Hardwickes of "Cox" or "Hardwicke House" (General)

by Ralph Cook, Friday, November 27, 2009, 14:16 (5550 days ago)

Here's one to confound us all - or will it?

In about 1690 to his death in 1718 Eustace Hardwicke lived at Cox, near Awre. He was locally an important landowner and is named in two tax raising Acts of Parliament at the turn of the 18th century.

He is also mentioned in the Awre baptism registers as the father of several illegitimate children by two women - Mrs Beal (his servant or housekeeper) and Elizabeth Mason between 1690 and 1694.

Of the named children we have:

John Guilliam (William?) Hardwick b. 1690, Gualterus Paganus Hardwick bapt. 1694 and Paracelyus Hardwick bapt. 1690 and Eustace Hardwick (1691-1694).

Does anyone know any more about Eustace, his descendants, wife (if he bothered to marry one) and the reason for the more ridiculous names given to two of the children and what happened to them?

These people are not in my family tree but I think they connect to it via the wife of William Marshall (1731-1793) who married Mary Walter in 1763.

Yours

Ralph Cook