, Toronto. Madeline was born in New Westminster, British Columbia. They had 15 children. Ambrose worked for the Toronto Transit Commission as a streetcar driver. For a while Ambrose and his family were in the running for the big prize in the Great Stork Derby - an interesting tale of Charles Vance Miller who left the majority of this estate to the mother who had the most children within ten years of his death. The contest ran from 1926 to 1936. The Harrison family did not win but were featured in an advertising campaign for Carnation milk products due to the publicity.

• Mary Margaret Rita (September 10, 1901 - 1993) Rita entered St. Joseph's Convent, Toronto in 1921 and became Sister Mary Caroline. Sister Mary Caroline was educated at the Toronto Normal School and taught in Catholic schools in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Ontario. 

According to his death registration, William Harrison died on June 22, 1923 of cystitis. It indicates that he was buried in Port Credit. According to her death registration, Mary Jane Bryne died on August 31, 1932. 

7. James Francis (Frank) HARRISON (April 8, 1888 - January 31, 1948) m. Helen Teresa SANDFORD (November 14, 1889 - June 8, 1975) on June 15, 1926 at St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Church, New Toronto, York County. Frank was 36 year old and a railroad conductor. Helen was 35 years of age. Witnesses were William Harrison, Frank's brother and Madeline Sandford, Helen's sister. They had two children: 

• Francis Edward (Ed) Harrison (July 27, 1927 - February 10, 2012) Ed attended St. Michael's College School in Toronto, playing both hockey and football before beginning his professional hockey career with the Boston Bruins in 1947. He later played for other teams both in the NHL and other leagues before retiring from professional hockey in 1962. He then moved to Brantford, Ontario to raise his family. 

• living 

Frank went to work for the Grand Truck Railway (became the Canadian National Railway in 1923) where he eventually became a conductor. At the time his parents were living at the north east corner of Dixie Road and Dundas Street in Toronto Township (present day City of Mississauga) and he was working out of the Mimico Yards in the Town of New Toronto. This was too far to commute on a daily basis so he boarded at homes in New Toronto. In the 1911 census he is boarding at the home of James O'Neill on Sixth Street. In that year he listed his occupation as "trainman" with an annual salary of $720. He had $250 worth of life insurance for which his annual dues were $7.30. Later he boarded at the home of Edward Sandford and Mary Coady on the north west corner of Seventh Street (present day Islington Avenue) and the Lake Shore Road (present day Lake Shore Blvd West). Today it is the TNT store. It was here that he met their daughter Helen and fell in love. They were married in 1926 and the new couple moved to a new home that they had built in the adjacent community of Mimico.

Dr. Francis Harrison (1842-1925)

Dr. Francis Harrison (1842-December 28, 1925)
m. Mary A. Creed on January 1, 1875 (? -1935)

They had the following children:

• James (Frank) Francis (1877-1914) - Attended the New York College of Pharmacy beginning in 1897. He graduated in 1899 and began working at Hocker & Solomon in Evanston as a pharmacist. He later went to work with his father. In 1904 he went to St. Louis to attend the World's Fair with his sister Mary. Frank died in 1914 of cancer in Salt Lake City where he was being treated.  At the time he was living in the Covey Apartments.


• Mary (1880-?) She attended St. Mary's Academy in South Bend, Indiana. I have a great photo of her class in 1899. She then became a teacher in Evanston. For the 1903 school year beginning in September she was teaching Grade 6. In 1904 she went with her brother Frank to visit the World's Fair in St. Louis. She was living unmarried in Evanston in 1935.


• Helena (1884 - 1949) m. Charles Branham. She attended St. Mary's Academy in South Bend, Indiana from 1899 to ? ,and then the University of Utah in Salt Lake City for about a year from the spring of 1906 until sometime in the 1907 without receiving a degree. She played both the piano and violin, performing in many private and public functions in Evanston. Charles was born in Litchfield, Minnesota on December 26, 1884, and was the son of Hiram Branham and Jessie Greenleaf.  They were married in Odgen, Utah on June 11, 1911.  Charles was a manager in the Publix Theatre chain and moved to St. Petersburg Florida in 1930 to be the new district supervisor of the theatres on the west coast of Florida.  In the probate documents for her mother's will from early 1936 her address is given as 1401 Beacon Street, Brookline, Massachusetts.  By 1942 Charles was retired and they were living in South Laguna, California.  Helana died there in 1949 and was buried in Fairhaven Memorial Park Cemetery.  Charles died there on December 22, 1975 and was buried in Fairhaven Memorial Park Cemetery.   


