The History of Wandsworth Common
IN PROGRESS — NOT FOR PUBLICATION
The Battersea Claimant
"Henry Clay" / "Lord Fitzroy Lennox"
My interest started with reading a short article in the South London Press, about the closure in 1881 of the cemetery at the corner of Bolingbroke Grove and Battersea Rise — with its intriguing [come-on] about a ship going down and a Lord buried in Battersea who was believed to have drowned when a ship went down in the Atlantic [? years previously].
Tell me more!
From December 2022's Chronicles:
Hampshire Advertiser — 30 December 1871
Was the recently deceased "Henry Clay", a "tall, gaunt-looking, rather shabbily attired" railway worker who had lived on Battersea Rise, really Lord Fitzroy Lennox — universally believed to have drowned in the north Atlantic when the President went down thirty years earlier?
Henry Clay certainly insisted he was, and demanded to be buried as such.
(Click on image to enlarge)
DEATH OF A BATTERSEA "CLAIMANT"
WAS LORD FITZROY LENNOX LOST IN "THE PRESIDENT"?
The fact may interest many of our readers that on Sunday week died at Battersea-rise, Wandsworth, a person who some few months since was expected to startle the world with a revelation more mystifying and of wider interest than . . .
Sorry. This is such a big story I'm going to have to leave it at least until next month — but it's a good 'un!
[This story was introduced in Chronicles: December 2022
Unsorted notes . . .
South London Press — Saturday 2 July 1881
The Battersea Cemetery was finally closed last week against general interments, and only those having private or family graves will permitted to make use of the existing local burial ground, which in its time has been the subject _ both of scandal and romance the disgraceful overcrowding which continued until Government inquiry put an end with all promptitude to what was, in dual sense, a grave local scandal.
Few of the present residents in Battersea are acquainted with the romantic side of the Battersea Golgotha — or, more properly speaking, with the romantic history of one of the persons who, a few years ago, was buried within its walls. The person in question claimed to be no other than Lord Fitzroy Lennox (generally supposed to have been lost when the President went down), and whose elder brother is the present Duke of Richmond. The deceased was buried at Battersea, and insisted to the last upon having the coffin plate inscribed with the full names and title of the long-ago lamented scion of the Lennox family.
The closing of the cemetery being by means an inappropriate opportunity, we shall in next week's paper give resume of the death and history of this individual — the narration of which, at the time his death, excited considerable attention.
[BNA: Link]
Who, where, what, when?
[Wikipedia: Charles_Gordon-Lennox,_5th_Duke_of_Richmond]
Marriage and children
On 10 April 1817 he married Lady Caroline Paget (1797 — March 1874), a daughter of Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey by his wife Lady Caroline Villiers, by whom he had five sons and five daughters, including:
Fitzroy George Charles Gordon-Lennox (11 June 1820 — March 1841), lost at sea aboard SS President
[Wikipedia: SS President]
. . . On 11 March 1841, President cleared New York bound for Liverpool on her third eastbound voyage. She was overloaded with cargo to compensate for her roll. President was last seen the next day struggling in a gale.[1] Her disappearance was major news for several months and even Queen Victoria followed the story.[4]
Westminster School Archive
Gordon-Lennox, Lord Fitzroy George Charles, 1820-1841
GORDON-LENNOX, LORD FITZROY GEORGE CHARLES, second son of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond and Lennox (qv); b. 11 Jun 1820; adm. 14 Feb 1834 (boarded with Mr Hodgson); Ensign, 43rd Foot 15 Sep 1837; Lieut., 11 Sep 1840; 10th Light Dragoons (Hussars) 16 Feb 1841; 13th Light Dragoons 16 Feb 1841; lost in SS President on his passage home from from New York, USA 13 Mar 1841.
[Westminster School: Link]
1870-01-29-SportingGazette-29jan1870
Hampshire Independent — Tuesday 1 February 1870
ANOTHER TICHBORNE CASE
The Daily News promises the sensation-loving public a rich morsel — another romantic tale of family life, formed on the style of the Tichborne case. Another "aristocratic mystery," our contemporary informs us, has to be unravelled; and may, for aught that can be said to the contrary, come before the courts.
The facts of the case are, in short, that a claimant of the rank and name of Lord Fitzroy, George Charles Lennox, the second son of the fifth Duke of Richmond, which son it was supposed had been drowned, nearly thirty years ago, in the President steam-vessel, on a voyage from America to England, has just made himself known to "his family."
The family will have nothing to do with him; and certainly appearances are against him. For twenty-nine years he has kept silence; and he now turns up at Battersea living very obscurely. He says he never went on board the President, and that he has kept himself quiet all this time. But for what reason? Men, we know, take some very queer whims into their heads; but the soi-disant "Lord Charles" puts too great a strain upon our credulity.
[BNA: Link]
1870-02-01-WesternDailyPress-1feb1870
Newcastle Journal — Tuesday 1 February 1870
[Needs edit]
A ROMANCE OF THE PEERAGE
While the great Tichborne case still remains among the unsolved problems of family romance, we are threatened with another aristocratic mystery hardly less worthy of the attention of Sir Bernard Burke. It is within a few weeks of 29 years since the President steam-vessel sailed out of New York harbour for Liverpool, carrying, among other distinguished passengers, Lord Fitzroy George Charles Lennox, second son of Charles Gordon Lennox, fifth Duke of Richmond.
The unfortunate President, as everybody knows, never made her appearance in British waters, nor has any one hitherto come to tell the tale of what befell her on that fatal voyage. Somewhere on the wild inhospitable shore of Greenland, a thousand leagues away from her true course, there drifted ashore many months afterwards, if we remember rightly, some article of furniture which was identified as having belonged to the saloon of the gallant ship which had so often given successful battle to the waves of the Atlantic; but except the consolatory fact that it bore no trace of fire, thus indicating that her unhappy freight had escaped that worst of all calamities at sea, the world learnt nothing from this circumstance but what they well knew before.
