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Category Archives: Champion de Crespigny

Miniature portrait of Geoff de Crespigny by Olive A Chatfield

07 Friday Dec 2018

Posted by Anne Young in artist, Champion de Crespigny, Hughes, portrait, Rafe de Crespigny

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My father has a small collection of family portraits. One is a miniature of his father Richard Geoffrey “Geoff” Champion de Crespigny (1908 – 1966) as a child.

Geoff miniature

The portrait is signed  ‘O. A. Chatfield’. This was Olive Amy Chatfield (1880 – 1945).

Olive Chatfield was born in New Zealand, the fourth of eight children of an architect named William Charles Chatfield (1852 – 1930). Olive’s mother Mary Chatfield nee Hoggard (1853 – 1896) died when Olive was 15.

In November 1910 Olive Chatfield ‘of New Zealand’ was one of the artists in the 13th annual Federal Art Exhibition in Adelaide, a showing organised by the South Australian Society of Arts. I am not sure when Olive Chatfield came to Adelaide or why she was living there.

In March 1912 Miss Olive Chatfield donated a miniature portrait of Lady Bosanquet, wife of the South Australian Governor, to the Art Gallery of South Australia. Described as ‘gouache on ivory, 7.6 x 6.3 cm’, it remains in the Gallery’s collection,

In 1914 and 1915 Olive Chatfield is mentioned several times in Adelaide newspapers, usually under ‘social notes’.

On 3 April 1916 Olive Chatfield married Vyvyan Hughes (1888 – 1916), Geoff’s maternal uncle. Vyvyan Hughes died a few weeks later in a military hospital in Ceylon.

51e72-vyvyan2band2bolive

Vyvyan Hughes with Olive 1916

Olive Hughes did not re-marry, and in November 1916 returned to New Zealand, where under the name of Mrs Westbury Hughes she practiced as a professional artist specialising in miniature portraits. Some of her work was exhibited by the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts.

Hughes Olive 1923

Photo of Olive Hughes accompanying an article in the Sydney Sun of 16 December 1923

Hughes Olive 1923 article

ART AND HEREDITY (1923, December 16). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 – 1954), p. 1 (Women’s Supplement). Retrieved December 6, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222682064

Olive Hughes died in Wellington, New Zealand on 10 July 1945.

There is a family resemblance down the generations between Geoff and his descendants.

Geoff de Crespigny
Geoff de Crespigny
Geoff's son
Geoff’s son
Geoff's grandson
Geoff’s grandson
Peter
Nick
Alex

Geoff, his son, grandson, and great grandsons

Sources

  • MARRIAGES. (1916, April 8). Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 – 1954), p. 32. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87243826
  • Family Notices (1916, May 18). The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 – 1929), p. 8. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59818703
  • AUSTRALIAN ART. (1910, November 3). Evening Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1869 – 1912), p. 4. Retrieved December 5, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207214665
  • PERSONAL. (1912, March 23). Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 – 1931), p. 34. Retrieved December 6, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164772419
  • Art Gallery of South Australia Collection: item 0.634
  • ART AND HEREDITY (1923, December 16). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 – 1954), p. 1 (Women’s Supplement). Retrieved December 6, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article222682064
  • PapersPast: New Zealand digitised newspapers:
    • Notes for Women, New Zealand Times, Volume XLI, Issue 9507, 15 November 1916, page 5. Retrieved from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM19161115.2.25
    • Notes for Women, New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9777, 28 September 1917, page 9. Retrieved from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM19170928.2.59
    • At the Art Gallery, New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10271, 5 May 1919, page 3. Retrieved from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM19190505.2.9
    • Sketch Exhibition, Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 121, 23 May 1919, page 4. Retrieved from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19190523.2.27
    • Social Gossip, Free Lance, Volume XIX, Issue 1006, 15 October 1919, page 22. Retrieved from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZFL19191015.2.34
    • Dispute over a miniature, Sun, Volume VII, Issue 2099, 5 November 1920, page 4. Retrieved from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/SUNCH19201105.2.16
    • Deaths, Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 9, 11 July 1945, page 1. Retrieved from https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19450711.2.4

Related post

  • K is for Kanatte General Cemetery in Colombo

 

Portrait of Anne de Crespigny

19 Friday Oct 2018

Posted by Anne Young in Champion de Crespigny, portrait

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Today I received an email from the art broker Sotheby’s to say that it is selling a pastel portrait by Katherine Read (1723 – 1778) of Anne de Crespigny, my 6th great aunt. The sale is being conducted as a timed auction ending on October 29 2018. (See http://timed.sothebys.com/…/KATHERINE-READ-Portrait-of-a-w…/  )

CdeC Anne H0046-L155543688

This portrait was sold by Christie’s in 1912 and sold again in 1927 and 1931. I am not sure if the sale in 1912 was by a member of the Champion de Crespigny family, but it seems likely given there were three other de Crespigny family pictures sold at the same time. In the 1912 catalogue Anne is asserted to be the wife of Philip de Crespigny. This is probably incorrect. Philip de Crespigny’s wife Anne Fonnereau (1704 – 1782) was a much older woman at the time this  was made. It seems more likely that the portrait is of her daughter Anne.

Art prices current 1912

From Art Prices Current 1912 retrieved from https://archive.org/details/artpricescurrent06lond/page/54

I have previously written about my sixth great aunt at The marriages of Anne Champion Crespigny (1739-1797)

Gabriel Crespigny and Thomas Caulfeild

29 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by Anne Young in army, Champion de Crespigny, military, Rafe de Crespigny, Spain

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My 8th great uncle was Gabriel Crespigny, a Huguenot refugee from Normandy.

