Spouse of: Margaret Jane Harley (1854–1931) Marriage: Ontario, likely Dufferin or Grey County region, early–mid 1870s Burial: Indian Head Cemetery, Saskatchewan (beside Margaret)
Born: 1851 in Ontario, almost certainly within the Scottish‑settler communities of Grey or Dufferin County.
The Rintoul surname is strongly associated with Perthshire and Fife in Scotland, and many Rintoul families settled in southwestern Ontario between 1840–1860.
James married Margaret Jane Harley, eldest daughter of David Harley and Hannah Crombie, forming a union between two Scottish‑descended Ontario families.
Their marriage likely occurred before 1878, the birth year of their first known child.
This marriage is genealogically important because it links:
The Harley line
The Crombie line
The Rintoul line into a single westward‑migrating family group.
James was a farmer, typical of Ontario Scots in the mid‑19th century.
Around the late 1870s to early 1880s, James and Margaret joined the major migration of Ontario farming families to the North‑West Territories (later Saskatchewan). They settled near Indian Head, one of the earliest agricultural districts opened for homesteading.
This move places them among the pioneer families who helped establish the early Prairie agricultural economy.
James and Margaret had at least five documented children, all of whom carried the Harley–Crombie lineage westward:
Hannah R. Rintoul (Munn) — 1878–1969
David Harley Rintoul — 1880–1950
James Rintoul — 1880–1915
Ann Morton Rintoul (Shaver) — 1883–1949
Margaret Jean Rintoul (Ries) — 1886–1972
These children link the family into several major Saskatchewan settler networks.
James lived into his 90s, dying in 1943.
He is buried in Indian Head Cemetery, Saskatchewan, beside Margaret.
His long lifespan means he witnessed:
Confederation
The settlement of the Prairies
World War I
The Great Depression
The early years of World War II
A remarkable span for a 19th‑century Ontario‑born farmer.
For your Nolan–Crombie lineage project, James Rintoul is important because:
He anchors the Harley–Crombie line into the western Canadian expansion.
His marriage to Margaret creates a clean, traceable branch that connects Ontario Scots to Saskatchewan pioneers.
His children’s marriages extend your tree into the Munn, Shaver, and Ries families.