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?
Showing posts with label henry fleming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label henry fleming. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
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 -> 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.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
A goodbye, for now, to Henry Fleming
I have so loved researching Henry Fleming, who lived at No. 2, Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, in 1871.
But it's time to say goodbye, at least for now, because I want to move on down the street.
Here are a few things I'll mention before leaving.
1. Henry's mother, Catherine, was the daughter of a famous, or infamous, Irish Protestant leader, John Hunter Gowan II (aka Hunter Gowan). One of her half-brothers was Ogle Gowan, who started the Orange Lodge in Canada.
2. Henry's father was Captain Valentine Fleming, from Tuam, County Galway, in Ireland. He was a captain in the British 9th Regiment of Foot. He was Catherine's second husband, and died in 1824 when his four children were roughly aged 10 to 14. I have a copy of his will.
3. All three Fleming brothers, James, Valentine, and Henry, were apparently educated in Ireland, possibly all at Trinity College, Dublin, and all three were lawyers, though Henry didn't continue with the practice very long.
4. Although I have traced each of the brothers, I don't know what happened to their mother and their sister, Emma.
5. A James Fleming, who had a brother named Henry, both of Dublin, petitioned the House of Lords in the late 1820s to claim the title "Baron of Slane". I think this may have been the brothers, before they moved from Ireland to London. They did not succeed.
6. James became a QC, Chancellor of the Palatinate of Durham, and an official for the West Indies. His wife was Julia Mary Canning, and I suspect she had a reasonably impressive pedigree herself. Their children all had the middle name "Francis", except the eldest, who was named "Francis" as his first name.
7. Henry's nephew, James's son Francis Fleming had a distinguished career in the foreign service, and was variously governor of Antigua, and a senior official (possibly also governor) of Hong Kong, Sierra Leone, and Mauritius.
8. Another nephew from the same family, Baldwyn Francis Fleming, followed his uncle Henry into the Poor Law Board and then the Local Government Board. My first impression is that he was a good civil servant who cared about the people he was responsible for.
9. Henry's brother, Valentine, became Sir Valentine, and was the Chief Justice of Tasmania for some time, before returning to England where eventually he died in retirement in Surrey.
10. Henry had kind of a double life: civil servant and socialite. As a civil servant, he was described in none-too-glowing terms, varying from boring through to incompetent, depending upon who was saying it, and when in his career they were commenting. I have yet to see a comment describing him as dynamic and indispensable, and yet he was a top-level official for decades.
11. In his social life, Henry knew everyone, and it is in this capacity that the real interest lies. He mingled with lords, ladies, writers, members of Parliament, Prime Ministers Disraeli and Palmerston, and probably Gladstone too, and his role was to spread strategically-placed gossip. This is the part of Henry Fleming's life most deserving of scholarly study.
I have collected a number of links to references to Henry Fleming. Though I haven't seen any one work devoted to the man himself, it is rather surprising just how many 19th century Londoners mention him in their own memoirs and accounts of the day.
He died in 1876, still employed by the Local Government Board, still living at No. 2, Charles Street, Berkeley Square, and on the same day as Lady Stanley, thus departing life in the same manner as he had lived it: in the penumbra of the upper class.
But it's time to say goodbye, at least for now, because I want to move on down the street.
Here are a few things I'll mention before leaving.
1. Henry's mother, Catherine, was the daughter of a famous, or infamous, Irish Protestant leader, John Hunter Gowan II (aka Hunter Gowan). One of her half-brothers was Ogle Gowan, who started the Orange Lodge in Canada.
2. Henry's father was Captain Valentine Fleming, from Tuam, County Galway, in Ireland. He was a captain in the British 9th Regiment of Foot. He was Catherine's second husband, and died in 1824 when his four children were roughly aged 10 to 14. I have a copy of his will.
3. All three Fleming brothers, James, Valentine, and Henry, were apparently educated in Ireland, possibly all at Trinity College, Dublin, and all three were lawyers, though Henry didn't continue with the practice very long.
4. Although I have traced each of the brothers, I don't know what happened to their mother and their sister, Emma.
5. A James Fleming, who had a brother named Henry, both of Dublin, petitioned the House of Lords in the late 1820s to claim the title "Baron of Slane". I think this may have been the brothers, before they moved from Ireland to London. They did not succeed.
6. James became a QC, Chancellor of the Palatinate of Durham, and an official for the West Indies. His wife was Julia Mary Canning, and I suspect she had a reasonably impressive pedigree herself. Their children all had the middle name "Francis", except the eldest, who was named "Francis" as his first name.
7. Henry's nephew, James's son Francis Fleming had a distinguished career in the foreign service, and was variously governor of Antigua, and a senior official (possibly also governor) of Hong Kong, Sierra Leone, and Mauritius.
8. Another nephew from the same family, Baldwyn Francis Fleming, followed his uncle Henry into the Poor Law Board and then the Local Government Board. My first impression is that he was a good civil servant who cared about the people he was responsible for.
9. Henry's brother, Valentine, became Sir Valentine, and was the Chief Justice of Tasmania for some time, before returning to England where eventually he died in retirement in Surrey.
10. Henry had kind of a double life: civil servant and socialite. As a civil servant, he was described in none-too-glowing terms, varying from boring through to incompetent, depending upon who was saying it, and when in his career they were commenting. I have yet to see a comment describing him as dynamic and indispensable, and yet he was a top-level official for decades.
11. In his social life, Henry knew everyone, and it is in this capacity that the real interest lies. He mingled with lords, ladies, writers, members of Parliament, Prime Ministers Disraeli and Palmerston, and probably Gladstone too, and his role was to spread strategically-placed gossip. This is the part of Henry Fleming's life most deserving of scholarly study.
I have collected a number of links to references to Henry Fleming. Though I haven't seen any one work devoted to the man himself, it is rather surprising just how many 19th century Londoners mention him in their own memoirs and accounts of the day.
He died in 1876, still employed by the Local Government Board, still living at No. 2, Charles Street, Berkeley Square, and on the same day as Lady Stanley, thus departing life in the same manner as he had lived it: in the penumbra of the upper class.
Friday, March 18, 2011
The Tithe Commission appoints Henry Fleming Assistant Tithe Commissioner for special purposes
1848
In late 1848, this announcement appeared.
From The Jurist, Vol. 11, Part 2
Henry was apparently only with the Tithe Commission for a short time and then began work for the Poor Law Board. It's also possible the two appointments overlapped. I know very little about the Tithe Commission, but one place where they appear to have had an interest in common with the Poor Law Commission and then the Poor Law Board was in the mapping of the parishes of England.
In late 1848, this announcement appeared.
From The Jurist, Vol. 11, Part 2
Henry was apparently only with the Tithe Commission for a short time and then began work for the Poor Law Board. It's also possible the two appointments overlapped. I know very little about the Tithe Commission, but one place where they appear to have had an interest in common with the Poor Law Commission and then the Poor Law Board was in the mapping of the parishes of England.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Grandfather was a tyrant. Henry Fleming, Hunter Gowan and the Orange Lodge in Canada.
While on his father's side, Henry Fleming was descended from the Barons Slane, his mother's family were equally famous but also notorious.
