Hi Bebe and Forrest and all other Hardy descendants, I have to disagree about the notion that all immigrants to North Carolina must have come overland from Virginia. North Carolina has plenty of waterways, and small ships did navigate the waters. Remember, boats come in lots of sizes. Most of the ships of the earliest settlers were very small. Blackbeard sailed into the waters around Bath, and isn't that where the Hardy's are thought to have been "imported" ? So while I am not arguing that they absolutely came by boat, I believe it certainly was possible. My Witherington ancestors are believed to have arrived in the town of New Berne via boat from Maryland prior to 1730. There was even some ship building in North Carolina. We could probably find some internet site with information on the history of the navigation of North Carolina's waters. Has everyone looked at Miss Ima Mewborn's research? Go to: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/7241/ima.html then click on Hardy Lineage: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/7241/hardy.html and be sure to click on her documentation. - Trish >From: Bebenjohn@aol.com >Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 07:55:21 EST >Subject: Re: The John Hardy Spoil Sport >To: Vafdking@aol.com, turniproots@coastalnet.com, prsmith@pdq.net, > dparks@interpath.com, pday@elltel.net, bjhughes@erols.com >MIME-Version: 1.0 > >Hi Forrest, > >I, too, am after any and all documentation and am glad to have an interested >party. I do find it unusual for a family just to "show up" in NC. Our ports >here weren't and still are not the best, except maybe Wilmington but that are >is not where the Hardy's located. I know that Blackbeard plied the Albemarle >Sound but that was/is so trecherous. Don't you think it more likely that they >came across the Va. border like most in their neck of the woods did? If so >would seem that they HAD to live somewhere on American soil, at least for a >while, before locating in eastern NC. James Ffewox m. Anne Biggs, wid., and >brought his family plus hers to the region from Norfolk area (Edith Batchelor >m. Wm Hardy, my line)...which is really neither here nor there in this >discussion, though. > >I think it odd that none of John and Charity's sons or grandsons are named >Gabriel, don't you? > >Something else puzzles me....how do we know even the approximate ages of John > and Charity's children? Don't you think that if John Jr. were truly age 29 >(why do we think that?) when he died that he was pretty young to have held >all those important offices and owned so much land? Since he did die testate >in 1719 why do the colonial records not differentiate between father and son >with Jr. and Sr. in the court records, if in fact John Sr. d. in 1720 ,(why >do we think that?)? I have just glanced at the NC colonial records re John >Hardy in Raleigh a few years back but don't recall there being a Jr./Sr. >noted, do you? > >Another thing, the birth order. If John Jr. were only 29 in 1719 do we >assume that he was an older son? The reason I ask is that thus far I haven't >seen anything to indicate that his brother Wm was needy, yet John, with >Rebecca's approval, gave him 300 plus acres on Salmon Creek in ca 1617, I >think it was. > >There is still so much to try to find out. Intriguing, isn't it. If anybody >has any ideas or answers I would be so happy to hear them. > >Thanks, > >Bebe Fox >Winston-Salem, NC > >In a message dated 2/8/00 6:54:25 AM, Vafdking writes: > ><<I also descend from John Hardy who died in Chowan County about 1720 through >his daughter Mary. > >I view myself as somewhat of the spoiled sport because as much as I would >like to declare victory on the O'Dwyer connection, I do not think I can make >that stretch. There is too much of a leap of faith for me. It would be nice >to see the original court appearance and see if there is more light that can >be shed. > >The best argument that I am aware of in favor of the John Hardy/Charity >O'Dwyer is primarily based on the names. We do know that a John Hardy >married a Charity O'Dwyer before fall of 1673 most likely in Virginia. >Charity is NOT a common name for early Virginia so a case can be made that >when a John Hardy and Charity show up in North Carolina you would have to >take a look at them as a serious possibility. > >The argument against is based on their court appearance in North Carolina and >the age of the children. In 1695, 22 years after they were last sited in >north of the James River, there is a John Hardy and Charity come to court and >ask for 50 acres for themselves and all of their 5 children for a total of >350 acres. The North Carolina rules for receiving land are the same as for >Virginia at this time. This means one of three things, either they just >arrived and the parents and children were born in England, they went as a >family to North Carolina by way of England for some unknown reason, or they >had the equivalent of headrights. > >We can eliminate the latter option unless someone can find the record and see >if it says there where the equivalent of headrights because they are not >mentioned by Hathaway. We are left with either the family being a new >arrival or the whole family making a trip to England. > >The age argument is basically it seems that the children are not born before >1680 which meant that John and Charity waited at least 7 years before having >children which is unusual for the time period. > >The result of the above thinking makes it too much of a leap of faith to tie >Charity to the O'Dwyer family unfortunately. I hope additional records can >be found to clarify this situation more. > >Any thoughts? > >Forrest King>> >