NOTE November 2018: I haven't worked on these Harris pages in a number of years; there is probably good recent information available not included here. This may still be a good start for you.
I haven't done any personal research on the Harris families of Annapolis and Digby counties; the family lines given below are synthesized from published reports and information obtained from Internet and other contacts, and offered so Harris researchers don't have to start from scratch on their own research. What I've put together looks "reasonable" to me, but remember my caveat: don't trust anything on these Harris pages without doing some research of your own.
If you find anything in this that looks interesting to you, check the Harris Family Bibliography (linked above). It includes whatever supporting information I have.
GROUP A - ARTHUR'S LINE
Information on this group comes from the following references, supplemented by individual records from published vital statistics for early Massachusetts, and some e-mail contacts:
--Arthur S. Harris (1991), A Harris family of Nova Scotia. The Mayflower Descendant 41(2)171-174.
--Isaiah W. Wilson (1900), A Geography and History of the County of Digby.
I don't have a great deal of confidence in the early generations given. I could find very little support in the Massachusetts vital records for the births and marriages cited in the publication referenced above. [I didn't find definite errors; I just couldn't find many of the records that should have been in Plymouth and Suffolk counties.] Also, the Harris and Wilson accounts do not always agree. I have used the Harris account as the base, and have noted differences between the two references.
FIRST GENERATION
1 - Arthur HARRIS [information all from Wilson 1900]: came from Plymouth, England, to Bridgewater, Plymouth Co., Massachusetts in 1651; moved to Boston, MA, where he died 1694 [NOTE: I could not find his death recorded in the Boston vital records].
SECOND GENERATION
2-Isaac
HARRIS: Harris (1991) says he was born
"in Duxbury" ca. 1644; if his family really came to
America in 1651 [as claimed in Wilson (1900)], then the reference
would be to Duxbury, England. I did not find a birthdate for any
Isaac HARRIS in the Duxbury, MA, vital records. He allegedly died
in Bridgewater, Plymouth Co., MA, 22 Jan 1706/7 [Harris 1991;
I could not find him in the published Plymouth County vital records].
Isaac married Mercy
[or, Mary] LATHAM, daughter of Robert
LATHAM and Susannah WINSLOW. Mercy was reportedly born in Plymouth,
MA, 2 June 1650 [Harris 1991], but I could not find her in the
Plymouth County vital records.
THIRD GENERATION
3-Samuel
HARRIS: I could find no birth date for
this Samuel, but he was likely born in Massachusetts say 1675.
He married 10 January 1709/10 Abigail
HARDING in Bridgewater, Plymouth Co.,
MA [confirmed in Bridgewater vital records]. [Wilson (1900) mistakenly
had this Samuel marrying Sarah COOKE, who actually married his
son Samuel, below.] Abigail HARDING was reportedly born in Braintree,
Norfolk Co., MA 20 May 1689 (Harris 1991).
Samuel HARRIS reportedly died between 1729 and 1731 (Harris 1991).
His son Isaac was baptized in East Bridgewater, MA, 27 June 1731,
at which date his father was noted as "deceased" [East
Bridgewater vital records]. This may be the rationale for the
estimated death date, but it may have been the time period between
preparation of Samuel's will and it being proved. [I didn't locate
any probate information.]
I could not find any birthdates for children of Samuel and Abigail.
Three children were baptized in 1725, those being born sometime
between say 1710 and 1725. Three children baptized after 1725
were probably born after 1725. All baptisms were in East Bridgewater,
Plymouth Co., MA
FOURTH GENERATION
Children of Samuel HARRIS (3) and Abigail HARDING:
4- Abigail
HARRIS: baptized 5 Sep 1725.
5-Susanna HARRIS: baptized 5 Sep 1725.
6-Mary HARRIS: baptized 5 Sep 1725.
7-Seth HARRIS: baptized 27 Mar 1726.
+ 8-Samuel HARRIS: baptized 24 Mar 1727/8; apparently born in East
Bridgewater, MA, probably in 1726 or 1727. He married Sarah COOKE in Plymouth County, MA, in 1752 - marriage intent filed in Kingston,
MA June 1752; marriage was 14 Dec 1752 - at the time, Samuel was
listed as a resident of Duxbury, MA [Kingston, MA, vital records].
Sarah COOKE was probably a daughter of Josiah COOKE and Zibah
CUSHMAN, born 21 Nov 1729 (Harris 1991).
