John (Murison) Morrison (1832)

Born 20 Jan 1832 in Memsie, Rathen, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Little) Morrison — married 2 Apr 1863 in Markham Village, York, Canada West

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Biography

John was born on 20 January 1832^[1] (see Research Notes for further discussion) at Lonend of Memsie, in the parish of Rathen, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He was the son of William Murison and his wife Elizabeth Catto.

We next find John in the Scotland Census of 1841^[2] at age 9, living with the Corderson family in Memsie, in the parish of Rathen, Aberdeenshire, and in the Scotland Census of 1851^[3] living as a Agricultural Labourer with the Findlay family at "Tarsethill" (possibly 'Tarty's Mill') near Ellon, in the parish of Logie Buchan, Aberdeenshire.

Sometime around 1853, John emigrated to Canada and settled in what is today Toronto, but was mostly agricultural land at the time. We have found no record of his emigration or immigration, but once in Canada he begins to use the spelling Morrison which he retains for the rest of his life, and is passed on to his eight children. His younger brother William and sister Mary soon join him in Canada and settle nearby, but retain the Murison spelling.

On 2nd April 1873 John, now a resident of Scarborough Township, married Elizabeth "Betsy" Little^[4], also an expatriate Scot, in Markham Village, in the district of York, in the province of Ontario, Canada. They went on to have eight children together.

John and his family originally settle as tenants of a 200 acre farm identified as Concessions B & C, Lot 23, in Scarborough, East York, Ontario, owned by one John Thorn. Today, this is a piece of prime Real Estate, and includes the Scarborough Bluffs and its prestigious sailing club. A contemporaneous map showing the locations of both John's farm and that of his brother William has been uploaded to the Images. We see him here in the Canadian Censuses of 1871^[5] and 1881^[6].

By the time of the Canadian Censuses of 1891^[7] and 1901^[8] John has established himself on a 225 acre farm identified as Lot 20, Concession 5, immediately south of the village of Brooklin in the township of Whitby, Ontario, about 40km NE of his previous farm. A map showing the location of this farm has been uploaded to the images.

We do not have a definitive record of John's death, but there is an intriguing record of a John Morrison who died on 16 January 1904^[9] in Bathurst Street, York, Ontario. This remains to be confirmed.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth: ScotlandsPeople; Search on Old Parish Registers - Births and Baptisms, SURNAME:Murrison (sic); FORENAME:William; YEAR:1826; COUNTY:Aberdeen; PARISH:Rathen
2. ↑ 1841 Census: 1841 Scotland Census [database on-line] via ancestry.co.uk, Parish: Rathen; ED: 1; Page: 5; Line: 1131; Year: 1841, Ancestry uk Record 1004 #1458573 (account required) or Free-to-View Ancestry record.
3. ↑ 1851 Census: 1841 Scotland Census [database on-line] via ancestry.co.uk, Parish: Logie Buchan; ED: 1; Page: 13; Line: 18; Roll: CSSCT1851_47; Year: 1851, Ancestry uk Record 1076 #728624 (account required) or Free-to-View Ancestry record.
4. ↑ Marriage Archives of Ontario; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; County Marriage Registers, 1858-June 1869; Reel: 16, Ancestry uk Record 7921 #879607 (account required) or Free-to-View Ancestry record.
5. ↑ 1871 Census: 1871 Canada Census [database on-line] via ancestry.co.uk, Year: 1871; Census Place: Scarborough, York East, Ontario; Roll: C-9968; Page: 29; Family No: 109, Ancestry uk Record 1578 #1600038 (account required) or Free-to-View Ancestry record.
6. ↑ 1881 Census: Year: 1881; Census Place: Scarborough, York East, Ontario; Roll: C_13248; Page: 34; Family No: 172, Ancestry uk Record 1577 #3143496 (account required) or Free-to-View Ancestry record.
7. ↑ 1891 Census: Year: 1891; Census Place: Whitby Town, Ontaro South, Ontario, Canada; Roll: T-6358; Family No: 127, Ancestry uk Record 1274 #4002532 (account required) or Free-to-View Ancestry record.
8. ↑ 1901 Census: Year: 1901; Census Place: Whitby (West/Ouest), Ontario (South/Sud), Ontario; Page: 2; Family No: 17, Ancestry uk Record 8826 #14020773 (account required) or Free-to-View Ancestry record.
9. ↑ Possible 1904 death: Ontario, Canada, Deaths and Deaths Overseas, 1869-1949 [database on-line], Collection: Ms935; Series: 113, Ancestry uk Record 8946 #2032465 (account required) or Free-to-View Ancestry record.