• Frederick (Ted) William (1889-1962) m. Ana Toelle (1889-1974) in 1922. They had one daughter Hellen. 1903 was an eventful year for him as a child. On July 4th a firework went off in his face causing severe injury. There was concern that he would loose the use of his eyes at one point but it came back, though the Wyoming Press indicated that "he will carry ugly scars as a result of the unfortunate affair". A few weeks later he had to have his appendix out. Ted seems to have also attended "college" in Salt Lake City. There is an article in the January 6, 1906 edition of the Wyoming Press that mentions him returning to school. I am not sure if this was the University of Utah or some other school. Ted was involved in cattle ranching near Daniel, Wyoming. The 1920 census finds him living in Lincoln County, Wyoming working as a farmer. He was single then. His mother is also listed and must have been visiting him at the time. In 1935 he was living in Evanston according to the probate records for his mother's will. Later he worked for the Union Pacific Railway. In the 1940 census he is living in his father's house on 9th Street, with his wife Ana and his daughter Helena.   Sometime later they made their way to Seattle, Washington where Fred worked for Westinghouse. He retired about 1953 and moved to Suquamish, North Kitsap. He died there on October 15, 1962. His obituary from the Bremerton Sun says that he was survived by his wife, daughter Hellen Wright and two grandsons. His wife Ana T. Toelle, lived to be 84, and died at Suquamish in April 1974 in Poulsbo. Ana was born in Wismer, Nebraska on July 30, 1889. She was a former nurse. Her obituary in the April 8,1974 edition of the Bremerton Sun says that she was survived by her daughter Mrs. Hellen Wright of Suquamish, two grandsons, brother Joseph Toelle of San Antonio,Tex, and a sister Miss Hedwig Toelle of New Haven,Conn (a former professor of Public Health Nursing at Yale University from 1937 until 1960). Both Fred and Ana are buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Kitsap. A search for their daughter Hellen came to the conclusion that she died on May 10, 2007 in Suquamish, Washington at the age of 88.


Dr. Francis Harrison's House in Evanston Wyoming on the corner of Centre and Ninth Street in 1990:

© Michael Harrison 2009

Here is an illustration of his drugstore in Evanston Wyoming in 1892





The son of William Harrison and Mary O'Connor, Dr. Harrison was the subject of a number of biographical entries during his lifetime.


The following entry was in the Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming, published in Chicago, Illinois by A.W. Bowen & Company in 1903:


The life of a country physician is full of toil and hardship, but it has compensation in the reflection that it is also full of benefaction to the community which he services and that no effort in behalf of suffering humanity is thrown away. Among the prominent and highly esteemed physicians of Evanston, Wyoming, Dr. Frank Harrison is in the front rank. He was born in 1842 in Toronto, Canada, the son of William and Mary (O’Connor) Harrison, the former a native of England and the latter of Ireland. Both were brought by parents to the New World in childhood, it being the desire to secure for them better opportunities than were afforded in their native land. The families settled at or near Toronto, where they prospered and reared their offspring. Doctor Harrison received his academic education at the public schools of his native country and began his medical training at the Toronto University. He continued it at St. Michael’s Medical College in Toronto, and fully completed it with another two-years’ course at Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York City, and from which he was duly graduated on March 1, 1866. On March 1, 1865, he had been appointed a medical cadet in the service of the U.S. government, a class of officials which the government had created and to which undergraduates were admitted as assistant surgeons. His first assignment was on board the transport S. R. Spaulding, which conveyed sick and wounded soldiers to New Haven, Conn., where a military hospital was located. He remained at the hospital until November and the experience he had there has been an invaluable service to him in his subsequent practice. After his graduation from Bellevue College he came to Denver, Colorado, at that time a city of not far from 4,000 inhabitants. He passed his first summer in the West in traveling and then came to Cheyenne, following the railroad in his professional work as far as Wasatch. He next went to Sweetwater mines, there he passed two years in the practice of his profession and then removed to Evanston, where he has been in an active medical practice for more than thirty years. At the first election held after this arrival the total poll of voters, men and women, numbered only 300. In politics Doctor Harrison is a Democrat and has been active in the interest of the party. He has been honoured with several places of responsibility in public life, discharging the duties of all with fidelity, intelligence and zeal. In 1871 and 1872 he represented Sweetwater county in the Territorial Legislature, and from 1876 to 1880 was one of its county commissioners. In Unita county he was a probate judge for six years and county treasurer from 1884-1890, being also mayor of Evanston for three years. He is also a valued member of the Grand Army of the Republic, being very much esteemed as a leader in all of its meetings. On January 1, 1875, he was united in holy marriage with Miss Mary A. Creed, a daughter of James Creed, a native of Illinois, and whose father died in 1896 in Clinton, Iowa, and the mother, whose maiden name is Egan, is still living, her residence being Dixon, Ill. Doctor and Mrs. Harrison have four children, James F., Mary, Helen and Fred W. Doctor Harrison ranks high in his profession as a physician and surgeon, as a close student and as an intelligent practitioner.
The following entry is in the History of Wyoming, edited by I.S. Bartlett and published in 1918:


