Alice Harford was the youngest daughter of Thomas Harford, a Quaker, and was born in about 1708. Thomas Harford had married Martha Butler, Alice’s mother, on !8 Mar 1688 in the Society of Friends meeting house in Bristol. The Harford family owned estates in Marshfield in Gloucestershire and either for economic reasons or religious reasons a number of the branches of the family moved to Bristol and took a prominent role in the city’s affairs and in particular with the trade to Virginia and Pennsylvania. Alice had at least five elder siblings.
Thomas Harford’s uncle Charles Harford (d 1709) was a prominent Bristol Quaker merchant, imprisoned for his beliefs but clearly a man of substantial wealth. There are a number of documents in Bristol Archives that describe some of the Harford family activities, although not directly those of the family of Thomas and Martha.
One key document that ties the Harford family to the Marten family, the subject of many pages on this web site, is the will of the widow Martha Harford, Alice’s mother, who did not die until 1742. Here she names her grandchildren Martha Marten and Humphrey Marten, whilst also appointing, her husband’s cousin, Truman Harford, the well documented grandson of Charles Harford as executor of her will.
It is reasonable to presume that Alice was therefore brought up in her early years as a Quaker. She was probably christened into the Church of England in 1722. There is a CofE Baptism in Clifton dated 24 Aug 1722, that is probably her. She married Robert Amberson Marten on 6 Apr 1724 in Clifton, reputedly at the age of 15. Her Quaker upbringing must have been a strong influence on the religious thoughts of both her husband and her son Nathaniel Marten, whose autobiographies bear witness to some considerable struggle of conscience and differing non-conformist attitudes.
Some time in the 1730’s she moved with her family to London. In 1736 they were living in Millbank as, her husband, Robert Amberson Marten was working for the brewery of Mr Pitt (Williiam Pitt, the Younger’s grandfather) and the business seemed to have been centred on the West End. Her husband pursued a diverse career as a merchant and general entrepreneur and was probably away from home for periods of time, certainly by the early 1740’s the family was living in Stepney, close to the expanding docks of the Port of London.
Alice had at least six children. Her eldest son was baptized William Lloyd Marten on 2 Apr 1725, but died young. The name William Lloyd allows us to identify Alice’s great grandfather with some certainty as William Lloyd.
After her husband’s death in 1758, Alice may have returned to Bristol. Her brother Charles had left a large orphaned family in Bristol and she is mentioned in two of her nephew’s wills. It would appear she die on 14 Mar 1780 and was buried a Qualer on 17 Mar 1780 in Bristol.
Family of Robert Amberson MARTEN and Alice HARFORD
Husband: | Robert Amberson MARTEN (1699-1758) |
Wife: | Alice HARFORD (1708-1780) |
Children: | William Loyd MARTEN (bap.1725, d.bef1730) |
| Martha MARTEN (bap.1726, bur.1773) |
| Humphrey MARTEN (1729-1790) |
| Nathaniel MARTEN (1735-1816) |
| Robert Amberson MARTEN (1736-1773) |
| Alicia MARTEN (1740-1823) |
Marriage | 6 Apr 1724 | Clifton, Gloucestershire |
Husband: Robert Amberson MARTEN
Name: | Robert Amberson MARTEN |
Sex: | Male |
Father: | William MARTEN (1655-bef1715) |
Mother: | Elizabeth AMBERSON ( – ) |
Birth | 2 Sep 1699 | Glastonbury1 |
Baptism | 5 Sep 1699 (age 0) | Glastonbury (St John The Baptist) |
Death | 1758 (age 58-59) | Dorset |
Burial | 13 Sep 1758 | St Mary’s, Burton Bradstock, Dorset |
Wife: Alice HARFORD
Name: | Alice HARFORD |
Sex: | Female |
Father: | Thomas HARFORD (bap.1659, d.bef1720) |
Mother: | Martha BUTLER (b.1668, bur.1739) |
Birth | 1708 | |
Baptism | | |
Christening | 24 Aug 1722 (age 13-14) | Clifton, Gloucestershire |
Death | 14 Mar 1780 (age 71-72) | Bristol |
Burial | 17 Mar 1780 | |
Child 1: William Loyd MARTEN
Name: | William Loyd MARTEN |
Sex: | Male |
Birth | | |
Baptism | 2 Apr 1725 | St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol |
Death | bef 1730 | |
Child 2: Martha MARTEN
Name: | Martha MARTEN |
Sex: | Female |
Spouse 1: | Edward POSGATE ( -c. 1762) |
Spouse 2: | Stephen GOULDER (1712- ) |
Birth | | |
Baptism | 7 Jul 1726 | St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol |
Death | | |
Burial | 22 Sep 1773 | St Anne Limehouse |
Child 3: Humphrey MARTEN
Name: | Humphrey MARTEN |
Sex: | Male |
Spouse: | PAWPITCH ( -1771) |
Birth | 2 Feb 1729 | Bristol |
Baptism | 20 Feb 1729 (age 0) | St Stephens, Bristol |
Occupation | btw 1760 and 1780 (age 30-51) | -; Commander York (Factory), Manitoba, Canada |
Death | 26 Jun 1790 (age 61) | Windsor |
Child 4: Nathaniel MARTEN
Name: | Nathaniel MARTEN |
Sex: | Male |
Spouse: | Martha CLARKSON (1736-1790) |
Birth | 19 May 1735 | London |
Occupation | btw 1770 and 1790 (age 34-55) | Freeman of the Cooks Company |
Death | 17 Oct 1816 (age 81) | Assembly Row, Mile End |
Burial | 24 Oct 1816 | Bunhill Fields MI |
Child 5: Robert Amberson MARTEN
Name: | Robert Amberson MARTEN |
Sex: | Male |
Birth | 27 May 1736 | |
Baptism | 14 Dec 1749 (age 13) | St Dunstans, Stepney |
Death | 1773 (age 36-37) | |
Child 6: Alicia MARTEN
Name: | Alicia MARTEN |
Sex: | Female |
Spouse: | Burton BINDON (1726-bef1799) |
Birth | 1740 | |
Death | 21 Apr 1823 (age 82-83) | Clonmel, Ireland |
Sources
1 | “Marten Papers”. Text From Source: Reference: ADD.MS7744/P/21 Scope and Content Envelope containing: a) AGM to Vicar of St John the Baptist, Glastonbury [Henry Lowry Barnwell (1858-1912)], 14 June 1894. Copy. b) Barnwell to AGM With copy of baptismal entry, 5 Sep. 1699, of Robert Amberson Marten.16 June 1894 c) Barnwell to AGM 21 fune 1894. d) Note concerning Barnwell. |