“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is
unhappy in its own way.” - Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
This tragic family story ends, or perhaps starts, with
Jonathan Hardy, father of Rebecca Hardy and grandfather of Mary Ann Simmonds. Strictly speaking, some of this story
pre-dates the Victorian Era but it is the Victorian writers Dickens, Hardy and
the Brontes who wrote such tragic stories.
Jonathan Hardy was born 8 November 1807 and baptised 24
November 1807, in Upper Sheringham on the north Norfolk coast, the son of
William Hardy, a shoemaker, and Mary Chapman. Jonathan was the oldest of at
least 5 children and the only son I have found.
His siblings were all baptised in Norwich and I don’t know why his
parents were in Upper Sheringham in 1807.
I have not yet found a record of an apprenticeship but Jonathan Hardy was
probably apprenticed to a glazier sometime around 1822, when he was fourteen.
In January 1828, Jonathan Hardy was sentenced to 6 months
imprisonment larceny, having stotlen a silk scarf from a Mr Joseph Engall of St
Augustine’s, Norwich.
In 1830, Jonathan’s daughter Rebecca Hardy was baptised in
Norwich and the record indicates that he was a glazier. I have not yet found a
record of his marriage to Mary Carr, Rebecca’s mother. Mary and Rebecca seem to have gone to
Whissonset, Norfolk, to stay with Mary’s parents (see my previous post), while
Jonathan stayed in Norwich.
On 21 October 1835, Jonathan Hardy was convicted of stealing
a glazier’s diamond and sentenced to 7 years transportation. Glaziers use industrial grade diamonds to cut
glass. After spending sometime on the
Leviathan docked in Portsmouth, Jonathan was transferred to the Moffat and
sailed to Sydney on 5 May 1836.
Convict indents from the 1830s contain a wealth of
information. Jonathan Hardy, age 29, could
read and write. He was protestant,
married with one child and a glazier and painter. He was 5ft 4.5 inches, so not tall. His complexion was dark ruddy, hair was dark
brown, eyes dark hazel and whiskers carroty.
Perhaps this last trait was passed down the generations, as my father had
ginger colouring in his beard. Jonathan
had a cocked nose and scars on the left side of his upper lip, the top of his
left little finger and on his left hand.
Maybe his scars were from cuts from working with glass? The indent also
mentions his previous conviction. Interestingly,
most of the convicts had past convictions, which doesn’t fit with the myth that
people were transported for very petty crimes.
In 1841, Jonathan Hardy married Ellen Walsh in Sydney, NSW. Jonathan and Ellen had at least two children,
Rebecca and Elizabeth. This is not the
only example I have come across of living children’s names being re-used,
particularly where one parent is different.
Presumably Rebecca was a family name or had some other special meaning
to Jonathan. Both Australian daughters
married in 1859, Rebecca to Donald Starchan and Elizabeth to Michael Murray, and
were living on the New South Wales Central Coast in the 1860’s.
I haven’t yet found a death record for Ellen but Jonathan
married a third time, to Sarah Gafney, 9 April 1860, at St Mary’s Catholic
Cathedral Sydney, NSW. Sarah was an
Irish Catholic. At the time of his
marriage, Jonathan was describes and a Painter living at Millers Point. Jonathan and Sarah had son Jonathan born in
1861.
In 1863, Jonathan Hardy was listed in the NSW Sands
Directory living in Wentworth St, possibly in Parramatta, and working as a
glazier and painter.
On Saturday 8 February 1868, Jonathan, his wife Sarah and
son Jonathan were visiting their Gosford relatives. They went out shell collecting and then took
a small punt out on the Brisbane Waters.
The boat capsized and all three on board drowned. The bodies of Jonathan father and son were
found the following morning and Sarah a few days later. They were taken to the house of son-in-law
Michael Murray, who lived on the shoreline.
Michael and Donald (Strachan) identified the bodies. The inquest found that it was an accident.
The incident was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald and other
newspapers. And so ends this three part
tragedy.
Finally, it is curious that just over a hundred years later,
some descendants of Jonathan Hardy migrated to Australia and settled on the NSW
Central Coast.
Notes on Lineage: Me > Dad > John Edward Blake >
Alice Mary Elliston > Mary Ann Simmonds (AKA Hardy) > Rebecca Hardy >
Jonathan Hardy
No comments:
Post a Comment