X00357 Sarah Jane Hardy and Maria Hardy

OK, so here’s a new puzzle.

Maria Hardy and Sarah Jane Hardy are, from what I can tell, both daughters of the same person (Lancelot Hardy), born to different mothers. Maria born to Ann Wood Hardy and Sarah Jane born to Jane Tricker Hardy. Both appear to have been born in 1844. A number of different sources imply that their birth years were 1844, including their gravestones:

I had thought that perhaps Maria Hardy's birthday of 29 October 1844 was accurate, but perhaps that Sarah Jane Hardy was born in 1845. Then it would all fit if Ann Wood died in 1844 and Lancelot remarried Jane Tricker in 1845. But it got a little more complicated when I recently discovered the birth of Harriet Hardy in July of 1846.

We now know that Harriet Hardy was born in July of 1846 from the baptism record and was the daughter of Lancelot and Jane. Which means that Jane would have become pregnant sometime around November of 1845. So then if we have Maria Hardy born in October of 1844 and somewhere in between October of 1844 and November of 1845, you have the birth of Sarah Jane Hardy. Which seems a lot to have happened in a short period of time, if my original timeline is correct. So, rethinking the information that I have, here are the possibilities as I see them:

1) The dates that I have or 1844 and 1845 are correct.
Which means that in the span of about year, Ann Wood Hardy gave birth to Maria Hardy, then died, then Lancelot Hardy married Jane Tricker very shortly thereafter, she got pregnant and gave birth to Sarah Jane Hardy and then got pregnant again shortly thereafter. That’s a lot happening in a very short period of time.

2) The dates I have are not correct
Which seems the more likely case, but then what dates are wrong? Was Maria born earlier than 1844? That is going to take some more analysis to determine if it is a possibility.

3) Lancelot had an extramarital affair and/or abandoned Ann Wood
This one could be a possibility. Divorce would have been unlikely at the time, but Lancelot could have had an extramarital affair and/or abandoned Ann Wood. This option would certainly fit within the time line. But if this the case, it opens up some other questions, particularly as to when Ann Wood Hardy died. It had been assumed that she died in 1844, but this opens the door to a number of possibilities.

4) Twins
In this scenario, Maria Hardy and Sarah Jane Hardy were twins, born to the same mother (either Ann Wood or Jane Tricker) and I have the wrong mother for one of them. This seems a bit unlikely though, because it goes against all the other evidence.

5) Different Lancelots
The last possibility is that there are two different Lancelot Hardys. I have looked at this possibility before. We know that Lancelot born about 1793 was definitely married to Ann Wood. The Lancelot Hardy born 1827 can’t have been married to both Jane Tricker and Frances Snowden. So, it would have to mean that there was a third Lancelot Hardy living in Toronto Township at the time, which seems very unlikely.

So, given the above, I’m thinking that either #2 or #3 are the most likely possibilities. But technically any of them could be. Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of documents available from that time period to help.

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Sources:
[TBD] Churchville Cemetery (Canada, Ontario).

[D02014] Churchville Cemetery (Canada, Ontario).

Ann Wood Hardy Baptism

A lot of people get Ann Wood Hardy's birth information incorrect. I've seen it many times.

Ann Wood is the wife of Lancelot Hardy. It's easy to verify that via Lancelot and Anne's marriage record from 11 November 1824 in Sherburn-in-Elmet, Yorkshire, England [D00023].

Then, you can find the family in the 1841 census for England living in Farndale, Yorkshire, England [D01519].

But therein lies the problem that a lot people make. They look at Anne's age in the 1841 census (which is given as 40 in the census) and then assume that was she was born in 1801. And then it's not difficult to find a baptism record for an Ann Wood in 1801 in that general area. But it's completely wrong. Why? Because the 1841 UK census rounded individual's ages to the nearest multiple of five. Which means that an age of 40 years old is only an estimate.

If you assume then that the birth year is only an estimate and then widen your search you'll come across a baptism record for an Ann Wood, born 18 December 1804, daughter of Joseph and Jane Wood [D01077].

And how do Iknow that that is the correct one? Because a number of the baptism records for Lancelot and Ann's children will list the grandparents as well, and they often list the mother as "Ann Wood, daughter of Joseph and Jane". Which is why it's always important to check the original record to see if there is more information on it.

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Sources:
[D00023] (Sherburn, Yorkshire, England), "Marriage Record - Lancelot Hardy & Ann Wood". Rec. Date: 10 Apr 2016. ID: D00023. Cit. Date: 10 Apr 2016.

[D01088] (Kirkby Moorside, Yorkshire, England), "Baptism Record - Lancelot Hardy 1827," C10840-1; FHL microfilm 990901 990,901, item 1369.

[D01519] 1841 census of England, Kirkby Moorside, Yorkshire, folio 5, page 7; digital images(accessed 5 Feb 2018); citing PRO HO 107/1263/4. Rec. Date: 12 Mar 2017. Cit. Date: 5 Feb 2018.

