Frederick Henry Harford (20 March 1841 - 12 August 1926) was a British colonel. He was a direct descendant of the Lords Baltimore, proprietary governors of the Province of Maryland from 1631 until 1776.

Early life

Frederick Henry Harford was born on Saturday, 20 March 1841, in the town of Leamington, to Louisa Eliza Burke Hallifax and Frederick Paul Harford. He was their second child, and only son. He had two sisters live to adulthood, Edith and Marian. They were the grandchildren of Henry Harford, the last proprietor of the

Province of Maryland The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British colonization of the Americas, British colony in North America from 1634 until 1776, when the province was one of the Thirteen Colonies that joined in supporting the A ...

. His great-grandfather was

Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore (6 February 1731 – 4 September 1771), styled The Hon. Frederick Calvert until 1751, was a British landowner who was the last Baron Baltimore. Although he exercised almost feudal power in the Province of ...

, but since Calvert wasn't married to Hester Whelan when Henry was born, the

Baron Baltimore Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore, County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 and ended in 1771, upon the death of its sixth-generation male heir, aged 40. Holders of the title were usually known as Lord Baltimo ...

ended with Frederick Calvert. Deer hunts were an occurrence Harford would've been exposed to young, in December 1842 deer which were being tracked, crossed through the grounds of Down Place. On 21 February 1860, when Harford was only 19-years old, his 57-year old father Frederick Paul Harford committed suicide. Frederick Paul was found after 4 PM, by a gardener on the Harford estate of Down Place. His body was laying in a pool of blood, along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

near

Monkey Island ''Monkey Island'' is a series of adventure games. The first four games were produced and published by LucasArts, earlier known as Lucasfilm Games. The fifth was developed by Telltale Games with LucasArts, while the sixth was developed by Terribl ...

. "It appeared that in a sitting posture he must have discharged a loaded pistol by the left ear, as a portion of his skull on that side of the head was blown away, and his hat was picked up about sixteen yards from the body."

Career

On 13 January 1860, it was reported Harford had followed his father's career path and joined the Scots Guards. By purchase he moved through the ranks from an

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

, to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. In 1864, he was promoted to captain. In March 1865, Harford was recognized at a

Levée A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural or artificial, alongside the banks of a river, often intended to protect against flo ...

held by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, after being submitted by General Sir Alexander Woodford. Harford retired with half-pay from the Scots Guard on 1 October, 1881. In 1888, Harford reached out to the

Maryland Historical Society The Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC), formerly the Maryland Historical Society (MdHS), founded on March 1, 1844, is the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. The organization "collects, preserves, and interpr ...

and sold nearly 1000 original documents pertaining to the creation of the

. The documents were reportedly found by Harford in an

Orangery An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either ...

Personal life

John-Aymer-Dalrymple-13th-Earl-of-Stair-Violet-Evelyn-Dalrymple-ne-Harford-Countess-of-Stair

Frederick Henry Harford married Florence Helen Isabella Parson (26 December 1853 - 29 June 1931), the granddaughter of the

Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse (21 May 1758 – 24 February 1841), known as Sir Lawrence Parsons, Bt, from 1791 to 1807, was an Irish peer. Biography Parsons was the son of Sir William Parsons, 4th Baronet and Mary Clere. He succeeded h ...

, on 21 March 1881. They had 2 children: Frederick Reginald Harford (30 March 1882 - 17 March 1955) who married Maude Isabel Lardelli in 1916, and Violet Evelyn Harford (1883 - 22 February 1968) who married John Dalrymple, 12th Earl of Stair. Violet and John's son,

John Dalrymple, 13th Earl of Stair John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

went on to marry Davina Katherine Bowes-Lyon, the daughter of David Bowes-Lyon, and niece to

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

. In 1905, his son at 21-years old, and while living at Down Place was fined for failing to produce his driver's license when driving a motorcar on the highway on 24 April. In the summer of 1906, Frederick Reginald was stationed with the Scots Guards at

Aldershot Aldershot ( ) is a town in the Rushmoor district, Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme north-east corner of the county, south-west of London. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Farnborough/Aldershot built-up are ...

. On the afternoon of Sunday 12 August, Frederick Reginald was returning on his motorcycle from the Guards' Club at

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

. He drove up

Bracknell Bracknell () is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies to the east of Re ...

-road and turned onto the main

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and Aldershot road. At the corner, or soon after, he came into collision with a motorcar. He was severely injured in the collision and was dragged, "along the road for about twenty yards." He was taken into a neighbouring hotel, and a doctor was called, who found him suffering from severe shock, long and deep wounds in his head and groin while his left leg was broken in six places. After lying there for some days he was removed to a nursing home and an operation was performed on the injured leg. He was afterwards taken to

King Edward VII's Hospital King Edward VII's Hospital (formal name: King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes) is a private hospital located on Beaumont Street in the Marylebone district of central London. Agnes Keyser, later known as Sister Agnes, established the h ...

. He was incapacitated until July 1907, when he was able to walk again he rejoined his regiment. In 1908, a lawsuit was brought forth against Alice Jane Hubbard for damages for personal injuries received owing to the alleged negligence of the defendant's chauffer. Frederick Henry was present for the court case and openly objected before the court to statements made by Justice Charles Darling, 1st Baron Darling. Frederick Reginald was asked, "had you promised your father to give up motor-cycling?" to which he replied, " y fatherseemed to object to my riding, but I do not know why." He later, "added that his father said he thought motor-cycles were dangerous." In the end, Hubbard agreed to pay £500 for the "out of pocket expenses, which the plaintiff said he had had to incur by reason of the accident."

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harford, Frederick Henry Calvert family 1926 deaths 1841 births 19th-century British Army personnel