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Topics - argyllshiregirl

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37
United States of America / PIERCE from Vermont
« on: Saturday 09 March 13 20:34 GMT (UK)  »
Hello,
I have been stuck for years on my husband's 3x great grandfather, Reuel A. PIERCE, who was born somewhere in Vermont around 1805/1810. By 1832, he had migrated north and settled in Ontario, Canada where he was found as a 'squatter' farmer on lot 12, concession 12, Fitzroy Twp., Carleton County, Ontario on the 1842 local census. He married Ontario born Margaret MCLEOD and raised a family there.
He seems to have arrived in the area with several other American families, all from Vermont too, with names such as RHODES, WAKEFIELD and SMITH. These other families all seem to have originated in Massachusetts, so I'm thinking maybe the PIERCEs did too. Probably they only stayed in Vermont a short time?
Hoping to find parents, siblings, a birthplace or anything really for Reuel. Thank you for any clues.
Mary
in Canada

38
Buckinghamshire / HARRIS, SPICER in Bucks
« on: Wednesday 06 March 13 22:32 GMT (UK)  »
Hello. My husband's great grandfather is a bit of a mystery. All his records, in Canada, simply say "England" as his birthplace. I may have narrowed it down to Bucks, but I don't know for certain.

William HARRIS b. abt. 1826 (according to most records) has no known history prior to 1874 when he married Maria PIERCE in Ontario Canada, at the age of 48 years. He lived 12 more years after that, died in 1886 and left 5 children. His parents are given as James HARRIS and Mary SPICER. The only family in England I have found so far matching all of these names/dates are people in Buckingham, Bucks.

I do know that William HARRIS was a stone mason by trade. A while back, I found a ship's passenger record for the "St. Ann" which was carrying some of Buckinghamshire's poor for new starts in the new world. This was 1844 and there was a young William HARRIS, a stone mason, aboard. They landed in Quebec, Canada. I cannot be sure it's him, but I'm hopeful. This might explain why I cannot find him in England or Ontario, Canada in the years before his 1874 marriage. He may have worked at his trade in the province of Quebec until taking a job just over the border into Ontario and there meeting his future bride, then staying. The family had a little cabin in Quebec and I always wondered how they came to have it. Maybe it was William's home in his bachelor days??

My husband has just done Y DNA for the HARRIS project, so here's hoping he connects with someone somewhere, possibly in Bucks! Thank you for any clues at all about his origins or more about this James and Mary HARRIS.

Mary Harris
Canada

39
Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing / FLETCHER (Of Glen Orchy) Y DNA
« on: Wednesday 06 March 13 22:07 GMT (UK)  »
My father is believed to be the last FLETCHER to be born in the traditional place of our clan's origins, Glen Orchy, Scotland. He took a Y DNA test a couple of years ago and submitted it to a FLETCHER DNA project for comparison. One of his objectives was to settle once and for all the question: are the FLETCHERs on the Isle of Mull actually Glen Orchy FLETCHERs who migrated there 200+ years ago? Many said 'no', some said 'maybe', but the answer is 'yes!' DNA has now proven that. The results also supported the belief that a man by the name of Alexander 'Squire' FLETCHER, who arrived in Canada in the late 1700s, had a large family and was prominent in Bowmanville, Ontario, is indeed a Glen Orchy FLETCHER too, as legend had it. If there are FLETCHER gentlemen out there wanting to see if they match with our line, please get in touch with me. Thank you!
Mary Fletcher Harris
Canada

40
Ancestral Family Tree DNA Testing / HARRIS Y DNA
« on: Wednesday 06 March 13 21:58 GMT (UK)  »
My husband has the surname of HARRIS, which is found all over the UK. His great grandfather, William HARRIS (1826 - 1886) came to Canada before 1874. All his records simply say 'England' as place of birth. His parents are given as James HARRIS & Mary SPICER. The only family I have found so far, that meets all this criteria, is a family from Buckingham, Buckinghamshire. For Valentines Day, I gave my husband an unusual gift - a Y DNA test kit! Once he does the swab, we will be sending it to the Harris DNA Project. Hoping to find some matches soon.

Mary Fletcher Harris
Ontario, Canada

41
Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs / Uncle Dan & Great Granny Need Restoration
« on: Tuesday 05 March 13 23:39 GMT (UK)  »
Hello,
This is my great uncle, Donald 'Dan' McKinnon, and his mother, Annie (Paterson) McKinnon. It is supposed to have been taken not long before he left Argyllshire, Scotland for a new life as a farmer near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, so about 1905 when he was nearly 21 years old. Just hoping to see it clearer, but if you wanted to colourize it, I suspect they were both pale in complexion, a bit freckly and had red/blondish hair and blue eyes. Thank you! :)
Mary
in Canada

42
Canada Lookup Request / Quebec Land Record
« on: Saturday 11 December 10 12:57 GMT (UK)  »
My husband's great grandfather, William HARRIS (1826 - 1886), has long been a mystery. We know he was born in England, likely Buckinghamshire, to James HARRIS & Mary SPICER, and that he became a stonemason. Little else is known until he married Maria Ann PIERCE, in Fitzroy Twp., Carleton County (near Ottawa), Ontario, Canada in 1874, when he was 48 years of age. He does not appear on the 1871 Canada census in Ontario. So where was he? A clue may be a piece of isolated land over on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River, near Otter Lake, in a collection of dwellings known as Grove Creek. William HARRIS' son, William John HARRIS (1879 - 1952) spent a lot of time over there. Wondering who owned the land first and was it a land grant of some type? I have found a passenger list, from 1844, of the St. Ann, a ship carrying Buckinghamshire's poor to Canada for a fresh start and on board was a William HARRIS, stonemason. This ship landed in Montreal. Thank you for any info.!

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