Cool, grey, a late autumn day. Wrapped up in my new woolly cardi with a pot of camomile, a couple of kitties and a determination to solve some of the harder photos in that wonderful collection (I suppose one can't call it an album any more) that I started on yesterday ...
So, here we go.
This bearded gent was identified as "M Willyams". Well, after Madocks and Loyd had both turned out to be correct, I guessed that Willyams probably was too ... and it was.
Edward William Brydges WILLYAMS (b Nanskeval, Cornwall 5 November 1836; d Carnaton, Cornwall 10 October 1916) is hugely documented so I wont go into too much detail about him. He was the second son of Humphrey Willyams of Mawgan in Pydar, Cornwall and his wife Ellen Frances Brydges Neynoe, of Castle Neynoe, Sligo. He went through Oxford University, as the Willyamses of Cornwall had done for generations, but instead of going into the army or the church, he opted for a Liberal seat in parliament. Sometimes he got in (1857-9; 1868-74; 1880-5), sometimes he didn't. He married Jane, daughter of Sir Trevor Wheler, baronet, but got involved in a scandal and a divorce suit when he got out of those snazzy trousers once too often ... and with the wife of a member of the opposition, too ..
He didn't resign, but he didn't stand at the next election. Jane died in 1877, and in 1882 he married Emily Hannah Levy, daughter of Sir Joseph Moses Levy, owner of The Daily Telegraph. I see that Emily's sister became Lady Lanyon: a relation perhaps of the Jane Lanyon of Cornwall whom I blogged recently?
His elder brother, James, also married a lady of the Jewish persuasion, who, as Sarah Brydges Willyams, made the headlines by her friendship with, and a legacy of some 38,000L to, Benjamin Disraeli 'in admiration of his efforts to vindicate the Jewish race'.
Brydges made the courts and the headlines once again when he was accused of taking 5000L to plug a worthless mine in Utah, and yet again when there were, for the umpteenth time, murmurs of electional bribery in his realm
He lost the election. But won the next. It must have been the trousers.
He was in the faits divers columns again when the wife of his heir and nephew, Olive Alice Simcoe née Marke, tried to extort money from him by means of apparently forged documents. She was put away ..
Emily had died in 1902, the nephew was killed in the Great War, Brydges died the next year ... so I will leave this tale here.
Oh, Olive lived till 1935.
I didn't think I had much chance of deciphering this couple of Yorkes, photographed in Leamington, but ... thanks to Dyffryn Aled ...
I imagine that this is Pierce Wynne YORKE (b Llarmon, Denbyshire 1826; d Penzance 10 December 1891) who inherited the Dyffryn Aled estate, Abergele, from his father in .. wait a moment, I see Sir Trevor Wheler in their family tree. So these folk are connected in some way to the last...? Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales was published a little too early to hold the whole story. Yes! Pierce jr married Lucy Penelope Wheler 12 January 1854. So the lady below is the sister of the first Mrs Brydges Willyams.
Lucy Penelope YORKE (née WHELER) (b Glasgow 31 January 1826; d Plas yn Cornel, Abergele 2 September 1906) ...
This couple had no newspaperworthy scandals of which I know, but their ancestral home became a prisoner of war camp, now cutely christened the 'Colditz of Britain' ...
Having originally thought this album was centred on Leamington, Warwickshire, I'm beginning to wonder if it were not centred on Wales. This photo is inscribed 'Mrs Heaton, Plas Heaton' ..
Oy oy. Might have known!
'The Heatons of Plas Heaton were a branch of the Hetons of Heton, Lancashire, and first came to Wales as soldiers in the late 13th century when they were given lands at Lleweni Green, Denbighshire, by Edward I. They married into several important local families, including the Myddeltons of Gwaenynog, the Griffiths of Garn, the Wynnes of Voelas and the Lloyds of Foxhall, thus acquiring further estates in Denbighshire.
In the 18th century the Heatons became lords of the Manor of Wareham, Norfolk, following the marriage of John Heaton (1696-1779) with Martha, only daughter of Christopher Adamson of Wareham, Hall, but they continued to reside in the Denbigh area. John Heaton (1787-1855) moved from Plas Heaton near Denbigh to Plas Newydd in the parish of Henllan, and renamed the house Plas Heaton. He was chairman of the Committee of Visitors of the North Wales Lunatic Assylum. His successor was his eldest son, John Richard Heaton (1816-1885) who died without issue, the estate passing to his brother, Hugh Edward Heaton (1821-1891). The estate then descended in the male line until Wilfred John Heaton who died without issue in 1965'.
