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The following memoranda were endorsed by SB Ward Esq of Mount Pleasant, Sheffield upon a silhouette of the above John Harrison formerly in the possession of Miss Eliza Ward of Winthorpe, Notts and by her bequeathed to Miss Margaret Myers of Knot End, Cumberland.
Transcribed by C.H. Newbald 1893;
This started me on an interesting piece of genealogical detective work as I really wanted to include this illustrious character in my family tree but I couldn't find the connection between Grace Martindale and her 'uncle' John Harrison.
The IGI provided his parents as Harrison and Aiskell and three sisters but no marriage to a Martindale or a Thwaites.
Mel Towler at Headstones in Yorkshire photographed the Masham Church and memorial for me, the photographs are wonderful but the memorial provided no further clues.
A search of the Masham Parish registers confirmed all the dates I had for the Martindales and Thwaites taken from the "Masham Bible" formerly belonging to Thomas Thwaites of Masham dated 2nd Mar 1771, passed to Miss Margaret Myers and now owned by Noel Myers.
I found a William Harrison married a Martha Thwaites 26 June 1764 but could find no connection between John Harrison and the Martindale/Thwaites families.
I had the PCY and Masham Peculiar Court records searched but no will was found, then it was suggested I try the PCC and there it was; The last Will and Testament of John Harrison in which he bequeathed 'an annuity of £50 to Margaret Martindale, widow of my late cousin Thomas Martindale.'
I went back to the IGI and searching for Aiskell in Warcop I found Phyllis Aiskell (father Henry) married John Harrison in 1725 and Dorothy Aiskell (father Henry) married John Martindale in 1715. So John Harrison and Thomas Martindale's mothers were sisters.
From the Cambridge Alumni I found John Harrison; adm sizar (age 17) at Pembroke June 26 1751, Matric 1751, BA 1755. Born Oct 3 1733, son of John Harrison of Appleby. Died June 19 1808.
Royal Navy service:
First traced on the muster rolls for HMS Nottingham.
He entered this ship 'per warrant' on 16 Jul 1762, serving as a Purser.
There is no indication on which ship he served before this date. Ships stations shown include Havana and Jamaica.
Transferred to HMS Dolphin on 5 Jul 1766 (Purser). He served with the Dolphin up to 10 Jun 1768, when the ship appears to have been paid off, as there are no further musters for it until Apr 1770.
John Harrison was a friend of the Master of the Dolphin, George Robertson. In Robertson's account of the voyage he describes him as 'our good merry friend, the purser.' Harrison was skilled in mathematics and took readings when they observed the eclipse - Wallis' log book says 'we took the longitude by taking the distance of the sun from the moon and working it according to Dr Masculine's [sic] method which we did not understand.'
Pursers were warranted by the Admiralty, although they did not attain wardroom rank (ie treated as commissioned officers) until 1808. Their duties were to oversee the supply and issue of victuals, clothes and any ship's stores.
Many of the crew from the Dolphin went on to sail with Captain James Cook.
Wallis' Account of the Discovery of Tahiti
The Myers Family History -John Harrison
Cathy Clarke, Whangarei, New Zealand
email; mel.clarke@clear.net.nz
Last updated 1 Feb 2004