Picking up this thread again:
Re Eliza Harding - she was born in Ballincollig on July 24 1864 (I have her birth certificate) but cannot find any further information about her. I have only found 15 death records for “Eliza Harding” and the only one of those that might fit is the death of a child named Eliza Harding in 1866 in Millstreet, County Cork. The birth year is given as “about 1863” and age as “3”. As I have been unable to find any other reference at all to Eliza, it may well be that she died at an early age.
Arthur Harding Jnr was born on May 9 1866 in Ballincollig, and was raised in Ireland until his early teens. (My brother John recalled that he had a strong Irish accent and “was a nice bloke”)). He apparently came to England for work when he was about 15 years of age - on Census night 3 April 1881 he was boarding with Robert and Jane Higgs at 9 Frogmore Street, Wandsworth, London, occupation “Labourer”.
Arthur Jnr married Minnie Margaret Allsop on March 7 1896, in Dartford, Kent. Minnie’s grandfather was James Harding and I understand that Arthur and Minnie were first cousins, which would make James also Arthur Harding Snr’s father. However, Arthur Harding Snr and Margaret Long’s marriage certificate records his father’s name also as “Arthur”, occupation “Law Clerk”. This doesn’t seem to fit any of the facts as I understand them and could be an error. As per my last post, if "James Harding" was in fact Arthur Snr's father, then my search is back on track!
Margaret Elizabeth Harding (my mother) was born in Wilmington, Dartford on April 21 1897 and the 1901 census records Arthur, Minnie and Margaret aged 3, living at 10 Dorset Terrace, Wilmington, Dartford, Kent.
Arthur Harding continued working as a labourer and my mother told me that at one stage when they were living in Hendon, Arthur had had to walk to St Albans for work. My Aunt, Edith Rose Harding, was born in 1907 at Fleetville, St Albans, Hertfordshire. This seems to coincide with a period when Arthur had found work at St Albans.
In 1911, Arthur, Minnie, Margaret (my mother) and Edith Harding were living at 36 Borthwick Road, West Hendon, London NW9. (1911 census). Arthur’s occupation is given as “General Labourer”.
Arthur died in Colindale on March 15 1942. I was born on 9 February 1942 and I remember my mother telling me that Grandad did not get to see me before he died (I don’t know why, as we lived close by in Hendon). Apparently at that time he was a doorman at the local picture house and he had walked across the road to post a letter, turned around and then simply dropped dead from a heart attack. This story was well-known in my family and is particularly remembered because my mother died on Feb 11 1964 in strangely similar circumstances – she had just posted a letter and was talking to a friend near the post box when she collapsed and was taken to the nearby Colindale Hospital with a brain haemorrhage and died a few hours later.
Minnie Harding died on January 7 1954 aged 87. Interestingly, she died while living with Edith in a small apartment block that had been built directly opposite the Colindale cinema and close to the spot where Grandfather Harding died after posting a letter. In her later years Minnie suffered some dementia and confusion, but I remember visiting her that day after school and her mind was quite clear. Aunt Edith told me to say goodbye as I probably wouldn’t see her again and sure enough she died later that day.
Edith had a very late marriage to James Waller in 1963. She had suffered from very bad arthritis from an early age and found walking very difficult. I don’t know what happened to her after that, or when she died.