So do we have here Mrs J R Heaton or Mrs the Reverend H E Heaton? Oh, it appears there wasn't a Mrs J R: that simplifies things! So this must be Catherine Maria HEATON (née CRAVEN) (b Clapton x 3 July 1829; d Trefelwy, St Asaph, Flintshire). Daughter of a sugar refiner. She looks a little old for b 1829. She did have thirteen children ... goodness, I don't suppose it is the dowager! No. She died after Hugh's birth. So it's Catherine. Wife of the vicar of Bettws an Rhos and -- of heavens! mother of John Henniker Heaton of whom I have already written in my biography of Emily Soldene.
Well, we're out of Welsh Wales for our next photo. 'Airey. Afghan campaign 1838'. That one isn't hard!
James Talbot AIREY (b Messina, Sicily 6 September 1812; d 114 Victoria St, London 1 January 1898). Career soldier to Lt General KCB. Unmarried. Mother a sister of Baron Talbot de Malahide. Brother of Lord Airey. Details of his soldiering career in the DNB, Dictionary of Indian Biography et al. Other than which ...
I think that this next one is named 'Edward Meynell'.
Could be Edward, barrister at law, son of Thomas Esq JP of Kilvington Hall and the Fryerage, near Yarm, Yorks who married Katharine Michael of St Martin's, Northampton (1840). Son at Wakefield January 1841. Wife died of it. Edward Meynell (b Fryerage, Yarm 25 June 1811; d Little Woodhouse, Leeds 15 February 1856) by Thomas out of Mary Teresa née Wright. But he died in 1856. His son was Edward, too. But he was born 1841... maybe I'm hoisting the wrong Meynell.
Oh dear, this photo was taken by Caldesi, Blanford of 13 Pall Mall. Caldesi and Blanford didn't get together until 1860. 1860-2 so one encylopaedia says. Which would fit this picture neatly in with the others. But make it another Meynell. Grrr.
Alongside this photo are two others taken by Caldesi, Blanford. The surname is clear enough -- Greenwood. Mother and daughter(s).
Same daughter, different dress? Different daughter? Greenwood eh. Grünbaum maybe. Surely that lady is Jewish? Should I look for Mr Greenwood, banker? the Greenwoods of Merthyr? Frederick Greenwood 'landowner and magistrate' of Norton Hall, Norton Conyers, Yorks ('ancient mansion'), later there are a Mrs and Miss at the Warneford Ball in Leamington ... I rather fancied the Norton Conyers connection. Frederick [John Patrick] Greenwood Esq died 28 August 1862. His wife was Sarah née Staniforth (1805-1892) his daughter Mary Littledale Greenwood ... but she was already Mrs Rohde Hawkins in 1854. Sigh. Another blank. But there they are, Mrs and Miss, doing the social bit in the 1860s ..
I can't be wrong all the time. Let's try another one where I have two chances at the name of ... the same person? Bit hard to tell ... but the whiskers are the same. One is 'Mr Oakely (sic)' the other 'Mr W Oakely' ...
This is my guess... 1853 ...
'Old Tom' Oakely and his wife Elizabeth née Pearce had eight children, of which William (b Lydart, Mon 18 April 1822; d 1912) was the fourth, and traditionally destined for the church. After his marriage to Miss Bagnall he became Bagnall Oakely (which some of the next generation -- there were 12 of them ... hyphenated). He graduated MS from Jesus, Oxford, and was curate of Penalt for many years. I must say that he don'y look awfully like a curate to me ... but it's the best solution I can find.
Unless he's really Oakeley and related to Sir Charles William Atholl Oakeley baronet ...
Am I actually going to score any more? I mean, what chance do I have with this gent
Mr Gygrs. Ah! Mr GIPPS maybe? Dotting eyes is not our collector's speciality. Although he occasionally dots an 'e'.
So I have Peter Colville and Mrs, Mrs Dundas (photographed in Calcutta by the same studio as Miss Madocks!), Mr Dixon of the 13th [Light Brigade] (taken in Paris), Mark Wood, R or B ?V Jenkins, J Thompson, Mrs Turner (looking rather like the Misses Madocks) and Mrs Bateson? both photographed in Bad Homburg
and most infuriatingly the dramatic Mrs Granville née Wellugon or Melluson, or is it Millingen, cousin to John W? Indecipherable ... is it John AND HELENA?
