| Notes |
- John's marriage licence says he was aged 25 in Oct 1742, putting his birth between Oct 1716 and Oct 1717, if the age is accurate. There are three possibilities at roughly this time: on 5 Jul 1716 at Eling, Hants, son of of Thomas Harding; on 14 Nov 1717 at Nether Wallop, Hants, son of John & Jane Harding; and on 16 Mar 1718 at Cholderton, Wilts, son of Robert & Elizabeth Harding. The Eling baptism can be ruled out, as on 21 Aug 1716 a "John son of Thomas Harding" was buried at Eling. There is no indication that that Cholderton or Nether Wallop children died young.
Nether Wallop is closer than Cholderton is to West Dean, Winterslow, and Pitton and Farely, but not by very much. It is also a slightly better fit in terms of date. However, the John baptised in Nether Wallop had siblings called Jane and Mary, and the name Jane is notably absent from the West Dean family, despite being a very common name. On the other hand, the John baptised in Cholderton had siblings called Thomas, Robert, Daniel, Jonathan and Alexander. All these names appear again in the West Dean family. Neither Robert nor Daniel were especially popular names at this time, and Alexander was very rare, so this is significant. In fact, there were only three Alexander Hardings baptised in Hampshire or Wiltshire in the 18th century: in 1714 in Cholderton, Wilts; in 1752 in West Dean, Wilts; and in 1786 in Owslebury, Hants.
The 1781 will of Alexander Harding of Boscombe provides further evidence. He left bequests to three "cousins", Alexander, John and Daniel, all sons of a John Harding, deceased; and splits the residue of his estate between his brother Robert, and another "cousin", Jonathan son of Jonathan, who were made joint executors. The first three "cousins" must surely be the children of John and Sabina baptised in West Dean. If the letter the Alexander from West Dean was "cousin", then by the elimination, very probably the testator was the child baptised in Cholderton in 1713/14.
Cholderton and Boscombe are only a couple of miles from each other (though they're not strictly speaking neighbouring parishes). The Cholderton Alexander had a brother called Robert, who almost certainly lived to adulthood, married a woman called Abigail and had children with her in Cholderton, and was buried there in 1788. He is probably the first co-executor.
The second co-executor can be explained too by the will of a Jonathan Hardin of Penton Mewsey, Hants which was proved in the Archdeaconary of Salisbury as his only property seemed to be a house in Bulford, Wilts. The will is dated 26 Sep 1774 and proved 11 Dec 1780. Bulford is a neighbouring parish to Cholderton, and on 29 Nov 1780, a 69-year-old Jonathan Harden from Bulford was buried in Cholderton. This must be the same man, and his age, together with the fact that he was buried in Cholderton rather than Bulford or Penton Mewsey, suggests he must be the son of Robert and Elizabeth. Jonathan makes his eldest son, Jonathan
Harding of Enford, Wilts, his executor. This younger Jonathan is almost certainly the second co-executor of Alexander's will.
We know that one of Alexander's "cousins" was the grandson of Robert and Elizabeth, and very probably the others were too. The word 'cousin' was used quite loosely at that time, and in particular was commonly used to describe nephews. Almost certainly that's how it is being used here; but even if the Alexander who died in 1781 was not Robert and Elizabeth's son, the evidence points to him being a close relative whose next of kin were the children and grandchildren of Robert and Elizabeth.
Had the West Dean family actually come from Nether Wallop, they could still be more distant cousins of the Cholderton family, but in that case, is it likely that the Alexander from Boscombe would have singled them out for bequests in his will? It's not impossible, but I don't think it's very likely. Taken together, I think this is sufficient to establish the father of the West Dean family was the child baptised in Cholderton. [2, 3, 4, 5]
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Richard’s Genealogy
1718 - 
Set As Default Person 
[2] 
Siblings