More rabbit holes: aleatory methods and chronotopic cartography?

Chronotopic Map of Virgina Woolfe’s To The Lighthouse

This is the third in series of post where I have been reflecting on what I am doing here and why (see here). And it may become the first in new series about if and how all this could be the basis of a parrallel project, e.g. scholarly, creative and maybe even both. Then again it could be my falling down yet another rabbit hole, but at least my musings interested and resonated with some friends and family, as well at least one distant relation (see comments here). And even hit the mark with my old friend Ivan Pope and especially the Tristram Shandy wandering digression I reference. That’s probably because his PhD is ultimately about how a text is generated from wandering around in a space, which was the prompt for my pondering about what the nature of any parrallel project might actually be if more scholarly.

Turns out he also picked up an original edition of Volume VI of Tristram Shandy at a boot fair last year for £3 and says it’s one of the most beautiful things he own. Great minds think alike, and possibly because we have frequently discussed whether our intellectual and other wanderings could be linked to some form of ADD or ADHD (along with self-diagnosed ups and downs of living with it given the issues raised in what’s known as the Hunter versus farmer hypothesis).

But I digress because I just wanted to share some thoughts on possible areas to explore, or maybe more rabbit holes to fall down, which are really just a gloried way of keeping notes.

Recommended listening: Radio 4 Descendants

Following on from recent posts about my slave owning ancestors, I just want to recommend Episode 4 of 7 of Radio 4’s Descendants series. Ruth Hecht who I have been in touch with was one the participants. I found it fascinating on so many levels, and not least being the storytelling approach given the different perspectives involved including both a decendant of slaves and one from those who eslaved them:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09jjq9z

It touched upon so many things, including those I have been seeing as part of my research, i.e. how the slave owning families were so connected and how that appears to have been a way of consolidating the vast wealth they had amassed, the close links between industry and those compensated for their slave owning, and how slavery in the UK is never far from home.

Generations 4 (maternal branches): Biographies, Obituaries, etc

This is part 3 of my housekeeping, where I am going through each generation of ancestors to see where there are ancestry dead ends, how much information we have about each ancestor, etc. Previous posts include:

• Generation 1-3
• Generation 4: Paternal 2x Gt. Grandparents

The digital portrait collection

The Wedding of Giles Simon Kirby and Angela Mary Julie Birtwistle 1952

This post is a version of my Genealogical dead ends revisted post, but it’s about the photograps and illustrations I’ve found of my ancestors rather than just their names. I’ll do one about places sometime, and also about biographies, etc. I have set up a photostream on FlickR so you can see all the images in a slideshow, and I will link to the individual photos from the names of ancestors I have identified below. 

More on the Drapers

Further to my Second Lieutenant Mark Denman Draper, R.F.C. and Joining the dots on The Peerage: Drapers and Wrights posts. Robert Armstrong has been in touch to explain that Mark Denman Draper was the son of Robert’s grandfather the Revd. W. H. Draper by his first marriage, to the Charlotte Edith Denman, daughter of Rt. Hon. George (Justice) Denman and Charlotte Hope, not by Emily Augusta Wright whose eldest son was Roger Francis Draper. Charlotte died in childbirth when Mark was born, when the Rev. W.H. Draper was Rector of Alfreton in Derbyshire.  She and Mark are both buried at Alfreton. Mark never married.

Second Lieutenant Mark Denman Draper, R.F.C.

One of the Drapers not mentioned on the Wright family tree my brother has been putting together (see Joining the dots on The Peerage: Drapers and Wrights), is Mark Denman Draper. He is the son of the Rev. Willim H Draper and Emilie Augusta Wright. I found the following announcement of his death in Flight magazine archive, February 15, 1917:

MARK DENMAN DRAPER, R.F.C., killed while flying on February 7th, aged 32, was the eldest son of the Rev. William Henry Draper, rector of Adel, near Leeds, and grandson of the late Justice Denman. He was educated at Repton School, and took up the dramatic profession, in which he had begun to make his way. In 1915 he joined theAartists Rifles, and only recently obtained a commission in the R.F.C. His brother, Captain R. F. Draper, York and Lancaster Regiment, was killed at Suvla Bay in August, 1915.

Joining the dots on The Peerage: Drapers and Wrights

Robert Armstrong, the former secretary to the cabinet, has been in touch and mentioned that his grandmother Emily/Emilie Augusta Wright was the daughter of my ancestors FitzHerbert Wright and Charlotte Rudolphine Louise von Beckman. Emily/Emilie married Reverend W. H. Draper circa 1884. I mentioned this to Darryl at The Peerage, who has linked the two families, and now has the following listed as the children of FitzHerbert Wright and Charlotte Rudolphine Louise von Beckman:

1. Ursula Mary Wright+
2. Emily Augusta Wright+¹ d. 1914
3. Captain Henry FitzHerbert Wright+¹ b. 1870, d. 1947
4. Ernest FitzHerbert Wright+¹ b. 28 Feb 1875, d. 19 Oct 1942

I noticed on the Wright family tree my brother has put together that there are other siblings, including  Louisa Adelina WRIGHT (b. 16/09/1868); Judith Frances WRIGHT (b. 17/01/1873) who married Godfrey Acheson Thornhagh FOLJAMBE (b. 21/10/1869 – d. 16/03/1942), son of Hon Francis S. F.;  and Evelyn Francis Fitz-Herbert WRIGHT JP DL (b. 20/11/1882 d. 17/02/1944) who married Joyce Mary BATEMAN (b. 20/10/1889),  dau of Frederick Osborne Fitzherbert BATEMAN.