The President — her "back broke," in a gale, or struck by an iceberg in the night — had foundered somewhere in mid-ocean, with captain, crew, and passengers. If such was the belief, if not the positive certainty, in 1841, how much more so in 1870? Survivors of calamities like these are not wont to keep sorrowing relatives in suspense, and it seemed that the silence of twenty-nine years could be no other than the silence of the dead.
Yet now we are called on to believe that there exists one at least who could have told in all its details the sorrowful story of the President's last voyage.
We beg his pardon, "Lord Fitzroy Lennox," who dates from "Albert Cottages, Battersea Rise" describes himself only as he who was "supposed to have been on board the President when she was lost about thirty years since." So that all this time the young nobleman for whom we have been mourning would appear to have merely been spending the best years of his life — from to 50 — in obscure retirement. Xo doubt he will be able to explain satisfactorily why he thus inflicted torture on father and mother, sisters, and brothers; why he let the world believe that he sailed aboard the President, when he had done nothing of the kind, and why he has hitherto neglected the obvious advantages to be derived from claiming connection with the family of a duke.
We observe that "Lord Fitzroy, his public announcement, requests that, " if any of his old friends are still living, they will put themselves in communication with him for the purpose of identification, so that if recognised they may intercede with his relatives, who, after five years' correspondence (under advice) decline interview.
It is no doubt hard to be thus compelled to ask, like Mr Leigh's imbecile hero — What would you do, if you were me, To prove that you are you — but it is impossible to deny that Lord Fitzroy's family some reason to be angry with their eccentric relative; nor can we, though we have not the slightest wish to prejudge the case, feel much sympathy with gentleman whose difficulties must necessarily have been to some degree of his own seeking. — Daily News.
Notes
Fife Herald — Thursday 3 February 1870 — more or less verbatim, but with a different title "A STRANGE STORY". And probably in numerous other newspapers at this time.
"Sir Bernard Burke" — presumably a reference to Burke's Peerage?
"What would you do, if you were me, To prove that you are you" is a reference to Henry Leigh's mind-bending The Twins — Henry-S-Leigh-The-Twins.pdf]
Remember the more or less contemporary Tichborne Claimant — Wikipedia: Tichborne Case.
The story resonates in some ways with the case of Lord Fitzgibbon, who disappeared after the Charge of the Light Brigade (1854). He was believed dead, but his body was never recovered. Some asserted that he had been captured by the Russians and taken to Siberia, where he was treated abominably. However, it was then argued that he had escaped via Afghanistan [? See Rudyard Kipling's short story and returned c.1877 to Britain. However, in this case, nobody appeared who was claiming to be Fitzgibbon — he was believed to be present in Britain somewhere but, much to the anger of his friends, he never revealed himself.]
Henry-S-Leigh-The-Twins.pdf
The Twins
In form and feature, face and limb,
I grew so like my brother,
That folks got taking me for him,
And each for one another.
It puzzled all our kith and kin,
It reached a fearful pitch;
For one of us was born a twin,
Yet not a soul knew which.
One day, to make the matter worse,
Before our names were fixed,
As we were being washed by nurse,
We got completely mixed;
And thus, you see, by fate's decree,
Or rather nurse's whim,
My brother John got christened me,
And I got christened him.
This fatal likeness even dogged
My footsteps when at school,
And I was always getting flogged,
For John turned out a fool.
I put this question, fruitlessly,
To everyone I knew,
"What would you do, if you were me,
To prove that you were you?"
Our close resemblance turned the tide
Of my domestic life,
For somehow, my intended bride
Became my brother's wife.
In fact, year after year the same
Absurd mistakes went on,
And when I died, the neighbors came
And buried brother John.
Date?
Henry Sambrooke Leigh
(1837 — 1883) a writer and playwright born in London. He was a Spanish, Portuguese, and French scholar, a brilliant and witty conversationalist, and a humorous singer.
Albert Cottages, Battersea Rise?
1870-02-02-lennox-Manchester Evening News — Wednesday-2feb1870
South London Press — Saturday 12 February 1870
CLAIMANT TO A PEERAGE
A claimant of the rank and name of Lord Fitzroy, George Charles Lennox, the second son of the fifth Duke of Richmond, which son it was supposed had been drowned, nearly 30 years ago, in the President steam vessel, on a voyage from America to England, has just made himself known to "his family." The family will have nothing to do with him. For 29 years he has kept silence, and he now turns up at Battersea, living very obscurely. He says he never went on board the President, and that he has kept himself quiet all this time.
[BNA: Link.]
50.15_west_of_st_john_s_road.pdf
1871-12-30-lennox-HampshireAdvertiser-30dec1871
Hampshire Advertiser — Saturday 30 December 1871
DEATH OF A BATTERSEA "CLAIMANT"
WAS LORD FITZROY LENNOX LOST IN "THE PRESIDENT?"
The fact may interest many of our readers that on Sunday week died at Battersea-rise, Wandsworth, a person who some few months since waa expected to startle the world with a revelation more mystifying and of wider interest than the cause celebre now dragging its weary length along in the Court of Queen's Bench.It will be within the recollection of those whose memory dates back some thirty years ago to the time of the loss of that ill-fated vessel, the President, that amongat the crew who were at the time supposed to have found, without one single exception, a watery grave, and to have carried with them to that last silent bourne all details of the pitiless wreck, which spread a cloud of misery over so many Engliah homes, two voyagers were singled out as something more than ordinary passengers, and their loss was specially dwelt upon in the nowspapers of the day.
One, on account of his universal popularity as an actor, the gifted Tyrone Power; the other — Lord Fitzroy Lennox — a scion of one of the most aristocratic families in the realm, and bearing a name of time-honoured distinction in the Councils of the State and on England's battle-fields, carrying with it into the present generation an undimmed luatre.
