ROBERT HARVIE

1774-1860

As fate would have it, with the passage of time from the original planter landings, less and less has been researched about family members. Robert Harvie, the fourth child of planter Archibald Harvie, is a prime candidate for further research. Robert was born in 1774, probably in the area of Burlington where his father may have lived. He married twice. His first wife, Sarah Greeno was the daughter of Falmouth planters. She bore him two children, Archibald (Little Arch) and James. James was born in 1797, and Robert's third child was not born until March of 1810, born by his second wife, Elizabeth Black. There is no record of Sarah's death, but obviously it occurred sometime during this 10-12 year period. Elizabeth and Robert had a total of five children, giving Robert a prodigious brood of seven children.

Little is known of Robert's life. We can suppose however, that at some point in his life he was inspired to relocate his family to the area that became known as the Noel Road. The contract for the construction of the road between Noel, on the Minas shore, and Kennetcook village was granted in 1817. The area along the road must have been open for settlement by the early 1820's. Land was often granted in areas where no roads existed. It is possible the grant was made earlier than 1817. However, inaccessible grants were often returned to the crown and never farmed. Robert's younger brother Nicholas received grant number 350A along the road, near the settlement that became known as Noel Road. Nicholas named his farm "Densmore". Further north along the road towards Noel, near what became known as Gormanville or North Noel Road, a Robert A. Harvie received grant 100A. It is most probable that this was Robert's grant as sections of it were later transferred to his grandson, Joseph M. Harvie. It is known that Robert's brother was certainly granted land on the Noel Road, and that his son Archibald (Little Arch) lived on the Noel Road. It is known that Robert was listed in the 1795 Newport Township Assessment at one shilling, and in the 1830 Newport Poor Tax at 2 shillings. That means his own relocation would have taken place sometime after 1830, making him 56 years old at the earliest. Robert either was granted land while in his 50's in the area and farmed it, or lived with one of his sons, probably Archibald, who was listed

The timing and reasons for the move to the Noel Road are purely speculative. In any case, the work preparing the land as scene at left would have been backbreaking to say the least. The area between Noel and Kennetcook as seen above had never been settled during Acadian times. Unlike his father Archibald, uncles James and John, and his grandfather James, there were no cleared Acadian farms awaiting them. Old Acadian barns did not exist to be dismantled and reassembled as living quarters. Unlike the loyalist grantees of the 1780's, government provisions were not available for the first few years. All that could be brought from the Newport area must have been carried by land, as the Kennetcook river only brought the settlers part way on their journey. Robert died 6 May 1860 aged 86 years old and is buried in Noel Centennial Cemetery.

Children of Robert Harvie Robert Harvie married Sarah Greeno. They had two children Archibald and James. He later married Elizabeth Black, b. ca 1778 d. 19 Dec 1865. They had five children together. Archibald ("Little Arch"), b. ca. 1796, d. 22 April 1884 at Noel Road N.S. Archibald married Ruth Anthony b. ca 1796 d. 15 April 1836, daughter of Noah Anthony and Agnes Harvie of Mosherville, N.S. She bore him daughter. Archibald later married Elizabeth Miller, b. ca 1823. They had 13 children together. Archibald was a farmer at Noel road, N.S. James, b. August. 1797, d. 3 January 1893 married Mehitable Harvie, b. ca 1820, daughter of of Stephen Harvie and Ester Sanford. . They had 4 children. Amy, b. March 1810, d. 1 May 1898 at Mosherville "The last in the Family ", married John Anthony, b. ca. 1804, d. 19 March 1880, the son of Noah Anthony and Agnes Harvie. Nicholas b. ca. 1812, d. 19 January 1893 married Elizabeth R. Ettinger b. ca. 1812, d. 30 May 1886 of Georgefield N.S. Nicholas was a farmer and resided on the Noel Road. Sarah. Mary, Both Mary and her sister Abigail attended Noel Road School on 30 November 1834. (Charles Ross, teacher) Abigail b. ca. 1818. Mehitable Harvie was the daughter of Stephen Harvie, and the granddaughter of John Harvie who came from Scotland with his uncle James. She and her husband therefore shared the same paternal great-grandfather. Hence James and Mehitable Harvie were second cousins, virtual strangers in the early 19th century. Amy Harvie, Robert's daughter and her husband John Anthony, shared the same grandfather, Archibald Harvie. This made them first cousins, whose marrying was an occurrence all too common in rural areas where few families had settled. The practice dies out later in the 19th century as more choices for marriage become available. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ROBERT'S FAMILY TREE!