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« on: Friday 29 September 06 10:44 BST (UK) »
Robert Garden was illegitimate: his birth certificate says "born in uncleanness". However when his mother, Barbara Allan, moved to Orkney to join him (after he had begun his business) she pretended she was the widow of John Garden. This is also on Barbara's death certificate and Robert's marriage certificate to Margaret Jolly. However, John Garden (while he is there on Robert's birth certificate) married a Jean Lyons a few years later and they had one child. John died in the River Denburn in 1857. They had one son, and I've located a descendant living in Canada. That the John Garden's are one and the same, has been verified from several sources, including the witness at the christening of Robert Garden etc etc.
Robert Garden is a household name in the Orkneys and at the time of his death was known as the Merchant Prince of Orkney for his floating shops (ships) that serviced the Orkney Islands and north Scotland and his commercial trading. He had very little schooling and was a cattle boy for a few years, and then a slater etc. Quite a bit has been written about his rise from terrible poverty to immense wealth. (None of it filtered down to my family!). My grandfather was the eldest son, but was disinherited from the business sides of things. He ended up moving to New Zealand and cutting himself off from the Garden family. Long story.
If anyone is interested in the Garden tree let me know ... and any more info
Mary Garden - Australia
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