Elexis Lockhart (1816 - 1840)

Born 30 Oct 1816 in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Died 30 Oct 1840 at age 24 in Ramsay Township, Ontario, Canada

This profile is part of the Lockhart Name Study.

Biography

Elexis was born in 1816, baptized at Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire on 17 Nov 1816. Her name was likely meant to be Alexis but was misspelled. She was the daughter of John Lockhart and Jane McMillan.

She emigrated with her parents to Canada in 1821. They sailed from Greenock, Scotland in May 1821 on the ship "Earl of Buckinghamshire", arrived at Québec on 16 June 1821. They were part of a large migration wave, some 600 Scots - sponsored by the Glasgow Emigration Society, Lesmahagow Emigration Society, and similar local groups elsewhere in Lanarkshire - who came to populate what they considered Canadian wilderness. (Tell that to the First Nations people who already lived there!)

The immigrants settled at Ramsay Township, in Lanark County, Ontario, near present-day Ottawa. Earlier settlers there had been Empire Loyalists who came north after the American Revolution. The settlement that sprang up was called by various names - Shepherd’s Falls, Shipman’s Mills, Ramsayville, Victoriaville, Waterford. Eventually it was called Almonte - after a Mexican general who resisted U.S. cross-border raids - a symbol of lingering resentment, following the American invasion of Canada during the War of 1812!

Jane McMillan, wife of John Lockhart, died in January, 1837. Elexis was then 20, eldest child in the family, so she assumed her mother's responsibility for the younger children. But not for long.

Elexis died in 1840 and was buried at Auld Kirk Cemetery, Almonte, Ontario. The gravestone transcription says: “Alexis Lockhart died Oct 30, 1840 aged 24 yrs”.

That seems almost impossibly coincidental: her birthdate was 30 October 1816! Did she really die on her 24th birthday?

^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Rick Heiser, Apr 28, 2013

• - "The Lanark Society Settlers: Ships' Lists of the Glasgow Emigration Society 1821", by Gerald J. Neville (Ottawa, 1995)

• - Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid, http://ocfa.islandnet.com/

• - Email dated 6 Sept 2014 from Michael Jaques, Archives Lanark Research Coordinator

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/215436301/elexis-lockhart

Footnotes

Michael Jaques, Archives Lanark Research Coordinator advised by email on 6 September 2014: "Our book of gravestone transcriptions for the Auld Kirk lists - 'Alexis Lockhart died Oct 30, 1840 aged 24 yrs'."

Acknowledgments

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