Biography
for James Park and Marion Allen
James Park was born Feb. 9, 1766 in Lanarkshire, Scotland. On
August 8, 1788 he married Marion Allen. There is a family rumor
that Marion Allen was from a wealthy family and was disowned because she married
James Park. However, this story has been proven to be untrue, Marion was
not from a wealthy family. The Park family made their living in Scotland
as miners and they were also a family of weavers. Beginning in the early
1820's, James, Marion and their children started emigrating to Dalhousie
Township, Lanark County, Ontario. This immigration took about seven years
before everyone in the family arrived in Canada. After arriving in Canada,
James worked as a farmer, as did all of his sons. The soil in Dalhousie
Township was very rocky and made farming difficult, so eventually many of the
family members moved to western Ontario. Marion Allen died on March 25,
1838 and may be buried at Umpherston Pioneer Cemetery. James died sometime
after 1838, and it is thought that he is probably buried in Lambton County,
Ontario. James and Marion had thirteen children, all born in Cambuslang,
Scotland, and all but one of them, Andrew, emigrated to Canada. The
children are as follows:
1. James, born June 8, 1789, married Euphermia Sutherland in
Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland. James died in Plympton Township,
Lambton, County, Ontario.
2. The second son was Hugh, born Sept. 29, 1790. He married Janet
Hay on Aug. 22, 1812 in Scotland. Hugh died Oct. 9, 1851 in Plympton
Township, Lambton County.
3. Mary came next, born October 15, 1792. She married William
Arbuckle/Arbucle. Nothing else is known about Mary nor is it know
where she is buried.
4. The next child was Marion Allen, born July 17, 1794.
Marion married William Umpherston (changed to Umpherson in the early
1900's) and stayed in Dalhousie Township. Marion and her husband are
buried at Umpherston Pioneer Cemetery, Dalhousie Township, Lanark County,
Ontario.
5. The only child who did not emigrate was Andrew, born July 19,
1796. His first wife was Jean (AKA Jane) Pollock who he married on
March 7, 1820. Andrew's second wife was Margaret Gould, whose
marriage occurred on May 3, 1849. Andrew died on Aug. 21, 1873 at Rosebank
Place, Cambuslang, Lanarkshire County, Scotland.
6. Joseph came sixth, born April 16, 1798. He married Agnes
Sarah Duncan on Jan. 25, 1825 in Dalhousie Township. Joseph chose to
stay in Lanark County. He died on Apr. 17, 1868 and is buried at West 1/2
Lot #21, Con. 7, Dalhousie Twp.
7. Next came Martha, born Dec. 31, 1799. She married William
Hood, a local school teacher. Martha died on Jan. 21, 1880, and the
couple is buried at St. Andrew's Cemetery, Plot 187, Watson's Corner, Lanark
County.
8. John was born May 11, 1802. He married Louisa Smith
on Mar. 24, 1841, when he was in his late 30's, in Lambton County. John
became an early Mormon, and was on that first wagon train west to Utah. He
died Mar. 30, 1869 in Provo, Utah County, Utah.
9. Ellen/Helen was born two years later on Feb. 6, 1804.
Census from 1851 list her as Ellen, while on the 1861 census she is called
Helen. She married Andrew Park (no relation) in 1824, in Dalhousie
Township. Andrew was the son of James Park and Jean Maxwell. Ellen
and Andrew lived the rest of their lives in Dalhousie Township. They are
buried at West 1/2 Lot #12, Con. 2, Dalhousie Township.
10. William came one year later on Oct. 26, 1805. His first wife
was Jane Duncan who he married in Dalhousie Township. After some
time, the family relocated to Lambton County. Eventually, William moved to
Utah. His second wife was Janet Findlay who he married on
April 7, 1850/51 at Brigham Young's home in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mary
S. Gordon was William's third wife, who he married on Jun. 11, 1854.
William died Mar. 11, 1890 at Millcreek, Utah. He is buried at the Salt
Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City, Utah.
11. Margaret was the only child to move to Perth County. She
was born July 10, 1807. Margaret married James William Wood Brown
in Dalhousie Township. She died Apr. 14, 1892 and is buried at Avon Bank
Cemetery, Perth County, Ontario.
12. David was the youngest son, born June 12, 1809. He
married Ann Brooks in Dalhousie Township, but eventually moved to Lambton
County and then to Utah, before finally settling in Nevada. David and Ann
had a daughter, Mary Park, who it has been said, had poor health, and so
her husband, Ebenezer Bryce, moved, trying to find a location that would
be beneficial for his wife's health. In the process of moving around,
Ebenezer discovered Bryce Canyon, which today is a U.S. National Park.
David died July 22, 1884 and is buried at Mottsville Cemetery, Douglas County,
Nevada.
13. Jean was the youngest girl, born February 1/10, 1814.
Jean married David Williamson on May 5, 1838, but very little is known
about Jean and her burial location is also unknown.
Received from Jan Darbhamulla - [email protected] Posted: 24 January, 2006.