Charles Dickens et al in Bentley's Miscellany, on the Trial of the Duchess of Kingston

The full story of the Duchess of Kingston is well-recorded elsewhere. My main interest is in what her story reveals of the character of her persecutor, Mr. Evelyn Medows.

Evelyn was the heir apparent of the Duke of Kingston, and stood to inherit considerable wealth and estates, but the Duke left everything to his floozy (some would say) wife for life, and then to Evelyn's younger brother. This outrageous snub is credited as the cause of the law suits brought to prove the Duchess a bigamist, and therefore not the lawful wife of the Duke, and to set aside the will.

The trial of bigamy ended with the Duchess being found guilty, but her first marriage – the one she had denied in the course of the trial – saved her. She was a peeress, being married first to the Earl of Bristol. And so she claimed the privilege of a peer, and was left to walk away with a warning that her punishment for a further offence would be death.

One report of the trial comes almost 80 years later, though it claims to be from an eye witness. As with all accounts, it must be taken with a grain of salt and compared to other versions. However, the comments about Evelyn Medows are interesting, and that's what I have selected here, after a description from the beginning of the piece telling us its origin.

From:
Bentley's miscellany, Volume 33 (Google eBook)
Charles Dickens, William Harrison Ainsworth, Albert Smith


Richard Bentley, 1853 - Literary Criticism



At page 562, the account begins.



In her defence, the Duchess told of why the Duke so hated his eldest nephew, Evelyn Medows (sometimes spelled Meadows, as here). The Duchess was alleged to have caused the rift between the Duke and Evelyn, but she said the opposite was true: she had tried to reconcile them.





I haven't found out who "Miss Bishop" is.

The description the writer gave:

"the vile man; … of all those on whom the name of man is prostituted, he is doubtless the vilest; … I am sure the devil has marked him for his own"

leaves no doubt what she thought of Mr. Medows!

And yet, the Duchess didn't turn her back on him. They had a long-standing attachment of a bizarre kind. Enemies they may have been, but sometimes the emotional bonds between enemies are stronger than between friends. I even wonder if they had a romantic history, given their reported respective licentious natures.

The Duchess escaped to the Continent and eventually died in France, near Paris. Evelyn immediately removed some of her jewels and valuables from her apartment!

Earlier on, the Duchess rescued him when he was arrested or about to be, for non-payment of debts. She paid him an allowance to live on.

When she died, the Duchess left a bizarre and (I believe) invalid last will and testament. I have a copy (readily available from the National Archives for a small fee). It is written to tantalize and tease, with the bulk of her wealth purportedly going to "A", more to "B", and so on, but these alphabetic creatures are never named. It was the worst kind of estate planning, even worse than a granny changing the masking tape on the family silver after every unsatisfying Christmas dinner with the kiddies.

It appears that Evelyn wasn't totally shut out after her death, though. His brother Charles, who became the next Duke of Kingston, paid him an allowance.

I'm going to look next at more of Evelyn's reputation as a "vile man" etc.





The bigamous, scandalous, fiesty Duchess of Kingston, Countess of Bristol, Elizabeth Chudleigh as was

The intriguing life of Mr. Evelyn Medows, late of 51 Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London

A timeline and links for Harriet Maria Campbell, formerly Dickson, formerly Medows, nee Norie

Sir John Campbell's brother-in-law wrote the leading work on navigation: J.W. Norie

From the Royal kalendar, 1820, an interesting charity name

The bigamous, scandalous, fiesty Duchess of Kingston, Countess of Bristol, Elizabeth Chudleigh as was

Imagine a trial in 1776, so well-attended it was one of the hottest tickets in London, where the judges were over 100 members of the House of Lords. The woman being judged is the wife of the Earl of Bristol and the widow of the Duke of Kingston, known to history as the notorious, infamous, etc. so-called Duchess of Kingston, Elizabeth Chudleigh. She is accused of marrying the Duke while her first husband was still living. The penalty for bigamy is death.

A brief Web search for this lady's story will reveal all the details, and the various accounts are worth reading, for it's quite an extraordinary tale. What I have cobbled together here is an amalgam of several sources, and of course they don't all agree. For those wanting something more substantial and reliable, the most recent comprehensive work I am aware of is this book:

Elizabeth: The Scandalous Life of an Eighteenth Century Duchess, by Claire Gervat (2004, Arrow Books).

I rush to say I haven't read the book but in the course of doing the research for this article, I became so interested in the Duchess that I have just this minute purchased the book and will enjoy reading it as I sip iced tea and eat bonbons on the chaise longue. It was favourably reviewed in the UK paper The Telegraph, with Frances Wilson, the reviewer, commenting that the research is solid.

From the various accounts I have read, and in trying to put more weight on the first-hand and contemporary sources, I have got my own idea of the story, which goes like this.

Elizabeth Chudleigh was almost a simple country lass from a good family. Her widowed mother struggled to survive and to keep up appearances in London society. Fortunately, Elizabeth's good looks and wit got her a place as a Maid of Honour to Augusta, Princess of Wales.

Young Elizabeth, disappointed in love by the Duke of Hamilton and cajoled by a deceptive aunt to marry the second man in line to become the the Earl of Bristol, impulsively and secretly did marry him, Augustus John Hervey by name. They had very little time together, as he was off with the navy right away, but their union produced two things: a conviction in both that they were not all that good together, and a son, who died in infancy. The other thing this marriage produced was evidence: a marriage register, witnesses to the wedding, and a doctor who delivered the baby.

The marriage was secret from the start because a married woman could not be a Maid of Honour, and Elizabeth wanted to keep both the status and the income from the position. It would seem, at least at times in her life, and to certain observers, that she never really accepted the fact of her marriage. It was much more convenient to be a socialite and a climber as a single woman. However, she used the marriage when it suited her, and forgot it, even denied it, whenever it didn't fit her current scheme.

Read that Telegraph review if you want a colourful description of how Elizabeth was at once fascinating and vulgar.

One of her famous stunts was her appearance at a costume party, where King George II, among others, was present, and in fact the good King took quite a personal interest in Miss Chudleigh's original costume. She was semi-dressed as a maiden from Greek mythology, Iphigenia. Whether it was historical faithfulness or mere artistic license at work, readers will have to decide for themselves, but the costume Miss Chudleigh / Mrs. Hervey wore apparently began at the waist and worked its way diaphanously down her legs, declining to travel any distance at all in the northerly direction. Topless, in other words.

Another time she apparently brandished a pistol to make her point in an argument.

Who knows what exactly Elizabeth's amorous history was, but it does seem to have been the best of 18th century tabloid fodder.

Interestingly, Evelyn Medows was cut from not radically dissimilar cloth. Despite the fact that they were opponents in the notorious bigamy trial, and had a longstanding dispute over her inheritance, I think they each recognized in the other a bit of themselves.

The story will continue in another post.









The intriguing life of Mr. Evelyn Medows, late of 51 Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London

A timeline and links for Harriet Maria Campbell, formerly Dickson, formerly Medows, nee Norie

Sir John Campbell's brother-in-law wrote the leading work on navigation: J.W. Norie

From the Royal kalendar, 1820, an interesting charity name

How could Sir John Campbell, K.C.T.S., afford to live on Charles Street, Berkeley Square?