Born in 1666, he was sent to England by his parents when he was just twelve years old, and had joined the army in 1686 at the age of twenty. In 1691 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the First Foot Guards – later the Grenadier Guards – with effective rank as a Captain. Serving in Flanders against the armies of King Louis XIV of France, he was wounded in 1695 during the successful assault on Namur in present-day Belgium.

Soldier_of_35th_regiment_1742

A soldier of the 35th Foot in 1742; the basic style of uniform was little changed from the beginning of the century. Image retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

In 1701 Gabriel transferred to be Captain in a newly formed regiment commanded by Arthur Chichester the Earl of Donegall. Raised at Belfast in Ireland and numbered as the 35th Foot, the regiment was a strongly Protestant unit and had authority from King William to bear orange facings on the uniform.

The Nine Years War against Louis XIV – essentially the War of the English Succession – had concluded with the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, but conflict broke out again with the War of the Spanish Succession in 1702, and the Earl of Donegall’s Regiment was designated for “sea service” – amphibious attacks on enemy ports and shore positions. Following an unsuccessful raid on Cadiz in August, it was engaged in the West Indies but returned to Spain in 1704. In 1705 the regiment joined the garrison of Gibraltar under Spanish attack, and later that year it was engaged in the capture of Barcelona. On the following 9 April the Earl of Donegall was killed in the defence of that city; his place was taken by Sir Richard Lord Gorges, another Irish Peer, and the name of the regiment was changed accordingly.

Having taken part in the capture of the port of Alicante later that year, the regiment was brought into the main British-Portuguese field army, but in 1707 the allies were heavily defeated by the French-Spanish coalition at the battle of Almansa; Gorges’ Regiment lost its colours and many of its officers and men were killed or captured. The remnants were brought back to Ireland, where the regiment was re-formed; Captain Crespigny had escaped the debacle and was one of the officers in the new arrangement.

Ligli-Batalla_de_Almansa

La Batalla de Almansa, Museo del Prado. The Battle of Almansa, 25 April 1707, landscape by Filippo Pallotta, figures by Buonaventura Ligli 

Forerunner of the present-day Army Board, the Board of General Officers of the British Army was established at the beginning of the eighteenth century, gathering men of that rank to deal with matters of discipline, disputes, recruitment and the provision of supplies.

At its meeting of 9 February 1708, however, a letter written by Captain Gabriel Crespigny had been presented in which he complained to Colonel Phineas Bowles, commander of another regiment, that, after the colonel of Gabriel Crespigny’s regiment,  Colonel Lord Donegall, was killed at Barcelona on 10 April 1706, Thomas Caulfeild, Viscount Charlemont, had appropriated a quantity of Donegall’s goods and papers. It appears that this matter had come to the notice of Lord Peterborough, leader of the English and Dutch armies in Spain, and was the initial reason for Charlemont bring summonsed to discuss his position. The minutes of the meeting then record that

After which all Persons being ordered to withdraw, as they were passing out, Mr Caulfeild, Son to the Lord Charlemont, gave Capt Crepigny several blows over the Face and Head with a Cane. Whereupon Mr Caulfeild was sent Prisoner to the Guard, to be kept there until Her Ma[jes]tys or the Princes Pleasure should be known.
The Disorder being then over….

At its meeting on 5 May 1708 the Board took official notice of the quarrel between two officers, Captains Gabriel Crespigny and Thomas Caulfeild. Captain Caulfeild had insulted Captain Crespigny, and the matter was considered extremely serious: the Prince Consort George of Denmark, husband of Queen Anne, was advised that “to Repair so great an Injury and Affront to a Gentleman’s Honour,” Captain Caulfeild should be required

In the …Guard Chamber, during the [next] Sitting of the Board, on his knees, to ask pardon of Captain Crespigny, who is at the same time to have a Cane in his Hand, with Liberty to use it, as he please.

The background of Gabriel’s opponent was very different. Thomas Caulfeild was the second son of William, second Viscount Charlemont in the peerage of Ireland. A strong supporter of William of Orange against James II, in 1701 the Viscount was rewarded with command of a newly-formed regiment – later to be known as the 36th Foot. Like the Earl of Donegall’s Regiment, Viscount Charlemont’s was sent on sea service, and the two units took part in an attack on Cadiz and the campaign in the West Indies in 1702 and 1703.

Born in 1685, and thus twenty years younger than Gabriel Crespigny, at the age of sixteen Thomas Caulfeild had been commissioned as an Ensign in his father’s regiment at the time of its first formation in 1701. He took part in the attack on Cadiz, but received permission, with his father, not to join the enterprise in the West Indies. Rejoining the regiment on its return to Ireland in 1704, he accompanied it to Spain in 1705, where it took part in the siege and capture of Barcelona alongside the Earl of Donegall’s unit. When the city was attacked by a Franco-Spanish force in April 1706, Charlemont’s Regiment formed part of the relief force.

Viscount Charlemont had been made a Brigadier-General in 1704, but in May 1706 he was replaced as Colonel by Thomas Allnutt, and the name of the regiment was duly changed.

This gave cause for controversy. During an assault on Fort Montjuȉc at Barcelona, several men of Charlemont’s regiment had taken to flight, though he himself maintained the attack and did his utmost to bring them back to order. The fort was captured, and the Earl of Peterborough, commander of operations in eastern Spain, congratulated him on the success. Later, however, a document appeared, said to have come from Queen Anne herself, which ordered his dismissal, and Peterborough compelled him to relinquish his command. Charlemont subsequently appealed to the Board of General Officers, which found that he had properly carried out his duties and that the Earl of Peterborough had been deceived by a forgery and made a mistake – an elegant compromise. Charlemont was soon afterwards promoted Major-General, but the regiment remained under Allnutt’s command.

