James Havelock Harding, was a master

shipwright Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

and shipbuilder who worked at

Shelburne, Nova Scotia Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. History Shelburne lies at the southwest corner of Nova Scotia, at roughly the same latitude as Portland, Maine in the United States. The Mi'kmaq call the large and well-sheltered h ...

. He was born in Queens County,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada in 1883.

Family origins

Four Harding Brothers arrived in Shelburne as

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...

. Three of the brothers had kids. One of these, Jasper Hard, was James Harding's great grandfather. Jasper Harding was born in 1748 in Ireland. He married Elizabeth Hanson from Delaware in 1786. They had several children. Their third son Richard married Isabella MacDonald in 1822. They had a son Cornelius who married Mary Ann Decker.

Early life

Harding was born in

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connec ...

Queens County, Nova Scotia Queens County is a county in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia. History Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Liverpool, the county seat of Queens County, was founded in 1759 by the New England Planters. Founded for th ...

. His father, Cornelius Harding married Mary Ann Decker. Together they had four children; Hedley Vickers (1865), Isabel (1876), Elizabeth Ann (1880) and James Havelock (1883) Harding. At a young age he moved to Shelburne and in 1900, he joined the workforce at McGill Shipyard. This career choice led to him becoming one of the most respected master shipwrights and builders in the Shelburne area.

Career

At the time, the McGill Shipyard was one of the leading wooden shipbuilding establishments in

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...

. It was under the direction of Amos Pentz, a master shipwright and fellow Queens County folk man, which James Harding would learn the intricacies and perfection of the trade. He helped his mentor and assisted him in supervising vessels which were under construction. Some notable ships worked on by Mr. Harding were the first steam powered fishing vessels built in

, the ''Harbinger'' (1901) and ''Messenger'' (1902). He also played a role in the construction of the ''Arbutus'' (1903) as was present when the keels were laid for the ''Albert J Lutz'' (1908) and ''Dorothy M Smart'' (1910). These two ships were known for their speed and competed in the Brittian Cup in the Nova Scotia Fishermen's Regatta held in

Digby, Nova Scotia Digby is an incorporated town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is in the historical Digby County, Nova Scotia, county of Digby and a separate municipality from the Municipality of the District of Digby. The town is situated on the western s ...

in 1911. In 1916, Mr. Harding left the McGill yard to pursue his own career and became the master shipwright for the Shelburne Shipbuilders Ltd. The first ship launched by the company was a freight steamer and passenger vessel known as the ''Keith Cann'' (1917). During his time with the company, he supervised the construction of 60 vessels of different types (two-masted fishing

schooners A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

, three masted tern

yachts A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

, motorized rum runners, naval mine sweepers and diesel powered fishing vessels). During the 1920s, he supervised the production and construction several well crafted

, which ended up winning several races. The ''Waterwitch'', won the Miami to Nassau Race, the ''Malay'' was a two time winner of the Newport-to-Bermuda race, and the ''Little Haligonian'' who won the St. Petersburg-to-Havana race three times. He displayed great care and dedication to all ships built under his tutelage. This was no exception for the ''Haligonian'' (1925) which was a two masted

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

to race against the

Bluenose ''Bluenose'' was a fishing and racing gaff rig schooner built in 1921 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. A celebrated racing ship and fishing vessel, ''Bluenose'' under the command of Angus Walters, became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia and ...

. The ''Haligonian'' was able to beat the Bluenose during an informal race; however it was never able to do so during elimination races. His rum running ships earned a notorious name for the trade during their careers. These ships were the ''Josiphine K'' (1926), ''Alpaca'' (1927), ''James B'' (1928), ''Symor'' (1928), ''Isabel H'' (1928), ''Malbo'' (1929), ''Maskinoque'' (1930) and the ''Florann'' (1931). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was responsible for the construction of five minesweepers. His plans for the ships were used all across

. He retired after he saw the construction of two fishery research vessels, the ''Harengus'' (1946) and ''Cadagan'' (1947).

Death

James Harding died on Monday July 10, 1978 in his home at Shelburne. He left behind his wife, Jennie Arnold McKay and his son James Mackay Harding. He was buried in the Pine Grove Cemetery.James H. Harding''The Chronicle Herald''July 11, 1978 p.22. Print

References

External links

Shelburne County Genealogical Society

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, James Havelock Canadian shipbuilders People from Queens County, Nova Scotia Transport in Shelburne County, Nova Scotia 1883 births 1978 deaths