A timeline and links for Harriet Maria Campbell, formerly Dickson, formerly Medows, nee Norie

A woman with three husbands, each prominent and notable, but for three quite different reasons. Here is an overview of Harriet Maria Norie's life in timeline form.The books at the end relate to a famous case of bigamy among the upper class.

1700

1780

• Born, probably at home, 39 Burr Street, London, fifth of nine known children.
• November 5: Baptised at St Botolph Aldgate.

1800

1810
1811

• May 25: Married Evelyn Philip MEDOWS, Esq.

1830

• December 18: Married Major General Sir Alexander DICKSON, G.C.B., K.C.H.

1840
1841 CENSUS

•  June 6: Charles Street, Berkeley Square with sister Isabel NORIE and 4 servants.

1842

• July 12: Married Sir John CAMPBELL, K.C.T.S.

1850
1851 CENSUS

• March 30:  51 Charles Street, Berkeley Square with husband Sir John CAMPBELL and 4 servants.

1860
1861 CENSUS

• April 7: 51 Charles Street, Berkeley Square with husband Sir John CAMPBELL and 4 servants.
• November 25: Died at Richmond, Surrey.
• November 30: Buried at Kensal Green All Souls.

1862

• February 13: Letters of Administration to Sir John CAMPBELL, Henry Hay NORIE, nephew, and Rowland BENNETT.

In 1776, Harriet Maria's first husband caused his uncle's wife, the so-called Duchess of Kingston, to be tried for bigamy. I hear they sold tickets to the trial. This was a huge event, all before Harriet Maria was born, and 35 years before she and Evelyn Philip Medows were married.

Sir John Campbell's brother-in-law wrote the leading work on navigation: J.W. Norie

Did Sir John Campbell own the house he lived in during the mid-1800s, on Charles Street, Berkeley Square, or did his second wife bring it into their marriage? She was married three times, to three different men: one famous for losing a court case, one an early 19th century military hero, and one a one-time leader of the losing side in the Portuguese civil war between two brothers.

Harriet Maria Norie, the second wife of both Sir Alexander Dickson and Sir John Campbell

In 1842, over 20 years after the death of his first wife, Sir John became the third husband of Harriet Maria Dickson, nee Norie.

Harriet Maria's father, James Norie, was not a wealthy man, at least, there are no hints suggesting he was, which is about as definite a statement as I can make. He came from Morayshire, Scotland, established a school in London after moving down from Scotland. Harriet Maria's mother, Dorothy Mary (nee Fletcher), was the daughter of a merchant, Jacob Fletcher, who was, it appears, a London man. Again, I haven't seen anything to suggest he was a particularly notable or rich merchant. My impression is that this was a happy and creative family of teachers, writers, and painters, who perhaps had more intangible wealth than money.

One brother, John William Norie, 1772 to 1843, became a leading writer on navigation, with Epitome of Practical Navigation (1805) being one of the most frequently-mentioned of his books. There is a portrait of J.W. Norie in the National Portrait Gallery. It's from the entry for J. W. Norie in the Dictionary of National Biography that we get the information about his and Harriet Maria's parents.

"NORIE, JOHN WILLIAM (1772–1843), writer on navigation, born in Burr Street, London, on 3 July 1772, was son of James Norie (1737–1793), a native of Morayshire, who, after being trained for the presbyterian church, migrated to London in 1756, and kept a flourishing school in Burr Street, Wapping. Norie's mother was Dorothy Mary Fletcher (1753–1840), daughter of a merchant in East Smithfield.

The son, John William, resided, according to the ‘London Directory’ for 1803, at the ‘Naval Academy, 157 Leadenhall Street.’ At the same address William Heather carried on business as a publisher of naval books and dealer in charts and nautical instruments at the ‘Navigation Warehouse.’ Heather's name disappears in 1815, and the business was henceforth conducted by Norie with a partner, Charles Wilson, under the style of Norie & Wilson.

The ‘Navigation Warehouse’ has been immortalised by Charles Dickens in ‘Dombey and Son’ as the shop kept by Sol Gills (cf. J. Ashby-Sterry's article ‘The Wooden Midshipman’ in All the Year Round, 29 Oct. 1881, p. 173). Norie retired about 1830, but the business was carried on in the same place until 1880, when the premises were taken down and the firm removed to 156 Minories, where the figure of the little midshipman which decorated Norie's house of business still exists.

Norie, who is variously described as ‘teacher of navigation and nautical astronomy,’ and ‘hydrographer,’ died at No. 3 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh, on 24 Dec. 1843, and was buried in St. John's episcopal church."

The entry is from an old edition of the Dictionary. Since then, the properties where Norie's business was have both been redeveloped. Norie's firm survives as Imray. A detailed, illustrated short history of the firm is found on Cruising World's website.

The little wooden midshipman is on permanent loan from Imray to The Charles Dickens Museum at 48 Doughty Street, London.

So, we know there was at least one famous Norie, but I still don't think they were wealthy.

How could Sir John Campbell, K.C.T.S., afford to live on Charles Street, Berkeley Square?

As I've been looking at records of the life and career of Sir John Campbell (1780 to 1863), many times I've wondered about money. I first found him because I've been looking at  Charles Street, Berkeley Square in London, a prestigious address with many poobahs as neighbours, and that's where he lived in the last decades of his life. My lingering question was, how could he afford it?

Sir John's father, William Campbell, was a Commissioner of the Navy, a high-ranking civil servant, but not necessarily a wealthy man once the benefits of his office (notably, a house) were removed.

Sir John's two sisters married two brothers of the Onslow family, who themselves have an illustrious pedigree. However, any Onslow family wealth and land would have bypassed Elizabeth and Marianna Onslow nee Campbell and passed to the male heirs.

Sir John did enjoy some hospitality from his sister Elizabeth and her husband, Reverend George Onslow. In the 1841 census, we find Sir John and "Elise", whom I assume to be Sir John's daughter Elizabeth, with the Onslows at their family home, Dunsborough House in Send, Surrey. I've taken this to be either  the normal reciprocal visiting among family members or a temporary residence for Sir John and Elizabeth. At some point during or after 1834, Sir John returned from his stay as a prisoner of war in Portugal. During his absence, his only child Elizabeth may have been sent to stay with the Onslows, and perhaps Sir John joined her there.

Website for The Wey Valley, with a picture of Dunsborough House and interesting history about the villages of Send and Ripley

So, I've ruled out inherited wealth, but I should look for the will of Sir John's father and also of Sir John's siblings, just in case there is a pot of gold somewhere. It's unlikely any siblings transferred any wealth to him. I think each had a family of his or her own to care for.

Sir John's first wife, the young Portuguese lady Dona Maria Brigida de Faria e Lacerda has a noble-sounding name and it wouldn't surprise me if her family had a prominent position in Portugual. However, she married out of her society and went to England, where she died young. Sir John was persona non grata in Portugal after supporting the losing side in the War of the Two Brothers (and being a noted prisoner of war following it). Also, I have always had the impression that being an army officer in his day was not usually a way to get rich. I suppose perhaps there were occasional opportunities for plunder, but he hardly seems to have been in the right place and time for that, at least not at the latter stage of his Army career.

