Lost in New York

[chopendoz]

I have a lady named Mary Eliza Green HARDING born in New York in 1818 - a 'British Subject' apparently. She next pops up marrying a Birmingham tailor Frederick Mascall in 1839. On her Marriage Cert her father is named as Henry Augustus HARDING - a tin plate worker'. Henry seems to have died in Birmingham in 1846. I cannot find hide nor hair of him anywhere else. One must assume that he was born in the UK hence the 'British Subject' tag for Mary. Could he have been a soldier in the war of 1812? Married and fathered Mary in New York then returned to the UK? Could he have been a failed immigrant? Can anyone please help.

[jorose]

There was a Henry Harding who was in the army 1804-1816, 3rd Garrison Battalion and the 23rd Foot.  When he was discharged in 1816 he was aged 30 (National Archives catalogue).  However, neither of these seems to have been in the US at any point.

Do you have Henry's address in 1846 and who registered his death? What about witnesses of the marriage - sometimes you get names which you don't recognise but they turn out to be married daughters/sisters or something of that sort.

[chopendoz]

Sorry for the late reply - this one slipped through the cracks. The witnesses at the wedding were 'Eliza Harding' (possibly the mother) and 'Isaac Clulee' (who turns out to be the Registrar on his day off).
I don't have the Death Certificate of Henry as it is only a possible match (but being the only one I found) and I'm not convinced that any extra information thereon would be of help. FYI, there was a Henry Augustus Harding who served as a sergeant in the Connecticut Militia (under Jonathon Wheeler) at New London and Groton from Jun 1813 to Aug 1814. He seems to have been married to someone named Phoebe Morgan in 1816. However, both parties were born in America. There is another Henry Harding from Great Marlow, Bucks. who served in some sort of militia at Eastbourne Barracks from 1808.
O what a tangled web we weave!

[clulee]

Isaac Clulee was known to be a registrar from 1855 - 1882. He was 30 when he witnessed this marriage. Not sure about prior this date ...