In 1844 on August 25th when Thomas was aged 22, he married Ann Martin aged 23. As he was best man at his brother William's wedding so William was best man at Thomas's. The other witness being one named John Wood. Thomas was ranked as a bricklayer on the wedding certificate and Ann Martin as a spinster. Her father was Samuel Martin, a labourer. Thomas's father James being registered on the marriage certificate as James Harman, bricklayer. The residence of Thomas and Ann Martin is given as Rotherfield and they married at St. Denys church.

So by 1844, we have three of the five branches of the Harman's of Rotherfield married:- James married to Ann Breeden in 1839 and William married to Charlotte Moon in 1843. Brothers Charles and John are unmarried.

After taking residence in the village Thomas and Ann commenced to have the following children:- Frederick born 4th December 1846 and baptised 7th February 1847; Frank born 25th May 1849 and baptised 1st July 1849 (this child was to be buried on the 5th May 1854 with twenty days to his 4th birthday) and Nelson born 1852 and baptised 1st February 1852 (this child was also to be buried on 26th April 1854 at the age of approximately two years old).

Diphtheria was a scourge of children and it is possible that both Frank and Nelson at the tender ages of 4 and 2 years old were struck down together with this virulent disease. It will be noted by the above burial dates that Nelson the youngest child was buried in last week in April with Frank the older of the children surviving only eight days before he succumbed. So already we have in the short period of time in the marriage of Thomas and Ann, tragedy striking by two of children dying in all possibility of diphtheria. Ann therefore would have been nursing two children who were fatally ill.

Ann would have been pregnant in the February of 1854, being nearly three months pregnant when children were buried. George was born in October 1854 and baptised on 5th November 1854. [the reason I believe that George was born in the October 1854 is that Thomas and Ann followed the usual custom at that period prior to second world war of baptism taking place 6 weeks from birth of child.] But to return to Thomas and Ann, their son George was born in October 1854 and baptised on 5th November 1854 at St. Denys, Rotherfield, six months after the death of Frank and Nelson. The last child to be born was the one and only daughter Kate, born September 1858 and baptised 19th October 1858, four years after the birth of George.

From 1854 - 1858 Thomas and Ann had moved and resided with his brother William and Charlotte with their children at Frogs Hole. In this 1854 -1858 period, his brother James and Mary Ann were suffering with loss of children by possibly the same epidemic as his brother Thomas and his wife Ann. Thomas was also enhancing his fortune and it is recorded in the 1861 census that he was employing 6 men and 3 boys.

John the youngest son of James and Mariah married to Rhoda Martin and circa 1850 resided firstly in the village. Rhoda was a sister to Ann Martin who was married to Thomas Harman. Research has discovered that both John and Rhoda joined brothers William, James and Thomas at Frogs Hole for approximately two years and this in the period prior to the epidemic. Thomas as we already stated, was in a reasonable position with not an overly large family to support having only the three children, and not as most families in that day and age with eight to twelve.

But with the hard conditions of the times, they also had their fair share of personal tragedy. In 1866 tragedy struck again, with the death of brother Thomas at the age of forty-three years old. Leaving Ann a widow at the age of forty-five with three children:- Frederick the eldest aged 19, George aged twelve and Kate the only daughter aged eight years old. What caused the death of Thomas has not yet been established to date in our research. But by the implications on reading the inscription on the tombstone that Ann had got inscribed I would suspect a heart attack.

After the death of Thomas, his wife Ann was to move back to Cottage Hill. This I believe is due to the need to have her sister Rhoda near her. Rhoda martin had married John Harman and resided at no.1 Cottage Hill, with Ann and her children living at no.5 Cottage hill. The census of 1861 has Ann was aged 51 living at no.5 Cottage hill and registered as a charwomen and her brother William who was a widower was lodging with her. George the son was now 16 and Kate 12. Frederick the eldest son was a bricklayer apprentice at the time of his father's death and in all probability would have been apprenticed either to his father or one of his uncle's, as all the Harman's were stonemasons and bricklayers. George also became a bricklayer on eventually reaching adulthood and definitely in his case he would have been apprenticed to one of his uncles, as Ann could not have afforded to pay for his apprenticeship.

In the census of 1891 Ann Harman had moved from Cottage Hill to the Village and now resided at no 1, North Street. Her son George and his wife Agnes and their children were living at 1, East Street. Living at home with Ann was her daughter Kate Harman still not married aged 32. Also Ann still had living with her the granddaughter Sarah Ann who was living with her grandmother Ann in the 1881 census then aged 6, now in 1891 Sarah Ann is age 16. It would seem that Ann Harman brought her granddaughter up from an early age as a child.

Thomas and Ann's son Frederick and his wife Ann were living in the village in the 1871 census, but in the future census's there is no record of them except for the christening of their daughters. What happened in the years from 1875 to 1881 we do not know. It can only be presumed that Frederick died and perhaps his wife Ann also, and this is the reason that his mother Ann brought up granddaughter Sarah Ann. Only further research of parish records of burials at Rotherfield parish will confirm this.

There could have been no bad blood between the family for it must be remembered that in 1886 his brother George gave his son his brothers first naming him Frederick Thomas which indicates a strong family tie to his brother Frederick. Remember George and Agnes were at home in 1881 when Sarah Ann the daughter of Frederick and Ann lived with them and George's mother Ann at Cottage Hill.

Ann Harman the wife of Thomas Harman was it seemed a very caring person. She worked hard all of her life after the death of her husband Thomas as a charwomen. Obviously she looked after her granddaughter Sarah Ann, who she called Annie. Example of her kindness can be to her sister Rhoda and her husband john Harman. In 1872 for example two children of John and Rhoda Harman were seriously ill with diphtheria as Ann's children had been approximately sixteen years before. It is believed that Ann assisted in the nursing of these sick children of John and Rhoda. On their eventual death to save further anguish for John and Rhoda, she arranged and informed register of deaths, the circumstance, residence etc. It is Ann Harman' s name therefore as the person identifying and recording the deaths of the children on the death certificates. These being issued by Jesse Bellingham.

Ann Harman was to live to her 78th year and died on January 20th 1898 and was buried with Thomas, her husband. Details from the tombstone in the churchyard of St. Denys church, Rotherfield: