Page 2 - The Early Life and Times of Bob Card

The Card Family in Bermuda

he story of my family begins with Henry Card, born in 1787 in Great Canford near Wimborne, Dorset, England.
THenry had three children: John, Sarah, and Robert. His third son, Robert Garrett Card, born in 1817, eventually
emigrated to Bermuda with the British Army. Robert Garrett worked as a clerk and was involved with the convict ships
stationed at the Bermuda Dockyard. He worked from a decommissioned sailing ship – The Dromedary. In Bermuda,
Robert married Elizabeth Ann Hans, and together they had eight children. Frances Mary, who was their sixth child and
their first daughter, added mystery to our family history. She gave birth to my grandfather, John Matthew (JM) Card,
while she was a teenager, and the identity of JM’s father remains unknown. JM’s birthplace, 22 Union St. Hamilton, was
still standing in 2024. Tragically, Frances Mary died while JM was only one year old. He was raised by Frances Mary’s
younger sister, Sarah (known as “Birdie”.) This lineage, spanning England and Bermuda, is one foundation of my
family’s story—a tale of resilience, migration, and the connections that shape our heritage.

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