| One of my paternal great-great-grandmothers was Emma Harwood
(1837-1911). She was born at Sutton, West Sussex, the fourth child of Edmund
Harwood (1803-83) and Abigail NEAL (1807-88).
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| Emma married Thomas JARVIS (1830-1901) at Arundel in 1859. They had nine children there.
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| Edmund Harwood (1803-83) married Abigail NEAL at Sutton in 1830. They had eight children there, only two of whom married. The other one to marry was their oldest son Edwin (1831-66). Edwin had seven children with his wife Jane LEGGATT (his second cousin) before dying of tuberculosis at the age of 35. Edwin's death certificate is signed by his father Edmund in his role as registrar of births and deaths for the local area (a sub-district of Chichester). This role also included being responsible for the census for the Sutton area in 1851 and 1861. Edmund gave several of the enumerator jobs to his sons Edwin and William Neal. I don't know when Edmund began his registrar duties, if anyone has certificates signed by him then please
E-mail me. See the article "Registrars and Enumerators", Sussex Family Historian, Vol. 12, No. 3, September 1996, p96, for more details.
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| Edmund Harwood (1803-83) ran the post office at Sutton as well performing his registrar duties. His main profession was master shoemaker so he was rather a busy man. He was obviously fairly successful as his gravestone and that of his wife and three unmarried adult children are quite prominent in the graveyard at Sutton. The five large headstones also have foot stones and are situated on the eastern side of the path which leads from the south side of the church.
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| Edmund's son and daughter, William Neal Harwood (1842-1925) and Lucy Harwood (1844-1929), ran the post office and general store at Sutton after Edmund's death. William was a church warden and also acted as the census enumerator for the nearby village of Bury in 1871, 81 and 91. Lucy was the last of this generation of Harwoods to die, her will of 1929 is a mine of genealogical information. She named many nieces and nephews, including my great-grandmother Sarah Anne CHEESMAN (née JARVIS). Several great nieces were also named; I have not managed to trace the parents of one, Annie HUMPHREY.
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| Edmund Harwood (1803-83) was the tenth and final child of Thomas Harwood (1742-1816) and Mary GRANT (1756-1830). Thomas and Mary married at Thakeham in 1778 but all their children were born at Sutton where Thomas had been working for three years after leaving his birthplace of Pulborough. Thomas was the village blacksmith at Sutton, his older sons followed him into that profession. Thomas's will (of 1813) made provision for his two youngest sons to be apprenticed into suitable professions. I am in contact with Roger Brooks whose ancestor was Elizabeth Harwood, the sixth child of Thomas and Mary, she married John BROOKS in 1811.
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| Thomas Harwood (1742-1816) was the fourth son of Edward Harwood (1701-?) and Elizabeth EDWARDS who married at Pulborough in 1731. Their other four sons married but it is difficult to sort out the many Harwoods in the area at that time, some are believed to have moved to West Chiltington.
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| Edward Harwood (1701-?) was the second son of John Harwood of Pulborough. John probably had eight children but wives were not named in the register at that time so it is hard to be certain. I am indebted to Keith Harwood of Haywards Heath for his help in sorting out all the Harwoods at Sutton and Pulborough. Keith is descended from John's first son, also John (1699-1783).
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| John Harwood junior (1699-1783) and his wife, Elizabeth LOCKIER, were both under the age of consent when they married in 1718 at Wiggonholt which was notorious for allowing clandestine marriages. John and Elizabeth had at least six sons at Parham, five of whom married and produced families at Pulborough, West Chiltington and Sutton.
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| The fifth son of John (1699-1783) and Elizabeth [LOCKIER] was Edmund (1730-?). Edmund Harwood married Elizabeth LEE at Bury in 1755, they moved around the area and one of their sons, Thomas (1769-?) was born at Amberley. Thomas also moved around the area and had children at Pulborough with his wife Hannah MIRIAM before settling at Greatham. The fourth child of Thomas and Hannah was William (1810-?). William married Sarah SARGENT at Pulborough in 1833, they went on to have 14 children at Stopham and Coldwaltham, their tenth and final son being named Decimus in 1857.
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| John (1699-1783) and Elizabeth [LOCKIER]'s sixth son, Henry Harwood (1733-1826), moved to Sutton, he was there at the same time as my ancestor Thomas Harwood. Henry (1733-1826) and Thomas (1742-1816) were first cousins rather than brothers as might be assumed by a casual examination of the registers. To add to the confusion Thomas and Henry both had sons named Thomas and Henry.
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| Henry's daughter, Sarah Harwood (1775-?), had several illegitimate children at Sutton, the later ones were probably fathered by Thomas CHANDLER whom she later married, they had three more legitimate children. A Thomas Harwood (1808-?) was baptised just before the marriage; he married as HARWOOD and his children were baptised as Harwood but some later used CHANDLER. James Harwood (1797-?), the first child of Sarah, was probably not the son of Thomas Chandler, his children all used HARWOOD. One of James's sons, William (1848-1925), moved to Coldwaltham in 1901 and became a successful builder.
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| I have a great deal of information about the Harwoods who lived in the area, including some at other places not named here. The early Harwoods often appear in parish registers and other documents as HARRAD or HARROLD which is a little confusing. Please E-mail me if you would like to know more about the Harwoods of this part of West Sussex.
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