William Harwood

William Harwood (1773-1848), the son of John Harwood and brother of James Harwood (see above), settled in Bristol (date uncertain) and married twice, first to Anna Watson of Bristol and second to Abigail Hewley.  He resided in Portland Square, and later at Redland, Bristol.  He was a merchant with connections in the West Indies, carrying on a business as a sugar refiner. After his retirement, he retired to Hampstead. In his time he was described as a man of “light and leading” in Bristol and was a leader for many years in Liberal politics in the city.  He was friends with Livett, Ryland, Foster, Crisp, Ash, Thomas Winter, and was on intimate terms with Robert Hall, attending Broadmead in the 1820s  under Hall’s ministry.  His son, Philip (b. 1811-87) became Unitarian ministers.  His first son, John Ballard Harwood  (to Anna) was born in Bristol in 1798.  Reynold, another son, also became a Unitarian minister. See Alfred Fairfax Morgan, Kith and Kin. [The History of the Morgan Family] (Birmingham: Charles Cooper, 1896), section VII (n.p.); also Timothy Whelan, “S. T. Coleridge, Joseph Cottle, and Some Bristol Baptists, 1794-96,” in English Romantic Writers and the West Country, ed. Nick Roe (Houndmills, Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave, 2010), 99-114.