Harlow Genealogy

Irving Wendel Harlow - Genealogy
Written by: S. G. Moritz

Our Branch of the Harlow Family, Nova Scotia The Nova Scotia Harlows. The First Five Generations of the Harlow Family ends in the Fifth Generation of our line with James Harlow, born 1791 in Liverpool, NS (he has No. 3078 assigned for future books by the Harlow Family Genealogy Committee). James is of Robert (5), Robert (4), Deacon Robert (3), William (2) and William (1). James is the son of Robert Harlow and Eunice Freeman of Liverpool.

From the book "Harlows In Nova Scotia" compiled by Harley Walker James married Olivia Chadsey (born 29 DEC 1794 in Liverpool, NS) on 9 NOV 1813 in Liverpool, NS. They were married by the Rev. John Payzant of Mount Zion Chapel and are listed in the records maintained by Rev. Payzant, currently located in the Queens County Museum (on microfiche). Mount Zion Chapel ("old Zion" Church) was built in 1776. A Congregational Church, it was closest in type to that of the Puritans from Cape Cod. Rev. John Payzant was minister of "Old Zion" from 1783 until his death in 1833. A Congregational Church was built in Milton, NS in 1854. This church became part of the United Church of Canada in 1925 and the building was used as a community hall until 1946.

James was an early settler of Sable River, Shelburne County, actually paving paths through the wilderness. I located several deed records for James Harlow, indicating him as a recipient of many parcels of land in and around Liverpool, N.S. until about 1800 (Deed records Book 4 pages 131, 256, 259, 267,277 and 333: Book 5 page 39(1800)). In 1812 and 1813, James divested himself of several properties in Liverpool, NS (Book 6 pages 76, 132, 149 (two)). I then found (on Book 4 page 8) a land grant to "James Harlowe of Sable River in the County of Shelburne, Carpenter, a Lot of Land containing one hundred acres situate lying and being in Queens County...[for the sum of] Ten pounds eighteen shillings and nine pence". This deed, numbered as "2404" does not have the year of the grant, but it does indicate that the deed was made in the 17th year of the reign of Queen Victoria on the 23rd of May (thus 1853). The microfiche is not completely legible, but it indicates the property as being near a "Lake Wilkins" near Port La Bear. A similar deed (numbered as "4350" on page 231) for "Eleven pounds" grants to "James Harlow, Smith Harlow, Henry Harlow and John Harlow, all of Sable River in the County of Shelburne, Partners, a Lot of Land containing one hundred acres situate lying and being in Queens County,.." (also near "Port La Bear") on the ".. twentieth day of September in the twenty second year of our Reign and in the year of Our Lord On Thousand Eight Hundred and Fifty Eight." On current maps, Lake Wilkins is bisected by the border of Queens and Shelbume County, halfway between Port Mouton and what is now Sable River. "Port La Bear" is now known as "Port L'Hebert".

Both Irving W, Harlow's compilation (in my possession) and Harley Walker's compilation shows that the children of James Harlow and Olivia Chadsey were:
+98 i. Smith Harlow. Born in 1814 in Sable River. Walker lists his occupation as "shipbuilder". Smith is, of course, our ancestor and his genealogy is in the following sections. [Note: As Smith Harlow is one of the land grantees of Sable River, it is unlikely that he was born there. It is more likely that he was born in Milton/Liverpool. Additional research is needed on this point.]
+99 ii. Whitman F. Harlow. Born 9 FEB 1816 in Sable River, Died 11 JUL 1893 in Sable River. His occupation was listed by Walker as a "lumberman". Irving Harlow's compilation additionally shows that he married twice, first to Sophia Hebb, and second to Keziah Harding.
+100 iii. Susan Harlow. Born in 1817 in Sable River, Died in Isaac's Harbour, Nova Scotia, married to Ira Pride Gliffin, listed with no issue.
+101 iv. James Harlow. Born 17 JAN 1818 in Sable River, Died 17 SEP 1904 in Sable River. Walker lists his occupation as a "lumberman". He married Nancy Hardy and had 10 children in Sable River. Three children died in 1861 the same year his wife died and one in 1877.
102 v. Olivia Harlow was born 1822 (Walker says 1820) in Sable River, Nova Scotia. She died on 30 May 1900 in Port LeBear, Nova Scotia, Irving Harlow shows that she married Rice Lewis, and settled at Port LeHerbert, NS. Neither Harlow or Walker show any issue from Olivia Harlow,
+103 vi. Henry Harlow. Born 1823 in Sable River, Died February, 1818 in Sable River. He married Mary Dunlop and had two children before she died in 1850. With his second wife, Sarah Harding, he had 6 children. Mary Dunlop died in 1875 in Sable River. No occupation listed for Henry Harlow. Harlow shows his birth year as 1821, and lists a third wife, Annie Ford.
+104 vii. Robert Harlow. Born 1824 in Sable River, Died in Jordan Falls, Shelburne Co. NS. He married Elizabeth Jane Giffin in 1861. They had four children. No occupation listed.
+105 viii. Samuel Harlow. Born in 1826 in Sable River, Died 6 July 1904 in Shelburne, NS. He married Mary Cummings (Harlow says Mary Coumans, settling at Shelburne, NS) and had four children.
106 ix. Mary Harlow was born in 1828 in Sable River, Harlow shows that she married Thomas Holden and settled in Jordan Falls. Neither Harlow or Walker show any issue.
+107 x. John Chadsey Harlow. Born 30 NOV 1830 (Harlow 1831) in Sable River, Died 1920 in Sable River. Walker says his obituary in 1920 in the Liverpool Advance stated that John was the last of the first settlers of Sable River. Harlow shows that he married Elizabeth Lewis, and settled Sable River.