According to Wilson (1900), Samuel was a mariner, and he captained
the Seaflower in 1755 when that ship carried troops from Massachusetts
to assist in the capture of Fort Beausejour from the French, leading
to the full establishment of British rule in Nova Scotia. He also
participated in the last siege of Louisburg in 1758.
Samuel and Sarah had four children in Massachusetts. Sometime
between 1758 and 1763, the family moved to Nova Scotia, where
they had four additional children (Harris 1991). They settled
first at Mount Pleasant, one mile above Bridgetown, Annapolis
County, lived for a short time at Granville Ferry, then in 1782
moved to Lequille, near Annapolis. Samuel died there in 1801,
and Sarah in Feb 1809 (Wilson 1900).
9-Isaac HARRIS: baptized 27 Jun 1731.
FIFTH GENERATION
Children of Samuel HARRIS (8) and Sarah
COOKE [all from Harris 1991]:
+10-Sarah/Sally HARRIS
was born in Kingston or Duxbury, Plymouth
Co., MA, 4 Nov 1753 [Kingston vital records]. She married 1st,
probably in Annapolis Co., Nova Scotia, Samuel HILL, and had two
sons. She married 2nd ______ HITCHENS, and had two children.
+11-John HARRIS born in either Kingston or Duxbury, Plymouth Co.,
MA. He was baptized in Duxbury 16 May 1756 [Duxbury vital records].
In Annapolis County, he married 1st Abigail SPURR, with whom
he had 9 children. He married a 2nd time [wife's name unknown],
and had 8 more children.
John HARRIS was one of the surveyors who established the boundary
line between the United States and Canada. He was a member of
the House of Assembly for Annapolis County for seven years. NOTE:
both Wilson 1900 and Harris 1991 record these facts, but my notes
on Wilson have these events occurring at impossible dates (1765
to his death in 1772) - did I transcribe incorrectly, did Wilson,
or was there an older John Harris in Annapolis County at that
time?
+12-Sylvia HARRIS was probably born in Plymouth Co., MA, say 1758
to 1761 [no birth or baptismal record found]. In Nova Scotia (probably
Annapolis Co.), she married John
WRIGHT, of Halifax, and had seven children.
+13-Lydia HARRIS was probably born in Plymouth Co., MA, say 1758
to 1761 [no birth or baptismal records found]. In Nova Scotia
(probably Annapolis County), she married Robert LUDLOW [or LAIDLEY],
and had 8 children.
+14-Samuel HARRIS was born 21 Apr 1763 at Mount Pleasant, Annapolis
County, Nova Scotia. He died at Annapolis Royal, N.S., 11 Nov
1734. He married 4 Jan 1798 Elizabeth
Evens JEFFERSON. dau. of Robert JEFFERSON
and Elizabeth EVENS. [NOTE: there is more information on the Jefferson
and Evers families in Harris 1991.] Elizabeth was born at Annapolis
Royal, Nova Scotia, 28 Apr 1779, and died there 29 Jul 1845. They
had 11 children.
+15-Benjamin HARRIS
was born in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia,
1765. He married Rachel
BALCOM, and had seven children.
+16-Christopher Prince
HARRIS was born in Annapolis County,
Nova Scotia, 8 Aug 1768. He married Elizabeth SPURR 25 July
1791 Digby, Nova Scotia, and had 10 children.
+17-Josiah HARRIS was born in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, say 1770.
He sailed to the West Indies around 1790, was not recorded by
the family after that.
SIXTH GENERATION
Children of Sarah HARRIS (10) and Samuel HILL:
18-Samuel
HILL
19-Josiah HILL
Children of Sarah HARRIS (10) and HITCHENS:
20-Obediah
HITCHENS
21-Julia HITCHENS
Children of John HARRIS (11) and Abigail
SPURR:
22-John Spurr HARRIS
+23-Sarah HARRIS married Robert
JEFFERSON, and had 11 children.
24-Azarelah Morse HARRIS
25-George HARRIS
26-Horatio Nelson HARRIS
(twin)
+27-Caroline HARRIS
(twin) married Spinny WHITMAN, had one
child.
+28-Harriet/Henrietta
HARRIS married Edmond JOHNSON, and had
4 children.
