Richard Tester Harbour

[Jules.B]

Hi, It has taken about 30 years of searching for my Harber ancestors only to find that they were going by another name for some of the time.

In the beginning I have Ann Harbour having Richard Tester Harbour baptised in St.Nicholas Church Worth, Sussex on 29 April 1787. There is a note in the register that he is "baseborn". No father is listed. I am assuming that a Richard Tester may have been his father but I don't know for sure and I don't know where to look for records on baseborn children.

The next I can find of Richard is his marriage to my great great grandmother Sarah Robinson at Billingshurst Sussex on 18 Dec 1822. She is shown as spinster and Richard is shown as a widower. At that time he went by the name of Richard Tester Harbour. I have been unable to find the first marriage for Richard either under the name of Tester, Harber/Harbour.

Richard, like the other male ancestors in my Harber family was a charcoal burner and moved around.

I found Richard and Sarah on the 1841 Census going under the name of Tester and living at Plastow, Kirdford, Sussex. Their children were: Richard Tester, Solomon, Samson, Methuselah, Emanuel, Abel and Mary. I have found all their baptisms except for Abel.

Abel was my great grandfather and he came to Australia with his brother Emanuel aboard the Tantivy in 1854. Thank heavens Richard and Sarah named their children with distinctive names otherwise I would never have found them. Later on the son of their brother Richard Tester, who was also a Richard Tester, came to Australia and married his cousin Amelia Sarah Robinson Harber, the daughter of Emanuel.

I have been able to trace all of Richard and Sarah's children except Methuselah who disappears after the 1841 Census.

By the 1851 Census Richard must have died because Sarah has remarried an Edward Denyer in 1848. Sarah married under the name of Sarah Harber. In the census Abel and Mary use the surname of Tester.

I would like to find out: (1) who was Richards first wife and when did she die: (2) what happened to Methuselah (3) when did Richard die and where is he buried and (4) where was Abel baptised.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

[Raffaele]

From the IGI

METHUSELAH HARBOUR
Christening: 02 AUG 1829 Priors Dean, Hampshire
Father: RICHARD TESTER HARBOUR
Mother: SARAH
Batch C009762

[Jules.B]

Yes, thanks for that Raffaele, I do have the baptism information for all of Richard and Sarah's children and I have traced them all except for my missing Methuselah. It is such an unusual name and I am wondering if he changed it.

[pwholt]

In the variants of the surname, have you included Arbour? Remember, the English (and others) can drop the H and add it in the most frustrating way. pw

[Jules.B]

Hi, I hadn't thought to check Arbour. I tried all variants of Harbour. I shall try that and see if I can find my Methuselah. With a name like that it would be a bit hard to disappear wouldn't it. Thank you so much for the suggestion. I'll post if I find anything.

[Raffaele]

With that name I can understand him changing it. The family is pretty mobile so it is hard the best I can find is

Marriages Mar 1846
Cooper Susanna Peterbro 15 501
Harbour Matthew Peterbro 15 501

Deaths Mar 1849
Harbour Matthew Peterbro' 15 267

[Jules.B]

With that name I can understand him changing it. The family is pretty mobile so it is hard the best I can find is

Marriages Mar 1846
Cooper Susanna Peterbro 15 501
Harbour Matthew Peterbro 15 501

Deaths Mar 1849
Harbour Matthew Peterbro' 15 267

This could be a possibility but I have Methuselah baptised 1829 so with the above marriage he would have only been 17 or so. I shall have a look and see if I can find a birth for this Matthew. I have learnt never to discard anything.

Thanks for the help.

[birdlip]

This could be a possibility but I have Methuselah baptised 1829 so with the above marriage he would have only been 17 or so.

....but that was his baptism date, not his birth date. He could have been a small child at his baptism, not necesarily a baby. Just a thought.

[Jules.B]

....but that was his baptism date, not his birth date. He could have been a small child at his baptism, not necesarily a baby. Just a thought.

Yes there is that possibility but when I look at the dates of his siblings it doesn't fit in. I have richard and sarah marrying 1822 then I have a richard bapt. 1823, solomon bapt.1825, sampson bapt. 1827, methuselah bapt. 1829, emanuel bapt. 1831 etc. There seems to be a tendency to have the child baptised pretty soon after birth and not wait and have a couple done together as there are baptisms every 2 years or so.

I will check to see if there is another Matthew Harbour who this might be. Of course that is assuming that he did change his name to Matthew.

He just has to be somewhere doesn't he.

I really do appreciate all the suggestions and who knows it could set me on a path to find him.