James Harlow seems to have relocated to settle Sable River between 1812 and 1814, based on the dates of his marriage and the listed birth locations for his children. His eldest son, Smith Harlow married Lucy Morton Ford on 22 NOV 1839 in Milton, NS (formerly part of the Falls, Liverpool, NS). [Note, in my two visits to Liverpool, N.S., 1999 and 2004, the Falls is now spanned by a bridge and there is little to mark the location.]

Walker indicates Smith Harlow's occupation as a "shipbuilder". Why the name "Smith" was chosen as a first name is unknown - there is no known familial precedent. Lucy Morton Ford was born 15 MAY 1816, the daughter of Theodocius and Nabby Ford.

Lucy's ancestor, the first Theodocius Ford in Liverpool, was one of the original grantees of property in Liverpool with Smith's Ancestor Robert Harlow. The Theodocius Ford home is still standing on the east, waterside (Mersey River) corner of Main Street and King Street. In the earliest maps of Liverpool, Main Street was listed as Front Street or Water Street. The site of the Harlow homestead, halfway between Amherst Street and Bruswick Street on the inland side of Main Street is an empty lot. Theodocius Ford and Robert Harlow lived a short distance (about a five minute walk) from each other. [Note: There are other Harlow houses still standing along the shores of the Mersey River in Liverpool and Milton.]

Smith Harlow was both a farmer and the local postmaster. Smith Harlow and Lucy Morton Ford had nine children (seven sons and two daughters), four of which died, with their father, of smallpox in 1876/7. Smith Harlow died of smallpox in 1876. Lucy Morton Harlow predeceased her family in 1872. All but Rufus are buried in the church cemetery, Sable River. Those that died of smallpox are actually buried in an unusual unoccupied area on the North side of the present church, between the Harlow headstone and the river. The area is reportedly marked on plats as being prohibited from excavation, reportedly for fear of releasing the smallpox virus. I have visited the church and the cemetery. The church is the second one. The first was built at the top of the cemetery hill, but burned down in the late 1800s. The present one is near the road, which places it next to the oldest gravestones.

+168 i. ZilphaHarlow. According to Harlow- Born 1841, died 1933, ae. 93. Married William Allen, but had no children.
169 ii, Perez Harlow. Born 2 MAR 1842 in Sable River, Died 1877 in Sable River, According to Harlow - Unmarried.
+ 170 iii. Bradford Harlow. Harlow - Born 1845. Died 1876. Umnarried.
+171 iv. Alexander Harlow. Harlow - Born 1847. Died 1935, Married Edith Dunlop and had 9 children.
172 v. Smith M. Harlow. Born 1849 in Sable River, Died 1876 in Sable River. Harlow - Unmarried.
173 vi. 3. Parker Harlow. Born 1851 in Sable River, Died 1877 in Sable River.
+174 vii. Mary Olivia Harlow. Harlow- Born 1853. Died 1916. Married Robert Hayden and had one child,
175 viii. Theodocius Harlow. Born 1856 in Sable River, Died 1877 in Sable River Harlow - Unmarried.
+176 ix, RufusPooleHarlow.

A record of all cemeteries was privately published in March, 2000. Burtt's compilation for the Sable River cemetery contains one large slanted granite stone with the following inscriptions:

Smith F. Harlow, 1814 to 1876.
Lucy M. his wife, 1815 to 1872.
Smith, 1848 to 1876.
Bradford, 1844 to 1876.
J. Parker, 1851 to 1877.
Theodosius, 1856 to 1877.
Perez F. 1842 to 1877.
Robert F. Hayden, 1849 to 1879.
Mary O, 1852 to 1916.

Lucy Morton Harlow also has a second stone, indicating a date of death of July 8, 1872.

