Hensall Ontario – Northwest Journals

The Canadian Florist: William Matthew Harburn

My great-grandfather through his son, Nelson.

The Canadian Florist

William Matthew Harburn was likely born on November 5, 1868, although documents vary widely on the exact date and year. This birthdate is on his naturalization papers, and therefore, most likely a direct quote from him. His parents, James and Sarah Sadler Harburn, lived in Hibbert Township, Perth County, Ontario at the time. Both are recorded as being born in England. William, their first son, was followed by five more children.

William married his neighbor and member of the same Wesleyan Methodist church Jane Leary in Hibbert Township in 1894, moved near Hensall, Ontario, and had 11 children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. William was a carpenter and flower farmer, providing area florists with product.

When he immigrated to Flint, Michigan, on August 8, 1919, by boarding a train on the Grand Trunk Railroad, he had his wife and younger children. Two of the older Harburn children had come to Flint a year earlier to prepare for the large family’s arrival.

The Grand Trunk Railroad Depot in Flint, MI in 1917. Paul Petosky, genealogytrails.com

In Flint, William ran another flower farm, this time for the Chevrolet plant downtown. The Teddy Roosevelt environmentalists were concerned about the factory polluting the Flint River, so the Harburns set up a farm along it to prove the water was “fine” (Spoiler: It was not fine.). He then ran a goods store at 1411 Third Avenue, Flint, for many years. At some unknown point, he and Jane befriended my grandmother’s parents. I couldn’t verify whether they were friendly before the marriage or got closer after. The Harburns and the Wilsons lived down the street from one another.

William retired in Flushing, Michigan, in 1935, and passed away on November 24, 1940, of heart disease. He is buried in Flushing City Cemetery.

Notable Facts

Matthew, William’s middle name, is a legacy name for several generations in this family.

The flower gardening and florist skills passed down a generation. William’s daughter Jane owned and ran the florist shop in Flushing, Michigan for many years. My grandfather, Nelson, grew dahlias, his favorite flowers, in his garden.

Sources

Canada, Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register, 1828-1910
Hibbert, Perth County, Ontario. Accessed on the internet at freepages.rootsweb.com

Canada Censuses
(1871 – 1911)
Hibbert, Perth County, Ontario; Hensall, Huron County, Ontario. Accessed on Library and Archives Canada or Familysearch.org.

US Federal Censuses
(1920 – 1940)
Genesee County, Michigan. Accessed on Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org.

Ontario Canada Marriages, 1801-1928
(Archives of Ontario, MS932, Reel: 83)
Accessed on Ancestry.com.

United States of America Declaration of Intention
National Archives. Records on file

US Border Crossings From Canada
National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Manifests of Passengers Arriving at St. Albans, VT, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1895-1954; National Archives Microfilm Publication: M1464. Accessed on Ancestry.com.

Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952
Certificates 1921-1945; 121: Genesee 1934-1942. Accessed on Ancestry.com.

“Obituaries and Funeral Notices”,
Flint Journal, Flint, Michigan, November 25, 1940, Page: 17; Col 4; Item 1. Personal records. Accessed at Flint Public Library.

“The William Harburn Family in Michigan”,
Flushing Sesquicentennial History 1835-1987, Flushing Area Historical Society (Michigan), Vol. 2 (1987). Page 166. Personal records.

Findagrave.com
“William M Harburn,” ID#62465901, Flushing City Cemetery, Flushing, Genesee, Michigan

Family Stories

The Florist’s Wife: Jane Leary Harburn

My great-grandmother through her son, Nelson.

Jane Lavina Leary Harburn, my maternal great-grandmother, came into this world on January 8, 1873, at Cromarty, Huron County, Ontario, which is a speck of a village west of London. She was the fifth of six children born to George and Jane Crawford Leary.

Her parents, immigrants from Lincolnshire, England, were the first to live on a parcel of land owned by Jane’s uncle, John Crawford.

In 1894, Jane married her neighbor and fellow Methodist parishioner William Harburn, a flower farmer and florist, in Hibbert Township, moved near Hensall, Ontario, the white bean capital of Canada, and had 11 children, ten of whom survived to adulthood.

She immigrated to Flint, Michigan, on August 8, 1919, by boarding a train on the Grand Trunk Railroad with her husband and eight of her children. Her two older sons had immigrated to Flint a year earlier to prepare for the large family’s arrival.

I cannot find much information on Jane as an individual, unfortunately. She helped her husband with the flower farms and later the small grocery store attached to their home in Flint. She raised her many children, who by all accounts, were close-knit their entire lives.