Dr. F. H. Harrison is today the oldest physician in Wyoming in years of continuous connection with the medical profession. He practices at Evanston, where he has remained since 1872. He has not only been identified with the science of medicine and surgery, however, for as a pioneer he has been active in many of these movements which have led to the upbuilding and development of the state. He is familiar with all phases of Indian warfare and with all phases of frontier life and the history of Wyoming is to him an open book, for he has been a most active participant in events which figure most prominently in its annals.

He was born in Toronto, Canada, April 2, 1842, and is a son of William and Mary (O'Connor) Harrison. The father was a native of England and in his boyhood days made the voyage across the briny deep to Canada, settling near Toronto, where he engaged in farming, there maintaining his residence until his death, which occurred in 1849, when his son. Dr. Harrison, was a little lad of but seven years. The mother was born in Wexford, Ireland, and in childhood became a resident of Canada, where she was married and continued to reside until called to the home beyond in 1904. She had at that time reached the eighty-fourth milestone on life's journey. In the family were five children, of whom one daughter died at the age of sixteen years. The others are: Willam, who is living in Brampton, Canada ; John, also located at Brampton ; and Nicholas, who still lives in Canada. The other member of the family is Dr. F. H. Harrison, of this review, who in his youthful days was a pupil in the public schools of Canada and afterward took up the study of medicine in New York city, matriculating in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1866. His collegiate training was comprehensive and thorough, and thus well equipped for professional duties, he made his way westward to Colorado, crossing the plains with team and wagon. He took up his abode at Gilpin, where he remained for a year and a half, and in November, 1867 he removed to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he practiced for a short time. He was afterward with the Union Pacific grading camps in his professional capacity and continued with the road until the line was extended to Evanston. He then went to the South Pass mines, where he followed mining for two and a half years, but in 1872 returned to Evanston, where he has since been in constant practice. Entering upon professional duties in this state in 1867, he is today the oldest physician in Wyoming. Through the intervening period of a half century he has kept in touch with the trend of modem professional thought and progress, acquainting himself with those discoveries which scientific investigation has brought to light. He is a well informed physician and one thoroughly skilled in all departments of medical and surgical practice. In the early days he went through all the experiences that come to the frontier physician. He fought in many of the Indian wars and was with the posse in the Wind River campaign, in which Black Bear the chief of the Arapahoes, was killed. The summer's sun and winter's cold could not deter him from the faithful performance of his duties and at times he would ride for miles and miles over wind swept districts, facing the storms of winter, yet he never hesitated when his professional service was needed. He belongs to the Wyoming State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. Aside from his active connection with the profession he has also extended his efforts into other fields and is now president of the Evanston National Bank, president of the Evanston Drug Company, a director of the Evanston Electric Light Company and president of the Harrison Stock Growing Company of Uinta County. In business affairs he has displayed sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise and his cooperation with any project has constituted an element in its growing success.

On the 1st of January. 1875, Dr. Harrison was married to Miss Mary Creed, of Evanston, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Creed, formerly of Dixon, Illinois. They have become the parents of three children who are still living and lost one son, James Francis, who died in 1914 at the age of thirty-seven years, while acting as manager of the Evanston Drug Company. Those who survive are: Mary, who was born in Evanston in 1880 and is a graduate of the high school and of the Notre Dame Academy at South Bend, Indiana ; Helena, who was born in Evanston in 1884 and is a graduate of the high school of that city; and Frederick William, who was born in 1889 and is also a graduate of the Evanston high school. He is now in business with his father.