There is also a headstone for James and Olivia Harlow, but the dates of James's death are two year later than that provided by Harlow and Walker. [Note: I have photographs of these headstones and the church.]

Alexander Harlow, nicknamed "Sandy", married Edith Dunlop and moved away from Sable River. Alexander Harlow and Edith Dunlop had nine children: Esther (married John Richardson), Margaret, Olive, Jane, Lucy H., Warren, Norman, Morton and Arthur Olive Harlow married Ethren Wickens and had a child Luella, who married Ken Welton and now reside in Truro, NS. [Note, I have had the pleasure of visiting with them and they are regular cousins, sometimes with their daughter and son-in-law, at the annual Plymouth reunions.]

Based on discussions with Luella Welton, the cause of the epidemic of smallpox was a visitor who had the smallpox vaccine with him when he visited Smith Harlow's home. One of Smith's family had the vial of vaccine and accidentally broke it, vaccinating himself (or herself) in the process. That person survived, but most of the others who contracted the disease died. When each became sick, they were taken up to the attic where they feverishly thrashed before they died. When they died, they were taken out through the window and hastily buried at the church. Just as they buried one, they returned to the house and found that they had to bury another. A second outbreak of smallpox at the home was blamed on the failure to properly dispose of the clothes from one of the first deaths.

I visited the homestead in 2004. While it is no longer in the Harlow family, a Harlow descendant does reside next door. The original outhouse is still standing (an eyesore to some, but interesting to me) as is the house, which is in a state of disrepair. The window used for the post office, off the kitchen, is still there and obvious. At one time, the house had a beautiful view of the river. But, the river frontage was sold out of the family in the previous generation. The lake behind the house is still present, and the area between the house and the lake was used as a garbage dump. The remaining outbuildings (barn, etc.) are gone.

From my grandfather, Irving Wendel Harlow, I learned that his father, Rufus Poole Harlow (Born Feb 4, 1861)married Harriet Richardson of Port L'Herbert and had four children. Rufus had survived smallpox and had deep scars on the back of his neck. They moved to Massachusetts with a young son, Elmer Bradford (Born 1896). Elmer died at four years of age of black diphtheria in 1899. My grandfather said that the pipes would freeze in the winter and the toilets would back up until they melted in spring. This circumstance caused many diseases to run through communities. The Harlows emigrated to the United States between 1896 and 1899. From my limited research in Nova Scotia the reason seemed to center around both inheritance and business. The Harlow's built the first shipyard on Sable River, and by the end of the 1800s, steel ships had come into being and the era of wooden schooners was gone. Besides a lack of work, Rufus was the youngest and had nothing to inherit. Thus, to make his way in life, he needed to leave Sable River.

The other children of Rufus and Harriet were:

Irving Wendel Born Feb 22, 1903. Married Edith Lavinia Ames.
Mildred F. Born ?? Married William Webb. One daughter
" Jane, married ? Ciarfella.
Dorothy L. Born ?? Married Robert Mower. Four Children:
" Richard Harlow Mower who married Nora (Born ??? Died September, 1999)
" Jeffrey
" James
" Judy
" Joyce
" Polly Mower, Born ??? Married David Robichaud. Two sons:
" Scott
" ???
" Allen Mower
" David Mower Married Suzanne ???? "

Dot survived infantile paralysis (Polio) as a child. Irving survived tuberculosis as a child, and died of amyloidosis.

Rufus became a naturalized citizen.

7. Smith Harlow Born - 1814. Married - 1839. Died 1876. Married Lucy Ford.

8. Rufus [Poole] Harlow, Born Feb 4, 1861. Married Dec 27, 1890. Died Jan 6, 1947. Married Harriet Richardson, Born Dec 1, 1 870, Died Oct 5, 1961.

9. Irving [Wendell] Harlow. Born Feb 22, 1903, Married June 15, 1925. Died Mar 12, 1986. Married Edith Lavinia Ames. Born Jul 27, 1901. Died Oct 6. 1989.

10. Nancy Harlow. Born July 23, 1927. Married Sep 16, 1950. Died August 28, 1999. Married William Herbert Ingalls. Born May 19, 1923.
10. William Lewis Harlow. Born Oct 10, 1931. [Married Married-Carolyn Hall - divorced. Two children - Jo-ann and Scott.

11. Susan Gail Ingalls. Born Dec 12, 1953. Married May 12, 1979 to George Henry Moritz III. Born Jan 25, 1939. [Both had careers as officers in the U.S. Coast Guard and retired from that service. George is a professional engineer and Susan is an attorney in Virginia Beach, VA.]
11. Deborah Leigh Ingalls. Born Mar 20, 1955. [Married Sep 29, 1990. Married Joel Wheeler. Born Sep 22, 1949.]
11. William Herbert Ingalls Jr. Born May 9, 1959.

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