Investigating Lancelot Hardy after 1850

There are two Lancelot Hardy's in the Hardy family that I am investigating: One born about 1793 and his son born about 1827, both in Yorkshire England. I have both of their baptism records, and they both appear in the 1841 census, but there is very little information about either of them after 1850.

Issues to investigate:

1. What happened to Lancelot the younger? The older appears to have died in 1874 and is buried in Churchville Cemetery, Meadowvale, Ontario, Canada. I haven't found a death notice or record for either of them and have not found a cemetery record or burial record for Lancelot the younger.
2. Which of the two married Jane Tricker? There is evidence that a Lancelot Hardy and Jane Tricker were parents to a Sarah Jane Hardy (b. abt. 1844), Henry Reilly Hardy (b. abt 1849) and George Hardy (b. abt. 1860). So, that would suggest a marriage date of about 1843 or so. She remarried in 1876, so whichever one she married would have died before then.
3. Which of the two married Ester Riley in 1850? There are no ages or parents given for the marriage, so can't determine which one it is. And I have not seen Ester Riley in any other record.
4. Which Lancelot Hardy appears in the 1861 census with Jane? The age is shown as 50, or a year of birth of 1811, so it could conceivably be either of them.
5. When did Ester Riley Hardy die? Where is she buried?
6. When did Ann Wood Hardy die? Where is she buried?

Known Facts:

• Lancelot Hardy the older born about 1793 in Yorkshire, Married to Ann Wood
• Lancelot Hardy the younger born about 1827 in Yorkshire
• Both appear in the 1841 census in England
• Presumably the family emigrated to Canada in their early 1840s, around 1840
• One of them likely married Jane Tricker
• One of them likely married Ester Riley (the marriage years overlap, so it was likely not the same person married to both)
• Lancelot Hardy the older died in 1874
• None of the above names have been found in the 1851 or 1871 censuses. One of the Lancelots and Jane Tricker have been found in the 1861 Census of Canada.
• Maria Hardy, daughter of Lancelot & Anne Wood Hardy was born Oct 29, 1844, so Anne Wood Hardy was alive at that date.
• One of them appears in an 1866 directory of the Home District and the profession is listed as “Gardener”. Lancelot Hardy the elder’s profession appears as a miller on most records, so this could likely be the younger one

Possibilities:

1. Lancelot Hardy the older married Ester Riley & Lancelot Hardy the younger married Jane Tricker
Timeline:
Anne Wood Hardy dies between 1844 and 1850
Lancelot Hardy the younger marries Jane Tricker about 1843
Lancelot Hardy the older marries Ester Riley in 1850
Lancelot Hardy the older dies in 1874
Lancelot Hardy the younger dies before 1876
Ester Riley Hardy dies ??

2. Lancelot Hardy the younger married Ester Riley & Lancelot Hardy the older married Jane Tricker
Timeline:
Anne Wood Hardy dies about 1844
Lancelot Hardy the older marries Jane Tricker about 1844
Lancelot Hardy the younger marries Ester Riley in 1850
Lancelot Hardy the older dies in 1874
Lancelot Hardy the younger dies ??
Ester Riley Hardy dies ??


Documents that would give some answers:

• If I could find Lancelot Sr or Jr, Ester or Jane in the 1851 census
• If I could find the other Lancelot or Ester in the 1861 census
• If I could find Lancelot Sr or Jr, Ester or Jane in the 1871 census
• If I could find a death record for Lancelot the older
• If I could find a death record for Lancelot the younger, or any later record, for that matter
• If I could find a death/burial record for Esther Riley Hardy
• If I could find a date of death/burial record for Anne Wood Hardy
• If I could find a will for either Lancelot Hardy
• If I could find either one in land records

Next actions:

• Look for will for Lancelot Hardy (either)
• Look for land records for either Lancelot hardy
• Check for assessment/collector rolls for either Lancelot hardy

X00153 Solved!

I managed to come across the marriage record for William Miller and Jane Hardy, June 22 1857.



Some interesting findings:
* It's not where I would have expected the marriage to be. It's in Wellington, Prince Edward County. I haven't found any connections to Prince Edward County with either the Miller or Hardy families.
* William's place of birth is listed as the United States, which may be a lead, although other sources list his place of birth as Upper Canada.
* This confirms the names of both sets of parents, as expected. One thing to note is that this is only the second record that I have seen that lists William's mother as Margaret. Only the first name is given unfortunately, because I have only found one record so far that lists Margaret's last name, and I have my doubts about it (see X00055)

Update: I had another look at the record. FamilySearch has the location indexed as Wellington, Hillier, Prince Edward County. But I think this is a mistake and the location is actually Wellington County. Most of the other names on the page live in towns in Wellington county and it would make far more sense for the two to have been married in Wellington County, rather than Wellington, Prince Edward County