Having written off these various sources, I took a closer look at who owned 51 Charles Street and how Sir John came to live there at all.

Knight Commander of the Tower and Sword, Portugal: the honour that shaped a life

Sir John Campbell's entry in the Index of Wills and Administrations after his death in 1863 identified him as Knight Commander of the Order of the Tower and Sword of Portugal. What did this mean? It certainly did turn out to be handy in tracking him for at least part of his life.

In The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, of Great Britain and Ireland, including all the titled classes, by Charles R. Dodd, 1845 (Google e-book copy), at page 70, I found a fairly detailed entry for Sir John.


 

What a treasure trove!

Here is the new information. It is a repetition of what the clipping says, broken into points for follow-up.

• Father was William Campbell, Commissioner of the Navy Board.
• Mother's maiden name was Pitcairn.
• Mother's father was Major Pitcairn of the Marines, killed at Bunker's [sic] Hill.
• 1780: Born 1780 (this is a little more precise that the census, which estimated 1781).
• 1800: Entered the army in 1800.
• 1806: Became Captain of 7th Hussars in 1806.
• 1807: Was exchanged into the 10th Foot [I assume that is 10th Regiment of Foot] and was a Brigade Major in 1807 in the expedition under General Crawfurd. 
• 1808: Military service in 1807 and 1808: Miserere, Buenos Ayres, Roleia, Vimiera.
• 1808: With cavalry under Lord Anglesey in 1808 at Sahagun and Benevente.
• 1809: Portuguese army 1809 as a British Major and a Portuguese Lieutenant-Colonel.
• 1810: In all campaigns in peninsula and Pyrenees before and after 1810.
• 1810: Around 1810 became Colonel of 4th Cavalry.
• 1811: In 1811 became Lieutenant-Colonel in British army, but was apparently serving with the Portuguese at the time.
•  1815: Created Knight Bachelor, his English knighthood, in 1815.
• 1816: Married a Portuguese lady in 1816, Dona Maria Brigida de Faria e Lacerda, of Lisbon.
• 1820: Sometime between 1810 and 1820, became a Major-General in Portuguese military.
• 1820: Stayed a Major-General till 1820, at which point he was Deputy Quarter-Master General of the Portuguese army.
• 1821: From 1821 to 1824, commanded 75th Foot (British).
• 1824: In 1824 sold his British commission (as a Lieutenant Colonel).
• 1820: Date unclear, perhaps 1820, became a Portuguese Lieutenant-General. This rank was given by "Don Miguel, whose cause he espoused."
• 1820: In 1820, received the order of the Tower and Sword of Portugal.
• 1842: Married again in 1842, the relict of Major-General Sir Alexander Dickson, K.C.B. (Presumably this wife is Harriet Maria, with Sir John in 1851 and 1861.)
• 1845: In 1845 (date of the book), he was living at 51 Charles Street.

This painted a different picture.

I had earlier thought of Sir John as a retired military man of 80 growing old with his 80-year-old wife, and assumed they had been together forever. Turns out, both had been married before.

There are connections to Portugal, an earlier wife, high ranks and honours in both British and Portuguese military, lots of action in battles, command of the 75th in England, and a hint of something out of the ordinary "whose cause he espoused".

Order of the Tower and Sword

This Portuguese honour was dormant for some time, though it dates back to 1459 according to a history by Jose Vicente de Braganca.

In 1808, the Prince Regent used this as the only non-religious Portuguese honour the British could accept, to reward those who had helped the Portuguese royal family escape from Napoleon's soldiers, who had invaded Portugal, to Brazil.

It is a high honour, still in use.

Sir John was made K.C.T.S. in 1820. To understand the significance of the dates of various events in Sir John's life requires a quick and superficial romp through Portuguese history. I know I will get some of this wrong. If you'd like to offer an explanation or more information, please do! Use the comments form at the end of the post and you will be my new best friend. This was a complicated time and place and I can only gloss over it.

Portugal and Britain by the Methuen Treaty of 1703 had established a mutually beneficial trading alliance, with port flowing north and textiles coming south. From time to time on Charles Street I have run into Portuguese wine merchants, especially with Thomas March, whose parents (March and Gonne) both came from families trading in wine (port) in Portugal. The British merchant colony at Oporto is what most trails lead back to when looking at Brits in Portugal in the 1700s and the first decades of the 1800s.

The 18th century in Europe was a time of upheaval, when liberals pressured the absolute monarchs for more freedom. The French Revolution is perhaps the best-known example.

In the early 19th century, Portugal was allied with England against France and Spain. The Portuguese royal family, as mentioned earlier, fled to Brazil when Napoleon's forces invaded. So did approximately 10,000 other people, apparently, effectively removing all Portuguese leadership and leaving behind a Portuguese-British protectorate.

Sir John fought on the British-Portuguese side against the French and Spanish in the Peninsular Wars. He was mentioned favourably in the (later) Duke of Wellington's field dispatches more than once. This probably supported the granting of his British knighthood in 1815.

After the Peninsular Wars, when Portugal was quieter, Campbell remained there and helped build up the Portuguese army. He married Dona Brigida of Lisbon in 1816.

The political climate in Portugal began to heat up again around 1820, with anti-absolutist factions gaining power. I sense that it was of his own accord that Sir John decided to leave Portugal. Whether he already held the KCTS at this point I don't know, but it's possible. That fits with his later loyalty to Dom Miguel, loyalty which I suggest shaped the rest of Sir John's life.

The Portuguese royal family was divided in its opinion about how absolutist to remain. This led to the War of the Two Brothers (1828 to 1833), with one brother, Dom Miguel, attempting to push back all reforms and hold on to absolute power. To cut a long story short, Sir John backed the wrong horse, as I will explain in more detail next time.

You can subscribe to this blog and get the new posts by email or in your RSS reader. Be my guest! 

I have not read the books below. The first one is highly regarded but (this is the honest truth) my dog ate it before I could read it. The second and third are texts I would like to have a peek at, especially the last one, a first-hand account of The War of the Two Brothers by a British lady in Oporto. It's out of print but I wanted to make its existence known.

  Siege lady: The adventures of Mrs. Dorothy Procter of Entre Quintas and of divers other notable persons during the siege of Oporto and the War of the Two Brothers in Portugal, 1832-1834

Sir John Campbell, Knight Bachelor, and his wife Harriet Maria: what probate told me

In 1851 and 1861, Sir John Campbell and his wife Harriet Maria were  living at 51 Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London  with four servants in 1851 and two of the same plus two new ones in 1861.

My first impression was that this was a couple who had spent 50 or 60  years together. There was no mention of children in either census, but  as Sir John and Harriet were each born in about 1781, any children they  had may well have been married and gone by 1800 to 1810.

Sir John's presumably self-described occupation changed just a little  over the 10 years. He was a Knight Bachelor and a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the Army.

