Harriet Hannah Stone was the second child of James Stone & Eliza Woolley born at Tipton & christened July 4th, 1824 at St Thomas, Dudley, Worcs.
In 1851 Harriet was living at home at Old Meeting St, West Bromwich with her widowed mother & younger sisters & brothers. She was a ladies nurse.
Harriet married John James Bowater on October 24th, 1854 at the Parish Church of West Bromwich. Witnesses at the wedding were Eliza & James Stone. John was born July 16th, 1813 at Quarry Bank, Staffs, the son of Elizabeth & James Bowater, a stocktaker, and had previously been married to Elizabeth Johnson with whom he had 5 children. Elizabeth died intestate on February 26th, 1854, & in August 1854 John claimed here estate.
In 1861 Harriet & John were living at 50 Hill Top, West Bromwich & John was a pawn broker. At home were the 5 children from John’s first marriage, namely Jane (18), an assistant in the pawn shop, Thomas (16), a roll turner, Sarah (14), Phoebe (11) and John J (8). Also at home was William (5) the son of Harriet and John. Living with them were Hannah’s sisters Elizabeth Stone, also an assistant in the pawn shop, & Eliza Morgan (nee Stone). They had a groom & a general servant.
In 1870 John, now an oil & tallow merchant ran into financial difficulties. This was due to a series of failures of parties indebted to him in course of trade. At a meeting of his creditors he promised to pay his debts in full as soon as he was able. The Birmingham Daily Gazette of July 21st, 1879 stated that he had now done so & in acknowledgment of this one of his largest creditors – Arthur & Sons of Bristol – presented him with a solid silver salver engraved with his initials in recognition of his commercial integrity.
In 1871 Harriet & John had moved to Queen St, West Bromwich & John was now an oil & tallow merchant. At home were Phoebe, John, an office clerk & William A, an office clerk. With them at the time of the census was Harriet’s widowed step mother Mary (67).
Son William, a cashier, married Mary Lavinia Udall on December 25th, 1876 at St Martin’s, Birmingham. Mary was the daughter of George Udall, a theatrical manager. Witnesses at the wedding were James Stone, William’s uncle, & Elizabeth Hudson. William, Mary & family emigrated to the USA & were recorded in the 1900 census as living in Cook, Illinois. Later the family moved to Los Angeles, California, where William, aged 78 & Mary Lavinia, aged 99, died.
John died on November 29th, 1879, aged 66, & was buried on December 5th, 1879 at Heath Lane Cemetery, West Bromwich. His will was proved at Lichfield on July 19th, 1880 by his sons Thomas, John James & William Alfred Bowater, all ironmasters. John, who was described as an ironmaster & oil & tallow merchant left a personal estate under £4,000.
In 1880 it appears that John’s company which traded as John J Bowater & Sons at Bush Farm Ironworks, Greet’s Green, West Browmich became bankrupt. The London Gazette of June 1st, 1880 records that the 3 above named sons were involved in the liquidation of the company.
By 1881 widowed Harriet had set up a lodging house called Montserrat at Holdenhurst, Bournemouth, Hants. Her guests at the time of the census included a professor from Belgium & a retired clergyman & his wife.
In 1891 Harriet had moved to Upper Swinford, Stourbridge, Worcs. She was a boarder at Richmond Court, Love Lane where the head of the household was Hannah Farr, a needle woman. With Harriet, who was living on her own means, was her grand daughter Evelyn Bowater (13), the daughter of son William & his wife Mary Lavinia (nee Udall).
Harriet of Old Swinford died on April 24th, 1892, aged 67 & was buried on April 28th, 1892 at Heath Lane Cemetery, West Bromwich.
The children of Harriet Hannah Stone and John James Bowater were:
st.2.2.1 William Alfred Bowater born July-Sept 1855 at Hill Top, Staffs; buried 1933 at San Gabriel Cemetery, Los Angeles, California