Dr. Harrison is connected through fraternal relations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellow- and with the Masons. In the latter organization he has taken the degrees of lodge, chapter and commandery. His political endorsement is given to the democratic party and he has several times been called upon to serve in positions of honor and trust. For four years he filled the office of county commissioner and for six years was county treasurer of Uinta county. For one term he served in the second territorial legislature and at all times his aid and influence have been given on the side of right, progress, reform and improvement. He is today one of the most valued and prominent citizens of Wyoming, standing very high in professional circles, and no story could contain more exciting or interesting chapters than could be found in the life record of Dr. Harrison if space would permit this to be written in detail. His memory goes back to the time when this entire region was but sparsely settled, when the Indians were more numerous than the white men, when the land had not been reclaimed for the purposes of civilization but remained in the primitive condition in which it came from the hand of nature. His life activities constitute a connecting link between the primitive past and the progressive present and no history of Wyoming would be complete without his record.


Upon his death in December 1925 there were a number of obituaries in local papers. The following – perhaps the most complete – was in the Evanston Press:


Early Evanston Pioneer Expires – Dr. F.H. Harrison
Hail to the pioneer – another stalwart has been summoned from the ranks to the Great Beyond – may he rest in peace.

The bugle sounded and one of our best citizens answered the call – having the honor and distinction of being one of the two surviving members of Post No. 53, G.A.R.

Dr. Frank H. Harrison passed away Monday morning, Dec. 28, 1925, at this home on Ninth and Center Streets, having been ill but fourty eight hours – pneumonia being the cause of this death, which came as a shock to the community, and very unexpected, as he appeared hale and cheery and enjoyed Christmas.

Dr. Harrison was born at Toronto, Canada, April 20, 1842. He attended medical college at the University of Toronto, and later entered Bellview (sic) Medical school of New York; also attended Yale, graduating with honours from each institution. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Medical Corps and served until the end of the conflict.

Later he moved to St. Louis, thence to Denver, and finally to Laramie, Wyo., where he established the first doctor’s office in May 1868. He was appointed contract surgeon for the U.P. Ry. Co., and followed the building of the railroad as far west as Wasatch. He left there for the South Pass country during the mining excitement, and finally came to Evanston. In 1872 he opened the first drug store here, which was located on Front street, in the Palace building.

For years Dr. Harrison was the dependable and beloved physician of our county and town.

He was a public benefactor and ever interested in the moral uplift of the community. He became a financial success and applied his influence, capital and endeavors for the advancement and upbuilding of a good town – Evanston – which he always avowed would be his home while in life – and he remained true to that promise. No citizen has ever been more loyal to our city; more generous spirited and dependable; or was more highly respected or esteemed; nor has none passed who will be more missed and mourned than this venerable pioneer.

Some of this public callings were as a member of the first State Legislature and he was at one time Probate Judge, City Mayor, County Commissioner and President of the Evanston National Bank; was also Wyoming’s first physician. He was affiliated with the Masonic and Odd Fellow societies, but had not been an active member for several years.

Surviving are his widow, two daughters, Miss Mary Harrison, who is ill in a hospital in San Francisco; Mrs. Helen Branham; and one son, Fred Harrison of Daniel Wyo.

Funeral services were held today noon at the Catholic Church conducted by Father O’Connor and were well attended, the floral offerings being profuse and beautiful.

The American Legion members attended the body.

Honorary Pallbearers – All physicians of the city. Hon. Mayor Thomas Painter, John W.R. Rennie, Judge Sam’l Dickey, Charles Myers and Donald McAllister.

Interment was in the Catholic cemetery, he being laid to rest beside his son J. Frank Harrison, who passed away several years ago.

Beeman & Cashin, directors.

The family have the sympathy of this community in the loss of one of Evanston’s best men – loyal citizens – true friend, husband and father.

Ever live his name – long may we cherish his memory.

The world is surely better that he lived; and praise be that he was spared to an advanced age to scatter sunshine and good deeds – which influences will continue to abide in the hearts of all who knew Dr. Harrison.