She retired in Flushing, Michigan, in 1935, and passed away at the home of her daughter, Jennie Bump, on Coutant Street on September 26, 1946, due to a stroke. She is buried in Flushing City Cemetery.

Notable Facts

Jane’s mother’s family, the Crawfords, are thought to be early settlers of Perth County, Ontario.

Jane is the namesake of several of her descendants. From all stories, she was a warm and giving woman.

Sources

Ontario Canada Births, 1869-1913
Archives of Ontario; Series: MS929; Reel: 11. Accessed on Ancestry.com.

Canada Censuses
(1881 – 1911)
Hibbert, Perth County, Ontario; Hensall, Huron County, Ontario. Accessed on Library and Archives Canada or Familysearch.org.

US Federal Censuses
(1920 – 1940)
Genesee County, Michigan. Accessed on Ancestry.com or Familysearch.org.

Ontario Canada Marriages, 1801-1928
(Archives of Ontario, MS932, Reel: 83)
Accessed on Ancestry.com.

Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950
File Number 011077. Accessed on Ancestry.com. Ordered on seekingmichigan.org now Michiganology.org. Personal records.

“Obituaries and Funeral Notices”,
Flint Journal, Flint, Michigan, September 24, 1946, Page: 18; Col 6; Item 7. Personal records. Accessed at Flint Public Library.

“The William Harburn Family in Michigan”,
Flushing Sesquicentennial History 1835-1987, Flushing Area Historical Society (Michigan), Vol. 2 (1987). Page 166. Personal records.

Findagrave.com
“William M Harburn,” ID#62465870, Flushing City Cemetery, Flushing, Genesee, Michigan

Family Stories

Sandwiches Cut Diagonally: Memories of My Grandfather

Grandpa Harburn (in hat) and his little brothers, about 1920 in Canada

The Harburn clan in 1925 in Flint, MI: Grandpa (back row, 2nd from right)

Grandpa and Grandma on their wedding day near New Lothrop, MI, May 5, 1934

The only grandfather I knew passed away in 1978 when I wasn’t quite 4-years-old. As with most people’s childhood memories, I have doubt as to whether what I remember of him is true or whether I fabricated him from the family stories I’ve heard.

I am confident I attended his funeral. I was too young to understand what was happening, but I remember my mother sobbing next to me; I’d never seen her so upset. I grabbed a tissue from my tiny suit jacket and offered it to her. She smiled sadly as she took it. That smile told me what I needed to know to feel safe again.

Memories of Grandpa that I’m not sure about:

Grandpa sitting in his recliner near the living room window reading a newspaper. Lawrence Welk waved his baton on the tv, his trademark bubbles falling diagonally across the screen. Grandma was shouting accusations at him about not cleaning up after himself. She did not see him roll his eyes, turn down his hearing aid, smirk at me, and go back to reading.
I was spinning around on a merry-go-round in the park near their little house with the car port in town. My brother was eating an enormous scoop of ice cream that was seconds from falling into the dirt. Years later, my brother confirmed that Grandpa took us to the park after church most Sundays as an excuse to buy us ice cream cones without my mother knowing. Mom didn’t like us to have sweets.
Grandpa and Grandma in their kitchen arguing over whether my brothers and I wanted pickles with our peanut butter sandwiches: Grandpa for, Grandma against. He cut our sandwiches on the diagonal and used a brand of peanut butter that had a logo of a boy with a pompadour and freckles. I still cut my sandwiches diagonally in his honor.

These memories probably make Grandpa sound more mischievous than he was. Grandpa was a quiet, humble man most of the time. His parents owned a farm just outside my hometown in Michigan where they grew flowers for florist shops. Before the 12 of them immigrated across the St. Clair River in 1919 my great-grandfather owned another flower farm near Hensall, Ontario. Flowers were the family business until auto factories in the area started hiring in droves.

Mom loved visiting her grandparents’ (my great-grandparents’) farm. She remembers watching the fish in the man-made pond at the side of the house. She loved the sight of the differently colored flowers in the fields.

Every fall, Grandpa dug up his dahlias— his favorite flowers— in the small garden at the back of the house in town and stored them for winter, and every spring he’d bring them back out and replant them. Grandma would see mud tracks leading through the house and out the back door and she’d be livid, yelling that he wouldn’t rest that night until every speck of fertilizer was scrubbed out of her carpet.

James Nelson Harburn left us at the ripe age of 77, but, being his youngest grandchild, I only got 3 years and some odd months with him: not enough time for me to know him well or vice versa. His 114th birthday just passed. Happy birthday, Grandpa! You are remembered and loved.