42.1.6 Andrew Durnford m Mary Hadley - Her family - a brief introduction

Mary Hadley was the daughter of   William Hadley and Sarah Felton        

Isaac Hadley known as Isaac Hadley  and his wife Ann had a 10 children with most being christened at S John's Presbyterian Church in Wolverhampton.

The church was built in the 1750's to take the overflow from St Peter's.

There are records of a great many Hadley family members in Wolverhampton.  Like the families of the time they had at least 4 who died as infants.

In the 1740+ there were many diseases which accounted for the death of young children, England had a cholera outbreak, scarlett fever was rampant, measles, and other illnesses caused by poor hygiene and lack of sanitation.

William Hadley married Sarah Felton (1779 to 1859).  

Sarah was the daughter of John Felton and Mary Bennet, the family lived at Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England.   

The Felton history originated around Newcastle.  While researching the Isaacsons, there was a lot of information about different members of the Felton family.  The village of Felton was possibly named after Sir William or Sir Roger Felton in the 12/13th century.

Felton is a small village in north Northumberland in North East England. Felton is situated about 10 miles (16 km) south of Alnwick and 9 miles (14 km) north of Morpeth. The nearest city, Newcastle upon Tyne is 24 miles (39 km) south of the village and the Scottish border is about an hour away.

FELTON, Sir John (c.1339-1396), of Edlingham, Northumberland, was an MP *****

(See more Felton historical information at the end, unfortunately there are no records to ascertain Sarah's lineage.

William and Sarah were married in St Peter's Church Wolverhampton

St Peter's Collegiate Church is located on the highest and the oldest developed site in central Wolverhampton, England  For many centuries it was a chapel royal, and from 1480 a royal peculiar, independent of the Diocese of Lichfield and even the Province of Canterbury. 

The collegiate church was central to the development of the town of Wolverhampton, much of which belonged to its dean. Until the 18th century, it was the only church in Wolverhampton and the control of the college extended far into the surrounding area, with dependent chapels in several towns and villages of southern Staffordshire.

Fully integrated into the diocesan structure since 1848, today St Peter's is part of the Anglican Parish of Central Wolverhampton. 

The Grade I listed building, much of which is Perpendicular in style, dating from the 15th century, is of significant architectural and historical interest. Although it is not a cathedral, it has a strong choral foundation in keeping with English Cathedral tradition. 

 They had the following children:

1 Anne Felton                          b .5 Mar 1797..m Leiut. Georg Moss in 1814 Barbados West Indies

2 Mary                                     b .25 Feb 1799..m  Andrew Dunford

3 William Henry Stone            b .10 Apr 1803..  m  Elizabeth Bernard in 1828 Kingston Jamacia
                                                    He was an Ensign 33rd Foot joined 1825, went to Malta and died                                                           November 1856 buried Msida Bastion Cemetery Malta. 

4 Sarah                                     b . 10 Feb 1805 

5 Amelia                                  b .19 Dec 1806. m Carlo Zefferino Biffi April 1835 Isle of Mann. 

6 Charlotte                               b .22 Oct 1808...

7 Benjamin Henry Stone.        b . 10 Aug 1810. m  Born in Australia m Catherine 1835 
                                                                Manchester UK

8 Maria                                    b . 12 Jul 1812.. Isle of Wight 

9 Louisa                                    b .2 Jan 1814....Isle of Wight   b Leamington Warwickshire

10 Henrietta                               b .14 Dec 1815.

11 Susannah                               b .16 Oct 1817 Wolverhampton 

12  Elizabeth                              b  8 June 1819

13 John Felton Hadley               b 30 June 1821  St Mary Newington Surrrey

William was in the Red Coats of the British Army,   

A redcoat soldier in the British Army during the 18th century would have faced war in a number of theatres throughout the European continent, the Americas and the colonies; the Jacobite rising of 1745, the Seven Years' War raged from 1756–63, the American War of Independence from 1775–1783, the French Revolutionary Wars in 1792–1802.

At the start of the 19th century, and as part of an army going through extensive gradual reform, he would face the ensuing Napoleonic Wars from 1803–15.


Life for a redcoat soldier was often tough and challenging. Plenty of training was needed before a soldier could enter the battlefield; drills and exercises had to be strictly followed as punishments were applied for even the most minor of mistakes.

William and Sarah lived in different parts of the world, depending on his Military Posts.

He was the 5th child of Isaac Hadley and Anne Glover. He married Sarah Felton, daughter of 

John & Mary, at St. Peters Church, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire on 14th April 1796.

At the age of 22 on 3rd May 1799, William joined the Royal Birmingham Fencibles.

The Fencibles were hostilities-only full-time regulars who were limited to home service; he served with them for 5 years before joining the 37th Regt as Ensign without purchase on 21st April 1804.

He transferred to various Regiments after the 37th Regt. and in doing so travelled the globe and gained promotion. But it was the next chapter in his career that would remain with him throughout his lifetime, and would have repercussions within his family for the next two generations.

