There are several reported places of birth on a popular genealogical website; however, the **1841 census in which Robert and Sarah's family appears in Crossford, Lanarkshire, Scotland states that Jane/Jean was not born in Lanarkshire, but was born in Scotland. There are no extracted parish register records for the births and baptisms of the children of Robert and Sarah on the IGI. There are many submissions for their births and the place Girvan which is in Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland is often mentioned. Being opposite Ireland, and having an Irish community, it is possible that the eldest child of Robert and Sarah was born in Ayrshire. Robert is reported in the census as born in Ireland and he may have lived for a time in Ayrshire. This is of course, speculation.
**The 1841 census for Lanarkshire is on Ancestry.com
with greater details recorded on Freecen.org.
Jane would have been about twenty years old when her parents immigrated to Upper Canada. Within a few years, she married Thomas Horn, son of James Horn and Marion Meggett, who were also the parents of Robert Downie Horn. Thomas was apparently born June 18, 1826 in Lanark County, Ontario, probably at Horn Lake, Concession II, Lot 15 of Lanark Township. He was not born in Scotland, as reported in various records.
December 24, 1844 - Marriage -Jane Govin to Thomas Horn, son of James Horn and Marion Magget, Lanark Pres, both of Dalhousie Township, Witnesses: Robert Horn and Allan Ferguson
When the 1851-52 census were taken, Jane and Thomas and their young family were living on Concession III, Lot 26 of Dalhousie Township, very close to Jane's parents. By the 1861 census, their family had grown.
1851-52 Census - Canada West
Dalhousie, Sherbrooke N. and Lavant Twps
p.29 - Concession III, Lot 26
Thomas Horn, farmer, b. Canada, Pres, 26,
Jane Horn, b. Canada (?), 29,
Sarah Horn, b. Canada, 7
Marion Horn, b. Canada, 5
Jane Horn, b. Canada, 3
Elizabeth Horn, b. Canada, 1
1861 Census - Canada West (Ref: C-1042)
Dalhousie Township #192 - p. 5
Thomas Horn, 35, b. Upper Canada, Presbyterian, Farmer
Jane Horn, 38, b. Scotland
Marion Horn, 14, b. U.C., in school
Jane Horn, 12, b. U.C., in school
Elizabeth Horn, 10, b. U.C., in school
James Horn, 8, b. U. C., in school
Robert Horn, 4, b. U.C.
Agnes Horn, 2, b. U.C.
About 1862, Thomas and Jane and **Robert H. Horn married to Jane's sister, Sarah, went to Prince Edward Island where Matthew Gavin, the brother of the two women, had already gone. One story is that crops had been destroyed by bears in Lanark County, but it appears that there had been a plan or Matthew would not have preceded them, selling his land before relocating. How they decided on PEI is not known. There were many Catholic Gavin families there; perhaps there was some familial connection that we don't know about, although oral history is that the 'Givens' variation of the name was used to distinguish their family from the Catholic Irish families.
" Thomas Horne (1826-1876) was born in Glasgow, Scotland [sic], the son of James E. Horne and Marion Magget. Thomas married Jean Given (1823-1894), a native of Scotland and the daughter of Robert Given and Sarah Millar. Originally the Horne and Given families had emmigrated to Ontario to a small community named? (in) LANARK (County). According to Meacham's Atlas of 1880, the Hornes came to PEI and settled on the Western Road in 1864, as well the Givens came with the Hornes and settled in Bloomfield at the same time. The Givens built a log house and operated a livery stable.
"Thomas and Jean Horne cleared approximately one hundred acres of land and constructed a log house on the property, presently owned by Claude Silliker. As Thomas ( like most farmers living on PEI in the middle of the 19th century) prepared a clearing for his dwelling and the first few crops; he also built a building for his livestock. It was important to keep the animals as much as possible in a cleared or open space because bears were plentiful. Many farm animals fell prey to the hungry bears. On one occasion Thomas lost one of his sheep to a prowling bear; after many nights of watching for the bear to return, the bear was shot by a neighbourhood man. Robert Williams, a nephew [?grandson] of Thomas Horne, had a rug made from the bear's hide. In later years, Thomas and Jean built a larger home on their expanded property. The main portion of the wooden structure still stands, over one hundred years old."
