Elizabeth Tinney and Elizabeth Cory - the Two Wives of William Harris (1755 - 1807) Part 1: The Side Track

Cornwall (Map from Wikipedia) 

The convenience of having a second wife with the same name as the first must surely outweigh any disadvantage. And so it may have been for (my) four-times great-grandfather William Harris. 

For the record: 

John Harris (1717-?) married Mary Luxon (1720 - ?) 

their son William Harris (1755 - 1807) married 2nd Elizabeth Cory (1750 - 1814) 

their son James Hodge Harris (1789 - 1865) married Grace Adams (1792 - 1862) 

their son William Harris (1823 - 1899) married Mary Herd (1825 - 1888) 

and they are our founding NZ ancestors. 

I decided to do some research on the life and times of William and his two wives, Elizabeth Tinney and Elizabeth Cory as there seems to be errors in some family trees I've researched, and some descendants' branches may have been attached to the wrong wife. So this is an attempt to sort out who is descended from whom.  But I got a bit sidetracked and ended up doing a lot of research on what was happening in the parish of St Gennys at the time of William and his parents' life there. Hopefully, you will find it as fascinating as I did that our ancestors certainly were living in interesting times.  Part 2 will move on to William and his wives. 

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William Harris was the son of John Harris and Mary Luxon who married at St. Gennys, Cornwall, on 12th November 1741. His baptism was economically recorded as Wm., son of John Harris on Sunday 30th March, 1755, also at St Gennys, Cornwall. There is no record of his exact date of birth, which would have been near the time of his baptism,  as his age at death was recorded in the St Gennys parish burial records (2nd December, 1807)  as 52 years. This confirms his year of birth as 1755. 

Entry in St Gennys parish register for John Harris and Mary Luxon's marriage, November 12, 1741
 

A snapshot of the entry in the St. Gennys Parish register.  Wm Harris, son of John Harris 

There is a gap in one set of records of  the St Gennys parish baptism register between December 1741 and 1746, which could explain the lack of evidence of any recorded births for John and Mary Harris in the early years of their marriage. However, according to Cornwall OPC records,  there were 23 baptisms in St Gennys between 1742 and 1745 - but still not a single Harris amongst them.

Note: During this time, there were 2 sets of records  - the actual parish records and the Bishop's Transcripts - in Cornwall's case, the Bishop of Exeter's transcripts. From 1597 each parish was required to send to the bishop, within a month after Easter, a copy of all entries made in the parish register during the preceding year. These copies are known as bishops' transcripts. Errors and omissions in copying were inevitable. 

 But still no evidence of any children for John and Mary during this time in St Gennys  - or even any neighbouring parishes. Possible reasons for this could be: difficulty conceiving or maintaining a pregnancy, or John could have gone elsewhere for work, leaving Mary behind, the records may have been lost or yet to be transcribed, or they chose  - by whatever means available - not to have a large number of children. 

The St Gennys Parish Baptism record ending at December 1741 and noting that records were left out to 1746. 

The first entry after the gap between 1741 and 1746 is - coincidentally enough - John son of John and Mary Harris, baptised April 1, 1746. This surely must be our John and Mary's son, and our yet-to-be-born William's older brother? John Harris married Magdalene Honey (1750 - 1822) 

St Gennys Parish Baptism entry for John Harris, son of John and Mary, 1746. 

Location of St Gennys in Cornwall (Google Maps)

 

St Gennys today 

The parish of Saint Gennys was in north Cornwall, bordered by the neighbouring parishes of Poundstock, Jacobstow, Otterham and St Juliot, and covered about 14 square kilometres off the north Cornish coast.  The parish was physically divided by a stream which enters the coast at at Crackington Haven, where a small port was used mainly for importing of coal and limestone  and exportimng slate until it fell into disuse in the 19th century.  Further inland is more rugged, with high hills and deep valleys. In the time of our ancestors, it was a fairly remote area, north of the main route into Cornwall via Launceston and Bodmin.  The less-travelled route via Stratton and Camelford just passed though the south-eastern parish boundary. 