The family having no reason to doubt the authenticity of the story, and it being proved beyond all reasonable doubt that Lord Fitzroy Lennox had taken his passage and em- barked in the President, his losa was duly mourned, the 1 sudden and special circumatances adding to the distress of the grief-stricken parents. But if we are to believe the story of the person whose death we are recording, and who claimed to be Lord F. Lennox himself, he waa not wrecked, nor at the time of the wreck was he even on board the President. He did not leave New York at all; but after going on board returned ashore; nor did he embark from the port in the ill-fated vessel. This statement, without the faintest trace of eccentricity or symptom of aberration of mind, he maintained to his dying day, and his last request, when in full possession of consciousness, which has we know been acted upon, was that he should be buried in what he asserted was his true name, and that his coffin-plate should be iuseribed with his full style and title — viz., Lord Fitzroy George Charles Gordou Lennox.
Monday, therefore, saw the remains (if the inscription on the funeral urn is to be credited and accepted in the spirit of the truth tableta should generally carry with them) of Lord Fitzrov Lennox committed to their last resting-place, attended only by three mourners and some twenty fellow clerks, who followed as a last mark of special respect. The coffin-plate bears the following inscription: " Lord Fitzroy George Charles Gordon Lennox, aged 51. Died, December 3, 1871." The ground for this waa deeeaaed' a statement, so far removed from hallucination, that it fully satisfied many well able to judge, and more especially one medical gentleman of some eminence as a London practitioner, who, after spending mnch valuable time in investigating the truth of the story, was so convinced of' hs identity aa the missing member of the Lennox family, that the treated him upon all occasions, not as an imposter, but as a friend and confidant; and in his professional capacity sanctioned the making out of the certificate of death in the full atyle and title of the Lord Fitzroy Lennox.
Passing under the name of Henry Clay, but generally known as the " Captain," the deceased obtained a aituation with the London and South-Western Railway Company, and haa been employed aa clerk at their London Goods Terminus for the past twelve years, earning the respectful esteem of all his fellow-servants. The Rev. T. Lander waa the officiating minister at the funeral, and i his ministerial attentions to the deceased were most kindly and acceptable. Some time an advertisement waa inserted in a daily contemporary by the deceased, soliciting those who knew Lord Fitzroy Lennox prior to his supposed loss in the President, in 1841, to communicate with him. Thia was the advertisement: "; Lord Fitzroy Lennox, who waa supposed to have been on board the President when she was lost about thirty years since, begs, if any of' hs old frienda are atill living, they will put themselv" . in communication with him for the purpose of identification, so that if recognized they may intercede with his relatives, who, after five yeara' correspondence (under advice), decline an interview. — H. C, 1, Albert Cottages, St. George's-place, Battersea-rise."
This at the time called forth sundry comments from the press, notably an article on " Double Lives," based more particularly on the case of this Lennox and the Tichborne baronetcy, which was written by a well-known lady contributor, and created a great sensation. Many attempts, it is rumoured, were made by the professed Lord 'Fitzroy Lennox to obtain au interview with the present representatives of the Richmond family, all of which, however, failed; they refusing, under advice, to recognize the claim or to negotiate with the said Henry Clay.
The principal features in the life ef the deceased, aa narrated by himself, assimilate considerably with those of the Tichborne claimant, much of his career during the past three decades having been spent in Australia,' hs life being one of great hardships, and marked by many escapadea of a aimilar nature, corroborated in a meaaure by the ruggedness of contour and general, yet, withal, gentlemanly appearance. Up to within a short period prior to' hs laat and fatal illness, the inhabitants of Vauxhall muat have been familiar with a tall, gaunt-looking man, rather shabbily attired, and wearing a round felt hat, from long usage of questionable colour and shape, but 'originaUy white — a man, nevertheless, bearing the decided impress in his general demeanour of having seen better days. Hia unmistakably aristocratic mien warranted the most superficial observer in stamping him as above the common herd of humanity, and' hs daily peregrinations between Vauxhall station and the South-Western Goods Terminus rendered him a marked man, a few strangers passing him without a second look.
Whether "Captain" Clay was an imposter or not wa cannot say, nor do we vouch for the authenticity of his claim to the title. We simply record the fact of its being made, and the strange persistency of the claimant even in his dying moments. It certainly is worthy of notice that now lying encased in a plain coffin are the mortal remains of one whom the registry of death the medical certificate, and very coffin lid proclaim to be no other than Lord Fitzroy Lennox, long given up as loat, and mourned for by his bereaved parenta thirty years ago.
[BNA: Link]
Hampshire Advertiser — Saturday 30 December 1871
DEATH OF A BATTERSEA " CLAIMANT."
WAS LORD FITZROY LENNOX LOST IN "THE PRESIDENT?"
The fact may interest many of our readers that on Sunday week died at Battersea-rise, Wandsworth, a person who some few months since waa expected to startle the world with a revelation more mystifying and of wider interest than the cause celebre now dragging its weary length along in the Court of Queen's Bench.