On the 18th May 1808 William, accompanied by his wife Sarah and their five children aged between 18 months and 11 years, sailed from Falmouth aboard the convict ship “SPEKE”. 

The Speke was a 473 ton sailing ship built by Mr Gillet in 1789 at Calcutta, India.

Under the command of John Hingston, she sailed from Falmouth, England on 18 May 1808, with 99 female convicts. She arrived at Port Jackson on 16 November 1808. Two female convicts died on the voyage. 

William helped guard its cargo of 99 women, two of whom would not survive the voyage. The women were destined for the Female Factory in Parramatta, where they would make rope and spin carded wool. The trip lasted 182 days arriving at Port Jackson in Sydney on 16th November 1808. 

With a high proportion of males in the colony several ships of females came so that there was a choice for the men to marry!

William received a Land Grant in April 1809 and after the initial annulment was re-granted the land in his wife Sarah's name because he was not in Sydney at the time of Bligh's arrest 

In 1808 the Rum Rebellion in Sydney. Governor Bligh met his match with the Military.  One of the

 
first caricatures in Australia, was of the guards pulling Bligh out from under a bed, where he was hiding some papers.

The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful armed takeover of government in Australian history. During the 19th century, it was widely referred to as the Great Rebellion.  The Governor of New South Wales, William Bligh, was deposed by the New South Wales Corps under the command of Major George Johnston, working closely with John Macarthur, on 26 January 1808, 20 years to the day after Arthur Phillip founded European settlement in Australia. 

Afterwards, the colony was ruled by the military, with the senior military officer stationed in Sydney acting as the Lieutenant-Governor of the colony until the arrival from Britain of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie as the new Governor at the beginning of 1810.

Governor Macquarie gave him permission to remain behind as a free settler providing he resigned his commission. 

William was apparently on Sick Certificate at the time the Regt. sailed for England

He had only been in New South Wales for a few months, when in April 1809 under the self- constituted government formed after Governor Bligh’s arrest during the Rum Rebellion; Lieutenant Governor William Paterson rewarded William with a land grant in recognition of meritorious services performed in connection with the quelling of a convict outbreak. He received 100 acres of land in the Parramatta District in the Parish of Liberty Plains, which he cleared and cultivated before building a house for his ever-growing family. 

In December 1809 England regained control of the colony with the arrival of the newly appointed Governor Lachlan Macquarie, who issued a proclamation declaring as null and void all grants of land made by the “Usurped Government”.

By the same proclamation the Governor declared that it was the Royal will and pleasure that all such grants should upon proper application, and subject to the Governor’s approval, be renewed, but under no circumstances whatsoever was the concession to be extended to any officers of the 102nd Regiment.

It was under these circumstances that William’s grant was annulled, and that as an officer of the 102nd Regiment, was debarred under the Governor’s proclamation from receiving another grant in lieu.

Lieutenant Hadley 102 nd. Regiment)

25/4/1809

100 acres

Parramatta district

W. Paterson

29/1/1810

LieutenantHadley 102 nd. Regiment)	25/4/1809	100 acres	Parramatta district	W. Paterson	29/1/1810

In April 1810, the officers of the disgraced 102nd Regiment were ordered to return to England, but Governor Macquarie gave William, subject to his resigning his commission, permission to remain in the colony as a settler, because he had not been in Sydney on the date of Governor Bligh’s arrest and therefore had nothing to do with the Rum Rebellion. 

The 102nd Regiment left Port Jackson to return to England via Cape Horn on 12th May 1810. William did not sail with them, not because he had resigned his commission but because he was on Sick Certificate.

Fellow officer George Johnston 1810

It is not clear, what William’s official status was or where he re-sided. Effectively he had been left behind whilst sick. He had not resigned his commission, was considered, as still in the army and therefore not a settler, and in addition he no longer legally owned the land he had been granted. 

His main concern at this time would have been to continue to support his large family and this would have been the main basis for the decisions he made.  He used this interim time to apply to the Governor for land and men to work it, however his requests were denied on the grounds that having not resigned his commission he could not be considered a free settler and therefore not accorded the advantages of his commission he could not be considered a free settler and therefore not accorded the advantages of such.

On 24th August 1811, having heard that several ships were leaving the colony for England, William wrote to his Commanding Officer Captain John Piper, asking him to apply on his behalf to Governor Macquarie for passage for him and his family so that he could rejoin his Regiment. He also asked for lodging money since he had been left behind on Sick Certificate when his Regiment left the Colony almost 18 months previous.

 The Governor was unable to grant payment for passage money, as the Government was not in the habit of paying for Officers who missed embarkation whether through sickness or not. However he did grant payment for his lodging money, from the date the Regiment sailed.

In September 1811, William approached the Governor with a view to obtaining the original grant of land he had lost when the Grant was annulled. He explained that he had incurred considerable expense in clearing, cultivating and building a house on the land and that in addition he had a large family to support.