The fact that he was knighted gave me some hope of finding a formal and  detailed biography somewhere, and I wasn't disappointed. Sadly, the name  "John Campbell" is hardly rare. Even "Sir John Campbell" born around  1780 isn't unique. Throughout, I've had to be careful not to get mixed  up with other Sir John Campbells and other army officers of the same time, named Campbell.

Knowing that Sir John and Lady Campbell were each 80 years old in the 1861 census, it made sense to look for information about their respective deaths first. This is following the principle of working from the known to the unknown, a good basic research strategy.

Sir John Campbell: Information from probate

I am quite grateful that the National Probate Calendar for England is available online through Ancestry.com. This index lists all the grants to people who acted as executors and administrators of estates. It often gives a few good clues about where a person spent the latter part of their life, how much money they had at the end, and often identifies one or more close relatives.

A quick search for Sir John Campbell dying in 1861 or later turned up an entry in the Wills of 1864.

Instantly, I had a positive identification:
Sir John Campbell, Knight, late of 51 Charles Street;
and some new information:

• He died 19 December 1863 at his home on Charles Street;
• He was Knight Commander of the Order of the Tower and Sword of Portugal;
• His effects were originally valued at under £8,000. In March 1865, the value was changed to under £10,000.
• His executors were Richard Onslow of Wandsworth, Surrey, Esquire, and William Campbell Onslow of 28 Leinster Gardens, Middlesex, Esquire, a retired Lieutenant Colonel of Her Majesty's Indian Army.

This provided me with clues to last a month. Wonderful stuff!

It will be confusing to start into Lady Campbell's details here but don't worry, I did the same for her and will be back with more about her, too.

Sir John Campbell, Knight Bachelor, and many directions for research

 Yes, I know I promised something about Queen Victoria's god-daughter and I will deliver, but not yet.

I found a story that's held my attention for a couple of weeks now, and I hope you will find it interesting too. I'll have to tell it in installments I'm afraid. So far there have been elements of:

• the history of the English in Portugal in the early 1800s
• the patterns of marrying and remarrying within a certain social group and class
• the way military officers stick together
• the way women are so poorly represented in historical records compared to men
• charming portraiture from the mid-1800s
• a family with some notable artists
• another family with a knack for marrying well
• the fate of a foreign bride
• money and how it moves between generations 
• and lots more.

To begin with, you will probably already know that I have been looking at Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, as it was in the 1871 census. Since my last post, I decided it would help the research if I looked at the street in every census so I could better understand the transmission of the houses from decade to decade, and also so I could be sure of the numbering, especially in 1841 when the house numbers aren't actually shown on the census.

I've started putting together a spreadsheet from 1841 to 1901, showing the names of the inhabitants, in all 7 censuses, for each house. This has been illuminating and useful even with just half a dozen or so houses completed, so I will keep going.

Today's story introduces Sir John Campbell, a knight and an army veteran.

51 Charles Street, 1851

From the census, reference:
Class HO107
Piece 1476
Folio 364
Page 18
GSU Roll 87799.

On Ancestry.com, the page is found in the 1851 English Census at:
Middlesex >St. George Hanover Square >May Fair > District 17 > 18.

John Campbell, Head, married, age 70. Knight Bachelor late Lt Col 75 [indecipherable]. Born Kent, Chatham.

Harriet Maria Campbell, Wife, married, age 70. No occupation shown. Born Middlesex, Aldgate.

Servants:
Anne Sutton, Servant, unmarried, age 45. Cook. Born Norfolk, Aylsham.
Sarah Loal, Servant, unmarried, age 31. Ladies Maid. Born Northampton, Nassington.
Sarah Calligan, Servant, unmarried, age 35. Housemaid. Born Middlesex, Hackney.
Joseph Attersall, Servant, unmarried, age 22. Footman. Born Lincolnshire, Fiskerton.

The Campbells are at the same place ten years later. Two of the four servants have remained with them. I take this as a sign that someone was a decent employer, when the servants stay for a long time. Of course, there were other reasons to leave a household, even when the employer was good. I make fewer inferences about people leaving than about them staying.

51 Charles Street, 1861

From the census, reference:
Class RG9
Piece 46
Folio 53
Page 39
GSU Roll 542563.

On Ancestry.com, the page is found in the 1861 English Census at:
Middlesex >St. George Hanover Square >May Fair > District 15 > 39.

Sir John Campbell, Knt. Head, married, age 80. Formerly Lieut Colonel - Retired from the Army Inf. Knight Bachelor. Born Kent, Chatham.


Harriet Marie Campbell, Wife, married, age 80. No occupation shown. Born Middlesex,City of London, St. Botolphs.


Servants:
Sarah Loal, Servant, unmarried, age 41. Ladies Maid. Born Northampton, Nassington.
Joseph Attersall, Servant, unmarried, age 30. Butler and Valet. Born Lincolnshire, Fiskerton.
Henrietta Chandler, unmarried, age 32. Cook. Born Norfolk, Northwold.
Ellen Smith, unmarried, age 27. Housemaid. Born Bushy, Hertfordshire.

Given these two fixed points, we can start to explore some dimensions of the Campbells' lives.

4 Charles Street, Berkeley Square, in 1871

A new house, fresh blood and more stories. The first three households were reasonably different from each other. This one adds a new dimension: gasp, the man is in trade.

1871 census: 4 Charles Street. Source:

Class:  RG10; Piece:  102; Folio:  75; Page: 32; GSU roll:  838762.

Present at 4 Charles Street on census night in 1871

George Drew, Head, Married, 62. Master Grocer employing 2 men and 2 boys. Born Wimbledon, Surrey.
Mary A Drew, Wife, Married, 53. (No occupation given). Born Westminster, Middlesex.
George W. Drew, Son, Unmarried, 20. (No occupation given). Born Westminster, Middlesex.
Emma M. Drew, Daughter, Unmarried, 18.  (No occupation given). Born Westminster, Middlesex.
Ellen R. Drew, Daughter, Unmarried, 16. Scholar. Born Westminster, Middlesex.
Charles B. Drew, Son, Unmarried, 14. Scholar. Born Westminster, Middlesex.
Jane Wadie, Sister, Widow, 57. Annuitant. Born Wimbledon, Surrey.
Sarah Riddle, Servant, Unmarried, 19. General Servant. (Place of birth not shown).
G.R.C. Harris (male), Lodger, Unmarried, 20. Undergraduate. Born St Anns, Trinidad.

A picture of the house today, from Google Maps Street View.
Link for those who can't see the picture.


View Larger Map

Comparing Thomas March, Henry Fleming and George Lambert, all of Charles Street in 1871

It might be interesting to look at a few key bits of information about the principal residents of the first three houses on Charles Street, just for the halibut as they say down at the docks.

No. 1: Thomas Charles March, civil servant, age 52

Born: July 4, 1819, Marylebone

Married: March 23, 1867.

Spouse: Sarah Cooper, later called Arabella, b. 1839, Basingstoke

Children: Arabella (Daughter of Arabella, apparently adopted by Thomas), b. 1857, Chelsea; Thomas, b. 1868, St. George's [Hanover Square?], died at age 8; Reginald George March, b. 1874.