It will be within the recollection of those whose memory dates back some thirty years ago to the time of the losa of that ill-fated vessel, the President, that amongat the crew who were at the time supposed to have found, without one single exception, a watery grave, and to have carried with them to that last silent bourne all details of the pitiless wreck, which spread a cloud of misery over so many Engliah homes, two voyagers were singled out as something more than ordinary passengers, and their loss was specially dwelt upon in the nowspapers of the day. One, on account of his universal popularity as an actor, the gifted Tyrone Power; the other — Lord Fitzroy Lennox — a scion of one of the most aristocratic families in the realm, and bearing a name of time-honoured distinction in the Councils of the State and on England's battle-fielda, carrying with it into the present generation an undimmed luatre. The family having no reason to doubt the authenticity of the story, and it being proved beyond all reasonable doubt that Lord Fitzroy Lennox had taken his passage and embarked in the President, his losa was duly mourned, the 1 sudden and special circumatances adding to the distress of the grief-stricken parents. But if we are to believe the story of the person whose death we are recording, and who claimed to be Lord F. Lennox himself, he waa not wrecked, nor at the time of the wreck was he even on board the President. He did not leave New York at all; but after going on board returned ashore; nor did he embark from the port in the ill-fated vessel. This statement, without the faintest trace of eccentricity or symptom of aberration of mind, he maintained to his dying day, and his last request, when in full possession of consciousness, which has we know been acted upon, was that he should be buried in what he asserted waa his true name, and that his coffin-plate should be iuseribed with his full style and title — viz., Lord Fitzroy George Charles Gordou Lennox. Monday, therefore, saw the remains (if the inscription on the funeral urn is to be credited and accepted in the spirit of the truth tableta should generally carry with them) of Lord Fitzrov Lennox committed to their last resting-place, attended only by three mourners and some twenty fellow clerks, who followed as a laat mark of special respect. The coffin-plate bears the following inscription: " Lord Fitzroy George Charles Gordon Lennox, aged 51. Died, December 3, 1871." The ground for this waa deeeaaed' a statement, so far removed from hallucination, that it fully satisfied many well able to judge, and more especially one medical gentleman of some eminence as a London practitioner, who, after spending mnch valuable time in investigating the truth of the story, was so convinced of' hs identity aa the missing member of the Lennox family, that the treated him upon all occasions, not aa an imposter, but as a friend and confidant; and in' hs professional capacity sanctioned the making out of the certificate of death in the full style and title of the Lord Fitzroy Lennox. Passing under the name of Henry Clay, but generally known as the " Captain," the deceased obtained a situation with the London and South-Western Railway Company, and haa been employed aa clerk at their London Goods Terminus for the past twelve years, earning the respectful esteem of all his fellow-servants. The Rev. T. Lander waa the officiating minister at the funeral, and i his ministerial attentions to the deceased were most kindly and acceptable. Some time an advertisement waa inserted in a daily contemporary by the deceased, soliciting those who knew Lord Fitzroy Lennox prior to his supposed loss in the President, in 1841, to communicate with him. Thia was the advertisement: "; Lord Fitzroy Lennox, who waa supposed to have been on board the President when she was lost about thirty years since, begs, if any of' hs old frienda are atill living, they will put themselves in communication with him for the purpose of identification, so that if recognized they may intercede with his relatives, who, after five yeara' correspondence (under advice), decline an interview. — H. C, 1, Albert Cottages, St. George's-place, Battersea- rise." This at the time called forth sundry comments from the press, notably an article on " Double Lives," based more particularly on the case of this Lennox and the Tichborne baronetcy, which was written by a well-known lady contributor, and created a great sensation. Many attempts, it is rumoured, were made by the professed Lord 'Fitzroy Lennox to obtain au interview with the present representatives of the Richmond family, all of which, however, failed; they refusing, under advice, to recognize the claim or to negotiate with the said Henry Clay. The principal features in the life ef the deceased, aa narrated by himself, assimilate considerably with those of the Tichborne claimant, much of his career during the past three decades having been spent in Australia,' hs life being one of great hardships, and marked by many escapadea of a aimilar nature, corroborated in a meaaure by the ruggedness of contour and general, yet, withal, gentlemanly appearance. Up to within a short period prior to' hs laat and fatal illness, the inhabitants of Vauxhall muat have been familiar with a tall, gaunt-looking man, rather shabbily attired, and wearing a round felt hat, from long usage of questionable colour and shape, but originally white — a man, nevertheless, bearing the decided impress in his general demeanour of having seen better days. Hia unmistakably aristocratic mien warranted the most superficial observer in stamping him as above the common herd of humanity, and' hs daily peregrinations between Vauxhall station and the South-Western Goods Terminus rendered him a marked man, a few strangers passing him without a second look. Whether " Captain" Clay waa an impoater or not wa cannot say, nor do we vouch for the authenticity of his claim to the title. We simply record the fact of its being made, and the strange persistency of the claimant even in his dying moments. It certainly is worthy of notice that now lying encased in a plain coffin are the mortal remains of one whom the registry of death the medical certificate, and very coffin lid proclaim to be no other than Lord Fitzroy Lennox, long given up as loat, and mourned for by his bereaved parenta thirty years ago.
[BNA: Link.]
CIE LIBRARY. THE FIFTH DUKE OF RICHMOND. Memoir of Gnome Chocks Lennox, Duke of Richmond, K.G., P.C. With a portrait. London: Chapman and Hall. pp. 348.
THE ANONYMOUS WRITER of the present memoir presents us with a rather "tangled web" of biography; whether through carelessness or inexpertness it is not worth while 1' inquire. in any case, he has done well in withholding his name from the public. The book is full of anecdote; but one could wish that it were as reliable upon as it is full. Nevertheless, this much may be said in its favour-that the reader who takes an interest in the subject, may extricate himself from the toils and toetlyisms of the writer by exercising a little patience. It is quite possible to know from his pages who was the late Duke of Richmond, what he did and said, and how he hen earned a place in British biographical history. His pedigree is not the immediate question. Reference to " Burks's Peerage" will satiety every information on that point. Suffice it here that he was the eldest son of the fourth Duke of Richmond, by Charlotte, daughter of Alexander, Duke of Gordon.
This fourth Duke is chiefly known through his duel with the Duke of York, when the bullet of his grace ruffled the curls of his royal highness; and through his having been Governor-General of Canada, where, in his endeavour to save a pet fox from being worried by a dog, he was bitten; whether by the dog or the fox is uncertain, but the result was hydrophobia, and the loss of his life under very painful circumstances in August 1819.
Charles Lennox, who succeeded this unfortunate nobleman an fifth duke, wan born in Whitehall-gardens in 1791. At an early age, known then as Mr Lennox, he was sent to Mr Howe's school at Chiswick; a few months afterwards he was transferred to Westminster, At this time lie was tint a robust boy, but made up in pluck what he lacked in physique. " lie was excessively popular with masters and boys, quick in his studies, obedient to regulations, and attentive to his Preceptors "-- these all good signs of future excellence. Then, as Lord March, he was a tolerable proficient at cricket and hockey, and could take an oar in the cutter, or a pull in a wherry to the Red House. [Battersea!]