William’s petition received favourable consideration, no doubt upon the grounds that he had not been personally involved in the Rum Rebellion, but the Governor being debarred by the King’s instructions and by his own proclamation from making any grant to William as an officer of the 102nd Regiment, promised immediate issue of a grant of 100 acres to William’s wife Sarah for the benefit of their family. On 19th September 1811 the original Grant was re-granted to Sarah Hadley.

On 16th November 1811 William placed a notice in the Sydney Gazette requesting anybody who had any claim or demand on him to present themselves for settlement as he intended to sail on the ship “Friends” leaving for Sydney for London on Monday 2nd December 1811.

Colonial Secretary Papers

811 Aug 24	Lieutenant Hadley seeking passage for self and family to England (Reel 6043; 4/1726 p.243)
1811 Aug 26	Submitting letter from Lieutenant Hadley (Reel 6043; 4/1726 pp.241-2). Reply, 26 Aug (Reel 6002; 4/3491 p.56)

Although William did leave the colony it is not certain that he left on the ship “Friends”. It is not known why he left the colony.  He must have decided England was a better place to live, as Sarah had a land grant and he had permission to become a free settler. 

However having left it would appear from his correspondence he intended to return as soon as possible.  In the meantime he left all of his affairs in the hands of Dr Charles Throsby giving him power of Attorney in his absence.

After arriving in England circa June 1812 William continued his services in the Army. On 2nd December 1813 he was promoted to Captain of the 8th West India Regiment and went out immediately to Barbados until he was sent to Jersey on the advice of the Army Medical Board in 1816. 

Whilst in Jersey William became aware that orders had gone out to reduce the numbers of his Regiment so he planned to remain in Jersey where he could join a Veteran Battalion which might afford him the chance of returning to the colony. William transferred to the 2nd Veteran Battalion as Captain on 2nd May 1816 but he was unsuccessful in his quest to return to NSW.

 William remained with the 2nd Veteran Battalion until 1st November 1819 when he transferred as Captain to the 5th Royal Veteran Battalion. 

After 24 years service William finally retired on Full Pay on 25th July 1821. But this was by no means the end of his efforts to return to New South Wales. On 31st March 1824 William sent another letter to the then Under Secretary of State for The Colonies Mr Willmott Horton. 

He provided a brief outline of his situation and expressed his desire to return to NSW and requested that he may be granted a short interview to explain his case further. William received a holding on 3rd April 1824 and in response enquired on 9th April 1824, if His Majesty’s Government would be pleased to facilitate his passage to New South Wales and if so, under what terms. 

From William’s letters 1817 to 1824 he endeavoured to make arrangements to return to the colony but was hampered by want of means, but that did not prevent him from placing his case in the hands of lawyers. 

It seems that, Throsby a retired Naval Surgeon and one time Magistrate under the rebel administration during the Usurped Government period, failed to provide William with any account of his administration throughout William’s absence and ultimately in 1828 William took steps to prosecute him with the result that Dr Throsby committed suicide.  

However in an article in the Sydney Gazette of 4th April 1828, an extract shows that although Dr Throsby did commit suicide as a result of financial embarrassment, nothing could be traced to connect the event in any way with William’s affairs. It is later stated that Dr Throsby appropriated for his own use other property belonging to William to the value of £500, which had been sent from England whilst Dr Throsby’s son occupied William’s land. 

William’s son (William) and later his grandson (Arthur) brought the land case and property issue under notice of the Government on five further occasions, and for varying reasons, but they were unsuccessful.  

The lands around the Hawkebury where the land grants were, now are included in a National Park, 
(our maternal great grandmother also held land in the same area, but they had left in 1803)

1. 4th Jan 1811 - Letter from JT Campbell Secretary's Office: Acknowledges receipt of letters 

 From William on 13th & 18th Dec 1811. Cannot consider him a free settler as he is still 

 in the army, therefore cannot grant land of assignment of Government men. 

 (2 cows provided to help him and his family out instead!)

2. 24th Aug 1811 - Letter from William to Col Piper. Having heard several ships bound 

 for England, requests passage for him & his family to rejoin his regiment.

3. 26th Aug 1811 - Letter from JT Cambell. Government will not pay for passage 

 even though he was on sick leave at the time the Regt. left. However will pay for  lodging 

 money.

4. 17th Sept 1811 - Letter from JT Campbell. Governor re-grants 100 acres in name of William's 

 wife, Sarah.

5. 16th Nov 1811 - Notice in Sydney Gazette by William asking if any bills need settling

  as he intends to sail on the ship 'Friends' leaving Sydney for London on 2nd Dec 1811. 

 (Don't know for sure but presume he did leave on this ship)

6. 2nd Dec 1813 - William promoted to Captain in the 8th West India Regt. and went straight to 

           Barbados. 

7. 22nd April 1816 - Personal letter from William to John Piper 22nd April 1816. Explains about 

 dealings with Throsby and asks Piper to see that Throsby sells all of William's belongings 

 and sends him the money.

