Richard Harman grave monument in St Mary de Haura Church burial ground, Shoreham, Sussex, England

My cousin (who lives in Southwick) and I believe that this is the grave of Richard Harman the master mariner who captained several ships including the "George" of Shoreham. We also believe that he is likely to be an ancestor of ours. Some old customs receipts referring variously to Mr., Richard and R. Harman as master of vessels including the "Hastings" of Hastings (1824, Custom-Houses London and Hastings) and the "George" of Shoreham (Custom-House Swansea, 1859) were found among family effects some years after the death in 1965 of our grandmother Eleanor Harman in Brighton. My cousin has census data from the year 1861 that refers to the following residents of Buckingham Terrace/Lane, Shoreham: Sarah Harman aged 63, master mariner’s widow (i.e. born in 1788) Sarah (daughter) aged 30, born Hastings (i.e. born in 1831) John (son), sailmaker, age 25, born Hastings (i.e. born in 1836 The family including Richard Harman were living at this address in 1851. Another item found among the a.m. effects was an old handwritten list of expenses pertaining to “Wedding Day 31 July 1827” at Stepney Church, near London” (heading) that includes the words “for Mr. Harman .... conveyance with mule and cart”. The localities Greenwich and Blackheath are named at other points in this list. Whether this "Mr. Harman" is the master mariner Richard is unclear. We are interested in establishing whether the Richard Harman buried in the graveyard at St Mary de Haura’s Church is in fact an ancestor of ours. Our grandparents were Frederick John Harman b. 29.06.1876 in Brighton and Eleanor Harman (née Akehurst) b. 05.12.79 in Rottingdean, who were married on 02.07.1900. Frederick John's father was also a Richard Harman, but unfortunately we know very little about the latter: no date of birth, believed to have died late 1920s/early 1930s. Thank you very much in advance! Nicholas Harman
(requested on 31 05 2012)