Henry's grandfather was John Hunter Gowan II, often called Hunter Gowan.
Various descriptions of this man make him out to be a tyrant, a bully, and a violent leader. He was an anti-Catholic with a reputation for bloodshed.
One of his many children, Ogle Gowan, an illegitimate but recognized son, started the Orange Lodge in Canada. In The Orangeman: The Life and Times of Ogle Gowan, by Donald H. Akenson (, there is some description of Hunter Gowan's brutality back in Ireland.
There is also a paragraph mentioning how Ogle Gowan would use his half-brothers' and half-sisters' names when it suited him, even though he was "at daggers-drawn with his legitimate sisters and brothers".
"Catherine [Henry Fleming's mother], first married to a Sligo gentleman and also widowed had, as her second husband the Honourable John Fleming, third son and heir of Christopher, Lord Slane. A fine and noble man, Ogle was proud to say." (page 77)
I don't know if that's how Ogle said it, or if something has been lost in translation over the years, but my research to date indicates that Catherine married Captain Valentine Fleming, and that the descent from the Barons Slane was not quite as easily proven as Ogle might have suggested.
My other post for St. Patrick's Day today tells a bit more about the lost Baronetcy of Slane.
Henry's grandfather was John Hunter Gowan II, often called Hunter Gowan.
Various descriptions of this man make him out to be a tyrant, a bully, and a violent leader. He was an anti-Catholic with a reputation for bloodshed.
One of his many children, Ogle Gowan, an illegitimate but recognized son, started the Orange Lodge in Canada. In The Orangeman: The Life and Times of Ogle Gowan, by Donald H. Akenson (, there is some description of Hunter Gowan's brutality back in Ireland.
There is also a paragraph mentioning how Ogle Gowan would use his half-brothers' and half-sisters' names when it suited him, even though he was "at daggers-drawn with his legitimate sisters and brothers".
"Catherine [Henry Fleming's mother], first married to a Sligo gentleman and also widowed had, as her second husband the Honourable John Fleming, third son and heir of Christopher, Lord Slane. A fine and noble man, Ogle was proud to say." (page 77)
I don't know if that's how Ogle said it, or if something has been lost in translation over the years, but my research to date indicates that Catherine married Captain Valentine Fleming, and that the descent from the Barons Slane was not quite as easily proven as Ogle might have suggested.
My other post for St. Patrick's Day today tells a bit more about the lost Baronetcy of Slane.
The Lost Baronetcy of Slane. Maybe you are an Irish noble and don't know it.
Happy St. Patrick's Day! In honour of the occasion I am going to post two stories connecting Henry Fleming to Ireland.
Henry Fleming's story is in turn part of a larger history and genealogy project, tracing the residents of Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, from the 1871 census.
The Charles Street Series
Flemings and the lost Baronetcy of Slane
There is a Slane Castle and a title, Baron Slane, attached to a little corner of Ireland near Dublin.
(U2 played there in 2001.)
I expect the castle is well taken care of, but the title is going begging for want of a suitable heir.
That's not for trying.
In the 1830s, one George Bryan petitioned the House of Lords in England to have himself recognized as the lawful inheritor of the title. It was a very complex claim, and the Lords referred it to a special committee. After five years of investigation, the decision was that the claim had not been made out, but Mr. Bryan was free to come back if further evidence surfaced.
Bryan's claim was opposed by a James Fleming and his brother Henry. I have seen references to these two being of Dublin, but also to James Fleming being one of Her Majesty's counsel. I have two theories.
1. The Fleming claim was made by James Fleming, a brother of Captain Valentine Fleming, and thus the uncle of James Fleming QC and his brother Henry of No. 2 Charles Street.
or
2. The Fleming claim was made by James Fleming, QC, when he was a student or a recent graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and thus living there, and that the Henry referred to was Henry of No. 2 Charles Street.
The latter theory seems more plausible because of the ripple effect this claim to the Baronetcy of Slane had in the generation to which James Fleming, QC, Henry of No. 2 Charles Street, and their brother Sir Valentine Fleming belonged. There is no doubt that this is the right family, it's just a question of which generation went to the House of Lords.
Sir Valentine named his second son Henry Slane Fleming.
James Fleming gave each of his children the middle name of Francis, other than the one who was actually called Francis Fleming. One of his other sons was Baldwyn Fleming. In the history of the Flemings as Barons Slane, the names Francis and Baldwyn are both prominent.
The three Fleming boys, James QC, Sir Valentine, and Henry of No. 2 Charles Street, and their sister, Emma, were perhaps raised with many tales of Irish greatness swirling in their heads, on both sides.
There is a Baron Slane today, Colonel Cyril Woods of Ontario, Canada, who was born in Ireland. Some controversy apparently surrounds the granting of arms to Colonel Woods, but without taking sides in an argument I do not pretend to understand, I think it may be safe to venture that Woods's claim may be for a slightly different title. Others can argue about the types of baronetcies and the intricacies. I am over my head.
There's another Irish story about Henry Fleming's family, but it's not quite so romantic. Since it's St. Patrick's Day, I'll post that one next.
Henry Fleming's story is in turn part of a larger history and genealogy project, tracing the residents of Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, from the 1871 census.
The Charles Street Series
Flemings and the lost Baronetcy of Slane
There is a Slane Castle and a title, Baron Slane, attached to a little corner of Ireland near Dublin.
(U2 played there in 2001.)
I expect the castle is well taken care of, but the title is going begging for want of a suitable heir.
That's not for trying.
In the 1830s, one George Bryan petitioned the House of Lords in England to have himself recognized as the lawful inheritor of the title. It was a very complex claim, and the Lords referred it to a special committee. After five years of investigation, the decision was that the claim had not been made out, but Mr. Bryan was free to come back if further evidence surfaced.
Bryan's claim was opposed by a James Fleming and his brother Henry. I have seen references to these two being of Dublin, but also to James Fleming being one of Her Majesty's counsel. I have two theories.
1. The Fleming claim was made by James Fleming, a brother of Captain Valentine Fleming, and thus the uncle of James Fleming QC and his brother Henry of No. 2 Charles Street.
or
2. The Fleming claim was made by James Fleming, QC, when he was a student or a recent graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and thus living there, and that the Henry referred to was Henry of No. 2 Charles Street.
The latter theory seems more plausible because of the ripple effect this claim to the Baronetcy of Slane had in the generation to which James Fleming, QC, Henry of No. 2 Charles Street, and their brother Sir Valentine Fleming belonged. There is no doubt that this is the right family, it's just a question of which generation went to the House of Lords.
Sir Valentine named his second son Henry Slane Fleming.
James Fleming gave each of his children the middle name of Francis, other than the one who was actually called Francis Fleming. One of his other sons was Baldwyn Fleming. In the history of the Flemings as Barons Slane, the names Francis and Baldwyn are both prominent.
The three Fleming boys, James QC, Sir Valentine, and Henry of No. 2 Charles Street, and their sister, Emma, were perhaps raised with many tales of Irish greatness swirling in their heads, on both sides.