8. 2nd May 1816 - Transferred to 2nd Royal Veterans Battalion as Captain  

  (in order to remain on full pay)

9. 30th Oct 1817 - Letter to H Goulburn Under Secretary of State for the Colonies. 

 Seeks permission to return to NSW as a settler.

10. 1st November 1819 - Transferred as Captain to 5th Royal Veterans Battalion.

11. 25th July 1821 Retired on Full Pay.

12. 31st March 1824 - Letter to William Horton U. S of State. Seeks appointment to further 

 explain his case in order to return to NSW.

13. 9th April 1824 - Letter to William Horton. Asks if Government have decided to provide 

 his passage to NSW and under what terms.

 References
The papers are all available to read online.

Awarded to William Hadley

Colonial Secretary Papers NSW, Military records, Payrolls, Pay Musters, Cemetery Records, Church Records & General Muster Records, Mitchell Library, Sydney Australia

There is quite a lot of information on the internet regarding his time in both Australia and other countries.  

How hard must his journey to Australia been for Sarah, as a free woman, wife of an officer, and with 5 small children..  

Our pioneering ancestors certainly were people of immense courage.
The Hadley's were also a traditional Military family, perhaps so was Sarah's parents, as often people of the military married into similar families.

In January 1848 the extended family were living in Canal St Wolverhampton.

Conveyance of four, formerly three, messuages, tenements or dwelling houses with shops and outbuildings belonging, in the Rotton Row, otherwise Canal Street

• Ref No: DEED/J80/18
• Repository: Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies
• Date: 31 Jan 1848
• Description: 1 Benjamin Hadley the elder of Handsworth, gentleman
  
  
  2 George Moss of Hesket, Newmarket near Wigton, Cumberland, Lieutenant on half pay of H M Army and Ann Felton his wife
  Andrew Montague Isaacson Dwinford of Thaxted, Essex, esquire
  Montague John Felton Dwinford of Granville Square, Pentonville, Middlesex, an infant of sixteen years
  William Hadley the younger of St Mark's, Guernsey, Lieutenant and Quartermaster on half pay of H M Army 
  Edward Cooke of Rouen, France, merchant and Sarah his wife
  Amelia Biffi of Douglas, Isle of Man, widow
  Louis Joseph Mare Rosey of Calais, France and Charlotte his wife
  Alaria Hadley of Saint Jacques, Guernsey, spinster
  Louisa Hadley of the same place, spinster
  Henrietta Hadley of the same place, spinster
  Susannah Hadley of the same place Spinster
  William Evans of Wolverhampton, watchmaker
  And Elizabeth his wife
  Benjamin Hadley the younger of Princes End, Tipton, dealer in iron
  William Hadley the elder of Saint Jacques, Guernsey, captain on the retired list of H M Army
  
  
  3 William George Dwinford of Granville Square, Pentonville, Middlesex, gentleman
  Alfred Dwinford of Walcot Square, Lambeth, Surrey, gentleman
  
  
  4 Ralph Gough of Gorsebrook House, Bushbury, esquire
  
  
  5 Joseph Foster of Wolverhampton, gentleman

Another record for another William from the Archives.

Grant re life estate in remainder of property as above

• Ref No: DEED/J80/15
• Repository: Wolverhampton Archives & Local Studies
• Date: 7 Jan 1801
• Description: 1 William Hadley of Wolverhampton, ironmonger
  
  
  2 Ann Hadley of Wolverhampton, widow
  
  
  3 Rev Thomas Walker of Wolverhampton, clerk

A little about Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton ( i/ˌwʊlvərˈhæmptən/) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. People from Wolverhampton are known as Wulfrunians.

Historically a part of Staffordshire, and forming part of the metropolitan county of the West Midlands from 1974, the city is commonly recognised as being named after Lady Wulfrun, who founded the town in 985: its name coming from Anglo-Saxon Wulfrūnehēantūn = "Wulfrūn's high or principal enclosure or farm".

Prior to the Norman Conquest, the area's name appears only as variants of Heantune or Hamtun, the prefix Wulfrun or similar appearing in 1070 and thereafter. Alternatively, the city may have earned its original name from Wulfereēantūn = "Wulfhere's high or principal enclosure or farm" after the Mercian King, who tradition tells us established an abbey in 659, though no evidence of an abbey has been found.

The city grew initially as a market town with specialism within the woollen trade. During and after the Industrial Revolution, the city became a major industrial centre, with mining (mostly coal, limestone and iron ore) as well as production of steel, japanning, locks, motorcycles and cars – including the first vehicle to hold the Land speed record at over 200 mph. Today, the major industries within the city are both engineering based (including a large aerospace industry) and within the service sector.

 Wolverhampton and the Gunpowder Plot

Rotten Row, then Canal Street and finally Broad Street with the last thatched cottage in town (the second one in the row).

