One is my great great grandfather Matthew Harrison born in 1821 in Egton Township, North Yorkshire and baptized at the Roman Catholic Chapel in Egton Bridge. He died on his farm at Castlemore (Lot 9, Concession 10), Toronto Gore Township, Peel County on January 6, 1887 and was buried in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery in Wildfield, Peel County. Mysteriously there is no death registration for him even though his nephew Nicholas Harrison was the township clerk and the local registrar. Nor has an obituary been found in any local Brampton papers.
Death entry for Matthew Harrison - Jan 6, 1887
Death Register St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Wildfield,
There is however another Matthew Harrison, a mysterious fellow who also appears in the spotty burial records for St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church listed as dying in September 1884 at the age of 89 years. Did he sign a petition in Toronto Gore in 1834? The other Matthew Harrison would only have been a teenager of the age of 13. The signature on the 1834 petition is different than the one on the will of Matthew Harrison who died in 1887 but could it be a juvenile signature that he changed in later life?
No obituary has been found in any of the local papers for the Matthew Harrison who died in 1884. If he was indeed 89 years old when he died in 1884 he would be born circa 1795. Also of note is that there is no death registration for him either!
Death entry for Matthew Harrison September 1884
St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church Parish Records
Could this Matthew Harrison have been an uncle of the Matthew Harrison who died in 1887, and a younger brother to William Harrison (1780-1836)? Seems unlikely given that Mary Dale William's mother would have been 58 years old in 1795! So they must be cousins?
He likely came to Canada in the early 1830s, possibly with William Harrison and his family in 1831 or a bit later. He was certainly here by 1834 if that is his signature on the petition.
However, this older Matthew Harrison appears to be the one that purchased a 50 acre lot composed of the SE ¼ of Lot 11, Con 9, Gore of Toronto (at the north west corner of The Gore Road and Castlemore Side Road) on Feb 19, 1845 for £200. One of the witnesses on the indenture was William Harrison (Jr who died in 1849). This Matthew was listed as living on this lot in the 1850 Directory. However does not appear in the 1852 census records nor in any subsequent census records.
One of the obvious answers would be to check the tombstones in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery for any other details. Unfortunately the cemetery was essentially cleared (vandalized in my opinion) in the late 1960s by the parish priest and while some of the early tombstones were placed in a cairn on the site (including many of my family), many of the later ones were simply moved to the bottom of the hill and covered in soil where they remain today.
Does the answer to this mystery lie buried beneath the ground on a tombstone?
Any help solving this mystery would be greatly appreciated. You can contact me at kikoamoki [at] yahoo [dot] ca.
No comments:
Post a Comment