There is a Baron Slane today, Colonel Cyril Woods of Ontario, Canada, who was born in Ireland. Some controversy apparently surrounds the granting of arms to Colonel Woods, but without taking sides in an argument I do not pretend to understand, I think it may be safe to venture that Woods's claim may be for a slightly different title. Others can argue about the types of baronetcies and the intricacies. I am over my head.
There's another Irish story about Henry Fleming's family, but it's not quite so romantic. Since it's St. Patrick's Day, I'll post that one next.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Which end of Davies Street did Henry Fleming live at? The one with the smallpox? And what about the 12-year-old bride?
Henry Fleming, crossed my path by living at #2, Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London in 1871.
Read more about the Charles Street project here, if you're wondering what's up with that.
1841
In the 1841 census, Henry and his brother James were living on Davies Street, with no house number given. I don't know which end, though I suppose a diligent examination of the census records might unearth that.
In 1839, the north end of Davies Street, where it meets Oxford Street, was an unhealthy place because of smallpox. Report on the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population of Great Britain, by Edwin Chadwick of the home Office. (1843) pp 256-257.
The text here is rather small, but it talks about the disease cases of the day.
A map of Davies Street today. It still runs from Berkeley Square to Oxford Street, in London. Here is a link in case the map doesn't show up for you.
View Larger Map
This next has nothing to do with Henry Fleming, but a little bit of trivia about Davies Street may interest you.
According to that wonderful book, the London Encyclopedia, edited by Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert:
"Davies Street, W1. Takes its name from Mary Davies, by whose marriage to Sir Thomas Grosvenor in 1677 the Grosvenor Estate in London, of which it forms part, was established. It extends from Berkeley Square to Oxford Street, and was laid out in the 1720s. The sole survivor of this original work is Bourdon House, but most of the other houses were small and narrow and occupied by tradesmen. … No. 53 Davies Street, now the Grosvenor Office, was erected in about 1836, probably to designs by the estate surveyor, Thomas Cundy the Younger. Opposite is an agreeable public house, the Running Horse, rebuilt in 1839-40. …"
Google Street View photo of the Running Horse on Davies Street (link)
View Larger Map
Oh, and the 12-year-old bride? That was Mary Davies, for whom Davies Street was named. Thomas Grosvenor was 21 when they married, though she remained living with an aunt until the age of 14.
British History Online has more of her story.
Read more about the Charles Street project here, if you're wondering what's up with that.
1841
In the 1841 census, Henry and his brother James were living on Davies Street, with no house number given. I don't know which end, though I suppose a diligent examination of the census records might unearth that.
In 1839, the north end of Davies Street, where it meets Oxford Street, was an unhealthy place because of smallpox. Report on the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population of Great Britain, by Edwin Chadwick of the home Office. (1843) pp 256-257.
The text here is rather small, but it talks about the disease cases of the day.
A map of Davies Street today. It still runs from Berkeley Square to Oxford Street, in London. Here is a link in case the map doesn't show up for you.
View Larger Map
This next has nothing to do with Henry Fleming, but a little bit of trivia about Davies Street may interest you.
According to that wonderful book, the London Encyclopedia, edited by Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert:
"Davies Street, W1. Takes its name from Mary Davies, by whose marriage to Sir Thomas Grosvenor in 1677 the Grosvenor Estate in London, of which it forms part, was established. It extends from Berkeley Square to Oxford Street, and was laid out in the 1720s. The sole survivor of this original work is Bourdon House, but most of the other houses were small and narrow and occupied by tradesmen. … No. 53 Davies Street, now the Grosvenor Office, was erected in about 1836, probably to designs by the estate surveyor, Thomas Cundy the Younger. Opposite is an agreeable public house, the Running Horse, rebuilt in 1839-40. …"
Google Street View photo of the Running Horse on Davies Street (link)
View Larger Map
Oh, and the 12-year-old bride? That was Mary Davies, for whom Davies Street was named. Thomas Grosvenor was 21 when they married, though she remained living with an aunt until the age of 14.
British History Online has more of her story.
Monday, March 14, 2011
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
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
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
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.
"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.
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.
"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.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Sending 13-year-old pauper children to work in the mills
For decades, Henry Fleming (our resident of No. 2 Charles Street in 1871) was a senior official with the Poor Law Board.
As Secretary in the early 1860s, he dealt with some interesting correspondence which now is online as the 1861 Sessional Papers of the House of Lords.
Link to the book of Sessional Papers
In the section entitled "Pauper Children", there is a series of letters, some with supporting appendices, dealing with proposals from some factory owners in England to take children from the workhouses as apprentices.
(The papers are not easily numbered, but using the on-page search function to find "pauper children", you should get to the right place.)
The children Henry Fleming corresponded about were to be apprenticed from age 13 to 17 as spinners in the textile mills. They were to work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and until 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The entire report is heartbreaking in its details. There are the names and ages of individual children. Orphan. Father deserted, mother dead. Father believed in Australia, mother dead. Seven years in the workhouse to date. It goes on and on.
Some of the adult mill workers had no socks or shoes when the inspector called. The owner said it's because they preferred it that way. But, reported the inspector, "… when they go to meals and leave off work, they are all provided with factory clogs, which create no unusual clatter in the streets."
Henry Fleming, as Secretary to the Poor Law Board, may not have been a decision maker but may have had to brief the Board on the details of the apprenticeship proposals, at the least.
Henry was a man who spent his leisure time as a socialite, riding horses, gossiping, and generally hanging out with some of London's top society, and his working hours dealing with the details of caring for the destitute.
As Secretary in the early 1860s, he dealt with some interesting correspondence which now is online as the 1861 Sessional Papers of the House of Lords.
Link to the book of Sessional Papers
In the section entitled "Pauper Children", there is a series of letters, some with supporting appendices, dealing with proposals from some factory owners in England to take children from the workhouses as apprentices.
(The papers are not easily numbered, but using the on-page search function to find "pauper children", you should get to the right place.)
The children Henry Fleming corresponded about were to be apprenticed from age 13 to 17 as spinners in the textile mills. They were to work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and until 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The entire report is heartbreaking in its details. There are the names and ages of individual children. Orphan. Father deserted, mother dead. Father believed in Australia, mother dead. Seven years in the workhouse to date. It goes on and on.
Some of the adult mill workers had no socks or shoes when the inspector called. The owner said it's because they preferred it that way. But, reported the inspector, "… when they go to meals and leave off work, they are all provided with factory clogs, which create no unusual clatter in the streets."
Henry Fleming, as Secretary to the Poor Law Board, may not have been a decision maker but may have had to brief the Board on the details of the apprenticeship proposals, at the least.
Henry was a man who spent his leisure time as a socialite, riding horses, gossiping, and generally hanging out with some of London's top society, and his working hours dealing with the details of caring for the destitute.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
John Burgoyne Blackett at 2 Charles Street in the late 1840s
This is a listing from the Northumberland Archives, via Access to Archives, a very useful service indeed.
Here's exactly what's on the screen:
"Notebook (vol. IV) comprising copies of letters from J[ohn] B[urgoyne] Blackett, initially at 2 Charles Street, Berkeley Square, then at 10 Eaton Place to Congreve, May 1848-Dec. 1851. Concerning politics, literary matters, mutual friends, foreign affairs, university reform, possible personal insolvency, retrenchment in standard of living. A group of undated letters at the end, perhaps c.1844, predate the main section. ZBK/C/1/B/3/1/9 [n.d.]"