Died: 1898, age 79 approx.

Occupation: In the Royal Household his whole life, mainly in the Lord Chamberlain's officer; Paymaster; finally Secretary of Board of the Green Cloth. A high-ranking civil servant handling the finances of the Royal Household.

Highest honour: CB, Companion of the Order of the Bath

Value of estate: 1898, £15,387/0/8. The website Measuring Worth.com says this is worth £1.280 million in 2008 using the retail price index, or £7.04 million in 2008 using average earnings.

Parents: Thomas March, Esq. and Mary Ann Gonne, both British subjects born in Portugal to wine merchants. Gonne is an Irish surname. Mary Ann was distantly related to Maud Gonne of a later generation. There was intra-family litigation between Thomas and Mary Ann's brothers after Mary Ann's father died and Thomas went bankrupt, involving Mary Ann's marriage settlement. The case was reported in the bankruptcy law books.

Siblings: At least three sisters and two brothers. The family appears to have been wealthy and to have retained or improved their social standing.

Other notes: In 1852, Thomas represented the Royal Household in escorting the body of the Duke of Wellington to Westminster for his state funeral.

Queen Victoria Number: 1

Dracula Number: 2

Left Charles Street around 1872.


No. 2: Henry Fleming, civil servant, age about 69

Born: about 1812, apparently in Birmingham. His exact age was something of a mystery to his social circle.

Married: Never.

Died: 1876, age about 74

Occupation: Lifelong civil servant, mainly as Permanent Secretary to the Poor Law Board where it appears he was not particularly effective. He was more successful socially. Known as "The Flea", his role from at least the 1840s was literally to spread gossip strategically in political and intellectual circles. He knew Prime Ministers Palmerston, Gladstone and Disraeli, and was described a few times in the letters of Thomas Carlyle. He introduced the painter George Frederic Watts to the much younger beauty, Virginia Pattle, at a party given by Lady Holland. It goes on and on.

Highest honour: Nothing official I'm afraid.

Value of estate: Less than £3,000. In 2008 terms, either £210,000, or £1.560 million, depending on the computation method used.

Parents: Irish army officer Captain Valentine Fleming of Tuam, County Galway, and Catherine Emma Gowan, whose father was a notorious anti-Catholic, Hunter Gowan. One of Catherine's half-brothers, Ogle Gowan, started the Orange Lodge in Canada.

Siblings: Sir Valentine Fleming, a lawyer (as was Henry, though he didn't practice), Chief Justice of Tasmania; James Fleming, also a lawyer, and Chancellor of the Palatinate of Durham. James's eldest son, Frances Fleming, was Governor of Antigua, and of Hong Kong, among other postings, including service in Africa. Henry also had a sister, Emma, of whom I have seen very little.

Other notes: The brothers Fleming attempted unsuccessfully to prove themselves the lawful descendants of the Barons of Slane. No castle for you!

Henry's nickname was "The Flea". Someone should write a thesis about his role in mid-nineteenth century communication.

He died at home in 1876, at No. 2 Charles Street.

Queen Victoria Number: 2

Dracula Number: 3


No. 3: George Thomas Lambert, later, Sir George Lambert, civil servant, age 34

Born: 1837, Ireland

Married: Never

Died: 1918, age 81

Occupation: Private secretary to the Admiralty

Highest honour: Companion of the Order of the Bath (1897), Knight Bachelor (1903)

Value of estate: £22,946/9/8. Value in 2008: £833,000 or £4.1 million, again, depending on the computation method used.

Parents: Henry Lambert of Carnagh, Ireland, and Catherine Talbot, both of prominent Irish families.

Siblings: Many.

Other notes: Prominent Catholic.

Queen Victoria Number: 1

Dracula Number: 3

Frankenstein Number: 3



Winners and Losers?

Lifespan:

81 Lambert
79 March
74 Fleming

Money at the end:

£7.04 million March
£4.1 million Lambert
Less than £1.560 million Fleming

Descendants:

Of the three men, only Thomas March had children. His adopted daughter, Arabella, was unmarried. His second son, Reginald, died in 1918, leaving (at least) a daughter, Marjorie (b. 1911, the rest, unknown), and a son, Thomas (1915-1999). There may be March descendants living today.

March 1, the others zero.

Highest honours:

Lambert CB and Knighthood
March CB
Fleming Nada

Best remembered:

Fleming
March and Lambert tied, far behind

The Score:

11 March
9 Lambert
6 Fleming


Who had the most fun?

6 Degrees of Dracula: George Lambert and Frankenstein

When this exploration of Charles Street, Berkeley Square started, I was trying to figure out the degrees of separation from Queen Victoria and from Bram Stoker (proxy for Dracula) for each of the residents.

To continue, then, with George T. Lambert, later Sir George, of 3 Charles Street in 1871.


George Lambert and Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901.

George Lambert was knighted in 1903 (but I haven't checked this very carefully. I'm prepared to accept it was 1902 or 1903). Since the Queen was already gone, we can't say they met on this auspicious occasion.

However, that was not Lambert's first honour. In 1897 (another date I'm taking on faith), he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath. Bingo! Queen Victoria number of 1, though not while he was living on Charles Street.

Given his long service in the top offices of the Admiralty, it's possible but by no means guaranteed that Lambert met the Queen before 1897. She was notably reclusive for many years.

George Lambert, Dracula and Frankenstein

Now if you have been following along, you can close your eyes for a second, or perhaps you'd like to recite these by now somewhat shopworn facts with me.

George Lambert had six sisters. One was Julianna Margaret Lambert.

In about 1860, Julianna Margaret married Edward Gerald More O'Farrell. One of their children was John More O'Ferrall. In 1901, John married Cesira Polenghi, who had been born in Italy.

Cesira, it appears, lived for a long time (at least she was in the same place in the 1891 and 1901 censuses, so I am hypothesizing she was there in the intervening years as well) in Kensington, London, with her uncle, Major John Taaffe. Exactly how he was related to her, I don't know. I've guessed that the Major's sister married Cesira's father, but this is only a guess.

The Major was born in about 1820 (from the censuses of 1891 and 1901). By 1860 he was a Captain of Dragoons in Piedmont, Italy. By 1891, he had retired to London. The Major's father was also called John Taaffe.

This John Taaffe is the one who sent guinea pigs to Mary Shelley when he was hanging out with the Shelleys, Lord Byron, and a few other literary types in Pisa, Italy, in the 1820s. That he was a part of this social group seems well-documented, though perhaps opinions vary as to exactly who liked him and who found him a bit of a bore. He distinguished himself in other ways, but the guinea pigs are rather hard to forget.

Born in 1787, Taaffe senior died in Italy on September 28, 1852.

The leaps in the Dracula and Frankenstein directions (for they take a common path to begin with) are:

George Lambert
1. Major John Taaffe.
I am making a reasonable assumption that both George and the Major would have been guests at the wedding of the Major's niece Cesira and Lambert's nephew John, or at related social events.
2. John Taaffe senior (Major's father).
3. Lord Byron and Mary Shelley, associates of John Taaffe senior in Italy in the 1820s.
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein. Thus, George has a Frankenstein number of 3. But what about Dracula?

