Isabella McKenzie
ID # 4671, (1840-)
| Father | William McKenzie (1808-1898) |
| Mother | Christie Stewart (1810-1887) |
| Baptism | Isabella McKenzie was baptized in 1840 at Dumfries Township, Gore District, Upper Canada. |
| Marriage | She married Alex McKenzie, son of Donald J. McKenzie and Catherine McPherson, on 15 April 1863. GS2987 First Church (Presbyterian) Galt extracted from First Church records. (By this time, the church is keeping records on the same form as is submitted to the county.) Alex McKenzie, 28, born and residing Beverly (township). Parents Donald McKenzie and Cat. McPherson. Isabella McKenzie, 23, born and residing Dumfries (township). Parents Wm. McKenzie and Christ. Stewart. Witness Malcolm McNaughton, Dumfries. On 15th April 1863. As with county marriages, this does not locate the place of marriage, but it was probably in North Dumfries at the home of the bride's parents. We have some added confirmation of this from an extract of Dumfries Reformer marriage notices (the work of Rosemary Ambrose via the Waterloo Region branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society and covers the years of 1860-1865). The edition of the paper was 29 April, 1863, and the notice dates the marriage to April 22 (considering the church and county records, this will be a compositor's error). The one difficulty with the newspaper notice is that it refers to Isabella's family as being of Dumfries. By 1863, Dumfries Township had long been divided into North and South, but considering that census information places the family in North Dumfries, this is probably where the marriage was held. (Isabella is with her parents in North Dumfries at the time of the 1851 census; she is age 21 and shown in the household of John Scrimger of North Dumfries at the time of the 1861 census. She was probably working as a domestic. This marriage also appears on MS248 reel 16, Vol. 76, page 10 Waterloo County Marriage Register Extracted from a list of marriages solemnized by Robert Achison of the United Presbyterian Church at Galt for the year ending 31st December, 1863. The information is essentially the same as in the church record, the one difference being that the name of the witness, Malcolm McNaughton, is written more legibly and considering that Malcolm McNaughton was Isabella's brother-in-law it's entirely reasonable. Beyond that, were Alex McKenzie, son of Donald, and Isabella McKenzie, daughter of William, cousins? We have no evidence that this was so. |
| Note | Isabella McKenzie appears with her parents and sisters in the 1851 census in North Dumfries Township. She is shown as age 12. The 1851 census was not taken until January of 1852 and the enumerator was to ask for the person's age as of the next birthday. If this was done correctly, then Isabella was probably born in 1840. She does not appear with the family at the time of the 1861 census, but she will be in another household, perhaps working as a domestic, for she appears in First Church, Galt, marriages in 1863 when she married Alex McKenzie. Here, we seem to have a wealth of McKenzies and Isabella and Alex may possibly be cousins. The evidence indicates, however, that Alex' parents, Donald McKenzie and Catherine McPherson, spent some time in New York State. Catherine is said to have been born there, though Donald is said to have been born in Scotland. It does appear that a Simon McKenzie, agewise probably Donald's brother, came to Upper Canada with Donald and Simon is said to have been born in Livingston County, New York. Simon was some 16 years younger than Donald and it's probably pushing it a bit to call him Donald's son, though it's entirely possible. An 1875 atlas of Wentworth County has it that Simon's postal address was Branchton (in North Dumfries Township). Simon and presumed brother Donald held between them 200 acres in the Gore of Beverly. This was lot F in the 6th concession. Donald held 150 acres and Simon 50 acres. This is per the McGill Digital Map project. The abstract index for this lot is not to hand. We do not know enough about Isabella's grandparents, John McKenzie and Ellen Nichol, to say if they sojourned in New York State prior to their coming to Dumfries Township. If they did, then it's entirely possible that at some remove Isabella and Alex were cousins. |
| Last Edited | 17 Feb 2021 |