Chapter 4.1

Harriet Farquharson 1821-1883
Charlotte Farquharson 1835-1860

Harriet Farquharson, Archibald’s future wife, arrived in Sydney from Dundee in January 1842 at age 20, escaping from harsh circumstances in Scotland. Harriet travelled with her elder stepbrother William. They had left their family behind - parents Hary and Jessie and remaining 13 siblings, some of whom will join Harriet in Australia over 20 years later. She was the eldest daughter.

Harriet and William travelled with her Uncle Andrew with his wife Jane and family of five children, including Charlotte, age 13. Andrew died of alcoholism several days before reaching Sydney. 

Harriet Farquharson 

Harriet was assigned as a domestic servant to Archibald Mosman at St Lenards Loop, St Leonards, North Shore at the princely sun of £15 per annum. Shortly after she would have moved to Archibald’s recently constructed house, later named “The Nest”, overlooking his Whaling Station at Sirius Bay. Charlotte was initially assigned elsewhere but soon moved to work for Archibald at £12 per annum. 

There are several histories that assume that Archibald had three children with his servant Harriet before they were married. Recent discoveries of baptism records suggest something different and confusing which will probably never be totally understood.

In February 1843 at age 14 Charlotte Farquharson gave birth to a son Hugh, base born (illegitimate), at St Leonards. He was baptised 10 months later at George’s Burrowel Station with no father named.

Hugh’s baptism record 

Less than two years later in October 1844, Charlotte, gave birth to Cecilia Jessie, also base born and baptised at Burrowel with no father named on the baptism certificate. 

Celicia’s baptism record 

About two years later Archibald Frederick was born in similar circumstances.

Archibald Frederick’s baptism record 

So who was the father? It was probably a master and servant relationship. It could be either twin but most likely Archibald as George already seems to have a relationship with Jane Blanch, his “indispensable” indentured servant, who had three base born children before they married. 
 
The names of Charlotte’s children suggest they were Mosman born as Hugh was the name of Mosman first born for generations, and Cecilia a preferred name for a girl. The finger points at Archibald but, to confuse things,15 months after Charlotte ’s youngest child is born he marries Harriet. 
 
During all of this we don’t know exactly where the main players were living and their relationship to the three children, if any. For part of the time George spent time away in Sydney. Archibald is in financial difficulty and is known to have stayed both in Sydney and regularly at his house at Burrowel. Were Harriet and Charlotte living in the same house and did Harriet help younger Charlotte with her young babies and get attached to them? Was Charlotte too young to take care of three young children under five on her own? We will never know. 
 
All we know is the “solution”. When Archibald and Harriet married in 1847 and moved to Armidale about a year later they took the three children, all under five, with them as their own. We don’t know if the children knew they were “adopted”. Even Archibald’s family bible with birth dates on a fly leaf is reported as showing the first three children (incorrectly) as Archibald and Harriet’s children. 

Another puzzle is that it appears that Arthur Palmer, then a neighbour near Glen Innes, helped Archibald with his marriage agreement and acts as trustee. We don’t know why the agreement was needed or what it contained but assume it needed Harriet’s approval. We can only speculate that it had something to do with the children or a provision to protect some of Archibald’s wealth from any future financial problems.

It’s bizarre that nearly 20 years later Arthur Palmer marries Cecilia, one of the young children.
 
It isn’t certain what Charlotte does or where she goes when she no longer has her children or if she has any financial support. We do know that she probably marries Joseph Foster and lived in Sydney. She had four more children with him almost every year from 1853. She died from tuberculosis just over a year after the birth of her youngest child in the poorest and most disease prone area of inner Sydney. 
 
It is a sad ending to a puzzling story. We’ll never know if Charlotte ever saw any of her first children again or if they knew they were “adopted “. 

 
After marriage Harriet had eight children herself with six surviving to adulthood. The eldest had the traditional Mosman name of Adam. The youngest, Alice “Eliza”. was born when Harriet was 41 and sadly Archibald died nine months later. He was 63, over 20 years older than Harriet.

An older Harriet 
(c. Mosman Library)

The next few years were spent as a widow raising her large young family (see Archibald’s Legacy). It really was a family to be proud of and when they were grown up Harriet made several visits to see them  The most memorable was a visit to son Hugh, a newly rich gold miner in Chartist Towers where she reportedly lived in a wooden hut in the pioneer town. It is also reported that she was in Charters Towers when Hugh lost part of his arm accidentally while playing with dynamite at a swimming hole.

Harriet died 20 years after Archibald in 1883 when living in an affluent part of London. For some time this was an unsolved puzzle but recently a plausible solution has been offered. Sometime after the accident Hugh was concerned about his injured arm still giving him too much discomfort. He was advised by his doctors that a further operation was available in London which might help.  So in April 1883, accompanied by Harriet, 20 year old Alice “Eliza” and two doctors he sets off by steamship to London.

In London the Mosman family rented a house in classy Clarges Street, Mayfair near Green Park and Buckingham Palace, in the style allowed to a rich owner of gold mines. This will give Eliza a taste of where and how she will live several years later  

Their comfortable life didn’t last long when Harriet died in August 1883. We don't know why as she was only 61 years old. Her will requested that she be buried with her husband Archibald at Randwick along with her seven year old daughter Emily (twin of Charlotte) who died in 1867.

It must have been a difficult voyage home for Hugh and Eliza bringing their mother’s body with them.

While Harriet’s wealth was not abundant (£5,000) she didn’t forget her family, especially a special bequest to Harriet McIlraith to help raise and educate William’s orphan Ida.  

Memorial at St Jude Randwick 

A memorial to Archibald and Harriet Mosman was erected in the cemetery at  St Jude, Randwick which is maintained by Mosman municipality. 
Archibald and Harriet's male children had no heirs so none of their descendants have the Mosman name. 

 

Next Chapter - 4.2 Archibald’s legacy