William Hardie 1833 - 1918

William Hardie (1833 - 1918)

William Hardie was born on 19 July 1833 in Markle Mains, Prestonkirk to David Hardie and Euphemia Jaffrey. He was christened at the Prestonkirk Church in East Linton on 23 August 1833. His Christening was witnessed by 'a number of women'.

David and Euphemia never married, and William, being base born lived at his mothers residence, with twin sister Euphan in Crauchie (exact address unknown). The relationship between David and his half siblings from his fathers marriage to Christian Black is unknown, however it is interesting to note that there is no mentioned of either William or his twin sister Euphemia in David's will - in fact there is a pointed reference to the trust only applying to his legitimate children.

Although David Hardie was not married to Euphemia, the twins were christened as Hardies but raised by Euphemia's. The level of contact between the half siblings is unknown, however research indicates that

Contrary to what is thought sometimes to be Victorian attitudes, unmarried Prestonkirk mothers and their children were clearly not abandoned or cast out. Children lived in the parish with their natural families, usually their mother.

In 1841 the family (Euphemia, William and Euphan were living at a property - probably as Cotters - called Amisfield Mains. The property - which was formerly called Harperdean Mains - was originally two farms. The west part of it was called The Barnes. Amisfield Mains formed part of the estate of Seton of the Barnes. It is now part of the Wemyss Estate. The farm still exists and is described as a Georgian Farmhouse with a Gothic Barn & Cottage.

By the time of the 1851 census, Euphemia and William (with Euphemia's neice Mary Rintoul) were living at house located in Crauchie (again probably as cotters), about 1 km from David residence at Markle Mains. William was 18 and working as a ploughman (it is possible he worked for David during this period). William's sister Euphan had been placed in service with the Rennie Family.

William held a number of jobs as a labourer over the next few year being recorded as being in farm service in 1855 at Traprain and at the time of his marriage in 1857 he noted as an iron work labourer.

Three months later on 30 Dec 1857 William married Janet Stoddart, (recorded as Jessie on the marriage certificate). Jessie was born in 1829 in Macmerry, East Lotion. She was the illegitimate daughter of David Bowman Stoddart and Christian Smith.  The marriage took place in the Free Church Manse, Ratho, Midlothian and was presided over by Hiram Watson (Minister of the Free Church, Ratho & Kirknewton). The marriage was witnessed by Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth Thomson. On the marriage certificate his age is given as 19, which would put his year of birth as 1838, NOT 1833. The other interesting fact is that Euphemia is noted as going by the name HARDIE, with her maiden name being JAFFREY. This raises a question about why she was disguising her marital status. 

We are unsure where he met Jessie Stoddart, but we know it was some time in 1854, most likely in Haddington, Jessie fell pregnant some time around April 1854, and gave birth to their oldest son in February 1855. She claimed support from William via the Sheriffs Court Paternity Courts process in 1855. We know that Jessie returned to her family home in Macmerry to have William, and we don't know why the couple got married in Ratho - perhaps they were simply living together in a common law marriage. We do know that in December 1857 when they married she was 3 months pregnant, it appears that the couple returned to Gladsmuir some time in the 6 months following their marriage as their daughter Christina was born there.

William relocated to Gladsmuir where he and Jessie produced eight children (4 boys and 4 girls):

• William Stoddart Hardie - Born 1855. Died 1935. Married Margaret Perry Dilley 1881 
• Christina Hardie - Born 1858. Died 1940. Married Harry Jacob Joseph Spicer  
• Euphemia Hardie (died as an infant) - Born 1860. Died 1860
• Euphemia Hardie - Born 1861. Died 1948
• Janet Hardie - Born 1863. Died 1942. Married John Alexander 1885 
• David Hardie - Born 1866. Died 1918
• John Stoddard Hardie - Born 1869. Died 1939. Married Johanna Cecilia Haley 1896 
• George E Hardie - Born 1871. Died 1945. Married Joan Kitching ; 

At the time of Euphemia's death in 1860 and then in March 1861 - the time of the 1861 census - the family was living at Hoping Mains, Gladsmuir and William was working as an agricultural labourer. Little is known about the growing family or its movements between 1861 to 1871, but all of the children were born in and around Gladsmuir and William is noted as have a variety of different jobs, including: a road labourer (1865) and a domestic groom (1869).

