Henry Coward^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]}

1813 - 1887  (74 years)

• Name	Henry Coward
  Birth	21 May 1813	Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire, England   [6]
  Gender	Male
  Baptism	7 Sep 1813	"All Saints" Maiden Bradley   [7, 8]
  Immigration	15 Sep 1850	Port Adelaide, aboard "Stebonheath".   [9]
  Occupation	Blacksmith
  Death	4 Aug 1887	Ballarat East, Victoria   [10]
  Burial	6 Aug 1887	Ballarat Old Cemetery   [11, 12]
  Person ID	I112086254013	FHC018 - Coward Tree
  Last Modified	23 May 2023

  
  

  Father	Thomas Coward,   b. Abt 1783   d. 28 Feb 1836, Hinton Charterhouse, Somerset, England (Age ~ 53 years)
  Mother	Sarah Smith,   b. Abt 1784   d. Abt 17 Jan 1863 (Age ~ 79 years)
  Marriage	27 Aug 1811	Mere, Wiltshire   [7]
  Family ID	F2	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Mary Comly King,   b. 5 Apr 1826   d. 5 May 1914, Footscray, Victoria (Age 88 years)
  Marriage	1 Jun 1848	Hinton Charterhouse, Somerset, England. Church of St. John the Baptist   [5]
  Children	1. Mary Ann King Coward,   b. 27 Dec 1854, Adelaide S.A. d. 21 Mar 1897, Footscray, Victoria (Age 42 years)   2. Henry William Coward,   b. 9 Jan 1859, South Australia d. 1 Dec 1927, Footscray, Victoria (Age 68 years)
  Family ID	F53	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 May 2023

  
  

• Notes

  Appointed Parish Constable of Hinton Charterhouse for one year, 30 May 1838. Source: Vestry minutes. Settled in Adelaide area, 1850. Elected Churchwarden of St. Peter's, Glenelg, 17th April, 1854. Moved to Ballarat about 1863-64. Is believed to have walked from Adelaide. South Australia Land Record Part Section 213 of Noarlunga Instrument L 1460 Vol. XV Folio 243 Part Section 212 of Noarlunga Instrument C Vol. XXIII Folio180 Lived at 251 Victoria Street Ballarat East. North side opposite Orphanage. Workshop was behind Gabbett's Imperial Hotel cnr. Humffray and Wills Streets probably facing Wills Street. (Wills St. is now Mair Street East). A very serious calamity nearly befel Mr. Coward, Farmer, Glenelg, on Saturday last. Mr. Coward had gone to the Bay, and during his absence a boy em- ployed in minding cows accidentally set fire to some stubble with lucifer matches. The stubble burnt with terrific velocity, and at one time it was thought that everything in and about the farm house would have been destroyed. Every neighbor within reach rushed to the spot, and the furniture of the dwelling- house was quickly heaped together in the middle of the road. Luckily the wind was blowing in a direc- tion that caused the flames to miss the house, and by an equally good fortune to miss several fine stacks, the produce of the present harvest. The danger was most threatening, but beyond a few acres of stubble, and a hundred or so of young vines, nothing was injured. We congratulate Mr. Coward upon his escaping so easily as he has done. It is remarkable that so great has been Mr. Coward's fear of lucifer matches being about, that he has always kept them in a box hanging high up on the wall, above the reach of any of his children, but it appears the cow- boy found means to get at them. These really dan- gerous articles should, now that the summer has set in, be hung up from casual use, with almost as much care as gunpowder. Nearly every fire of this descrip- tion may be traced to the incautious use of lucifer matches. (The South Australian Advertiser Fri 26 Dec 1862).

  
  

• Sources

  [S83956182] Ballarat East Rate Books, ((various dates)). [S83956181] Ballarat and District Directories, ((various publishers and dates)). [S83956201] The Ballarat Courier, (Wednesday 17 Oct. 1877). [S83956202] The South Australian Adveriser, (26 Dec 1862). [S83956138] Marriage Certificate. [S83956203] Handwritten Note, (from Mary Anne Coward's Bible). [S83956164] Parish Register. [S83956204] Wiltshire, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1916, (ancestry.co.uk). [S83956199] The South Australian Register, (September 16, 1850). [S83956135] Death Certificate. [S83956198] Ballarat Old Cemetery Burial Index. Area: CEN, Sect: 7, Loc: 1R1 . Ballarat Old Cemetery, CEN 7 Row 1, Grave 1.