During the seventeenth century Wolverhampton and its people began to have some connections with important national events. The accession of James I after the death of Elizabeth I was soon followed by a major Catholic plot to kill the new king. Although the Gunpowder Plot is closely associated with London and the Houses of Parliament, the final act took place near to Wolverhampton, at Hobeach House in Himley. A number of the conspirators including Robert Catesby, the leader, had taken refuge in the house. 

Two other men named Thomas Smart and John Holyhead of Rowely Regis were subsequently charged with sheltering the renegades. They were tried in Wolverhampton by a judge, specially bought from Ludlow, and executed in High Green (Queen Square) on or about January 27 1606. 

 Queen Square in 1860 showing the Russian cannon which was replaced by the statue of Prince Albert in 1866. The cannon had been captured from Sebastapol in the Crimea in 1855. 

The most usual means of keeping discipline was by way of a birch rod and a record dated 1757 shows that boys who were late for school would receive six strokes of the birch, and girls would be whipped! Eight senior boys were appointed to report those who "cursed, swore, told lies or spoke unmannerly". 

One of the early subscribers to the Charity School was Button Gwinnett, a merchant from Bristol who married a local girl named Anne Bowne in April 1757. 

The importance of Gwinnett however lies in the fact that after business failures in England he went to North America and in 1776 was one of the fifty-six signatories of the American Declaration of Independence. 

Two other important buildings stood at the east end of High Green. They were the two greatest of Wolverhampton's coaching inns, the 'Angel' and the 'Swan'. 

The Angel stood where Lloyds Bank now stands and the Swan was a little further in the present day Dudley Street. These were not ale houses or public houses, they were the eighteenth century counterparts of modern hotels. Quite close to the sites of the coaching inns was to be one of Wolverhampton's earliest examples of town planning. Between 1751 and 1753 much of King Street was built including the present day Old Still Inn which was known originally as 14 King Street.

The Old Still Inn

The title deeds of the properties 15, 16 and 17 King Street states that they were to be constructed "in a direct line and the same in front with the messuages or dwelling houses very lately erected in the said street". Isaac Taylor's map relates to the intended construction work as follows, "the Prick'd lines shew the Plan of A New Street" and showing it as the section of land between Clarkes Lane (now Princess Street) and Dudley Street. Salop Street then marked the edge of the town in the direction of the Penn Road, although Taylor's map shows a few houses struggling towards present day School Street.

In the direction of Dudley, "Bilstone Street" and the Great Hall of the Levesons marked the edge of the town and the present day Wednesfield Road had no houses in it beyond the present railway line. 

Shortly after the publication of Taylor's map a new church was opened for worship. 

The church was built, standing on its own in the open spaces which lay between present day Worcester Street and Snowhill. 

The church was St. Johns built of brick "cased" in Perton sandstone. 

Some interesting facts emerge from the early records of this church. One is that its first minister, the Reverend Benjamin Clement, was also minister of Braunton in Devon. It was not unusual for a parson at that time to hold two or more "livings". The practice was known as "Pluralism" and it is difficult to guess where the Reverend spent most of his time. Next it was in 1762 that the church acquired the 'Renatus Harris' organ. The organ had been built around 1633 and installed in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.  

St John's Church was opened for worship in 1760. Its surroundings are now much changed. 

During a journey for repair the organ was "stranded" in Wolverhampton when the owner died in the town. The church purchased the organ from the owner's widow for £500. 

Finally, the only other church official mentioned in these early years is William Shaw, the dog whipper. He was paid six shillings a year to "expel from the church such dogs as do not behave well". 

The job was usually performed by gripping the dog around the neck with a pair of wooden tongs kept in the church for the purpose. In l778 the church records show the payment of one shilling for "a pair of second-hand breeches for old Shaw". Apparently Mr. Shaw had been "whipping" for at least twenty years. 

Victoria Place

In 1851 the family were living in 4 Victoria Place, St Peter Port Guernsey, Channel Islands.

William died in  1852 at Gurnsey, Sarah died 1859















Guernsey

In the mid-16th century, the island was influenced by Calvinist reformers from Normandy. During the Marian persecutions, three women, the Guernsey Martyrs, were burned at the stake for their Protestant beliefs.

During the English Civil War, Guernsey sided with the Parliamentarians. The allegiance was not total, however; there were a few Royalist uprisings in the southwest of the island, while Castle Cornet was occupied by the Governor, Sir Peter Osborne, and Royalist troops. Castle Cornet was the last Royalist outpost anywhere in the British Isles to surrender.

Wars against France and Spain during the 17th and 18th centuries gave Guernsey shipowners and sea captains the opportunity to exploit the island's proximity to mainland Europe by applying for Letters of Marque and turning their merchantmen into privateers.

By the beginning of the 18th century, Guernsey's residents were starting to settle in North America.

The 19th century saw a dramatic increase in prosperity of the island, due to its success in the global maritime trade, and the rise of the stone industry.

       

The town of St Peter Port acts as the main port of Guernsey Island, and is also the capital of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Due to the history of the Channel Islands and their close proximity to France, the official language of St Peter Port has historically been French, a surprise to many travelers since the island is actually a possession of the United Kingdom. 

