The earliest Dark ancestor in our records is William Dark baptized in l695 and married to Catherine Tardrew on the 27th of May in 1723. They had four children. William baptized in 1723, John c1725, Richard c1729, and Katherine c1733. John married Elizabeth Lee in 1749, and their son Thomas baptized in 1767, also married an Elizabeth Lee in 1790. Continuing in this manner, their son John baptized in 1792 also married an Elizabeth Lee in 1815.
John and Elizabeth had seven children. Two of them were born at Waterchute, Devon, Thomas in 1816, and Mary baptized the 3rd of March 1822 (died the 29th of March 1825). John baptized the 23rd of January 1825, was born at Windabout in Parkham, Devon as was Elizabeth on the 5th of August 1827, Anne on the 21st of March 1830, William on the 27th of May 1832 and Fanny on the 3rd of May 1835.
Thomas married Mary Palmer of Alwington near Bideford, North Devon in 1847. He died in 1852, possibly in Port Hope, Ontario. Mary died on March 30th, 1903 in Port Hope.
John came to Hope Township, Ontario and worked as a carpenter. The 1861 Hope Township census lists him as having four children. Joseph age 8, John age 6, Maria age 3 and Thurza Ann age l.
Anne married Samuel West in 1854 in the Wesleyan Chapel in Bideford, and they took up residence in Westleigh(near Bideford). They had eight children, all born in Westleigh. Thomas D. West born in 1855, William Henry born June 20,1857, Bessie 1860, Emily 1862, Charles 1864, John 1866, Alice 1868 and Elizabeth Ann 1873.
Elizabeth Ann Dark married William Henry West on the 4th of January in Scarborough Township. They had ten children. (please see the West family page for details)
Hannah Maria (Lane) Dark died in November 1872, and William married her sister Harriet Lane in Port Hope, Ontario on the 20th of December 1882.
William Dark, born on the 27th of May 1832 at Windabout, Parkham married Hannah Maria Lane, born in 1833, on the 27th of March 1856 in Alwington, Devon. They came to Canada between 1856 and 1857 when their oldest son John Thomas Dark was born. They made their home in Scarborough Township where William worked as a railway labourer. They had seven children. John Thomas born the 30th of May 1857, Elizabeth Ann born May l2th 1859, Maria 4th of February 1861, William 27th of July 1864, Richard James 27th of November 1866, Mary Harriet 5th of October 1868 (died l8th of December 1868), Mary Harriet born the 2nd of October 1870.