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=155-zbk_3-1&cid=1-1-2-3-1#1-1-2-3-1
Why it matters to our story
You may notice that in 1848 when the letters started, Blackett was living at 2 Charles Street. He was also the Member of Parliament for Northumberland South from 1852 to 1856. His successor as the MP for the riding was George Ridley, who lived at 2 Charles Street later.
Maybe No. 2 was rented for whomever represented Northumberland South from time to time. But, the dates of the letters from Blackett at No. 2 don't match the dates of his time as an MP. Perhaps the connection is more to do with being from the nobility of Northumberland.
It raises the question of what Henry Fleming was doing there on census night in 1871, though. Guest of an absent MP, perhaps?
Blackett later lived at 10 Eaton Place, London, and for some reason I think I have run across Eaton Place in this research already. Will have to keep my eyes open.
Connection between Blackett and the March family (of No. 1 Charles Street, in 1871)
This is one of those "the world is a pretty small place" things, but that's what happens when you have people descended from William the Conqueror, Plantagenets, and so on.
The name "Umfreville" appears in both the Blackett and March families. For the Blacketts, it's way back around the 1500s. For the Marches, one of Thomas Charles March's sisters married a Yorkshire clergyman (of a titled family, if I remember correctly), and their sons had Umfreville as a middle name. The spelling varies, Umfreville, Umfraville.
A distant connection.
Here's exactly what's on the screen:
"Notebook (vol. IV) comprising copies of letters from J[ohn] B[urgoyne] Blackett, initially at 2 Charles Street, Berkeley Square, then at 10 Eaton Place to Congreve, May 1848-Dec. 1851. Concerning politics, literary matters, mutual friends, foreign affairs, university reform, possible personal insolvency, retrenchment in standard of living. A group of undated letters at the end, perhaps c.1844, predate the main section. ZBK/C/1/B/3/1/9 [n.d.]"
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=155-zbk_3-1&cid=1-1-2-3-1#1-1-2-3-1
Why it matters to our story
You may notice that in 1848 when the letters started, Blackett was living at 2 Charles Street. He was also the Member of Parliament for Northumberland South from 1852 to 1856. His successor as the MP for the riding was George Ridley, who lived at 2 Charles Street later.
Maybe No. 2 was rented for whomever represented Northumberland South from time to time. But, the dates of the letters from Blackett at No. 2 don't match the dates of his time as an MP. Perhaps the connection is more to do with being from the nobility of Northumberland.
It raises the question of what Henry Fleming was doing there on census night in 1871, though. Guest of an absent MP, perhaps?
Blackett later lived at 10 Eaton Place, London, and for some reason I think I have run across Eaton Place in this research already. Will have to keep my eyes open.
Connection between Blackett and the March family (of No. 1 Charles Street, in 1871)
This is one of those "the world is a pretty small place" things, but that's what happens when you have people descended from William the Conqueror, Plantagenets, and so on.
The name "Umfreville" appears in both the Blackett and March families. For the Blacketts, it's way back around the 1500s. For the Marches, one of Thomas Charles March's sisters married a Yorkshire clergyman (of a titled family, if I remember correctly), and their sons had Umfreville as a middle name. The spelling varies, Umfreville, Umfraville.
A distant connection.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane mentioning Henry Fleming in their letters to each other
Henry Fleming lived at No. 2, Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London in 1871, and was Secretary to the Poor Law Board.
Earlier posts:
1. A map and Google Street View of the house today, and the 1871 census extract
2. Who was Henry Fleming? A dandy? A heartless villain? Both? Neither? More history from Charles Street, Berkeley Square
Thomas Carlyle, the Scottish writer who gave us, among other things, "the dismal science" as a cute little name for the field of economics, wrote to his wife Jane quite frequently, perhaps as a way of avoiding speaking to her. From their over 9,000 published letters, there are a few mentioning Henry Fleming. In "Who was Henry Fleming?", we found out he was something of a social gadfly in the 1840s.
Here are a few selections from the Carlyles. My own comments are in italics. Items in square brackets within the quoted passages are my own additions. The citation for the letters is at the end of this post.
September 11, 1844, Jane to Thomas
"Yesterday was very weary — Mazzini came then Darwin, then Mr Fleming …. They were all mortally stupid especially Mr Fleming of whom one might have carried the simile of the Duc in Thunder to that still more offensive one of 'Jenkin's hen' —"
Jenkin's hen, not a very nice thing to call someone. So, Jane thinks the charming Henry Fleming is particularly morta'ly stupid.
The footnote on the Duke University Press Carlyle website explains this further:
"Proverbially a duck in thunder is said to roll its eyes or turn them upward. In Scots, Jenkins's hen is one that never knew a cock; thus an old maid, suggesting 'the maximum of pusillanimity' (Froude, LM 1:294)."
September 12, 1844, Thomas to Jane
"We are a small party, no Stranger beyond Strachey and me yet: the Howicks have 'taken cold,' or something of that sort; Buller continues silent, absent not known where. Did Jenkin's Hen say nothing of him?"
Thomas seems to enjoy Jane's nickname for Henry.
September 13, 1844, Jane to Thomas
"Do you know Bain is John Mills great man at present!!! Mr Fleming told me that he had described him to him as a person of 'the wonderfullest insight and general information that he had ever fallen in with'! — Poor Mill should be sent to Wandsworth — really. on Wednesday night I had Bolte Tizzy and Mr Fleming — with the valuable ingredient of Darwin who struck Mr Fleming with an awe which was quite edifying — It seems he (Jenkins hen) 'respects tranquillity of manner above every thing' and Darwin gave him enough of that — Mrs Buller quite regrets not to have seen Darwin in consequence of the splendid things Fleming said of him —"
Nineteenth centrury name-dropping. John Stuart Mill. Charles Darwin's brother, Erasmus Alvey Darwin. One gets the impression Fleming may be the bimbo in the room, according to Jane. And certainly Henry is doing a good job of spreading news from drawing room to drawing room.
September 18, 1844, Thomas to Jane
"I read your account of Jenkin's Hen to Lady Harriet and Buller (with reservations), the former of whom was greatly amused by it."
Tsk, tsk, Thomas. Talking about Henry behind his back like that.
December 18, 1844, Jane to her cousin Jeannie
"Mr Fleming tells me that Tizzy who is 'the most artful little Devil' in nature has got provoked with Miss Bolte for too much repressing her premature tendencies to unfortunate femalisings and tells Mrs Buller all sorts of lies to get her turned off which Mrs Buller is silly enough to believe — When they have rid themselves of Miss Bolte — if death alas do not anticipate them — they may turn their hand with that young lady of theirs as they like …"
Impressive chain of gossip. Jeannie hears from Jane, who hears from Henry, who hears from Tizzy who is provoked with Amalie for telling lies to Mrs Buller
December 22, 1844, Thomas to Lady Harriet Baring
Lady Harriet has apparently taken in another woman, Miss Amalie Bölte, who sounds like quite a pain, sickly and clinging if I read it right. Thomas has written to privately thank her, probably for ridding the rest of the gang of the responsibility and guilt.