North Yorkshire - Esk River Valley

I believe that the family of William Harrison and Mary Hutchinson came from the area around the hamlet of Glaisdale and Egton, in the Esk River Valley of North Yorkshire, England (just above the first "o" in "Moors" in the map above). I don't know for sure as it does not appear that William Harrison ever owned any land in the area. I did search the deeds transacted in this area in the 1820s and 1830s but did not find a match with his name.

Further back however, our Harrisons came from the small community of Green Houses to the north west of Glaisdale on the edge of the moors.

Some of the cottages located here are for rent for vacations. The buildings have been converted from "the traditional farm buildings at Greenhouses Farm" but it is not clear if these are the buildings that the Harrisons lived in or not.

The Esk River has its headwaters in the western edges of the North Yorkshire Moors and flows in an easterly direction, joining the North Sea at Whitby. Today this, and a vast area around it, are located within the popular, North Yorkshire Moors National Park.

John Dixon's Letter From America (Canada)

Mr. John Dixon, who travelled with William Hewgill (Hugill) - one of my great great grandfathers - from Whitby, North Yorkshire to Quebec, and then from Quebec to the Town of York (Toronto) in 1832, goes off to visit William Harrison of the Gore of Toronto, my great great grandfather. The following is excerpted from the letter

To Mr. George Dixon, Darlington

Whit Church, Sept. 30th, 1832.

....We arrived at York on June 7th. William Hugill, who went from Glazedale, and ourselves took a house to put our goods and to sleep in, until we could get situations; we paid five shillings a week, and a miserable hovel it was. York is about the size of Darlington, the houses are chiefly built of wood, but there are a few handsomely built of brick. A house, such as I last lived in when at Whitby, would be £60 a year here; and fire wood costs about 9s. per week in winter. I never saw so many shoe-makers' shops by one half in any town the size of York; the trade at present is dull, and the following are the prices ...... I soon found that York would not suit me. William Hugill has friends in the Gore of Toronto, about eighteen miles from York. One William Harrison, a distant relation of ours, lives in the same place. I went with William Hugill to see him; he was very kind to me, and wished me to settle there; he said they were in great want of a shoe-maker, and if I would take up my abode among them, he would build me a house on his own ground, and I might keep a cow, which could go in the woods so that I might be at no expense. It being a new settlement , and the road to it very bad I thought it better to look about me before I made any choice. William Hugill took up his abode there…..

John Dixon

source: Whitby Repository and Monthly Miscellany, Volume III, February 1833 (copy in the Whitby Museum, Whitby North Yorkshire)

Family of Ann Harrison (1827-1855) and James C. Smyth (1820-1901)

Ann (1827-1855) m. James C SMYTH (1820-1901) on July 20, 1841, at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toronto Gore Township, Peel County. They lived in the nearby community of Claireville, Etobicoke Township, York County.

They had the following known children:

• Mary Ann (1843-1925) m. William EGAN
- they had the following children:
o James A (1873-1978) m. Annie KAIN in 1904 – 8 children
o Annie
o Nicholas A. (1867-1879)
o Ellen
o Catherine
o Agnes
o William
o John

• Margaret (b. 1845-?)

• Thomas (1848-?)

• William A. (1849-1888) m. Sarah Helen JOHNSON - see biographical entry below

• Eliza J (1850- ?)

Upon Ann HARRISON's death on January 12, 1855 James C. SMYTH married his second wife Bridget DOHERTY.

Tombstone of Ann Harrison, wife of James Smyth

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Wildfield

© Michael Harrison 2010

In the 1852 Census they were living in Claireville with Thomas SMYTH, James’ father. Thomas’ second wife was Mary HUTCHINSON so Ann was living with her mother (who was also her mother-in-law). This is an interesting instance of a father and son marrying a mother and daughter.

According to the Commemorative Biographical Record of County of York by JH Beers and Co, Toronto, published in 1907:

William A. Smyth who passed away at this late residence in Toronto, No. 187 Crawford Street, Feb. 17, 1888 (he actually died on Feb 24, 1888 according to his death registration) was born in Ontario, son of James and Anna (Harrison) Smyth, the former a native of Ireland, and the latter of England.

James Smyth came to Canada when a young man, and soon thereafter settled in Toronto, where he became a commission merchant, continuing in this business until his death. He was twice married, his first wife being the mother of our subject.