29-Josiah HARRIS
30-Ann HARRIS
Children of John HARRIS (11) and his 2nd wife:
31-Anna
Letney HARRIS
32-Sidney Smith HARRIS
33-Arthur Welsley HARRIS
34-Alexander HARRIS
35-Evens HARRIS
36-Eliza HARRIS
37-Philip Richardson
HARRIS
38-twin brother to Philip
HARRIS
Children of Sylvia HARRIS (12) and John WRIGHT:
39-John
WRIGHT
40-Betsy WRIGHT
41-Sally WRIGHT
42-Sophia WRIGHT
43-Stanley WRIGHT
44-Ann WRIGHT
45-Harriet WRIGHT
Children of Lydia HARRIS (13) and Robert LUDLOW:
46-Robert
LUDLOW
47-Betsy LUDLOW
48-Lydia LUDLOW
49-Sarah LUDLOW
50-Mary LUDLOW
51-Eleanor LUDLOW
52-Emmeline LUDLOW
53-William Fenwick LUDLOW
Children of Samuel HARRIS (14) and Elizabeth Evens JEFFERSON:
54-Elizabeth
Jefferson HARRIS
55-Henry J. HARRIS
56-Stephen HARRIS
57-Sarah HARRIS
58-Mary Ann HARRIS was born in Annapolis Royal, Annapolis Co., Nova
Scotia 14 Jul 1806, and died there 25 Nov 1889.
59-Josiah HARRIS
60-Henrietta HARRIS
+61-Robert Jefferson
HARRIS married Rebecca DITMARS, dau.
of Isaac DITMARS. They had 12 children.
62-Samuel HARRIS
+63-John HARRIS married Sarah
JONES, and had one child.
+64-William HARRIS married Ann
WITHERSPOON [perhaps WEATHERSPOL], and
had 4 children.
Children of Benjamin HARRIS (15) and Rachel BALCOM:
65-Thomas HARRIS married Elepha ROOP, dau. of John ROOP and Margaret MYERS. They lived for a time at Smith Cove (Wilson 1900).
66-Silvia
HARRIS
67-Fredric HARRIS
68-Christopher HARRIS
69-Mary HARRIS
70-Emma HARRIS
71-James Stanley HARRIS
later lived at Saint John, New Brunswick.
Children of Christopher Prince HARRIS (16) and Elizabeth SPURR:
72-Robert
Ludlow/Laidley HARRIS
73-Jane Elizabeth HARRIS
74-Mary Amelia HARRIS
75-Ann HARRIS
+76-Michael Spurr HARRIS
b. 22 Sept 1804; m. Sarah Ann TROOP 11 May
1826 Annapolis, Nova Scotia; moved to Moncton, New Brunswick,
by 1871, where he was later the Mayor. Two known children.
77-George Davis HARRIS
78-Edmund Reece HARRIS
79-Benjamin James HARRIS
80-Eliza HARRIS - lived 6 years and 8 months
81-Elizabeth Maria HARRIS
SIXTH GENERATION
Children of Sarah HARRIS (23) and Robert
JEFFERSON:
82-Abigail S. JEFFERSON
83-George H. JEFFERSON
84-James Edward JEFFERSON
85-Robert John JEFFERSON
86-Caroline A. JEFFERSON
87-Charles C. JEFFERSON
88-Helen S. JEFFERSON
89-Louisa JEFFERSON
90-William JEFFERSON
91-Jessa JEFFERSON
92-Elizabeth E. JEFFERSON
Child of Caroline HARRIS (27) and Spinny WHITMAN:
92-Jacob WHITMAN
Children of Harriet HARRIS (28) and Edmond JOHNSON:
93-William
W. JOHNSON
94-Caroline JOHNSON
95-Henrietta JOHNSON
96-George Ed. JOHNSON
Children of Robert Jefferson HARRIS (61) and Rebecca DITMARS:
+97-John
Henry HARRIS married Eveline RAYMOND, had one
child.
+98-Ernest Augustus
HARRIS married Mary Eliza WHEELOCK, and
had 7 children.
99-Isaac Ditmars HARRIS
married Mrs. Caroline [___] McDORMAN.
+100-William Vanderbilt
HARRIS married Cate THOMPSON, and had
one child.
101-Charles Strong HARRIS
102-Alice Robertha HARRIS
+103-Rev. Voorhees Evans
HARRIS married Emma Chandler TROOP.