In the following year the two regiments – the 35th Foot commanded by Lord Gorges with Gabriel Crespigny serving as a Captain, and the 36th commanded by Thomas Allnutt with Thomas Caulfeild probably serving as a Captain – were part of the main field army which suffered defeat at Almansa on 25 April 1707. Like Gorges’ Regiment, Allnutt’s was all but destroyed, and Colonel Allnutt himself was wounded and taken prisoner. Released on exchange in September, he was commissioned to rebuild the regiment; enlistment, however, was no longer in Ireland but was based upon Cheshire.

Since their regiments were rebuilding separately, the 35th in Ireland and the 36th in England, one must assume that the quarrel between Thomas Caulfeild and Gabriel Crespigny had arisen while they were together on campaign in Spain. Though we have at this time no details, it was very likely related to some aspect of the defeat at Almansa, and the most obvious accusation which one officer could levy against another was that of cowardice.

One may wonder why the insult was not followed up by a duel between the two men: though duelling was formally outlawed, it was common at this time, particularly – as might be expected – among military men. Again, it is possible Caulfeild refused the challenge.

Caulfeild may have refused to regard Crespigny as a gentleman of appropriate rank: though both were commissioned officers, Caulfeild was of noble birth and Crespigny was foreign born and of uncertain heritage (Gabriel Crespigny and his brothers Pierre and Thomas had had their gentry lineage and pedigree certified by the College of Arms ten years earlier, but this may not have been enough for all whom they encountered in British society).

Alternatively, if Caulfeild was convinced his opponent was a coward, he may have refused to meet such a fellow on equal terms. Men of lower rank were unworthy of swords or pistols, and should be dealt with by the horsewhip or a cane.

In any event, the Board of General Officers found Thomas Caulfeild’s accusations and his conduct of the quarrel to have been quite unjustified – and the reference to his potential punishment with a cane makes one suspect the second explanation is most likely.

Prince George died in October 1708 and it seems that without his support the direction lapsed. Perhaps the humiliation of Caulfeild was held to be sufficient without Gabriel Crespigny actually using the cane. The minutes of the Board of 26 October 1708 record

Capt Crepigny [was] called in on his Petition for Satisfaction from Mr Caulfeild, and [was] told that Lt-Gen Seymour not being at the Board, who presided when the matter was first under Consideration, and had attended the Prince. Therefore the Pet[itioner] could not be then informed what Directions His Royal Highness had given therein.

Lieutenant-General William Seymour was Colonel of The Queen’s Regiment of Foot, now
part of the Royal Marines. He had presided at the Board Meeting of 5 May, but later joined his regiment in Spain; in September he and his men had taken part in the capture of the Mediterranean island of Minorca. Since there had been no written reply from the prince, nor any report of what he might have said, the matter was left to lie.

We may note that at this time Captain Crespigny was forty-two years old and had been on active service for more than twenty years. Captain Caulfeild was twenty-five; he had seen combat at Cadiz in 1702, followed by two years in Spain and the defeat at Almansa.

It does not appear that the two men had any further dealings, and their subsequent careers were very different.

Gabriel Crespigny returned to his duties with Gorges’ Regiment, but three years later he was wounded in a riot when engaged on recruitment at Wigan, north of Liverpool. With any system of regular conscription, recruitment – either voluntary or forced – was essential for any unit of the army, but it was often resented by the civilian population, and especially by friends of those who were tricked or compelled to join the colours. Gabriel was so seriously injured that he was obliged to leave the army, selling his commission to pay his debts, and was eventually granted a pension at half-pay. He died in Ireland in 1722.

For one reason or another, perhaps associated with the Crespigny affair, Thomas Caulfeild transferred his commission to the marines; since his original regiment had been involved in sea service, the change was not inappropriate. In 1710 his new unit, numbering four hundred men, was sent to America to militia regiments from the colonies of New England in an attack on the French base at Port-Royal in Nova Scotia. Having distinguished himself in the campaign, Thomas Caulfeild was named Lieutenant-Governor of the newly-acquired province of Nova Scotia, and had charge of the territory until his death there in 1717 at the age of thirty-two.

Sources

  • de Crespigny, Rafe Champions from Normandy: An Essay on the Early History of the Champion de Crespigny Family 1350-1800 AD, 2017, pp. 127-136.
  • Scouller, R. E  The armies of Queen Anne. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1966, p.48
  • The National Archives of the UK WO 71/1 (Proceedings of the Board of General Officers )

V is for Valencia

25 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by Anne Young in A to Z 2018, Champion de Crespigny, Kelmarsh Hall

≈ 9 Comments

Cicely Valencia Lancaster (1898-1996), known as Valencia, was my sixth cousin once removed. Although ‘sixth cousin’ sounds quite distant, the acquaintance was a little closer. Because of our shared Champion de Crespigny family heritage,  my family knew her well and my father stayed with her in London several times when he was studying at Cambridge in the 1950s. In 1986 my parents visited her at her home at Kelmarsh Hall, Northhamptonshire.

Birley, Oswald Hornby Joseph, 1880-1952; Cicely Valencia Lancaster (1898-1996)

Cicely Valencia Lancaster (1898–1996) painted by Oswald Hornby Joseph Birley (1880–1952) (circle of). Portrait in the collection of Kelmarsh Hall.