Most income was derived from agriculture, with slate quarrying, mining, and associated trades and craft work also important means of livelihood.  There is no evidence of how John and Mary Harris lived or worked, but it could be safely assumed they were agricultural labourers or miners. The parish had no village centre, rather people lived in small communities or collections of farms. In 1740, there were about 80 families in the parish. The population had peaked by 1831 with 760 persons living in 138 homes, but by 1891 had shrunk to 430 persons in 97 homes. 

The parish church is partly Norman. 

 From 1732 to 1782 - the time of our William and his family - the vicar of St Gennys was George Thomson, whose faith was deepened by a dream he experienced early in his ministry there. Thomson was fervent  in his preaching, and  he extended his ministry to neighbouring parishes until his clerical brethren complained of his "circumforaneous vociferations"  to the bishop of Exeter who duly admonished him. The neighbouring parish vicars noted that they had no dissenters in their communities  "apart from those who go by the name of Methodists, chiefly encouraged and abetted and taught by a neighbouring clergyman, the Vicar of St Gennys"

The history of Methodism in Cornwall begins with this  Reverend George Thomson from our very own ancestral parish of St Gennys. He believed that one’s faith alone could bring them salvation. This was also the view held by both John and Charles Wesley  and became a central message of Methodism. The brothers visited St Gennys around eight times between them and became good friends with George, although eventually  became estranged when George Thomson moved to a Calvinistic view. George wrote many hymns, which were published anonymously during his lifetime.  I'm not sure if any of them are used currently, or if any music exists for them. 

George Thomson  was also well acquainted with the Anglican cleric and evangelist George Whitefield (1714-1770), another of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement, who preached at St Gennys at least twice.  This would also have been in the time of John and Mary Harris,  who would no doubt have been in the congregation of this Christian celebrity of his times.  Whitefield's eloquent oratory skills and charismatic personality helped spark the spiritual revival known as "the Great Awakening" throughout Britain, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and  North America where Whitefield visited seven times - including holding the biggest outdoor assembly in America (23,000 people) to that date. 

An extract from The Life of Rev. George Whitefield. Vol.2
On Saturday, November 12 [1743], Whitefield accompanied Mr. [George]Thomson to his rectory at St. Gennys, Cornwall, where he seems to have remained a fortnight. Hence the following:

“St. Gennys, November 25, 1743.

“I am glad that the Lord inclined my heart to come hither. He has been with us of a truth. How did His stately steps appear in the sanctuary last Lord’s-day! Many, many prayers were put up, by the worthy rector and others, for an outpouring of God’s blessed Spirit. They were answered. Arrows of conviction fled so thick and so fast, and such a universal weeping prevailed from one end of the congregation to the other, that good Mr. Thompson could not help going from seat to seat, to encourage and comfort the wounded souls. The Oxonian’s father was almost struck dumb; and the young Oxonian’s crest was so lowered, that I believe he will never venture to preach an unknown Christ, or to deal in the false commerce of unfelt truths.

“I could enlarge, but I must away to Bideford, just to give Satan another stroke, and bid my Christian friends farewell; and then return the way I came, namely, through Exeter, Wellington, and Bristol, to the great metropolis.”

And again in 1750:
"Having preached twelve times, in six days, at Plymouth, Whitefield set out for Cornwall, accompanied by two clergymen, the Rev. G. Thompson, of St. Gennys, and the Rev. Mr. Grigg, who had come to Plymouth purposely to be his escort. On Sunday, the 4th of March, the church at St. Gennys presented a scene such as was not often witnessed. Whitefield writes: “Four of Mr. Wesley’s preachers were present, and also four clergymen in their gowns and cassocks—Mr. Bennet (aged fourscore), Mr. Thompson, Mr. Grigg, and myself. It was a glorious day of the Son of man"  

On 10th March, 1750, he wrote in his diary,"Mr. Thompson is mighty hearty, and is gone to his parish in a gospel flame.” 

On one of John Wesley's visits to St Gennys in 1753, (possibly his last visit for some time) he wrote in his journal (on August 12th, 1753):  

'I never saw so many people in this church; nor did I ever speak so plainly to them. They hear; but when will they feel? Oh, what can man do toward raising either dead bodies or dead souls!' 

It is highly likely that our John and Mary Harris would have been in this congregation. 

