Harry Stoe Man (1783-1848)

Harry Stoe Man was born on 28 October 1783 on Fenchurch Street, London, the second son of Henry and Eleanor (Thompson) Man, and was baptized on 17 February at St. Gabriel Fenchurch, London. He married Louisa Caroline Fowle on 6 May 1819 at All Saints, Maidstone, Kent. Harry died on 2 January 1848, age 63, at Halstead Hall, Halstead, Kent, and was buried on 11 January at St. Margaret's, Halstead.

Louisa Caroline was born and baptized on 4 June 1795 at Cobtree Farm, Boxley, Kent, the daughter of Edward and Ann (Pattenden) Fowle, and publicly baptized on 21 June at St. Mary the Virgin & All Saints, Boxley. Caroline died on 21 July 1878, aged 83, at Halstead Lodge, Carshalton, Surrey, and was buried at St. Mary the Virgin & All Saints, Boxley.

Harry and Louisa Caroline belong to Generation Four; their children belong to Generation Five and are:

[References: Harry's birth and baptism - FHL Film # 0394830; marriage - FHL Film # 1835447; his death - from copy of his death certificate; burial - copy of record from film viewed at Kent RO. Caroline's birth, baptism and burial from family bible. Her death from copy of her death certificate.]

Notes: For more details on Harry Stoe Man click HERE. Geoffrey Kitchener's description of Harry Stoe Man's actions while at Halstead can be found HERE (<---- PDF). Harry's description of the capture of The Highland Chief can be read HERE along with accounts by two others. To view the 1841 census on which Harry and family appear click here (<--- one page PDF). Note that 'Sarah' is a mistranscription of Louisa. His sister Emma is stated as being 45 but she was in fact over 60! See also Halstead Hall. Harry declared bankruptcy twice in his life. The first time in 1818 (below left) lead to his being confined in the Fleet Prison and is referred to HERE. The second time was in 1843 (see blow right). In the repots to parliament Nov 1838 is the following entry: ' MISCELLANEOUS PETITIONS. The following Petitions were severally presented; namely:— Register of Voters, — Harry Stoe Man, of Halstead, complaining of being struck off the register of voters for the western division of the county of Kent, on the ground that Halstead Hall was the property of his wife.'


Above, All Saints Maidstone where Harry and Louise were married.	The church above is St Peter, Walworth, where the first six of Harry and Louisa Man's children were baptized.

Although Harry's gravestone has not been found at the old graveyard of St. Margaret's Halstead, an early photograph was taken of it. On it the following rather odd inscription appears:

Sacred
to the Memory of Harry Stoe Man
RN ____ Jan^ry 2^ND 1848 aged 64.

I have said to corruption thou art my Father to the worm thou art my Mother and my sister.

Job 17C. 14v.

Given Harry's court martial trial, and his endless and useless appeals against his conviction, the choice of Job is appropriate. The word between 'RN' and 'Jan^ry' cannot be identified.

Harry's grave (see below) is located at Halstead Old Grave yard (above). All that remains of the earlier graveyard is this rather strange place of tangled roots and broken headstones. Some effort has been put into looking for Harry's headstone but it has not been located, so far. The picture below of Harry's gravestone was probably taken in the mid twentieth century. See the article in Kent Family History Society Journal, June 1990, pages 89-91, for the location of Harry's grave.

Harry Stoe Man's father, Henry Man, was deputy secretary to the South Sea House. He is said to have named his children after his business partners and here (left) we have an indication of this practice.

After his court martial and dismissal from the Royal Navy, Harry spent the rest of his life trying to clear his name and restore his honor. More practically, he made various attempts to have his Navy pension restored to him, although he never succeeded. The most detailed account of Harry's court martial is his own contained in his pamphlet or 'letter' on 'Martial, Military, and Civil Law and on the word "Crime" ...' . This has been digitized and can be read here (<--- PDF, 70 pages).

There are a number of other sources concerning Harry. Below are two reports from The Times (June 4, 1841 and May 31,1842) regarding Harry's appeal to have his naval pension restored.

Above perhaps is Harry Stoe and below Louisa Caroline. These portraits were in the possession of Hubert Man and they may be of Holbertons (Hubert's wife's family); further investigation will need to be undertaken.