A prominent point in his character at this period was a manly determination to protect the weak against the strong, and to oppose himself to the bullyism which then existed in Westminster as in most of our great public schools. The life of a fag in those days was far from being an enviable one, and men who have since risen to eminence in the army and navy, on the bench, in the " House," and in the senate, hail to undergo the terrible probation. The fig had more kicks than comforts. He was cuffed and buffetted when he failed in his diplomatic errands, and the same 'need awaited hint when he wan successful. A cruel taskmaster would order his slaves "to rag" the "skies." butchers, baker., chimney-sweeps out of the yard. when the fag, being of light weight, had generally the worst of it. Or he was sent to purchase contraband of the school-shrub, pork-sausages, sprats, periwinkles, and red-herrings. If caught in running the blockade he was punished by the masters; if not caught he was generally rewarded for his adroitness by a kick. The writer gives one an idea of the life of a fag at the beginning of the present century: Called at 'seven or eight, according to the season, fig had to go to the pump In Great Dean's-yard to fetch a huge pitcher of water. If It were whiter, he had his master'. Are to dein, the smallest amount of wood being allowed; to clean @hoes, brush jacket and trousers, polish the candlesticks. and boll the water. Thew avueations were usually Interrupted by the cry of Carry's going in;" but after an hour's schiailing, the work wise resumed. instead of the tag then enjoying his own breakfast, ho had to Inquire his mower's. Then came hours again; and during those devoted to play (save the murk!) the tug had to clean skates, bore holes in the soles of thick boots, rnn to the stationer's for ink, to Maskell's for gloves, and prepare for tea by scouring the gridiron, fiying-pan, and kettle. _ _ During the afternoon he had to look for lost balls at fires, scout at cricket, or carry the tutting-pole, shot-bag, end powder-tia-k, should his master -,eske an hour's sport In Tothill Fields. In pursuit of a tr-olitiousl snipe, or some tome ducks kept for the purpose in a pond. It his muter wu In a particularly liberal mood, he would reword the fag's services with the runniup of the teapot or the mil of his bloater. School-life at Westminster in those days is thus described: As a schoolboy, Lord March, though slow to rel, was slwaya ready to resent Insult; and witrirsees still remember the snnnd thrashing he gave an overgrown bully, who seized his hoop and threw it over the college garden wall — Will )uu fight?" he asked his adversely. With you?" the other &keit with — contemptuous smile, looking down on his tiny hie. " Yes," wild the youthful " Then cut hands (the trial by wager of WestminNter). and don't let us welt for afternoon school; we'll settle it ut once." Two seconds were speedily obtained, and less than ten minutes Lord Mai ch was the victor. Front that time the young earl never again entered the pugilistic Arens, although he inflicted summary punishment un any burly who wrecked his spite on the little buys. yours lord took his part in the sports of Westminster: Among the amusements of the sehiol were hoop-races, the course being from Mother ks' " twice roiled the and home. In many of these contests Lord March was the winner, every now and then he met with e formidable opponent. Among the lads Limed for;Kris 14-and who still looks as try -s ever-may be mentioned the pi esent Marquis of Anglesey, who, as a runner and jumper, could eareely be equalli d; Indeed. his lordship was and Is still an Admit able Crichton as spetrer, cricketer, and fines piss et% while In after life as horseman, cricketer, end crack shot, this ex-hussar could hold his own with the best. On the whole Lord March appears to have been a very steady lad at school, never got into trouble, never into debt. " The greatest amount of credit lie would demand might be perhaps for a new bat, over the holidays."of the was attentive to his etudies, having made up his mind for the bard work of the army, and hie reading was of the useful kind.
At the age of nineteen he was gazetted to the 13th Light Dragoons, and immediately proceeded to the Peninsula, where be was "taken care of" by Wellington, between whom and the Richmond family their existed a warm friendship. Lord March, on arriving in Portugal, was immediately placed on the personal staff of the general.of the first saw active service at Russet%of the was subs, quently present at Fuentes d'Ottoro, at the sanguinary fight of Albuera, and the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo. Here he entered the breach as a volunteer with the storming party. The Prince of Orange and Lord Fitzroy Somerset were his companions, and all three were gently reproved the following morning by their chief for venturing into a position which as officers of the staff they were nut called upon to undertake by, the customs of the service. "
Gurwood tells a good story about Lord March"-the author must forgive us for not seeing the point of its goodness-" He says that when be, as victor, was about to return the Governor, who was very touch cast down, his sword, the Prince of Orange or Lord March plucked hint by the sleeve, and the latter whispered, Don't be ouch a fool!'" Passing over many details of the military life of Lord March, we come to the year 1812, when Wellington established his winter quarters at Frenada. This was — wretched villege, "in a terrible et toe of dirt and decay." Provisions were dear, the place was unhealthy, and the deaths numbered from four to five hundred wieldy. But there was excellent sport in the neighbourhood; it was well stocked with woodcock, Bohm, rabbits, and hares. .l'he greet commander took advantage of the latter circumstance: Unable to glee his officers any better occupation, Wellington kept up for them a pack of sixteen couple of foxhounds; anti although. in the absence of a regular huntsman, the hounds were over-ridden, the foxes regularly mobbed to death. master and men secured their object In a healthy gallop, which set fever at defiance. In addition, Sir Robert Kennedy, the commbwary-general, kept some greyhounds, while the Capitan Mar, the great man of the town, had a mongrel pack of a dozen or more terriers, which, under the supervision of an old poacher, and by the aid of sundry krrele, afforded much amusement, and, moreover, supplied the regimental messes with rabbits. Wellington was so thorough a fox-hunter, that he never allowed heat, wet. or cold to Interfere with the sport on the three days which he devoted to the" noble science." That he encouraged every sort sport will be seen from the following t xtract from it letter which he wrote to the Rake of Richmond at this time: — 1 at the family seat of the Villa V-cr SA (the family seat of the Dukes of Brogans.