I must admit to a big gap in vampire knowledge here. I thought Bram Stoker's Dracula was a literary descendant of Le Fanu's Carmilla (1872). That luscious lady, however, is not the only vampire in English literature to predate the Count.

This story will be well-known to English Lit majors. Not being one, I had to learn it recently.

In 1816, a group of friends and not-so-close friends were together in a house in Switzerland, apparently cooped up by the rainy weather of that year.

In addition to the Shelleys (not yet married then) and Lord Byron, there was Byron's personal physician, named John William Polidori, and Mary's step-sister Claire Clairmont.

To dispel the ennui, they set themselves a competition to write a Gothic story similar to one they'd been reading aloud to each other.

The products of this stay were:

1. the beginning of Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein;
2. a fragment of a story by Byron, discarded and picked up by Polidori as the germ of his own story;
3. The Vampyre, by Polidori, credited by some as the first modern vampire story in English literature;
4. Allegra, the illegitimate child of Claire and Lord Byron. (Byron didn't like Claire, even while he was assisting in the creation of Allegra. But it was a long, wet, summer without much else to do, and as Byron wrote to his half-sister, Claire threw herself at him and eventually he weakened.) At least one account I've read says that Claire was already pregnant by Byron, thanks to a short liaison in England, before she went to Switzerland, and her trip to Switzerland with Mary and Percy was with the design of tracking Byron down. He had that effect upon some women.

Tragedy ensues over the next few years. The Vampyre causes a rift between Polidori and Byron, perhaps contributing to the doctor's sad end in suicide in London, 1821.  Allegra dies on April 20, 1822 at the age of five at convent school, placed there by Byron against Claire's wishes; Percy Shelley drowns, July 8, 1822.

Taaffe arrived in Pisa on November 1, 1821, the same day as Byron. Taaffe had been living in Italy since 1815.

As an aside, not everyone in Byron's circle was thrilled with Taaffe. Here's a link to p.361 of Lord Byron's Life in Italy by Byron's mistress at that time, Teresa Guiccioli.

It's tempting to say that Taaffe and Polidori knew each other, but I have no evidence of that. I can say that Taaffe knew Byron and Byron was the originator of Polidori's story, and also a model for its main character: Byron is the vampire.

George Lambert gets a Dracula number of 3: George -> Major Taaffe -> Taaffe senior -> Byron the vampire.

And who knows, it may later transpire that George and Bram were drinking buddies.

Any questions?





(You can find all three of these as public domain books if you look on the Web.)

Irish roots going way back: Taaffe and More O'Ferrall

A diagram might help here but for tonight it will have to be text.

Sir George Thomas Lambert, of No. 3 Charles Street (in 1871) is our current subject.

One of his sisters, Juliana Margaret married Edward Gerald More O'Ferrall, about 1860.
The More O'Ferrall family were Irish landed gentry. One of the several notable members was Richard More O'Ferrall, at one time the Governor of Malta, and before that, Secretary to the Admiralty (1839 to 1841). Bear in mind that Sir George T. Lambert made his career in the civil service, as Principal Secretary to the Admiralty, serving some of the men who held the same position as the Right Hon. Richard, in later years, when the title was Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty.


The eldest son of Juliana and Edward was John More O'Ferrall (b. ~1872), who married Cesira Polenghi (b. ~1872). Cesira was born in Italy. Her father's name was Signor David(e) Polenghi.

Cesira had an uncle named Major John Taaffe (1820 - 1911). Cesira was living with the Major and his wife in the 1891 census and with the widowed Major in the 1901 census. She and John More O'Ferrall were married in 1901. This connected (perhaps not for the first time) two ancient Irish families, Taaffe and More O'Ferrall, and also demonstrated a recurring theme in the history both families: the connection with Catholic Europe.

If you do a search of either family name, you may be overwhelmed, as I have been, with what you find. A hundred and twenty-two generations. A mythic king. A Prime Minister of Austria. Relatives of Pope Pius IX (who among other things decreed papal infallibility in the 19th century and promoted the doctrine of Immaculate Conception). It goes on and on.

The Major's father was also called John Taaffe. He lived from about 1787 to 1862, and died in Italy. He had some interesting friends there. That's for next time.


The Taaffe's Ancestral Castle Smarmore, is now a hotel.

Cesira Polenghi and the Taaffe family: 19th century connections between Italian and Irish families

Sir George Thomas Lambert, C.B., K.B., lived at No. 3 Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London in the 1871 census.

He was a bachelor who died with a great deal of accumulated wealth.

Two of his six sisters, Juliana Margaret and Frances (Fanny) were granted probate.

Frances was at that time (1918) a spinster, and Juliana Margaret was the widow of Edward Gerald More O'Ferrall.

The More O'Ferrall family provides several interesting side trips from the Charles Street primary narrative.

John More O'Ferrall (1872 - )

The son and (I assume) heir of Edward and Juliana Margaret, John married Cesira Polenghi, who was born in Italy but appears to have lived in Kensington for some time.

1901: Cesira and John's marriage in Q3 (3rd quarter of the year)

In the 1901 census, before the marriage, Cesira lived at 16 Gordon Place, Kensington. The household:

John Taaffe, 82 years old, widower. "Major, late Louth Rifles". The census says born in Italy, Italian subject. I expect the born in Italy part is correct, but that Major Louth was a British subject.

Cesira Polinghi [sic], 28 years old, niece, single. No occupation. Born in Italy, Italian subject. This is probably correct.

Margaret Philips, 55 years old, widow. Housekeeper. Born in Ireland.

• Class:  RG12; Piece:  20; Folio  84; Page  40; GSU roll:  6095130.

Gordon Place is about halfway between Holland Park and Kensington Palace.

It's the end house, a bright white one with the red door in this picture from Google Street View, as far as I can tell.


View Larger Map

Link to 16 Gordon Place on Google Street View (in case picture doesn't display above)

In 1891, the family was at the same place and consisted of:

John Taaffe, married, age 71. Late Major, Louth Rifles. Born in Italy, British subject.

Barbara Taaffe, his wife, married, age 45. Born in Ireland.

Cesira Polenghi, his niece, singe, age 19. Born in Milan, Italy.

There was one servant, Bridget d'Alton, single, age 45. Cook. Born in Ireland.

Class:  RG12; Piece:  20; Folio  84; Page  40; GSU roll:  6095130.

 To unravel this, I started with Major John Taaffe.



Irish Genealogical Sources: Louth Rifles, 1877-1908 No. 21

Sir George Lambert: Value of his estate, and beginning of his sister Juliana Margaret's story

Probate Index, Sir George Thomas Lambert, 15 March 1919.
Estate valued at 22,946/9/8.
Using the calculator on the website Measuring Worth, in today's money (2009 values), that amount would be worth 1,630,000 GBP based on the retail price index, or over 8 million GBP based on the average earnings method used on the website. (The methods are explained on the website.) My point is obvious: Sir George T. Lambert was a wealthy man at the time of his demise.
Probate granted to two of his six sisters, Juliana Margaret (identified in index as Margaret Juliana) and Frances, referred to elsewhere as Fanny sometimes.

