Matthew James Harrison (1846 - 1926)

Born 22 Jul 1846 in London, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Lucy Caroline (Wedgwood) Harrison — married 29 Apr 1874 in Cold Harbour, Surrey, England

Husband of Evelyn Agnes (Vernon) Harrison — married 14 Jun 1922 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Died 22 Jun 1926 at age 79 in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada

Biography

Matthew James Harrison was the son of James Parker Harrison and Julia Heath. He was an only child, born in 1846. He married Lucy Wedgwood, the daughter of Josiah Wedgwood of Leith Hill Place, Dorking. They had three sons and two daughters.

Matthew served in the Royal Navy, and was on one of the first expeditions to Easter Island. His travels also took him to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he fell in love with the area around Nelson, and vowed to return. In 1908 he went back and located a site to build a retirement home. Lucy and their daughters joined him there in 1911. Following Lucy's death in 1919, he married his nurse, dieing himself in 1926.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Commander Matthew James Harrison: An Overview on the Biographies of Interesting People site of JJ Heath-Caldwell. Accessed 1 Mar 2018.

• Josiah C. Wedgwood, A History of the Wedgwood Family (London: The St. Catherine Press Ltd., 1908), pgs. 190-191.

• "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJP9-YMF : 10 February 2018), Matthew James Harrison and Lucy Caroline Wedgwood, 29 Apr 1874; citing Cold Harbour, Surrey, England, reference it 1 p 22, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 994,424.
• "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27Q-SMH5 : 8 December 2017), Matthew J Harrison, Minster In Sheppey, Kent, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 47, Piece/Folio 979/107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,215.
• "England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4DNN-QT2 : 11 December 2017), Matthew J Harrison, Itchingfield, Sussex, England; from "1891 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Sussex county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
• "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X98G-5GM : 8 April 2016), Matthew J Harrison, Lewisham, London, Middlesex, England; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Sydenham subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
• "British Columbia Marriage Registrations, 1859-1932; 1937-1938," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDZ1-YGB : 21 January 2016), Matthew James Harrison and Evelyn Agnes Vernon, 14 Jun 1922; citing Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, British Columbia Archives film number B13743, Vital Statistics Agency, Victoria; FHL microfilm 2,074,225.
• "British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986; 1992-1993", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL2H-FFN : 8 November 2017), Matthew James Harrison, 1926.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Michael Ross for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Michael and others.