                                                                        

The town of St Peter Port is a bustling community of just over 16,000 people, and is found on the eastern side of Guernsey Island. Guernsey St Peter Port is close to the towns of St Sampson, Vale, St Andrew and St Martin. Like many of these surrounding towns, Guernsey St Peter Port is a both a town and a parish of Guernsey. 

One of the main features of Guernsey St Peter Port is its striking landscape which makes for some of the best views in the Channel Islands. The harbor of St Peter Port Guernsey is quite low, located just at sea level. From the harbor, the land moves quickly to a much higher elevation, and this has made for some striking cliffs along the coast of St Peter Port Guernsey, which are excellent spots for viewing and tourist activity. 

St Peter Port Guernsey is also the site of the Victor Hugo House, known officially as the Hauteville House. Victor Hugo is widely known as the French exiled author who penned the classic, Les Misérables, among other novels. When Victor was exiled, he came to the Hauteville House to live. Today, the house is a museum owned and operated by the Paris city government in St Peter Port Guernsey. 

There are also other buildings and attractions of note in St Peter Port England. The Royal Court House, which is the main meeting place for the Bailiwick government, is also located in St Peter Port England, as is the Town Church which is housed in an historic chapel building. 

Castle Cornet is also located in St Peter Port England, and in years past has been the main fortress to protect the town and the island. Elizabeth College, founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1563, is also found in the town of St Peter Port. In addition to the many attractions in town, the harbor of St Peter Port is also the sailing point for many of the most well-known Channel Island cruise trips In the area. 

William and Sarah's son William Stone Hadley was also in the Foot Soldiers.

An internet search of his Biography reveals

William Stone Hadley's medals are located in Medal Case 27 , Display Group 78 Durham Museum

HADLEY, William H. Stowe, born 10 April 1803 at Binningham, son of Captain William Hadley, 5th Rifle Volunteer Battalion of 2 Bridge Row, Battersea by his wife Sarah, daughter of John Felton of Wolverhampton. 

Married 23 January 1828 at Kingston, Jamaica, Elizabeth, daughter of Captain John Warren Bernard, 84th Regiment.

Ensign 33rd Foot 10 April 1825; Lieutenant 24 September 1831; 2nd Foot 18 May 1833; Quartermaster 2nd Foot 12 August 1836; half-pay 27 October 1846; Paymaster 68th Foot 13 July 1849; half-pay 1 April 1856. 

Served with the 2nd Foot throughout the campaign in Afghanistan and Beluchistan under Lord Keane, and was present at the storm and capture of Ghuznee 23 July 1839, where he was wounded, and of Khelat 13 November 1839. Awarded Medal for Ghuznee.  

Served in the campaign in the Southern Mahratta Country in 1844, including the storm of the fortress of Punella, and that of the Conean in 1845, including the investment and capture of the forts Monehur and Munsuntash. 

Served in the Crimean Campaign in 1854-55 with the 68th Light Infantry, including the siege of Sebastopol. Awarded Medal with clasp. Invalided from the Crimea and died at Malta 10 November 1856. 

Served Overseas, Jamaica, West Indies 31 December 1825 to 31 December 1829; East Indies 13 June 1834 to 30 November 1838 and 29 December 1839 to 3 January 1846; Scinde and Afghanistan 1 December 1838 to 28 December 1839. 

This William also had a son William born in West Indies, and died in Malabar India in 1847.

The Ghuznee Medal is a British campaign medal that was awarded for participation in the storming of the fortress of Ghuznee in Afghanistan, on 21 to 23 July 1839. This action, the Battle of Ghazni, took place during the First Anglo-Afghan War.
This was the second medal awarded to all ranks of the British Army for a specific campaign, the Waterloo Medal being the first. It was struck in 1839 on the orders of Shuja Shah Durrani, the Shah of Afghanistan, to show his appreciation to the British forces who had restored him to his throne by storming the fortress

Felton some historical family information.

The Feltons rose to occupy a position of influence on the Scottish border through the efforts of Sir William Felton the elder (d.c.1328), who not only served as sheriff of Northumberland, but also held successively the constableships of four royal castles, first in Wales and then in the north. 

The family seat at Edlingham, bought by him in 1294, passed on his death to his son, Sir William the younger, an equally capable crown servant. During the course of a busy public career this Sir William spent some time as constable of Roxburgh and later represented Northumberland in at least four Parliaments.

Through his second wife, Isabel, he obtained the manor of Hinton in Nottinghamshire, which was duly entailed upon their elder son, John, the subject of this biography. The rest of the Felton estates, however, descended on Sir William’s death, in September 1358, to the son of his first marriage, another Sir William. 

The latter came into a rich inheritance, for the Feltons had by then also acquired the manors of West Matfen, Heddon and Buteland, together with extensive holdings in Nafferton, Lemington, Lorbottle, Milbourne, Whittingham and Thirston in Northumberland, the vill of Medomsley and the neighbouring manor of Hamsterley in the palatinate of Durham, and the manor of Boddington (which alone produced over 20 marks p.a.) in Northamptonshire. 