"Poor Fleming, who seems to come here every Sunday (tho' I keep carefully up stairs), says, 'It is a noble trait of Lady Harriet':— Yes, Fleming, my man. In fact, we are all most grateful to the said Lady, and some of us, as I mentioned before, are partly proud of her in a silent way."
Perhaps Thomas feels if he stays upstairs and is very quiet when Fleming comes round, Henry will by osmosis learn to stop gossiping. However, as that seems to be what keeps him in favour with Mrs. Buller and others in the social circle, he may not be able to stop.
February 6, 1845, Jane to her cousin Jeannie
"Last Sunday Mr Fleming came while he [Richard Plattnauer, another apparent friend Thomas complains about] was here, and very soon he gave indications of thinking that his (Mr F's) visit was prolonging itself needlessly — He started from his chair at last, seized the Cat — danced her in the air a while like a Baby — then pitched her on the floor — and asked if he might go up stairs for some of his books still here — I said by all means — and he went off—not up stairs but down to the kitchen where he marched to and fro smoking and talking very loud to Helen —
"I am certain in my private mind that he went away because he felt that if he stayed he would do Mr Fleming a mischief — He told me once already how tempted he had been to 'seize the poker and dash out the brains' of a little Aberdeen man who sat 'talking the horridest stuff to me, which no woman but myself could have listened to; for three deadly hours'! Oh for a good inspiration how to put a peacable end to these visits, the chief indeed sole interest of which has come to be the question ever in my mind; will he or will he not to day or some other day do to myself or one of the others some mortal harm?
"Poor Mr Fleming! he is the greatest coward, that man, out of petticoats! and on Sunday he was even more cowardly than usual having just transacted an inflamation of the bowels — So there he sat all in a tremble — perceptibly to the naked eye, — and then hurried off an hour before he would have gone in the course of nature —"
One wonders why the Carlyles ever answered the door.
February 26, 1845, Jane to her cousin Jeannie
Jane has been suffering from one cold after another and is down with it again.
"Certainly I am better within the last two days, I am not so weak, nor so hoarse, nor so feverish, nor do I feel such noble independence of victual, nor is my temper so very devilish — I still cough enough but Mr Fleming told me on sunday that he heard by the sound of my cough that 'it was going' — a good journey to it! On the whole I have now good hope again that I shall recover entirely when warm weather comes — last week I was rather desperate about recovery under any circumstances
"I have not tried either of your mixtures but keep them in reserve in case one which Mr Fleming brought me on Sunday fails of the splendid success he predicted for it — He is not a Dr Mr Fleming but worth a score such Drs as my Brotherinlaw. He has been urging this mixture on me for weeks back — but (as Mazzini says) I want energy — last Sunday when I told him I had still not tried it he said 'nor ever will unless I get it mixed for you myself' — On leaving he went to a chemist's, and returned in half an hour, and gave the vial to Helen with directions that I was to 'take one spoonful that night— two next day and the next day I should be quite well' — When one's natural helps prove so ineffectual; it is considerate of Providence to raise up such kindhearted strangers!"
Jane Carlyle, the original Blanche "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers" Dubois
October 28, 1847, Jane to Lady Harriet Baring
"I have not seen Fleming since his return — almost dread the thought of seeing him! of witnessing the progress of his emotions —"
Getting the impression Henry was a bit of a drama queen?
February 5, 1847, Jane to Helen Welsh (her cousin)
"The last I heard of Tadpole [Anne Brown] was satisfactory thanks God — Mr Fleming went to see her last Sunday and give her some money for me — and he said she looked very well-doing and quite content in her solitude, with 'one lover and one female friend' her case is not bad — still if she were a fool she might easily think it so."
The social butterfly employed for a noble errand
September 24, 1847, Jane to Thomas
Henry has arrived at the Carlyle house at a very inconvenient time for Jane and will not go away until he delivers a message in person. He says he'll only stay for five minutes. Mainly he wants to brag about being Lady Harriet's new best friend.
"This she [Lady Harriet Baring] had told him (Fleming) when he was 'seeing her off' — And he would tell her my answer 'when he dined with her at Holland House' — 'How very odd', I said, 'that you should be acting as Lady H's Ariel'! 'Oh not at all now! — We are excellent friends now — since we staid together at Sir W. Molesworths — and there is nothing I would not do for her!! she is the dearest, playfullest, wittiest creature! I love her beyond everything.'"
Later in the same letter, some observations on Henry's manner and attire:
"Fleming's ‘five minutes’ prolonged themselves to half an hour — and then I was obliged to tell him that I could sit up no longer — and he went away in his little thunder and lightening embroidered shirt and his little new curled wig, lisping out 'I shall tell Lady Harriet that I found you in a temperature sufficient to produce a bilious fever —' It was all I could do to keep from summoning all my remaining strength together and 'doubling him up' [Yes, Jane wants to drop the gloves, as we say on the hockey rink] — prating in that fashion to me who had just come thro such a week of suffering!"
I love this:
" … he went away in his little thunder and lightening embroidered shirt and his little new curled wig, lisping out 'I shall tell Lady Harriet …'"
September 19, 1848, Thomas to his brother John A. Carlyle ("Jack")
"Our company is not worth talking about, since I wrote last: Buller, little Fleming (Mephisto in a wig, as I called him), a Lady Montague (who sings well), Lady Sandwich (who abounds in cheerful gossip, and knows all manner of women and men)"
November 10, 1852, Thomas to Lady Ashburton
"That is the historical truth;—nor is it a very strange one after what Fleming has taught me of you! Indeed I altogether agree (on reflexion) with that remarkable man"
June 1, 1854, Thomas to Lady Ashburton
"Fleming came next: 'A message from Lady Alice Peel'! cried the divine Fleming, with triumph in his eyes. Unluckily I knew nothing of this Lady, except incidental rumour of her name, thro' Another very greatly more important to me: 'Lady Ashburton is to be there,' said Fleming; 'and the Duc d'Aumale, and' —
Ah, yes, "the divine Fleming".
March 8, 1856, Thomas to Lady Ashburton
"Lady S. was quite brisk and lively, tho' rather avoiding the cruel March airs, which was wise: she expects to 'flit personally' on Monday, and is deep in upholstery, and cheery negociations with upholsterers and decorators of human life. Fleming came in while I was there; charged with gossip to the muzzle, quality clear and bitter, to a superior degree, as seemed, but my dinner hour had come, and I had to leave that interesting spiritual report."
The quality of gossip is not strain'd
All the Carlyle letters and the footnote with biographical information about Henry Fleming come from The Carlyle Letters Online [CLO]. 2007. http://carlyleletters.org, viewed February 24, 25, 26, 2011.
Our peek at the houses of Charles Street, Berkeley Square in 1871 began at No. 1: Thomas March of 1 Charles Street: One degree from Queen Victoria.
Before that, we started with the Stoker family: Bram Stoker, author of Dracula in public records: BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death).
Next time: what the Carlyles said about Henry. Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane mentioning Henry Fleming in their letters to each other. (For what it's worth, I found it pretty funny what they had to say, and how fragrantly they could throw mud at people.)
