tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17308917459054478962024-08-28T06:21:06.083-06:00Odds and ends that turn up in the course of doing family history and genealogy research. Every name has a story. At least one.Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-42598112944241002152012-09-29T15:16:00.000-06:002012-09-29T15:16:13.562-06:00

Did you know there is a second Mona Lisa? Yes, and I'm related to the man who found her, Hugh Blaker. Of course, I had no idea about any of this until a couple of hours ago. Here's what happened. Today I went to the National Archives in London with no particular game plan. Actually I was just hoping to write up some notes from earlier visits, not to do new research. But you know how it is. So

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-31122374683648627902012-07-03T22:42:00.000-06:002012-07-05T18:47:27.285-06:00

Grave marker in the churchyard of St Mary Magdalene, Mortlake, Surrey (London, England)   In Loving Memory of Lieut. Colonel John O'Brien Minogue, CMG, West Yorkshire Regt. Died Oct. 26, 1916, aged 55 years. I took a picture of this grave marker only because it was clear, old, military, and had a feeling of loneliness. In Loving Memory, but where is his family? Not here, as far as I

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-65313521722910552342012-06-12T14:09:00.001-06:002012-06-12T14:32:25.044-06:00

Sir Richard Burton, who died in 1890, was an English explorer whose better-known achievements were translating the Arabian Nights and the Kama Sutra and entering the holy city of Mecca in disguise. This is just the tip of the iceberg. After his death, the great explorer was not buried in Westminster Abbey as his wife Isabel reportedly wanted. Instead, both the Burtons now lie in a mausoleum in

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-72512595710861798552011-10-26T20:52:00.002-06:002011-10-26T21:01:43.466-06:00

Evelyn Philip Medows (1736 to 1826) was featured in a satirical article in Town & Country Magazine in 1776. The series, called "History of the Tête-à-tête", mocked some of the illicit or scandalous love affairs of the day. Each article was accompanied by an engraved portrait of the man and woman involved, in an oval frame, presented facing each other. Many of these portraits have found

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-61725584152829897392011-09-02T22:09:00.000-06:002011-09-02T22:09:58.926-06:00

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

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-31221139274314093142011-08-29T18:25:00.008-06:002011-09-01T17:52:33.701-06:00

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

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-19204807472878902642011-08-27T22:20:00.002-06:002011-08-27T22:24:32.718-06:00

Evelyn Medows was born in about December 1736. By the time he married his second wife, Harriet Maria Norie in 1811, he was already 74 years old and had lived a colourful life. In 1776, four years before Harriet was born, Evelyn was a key player in one of the most famous British court cases: the trial of the Duchess of Kingston for bigamy. The Duchess remains a noted, or perhaps notorious

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-69976621574961081432011-07-17T15:19:00.000-06:002011-07-17T15:19:07.986-06:00

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

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-24198254475506457802011-07-14T22:03:00.001-06:002011-07-14T22:32:42.743-06:00

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

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-85167643014082883082011-07-13T21:22:00.001-06:002011-07-13T21:23:24.550-06:00

City of London Truss-Society, for the Relief of the Ruptured Poor

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-89823064501885945742011-07-12T20:20:00.001-06:002011-07-13T20:42:47.977-06:00

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

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-72451293212969239922011-06-25T14:14:00.000-06:002011-06-25T14:14:03.312-06:00

This is part of my ongoing exploration of Charles Street, mainly in the 1871 census, though as it happens Sir John died in 1863. I became curious about Sir John's wealth (or lack of it) and where it went after his death. One avenue I explored was the obvious one: his descendants. Sir John's Portuguese wife and young son died when the boy was young, leaving only a daughter, Elizabeth Campbell (

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-35936285310841363812011-06-20T13:53:00.000-06:002011-06-20T13:53:28.009-06:00

I had the birth, marriage, and death information for Sir John Campbell, KCTS some time ago. Why keep going? There are a few reasons, but here is one of them: to learn what kind of man he was. I've made inferences, which is really all I can do, given the lack of direct evidence about the man. However, there are a few eyewitnesses who described him as a soldier (Sir Arthur Wellesley, later the