Sir William’s death, without issue, while he was campaigning in Spain in 1367, meant that John, whose prospects had hitherto seemed rather modest, succeeded to almost all his half-brother’s possessions.

He did not gain custody of them without a struggle, though, since the guardians of his two young nephews of the half-blood, William Hilton (the future Lord Hilton) and (Sir) Thomas Swinburne*, tried to prove that most of the property had been settled upon the boys in fee simple, giving them a superior title at law. 

A number of separate inquests held locally to determine the descent of the Northumbrian manors returned contradictory findings, but after a protracted bout of litigation, which lasted until August 1372, John managed to uphold his claim to most of the inheritance, except for rents worth £25 p.a. in Nafferton, half the manor of Milbourne and various holdings in Durham. These were finally assigned to the two boys when they came of age, seven years later.

Aged about 28 or so at the time of his half-brother’s death, Sir John Felton had already been knighted, although he showed little inclination at first to become involved in the round of official business which had so preoccupied his father and grandfather. 

His legal battles over the Felton estates may well have consumed all his time and energy, for it was not until June 1373 that we encounter him in any other context. He and Henry, Lord Percy (the future earl of Northumberland), then received a royal pardon for becoming trustees without licence of Thomas, Lord Fauconberg’s property in Cleveland, Yorkshire. Fauconberg had been married for some years to Sir John’s kinswoman, Constance Felton; and when he was consigned to prison in 1378 on a charge of treason, the burden of managing his affairs fell partly on Sir John and other members of the family. 

The bond of 20 marks which Sir John surrendered to Robert Muskham, a Chancery clerk, in the summer of 1373 was, perhaps, connected with his trusteeship of Fauconberg’s estates, since property in Yorkshire was pledged as security, although he may already by then have established far closer personal attachments in the county.

The precise date of his marriage to Joan, the daughter of Sir William Fitzwilliam of Wentworth, is not known, but it almost certainly occurred before his appointment, in May 1376, to the first of several royal commissions in the West Riding, where the Fitzwilliams were landowners of note. In 1382 Sir John was able further to extend his influence by taking on the farm, jointly with a group of associates, of the two Northamptonshire manors of Pattishall and Rothersthorpe, which had temporarily been seized by the Crown pending the outcome of an inquiry into their rightful title to the property.

Three years later writs of supersedeas were issued suspending payments of rent, so it looks as if they received a favourable hearing. The year 1385 marked the birth of Sir John’s second daughter, Joan, and the death of her mother. Within a matter of months he remarried, taking as his second wife Elizabeth, a daughter of the Northumbrian knight Sir John Fenwick. In November 1385 he paid ten marks to the King for permission to settle his manor of West Matfen as a jointure upon her, presumably at the time of their marriage.

Even during periods of truce, the border between Scotland and England was the scene of many outbreaks of violence and retaliatory raids. In July 1386, Sir John was deputed to act as a conservator of the existing truce with Scotland, although the increasingly fraught political situation in England made it unlikely that peace could be maintained for long. 

Taking advantage of the collapse of the court party and the general state of tension in the south, the earl of Douglas led an army across the border in August 1388, defeating the English after a hard-fought engagement at Otterburn. Sir John is said to have conducted himself ‘moult vaillammant’ under the banner of Sir Henry Percy, ‘Hotspur’, and evidently managed, unlike his commander, to avoid being captured. 

He was a party to the peace negotiations of the following year; and at about the same time he took his seat on the Northumbrian bench. Not surprisingly, the county electors chose to return him to the second Parliament of 1390, which met on 12 Nov., just five days after his appointment to the shrievalty of Northumberland. 

Sir John was thus technically in breach of the statute which forbade the return of sheriffs to the Lower House, although he had, in fact, been elected before taking up office. By this date, Sir John’s kinsman, Lord Fauconberg, was suffering from the effects of a long imprisonment. 

In March 1390, his wife drew attention to his deteriorating health, mental collapse and ‘great destitution’, begging the King that he might be released forthwith into the custody of Sir John Felton and his nephew, William, Lord Hilton.

The two men had apparently become reconciled after their earlier quarrel, and Richard II agreed to entrust Fauconberg to their care. In the event, however, he remained a captive in Gloucester castle until November 1391, when Lord Hilton, the earl of Northumberland, and Sir Ralph Euer* became his guardians. Sir John none the less maintained a fairly close connexion with the earl, because they were both feoffees of the manor of Seghill for Sir William de la Val, in which capacity they became involved in litigation at this time.

Indeed, when Sir John died, on 31 Mar. 1396, the custody of his estates, together with the wardship and marriage of his young son and heir, John, was granted to Northumberland by the King.