THOMAS CARLYLE LETTERS TO HIS WIFE
Monographs personal and social
Earlier posts:
1. A map and Google Street View of the house today, and the 1871 census extract
2. Who was Henry Fleming? A dandy? A heartless villain? Both? Neither? More history from Charles Street, Berkeley Square
Thomas Carlyle, the Scottish writer who gave us, among other things, "the dismal science" as a cute little name for the field of economics, wrote to his wife Jane quite frequently, perhaps as a way of avoiding speaking to her. From their over 9,000 published letters, there are a few mentioning Henry Fleming. In "Who was Henry Fleming?", we found out he was something of a social gadfly in the 1840s.
Here are a few selections from the Carlyles. My own comments are in italics. Items in square brackets within the quoted passages are my own additions. The citation for the letters is at the end of this post.
September 11, 1844, Jane to Thomas
"Yesterday was very weary — Mazzini came then Darwin, then Mr Fleming …. They were all mortally stupid especially Mr Fleming of whom one might have carried the simile of the Duc in Thunder to that still more offensive one of 'Jenkin's hen' —"
Jenkin's hen, not a very nice thing to call someone. So, Jane thinks the charming Henry Fleming is particularly morta'ly stupid.
The footnote on the Duke University Press Carlyle website explains this further:
"Proverbially a duck in thunder is said to roll its eyes or turn them upward. In Scots, Jenkins's hen is one that never knew a cock; thus an old maid, suggesting 'the maximum of pusillanimity' (Froude, LM 1:294)."
September 12, 1844, Thomas to Jane
"We are a small party, no Stranger beyond Strachey and me yet: the Howicks have 'taken cold,' or something of that sort; Buller continues silent, absent not known where. Did Jenkin's Hen say nothing of him?"
Thomas seems to enjoy Jane's nickname for Henry.
September 13, 1844, Jane to Thomas
"Do you know Bain is John Mills great man at present!!! Mr Fleming told me that he had described him to him as a person of 'the wonderfullest insight and general information that he had ever fallen in with'! — Poor Mill should be sent to Wandsworth — really. on Wednesday night I had Bolte Tizzy and Mr Fleming — with the valuable ingredient of Darwin who struck Mr Fleming with an awe which was quite edifying — It seems he (Jenkins hen) 'respects tranquillity of manner above every thing' and Darwin gave him enough of that — Mrs Buller quite regrets not to have seen Darwin in consequence of the splendid things Fleming said of him —"
Nineteenth centrury name-dropping. John Stuart Mill. Charles Darwin's brother, Erasmus Alvey Darwin. One gets the impression Fleming may be the bimbo in the room, according to Jane. And certainly Henry is doing a good job of spreading news from drawing room to drawing room.
September 18, 1844, Thomas to Jane
"I read your account of Jenkin's Hen to Lady Harriet and Buller (with reservations), the former of whom was greatly amused by it."
Tsk, tsk, Thomas. Talking about Henry behind his back like that.
December 18, 1844, Jane to her cousin Jeannie
"Mr Fleming tells me that Tizzy who is 'the most artful little Devil' in nature has got provoked with Miss Bolte for too much repressing her premature tendencies to unfortunate femalisings and tells Mrs Buller all sorts of lies to get her turned off which Mrs Buller is silly enough to believe — When they have rid themselves of Miss Bolte — if death alas do not anticipate them — they may turn their hand with that young lady of theirs as they like …"
Impressive chain of gossip. Jeannie hears from Jane, who hears from Henry, who hears from Tizzy who is provoked with Amalie for telling lies to Mrs Buller
December 22, 1844, Thomas to Lady Harriet Baring
Lady Harriet has apparently taken in another woman, Miss Amalie Bölte, who sounds like quite a pain, sickly and clinging if I read it right. Thomas has written to privately thank her, probably for ridding the rest of the gang of the responsibility and guilt.
"Poor Fleming, who seems to come here every Sunday (tho' I keep carefully up stairs), says, 'It is a noble trait of Lady Harriet':— Yes, Fleming, my man. In fact, we are all most grateful to the said Lady, and some of us, as I mentioned before, are partly proud of her in a silent way."
Perhaps Thomas feels if he stays upstairs and is very quiet when Fleming comes round, Henry will by osmosis learn to stop gossiping. However, as that seems to be what keeps him in favour with Mrs. Buller and others in the social circle, he may not be able to stop.
February 6, 1845, Jane to her cousin Jeannie
"Last Sunday Mr Fleming came while he [Richard Plattnauer, another apparent friend Thomas complains about] was here, and very soon he gave indications of thinking that his (Mr F's) visit was prolonging itself needlessly — He started from his chair at last, seized the Cat — danced her in the air a while like a Baby — then pitched her on the floor — and asked if he might go up stairs for some of his books still here — I said by all means — and he went off—not up stairs but down to the kitchen where he marched to and fro smoking and talking very loud to Helen —
"I am certain in my private mind that he went away because he felt that if he stayed he would do Mr Fleming a mischief — He told me once already how tempted he had been to 'seize the poker and dash out the brains' of a little Aberdeen man who sat 'talking the horridest stuff to me, which no woman but myself could have listened to; for three deadly hours'! Oh for a good inspiration how to put a peacable end to these visits, the chief indeed sole interest of which has come to be the question ever in my mind; will he or will he not to day or some other day do to myself or one of the others some mortal harm?
"Poor Mr Fleming! he is the greatest coward, that man, out of petticoats! and on Sunday he was even more cowardly than usual having just transacted an inflamation of the bowels — So there he sat all in a tremble — perceptibly to the naked eye, — and then hurried off an hour before he would have gone in the course of nature —"
One wonders why the Carlyles ever answered the door.
February 26, 1845, Jane to her cousin Jeannie
Jane has been suffering from one cold after another and is down with it again.
"Certainly I am better within the last two days, I am not so weak, nor so hoarse, nor so feverish, nor do I feel such noble independence of victual, nor is my temper so very devilish — I still cough enough but Mr Fleming told me on sunday that he heard by the sound of my cough that 'it was going' — a good journey to it! On the whole I have now good hope again that I shall recover entirely when warm weather comes — last week I was rather desperate about recovery under any circumstances
"I have not tried either of your mixtures but keep them in reserve in case one which Mr Fleming brought me on Sunday fails of the splendid success he predicted for it — He is not a Dr Mr Fleming but worth a score such Drs as my Brotherinlaw. He has been urging this mixture on me for weeks back — but (as Mazzini says) I want energy — last Sunday when I told him I had still not tried it he said 'nor ever will unless I get it mixed for you myself' — On leaving he went to a chemist's, and returned in half an hour, and gave the vial to Helen with directions that I was to 'take one spoonful that night— two next day and the next day I should be quite well' — When one's natural helps prove so ineffectual; it is considerate of Providence to raise up such kindhearted strangers!"
Jane Carlyle, the original Blanche "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers" Dubois
October 28, 1847, Jane to Lady Harriet Baring
"I have not seen Fleming since his return — almost dread the thought of seeing him! of witnessing the progress of his emotions —"
Getting the impression Henry was a bit of a drama queen?