Valencia was the oldest daughter of George Granville Lancaster (1853-1907) and Cicely Lancaster née Champion de Crespigny (1874-1946), who was the second child and oldest daughter of Sir Claude Champion de Crespigny (1847-1935) and  his wife Georgiana (1849-1935). Cicely married George Lancaster on 19 March 1896 at Maldon, Essex, where the de Crespigny family lived at Champion Lodge. Valencia was born on 26 March 1898 at London and her brother Claude Granville Lancaster was born, also at London, on 30 August 1899.

At the time of the 1901 census, when Valencia was three, the family was living at Marston Hall, Shropshire. George Lancaster lived on his own means; the Lancaster wealth came from iron and coal. The household included ten live-in servants: a butler, footman, cook, housemaid, lady’s maid, two laundry maids, children’s maid and an under-nurse. At Marston Lodge, nearby lived a coachman and his wife and a groom and his wife. These too were probably associated with the Lancaster household.

In 1902 George bought Kelmarsh Hall and its 3,000 acre estate in Northamptonshire. There he established a herd of British white cattle. Cicely’s brothers took advantage of the hunting opportunities at Kelmarsh. Her brother Claude (1873-1910) kept hunters there.

 

Lancaster Jubie Valencia as children frm wwwKelmarshHall

Claude and Valencia as children

George Granville Lancaster died on 20 March 1907 at his rooms in the Albany, Picadilly, London. The Essex Newsman reported he had suffered a long and painful illness. Valencia was 8 and her brother 7.

Northampton Mercury March 29, 1907 page 9

Northampton Mercury March 29, 1907 page 9 retrieved from the British Newspaper Archive through FindMyPast

 

Northampton Mercury May 24, 1907 page 6

Northampton Mercury May 24, 1907 page 6 retrieved from the British Newspaper Archive through FindMyPast (Note George Lancaster had only two children although his will had provided for more)

 

At the time of the 1911  census Valencia was living with her mother in a flat in Bentinck Mansions, Marylebone, London. The household included a butler, cook, housemaid and German governess. Claude was at school in Kent

Bentinck Mansions

Bentinck Mansions from Google maps

Valencia never married, though it appears she attended the weddings of her friends and relations. There are a number of newspaper reports of her acting as bridesmaid at society weddings.

By 1921 she was driving a car. There is a newspaper report of an accident.

Northampton Mercury November 11, 1921 page 6

Northampton Mercury November 11, 1921 page 6 retrieved from the British Newspaper Library through FindMyPast

 

In 1939 Valencia received a large inheritance from her uncle Claude Philip Champion de Crespigny (1880-1939). A newspaper article describes her as

She is a cheerful countrywoman, in the middle thirties, who wins prizes at flower shows and, like her late uncle, takes a keen interest in racing.

Lancaster Valencia On Steps Wilderness frm wwwKelmarshHall

During the Second World War Valencia served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s branch of the British Army. She was gazetted in 1940 with a seniority date of 24 November 1938. From 30 May 1941 she was promoted second Subs, the equivalent of second lieutenant.

In 1946 Valencia’s mother Cicely died.  It was reported at the time that for the entire war Cicely had lived with her daughter at North Audley Street, London. She was awarded the Civil Defence Medal for serving for five years as an Air Raid Precautions Warden (A.R.P.), in Westminster.

 

geograph-2039823-by-Tiger

Kelmarsh Hall

 

When he turned 25 Valencia’s brother Claude inherited Kelmarsh Hall. For a time the Hall was rented out but afterwards he lived there and gardened enthusiastically. Between 1948 and 1953 Claude was married to Nancy Keene Perkins (1897-1994), who previously had been married to Arthur Tree (1897-1976). The Trees had rented Kelmarsh in the 1920s with a ten-year repairing lease and Nancy, who became a noted interior designer, had redecorated the Hall.

Claude died in 1977 and Valencia inherited Kelmarsh. In 1982 she established a charitable trust  to facilitate its conservation.

Kelmarsh Hall contains many notable portraits of the Champion de Crespigny family and documents. I am not sure when these were passed to the Lancasters. The baronetcy became extinct in 1952, Valencia’s uncles died without male heirs, and the baronetcy passed through cousins, but in the end there were no descendants in the male line.

The home of the fourth baronet was Champion Lodge at Essex. The sixth baronet Henry died in 1946 at Champion Lodge. By 1949 Kelmarsh Hall was sold and no longer in the family.  By then the former Champion Lodge was a country club. Amongst the family there were a few houses which could have been used to house the portrait collection.

On 29 November 1996 Valencia died, aged 98. Her funeral service was held at Kelmarsh on 9 December.

In 1997 it was reported that Valencia’s estate was worth over two million pounds. She left money to the RSPCA and other animal charities.

Sources:

  • Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. Class: RG13; Piece: 2551; Folio: 9; Page: 9. Retrieved through ancestry.com
  • 1911 England census Class: RG14; Piece: 524 Retrieved through ancestry.com
  • “The Death Of Captain Claude Champion De Crespigny.” Times [London, England] 20 May 1910: 10. The Times Digital Archive.
  • “Births, Deaths, Marriages and Obituaries.” Essex Newsman [Chelmsford, England] 23 Mar. 1907: 3. British Library Newspapers.
  • Valencia’s inheritance from her Uncle Philip: Edinburgh Evening News June 15, 1939, p. 8.
  • Kelmarsh Lady’s Death, Mrs C. Lancaster of The Hall Market Harborough Advertiser and Midland Mail June 28, 1946, p. 12
  • “Police Raid Country Club.” Derby Daily Telegraph, 12 Sept. 1949, p. 1. British Library Newspapers.
  • Valencia’s will is included in “Latest wills.” Times, 6 Mar. 1997, p. 20. The Times Digital Archive, http://tinyurl.galegroup.com/tinyurl/6PzKZ3.