The Law Times, January 20, 1881 John Lewis More O'Ferrall obituary. His estate passed to his only son, Edward More O'Farrell, who was married to Juliana Margaret Lambert, Sir George's sister, and one of the two executrices of his will.




From: The county families of the United Kingdom; or, Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland .. (Volume ed.59, yr.1919), by Edward Walford, viewed as an e-book.

This is about Juliana Margaret's son.

O'FERRALL, John MORE., Esq., of Lisard,
CO. Longford ; and of Balyna, co. Kildare.

Eldest son of Edward Gerald More-O'Ferrall, Esq.,
J.P. and D.L., of Lisard, and of Balyna, who d. 1914,
by Juliana Margaret, 4th dau. of the late Henry
Lambert, Esq., M.P., of Carnagh, co. Wexford;
b. 1872 ;
m. 1901 Cesira, 3rd dau. of Signor David Polenghi, of Italy, and has, with other issue, a son, Gerald, b. 1904.
Mr. More-O'Ferrall was educated at Stonyhurst College;
Balyna, Moyvalley E.S.O., co.Kildare;
Lisard, Edgeworthstown, co. Longford:
Kildare Street Club, Dublin ;
S. St. George Yacht Club, Kingstown.

A volume by Bernard Burke (A genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Great Britain and Ireland) indicates John had three sisters (at least), Mary, Maria, and Ellen.

Because John More O'Ferrall, son of Juliana Margaret Lambert, married a woman with a unique name, Cesira Polenghi, I thought I would look for her in the census rather than searching a more common name (like "John", for example).


What I found leads to more connections between Ireland and Italy, and an unexpected contrast in sentiments between Sir George's family and that of his neighbour, Henry Fleming.

Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry,: Founded by the late Sir Bernard Burke

Lambert of Carnagh: George Thomas Lambert was from the landed gentry of Ireland

In 1871, the principal occupant and head of household at No. 3, Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, was George T. Lambert.

Later Sir George, this particular Lambert was the younger son of an Irish landowner.

In 1851, George and Henry Lambert, brothers only a year apart, were at the College of St. Gregory [earlier I had erroneously written here "St. George's School"] in Downside, in the Parish of Midsomer Norton, in Somerset.

I have pasted some images of documents below, but they're blurry, I'm afraid. So, don't strain your eyes trying to read the details. I'll tell you what you need to know and give you links to the originals.

The page of the 1851 census return with them on it:

Reference: Class:HO107; Piece:1939; Folio:420; Page:2; GSU roll:221098

From this 1847 directory, we can see how Henry and George-Thomas Lambert ranked when it came to inheriting the family jewels. Henry, b. 1836 was the eldest son of Henry Lambert, Esq., of Carnagh, co. Wexford, b. 1786. George Thomas was born a year later, in 1837. By 1847, there were two boys and four girls. The directory doesn't give the girls' birthdates.








After the death of their father, George Thomas Lambert's brother Henry inherited the estate.

From the 1871 "genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry", we see Henry-Patrick Lambert, Esq. (formerly known to us as Henry, b. 1836), installed at Carnagh. This book tells us a little about Henry-Patrick's siblings as well.

George-Thomas, b. 9 November 1837;
Mary-Jane, married to P.-J.  Lynch, Esq., of Rose Park, Co. Dublin;
Anne, married 1870 to Edwin-Windham, Earl of Dunraven and Mountearl, K.P.;
Catherine, died unmarried, 7 March 1857;
Juliana-Margaret;
Letitia;
Fanny.







(left a bit out)



An intervening directory from 1858 tells us that George Thomas's mother was Catherine, youngest daughter of William Talbot, Esq., of Castle Talbot in the same county (Wexford) and sister of the late Countess of Shrewsbury. She and Henry Lambert were married 11 June 1835.

In 1858, the children listed are:

Henry, b. 2 December 1836;
George-Thomas, b. 9 November 1837;
Mary-Jane;
Anne;
Catherine;
Juliana-Margaret.






The family motto is Deus providebit, which I believe means "God will provide".

Next, a look at Carnagh.

Sir George Thomas Lambert, CB, KB, 1838 - 1918, of No. 3 Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London (1871)

Not as colourful a character as Henry Fleming, but a solid contributor to society and a man of rather strongly-held opinions about education, and other things.

George Lambert in 1851 was a school boy in Midsomer Norton. The school was St Gregory's, Downside. Downside is a hamlet in the parish of Midsomer Norton in Somerset. All sounds suspiciously close to Midsomer Murders, doesn't it?

Midsomer Norton in "A Vision of Britain Through Time" website

The 1851 census for the school shows pages and pages of boys. All "scholars". George and Henry Lambert, born 1837 and 1838 respectively, are on the same page, both born in Ireland, but the town is not specified.

In the Downside Review, Volume 33 (1914), (the school magazine), we find a notice:

Sir George T. Lambert, CB, second son of Henry Lambert, Esq., MP , of Carnagh; came to Downside September 27, 1849; successively private secretary to Lord Derby, Sir G. Trevelyan and Lord Brassey; Director of the Estates and Finances of Greenwich Hospital 1885-1901; a Governor of Christ's Hospital; C.B. 1897; Knighted 1903.

There is no doubt that we are talking about the same person. Through the Naval List, for example, we can verify that Lambert was Lord Brassey's secretary in the Admiralty.

Next time, Lambert of Carnagh.

No. 3 Charles Street: Private Secretary to the Admiralty, and great genealogical sleuthing by me

It's one of those occasions when I feel so clever. Actually, instead of patting myself too hard on the back, I have to say that the Web makes research 1,000 times easier than it ever was. Wonderful!

OK, on with the show. Who lived on Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, in the 1871 census? Who were these people.

At No. 3 in 1871 we have:

George T. Lambert, Lodger, Unmarried, 33 years old, Private Secretary to the Admiralty, born in Ireland
Clara Beetles (?), Head, Unmarried, 33, Landlady of Lodging House, born Bewerty, Huntingdonshire
Lucy A. Sharp, Servant, Unmarried, 21, Domestic Servant, born Vauxhall, Middlesex
Agusta Beetles (?), Sister, Unmarried, 25, Milliner, born Earsdon, Cambridgeshire.

• Class:  RG10; Piece:  102; Folio:  75; Page: 32; GSU roll:  838762.
• 
  

I'm going to start with George.

Whoops! Forgot to give the Flea his Queen Victoria and Dracula numbers!

Back to our game of Six Degrees.

Henry Fleming -> Disraeli, Palmerston, Gladstone, others -> HM Queen Victoria

A Queen Victoria number of 2.
I suspect that is as high as he got.

Henry Fleming -> introduced the beauty, Virginia Pattle to the painter, George Frederic Watts at a party at Holland House -> Watts later married Ellen Terry, the actress -> Ellen Terry was Henry Irving's partner and leading lady, and of course would have known Bram Stoker, Irving's business manager and friend.

