William Harkness
ID # 7123, (1813-1911)
| Father | William Harkness (1791-) |
| Mother | Helen Shank (1793-) |
| Birth | William Harkness was born on 14 July 1813 at Kirkmaiden, Wigtonshire, Scotland. |
| Christening | He was christened on 17 July 1813 at Kirkmaiden by Drummore, Wigtown, Scotland. |
| Marriage | He married Mary McClelland on 9 January 1840 at Kirkmaiden by Drummore, Wigtown. Familysearch has database: Scotland Marriages, 1561-1910 Name: William Harkness Spouse's Name: Mary Mcclelland Event Date: 09 Jan 1840 Event Place: Kirkmaiden By Drummore,Wigtown,Scotland. |
| Death | He died on 20 May 1911 at Bright, Blenheim Twp., Oxford Co., at age 97. |
| Burial | He was buried at Chesterfield Presbyterian Cemetery, Blandford Twp., Oxford Co.. |
| Note | William and Mary Harkness came to Canada in 1854, according to the 1901 census. Dates such as these were betimes given reather offhandedly and frequently approximate, but the 1861 and 1871 censuses shows William and Mary with their children in South Dumfries. Parents and children down to Agnes, age 18, are all shown as being born in Scotland. Son Andrew, age 16, is shown as being born in Canada. Andrew's date of birth, 21 November, 1854, and date of baptism, 23 December, 1854, are shown in the baptism records for the Glen Morris Presbyterian Church in South Dumfries, Brant County, so this is likely correct. Son Andrew, a widower, is living with his sister, Agnes Harkness Bond, in Bright Village, Blenheim Township of Oxford County, in 1911, and Agnes' year of arrival is, again, shown as 1854. Bright and Chesterfield villages are located on the border of old Blenheim and Blandford Townships (now Blandford-Blenheim) with only a concession and a half between them. The Harkness family, shown as Presbyterians in census information, evidently attended the Presbyterian Church at Chesterfield (in later years a United Church) for several of them are buried in the Chesterfield church's cemetery. William and Mary are in Blenheim Township as of the 1881 census as well as many of their family, and William is there in 1891 and, apparently, to the end of his days, for he died there in 1911. As noted below, William's death registration shows his date of birth as July 14, 1814. This agrees with the 1901 census in Blenheim Township, but...this is not shown as his date of birth here. Note below in William's death registration that his parents are shown as William Harkness and Ellen (Helen) Shank. With this information, it was possible to find William's parents in the 1841 Scotland census, but also birth and baptism records for William's siblings. Note that with information found, William the elder was born in approximately 1791 in Ireland. Searching for children of this William Harkness, wife Helen Shank, several children's births and baptisms were found, but not William Harkness, born in 14 July, 1814. When a search was done for the children of Helen Shank, another record was found, one that may reasonably be said to be for William, the husband of Mary McClelland, except that this William wasn't born on 14 July 1814. Rather, he was born on the 14th of July, 1813. Young William's date of birth might have been fudged a bit in...what? The family bible? Add to that, at first glance the birth and baptism registration might be open to challenge, but, reasonably, it's for William, only he was born 14 July, 1813, some six months after his parents' marriage, and not 14 July 1814. The birth and registration is to be found in a Familysearch database entitled: Scotland Births and Baptisms, 1564-1950 Name William Hartlies. Christening date 17 Jul 1813. Christening place Kirkmaiden by Drummore, Wigtown, Scotland. Birth date 14 Jul 1813. father's name William Hartlies, mother's name Helen Shank. Yes, it's arguable, but especially given the day and month of birth of young William, it's difficult to interpret this as other than the birth and baptism registration for William Harkness. The available registration is a transcription. The 'Hartlies' error may be a handwriting issue. Death reg. 023859-11 Blenheim Twp., Oxford Co. William Harkness died May 20, 1911. Age 96 yrs., 10 mos., 6 dys. Born July 14, 1814, in Wigtonshire, Scotland. Widower. Retired farmer. Place of death Village of Bright. Parents William Harkness, born Scotland, and Ellen Shank, born Wigtonshire, Scotland. Physician M. C. Dewar. Informant Andrew Harkness, Bright, Ontario. A cemetery index has the family buried in Chesterfield United Church Cemetery. The Oxford County Cemeteries has photographs of some gravestones of the family. This includes a worn and unreadable pillar stone, which is probably that of William and Mary. (Find-a-Grave also has photos of this stone and are rather more readable and is indeed that of William and Mary.) For the moment, we have the names of six children for William and Mary. This is based on the names of children found in the 1851 census in Wigtonshire, Logan Mains, Sloughwhillie, and in South Dumfries as of the 1861 census. Daughter Mary does not appear with her family in this latter census, but is in the township, apparently having entered into service with the Thomas Turnbull family. |
Children of William Harkness and Mary McClelland |
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| Last Edited | 6 Jul 2019 |