Related posts

  • Extinction of the de Crespigny baronetcy
  • Champions from Normandy – this family history explains who is who in the many portraits at Kelmarsh Hall

B is for Beatrix

02 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by Anne Young in A to Z 2018, Adelaide, Beaufort, Champion de Crespigny, Eurambeen, Hughes

≈ 17 Comments

Beatrix Hughes

Beatrix Hughes

One of my great grandmothers was Beatrix Champion de Crespigny née Hughes (1884-1943). She was born on 23 April 1884 in Ascot Vale, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, the eldest child of Edward Walter Hughes (1854-1922) and Jeanie Hughes née Hawkins (1862-1941). Edward Hughes was  the manager of the Bank of Victoria in Beaufort, Victoria, from about 1888 until his retirement in 1919.

Beatrix had three brothers:

  • Reginald, born 1886 in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne
  • Vyvyan, born 1888 in Beaufort
  • Cedric, born 1893 in Beaufort

As a girl Beatrix studied music and in 1902 did well in her examinations, but beyond this I know very little about her when she was young.

Hughes Beatrix Ballarat Star 1902

No title (1902, March 6). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article207621650

 

The Hughes family knew my 3rd great grandmother Charlotte de Crespigny (1820-1904) and her daughter Rose Beggs who lived at Eurambeen near Beaufort. There are several mentions of the Hughes family and Trixie Hughes in letters written by Charlotte de Crespigny in 1900 and 1902. Charlotte de Crespigny’s grandson Trent de Crespigny, then known by his family as Con, was a frequent visitor to Eurambeen in the holidays.

In about 1900 in a letter to her daughter Ada (1848-1927), Charlotte de Crespigny wrote:

Monday
We had a very pleasant evening, both afternoon tea and a magnificent iced cake with almonds all over it, and a lovely tea, 14 sat down to it. Con’s ducks were most delicious, and a magnificent ham and meat pies, sweets of all sorts. I wished so much you could have had some of the good things and Loo would have enjoyed the ducks so much. Con and Rose were wishing he was there and you too. I was thinking all the time what a dull old Sunday you would all be having, without any servant.
After Tea, Frank drove me with Rose and Mr. Minchin to the other house. All the young people walked in the lovely moonlight. They stayed out playing games till nearly 10 when Frank came in and read prayers. After that, supper and home, Mr Hughes and all the whole crowd walking home Anna and Ethel, [?] coming as well, having a little more refreshment. They did not go till after the Hughes and Minchins drove home, near 12, and then Con and Jack walked back with them enjoying the moonlight, no one wore any hats or bonnets, and all the white dresses looked so pretty. Trixey Hughes and Edith Minchin gave Rose pretty little presents.

Eurambeen tree 1900

Who was who at the Eurambeen party.

 

 

 

deCrespigny Beatrix 1905 abt nee Hughes

Beatrix Hughes about 1905

 

In 1906 Beatrix married Constantine Trent Champion de Crespigny, a doctor then practising in Glenthompson, fifty miles from Beaufort.

Ch de Crespigny Trent and Hughes Trixie 1906 weddingfromslvh2013-229-20

1906 wedding of Constantine Trent Champion de Crespigny to Beatrix Hughes at Beaufort, Victoria.

Ballarat Star 1906 09 15

WEDDINGS. (1906, September 15). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article210684752

Beatrix and Trent had four children.

The eldest, Richard Geoffrey, known as Geoff, was born in Glenthompson in 1907.

deCrespigny Geoff 1912 abt with mother Beatrix

Geoff de Crespigny with his mother Beatrix about 1912

Their second child, Nancy, was born in Adelaide in 1910. Constantine Trent was Superintendent at the Adelaide Hospital from 1909.

In World War 1 Constantine Trent Champion de Crespigny, who reached the rank of Colonel, had a distinguished career commanding military hospitals. On the home front Beatrix contributed greatly to fundraising efforts for the soldiers at the front.

In 1919 Beatrix had two more children, twins. Sadly, one of these, Adrian, suffered a brain injury at birth, and spent most of his life in care. The other child was a girl, Margaret.

deCrespigny Trent 1930 abt with Beatrix & Margaret

Trent, Beatrix and Margaret de Crespigny about 1930

Beatrix died in 1943 at the age of 59. Her obituary made mention of her charitable work, drawing particular attention to her contribution to child welfare which included many  year’s service to the Mothers’ and Babies’ Health  Association in Adelaide.

Obituary Beatrix de C The Advertiser

Death Of Lady de Crespigny (1943, November 12). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 – 1954), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48774207

 

The day after her obituary, the Adelaide newspaper carried a letter from Paquita Mawson, President of the Mothers’ and Babies’ Health Association, and Dr Helen Mayo, the founder of the Mothers’ and Babies’ Health Association and Honorary Chief Medical Officer, who spoke of Beatrix’s wise management and sound decision making.