In spite of not seeing each other for nearly thirty years, John Wesley was conveniently handy in nearby Camelford  when George Thomson was dying, and it must show the degree of esteem in which the vicar of St Gennys Parish was held, that his old friend should have made haste to visit him on his deathbed to administer the Sacrament. 

John Wesley's Journal:

Tuesday, September 3rd, 1782: 'I preached in the street at Camelford. Being informed here that my old friend Mr. Thompson, rector of St. Gennys, was near death, and had expressed a particular desire to see me, I judged no time was to be lost. So borrowing the best horse I could find, I set out, and rode as fast as I could… I found Mr. Thompson just alive, but quite sensible. It seemed to me as if none in the house but himself was very glad to see me. He had many doubts concerning his final state, and rather feared than desired to die, so that my whole business was to comfort him and to increase and confirm his confidence in God. He desired me to administer the Lord's Supper, which I willingly did; and I left him much happier than I found him, calmly waiting till his change should come.'

John and Mary Harris and family would have been well within the reach and influence of early Methodism in Cornwall. These must have been stirring times for them. It is tempting to speculate the impact that Thomson's, Whitefield's  and the Wesleys' preaching had on the Harrises  and their descendants.

George Whitefield preaching outdoors. John Collet/Getty Images 

And now, back to William and his two wives - in the next instalment. Feel free to contact me if you have any further information I could add to this - or if you find anything that needs correcting. 

(1) From Family Search Film # 004564297, image 26/374

James and Anne (McLean) McKenzie: before New Zealand - Cawdor Part 2

I am deeply grateful for the ancestral details, dates and data made available online by distant-McKenzie-cousin Daryl Coup. 

Please feel free to contact me if you can add any further details, or if you think there are errors in any of my details. Note: I have used "James Mann"  to distinguish  between our founding ancestor James Mann McKenzie and any other of his James McKenzie relatives or descendants. 

The Mckenzie clan was traditionally associated with the Scottish Highlands: Kintail in the northwest Highlands and Ross-shire (the historic county abolished in 1890)  which included Inverness-shire and Nairnshire. It seems our McKenzies were Cawdor  (Nairnshire) residents for some generations, although how strong their clan connections were is unknown. 

For further background information on Cawdor in the times of our McKenzies, read this blog post. 

A brief synopsis of our known Cawdor McKenzies:
1768  August 10, Duncan McKenzie, labourer, married Anne Macarthur  at Cawdor Parish Church.  (Either Duncan or Anne was born at Ardclach, Nairnshire.)  They had 5 known children:
- Duncan McKenzie baptised 24 April, 1769 at Andrain. 
- Peter McKenzie, born 1773
- Jean McKenzie, born 3 September 1775, at Andrain
- James McKenzie, born 9 June 1780, at Andrain
- John McKenzie, born 3 February 1787,  at Andrain (See this post for more about him.)

1801 February 17 Duncan McKenzie married Elizabeth Mann at Cawdor. They had 3 known children
- Duncan McKenzie, born 27 November 1801 at Achindown, Cawdor
- James Mann McKenzie, born 14 December 1803 at Cawdor, baptised 7 January 1804 at Cawdor. 
- Hugh Rose McKenzie, born 10 November 1808 at Andrain

James Mann McKenzie is our New Zealand connection. He was the second son of Duncan McKenzie and Elizabeth Mann, and through James Mann and several of his descendants, Elizabeth's maiden name of Mann has been perpetuated.  James Mann was a joiner (as noted in 1841 census) and could have been employed on various famsteads doing building /maintenance work - which could account for the changes of location in their children's  baptism records. 

James Mann McKenzie married Ann McLean (aka Julia Ann/e). Little is know of her background and,  when discovered, will be included in a later post.  

James and Ann had the following children in Scotland, according to parish records : 

Elizabeth (1828 - 1907) born 16th October 1828 at Drum of Clunas, Cawdor

Duncan (1830 - 1896) born 1st March 1830 at Newton of Cawdor  (a farmstead) 

Julia (1832 - 1912) born 8 April 1832 at Piper Hill, Cawdor. 