William A. Smyth began business with his father, but later went to the office of the Massey Harris Company, as an accountant, where he continued until his death. He had a large acquaintance in business circles, and wherever known was highly esteemed.

Mr. Smyth married Miss Sarah Helen Johnson, born in Toronto, daughter of Samuel and Ann (Fair) Johnson, natives of County Mayo, Ireland. Mrs. Johnson came to Montreal in 1829, and to Toronto in 1833. She was the daughter of Robert and Margaret Fair, natives of County Mayo, Ireland where they died. They had children: John, William, Robert, James, Mary, Elizabeth and Ann, all of whom lived to be eighty-five years old or over. To Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Johnson the following children were born: Samuel, William and Margaret, deceased; Annie, of New York; John, deceased; Lizzie, of Albany, New York; James; and Sarah Helen, Mrs. Smyth. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smyth were the parent of children as follows: Leo S. B., born in Toronto, day accountant at the Massey-Harris works; and Basil W. H., also born in Toronto, and an accountant at the same works. Mr. Smyth was a Reformer. In religious faith he was a Roman Catholic.

Upon William's death in 1888 Sarah and his sons continued to live at 187 Crawford Street, backing onto present day Trinity Bellwoods Park - though at the time it was Trinity College.

Leo and Basil continued to live at 187 Crawford Street until their deaths in 1955 and 1957 respectively.  They never married and no relatives other than their parents and each other are mentioned in their obituaries.

Tombstone of Leo and Basil Smyth

Mount Hope Cemetery

© Michael Harrison 2010

Family of Jane Harrison (1820-1901) and James Middleton (1811-1881)

Jane (1820-1901) m. James MIDDLETON (1811-1881) on February 27, 1838, at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toronto Gore Township, Peel County. They then moved to Lot 28, Concession 6, Pickering Township, Ontario County (present day 3815 Sideline 28, Pickering). James paid to have a drawing of his farm included in the Illustrated Atlas of Ontario County, published in 1871.

James Middleton Farmhouse, Claremont, Ontario

© Michael Harrison 2010

They had the following children:

• Mary A.
• Rebecca (1842-1905)
• James (1845-1926)
• Elizabeth (1848-1927)
• Jane (1849-1920)
• Rachel (1851-1938)
• Alice (1851-1945)
• John (?-1925)
• William (1859-1897)
• George (1861-1930)
• Annie (1861-1878)

Both Rachel and Alice were interviewed for the July 6, 1935 edition of the Toronto Star. The article entitled Twin Sisters Active at 85 - Close Together All Lives, indicated that they believed they were the oldest Ontario born twin girls. The article contains an interesting story of how their parents met:

The sisters are the daughters of the late Mr. and Mrs. James Middleton, who were pioneers in the Pickering district. Their father and mother came from England with their families when the father was 19 and the mother 11. They came on the same sailing vessel and the passage took 6 weeks. Later they were married and moved into what was then the bush on the 7th concession in Pickering, where the twin girls were born.

This means that the Middleton family was on the King William with the Harrison family when it left Whitby, North Yorkshire for Quebec in April 1831.

Jane confirmed this date when she indicated on the 1901 census that she came to Canada in 1831.

Middleton Family Plot - Claremont, Ontario

James Middleton, Jane Harrison and Annie, William and Mary Clark are buried here

© Michael Harrison 2010

The Harrisons were Catholic Recusants in England

The Harrison family were Catholic Recusants which meant that they resisted conversion to the Church of England when it was created by Henry VIII in 1534. They recused themselves from participating in the new Church of England and so were called "recusants". The area of North Yorkshire where they lived was well known for Catholic Recusancy and many families were persecuted for continuing to practice the Catholic faith. However it was not because of this that they left and emigrated to Canada. Catholics were able to worship openly from 1790, and the Catholic Relief Act of 1829 repealed the last restrictions. A Catholic Chapel was built in Egton Bridge in 1798. So it was not religious persecution that drove the Harrisons to Canada, they emigrated for economic reasons. Looking for a better life for their children in Canada.

© Michael Harrison 2009 - St. Hedda's Roman Catholic Chapel, Egton Bridge, North Yorkshire, built 1798. Now St. Hedda's Roman Catholic School.



For further information on Catholic recusancy in this area of North Yorkshire and the many families that remained Catholic have a look at Leslie O'Connor's manuscript Hearts of Oak. Mr. O'Connor researched and wrote the manuscript in the 1950s and 1960s. It was an incredible amount of research that he undertook before the internet made this research much easier.  There is a chapter on the Harrison family entitled the Harrison Saga.

