Hello everybody, and nice to hear from you again, Arthur.
I am still trying to find the source of my middle name, Carden. So far, I have found no
surname Carden in my tree, but recent information has found two more people with it as a
middle name. One of those received it prior to my g-grandfather, and he was my
g-grandfather's second cousin. The other was the cousin's son.
The Carden name is mainly associated with the Collins line that was in the
Somerset/Wiltshire area between Bath and Bristol through the 1700s and to today, but is
not in the two generations prior to my g-grandfather. However the Collins' married
into another old family from that area, the Noad's, in 1781. My g-grandfather, James
Carden Collins was born in 1829. His second cousin, George Henry Carden Noad, would have
been born about ten to fifteen years earlier.
I cannot find a Carden in the previous several generations of Noads. A fair possibility
is that it came from the mother of George Henry Carden Noad. Her name was Maria Hunn
[1790 to 1860]. Her mother had an interesting life. It seems her first marriage was to
one George Canning, and they were the parents of George Canning, a prominent MP and a
Prime Minister of UK [1827]. When George senior died, according to Encyclopaedia
Britannica, she married an actor by the name of Reddish. An old Collins family note also
states she was, as Mrs Hunn [a third marriage? - there were many problems with the second
marriage, EB indicates], the mother of Maria Hunn.
I have not yet found any information on the background of Mrs Hunn, but the mother of PM
George Canning was Mary Annie Costello. It is interesting that Maria Noad [Hunn] also
named her other son George [George Frederick Noad], and they both lived active lives. Did
she name both her sons after her half-brother PM George Canning? George was rare in the
Noad line.
The Cannings came originally from Bishop's Canynge, Wiltshire, but in 1618 one of the
family received the grant of the manor of Garvagh in Londonderry, Ireland. The father of
the statesman, also named George, was the eldest son of Mr Stratford Canning of Garvagh.
PM George Canning had four children. One son, Charles, was noted as Earl Canning and as
Governor General of India. A daughter, Harriet became Marchioness of Clanricarde, and her
daughter Emily became Countess of Cork and Orrerey, while her son became Viscount
Dungarven.
Now all the above is rather convoluted and complex, but it may indicate that 'my'
Carden originated with Mary Annie Costello who possibly met George Canning senior in
Ireland. Does anyone know of a possible Carden connection in that lot?
If anyone thinks an Excel spreadsheet of the above [and more] would help, I can send
that.
Regards to all,
Dave Collins
dave.clnz(a)xtra.co.nz
ph (09) 298 6614