Page 7 - June 2022 News On 7

HAZZARD'S HISTORY NOTES

by Grant Ketcheson

“A FAMILY REMEMBERS, 148 YEARS LATER”
One of the early pioneer families of Hazzard's Corners was the Harris family. Thomas Harris was born in London, England
in 1787. He was employed as a joiner (cabinet maker or woodworker) but had apparently also been studying to become an
Episcopal priest. Family lore suggests that, disturbed by the level of drunkenness in the streets of London, he left England
and sailed for the new world. While little is known of his travels, apparently he taught school for a time after his arrival in
Ontario.
Ann Smith was the daughter of Loyalist George Smith. Like other refugees from the American Revolution, the Smith family
lived in the Hay Bay area. While we do not have the exact date of the marriage of Thomas Harris and Ann Smith, we know
that Harriet, the first of their ten children, was born in January 1821. Infant mortality was high in the 1800s and tragedy did
not spare the Harris household as two of their children, Benjamin and Samantha, died as infants. Of the remaining eight
children, Coleman, the oldest son, born in 1822, was the only one of the family to spend the rest of his life in the Hazzard's
Corners community. He lived on the farm still owned by the Harris family in 2022. Many of the rest of the family moved on
to the state of Michigan.
Much has been written of United Empire Loyalist history and land grants received by “sons of loyalists” following the
American Revolution. However, in some cases, daughters of loyalists got on that list. This was the case with Ann Harris,
daughter of Loyalist George Smith. We have a copy of a hand-written application bearing “her mark” and the subsequent
approval of a grant of 200 acres in Madoc Township. Therefore, the Harris family can proudly claim the honour of having
one of the few farms in the township with title going back to an original land grant from the Crown.
After the death of Thomas and Ann, ownership of the farm passed to their oldest son, Coleman and his sister, Almeda, who
had married Norman Fretz from Napanee. Sadly, Almeda was widowed while still quite young. The Belden's Atlas of 1878
shows the ownership of the Harris farm split between “C. Harris and Mrs. Fretz.” (Apparently, in 1878 women didn't have
an identity of their own!) Almeda Harris Fretz sold her interest in the farm to her brother and moved to join her son and
his family in Cheboygen, Michigan.
The Harris farm (located on the east side of Hazzard Lake) like so many others in our community is rich in family history.
However, we believe that this farm may well lay claim to being the only one first settled by the “daughter of a loyalist.”
Also, there is no doubt that Ann Smith Harris is the only person in Hazzard's Cemetery whose 3rd great-grand children
cared enough about family history to have her broken headstone replaced, 148 years after she was laid to rest!

Captiion #2
Caption #1
The Harris homestead on the 1878 Belden's Atlas map. The grave of Ann Smith Harris is properly recognized again.

Caption #3
The Harris farm, still owned by the same family in 2022