So far, a Dracula number of 3.

Henry Fleming -> spent many Sunday afternoons gossiping at the home of Thomas Carlyle, the writer -> Carlyle lived on Cheyne Walk, as did the Stokers, (though that doesn't prove they knew each other)

Possible Dracula number of 2.

I'd love to speculate about Henry Fleming and Oscar Wilde knowing each other, as they did have a few things in common, and Wilde was a friend of Stoker, but it would only be speculation.

The Stokers moved to London in the late 1870s, and Henry died in 1876, so it's not likely they crossed paths.

Henry Fleming's brothers did very well for themselves. Chief Justice of Tasmania, Chancellor of Durham.

Although there are many mentions and footnotes about Henry "The Flea" Fleming in directories, memoirs, and other publicly available sources online, it has been difficult to find one definitively connecting him to his brothers.

1841: Henry and James

In the 1841 census, Henry and James Fleming were living together on Davies Street, St. George Hanover Square. Davies Street runs north from Berkeley Square to Oxford Street. Charles Street, where we found Henry in 1871, runs from the south-west corner of Berkeley Square, not terribly far away.

In 1841, both James and Henry were shown as lawyers. Henry was listed as age 25, James, age 30. This census doesn't give enough information to prove the two were brothers, but it's a start.

James and Sir Valentine

In roughly the 1860s and 1870s, directories of the prominent lawyers and citizens of the time mention James Fleming, Q.C., and Sir Valentine Fleming, both lawyers, both sons of Valentine Fleming, a captain in the 9th Regiment of Foot. Those directories don't connect Henry to either one, though James and Valentine show up as being brothers of each other.

In 1870, at p. 517 of The Law Times, it was reported that the lawyers of Tasmania paid tribute to Sir Valentine Fleming upon his retirement after 15 years as the Chief Justice there. Sir Valentine and his wife returned to England, where he died in 1884. The story mentioned that Valentine was the brother of the eminent lawyer James Fleming, Q.C.

1876: Henry and James

The connection between Henry and his brother James crops up more definitively after Henry dies. Probate for Henry's estate was granted shortly after his death in 1876 to his brother, James Fleming of 12 Dorset Square, one of Her Majesty's Counsel, as described in the grant.

1881: Sir Valentine

On page 350 of the Colonial Office List of 1881, Valentine's history in Tasmania goes back a little further, as an insolvency commissioner for Hobart-town in 1841. That list says he retired as Chief Justice in 1870.

1885: James, Captain Valentine, Baldwin and Francis

Page 157 of the 1885 Men-at-the-bar hand-list, which lists the prominent lawyers of the day, includes Henry's brother James, identified as one of Captain Valentine's sons. Two of James's own sons, Baldwin (also spelled Baldwyn in some places), and Francis are also listed, but more about them later.

The distinctions attained by James Fleming, Q.C. were listed in that same 1885 Men-at-the-bar hand-list:

Since 1865, chief commissioner of the West India encumbered estates court;
Since 1871, chancellor of the county palatine of Durham;
Author of Rules and Orders Chancery Court Durham;
1832 a student of Lincoln's Inn;
9 May 1836 went to the Middle Temple;
10 June 1836 called to the bar;
9 January 1858, Q.C.

Sir Valentine and Captain Valentine

Sir Valentine's obituary in the February 1885 issue of The Law Times and review (page 98), says he graduated with honors from Trinity College Dublin in 1834, was called to the bar of Gray's Inn in 1838, and from 1844 to 1874 was Solicitor General and then Chief Justice of Tasmania. He was the second son of Valentine Fleming Esq. of Tuam, County Galway, Ireland, Captain in H.M. 9th Regiment of Foot.

1887: James, Baldwin and Charles

When James died in 1887, probate went to two of his sons, identified as such in the grant: Baldwin Francis and Charles Francis.

Captain Valentine's Will

Midway through this research, I broke my own rule and paid to download Captain Valentine Fleming's will. The script is hard to read, and of the whole thing, the most difficult is the one word I was looking for: "Henry". However, I'm convinced I have it right.

Captain Valentine died in 1820, when his four children were around 10 to 15 years old. He named all the children in his will, three sons: James, Valentine, and Henry, and a daughter, Emma Frances. Much of the will is concerned with ensuring that control of the family fortune never passes into the hands of a spouse of the daughter, Emma, or the widow to be, Catherine.

1908: Henry and Sir Valentine

The final piece of evidence linking Henry to Captain Valentine is in a memoir by Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, Rambling Recollections, Vol. 1, at page 103, published in 1908. Henry Fleming had already been dead over 30 years by then. Drummond Wolff, who was about 20 years younger than Henry, wrote, "Another acquaintance of mine was Mr. Fleming, so well known in society. He had been a great ally of Mr. Charles Buller and ended his days as Secretary of the Poor Law Board. His brother, Sir Valentine Fleming, was a Judge in Australia."
THE ROYAL NORFOLK REGIMENT - The 9th Regiment of Foot

Henry Fleming and Disraeli

I am becoming convinced that someone should do a thesis about Henry Fleming. Perhaps they already have.


So far he is a footnote, literally, in the papers of a number of prominent people. In his role as a trusted gossip, he seems to have been an important part of the communication channels of his day, from the 1840s until his death in 1876.


As I've mentioned before, his social life and his work for the Poor Law Board were in one way quite incongruous: champagne and gruel. On the other hand, in a paternalistic society, so notoriously class-stratified as 19th century England was, it's not surprising that the fates of the poorest were in the hands of people who had no direct personal experience of poverty.

In these two cuttings from letters of then Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, Fleming is mentioned. It seems from these two notes that Fleming had the opportunity to chat with Disraeli if they should meet; that he was a familiar, more than a nodding acquaintance.

I will let those who understand the history of the British Parliament in the 1870s explain further, in the many books and papers published about this period. Even to try and give a sketchy background is a bit of a daunting task.

In late January 1876, when the first letter was written, Parliament was about to resume sitting. Some of the contentious matters of the day involved the Suez Canal and Bosnia, names familiar in the news of our own time.

I quickly and the opposite of thoroughly checked Hansard for a debate where Gladstone and Lowe took a particularly active role, but I didn't locate one.

I did find this lovely picture and a connection to W. S. Gilbert.

(Copied from Wikipedia. Original credited to the Illustrated London News of March 22, 1873.)
"The Happy Land" was a musical by W. S. Gilbert and Gilbert Arthur à Beckett. It broke the rules about portraying public characters: here, as shown is a parody of then Prime Minster Gladstone, Chancellor of the Exchequer Lowe, and First Commissioner of Works, Ayrton.

More from Disraeli's letters, under the heading "DISSENSIONS IN THE CABINET".

I'm assuming that this is the same Fleming, Henry Fleming "The Flea", as there are no other Flemings appearing in these letters. It would be in character for Henry to fill Disraeli in on the goings-on at the Easter Sunday church service.

Or, as Disraeli put it, "Fleming having, of course, prepared a rich discourse for my edification." Sounds like him.