Naomi Maud Harris (1883 - 1968)

Born 22 Oct 1883 in Toronto Twp., Peel, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Died 22 Apr 1968 at age 84 in Clarkson, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

Naomi, born in 1883, was the younger of the two daughters of Arthur Harris and Mary Magrath.^[1] She grew up in the family home, "Benares," at 1503 Clarkson Road North, in what is now Mississauga, Ontario. The house, built in 1857, was home to four generations of the Harris family.

Naomi and her sister Annie were educated at home by governesses before attending Miss Dupont's School for Ladies in Toronto. During the week, they stayed with their aunts, Lucy and Bessie Harris, at their home at 71 St. George Street. Weekends were spent playing lawn tennis and croquet on the lawn at "Benares."^[2]

Although Annie married, Naomi chose to follow her aunts' example. She lived at home her entire life, caring for her parents and working in the Sunday school and women's auxiliary at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Erindale.^[3] Along with her mother and sister, she was a founding member of the Clarkson chapter of the Women's Institute.

Naomi died in 1968^[4] at the age of 84. She left "Benares" to her nephew and two nieces, who in turn arranged for the Ontario Heritage Foundation to acquire the property.^[5] It is now a museum.

Sources

1. ↑ "Ontario Births, 1869-1912", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VNGM-2L7 : accessed 26 December 2014), Naomi M Harris, 1883.
2. ↑ Museums of Mississauga: Benares Historic House
3. ↑ Museums of Mississauga: Benares Historic House
4. ↑ Deaths. (1968, Apr 23). The Globe and Mail (1936-Current) Retrieved from Proquest
5. ↑ Springate, Megan Elizabeth. Keeping It Cool: Investigations Around the Benares Icehouse, Mississauga, Ontario. 1997, Trent University