- some days ago, and I shot with ball ten head of deer In days. 'I he lick In which they were is immense, and I tiaresay did not contain less than dye thousand heed, many of them led deer. This is pretty good sport. -Of c+ arse, when thechtet gave such an example, his shelf wished to he well moutittd, and every officer who hod rich baleen, or ample means of Isis own, was careful to procure good hnnters from England. Lord March had been vry fortunate In thla respect, for he had brought out %Rh him three as clever lonic; as ever stepped. Our, a cheviot, c wiled him at Royce-, end was named after that battle; It was the ideal of a charger, quiet, *dive, feet, end a good Jumper. The others were equally up to their Truitt, and required to be so for their owner to be able to carry un his staff duties with satisfaction to his employer or safety to himeelh Throoghont the campaign Lord March was ever at his post, often in greet peril, and won the esteem of his brethren-in-arms, and that capedaily of his chief.of the Joined his regiment, the 52nd Light Infantry, anxious to obtain a practical notion of regimental duty. In doing this there was considerable sacrifice of personal comfort, but by no one was the sacrifice more highly appreciated than by the Duke of Wellington. At Orthea his grace was wounded by a spent ball-ths only wound he ever received in his life. in this engagement the Earl of March most dangerously wounded, while leading his company of the find to attack the enemy's right. On reaching the:AY 17, 1862, crest of the hill, he was struck In the chest by musket-ball, which was never extraciol. The wound was pronounced to be mortat, but Surgeon Ilan. (who fro m that to the latest hone of his distinguished patient's life enjoy ed his eentid enee), when abed by Wellington hlmsell whet his opinion was, staled that, altleugh the wound was secure, a gleam of hope still existed, us he laud elanllae cases In which the surto, er had recovered. Wellington was enabled the next morning to get about on a pair of crutches, and his first walk wan across the street to the Mono In which hie ex-die -de. camp lay. He hobbled into the room where Lord March wail still lying in a most precerieue ateb-, cud Dr. Hair, who, with fatigue end anal. ty, wy. resting Oil a mattress, started up at the entrance of the duke, end made a sign that the sufferer was sleeping. a *timid Wellington leant against the mantelpiece, suffering from the most poignant grief. Suddenly Lord March awoke, arid recognising hl, chief, faintly expressed a hope th it he had been successful on the erosion., given them a good licking," the great man replied, and I shall follow it up." The exhausted youth then turned to dole again; and as the doke quitted the room, tears slowly trickled down his cheek, at the thought that he had taken a last farewell of the son of one of his dearest and oldest friends. The "tears trickling down the cheeks" of the then iron chief we regard as apocryphal.
By a sudden transition the author carries us from the Peninsula to the Peace of Europe.of the indicates, indeed, that Lord March was present at Waterloo; but here the acissor* failed him, or the cutting fell it the waste-paper biskets Having so far seen the late Duke of Richmond as — soldier, we pass on to his character as a civilian-as a Sportsman and agriculturist. He succeeded to his father's estates in 1819, and to the Gordon estates in Scotland in 183 G, through his mailer's rights.
In April 1817 (not 1816, as given by the author), he married Lady Caroline Paget, eldest daughter of the Marquis of Anglesey, by whom he had a large family. It will be remembered that one of his sons, Lord Fitzroy Lennox, was lost In the ill-fated President in 18-11.
Shortly after succeeding to the family estates, and clearing off certain hurthens, Goodwood House was re-opened with all its former hospitalities, and how well these were maintained throughout the duke 'a lifetime is generally known. Goodwood racer he raised from the level of third or fourth-rate country races to lie the tirst and most attractive in the kingdom.
In early life the duke was fond of huting; but unfortunately, while galloping one day down one of the steep hills near Goodwood, his horse fell, and treading on his master's chest, injured him very severely. This accident obliged hint to give up hunting; but lie had open-air exercise -Collier nature. lie wee a fair shut, and shooting was his greatest Pidime. it was old-fashioned apart he beet "cloyed, and to th e l ast, is biographer informs us, he set his face against the unsportsmanlike system of modern lattues.
"The duke was always given to agriculture, and took the greatest interest in his farms, cattle, stock, arid sheep." Frain 1830 up to July IEB sheep selected from hie flock of Southclown4, kept at Goodwood, gained eight gold and thirty-one silver medals at the Smithfield Cattle Shows., besides nuinecoua prizes at the meetings of the Royal Agricultural Society, and at the Sussex county shows. Ilia Goodwood flock for some years fore his death averaged 2000 head, exclusively of 1000 lambs annually bred. The Duke took the greatest interest in all agricultural pursuits, and for eeveral years occupied the emir at the annual dinner of the Smithfield Cattle Club. tVe pass over his political life, not because it is without interest, but because the qoestionschich lie took the deepest interest and which be most opposed or aced may be now regarded as settled.
The readers of this journal need not be told of the great interest the late Duke of Richmond took in everything that related to the turf. lie " supported the turf in a manner befitting a true English nobleman; out for the love of gain or gambling, but for the purpose of encouraging the breed of horses, from which the country at large could not fail to derive a considerable p.rofit." The duke never appeared to be en much at home and to et joy himself as at Goodwood in the Goodwood weekhappy himself cobtributing to the happiness of Ills guests, and affording something better than a Roman holiday to thousand. of gentle and simple. The author in the chapter lie devotes to the duke arid the turf, curiously mixes up the eubject, and introduces the following anecdote respecting Lord George Bentinck, which is probably not new, or it new perhaps not true:- The tricke of the turf are proverbial, especially those of the " touting " profess slots, will be borne out by our anecdote, the limo which was laid during his grace's sporting career.