MBHA letter The Advertiser 13 Nov 1943

LADY De CRESPIGNY’S WORK FOR THE M.B.H.A. (1943, November 13). The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 – 1954), p. 6. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48774345

 

 

Related posts

  • Trove Tuesday: obituary for Beatrix de Crespigny
  • Wednesday Wedding : 11 September 1906 de Crespigny and Hughes

Will of Thomas Champion de Crespigny made 1704 probated 1712

15 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by Anne Young in 52 ancestors, Champion de Crespigny, probate, will

≈ Leave a comment

Will of Thomas Champion de Crespigny 1704

Probate of estate of Thomas Champion de Crespigny

Forename Thomas Surname Champion Alternate Surname Champion Alias Champion De Crespigny Date of Probate July 1712 Date of Will 24th June 1704 Reference PROB11/527 Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) Wills, 1384-1858 [database online]. TheGenealogist.co.uk

Translated out of French
In the Name of God Amen
I give all my goods present and to come to my dear wife
Magdalen Champion whom I make Executrix of this my~
Will done at London this twenty fourth of June 1704..Tho:
Champion Witnesses I: Taunay W: Waxham P: Broton

Thomas Champion de Crespigny was my 7th great grandfather.
Thomas was born about 1664 in France. His family were Huguenot. He came to England in about 1676 and joined the army. He married Magdalen Granger (1664-1730), a fellow Huguenot, on 12 February 1695 at St Mary Magdalen, Old Fish Street, London. They had six children of whom two died young.

Thomas died in1712 leaving Magdalen with four children

  • William aged 14 (1698-1721)
  • Jeanne or Jane aged 12 (1700-1776)
  • Philip aged 7 (1704-1765)
  • Claude aged 6 (1706-1782)

In a document dated 20 September 1712, Sir Charles Hotham certified that Thomas Champion de Crespigny had served as Captain in his regiment, and added that:

he left a poor widdow [sic] and four Children in a very distressed Condition, so that she stands in great need of Her Majesty’s [Queen Anne‘s] most Gracious Bounty, and of the Pension commonly allowed to the Officers widdows.

The family still holds a copy of this document and the original apparently was held by the War Office.

Magdalen received a pension of £26 a year, being the regular rate for the widow of a captain.

On 15 June 1713, nine months after Thomas’ death, the government granted Magdalen stock in the South Sea Company valued at £333.18.9; the amount was due for Thomas’ clothing and other expenses during the period to 24 June 1712.

 

References

  • Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) Wills, 1384-1858 Forename Thomas Surname Champion Alternate Surname Champion Alias Champion De Crespigny Date of Probate July 1712 Date of Will 24th June 1704 Reference PROB11/527 retrieved from TheGenealogist.co.uk
  • Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 29, 1714-1715, pages cxiii-cxlii: Declared Accounts: Army: Pensions to Officers’ Widows [Audit Office: Bundle 233, Roll 810 A.O. 1/233/810] 25 October 1714 to 24 December 1715, citing Crespigny and six others of Sir Charles Hotham’s Regiment.A later accounting, in Bundle 233, Roll 811, relating to 22 April 1723, identifies £26 per annum paid to Mary Crespigny, widow of a captain in Sir Charles Hotham’s Regiment; Mary is miswritten for Magdalen.
  • Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume XXVII Part 2, page 249. The authority for payment is issued by Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford and Lord Treasurer, to John Howe the Paymaster General of Guards and Garrisons.
  • Champions from Normandy: An essay on the early history of the Champion de Crespigny family 1350-1800 AD by Rafe de Crespigny pages 124-5

Heaton Champion de Crespigny in 1841

22 Thursday Feb 2018

Posted by Anne Young in 52 ancestors, census, Champion de Crespigny, Oxfordshire

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In 1841 Heaton Champion de Crespigny (1796-1858) was living at Pyrton, 13 miles south-east of Oxford, with his son Augustus and a 15 year old servant Jane Lovegrove. His occupation was recorded on the census as clergyman.

 

1841 census Heaton CdeC

1841 England census retrieved through ancestry.com Class: HO107; Piece 884; Book: 3; Civil Parish: Pirton; County: Oxfordshire; Enumeration District: 1; Folio: 9; Page: 9; Line: 12; GSU roll: 474574.

Shaun Ferguson [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Church of England parish church of St Mary, Pyrton, Oxfordshire and graveyard

The census was taken on Sunday 6 June 1841. It was the first of the modern censuses in the United Kingdom and the first to record information about every member of the household. Each householder was required to complete a census schedule which contained the household address and the names, ages, sexes, occupations and places of birth of each individual living at the address. These schedules were then copied by the enumerator in the official books, which were known as the ‘Census Enumerator’s books’. As the original census schedules have been destroyed, it is the census enumerator’s books that researchers can see.

The census is a snapshot of the family in June 1841 and to understand it you need to look at the events leading up to that time.

Heaton Champion de Crespigny had married Caroline Bathurst (1797-1861) in 1820. She was the daughter of the Bishop of Norwich. Thanks to the efforts of his father-in-law Heaton was ordained shortly before his marriage despite not completing his degree at Oxford University. Heaton was appointed the Vicar of Neatishead, Norfolk and the Rector of Stoke Doyle, Northamptonshire in April 1822.

Heaton and Caroline had five sons:

  • Eyre Nicholas (1821-1895)
  • William (1822-1839)
  • Albert Henry (1824-1873)
  • Claude Augustus (1830-1884)
  • Augustus Charles (1836-1905)

In 1828 Heaton fought a pistol duel with Mr William Pole Tylney Long Wellesley, who had defamed Heaton’s father. The matter later went to court, which found against Long Wellesley. Heaton’s role in the affair was not to his credit.

Later in 1828 Heaton attempted to blackmail his cousin the Earl of Plymouth. He was imprisoned but was bailed by friends and committed to a lunatic asylum.

In 1833 Heaton was declared insolvent. Shortly afterwards he resigned as rector of Stoke Doyle.