At the time of the 1871 census, and then in September 1871 - when George was born - the family was living in the collier village of Penston, and William was working as a ploughman and later a coachman. Again, there is limited information available about the activities of the family between 1872 and 1879, except that they are still living in Penston in 1875 when Williams mother Euphemia, and his sister in law Christina Falconer dies and in 1878 when Janets mother Christina Smith dies.

By this time their two eldest children - William and Christina had both emigrated to Australia

• Christina - aboard the Queens of Nations which departed London on 7 August ahead of sailing from Plymouth on 22 August after boarding 266 sponsor immigrants. The ship arrived in Adelaide on 1 December 1877.
• William - most likely aboard the Nairnshire which departed from Springfield Quay at Greenock on 31 Mar 1878 and arrived in Brisbane on 24 Jun 1878. Nairnshire was a 965 ton ship in the charge of Captain Walter B Niven. It was under contract fromThomas Law and o to the Queensland government, and on this journey included 340 emigrants - 110 single men, 70 single women and 70 married couples and their families. Applicants were selected by the shipping agent for inclusion in the program. The emigrants were taken upriver by the steam Setter and landed at Queens Wharf just after 8pm on 24th Jun. They were made available for engagement on the morning of 25 June

We believe that it was the death of Janets mother that acted as the impetus for him to follow his two eldest children and migrate to  Australia. In June 1879 - 15 months after her death - the family make their way to Greenock near Glasgow where they boarded the 'Oakland', for the journey to Australia. They were travelling under Free Immigration Certificate No 1168 and appear to be nominated by James Haslam. Free Immigration Certificates mean that they were selected by representatives of the government for assisted passage paid in full by the South Australian Government. William is recorded as a shepherd on the documentation and the 3 eldest remaining children are all recorded as single men/ women

The families arrival is included in a newspaper notice in the South Australian Register on 24 September 1879. Interestingly Euphemia (17) and Janet (15) are recorded as single women, and David (12) is recorded as a single man, whilst the youngest two children John (10) and George (7) are recorded in the families with William and Jessie.

After arriving in Adelaide, the family lived in Bowden Ln Adelaide, once there their daughter, Christina - who had emigrated in 1877 - joined them in 1880. It was here she gave birth to her son in July 1880. The family was still in Adelaide in April 1881 when their daughter Euphemia married Thomas Sullivan.

After staying for a few years in South Australia the family decided to follow their eldest son - William who was by this point living in Ipwsich - to Queensland. So some time after April 1881, but before January 1885 they moved over 3000km to QLD. It appears that they travelled by Ship to Queensland, arriving in Maryborough. It appears upon arrival that their daughter Christina travel south to Ipswich where she left her son Bennet Pringle Hardie with her brother William and his wife Margaret who raised him as his own. Bennet was enrolled at Bundamba Primary School in 1885. Christina then moved to western Queensland to work as a domestic servant. 

By September 1885 William, Jessie and their family were living in Howard as this is where their daughter Janet married John Alexander. Howard is an old mining town in the Wide Bay region, where coal was discovered in 1886. Their son John joined his brother in Ipswich some time before 1894, but William and Jessie stayed in Howard until about 1904 when they finally moved another 300km from the Wide Bay Area to Ipswich, Queensland (40km from Brisbane) where they lived in a house at Borehole Estate near Bundamba on a property owned by their son William.

From 1908 both William and his wife Jessie recieved the Old Age Pension of 26 pounds per annum (10 shillings per week). At the time they were living at in a house on Borehole Estate. Criteria for receipt of the pension were quite strict, and apart from being over 65 they had to have lived in QLD for at least 20 years, of good moral character, having net capital value of property not exceeding 260 pounds (however the pension was simply reduced if the capital value criteria was exceeded)

In 1910 William & Jessie were visited by their granddaughter. At the time, they were over 80, but described as "a splendid old couple and still in good health, living by themselves in a comfortable house close to where their eldest son had a coal mine, of which he was the manager as well as owner." Borehole Estate held a number of houses, and as well as William and Jessie, their sons, William, John and George lived on the property with their families.

William died in Queensland, Australia on 23 August 1918 at age 85. He is buried as Ipswich Cemetary

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