Upon a certain occasion, pi for to the Goodwood meethig, Lord George was reeoulinended to toy two or three horses titat were entered for the Stakes and Cup, and at an early hour on the morning appointed, his lordship met his trainer on the downs. The home were being led about, the Jockeys in attend nice and ready to mount, when it occurred to Lord George that some racing Paul l'ry might be intruding on his privacy. Directing his trainer to make a small circuit, lie himself rosin his pony through a small patch of gorse, and, with careful telescope, storeyed the landscape far and near. Not a soul was risible save old woman, who. with basket in hand, was busily euiitcth g mushrooms close the spot where his lordship had posted himself. "1 cannot Kee toy one," eaid the trainer on his return, so we can bven whenever you like." The order war given, the Jockeys mounted, and were about to dart, when the old woman, who had drown nutter to Load George, was found to be on the course. " I eke care, good woman," his lordship exclaimed. "or you will be run over," The good woman looked lip, pot her halm to her ear no if to indicate that she was deaf and held Put her basket. Lord George Impatiently threw her eve shillings for the contents, and the trial began. It came off very differently from what his lordship expected, for a three-year-old filly of his, entered ter the stakes, and against which the betting was fifty to one, won her trial In a center, and so go d aid Lord Genrae think her pet formanee, that he lost nu time In dispatching a messenger to Tuttersall's web u letcr, autholising ids caunnisaioner to bus her fur a considerable amount. Nothing could exceed Lord George's delight, for he felt perfectly assured that he should net at least 10,0001. by the event Ile, therefore, put a friend he had appointed to meet up to the good thing, and himself leisurely rode to the Swan at Colchester, where a few betting men had already congregated, and thinking that he might as well do a stroke busineas on his own account, he etiollcd Into the coffee-room. " Do want to do anything on the stakes, my lord?" one of the betting fraternity asked him. " I went to take the odds to flee or ten.' he answt red. "about my ells." "I'm full against the filly," the other answ erect, "hut perhaps will do it." Lord George turned to Mr -, who was proverblol for his liberally. " I can lay you three to one," ho rsld, "to a small turn. I've Just taken four to one myselL" "Three to one!" the owner asked himself, surprised at the sudden change In the aspect of agdrs. What can hove occurred? Is it possible that the Mend to whom I entrusted the seer et hove beho ved 1' Thus thinking, Lord George, hurriedly leaving the room, wended way to the stables. . _ We must here remark that this affair took ounce et n time when elect, le telegraphs and runway,' were yet tint known; so Lord Oeorste calculated that his letter, dispatched to Lodon, would be delivered by about twelve o'clock, or la ample time for his commission to be executed.. Consoling himself with this reflection, Lord George pawed the day in cornparath e security, and it will not until the pod arrived on the hallowing morning that the truth was brought hum to him. Ills trial mutt hare been watched. for he found that no 'rower had his commissioner opened the letter than he into the sobarription-p.m, prepared to lay nut at least a couple of hundred pounds on the Oily, hut the same scene that had occurred near the Cross at hichester (no Inappropriate name by the say) took place lu London at the Coiner. The filly, ht,tcad bring ut a bundted to ono, now four; so, Instead of booking ten thousand to two bundled, all Lord (34..orgu'acoinmeo.leher could get war sixteen to two. But, -part from the of actual profit, more tautens eneation was Involved, for that some one had betrayed the recret was ue clear as the sun at noonday, but who the traitor was bathed all power, al detection. The friend, the Mani r, the Jockey, all Caine in for a most uaJnat and Lord George had almost made up bin made np his mind to quarrel with the former, and dismiss the latter, when eakfast was antiouticed at the Swan, whither bushierr+ had called him. " I hone had the mushroom. stewed, my lord," wild the waiter, which your your lordship's groom gore me yesterday. They aro rely Otte indeed, your "And so they ought to b his lordship exclaimed, dashing hie hand on the table, anti 'haunt demolishing the breakteat service, as the troth dashed across his mind fur the Oral time; that horrid old woman the culla, it, and this hateful dish hos coat me $400?., indepeudeht of the nee shiliings I gone the old harridan, or, smutty speaking. scone touter disguise." "Are you the nobleman," the waiter asked, " who had the trial yesterday morning I" " I am," Lord George replied, trying to Inek unconcerned, hut, we fear, falling In the attempt. " It was that — In 111.guko," the wailer continued; " he was at his dirty wink again this motional, bet of the JeChey3 was down on him, and the latest intelligence I have is that the brut was ducked In a hoasepond; and serve him right, my lord." The ease was now complete; the tont, employed by some imp' Metaledscosudrels, scomadrela, laud watched the to MI, and two stable lade were teAdY to riflery letters to London anal Chiellester. They both reached their before his lordship's messengers, and the m os t mor tifyin g part of the business was that the filly really wen, and her own e r o n ly pocketed 2000 f. betides th e Makes. lo stow that this system of rascality 'till exist& we have only to resoled our renders that previous to the Del by of lend a men was discovered watching — trial, dressed in the garb of a I iihsenting ndnletrq and administering tracts to all who cane near him. Whyte Melville must have had a previddn of this when, In that moat amusing hook,!deny Grand," lie Introduced a similar character.
With this rather lengthy extract we moat bring our notice to a close. There are many other good anecdotes in the volume, not ill told, but sometimes rather out of place. The volume, ootwithetanding its literary shortcomings, leaves upon U 8 the pleasing impression that the Duke of Richmond was a worthy and estimable man in every relation
[BNA: Link]
[Strange story of a shipwrecked ship called the "Henry Clay" - in any way connected?]
South London Press - Tuesday 28 August 1877
Heroic Career of a Southsea Man.
We (Hampshire Post have much pleasure in repnoting from the columns cf a Californian newspaper the Particulars of the remarkable and distinguished career of a Southsea man, as it illustrates the pursuit of a truly heroic line of conduct in the great battle of life. The individual in question, one Frederick Jerome, was at Moscow Buildings, West-street, Southsea. The following article upon him, taken from the San Francisco :wino Horning CaU, fairly bristles with thrilling isculeets. It is headed : " A 'rrne Hero: Inoidents in career of Frederick Jerome, a man before the mast. A humble Californian, who has earned the gratitude of 1 6Queen of Eagland, of a Prince of France, of Common Camila, and Humane Societies." Frederick Jerome — an Englishman by birth, an American by adoption, and a Californian by long reelone of those heroic natures who kw all thought of *elf in hazardous service for others.