Source: “Wandering Back” a History of Dock, Hills River-Mill River & Rosebank Published by the Three Rivers Historical Society in association with The New Horizons Program of Health & Welfare, Canada 1983
**The relationship between Thomas and Robert H. is not certain. They were probaby not brothers; more likely cousins or perhaps Thomas was uncle to Robert H.
1880 "Meacham's Illustrated Historical Atlas of PEI"
Lot/City Name..Locality..Bus./ P.O. Address Nativity Date of Settlem't
Lot 5 -Horne,Robt H.-O'HalloranRd-Farmer-Bloomf'ld-Scot-1863
Lot 4 -Horne, James-Western Rd -Farmer-Bloomfield-Can.-1864
Lot 4 -Horne, Robert- Western Rd-Farmer-Bloomfield-Can.-1864
Lot 4 -Horne, Thomas-Western Rd-Farmer-Bloomfield-Can.-1864
Lot 5 -Horne, George-O'Halloran Rd-Farmer-Bloomfield-P.E.I-1864
Lot 5-Gavin, William-Western Rd-Farmer-Bloomfield-Can.-1862
Lot 5-Gavin, Matthew-Western Rd-Farmer-Bloomfield-Scot-1862
(Note that the George Horn above was born in PEI and therefore, may not have been related to the Ontario Horns or was the son of Robert H. Horn who later lived on the land settled by his father. There is a Robert Gavin on the map who does not appear in the index, and conversely, there are names on this index which do not appear on the map.)
These notes are taken from the 188o historical atlas. The information poses as many questions as answers. The only thing we know for sure is that in the early 1860's, Matthew Gavin, Thomas Horn and Robert Houstin Horn migrated from Lanark County, Ontario to the Bloomfield area of Prince Edward Island. An effort to sort out the names will be made in a separate post.
1871 Census (presumed to be in PEI - no census found)
1881 Census Prince Edward Island
Jane HORNE, Widow, F, Scottish, 58, Scotland, Presb.
James HORNE, M, Scottish, 28, Ont, Farmer, Presb.
Robert HORNE, M, Scottish, 23, Ont, Presb.
Thomas HORNE, M, Scottish, 19, Ont, Presb.
Mathew HORNE, Male, Scottish, 16, PEI, Presb.
Lot 4, Prince, Prince Edward Island
1891 Census = Prince, Township 4
Thomas Horn, 28, b. Ontario
Emiline Horn, 26, b. PEI
Eliza Jane Horn, 7, b. PEI
Jane Horn, widow, 68, b. Scotland
Jane's sons, Matthew and James also appear in this census.
Sadly, Thomas Horn died at 50, less than 15 years after their migration to PEI. Jane lived to be 71. Both are buried in Alberton. The book of monument transcriptions for 'Old Dock' Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Alberton, PEI reads:
In Section "B"
#32. HORN: Thomas HORN, d. Sept. 27, 1876, Ae. 50.
#33. HORN: Robert, s. of Jane & Thomas HORN, d. Jan. 18, 1887, Ae 29. (d)
Jane GAVIN, w. of Thomas HORN, d. Nov. 16, 1894, Ae. 71.
The following are their children:
Sarah = probably died before 1861 census
Marion / Miriam /Myrne = David Williams
Jane / Jennie = ___ Wells
Elizabeth (1851 -1917) = William MacAusland
James = Rachel McLean
Robert - unmarried 1856-1887
Agnes = Joseph Hardy
(William) Thomas Jr. 1862-1898 = Emiline
Matthew 1865-1917= Sarah Jane McLean