Sir John was survived by his second wife, Elizabeth, who retained the manor of West Matfen as her jointure, as well as receiving the customary assignment of dower. By 1399 she had married Sir Henry Boynton, another Percy retainer, who helped her with the task of executing Sir John’s will. 

Although they were heirs only to the manor of Boddington, which had been entailed upon them some years previously, Sir John’s two daughters by his first wife both made good marriages. Joan, who did not survive for long, became the wife of her distant kinsman, Sir Walter Fauconberg, while Elizabeth married Sir Edmund Hastings*. When her half-brother died at the age of about 15, in February 1403, Elizabeth succeeded to all the Felton estates, which thus became the property of the Hastings family.


Sir William de Felton, Knight  

Prefix Sir 
Suffix Knight 
Born Cal 1299 of, Edlingham, Northumberland, England    

Gender Male 

Died 21 Sep 1358  

Notes • KINSHIP: Son and heir.
BIRTH: Date Calculated> Aged 30 years in 1329.

OFFICE: Sometime Constable of Roxburgh Castle.
OFFICE: Knight of the Shire for Northumberland.
OFFICE: Sheriff of Northumberland.
ASSIGNMENTS: Summoned to a Council, 1341/1342.

RESIDENCE: Of Edlingham, Northumberland {Edlingham, Northumberland, England}.
RESIDENCE: Of West Matfen, Northumberland {West Matfen, Matfen, Northumberland, England}.
RESIDENCE: Of Nafferton, Northumberland (Nafferton, Ovingham, Northumberland, England}.
RESIDENCE: Of Medomsley, co. Durham (Medomsley, Lanchester, Durham, England}.
RESIDENCE: Of Hamsterley, co. Durham (Hamsterley, Auckland St. Andrew, Durham, England}.

RESIDENCE: Of Boddington, Northants (Boddington, Northamptonshire, Englan

Sir Thomas Felton, (d. 1381), seneschal of Aquitaine, was second son of Sir John Felton, governor of Alnwick in 1314, who was summoned to parliament in 1342, and was lord of the manor of Litcham, Norfolk. Sir John's father, Sir Robert, governor of Scarborough Castle in 1311, was slain at Stirling in 1314. William Felton, Sir Robert's father, governor of Bamborough in 1315, was originally known as William Fitz-Pagan, being son of Pagan of Upper Felton, Northumberland, and was the first to bring the family into notice. Sir Thomas Felton had an elder brother, Hamond, who was M.P. for Norfolk in 1377, and died in 1379. A younger brother, Sir Edmund, who was living in 1364, was ancestor of Robert Felton of Shotley (d. 1506), who by his marriage with Margaret Sampson of Playford, Suffolk, acquired the Playford property, and was grandfather of Sir Anthony Felton, K.B. (d. 1613). Sir Anthony's son, Henry (d. 1659), was created a baronet 20 July 1620.


Sir Thomas was with the expedition, commanded by Edward III, that invaded France in 1346, and took part in the battle of Crécy, the capture of Calais, and the other important events of that campaign. When the Black Prince went to take possession of Gascony in 1355, Felton went with him, and followed him to the battle of Poitiers. He was one of the commissioners who signed the important treaty of Bretigny (1360) and took oath to see it executed. He was deputed to receive the king of Cyprus, who came to Aquitaine on a visit to the prince in 1364. The prince when requested by Don Pedro to reinstate him on the throne of Castille, referred the matter to Sir John Chandos and Felton. Chandos was unfavourable. Felton recommended that the barons and knights of Aquitaine should be consulted in the matter. The prince replied 'It shall be done.' The larger council being held it was decided that Felton be sent to Spain with a fleet of twelve ships to bring Don Pedro. Having set out he landed at Bayonne, where Don Pedro had already arrived, and returned with him and his suite to Bordeaux. Power to treat with Pedro, king of Castile, was given to him as seneschal of Aquitaine representing Edward, prince of Wales, in letters dated 8 Feb. 1362. The invasion of Spain having been agreed upon, Felton and Chandos obtained leave from the king of Navarre to cross the mountain passes into Spain. Felton preceded the prince with a small force, and found the enemy encamped near Navarrete, 1367. They were attacked by a large body of Spaniards, and all either killed or taken prisoners. Felton was exchanged for the French Marshall d'Audreham, who was afterwards taken prisoner by the English at the battle Navarette. 







Another Felton was a composer

FELTON, WILLIAM (1713–1769), composer, B.A. St. John's, Cambridge, 1738, M.A. 1745, was vicar-choral in the choir of Hereford 1741, custos of the vicars-choral 1769, and chaplain to the Princess Dowager of Wales (Augusta of Saxe-Gotha). At a period when, according to Burney, players of the harpsichord had but little choice of good music, several out of Felton's three sets of six concertos for organ or harpsichord and of his eight suits of easy lessons became the ‘pride of every incipient player in town and country.’ Felton's ground (or gavotte), indeed, had attained great popularity; it was introduced in Ciampi's opera ‘Bertoldo’ in 1672, but ‘was become too common and vulgar for an opera audience.’