Coming from the lower a runaway sailor lad, be hai warhed a frosty old age without gaining the first rudiments of literary education but many a trial, from *lick most men would have shrunk in dismay, has Proven that his heart is true to the appeals of suffer- Nil humanity, and that his courage is above zeroed*. As a testimonial to his merit, Jerome has elected an honorary member of the Society of ri?seers, any part of 1846 Jerome was an able-bodied on board the Ameriean packet-ship Henry ai Cis!. On March 25th of that r, the Henry Clay, ft reale to New York with a l, number of passengers, was caught in a terrific , driven from her curse, and dubed ea the rocks Barnegat coast, that 1 14ated home of "the Jersey Wreckers?' The surf , so high that sea after sea poured over the ship —so *ln that it was found impossible to launch the lifeboats from the sshore , every hope of saving life to be lost. The weather was terribly cold, the freezing as it fell on the deck, and it looked like lewdness for a man to attempt that which was humid impessible for lifeboats—to carry a line from Mo 'melts the beach. Jerome offered himself sea forlorn hllls, however; he stripped, bound a leed-line to 'boulders. and plunged into the icy water. It was a Relent dot, sad the prayers of hundreds went up in behalf of the poor, uneducated waif who battled against as forces of nature. The task seemed hopeless u the Poor fellow was beaten back time after time, and dragged beneath the surface by the terrible undertow. He was a powerful swimmer, and no one doubted that, unhampered, he could have reached the shore, for even with the deadly that swayed behind, he made slow progress, but he had forgotten self, and laboured only for those poor souls who watched with straining eyes and anxious hearts that little speck upon the water — that lastlink between themselves and life.
How long the struggle lasted none could tell, for hours seemed to pass, but at last he drew nearer and nearer to the beach, until at last, borne upon the crest of a giant breaker, he was thrown braised and senseless upon the sand. The hardy fishermen rushed in to his rescue and dragged him out of danger with a sobbing yell of joy. The lead-line was unwound from his bleeding breast and shoulders, a stout rope was drawn from the wreck, and then a hawser, which was firmly fastened to the rocks; a life-raft was hastily rigged upon the hawser, and before long every person on the doomed craft had ;been safely:brought to
This glorious action brought with it boundless praise, but no promotion, for, as before mentioned, Jerome was an unlettered man; so in August, 1848, we still find him in the forecastle, this time on board the American emigrant ship New World. The New World and another emigrant ship, the Ocean Monarch, of Boston, started together from Liverpool with full complements of crew and passengers to make a race of it to New York.
>On the 24th of August, while in the Irish Channel, off Holyhead, the captain of the New World, which vessel was slightly in the lead, saw a dense smoke rising from the rival craft, and turned back with all speed to her assistance. Ere he could reach her she was a living bell of fire, and any attempt to approach her would bare been suicidal. Jerome, as usual, was the first volunteer in the boats, and when his fellows shrank from drawing near to the frightful heat, he sprang into the water, swam up to the mass of struggling, drowning wretches who had jumped overboard in their agony of fear, and, unaided, at the imminent hazard of his life, rescued 12 helpless women and children, continuing his 1 noble work until he himself was nearly drowned through utter exhaustion. More than 200 lives were lost in this horror...
This last exploit made Jerome famous, for his name was published in every land as a synonym of daring, when disregard of self could benefit his fellow men, The Queen of England, to show her appreciation of such noble conduct, sent him .d,50 from her private purse, through Lord John Russell, who sent with the money a highly complimentary letter. At the same time Thomas Barry Horsfall, Ei., Mayor of Liverpool, seat to Jerome the thanks of the City council of that great commercial centre. The Shipwreck and Humane Society of Liverpool presented Jerome with their thanks and commendation in the shape of a gold medal, valued at 25 guineas. The Common Council of New York, on the 26th of September, 1848, passed resolutions highly complimenting Jerome for his heroic courage in the cause of humanity, voted him the freedom of the city, and presented him with a richly-chased gold snuff box, with suitable inscriptions commemorating the events above described. He also received the thanks and congratulations of the Massachusetts Humane Society of Boston, accompanied by an elegant gold medal; and among the many letters received from all parts of the world was one, which he especially cherishes, from Prince de Joinville, who witnessed from a yacht the brave deed a Holyhead. These were his more notable instances of daring, fee they resulted in the saving of many lives, but on many occasions he has risked life and limb while giving as to others, and has rarely if ever failed to accomplish his generous object. He reached California in 18W on the Tarolinta, aail among his fellow passengers and still good friends were William S. O'Brien, William Coddington, Daniel S. Norcross, and other well-known San Franciscans. These gentlemen are men of wealth;. Jerome iis simply a boatman on the waterfront; but his record since the day when they landed on our shore will suffer nothing by comparison with theirs, for during that time he has rrescued seven persons from drowning.
In view of these facts, the following resolution was passed by the Pioneers at their meeting on Monday night: " Whereas, it is a wise and prudent policy to notice with marks of approbation any act of noble daring and heroic courage, whether accomplished upon the land or upon the sea, and whether by those in high position or in the humble walks of life, and 13 express our admiration of all individuals who, regardless of consequences, and anxious only for the safety of their fellow-beings, will hazard their own lives in attempting to rescue and preserve the lives of others; therefore be it resolved by the Society of California Pioneers, that they have learned with feelings of pride of the noble courage and conduct of Erederiek Jerome, a fellow citizen, and as a mark of respect for his character, and approbation for kls heroic and unselfish deeds, they now declare him an honorary member of this society."
[BNA: Link.]
>Tichborne Claimant
[Wikipedia: Link.]
Fitzgibbon
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