104-Fenwick Williams
HARRIS
105-Robert Edward HARRIS
106-Lemmia Elizabeth
HARRIS
107-Emma Blanch HARRIS
108-Florence Mabel HARRIS
Child of John HARRIS (63) and Sarah JONES:
109-Minnie E. HARRIS
Children of William HARRIS (64) and Ann WITHERSPOON:
110-Ritchard
Cowen HARRIS
111-William Albert HARRIS
112-Minnie HARRIS
113-William James HARRIS
Children of Michael Spurr HARRIS (76) and Sarah Ann TROOP:
+114-Christopher Prince HARRIS b. 1837, d. 1914; m. Mary Landon COWLING ca 1866 (Mary b. 1846, d. 1939). They had seven children.
+115-Sarah Jane (Bessie) HARRIS b. 1827, d. 1902; m. John Albert HUMPHREY 1855 (John b. Dec 1823, d. 1895, son of William HUMPHREY and Mary TRUEMAN. Four children.
SEVENTH GENERATION
Child of John Henry HARRIS (97) and Eveline RAYMOND:
116-Jenny HARRIS.
Children of Ernest Augustus HARRIS (98) and Mary Eliza WHEELOCK:
117-Fred
Wheelock HARRIS
118-Arthur Welsford
HARRIS
119-Lilian Sibal HARRIS
120-Ida May HARRIS
121-Carrie Ditmars HARRIS
122-Louis V. HARRIS
123-Mary Grace HARRIS
Child of William Vanderbilt HARRIS (100) and Cate THOMPSON:
124-William James HARRIS
Children of Christopher Prince HARRIS (114) and Mary Landon COWLING:
125-George Ludlow HARRIS b. 1868, d. 1944; m. Essie V. BARCHARD (1886-1972); 2 daughters.
126-William Landon HARRIS b. 30 Oct 1871 Moncton, New Brunswick; m. Nellie Evalyn MOORE 1896 Boston, Massachusetts; lived in Rhode Island. Three children.
127-Edward Alfred HARRIS b. 1875, d. 1920; not known to have married.
128-Leonard Christopher HARRIS b. 1877, d. 1958; m. Marion Lorne ROACH. One child.
129-Jane HARRIS (1878-1959) m. 1st Claude Walker PETERS, one child; m. 2nd Clifford W. ROBINSON
130-Molly (Mary) HARRIS (1882-1958) m. E. Hubert SINCLAIR
131-Helen HARRIS m. Ernest SINCLAIR
Children of Sarah Jane HARRIS John Albert HUMPHREY:
132-Sarah Ann HUMPHREY b. 1856, d. 1913; m. 1884 L. D. LOCKHART (b. 1847, d. 1923)
133-Jane HUMPHREY b. 1858, d. 1939; m. Henry STEEVES in 1899, son of Asa STEEVES and Ellen McLATCHY.
134-William Flintoff HUMPHREY b. 1860, d. 1928; m. Emma Bessie WALLACE
135-Mary Eliza HUMPHREY b. 1863, d. 1950; m. 23 Feb 1898 Richard KINNEAR
GROUP B - JOHN OF MASSACHUSETTS
My principal reference for this group is:
--W. W. Calnek (1897), History of the County of Annapolis
FIRST GENERATION
1 - John HARRIS allegedly came to Nova Scotia from Massachusetts ca 1755. He married ca 1752 [presumably in Massachusetts]. He settled in Annapolis Royal, Annapolis Co. N.S.
SECOND GENERATION
+2 - John HARRIS Jr. born say 1752, presumably in Massachusetts. He married 1st Maria DUNN; they had six children [see below]. He married 2nd Mary DeLANCEY, and had four children.
+3 - Thomas HARRIS born ca 1753, presumably in Massachusetts. He married ca 1775 Mary LeCAIN, and had two known children.
+4 - Henry HARRIS born 1757 probably in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. He married 1783 Elizabeth HALL, and they had nine children.
THIRD GENERATION
Children of John HARRIS Jr. (2) and Maria
DUNN:
5 - Henry HARRIS 1780 - 1797
6 - Polly HARRIS b. 1781; married John
BENT
7 - Sarah HARRIS 1786-1808 [NOTE: same dates given for the next
person, also an error in the book?]
8 - John HARRIS 1786-1808 [?]