Family of Margaret Harrison (1815-1891) and George Jackson (1811-1874)

Margaret (1815-1891) m. George JACKSON June 23, 1836, St. James Cathedral (Church of England) Toronto – m St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, Toronto January 10, 1837 . George and Margaret left Canada and emigrated to the United States in 1852 settling in Troy, Missouri, north west of St. Louis. Most of the family went with him except for Anne and Margaret who were already married and stayed with their husbands in Canada. In the 1881 US census George, Alice and John are living with their widowed mother in Clark Township, Lincoln, Missouri.

They had the following children:

• Anne (1837-?)

• William (1841-1901) – never married? – d. in Troy, Missouri, USA

• Anne (1843-1923) m. Philip EAGAN (1808-1878) in 1866
Children:
o Mary Margaret Teresa (1867-1939) m. John MCDONAGH in 1885
o William Kearn (1868-1902) m. Heinna Jane MURPHY on June 19, 1894
o George Augustus (1871-1932) m. Hannah DOHERTY on June 22, 1904 – 3 children
o Francis J. (1873-1909) – never married. He died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA but was buried at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Toronto Gore Township, Peel County
o Thomas Philip (1875-1939) m. Madeleine NOONAN on January 27, 1915 at St. Vincent Roman Catholic Church, Bathurst Township – 7 children
o Alice Amanda (1878-1951) - ?

• Thomas (1845-1915) m. 1. Janet Mary MCVEAN on October 16, 1869 at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toronto Gore Township, Peel County
Children:
o Janet Mary (1870-?)
o Margaret Ellen (1872-?)
o George Archibald (1873-?)
o 5 more children ??
m. 2. Sabie Jane REYNOLDS on September 14, 1894 in Moscow Mills, Missouri, USA
o 6 more children ??

• Margaret (1847-1912) m. Thomas EAGAN on February 24, 1868 at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toronto Gore Township, Peel County – they lived in Tottenham, Simcoe County
Children:
o Margaret (1871-1945) m. John DEACON in 1893 – 9 children
o Nicholas (1873-1963) m. Catherine MCKENNA in 1883 – one adopted child
o Mary (1875-1954) – never married
o Anne (1877-1882) – died of diphtheria
o Catherine (1880-1956) m. James RONAN in Adjala Township, Simcoe County in 1909 – 5 children
o Elizabeth Vida (1882-1969) – entered convent in 1908 – Sister Mary Vida
o Thomas (1885-1976) m. Margaret Teresa WALSH at St. James Roman Catholic Church in Colgan? – 7 children
o James (1887-1973) m. Josephine O’CONNEL in 1924 – no children
o Joseph (1889-1942) – never married

• Mary Elizabeth (1849-1923) – entered Loretto Convent Nerinx, Kentucky, USA on August 15, 1873

• George (1852-1852) - buried St. Patrick's Cemetery, Wildfield, Toronto Gore Township, Peel County

• George (1853-1930) m. Mary MURPHY – at least 5 children

• Alice (1855-1917) m. Joe SHAEFFER – 1 child

• John Harrison (1859-?) m. Ella Martha MURPHY on November 23, 1887 in Troy, Missouri, USA – 8 children

The Family of William Harrison (1812-1849) and Mary O'Connor (1820-1904)

William HARRISON (1812-1849)
m. Mary O’CONNOR (1820-1904) – on April 19, 1837 at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Toronto Gore Township, Peel County
Upon his death in 1849, William's estate was valued at £1005, 10s with total debts of £181 . The majority of this was in land. The 100 acres on Lot 8, Concession 9, Toronto Gore Township where the Harrisons first settled in 1831 was valued at £600. Mary O'CONNOR, William HARRISON's widow married Edmund GALVIN at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield, Peel County, Canada on January 27, 1864. On February 1, 1864 Edmund and his wife Mary signed an indenture where she releases her 1/3 dower interest in all property to her son William for $1. Edmund seems to have disappeared sometime later.

