If Pamela Hardy existed there would be birth or death records. None exist. Even more problematic is Hardy was said to have lived in Eastbourne, but there are no records of her living in that town either. Nothing. The absence of evidence can be considered evidence of absence. She was made up to fabricate "pedigree notes" (records of ownership) of Lord Nelson and Captain Kidd objects to try to pass them off as authentic relics with a provenance tracing back to Nelson/Kidd. A fake pedigree came with the Hardy Chest when it was sold to Palmer by Cutler, Wilkins quotes. Not only was Hardy made up, but Ned Ward as well. The fake pedigree of the chest:
Ned Ward (shipmate of Captain Kidd) -> Sold by the great-grandson (unnamed) of Ward, to Captain Thomas Masterman Hardy -> [T. M. Hardy passed on the chest to his brother], bequeathed to his great-niece Pamela Hardy by John Hardy (brother of Captain T. M. Hardy and great-grandfather of Pamela), sold to Arthur Hill Cutler (~1930).
Who is Ned Ward? Why is there no historical evidence of him existing if he was a shipmate of Kidd? As I noted in an earlier post, there was a satirist and humorist of that same name but he was not a shipmate of Kidd (although he wrote about Captain Kidd in his The Wooden World Dissected). The person (most likely Cutler) who made up this fake pedigree took the name from the humorist and had fun making it and the fact the pedigree starts with Ned Ward is a clue it is not meant to be taken seriously by the hoaxer. As I pointed out in my earlier posts, it is not possible John Hardy bequeathed anything (including the chest) to his great-granddaughter Pamela Hardy since he had no descendants; he was a childless bachelor who left all his property in his will to his sisters. If you then look at other things in the pedigree, there are problems with the timeline of ownership. For example, Pamela Hardy was said to have been bequeathed the chest by John Hardy who died in 1822. However, according to the pedigree, Pamela was still alive in ~1930. Although described as an old woman, could she have really been 108? If someone lived to 108 that would be remarkable (quoted in newspapers) and widely documented but it never was. Furthermore, you find other inconsistencies if you compare the fake pedigree of the Hardy Chest to other Hardy objects. Some of these, introduced, conflicting information. One pedigree note for example, introduced the idea John Hardy had an illegitimate son (wholly unsubstantiated), while another states "They were bequeathed by him [T. M. Hardy] to John Hardy". This is impossible since John Hardy died before T. M. Hardy. As noted by G. J Bath in his book: [H]ow is it that Thomas Masterman Hardy, who died in 1839, bequeathed items to his brother, who appears to have died in 1822?". Finally, the Hardy Chest dates to the mid-18th century. So that disproves the story and pedigree note the chest was Ned Ward's, who was a shipmate of Kidd's.
It is clear from this statement you have never done any research into the provenance of the objects the maps were found in. In fact, your posts in this thread suggest you did not even know about the pedigree note (as record of ownership) the Hardy Chest came with when sold to Hubert Palmer by Arthur Hill Cutler. It was Wilkins who published the pedigree note in his book. Wilkins' version of events how Palmer acquired these objects the Kidd-Palmer maps were discovered in is the correct version based on private letters Palmer wrote to Wilkins corroborating this version (opposed to the misleading Howlett and Edmunds versions) [these letters are in the possession of G. J. Bath]. Furthermore, you repeatedly in this thread wrongly stated Palmer discovered all the maps, e.g.,
This never happened, with exception of only one (however, even then, Palmer was in the presence of Cutler when he found it, and Cutler almost certainly guided him to it, so knew of it before Palmer). Palmer no doubt bought all the objects, but he did so knowing the maps were already in them excluding the discovery of one map in Cutler's shop. When you take into consideration, it was Cutler who sold all these objects (including the "Yunnan Parchment"), some came with fake pedigree notes while the others were also of a dubious provenance as well, and all but one was sold to Palmer knowing the maps were inside them, obviously points to Cutler as the hoaxer. Are you seriously saying you believe all of the maps by pure chance found their way into the same antique shop?
Amusing. You are the person who irrationally believes by pure chance all the maps showed up in the same antique shop (nowhere else in the world) and believes they came from pieces of furniture dating to the era of Captain Kidd (despite some date to the mid-18th century after he died 🤦♂️), when they all have a dubious provenance and two (the Hardy/Morgan chests) came with fake pedigrees (at least for the Hardy Chest you would have to admit there is no evidence Ned Ward and Pamela Hardy existed and you have provided none). The idea the Kidd-Palmer maps are authentic is improbable to the extreme but as the saying goes there is no arguing with a true believer... As for Cutler deceiving Palmer, we already know he deceived many people. Supposed Lord Nelson objects (with fake Hardy pedigree) Cutler sold to Palmer and to others, are known fakes. I already provided some information and sources about this.
I do not believe or argue there is a literal island as the maps depict, nor did I ever claim it was in the tropics, all I said is Cutler buried a treasure but the maps provide clues. I have little doubt though the solution to finding the treasure (based on the maps) is in England and I have much evidence for this, but the treasure can only be found by obtaining more information from Cutler/Palmer. This is why Wilkins books are very important as are G. J. Baths books since he acquired Wilkins private letters.
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