9 - George HARRIS b. 1788; married Sarah
PARKER
10 - Letitia HARRIS b. and d. 1790
Children of John HARRIS Jr. (2) and Mary
DeLANCEY:
11 - Charlotte HARRIS b. 1792; married William
DAVIS
12 - Mary Ann HARRIS 1794-1797
13 - Ann Seabury HARRIS 1796-1798
14 - James Delancey
HARRIS b. 1799; married Mary WOODBURY
Children of Thomas HARRIS (3) and Mary LeCAIN:
15 - (Capt.) John HARRIS b. ca 1775; married 1799 Mary SHAW
16 - Thomas HARRIS died "abroad," unmarried
Children of Henry HARRIS (4) and Elizabeth
HALL:
17 - Mary HARRIS b. 1784; married Edward
MORGAN
18 - Joseph Hall HARRIS b. 1785; married Elizabeth
CLARK
19 - James HARRIS b. 1787; married 1st Hannah HETRICK; married
2nd
Ann PINE
20 - Samuel HARRIS b. 1790; married Deborah
Ann McALISTER
21 - Elizabeth HARRIS b. 1792; married John
CARTY
22 - John Van Kirk HARRIS b. 1794; married Jane
HOLMES
23 - Lucy HARRIS b. 1796; married Robert
Ludlow HARRIS
24 - Amelia HARRIS b. 1798; d. unmarried
25 - Ann HARRIS b. 1801; married Abraham
SPURR
GROUP C - JOHN OF THE BRITISH ARMY
Calnek's history of Annapolis County includes this family:
FIRST GENERATION
1 - John HARRIS allegedly was a native of Dublin, Ireland. He was in the British Army, fought in the American Revolution, and was stationed at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, where he eventually settled. He married Elizabeth GRAVES of Granville, Nova Scotia. They reportedly had eight children.
SECOND GENERATION
2 - John
HARRIS
3 to 9 - other children [the names may be in Calnek; I don't have
them in my files]
GROUP D - MYNDERT OF NEW YORK
Catharine Tozer of Port Hope, Ontario, provided information on this family.
MYNDERT HARRIS was a Loyalist from Dutchess County, New York, who had fled New York in 1783 aboard The Brothers. He and his family stayed in Digby County, Nova Scotia, for ten years before becoming some of the first settlers in Hope Township, Upper Canada, in 1793. Myndert married Polly (Maria?) YOUMANS, and they had ten children, born between ca. 1771 and 1791: Hannah HARRIS, Joseph HARRIS, Elizabeth HARRIS, Thomas HARRIS, Peter HARRIS, Myndert HARRIS Jr., Margaret HARRIS, Sarah HARRIS, Catherine HARRIS, and Rebecca HARRIS.
GROUP E - FRANCIS OF SANDY COVE
FIRST GENERATION
1-Francis HARRIS b. ca 1804; m. Rachel ____ (b. ca 1811)
SECOND GENERATION
2-Sandel HARRIS b. ca 1843 Nova Scotia; d. before 1901, Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia; m. 1868 in Sandy Cove Mary RAYMOND (b. ca 1849 Nova Scotia, d. after 1901)
THIRD GENERATION
3-Henry HARRIS b. 20 July 1869 Digby, N. S., and d. 18 Oct 1936 Grand Manan, New Brunswick; m. 1st Aug 1904 in Grand Manan, Blanche GUTHRIE. Three children born Grand Manan 1911-1914: Rexford, John, and Rebecca. He married 2nd (after 1922) Fannie RAMSDELL.
4-Florence HARRIS b. ca 1871 Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia
5-Frank HARRIS b. 25 June 1872
6-Layton HARRIS b. 11 Jan 1875
7-Adam HARRIS b. ca 1878
8-John HARRIS b. ca 1878
9-Sandel HARRIS b. 12 May 1879 Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia; m. Mary E. SPEICHT
10-James E. HARRIS b. 12 Apr 1881
UNLINKED INDIVIDUALS
The following individuals were named by
Internet contacts, or were in:
-Isaiah W. Wilson (1900), A Geography and History of the County
of Digby.
Some probably go with one or more of the above lines; I haven't been able to place them.
Peter HARRIS m. Esther SAUNDERS 5 Mar 1793 - of Sandy Cove, Digby County, N.S.
Hannah HARRIS m. John SAUNDERS 5 Mar 1793 - of Sandy Cove, Digby County, N.S.
Hiram HARRIS and Matilda ____ lived at Sandy Cove, Digby Co. N.S., had son Newcombe HARRIS [time period unknown to me]
Isaachar HARRIS (1794-1876) lived in Margaretsville, Annapolis County, N.S.
Lydia HARRIS b. ca 1798, dau of William HARRIS of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia; m. John WARNE, son of Stephen and Dorcas WARNE (m. in Digby, N.S.?)
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