Arthur Harris
Description
- Media Type
- Image
- Item Type
- Photographs
- Description
- Arthur Harris was the great-grandson of Absalom and Anna Mary (Beamer) Smith, of Palermo. He is sitting in the “Mackenzie” chair. The Smiths assisted William Lyon Mackenzie out of the country in 1837.
After the botched rebellion of 1837 with a reward over his head, Mackenzie fled to the United States with his companion, Allan Wilcox. Along the way he sought protection at the home of Absalom Smith.
As he made his way across the Sixteen Mile Creek, Mackenzie fell in the chilly, December water.
According to Dorothy Turcotte in her book, Burlington: Memories of Pioneer Days, George Langtry, a friend of the Smiths was visiting the house and had informed his hosts that he was ready to shoot if he saw the reform leader.
Once Langtry left, Mackenzie and his friend ventured inside where Mrs. Smith offered him a newly made shirt. Leaving his wet shirt behind, the men shortly set out for the safety of the United States.
The Absalom Smith farm was located east of Palermo, Lot 27, Concession 1, North of Dundas St. The date when the farm was sold out of the family is uncertain. (It is known that some of the Beamer/Smith family bought the 400 acres of crown land which was given to Laura Secord in Burlington. Anna Catherine Smith, daughter of Absalom Smith and Anna Mary Beamer, married Thomas E. Pickett, son of Reverend Daniel Pickett and Elizabeth Franz Ingersoll, sister of Laura Secord. They lived in Lowville, the Reverend Daniel Pickett and family settling there in 1820.)
In 2018 terms, the farm location is on the north-west corner of the intersection of Hospital Gate and Dundas St. West, just west of the new new hospital, Lot 27, Con. 1 NDS. - Notes
- It is thought the name of Arthur's wife was Ivy. They lived in the Dakotas, U.S.A., where daughters Mary Kay and Amy were born. The family moved to Miami, Florida where they farmed. They died there, dates unknown. Mary Kay Williams (married name) died in Miami in about 2004.
This photograph was probably taken circa 1936. - Subject(s)
- Personal Name(s)
- William Arthur Harris, called "Arthur", b. June 8, 1866. His parents were Sarah Pickett, 1840-1926, (daughter of Anna Catherine Smith and Thomas E. Pickett) and William Harris, 1838-1897.
- Local identifier
- TTOIIRT0037
- Collection
- Trafalgar Township Historical Society
- Language of Item
- English
- Geographic Coverage
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Ontario, Canada
Latitude: 43.4469959798516 Longitude: -79.7666221691894
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- Copyright Statement
- Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Recommended Citation
- Arthur Harris
- Contact
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Trafalgar Township Historical Society Sponsor: Jeff Knoll, Local & Regional Councillor for Oakville Ward 5 – Town of Oakville/Regional Municipality of Halton