February 5, 1847, Jane to Helen Welsh (her cousin)
"The last I heard of Tadpole [Anne Brown] was satisfactory thanks God — Mr Fleming went to see her last Sunday and give her some money for me — and he said she looked very well-doing and quite content in her solitude, with 'one lover and one female friend' her case is not bad — still if she were a fool she might easily think it so."
The social butterfly employed for a noble errand
September 24, 1847, Jane to Thomas
Henry has arrived at the Carlyle house at a very inconvenient time for Jane and will not go away until he delivers a message in person. He says he'll only stay for five minutes. Mainly he wants to brag about being Lady Harriet's new best friend.
"This she [Lady Harriet Baring] had told him (Fleming) when he was 'seeing her off' — And he would tell her my answer 'when he dined with her at Holland House' — 'How very odd', I said, 'that you should be acting as Lady H's Ariel'! 'Oh not at all now! — We are excellent friends now — since we staid together at Sir W. Molesworths — and there is nothing I would not do for her!! she is the dearest, playfullest, wittiest creature! I love her beyond everything.'"
Later in the same letter, some observations on Henry's manner and attire:
"Fleming's ‘five minutes’ prolonged themselves to half an hour — and then I was obliged to tell him that I could sit up no longer — and he went away in his little thunder and lightening embroidered shirt and his little new curled wig, lisping out 'I shall tell Lady Harriet that I found you in a temperature sufficient to produce a bilious fever —' It was all I could do to keep from summoning all my remaining strength together and 'doubling him up' [Yes, Jane wants to drop the gloves, as we say on the hockey rink] — prating in that fashion to me who had just come thro such a week of suffering!"
I love this:
" … he went away in his little thunder and lightening embroidered shirt and his little new curled wig, lisping out 'I shall tell Lady Harriet …'"
September 19, 1848, Thomas to his brother John A. Carlyle ("Jack")
"Our company is not worth talking about, since I wrote last: Buller, little Fleming (Mephisto in a wig, as I called him), a Lady Montague (who sings well), Lady Sandwich (who abounds in cheerful gossip, and knows all manner of women and men)"
November 10, 1852, Thomas to Lady Ashburton
"That is the historical truth;—nor is it a very strange one after what Fleming has taught me of you! Indeed I altogether agree (on reflexion) with that remarkable man"
June 1, 1854, Thomas to Lady Ashburton
"Fleming came next: 'A message from Lady Alice Peel'! cried the divine Fleming, with triumph in his eyes. Unluckily I knew nothing of this Lady, except incidental rumour of her name, thro' Another very greatly more important to me: 'Lady Ashburton is to be there,' said Fleming; 'and the Duc d'Aumale, and' —
Ah, yes, "the divine Fleming".
March 8, 1856, Thomas to Lady Ashburton
"Lady S. was quite brisk and lively, tho' rather avoiding the cruel March airs, which was wise: she expects to 'flit personally' on Monday, and is deep in upholstery, and cheery negociations with upholsterers and decorators of human life. Fleming came in while I was there; charged with gossip to the muzzle, quality clear and bitter, to a superior degree, as seemed, but my dinner hour had come, and I had to leave that interesting spiritual report."
The quality of gossip is not strain'd
All the Carlyle letters and the footnote with biographical information about Henry Fleming come from The Carlyle Letters Online [CLO]. 2007. http://carlyleletters.org
Our peek at the houses of Charles Street, Berkeley Square in 1871 began at No. 1: Thomas March of 1 Charles Street: One degree from Queen Victoria.
Before that, we started with the Stoker family: Bram Stoker, author of Dracula in public records: BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death).
Next time: what the Carlyles said about Henry. Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane mentioning Henry Fleming in their letters to each other. (For what it's worth, I found it pretty funny what they had to say, and how fragrantly they could throw mud at people.)
THOMAS CARLYLE LETTERS TO HIS WIFE
Monographs personal and social
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Who was Henry Fleming? A dandy? A heartless villain? Both? Neither? More history from Charles Street, Berkeley Square
At No. 2, Charles Street, which runs from the southwest corner of Berkeley Square in London, in 1871, there lived a bachelor, Henry Fleming, and two servants. Perhaps more people actually lived there, but that's who was home on census night.
Map, Google Street View, and the census return details for No. 2 Charles Street
Henry Fleming in 1871: Secretary of the Poor Law Board
It's there in black and white on the census form, Secretary of the Poor Law Board.
Your mind should immediately be racing to thoughts of Oliver Twist and gruel, poor people (both in the sense of lacking wealth and in the sense of suffering hardship), misery, and the workhouse.
This was 1871, about 32 years after the publication of Oliver Twist, but the poor were still liable to be taken into the workhouse, a place no one wanted to be.
Henry Fleming's involvement with the Poor Law Board dates back into the 1840s, closer to Dickensian times.
Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory, 1850, shows, at page 16, that the English Poor Law Board's office was at Somerset House, in London. Henry Fleming, Esq. is one of two Assistant Secretaries.
This was a time when Henry's star was rising.
A few years earlier, on July 15, 1844, Thomas Carlyle, the writer, sent a letter to his wife (one of over 9,000) mentioning callers stopping by that day.
Old Stimabile, Darwin; then after dinner, Fleming3 on horseback to ask If Mrs Carlyle was home?—perhaps by Mrs Buller's order? He would not come in, tho' I by message invited him.
(From Volume 18 of the collected letters, on The Carlyle Letters Online, a website from Duke University Press.)
The footnote says:
"Henry Fleming (d. 1876); asst. sec. of poor law board, 1848–59; permanent sec., 1859–71. Introduced into society by Charles Buller, he “made his way by his pleasant manners and amusing gossip. It was said that when Lady Palmerston wanted to know which way the political wind blew, she sent him out on a horse in the Park. He was very good-looking, and [no one could] … guess his age. He wore an undeniable brown wig, and had a lovely complexion and brilliant teeth, how much due to art no one could tell” (Mary C. M. S. Simpson, Many Memories of Many People [1898] 115).
According to another account Fleming was “a kindly little man, … commonly known as the ‘Flea.’ … He was well known in society, a friend of Charles Buller's, and an habitué of Lady Palmerston's house. He was much made up; and when Lady Ashburton was told of his house being entered by burglars, ‘It was hard on him,’ she said; ‘for he could not move, having unfortunately left his backbone on the dressing-table’” (Algernon West, Recollections 1832 to 1886 [1899] 1:86–87).
His obituary in the Times, 3 March 1876, said: “He was a welcome member of society which his official chiefs [of the poor law board] could often not aspire to enter. … As no one seemed to know his age, it was a constant subject of jocose speculation. His familiarity with Lord Palmerston was attributed to the alleged fact that Lord Palmerston had been his fag at Harrow.”
End of the footnote.
In fact, there are about 20 letters on the Duke University Press Carlyle website where Thomas or Jane (his wife) mentions Henry Fleming.
Our peek at the houses of Charles Street, Berkeley Square in 1871 began at No. 1: Thomas March of 1 Charles Street: One degree from Queen Victoria.
Before that, we started with the Stoker family: Bram Stoker, author of Dracula in public records: BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death).
