James Hay Sharp
ID # 7155, (1807-1898)
| Baptism | James Hay Sharp was baptized in 1807 at Edinburgh, Scotland. |
| Marriage | He married Mary Crozier on 24 February 1837 at Dumfries Twp., Gore District, Upper Canada. LCM-30 (United Church of Canada Archives) First Church (Presbyterian) Marriage Book, Galt, Gore District After publication of banns in Dumfries on 24th Feby 1837 James Sharp and Mary Crozier, parties David Bell and John Sharp, witnesses. |
| Death | He died on 2 February 1898 at South Dumfries, Brant Co. |
| Burial | He was buried at Glen Morris Cemetery, South Dumfries, Brant Co.. |
| Note | First, some general notes for the Sharps: It is believed, quite reasonably, that there was a Gore District Marriage register that is now long missing. The one surviving begins in 1843. The marriage book of First Church in Galt begins in 1834 and it is clear from marginal notations that Rev. James Strang submitted lists of marriages performed to the office of Mr. Robert Berrie, the recording clerk at Hamilton, seat of the Gore District, from these early records. This includes the marriage of James Sharp and Mary Crozier who were married at First in 1837 - see marriage notes. First Church in Galt was a Presbyterian church as was the rather later established church at Glen Morris. Both these churches in the 1920s became a part of the United Church of Canada and such records that survive are to be found in the United Church of Canada Archives in Toronto. So far as First Church is concerned, the pertinent microfilm reel is LCM-30. Old Dumfries Township as founded by William Dickson runs roughly from Galt at the north end to Harrisburg in the south. When the old district system of government was abandoned and the county system came into being, Dumfries was divided along the 7th concession. North of the 7th became North Dumfries Township in Waterloo County and south of the 7th became South Dumfries in Brant County. The village of Glen Morris is located on the Grand River and in the 6th concession, well within the bounds of South Dumfries, but only a short distance from North Dumfries. For the early settlers of the Glen Morris area, however, prior to the establishment of the Glen Morris church in approximately 1853, the nearest Presbyterian churches, First and St. Andrews, were in Galt. It is evident from the Sharp-Crozier marriage and the baptisms of their earlier children that the family attended at First Church - mostly - careful on this one. First Church's early baptism records are not all that one could hope for. The names of the children and their dates of baptism were entered, but the names of the parents were not. Entering parental information did not begin until 1855, by which time the Sharp family was attending the recently established church at Glen Morris. Since it is apparent that there was more than one Sharp family attending First, this can lead to confusion, so care is required in interpretation. For purposes of records shown here comparisons have been made with the names of the children of James and Mary as shown in the 1851 and 1861 censuses in South Dumfries. This leads to the potential for omitting the names of children who may have died in infancy. It is entirely possible that one or two may have been buried in the old First Church cemetery in Galt, though, generally speaking, quite often such children were commemorated on stones later established. (The 1861 census does record the Sharp family in South Dumfries, though the given names are severely abbreviated.) First Church did not begin a death and burial book until the 1850s. They had their own cemetery at High Park, which overlooked downtown Galt from the top of the moraine on the east. When the Galt Cemetery (later Mountview) was first established in July of 1868, the two Presbyterian cemeteries stopped receiving burials. In the mid 1880s the Galt Cemetery was renamed Mountview, but, also, since First Church's old cemetery was in poor condition, around this time a 'dig' was arranged and remains and many stones were removed to Mountview. Not all remains were removed, for the odd find of bones was made in later years. Not all stones were moved as names might be inscribed on newer family stones. Beyond question, however, with many stones not being moved there were no doubt names of persons buried in the old cemetery that are now all but forgotten. A portion of the old cemetery was dug up in the 1950s and an apartment building built. It is said that there were found numbers of old stones that were hauled away as rubble from the construction site. Norma Huber in 1992, on behalf of the Waterloo-Wellington branch of the OGS recorded the odd stone that had been found that was from the old First Church cemetery. These are no help with the Sharp family. Burials at St. Andrew's Park, the old St. Andrew's Church cemetery, are said to be mainly as was, though there were some burials transferred to Mountview. In 1907 the cemetery was in poor condition and the IODE (the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire) built a pergola of remaining above-ground stones and Norma Huber transcribed these as well in 1995. This transcription does show an Adam Crozier and his wife Margaret Beatty. He died in 1844 and she in 1847. They are probably of Mary Crozier's family. Information that follows is, for the most part, taken from census information, First Church baptism records, and OGS publication nbr. 163 which is a transcription of Glen Morris church records as done by the Brant County branch of the OGS. The page of deaths as shown in the Glen Morris church publication is limited, but it does show the following: Wm. Sharpe Sr., age 87, died or buried 18 November, 1854, in Galt. His widow buried 21 Nov. Unquote. Since this is relates to the Glen Morris church, they are probably family, perhaps parents, of James Sharp, but, since the couple were buried in Galt, the only reasonable places of burial for them were the First Church and St. Andrew's cemeteries and we are sadly missing any early records for these. First Church began a death/burial book on January 1, 1855. For William and his wife, this is no help. Add to this, no Sharps appear on the Glen Morris church's communion rolls until 1860. (This should probably not be over interpreted. The available information may not tell the whole story.) One problem for 87 year old William, shown above, is that neither he nor his wife appear in the 1851 census in any search done so far. A second problem is that the parents of James Hay Sharp are probably James Sharp Sr. and Elizabeth Brown. This doesn't eliminate the William Sharps as family connections. With those notes considered, on to James Sharp. Death reg. 001594-98 South Dumfries, Brant Co. James Sharp died Feby 2, 1898. Age 90. Residence Glen Morris. Farmer. Presbyterian. Born Scotland. Physician and informant Dr. J. S. Wardlaw. Land notes: The 1851 census for South Dumfries (actually done in January of 1852) shows James Sharp with 163 acres on lot 17 of the 6th concession. Onland.ca / Brant County / South Dumfries / Book A, pages 150 - 301, images 250 and 251. An 1896 entry on lot 16 records will and probate for James Hay Sharp, hence his middle name. His name is shown on his gravestone in Glen Morris Cemetery as James H. Sharp. James purchased an interest in this lot along with an interest in lot 17. See images 252 and 253. The early date for the acquisition of these lot portions, which apparently total 141 acres, seems to indicate that James may have had a father by the name of James. This has not been researched. The property of James Hay Sharp appears to pass to his sons in 1898. There is probably more to the above story, which information has been extracted from the Abstract Index pages. Lot 17 on the 6th concession is three township lots to the east of the village of Glen Morris. |
Children of James Hay Sharp and Mary Crozier |
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| Last Edited | 30 Jul 2019 |