In 1839 Heaton and Caroline’s son William died at Great Hasely, Oxfordshire (close to Pyrton), aged 16 years six months of a “diseased heart”, possibly cardiomyopathy. The informant was Eleanor Smith who was present at the death.

In 1841 Claude, aged 11, was at school in London at Christ’s Hospital, the Bluecoat School. Heaton, as mentioned above was living in Pyrton, Oxfordshire with a young son. Caroline and the other children are not recorded on the census. I assume they were then living in Germany. It has been suggested that Caroline met the author Thomas Medwin at Heidelberg in 1841. In 1842 at the age of 21 Eyre graduated from Heidelberg University with a medical degree.

Heaton travelled to Australia in the early 1850s and tried gold mining. He was also briefly appointed as a magistrate on the goldfields. Augustus accompanied his father to Australia. Heaton died at Ballarat on 15 November 1858 of apoplexy. He is buried in an unmarked grave. On Heaton’s death certificate in 1858, Augustus is the informant.

Augustus returned to England where he is on the 1881 census. He later migrated to Texas, United States of America where he appears on the 1900 census. Augustus died in Texas in 1905.

Jane Lovegrove, the fifteen year old servant who was living with Heaton and Augustus in 1841, became pregnant and had an illegitimate child, William Augustus DeCrespigny Lovegrove, who was born in late 1842. William Lovegrove named his father as Heaton on both his marriage certificates.

Heaton is my second cousin five times removed.

References

  • Insolvent Court: Sussex Advertiser 4 February 1833 Article retrieved through FindMyPast with kind permission of The British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)
  • 1841 census record for Heaton and Augustus de Crespigny and Jane Lovegrove Class: HO107; Piece 884; Book: 3; Civil Parish: Pirton; County: Oxfordshire; Enumeration District: 1; Folio: 9; Page: 9; Line: 13; GSU roll: 474574. Retrieved through ancestry.com
  • 1841 England census record for Claude A C de Crespigny Class: HO107; Piece: 720; Book: 10; Civil Parish: Christchurch Newgate Street;County: Middlesex; Enumeration District: Christs Hospital; Folio: 21; Page: 11; Line: 24;GSU roll: 438826
  • Victoria Government Gazette
    • 8 June 1853 De Crespigny, Heaton Champion, appointed Clerk of Petty Sessions at Amherst, Daisy Hill
    • 17 August 1853 Crespigny, Heaton Champion De, appointed Clerk of Petty Sessions at Wedderburn
  • Other references can be viewed through ancestry.com : Heaton Champion de Crespigny on my family tree

 

Related posts concerning Heaton and his sons

  • N is for nuptials in Norwich
  • Q is for quarrelling including a duel
  • P is for Plymouth’s peccancy protection payment provocation
  • I is for interested in India
  • B is for Borneo

Charles Fox Champion de Crespigny (1785 – 1875)

26 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by Anne Young in 52 ancestors, Belgium, Champion de Crespigny, Gloucestershire, Harefield, Waterloo

≈ 1 Comment

Charles Fox Champion Crespigny, son of Philip Champion Crespigny and Dorothy Scott was born on 30 August 1785 in Hintlesham Hall, Hintlesham, Suffolk, England. He died on 4 March 1875 in 11 Royal Parade, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. He married Eliza Julia Trent (1797-1855) on 20 March 1813 in St. George Hanover Square, London, England. He was my fourth great grandfather.

Charles Fox Champion de Crespigny

Charles Fox Champion de Crespigny about 1858, aged about 73, cropped from a photograph taken with his grandson Constantine Pulteney Trent Champion de Crespigny

 

I have inherited through my father a photocopy of nine hand written pages written about Charles Fox Champion de Crespigny by his grandson Charles Stanley Champion de Crespigny (1848-1907) in about 1908. The photocopy has a brief annotation by Charles’s son Charles Leonard C de C (1898-1977). My father received his copy from our cousin Stephen C de C who made annotations in 1964.

Charles Stanley was the child of Charles John Champion de Crespigny (1814-1880) and Emma Margaret nee Smith (c 1820-1848). Emma died just over two months after Charles Stanley was born and Charles Stanley was brought up by his grandparents.

To my Readers
Every word in This Booklet is true. Much is suppressed & names are changed that neither pain nor shame may attach to the dead who are beyond reach of ink or pen or to those living whom I love.
But in every essential particular it is true & in no single fact is it untrue or imaginary in this history of a Human Document.

My first memories are of a large country house not many miles from London.(1) I can just see its lovely grounds its quaint old world house. I can still see & hear the old Parson of the Parish (2) who would come across every Sunday after his honest but dreary discourse to dine at my Grandfather’s Table. A worthy man – a Doctor of Divinity- doing his little – his very little best — but still his best according to his lights, in his Master’s name. I still sleep the troubless innocent sleep of a child lulled by his dreary diatribes. I remember that village choir, that vacillating violin that terrible treble. And I remember asking my

dear old Grandmother if that holy man in white surplice & hood & afterwards in black gown & white bands was the God whom I was taught to love & fear.
For I was living with my Grandparents then. My father had left me in their loving care for my Mother died within two months of my Birth. And I doubt if it were not for her at least for the best. Of my Grandfather what can I say? The greatest Gentleman, the truest Simplest most lovable man, I ever knew. Sustained in my boyish memories still at my nearly sixty years of age, I have never looked upon his like again – A grand old head – with the whitest of

white hair, the Silken Touch of which my childish fingers loved to feel & which the fingers of an old man still dream the can feel now as in the long ago. A grand old man hating shams of all kind, gentle to a woman whatever her degree, politer to his tradesman than his peers, loved by his servants & hated only, if hated by anyone, by some parvenu upstart who would presume that a well lined pocket entitled its owner to be braggart & bully. “What is not good enough for my servants is not good enough for me” – I have often heard him say & the fare of the Servants’ Halls was every whit as good as the fare of the Master’s table