They have two hours to surrender to me ... after which I'm going to bed ...
Well, there's a Peter Colville Esq of Torryburn in 1859 whose well-established family were into owning coal mines there (see History of Technology vol 18)... and a Mrs Peter of 62 Nethergate, Dundee giving birth in 1856. All the thus nameds seem to be in Scotland ...
And I've been through ALL the Granville marriages from 1840 to 1863 and there's nothing remotely resembling a Miss Mell or Miss Well ..
The lovely Mrs Dundas of Calcutta. Mrs WHO Dundas. If she was Mrs Colonel Ralph Bristow Dundas she was née Esther Jane Goodman. If she was Mrs Captain Edward Thomas Dundas, she was Everilda Mordaunt Barnard (b Thornton in Craven, Yorks 1824; d 15 Porchester Terrace, Hyde Park 2 May 1910) daughter of the vicar of Great Amwell ... "how happy I would be with either"
And as for R V Jenkins .. well there's an R W in the army, but ... well, the army? I suppose the army was full of 'curled darlings' but that's not remotely a 'W'
Mrs Dundas has labelled her photo 'to John'. Is that the John to whom Mrs Granville is cousin? Maybe it is this man, evidently family to the collector, labelled just 'John' ...
Nine minutes till deadline. Sorry, folks, I did my best ...
Have a shot and see if you all can help!
He was in the faits divers columns again when the wife of his heir and nephew, Olive Alice Simcoe née Marke, tried to extort money from him by means of apparently forged documents. She was put away ..
Emily had died in 1902, the nephew was killed in the Great War, Brydges died the next year ... so I will leave this tale here.
Oh, Olive lived till 1935.
I didn't think I had much chance of deciphering this couple of Yorkes, photographed in Leamington, but ... thanks to Dyffryn Aled ...
I imagine that this is Pierce Wynne YORKE (b Llarmon, Denbyshire 1826; d Penzance 10 December 1891) who inherited the Dyffryn Aled estate, Abergele, from his father in .. wait a moment, I see Sir Trevor Wheler in their family tree. So these folk are connected in some way to the last...? Annals and Antiquities of the Counties and County Families of Wales was published a little too early to hold the whole story. Yes! Pierce jr married Lucy Penelope Wheler 12 January 1854. So the lady below is the sister of the first Mrs Brydges Willyams.
Lucy Penelope YORKE (née WHELER) (b Glasgow 31 January 1826; d Plas yn Cornel, Abergele 2 September 1906) ...
This couple had no newspaperworthy scandals of which I know, but their ancestral home became a prisoner of war camp, now cutely christened the 'Colditz of Britain' ...
Having originally thought this album was centred on Leamington, Warwickshire, I'm beginning to wonder if it were not centred on Wales. This photo is inscribed 'Mrs Heaton, Plas Heaton' ..
Oy oy. Might have known!
'The Heatons of Plas Heaton were a branch of the Hetons of Heton, Lancashire, and first came to Wales as soldiers in the late 13th century when they were given lands at Lleweni Green, Denbighshire, by Edward I. They married into several important local families, including the Myddeltons of Gwaenynog, the Griffiths of Garn, the Wynnes of Voelas and the Lloyds of Foxhall, thus acquiring further estates in Denbighshire.
In the 18th century the Heatons became lords of the Manor of Wareham, Norfolk, following the marriage of John Heaton (1696-1779) with Martha, only daughter of Christopher Adamson of Wareham, Hall, but they continued to reside in the Denbigh area. John Heaton (1787-1855) moved from Plas Heaton near Denbigh to Plas Newydd in the parish of Henllan, and renamed the house Plas Heaton. He was chairman of the Committee of Visitors of the North Wales Lunatic Assylum. His successor was his eldest son, John Richard Heaton (1816-1885) who died without issue, the estate passing to his brother, Hugh Edward Heaton (1821-1891). The estate then descended in the male line until Wilfred John Heaton who died without issue in 1965'.
So do we have here Mrs J R Heaton or Mrs the Reverend H E Heaton? Oh, it appears there wasn't a Mrs J R: that simplifies things! So this must be Catherine Maria HEATON (née CRAVEN) (b Clapton x 3 July 1829; d Trefelwy, St Asaph, Flintshire). Daughter of a sugar refiner. She looks a little old for b 1829. She did have thirteen children ... goodness, I don't suppose it is the dowager! No. She died after Hugh's birth. So it's Catherine. Wife of the vicar of Bettws an Rhos and -- of heavens! mother of John Henniker Heaton of whom I have already written in my biography of Emily Soldene.
