Henry and Mary's Story
by Graham Coward

© COPYRIGHT 2002, 2003 - Graham Coward

My great, great, grandfather, Henry Coward was born in 1813 in the village of Maiden Bradley in Wiltshire, England on the border with Somerset. His parents were Thomas Coward, a blacksmith and Sarah (née Smith).

In 1822 the family moved to Tellisford in Somerset where Henry's brother William was born in the same year. The following year they moved again to Hinton Charterhouse, also in Somerset. Henry's sister Mary Anne was born there in 1828. It was in Hinton Charterhouse, four miles south of Bath, that Henry grew up and met his future wife.

Thomas Coward became a respected member of the Hinton Charterhouse community and active in parish affairs. The Parish Vestry (similar to a town council) appointed him Constable, a kind of honorary policeman for one year in 1831 and again in 1832. It is recorded in the Vestry minutes that in 1835 he donated firegrates to the new Parish Poorhouse. Thomas died in 1836 aged 54.

Henry followed in his father's footsteps and became a blacksmith. In May 1838 at the age of 25 he too was appointed Parish Constable.

Mary Comly King was born in1826 to Susannah (née Bush) and Richard King. She was baptised two years later in Hinton Charterhouse where her parents had settled. Like Thomas Coward, Richard also was active in community affairs. The Vestry minutes show that he was appointed Constable in 1840.

Henry and Mary were married in the Church of St. John the Baptist, Hinton Charterhouse on the 1st June 1848. A daughter Fanny was born the following year. In June 1850, Henry, Mary and baby Fanny left England aboard the "Stebonheath" bound for South Australia. Travelling with them were their good friends Sarah and James Crook and their two year old daughter Mary Ann. Sarah was the younger sister of Mary's mother although only nine years older than Mary. They arrived at Port Adelaide on the 15th September 1850. Fanny Coward died a month later on the 16th October and Mary Ann Crook died the following February.

Click here to read a list of passengers on the "Stebonheath".

It is believed that Henry and Mary tried their hands at farming at first. By 1853 they had settled in what is now the Adelaide suburb of Glenelg. They had seven children in South Australia. All but one survived to adulthood.

As the attempt at farming had proven unsuccessful, in 1863 the family moved to Ballarat in the Victorian goldfields. There, Henry set up shop in his original trade as a blacksmith. According to family legend, Henry walked overland from Glenelg to Ballarat, a distance of about 380 miles (610 km). The rest of the family followed later, probably by ship to Melbourne and then a coach. At this time Henry and Mary had six living children, all born in South Australia. James and Sarah Crook who had no children of their own (they lost at least three in infancy), asked that Susannah aged 10, be allowed to stay with them. So Susannah Coward stayed behind in South Australia where many of her descendants still live.

Two more children were born in Ballarat although one died in infancy.

Henry died in Ballarat in 1887 aged 74. Mary died at her daughter's home in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray in 1914. She was 89 years old. They are buried together in an unmarked grave in the Old Ballarat Cemetery.

Their Children

Henry and Mary Coward had seven children who survived to adulthood;

Fanny Sarah married George Stuart. Most of their descendants now live in the state of New South Wales, Australia;

Susannah married Richard Massey. Most of their descendants still live in South Australia;

Mary Ann King married Robert Kenny. Their daughter Florence Fanny became my maternal grandmother. Most of their descendants live in Victoria;

Henry William married Mary Pike. Their son William Ernest became my paternal grandfather. Most of their descendants live in Victoria with some in Queensland and Western Australia;

Agnes Eliza married William Deeble. They lived in South Australia and had no children;

Thomas Richard married Phoebe Dennis. They went to Western Australia about 1900. Their only son, Thomas Roy was killed in action at Gallipoli, Turkey in 1915. He was 19 years old. Most of their descendants still live in Western Australia and there are some in the United Kingdom;

Frederick James died in Western Australia whilst still single.