Next time: what the Carlyles said about Henry. Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane mentioning Henry Fleming in their letters to each other. (For what it's worth, I found it pretty funny what they had to say, and how fragrantly they could throw mud at people.)
Map, Google Street View, and the census return details for No. 2 Charles Street
Henry Fleming in 1871: Secretary of the Poor Law Board
It's there in black and white on the census form, Secretary of the Poor Law Board.
Your mind should immediately be racing to thoughts of Oliver Twist and gruel, poor people (both in the sense of lacking wealth and in the sense of suffering hardship), misery, and the workhouse.
This was 1871, about 32 years after the publication of Oliver Twist, but the poor were still liable to be taken into the workhouse, a place no one wanted to be.
Henry Fleming's involvement with the Poor Law Board dates back into the 1840s, closer to Dickensian times.
Thom's Irish Almanac and Official Directory, 1850, shows, at page 16, that the English Poor Law Board's office was at Somerset House, in London. Henry Fleming, Esq. is one of two Assistant Secretaries.
This was a time when Henry's star was rising.
A few years earlier, on July 15, 1844, Thomas Carlyle, the writer, sent a letter to his wife (one of over 9,000) mentioning callers stopping by that day.
Old Stimabile, Darwin; then after dinner, Fleming3 on horseback to ask If Mrs Carlyle was home?—perhaps by Mrs Buller's order? He would not come in, tho' I by message invited him.
(From Volume 18 of the collected letters, on The Carlyle Letters Online, a website from Duke University Press.)
The footnote says:
"Henry Fleming (d. 1876); asst. sec. of poor law board, 1848–59; permanent sec., 1859–71. Introduced into society by Charles Buller, he “made his way by his pleasant manners and amusing gossip. It was said that when Lady Palmerston wanted to know which way the political wind blew, she sent him out on a horse in the Park. He was very good-looking, and [no one could] … guess his age. He wore an undeniable brown wig, and had a lovely complexion and brilliant teeth, how much due to art no one could tell” (Mary C. M. S. Simpson, Many Memories of Many People [1898] 115).
According to another account Fleming was “a kindly little man, … commonly known as the ‘Flea.’ … He was well known in society, a friend of Charles Buller's, and an habitué of Lady Palmerston's house. He was much made up; and when Lady Ashburton was told of his house being entered by burglars, ‘It was hard on him,’ she said; ‘for he could not move, having unfortunately left his backbone on the dressing-table’” (Algernon West, Recollections 1832 to 1886 [1899] 1:86–87).
His obituary in the Times, 3 March 1876, said: “He was a welcome member of society which his official chiefs [of the poor law board] could often not aspire to enter. … As no one seemed to know his age, it was a constant subject of jocose speculation. His familiarity with Lord Palmerston was attributed to the alleged fact that Lord Palmerston had been his fag at Harrow.”
End of the footnote.
In fact, there are about 20 letters on the Duke University Press Carlyle website where Thomas or Jane (his wife) mentions Henry Fleming.
Our peek at the houses of Charles Street, Berkeley Square in 1871 began at No. 1: Thomas March of 1 Charles Street: One degree from Queen Victoria.
Before that, we started with the Stoker family: Bram Stoker, author of Dracula in public records: BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death).
Next time: what the Carlyles said about Henry. Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane mentioning Henry Fleming in their letters to each other. (For what it's worth, I found it pretty funny what they had to say, and how fragrantly they could throw mud at people.)
Friday, February 25, 2011
No. 2 Charles Street Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London, in 1871
The last seven posts, starting with
Thomas March of 1 Charles Street: One degree from Queen Victoria
have looked closely at the family who occupied No.1 Charles Street according to the 1871 census.
Charles Street runs from the south west corner of Berkeley Square, and from what I've seen, it was a pretty good neighbourhood back in 1871.
We continue the exploration with the second house on the street. Here's the Google Maps image as it now is.
View Larger Map
And the current Google Street View picture, with No. 1 on the right (Thomas C. March house in 1871) and No. 2, the blue one, on the left.
View Larger Map
Link in case map isn't visible: 2 Charles Street, Mayfair, and the link to the Street View.
Living at No. 2, in 1871, the census says this.
No. 2: Henry Flemming, 59, unmarried, Civil Servant, Secretary of the Poor Law Board
1 Family, namely Henry himself.
2 Servants, James Austen, 50, and Martha Newman, 17, both unmarried.
Citation from Ancestry.co.uk: Class: RG10; Piece: 102; Folio: 75; Page: 31; GSU roll: 838762.
There's a mention here on p. 522 of The British Medical Journal, May 23, 1868:
"IO. Mr. Flemming, Secretary of the Poor-law Board, acknowledges
on February 20th, I867, the receipt of Mr. Trevor's last letter."
The spelling of "Flemming", however, is not consistent in the records. In the majority of cases I've seen so far, it's been spelled with only one "m", "Fleming".
Henry Fleming was a rather interesting fellow, from another interesting family. This family will take us to the poorhouse and to the last gasps of the slave trade.
Our peek at the houses of Charles Street, Berkeley Square in 1871 began at No. 1: Thomas March of 1 Charles Street: One degree from Queen Victoria.
Before that, we started with the Stoker family: Bram Stoker, author of Dracula in public records: BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death).
Next: Who was Henry Fleming? A dandy? A heartless villain? Both? Neither? More history from Charles Street, Berkeley Square.
Thomas March of 1 Charles Street: One degree from Queen Victoria
have looked closely at the family who occupied No.1 Charles Street according to the 1871 census.
Charles Street runs from the south west corner of Berkeley Square, and from what I've seen, it was a pretty good neighbourhood back in 1871.
We continue the exploration with the second house on the street. Here's the Google Maps image as it now is.
View Larger Map
And the current Google Street View picture, with No. 1 on the right (Thomas C. March house in 1871) and No. 2, the blue one, on the left.
View Larger Map
Link in case map isn't visible: 2 Charles Street, Mayfair, and the link to the Street View.
Living at No. 2, in 1871, the census says this.
No. 2: Henry Flemming, 59, unmarried, Civil Servant, Secretary of the Poor Law Board
1 Family, namely Henry himself.
2 Servants, James Austen, 50, and Martha Newman, 17, both unmarried.
Citation from Ancestry.co.uk: Class: RG10; Piece: 102; Folio: 75; Page: 31; GSU roll: 838762.
There's a mention here on p. 522 of The British Medical Journal, May 23, 1868:
"IO. Mr. Flemming, Secretary of the Poor-law Board, acknowledges
on February 20th, I867, the receipt of Mr. Trevor's last letter."
The spelling of "Flemming", however, is not consistent in the records. In the majority of cases I've seen so far, it's been spelled with only one "m", "Fleming".
Henry Fleming was a rather interesting fellow, from another interesting family. This family will take us to the poorhouse and to the last gasps of the slave trade.
Our peek at the houses of Charles Street, Berkeley Square in 1871 began at No. 1: Thomas March of 1 Charles Street: One degree from Queen Victoria.
Before that, we started with the Stoker family: Bram Stoker, author of Dracula in public records: BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death).
Next: Who was Henry Fleming? A dandy? A heartless villain? Both? Neither? More history from Charles Street, Berkeley Square.
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