The Peerage has Osborne Robert Sacheverell Bateman listed and he seems to be the son of Frederick Osborne Fitzherbert BATEMAN, from what I found out below in Arthur Charles Fox Davies’ Armorial Families: a directory of gentlemen of coat armour:

FREDERIC OSBORNE FITZHERBERT BATEMAN, Esquire, J. P. co. Derby. Bom Nov. 12, 1859.  being the only child of the late Thomas Osborne Bateman,  Esc]., J. P., D. L. , of Hartington Hall, by his wife Fanny  Hanham, dau. of William Lawrence Bicknell. Club — Windham. Armorial bearings — Or, three crescents, and  issuant from each an estoile of six points gules, a canton  azure. Mantling gules and or. Crest — On a wreath of  the colours, a crescent and estoile as in the arms, between  two eagles’ wings or. Motto — “Sidus adsit amicum,”  Married, 1886, Evelyn Mary, dau. of Major Wilkinson of Scarborough ; and has, with other /ssue — Osborne R.  Sacheverell Bateman, Gentleman, born 1887. Seats—  Hartington Hall and Breadsall Mount, Derbyshire.

The Peerage also have Godfrey Acheson Thornhalgh Foljambe listed. He married Judith Francis Wright mentioned above, although they don’t show this marriage.

From what I can make out Godfrey is son of Captain Francis John Savile Foljambe (see here). What’s interesting is that the site I’ve found has Captain Francis John Savile Foljambe listed as the son of George Savile Foljambe and Harriet Emily Mary Milner. It has George as dying on 8 December 1869 and living in Osberton, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England.

The Peerage also has a George Savile Foljambe listed as dying on 18 December 1869 and living in Osberton, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, but show him being married to Lady Selina Charlotte Jenkinson. From what I can see from Genealogy Links, George must have married twice.

Anyway, I’m descended from Ernest FitzHerbert Wright who married his cousin Lucy Adeline Fox. Lucy’s mother was Mary Wright, who was the sister of FitzHerbert Wright. Her father was Sir Charles Douglas Fox (see wiki). His brother was Sir Francis Fox, who married Selina Wright. Selina was the sister of Mary and FitzHerbert Wright.

As shown above, I found Robert Armstrong and his Draper ancestors listed on the Wright Family tree, and I think these details come from the tree compiled by Basil Wright in 1946. I also have the scrap book of Lucy Fox’s sister Agnes Selina and I found the annoucement of Robert’s uncle (Capt. Roger Francis
DRAPER) death included in a Roll Of Honour she was keeping. There maybe more references to his family and if I find them I’ll add them along with other items from ‘Aunt’ Agnes’ scrapbook.

Walkers and subscribing to thegenealogist.co.uk?

Just tried a free trial of the thegenealogist.co.uk. Thought I was actually getting somewhere and that it might be worth subscribing to them. However, I made a handful of searches and ended up having to download 3 scanned documents because the household records were split across two pages and you couldn’t see the whole household in their transcript.

Also the census returns had been badly transcribed so that they had the parents of the household at a different street address. So within a matter of minutes I’d used up my credits. Shame as I was getting some progress and may have finally ended up subscribing to a service now despite all the cross referencing I had to do. Not sure I’ll bother now. Anyway, might have got a step further with the Walkers.

Descendants of Peter Ramsay, Stabler in Edindburgh Part 1

Hamish Bain has been in touch to say he has a mezzotint of Sir Alexander Charles Gibson Maitland, 2nd Bt, of Clifton Hall (my great great great great great gandfather). Turns out there’s a copy on the National Portrait Gallery website, which explains that is was by Thomas Goff Lupton, published by James Keith, after Sir John Watson-Gordon mezzotint, published May 1847.

Rev. Robert Dorrien Kirby Update

I’ve been in touch with Father Michael Blain about how the Rev. Robert Dorrien Kirby was killed by cannibals. Father Blain edits The Blain Biographical Directory of Anglican Clergy in the Pacific and has added a terminal note Robert Dorrien entry. He mentions that Bishop Feetham would have noted if Robert Dorrien was there in New Guinea as a priest, or functioning as a priest while employed in government service. So he thinks it is puzzling to see him in the other list as a military or naval chaplain. As he points out once a priest always a priest, but if not licensed at the time of his death, his being ordained is not directly relevant to the biographical account. He also pointed out that his clerical years are fragmentary – so he gets the impression it did not work out well for him. He’s also sent a message to the compiler of the ‘Cable Clergy Index’, for this
has details of all priests who held a licence in the Australian Anglican church. As the CCI presently does not have Kirby, he suspects that he is not in fact within that category.