William and Mary had the following children:

• William (1838-1920) m. Minnie DEADY at St. Mary’s Church, Simcoe County on November 28, 1888 – they had one child, a daughter named Frankie in 1890. She married James DERRICK. William attended St. Michael's College, affiliated with the University of Toronto, in the early 1860s.  According to his obituary, published in the Brampton Conservator on May 27, 1920, William passed away suddenly on May 19th of heart disease. He was engaged in farming at Derry West for a number of years and then operated the Arlington Hotel in Brampton from about 1895. The hotel was located on the corner of Railroad and Elizabeth Streets directly across from the Grand Truck Railway station. He was buried in St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Brampton.

• Bridget (1840-1856), buried St. Patrick’s Cemetery – never married. Her obituary in the Toronto Mirror says that she died "after a lingering illness". "Miss Harrison was a native of the Gore of Toronto, and from her sweet charitable, and pious disposition, will be long and deeply mourned by her friends and acquaintances".


• Francis H. (1842-1925) m. Mary Ada CREED, April 1, 1876, Evanston, Wyoming USA. Francis attended St. Michael's College in the 1860s and would become a medical doctor, after furthering his education at Bellevue Medical College in New York City, and then at Yale University - including a stint in the US Army as a Medical Cadet during the Civil War (see separate entry).


• John (1845-1927) m. Margaret LENNON on January 9, 1901 at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toronto Gore Township, Peel County – they had one child, a daughter named Gertrude.  Gertrude would later married John DEANE on August 23, 1922 – they had four known children – John, James, William and Helen and lived in Woodbridge, Vaughan Township. John DEANE was a recent emigrant to Canada only arriving in Quebec in November 1920.  Sometime after 1901 John retired to a large farmhouse in Vaughan Township, York County just north of Claireville. The house still exists and is located on the east side of Highway 50 just north of Highway 407.

Tombstone of John Harrison and Margaret Lennon

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery, Wildfield

© Michael Harrison 2010

• Nicholas (1847-1933) m. Mary WILEY on January 24, 1882 at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Toronto Gore Township, Peel County.

Nicholas Harrison Farm - Lot 8, Concession 10, Toronto Gore Township, Peel County © Michael Harrison 2009

Nicholas farmed on Lot 8, Concession 10, Toronto Gore Township for a number of years. Upon his retirement he moved to a small cottage on the west side of The Gore Road just south of Mayfield Road opposite St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church. According to his obituary in the March 31, 1933 edition of the Bolton Enterprise, Nicholas passed away at his home on March 27th. He was described as “one who had been prominent in the public life of the county for well over half a century”. He had served as the clerk of the Township of Toronto Gore for 50 years, as well as representing the township on the Board of Directors of the Peel Farmers Insurance Company, of which he was president from 1910-1912. He was also a school trustee for several years.
Nicholas and Mary had the following children:

• Mary Maria (1882-1962) m. Charles O’HARA on April 26, 1904 at. St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church – had 4 children
• Anne Elizabeth (1884-1964) m. George WIGGINS in Calgary in 1905? – buried in Winnipeg in 1964?
• William John (1885-1966) m. Della Bernice Hammond.  William lived on the family farm until sometime after 1911 when he went to Saskatchewan.  His draft papers from 1918 have him as single and living in Amulet, Saskatchewan.  Sometime later he married Della Bernice Hammond, daughter of Ben Hammond of North Dakota.  They had two children William Maurice Harrison in 1921 and Rosalie Edith Harrison in 1924.  They were living on Yuma County, Arizona in the 1930 and 1940 US Census.  Descendants continue to live in Yuma today.
• Francis Ewart (1887-1961) – never married
• Clara Isabel (1889-1924) m. Charles TICE in Toronto in 1906
• Hilda Maria (1891-1980) m. Dr. TIGHE on April 7, 1913 ? – lived in Bomanville.  Their son Frank lived one day and died in Bolton on May 29, 1918.
• Alice Louise (1893-1986) m. Martin BYRNE on September 23, 1914
• Edith Alexandra (1897-1917) – never married
• Minnie Margaret (1898-1983) m. JR RUTLEDGE in 1936 San Diego, USA

Mary O'Connor (1820-1904), wife of William Harrison

© Michael Harrison 2009

This is a photo of Mary O'CONNOR, daughter of Nicholas O'CONNOR and Mary POWER who married William HARRISON, son of William HARRISON and Mary HUTCHINSON on April 19, 1837 at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Toronto Gore Township, Peel County. According to her response in the 1901 Census she emigrated to Canada in 1828.