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Harriot Phee(Fee), James McVeity Newton-Forbes

LongfordClongesh (Longford)

I am trying to establish a connection for a Harriot Phee (Fee) born in 1811 in County Longford. She was a member of an aristocratic family and while vacationing at the family summer home, ran away with the estate gardener James McVeity (born 1807 County Longford). They came to Canada, did well and I have located all their children

A brief history of their family in Canada mentioned her brothers resided on Castle Forbes estate and are buried in the Newton-Forbes cemetery in County Longford (no names of bothers or parents)

I did locate through Ancestry a record for a Harriet Phee (baptism 20 May 1805). That Harriet had a father Samuel Fee and mother Ellen McDowell. Perhaps the date in the brief history i have is incorrect, and Harriot was born earlier than 1811? An 1861 Census in Canada gives her age as 53 which seems consistent with a later date of 1808.

I have been unable to locate transcriptions for Phee or Fee in the Newton-Forbes cemetery. Harriott of course is not buried there but in the cemetery in Packenham Ontario Canada. Knowing the names of her brothers buried in the Newton-Forbes cemetery might help me to know if Samuel and Ellen Fee are indeed her parents and if the year of birth I found for Harriot is correct or if she was born closer to that baptism date in 1805

Hope I haven't given too much detail. James and Harriot were accompanied by a servant girl to the Justice of the Peace where they were married, then traveled to Canada by boat in 1830. Thus far I have been unable to locate a record there either. I often wondered about that poor

servant girl. Did she stay, go back to her employer, travel further with them...?

JADon McVeity

4 replies

If James & Harriott married in Ireland, it wasn't by a Justice of the Peace. They have never been able to marry people in Ireland. In 1830 there were no civil marriages. (They started in 1845). In 1830 the only way to be married was by a clergyman. Probably Church of Ireland in this case, I suspect. There should have been 2 witnesses for it to be valid.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Fee & McVitty appear among the Church of Ireland families in Co Longford. The Fee's were a prominent business family in Longford town in the mid to late 1800s into the early 1900s running several manufacturing enterprises among them a brickworks & carriage makers. They were often associated with the Methodist Church & are remembered today in the area known as Fee Court. There are several graves at St Johns Church noting Fee's who lived at Crieve, Killoe, Co Longford. McVitty ocurs in Ballinalee in more recent times but it is a name that appears in the history of Longford strongly associated with the name Beatty in times past.

johncfarrellIrelandXO Volunteer

McDowell is a frequent name in Newtownforbes (Church of Ireland Parish of Clongish) with 5 graves at St Pauls Church, Newtownforbes. Strong association with the townland of Gurteenorna were the family farmed for several generations. This might suggest that Harriet Fee may have been visiting McDowell cousins if she did not live in the area.

johncfarrellIrelandXO Volunteer

My great grandmother was Margert Phee, the daugher of James,1813  &  granddaugher of Samuel Phee b. 1779 m. to Eleanor McDowell [maybe Ellen]

They had:  James b. 1813 m. Mary Harris

John b.1811

Ellen b.1816

So Harriot could have been one of their siblings, being around the same age. I may not have all of the siblings names.

 My Great Grandmother m. George McFarlane, They lived in Lanark county, Ontario

I am not sure when Margaret came to Canada, with her family or on her own. 

 

mmacrobbie@sas…

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