Well, we're out of Welsh Wales for our next photo. 'Airey. Afghan campaign 1838'. That one isn't hard!
James Talbot AIREY (b Messina, Sicily 6 September 1812; d 114 Victoria St, London 1 January 1898). Career soldier to Lt General KCB. Unmarried. Mother a sister of Baron Talbot de Malahide. Brother of Lord Airey. Details of his soldiering career in the DNB, Dictionary of Indian Biography et al. Other than which ...
I think that this next one is named 'Edward Meynell'.
Oh dear, this photo was taken by Caldesi, Blanford of 13 Pall Mall. Caldesi and Blanford didn't get together until 1860. 1860-2 so one encylopaedia says. Which would fit this picture neatly in with the others. But make it another Meynell. Grrr.
Alongside this photo are two others taken by Caldesi, Blanford. The surname is clear enough -- Greenwood. Mother and daughter(s).
Same daughter, different dress? Different daughter? Greenwood eh. Grünbaum maybe. Surely that lady is Jewish? Should I look for Mr Greenwood, banker? the Greenwoods of Merthyr? Frederick Greenwood 'landowner and magistrate' of Norton Hall, Norton Conyers, Yorks ('ancient mansion'), later there are a Mrs and Miss at the Warneford Ball in Leamington ... I rather fancied the Norton Conyers connection. Frederick [John Patrick] Greenwood Esq died 28 August 1862. His wife was Sarah née Staniforth (1805-1892) his daughter Mary Littledale Greenwood ... but she was already Mrs Rohde Hawkins in 1854. Sigh. Another blank. But there they are, Mrs and Miss, doing the social bit in the 1860s ..
I can't be wrong all the time. Let's try another one where I have two chances at the name of ... the same person? Bit hard to tell ... but the whiskers are the same. One is 'Mr Oakely (sic)' the other 'Mr W Oakely' ...
This is my guess... 1853 ...
Unless he's really Oakeley and related to Sir Charles William Atholl Oakeley baronet ...
Am I actually going to score any more? I mean, what chance do I have with this gent
Mr Gygrs. Ah! Mr GIPPS maybe? Dotting eyes is not our collector's speciality. Although he occasionally dots an 'e'.
So I have Peter Colville and Mrs, Mrs Dundas (photographed in Calcutta by the same studio as Miss Madocks!), Mr Dixon of the 13th [Light Brigade] (taken in Paris), Mark Wood, R or B ?V Jenkins, J Thompson, Mrs Turner (looking rather like the Misses Madocks) and Mrs Bateson? both photographed in Bad Homburg
and most infuriatingly the dramatic Mrs Granville née Wellugon or Melluson, or is it Millingen, cousin to John W? Indecipherable ... is it John AND HELENA?
They have two hours to surrender to me ... after which I'm going to bed ...
Well, there's a Peter Colville Esq of Torryburn in 1859 whose well-established family were into owning coal mines there (see History of Technology vol 18)... and a Mrs Peter of 62 Nethergate, Dundee giving birth in 1856. All the thus nameds seem to be in Scotland ...
And I've been through ALL the Granville marriages from 1840 to 1863 and there's nothing remotely resembling a Miss Mell or Miss Well ..
The lovely Mrs Dundas of Calcutta. Mrs WHO Dundas. If she was Mrs Colonel Ralph Bristow Dundas she was née Esther Jane Goodman. If she was Mrs Captain Edward Thomas Dundas, she was Everilda Mordaunt Barnard (b Thornton in Craven, Yorks 1824; d 15 Porchester Terrace, Hyde Park 2 May 1910) daughter of the vicar of Great Amwell ... "how happy I would be with either"
And as for R V Jenkins .. well there's an R W in the army, but ... well, the army? I suppose the army was full of 'curled darlings' but that's not remotely a 'W'
Mrs Dundas has labelled her photo 'to John'. Is that the John to whom Mrs Granville is cousin? Maybe it is this man, evidently family to the collector, labelled just 'John' ...
Nine minutes till deadline. Sorry, folks, I did my best ...
Have a shot and see if you all can help!
Very interesting, thank you! I'm of the Wheler family, so it's interesting to stumble upon this.
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