Deddington emigrant John Hyde Harris. The 1808 ‘Survey of the Dutchy Manor of Deddington …belonging to William Ralph Cartwright Esq’ shows that the property to the north of the Unicorn Inn (now Clydesdale and Wells Cottage) was occupied by John Harris and his wife Mary. He is the John Harris (d.1828) recorded on the large plaque to the right of the church door on which are also listed his descendants. Mary Vane Turner in her book The Story of Deddington tells us that his grandson John Hyde Harris “lived in the Market Square, Deddington [as in 1808 survey]. Carved upon the stone mantelpiece in a room of his house will be found the Harris family coat of arms, three hedgehogs, as on the monument upon the south wall of the church. He was the grandson of John Harris and Mary his wife, daughter of Nathaniel Stilgoe of Deddington. John Hyde Harris died 24th July 1886, at Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand, aged 60 years. He was a barrister-at-law and held an official position there. His house now belongs to Mr. H. Wells. It used to be called the Grange.” In 1850 he emigrated to New Zealand where ‘The Sad Tale of Mr John Harris’ is taken up John Caswell of Dunedin, South Island in his website after visiting the town’s museum “ Inside the museum, while wandering past the timeless faces of Dunedin’s past, I discovered the fascinating story of one Mr John Hyde Harris. Born in Deddington, England, into an aristocratic family, John Harris seemed to have always had high ambitions—after all, he could trace his lineage back to the first Earl of Clarendon. So, it’s hardly surprising that he trained in law before emigrating to Otago, where he arrived in Port Chalmers in 1850. Within a few years, he had married the daughter of one of Dunedin’s founding fathers, Captain William Cargill, and went on to hold numerous high-profile public roles. He served on the Dunedin Town Board, was elected Otago Superintendent, became captain of the Otago Light Horse Volunteers, presided over the 1865 Dunedin Exhibition, and was a University of Otago councillor. If that wasn’t enough to fulfil his illustrious pedigree, he was also considered one of Dunedin’s merchant elite and invested heavily in land. However, it all fell apart for the distinguished Mr. Harris when he attempted to develop a township called Clarendon at the head of Lake Waihola. The sections didn’t sell, and he lost £28,000, ultimately declaring bankruptcy and being imprisoned for debt in 1885. He died a year later, his estate was worth just a mere £100.” More about Deddington’s emigrants can be found at: https://www.deddingtonhistory.uk/emigrationandtransportation2/emigration

Rob Forsyth robert.s.forsyth@gmail.com