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0Hunsdon, Ware, Hertfordshire, UK51.7953839 0.05637999999999010551.774119899999995 0.0330094999999901 51.8166479 0.079750499999990107tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-44386383187954558332011-06-02T20:26:00.002-06:002011-06-05T18:25:24.836-06:00

This comes from the The Court Journal: Court circular and fashionable gazette of July 1835, page 503.   (It says: "A meeting took place on Wednesday evening at Battersea fields between R. J. Mackintosh Esq., attended by Major General Sir John Campbell and William Wallace, Esq. attended by Dr Richard Burke. The word having been given, Mr Mackintosh's pistol missed fire, and Mr Wallace fired

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-12444408683331673972011-06-02T20:08:00.006-06:002011-06-05T18:36:55.128-06:00

In 1824, Sir John Campbell found himself, at the age of 44, a widower with a 6-year-old daughter, and in mourning for his 3-year-old son. Before the year was out, he had resigned from the army, where he had distinguished himself in fighting in Portugal during the Peninsular Wars of the early 19th century. He and young Elizabeth were apparently living quietly in London. Then everything changed,

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-22347261103980931302011-06-01T18:44:00.001-06:002011-06-05T18:46:14.051-06:00

I have mentioned a few things about Sir John Campbell, KB, KCTS, and left off suggesting that the KCTS (Knight Commander of the Tower and the Sword, Portugal) shaped his life. As far as I can tell, Sir John Campbell stayed in Portugal after the Peninsular Wars, on loan to the Portuguese army until 1820. He left when the constitutionalists started to become too heated. When he returned to England

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-3775958714666783312011-05-29T11:44:00.000-06:002011-05-29T11:44:09.799-06:00

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

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-53485223655406408952011-05-28T18:24:00.001-06:002011-05-28T18:27:30.189-06:00

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

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-64038278933185776532011-05-28T14:31:00.001-06:002011-05-28T14:33:18.581-06:00

 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

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-77004390195891421452011-05-16T19:12:00.000-06:002011-05-16T19:12:25.292-06:00

On the one hand, it's exciting to find brushes with royalty here on Charles Street. On the other, it inevitably means a massive knot of connections to work out! Stay on the edge of your seat and I will let you know who this fine person was in a little while. (The size of the while has a lot to do with the complexity of the family webs.)

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-2086480765039777342011-05-16T17:43:00.001-06:002011-05-17T14:13:11.932-06:00

I'm still writing about Charles Street and its people. So far I've been presenting the people who lived there in 1871. To make the physical process of doing the research a bit easier (though it may not sound like this is really an improvement), I've recently been looking at each house in each census from 1841 to 1901. It's a big job but very gratifying, as it shows me relationships and linear

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-42433134778504351882011-04-20T20:22:00.000-06:002011-04-20T20:22:59.903-06:00

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,

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-52104155226397329022011-04-19T21:21:00.001-06:002011-04-19T21:35:48.460-06:00

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 (

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-55326978229771448872011-04-18T21:05:00.002-06:002011-04-19T19:47:35.031-06:00

I looked online at all the free sources I could reasonably check without devoting my life to the pursuit of easy-to-get information about Sir George T. Lambert. He was a bachelor who ended his days at 7 Park Place, St James's. The current building, now a top-end boutique hotel, restaurant and gentleman's club, at No. 7 and 8 Park Place, was built in 1891-92. It was planned to have 44 "sets of

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730891745905447896.post-76317381178839153032011-04-17T23:16:00.004-06:002011-04-17T23:32:20.468-06:00

I am lifting this straight from Wikipedia. There is no credit given for this letter specifically, unfortunately, so I can't tell you which volume of Byron's letters might contain it. I've checked a few online without success. ****Update: The source is Byron, Child of Passion, Fool of Fame by Benita Eisler. (Random House of Canada, 2000) [Byron] referred to [Clare] also in the following manner

Jill Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08129903426625048142noreply@blogger.com1