Hugh Rose (1834 - 1912) born 2nd June, 1834 in Drum of Clunas, Cawdor

James (1836 - ?) born 14 June 1836, at Little Urchany (most likely a farmstead)

Mary Ann (1840 - 1842) born c. September 1840 in Renfrewshire

So, where are these places? Note that some of them could well be the name of farmsteads or villages which have long since disappeared. In Scotland's Places  "Drum of Clunas" (in ruins) is the name applied to the ruins of a farm steading on a cultivated ridge about one mile southwest of Clunas.  It is on the Cawdor estate. 

Here's a link to a more recent map of the area. It is described as "A township comprising nine unroofed buildings, one of which is a long building and another two are T-shaped, four enclosures and a sheepfold is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Nairnshire 1871-6, sheet vii). One unroofed building with an attached length of wall is shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1978)." (See detail below.) 

If I have got my geography correct, it looks as if nothing remains today. The  pointer is where I think Drum of Clunas is/was. (See below.) 

Now that you've got your bearings, see if you can locate all the places mentioned above on this map.   And have a play around with this view of Little Urchany.  I think Little Urchany was a farm. Try this link to see the approximate location of the birthplaces of James and Anne's children in Cawdor.  I've used the walking option for a more authentic appreciation of the distance between locations, though roads or paths may not be the same then as now.  

By 1840 (according to the birth records for daughter Mary Ann), James Mann and his family had moved to the (then) county of Renfrewshire. 

 How did they get there? Did they walk? Did they have a horse and cart? 

Railways were being constructed about this time, but there appear to be none from  the Highlands this early in rail history - and could the family have afforded to travel by rail anyway? Whatever form of transport they took, it would have been a long and difficult journey. 

The distance between Cawdor and Greenock, measured in walking hours -  a huge distance in the 1840s. Note that this may not be the route they took. 

According to the 1841 Scotland Census, James McKenzie, aged 35, was living in Market Street in the County of Renfrewshire in the Civil Parish of Greenock West (564). It confirms he was born in Scotland, estimated year 1803 - 1806, and was listed as a joiner.  Further family details confirms that this is our James Mann: 
Ann McKenzie, age 30,  estimated birth year about 1810, born Scotland;  same address as James.
Elizabeth McKenzie aged 13
Duncan McKenzie aged 12, estimated born 1830
Julia McKenzie, age 10,  born 1832
Hugh McKenzie, age 8

Mary Anne  aged 9 months

It seems baby James (born 1836) must have died before 1841- either in Cawdor or Greenock - or quite possibly somewhere along the way where he may have been buried - as he does not appear with the family in the census or on the passenger list of the Jane Gifford, and I can find no evidence of his death or burial in any available records. 

 
Market Street has since been demolished and King Street was built in its place.

Interestingly, in the Greenock Register of 1841-42,  there is a James McKenzie listed at 27 Market Street, whose profession is given as spirit-dealer.   I wonder if this is our James Mann? It seems outside his previous employment qulaifications, yet an association with spirits appears likely to have been within the McKenzie skill set. It could well be a totally different James McKenzie, but worth a thought. 

Why did James Mann move his family from the country highlands to the city of Greenock?

James Mann and his family could have been affected by, or moved out of their Cawdor location through, the Highland Clearances (between 1750 and 1860)  - although research suggests that the Jane Gifford and Duchess of Argyle migrants were not from the clearances. More on this in next post.   Throughout many areas of Scotland, landlords were having to make drastic changes to maintain or improve their income in a time of significant decline in their revenue. One way was to instigate agricultural improvements, and this ultimately involved moving tenants off their land. Displaced tenants were either relocated into crofting communities where they were offered employment of lesser value  and status, or  they chose to migrate to cities or emigrate - initially to North America but eventually Australia, New Zealand and other colonies. A rise in population numbers created overcrowded and uneconomic crofting communities, and further changes in agriculture prompted many landlords to pay for selected tenants to emigrate to help provide an alternative opportunity. Crop failures during this time further exacerbated the misery and desperation of many Highlanders. 

It is probable that James Mann moved his family to Greenock to look for a better opportunity, either in anticipation of emigrating or to find work in the city - and once there, found information on emigration. Whatever the reason, he was in the right place at the right time with the right qualifications to board the Jane Gifford with Ann and his children to relocate to the other end of the world to a country in its absolute colonial infancy.  And to add to their own family and found a family of descendants which must surely number into four figures by now.