A gentleman as the French say to the tip of his fingernails – never discourteous to anyone, in his quarrels of word or pen attacking with the rapier of an honourable foe not with the dagger of the Assassin. In his youth an officer of Dragoons (3) – present at that celebrated Ball in Brussels on the Eve of Waterloo anent which he told me a curious tale.(4) He was dancing in a Quadrille & in one of the figures he noticed a Colonel of British Cavalry suddenly turn pale & stagger as if about to faint. In the dance my Grandfather asked what ailed him. “My dear C” said the Colonel, “I had a dreadful vision I saw my body dressed as I am now without a head.” Not long afterwards

the Bugles sounded & the British officers marched off to that Battle, which was the triumph of Wellington & the Downfall of Napoleon – Waterloo.
The Colonel’s body was found decapitated the head having been carried off by a round shot – & never being found.
He had faults, but such faults as has a child, such faults – as I believe are better than some men’s virtues. He did not know the value of money (5) – “dirty money” as he called it. But no tramp passed his house that could not get a glass of beer & a hunk of bread & cheese – & no beggar asked for alms in vain if he seemed feeble or was short of limb or had not the capacity – to work-

“You Encourage imposters” I once heard a friend say to him. “Perhaps I do”, said the dear old man, “ but if I help one poor devil in real distress out of ten who beg the other nine may go hang & my dole is well given. Had I waited to make enquiries & get characters & references the one deserving man would have suffered & the nine imposters would have cared not one jot.”
A hint that the Charity organizations might well take! To me there is something incongruous between the idea of “Charity” & “organization” – As well “Purity-Chastity” & say “Insurance”!

A grand old man too – a breed that is dying out if it be not already dead. He could tell & hear & enjoy a good story of even what is termed today a blue one but he could not treat a woman save as a woman. Peasant or Duchess had equal measure of courtesy from him & even to courtesan he would speak as if she might be his Daughter or sister – & was certainly the one or the other to some other man. He would drink his fill of good old Port too & enjoy his liqueur of good old Brandy but even after I held her Majesty’s commission I remember his saying to me – “Don’t drink spirits in the Daytime like a groom my boy.”

Ah well he lies buried in an old world Churchyard in the shadow of the Cotswold Hills & may the turf lie lightly upon him. (6) I do not think he left an enemy behind him & if he had as many thousands a year at the beginning of his life as he had of fifty pounds at its close I believe he lived the life. I have often heard him talk of “Be brave & a Gentleman” heard say “wd you can do no wrong that God will not forgive.”
And they are wise words. For all punishable crime is cowardly & no other crimes could be committed by any one who claims the gentleman’s only motto “Sans peur et sans reproche”. [fearless and above reproach]

He was nearly a centenarian when he died & remembered & recite the odes of Horace but a few days before the End & to his loving tuition do I owe a knowledge of Latin & Greek & the English Language which made me successful in Army & other examinations.
I must note before I regretfully pass from my memories of my grand old man refrain from repeating oft told test of a real gentleman “Ask him to dinner” he would say & I will quickly tell you if he is a real gentleman -”
And when I see the Youth of today – the “about town” youth – not the “Sort” that fought & died in South Africa – but the

[it ends here, either pages missing or never completed – annotation by Charles Leonard Champion de Crespigny, only son of Charles Stanley].

(1) the large country house not many miles from London is probably Harefield House. On the 1851 census Charles Fox Champion de Crespigny was living there with his half-brother Philip (1765-1851), wife Eliza, son Charles John, daughter Eliza (1825-1898) and grandson Charles Stanley (aged 2). There were 12 live in servants. Charles Fox lived at Harefield until about 1856/7. 1851 census for Harefield, Middlesex (2B) page 35: Class: HO107; Piece: 1697; Folio: 376; Page: 35; GSU roll: 193605

(2) On the 1851 census the perpetual curate (incumbent) of Harefield is John Lightfoot then aged 66. 1851 census for Harefield, Middlesex (2B) page 21: Class: HO107; Piece: 1697; Folio: 369; Page: 21; GSU roll: 193605. He was still at Harefield in 1861 aged 76 Class: RG 9; Piece: 768; Folio: 23; Page: 4;GSU roll: 542698. He died in 1863 aged 79.

(3) Stephen Champion de Crespigny note that Charles Fox entered the Army, 1st or Royal Regiment of Dragoons became a cornet 16 January 1806, Lieutenant 1808, Captain in 1810. He resigned in 1811 as a Lieutenant by sale of Commission.

(4) He may have been in Belgium in a civilian capacity but is not mentioned in the Waterloo Muster rolls. His second child George was born at Antwerp, Belgium on 31 October 1815, just over four months after the Battle of Waterloo which was fought on 18 June. The Duchess of Richmond’s Ball held on 15 June has a known invitation list and Charles Fox is not on that list. However, Sir Hussey Vivian (1775-1842) was on the list and did attend, writing about the ball to his wife Eliza, who was the sister of Charles Fox. Perhaps Vivian took his brother-in-law Charles Fox. The sources for Vivian’s attendance are:

Sir Hussey Vivian confirms that he attended the ball in:
– his letter to his wife dated 23rd June 1815. In: Vivian, Cl. R.H.Vivian, first baron Vivian p.264
– his diary, cited in: Vivian, Cl. R.H.Vivian.First baron Vivian etc. p.263
– his undated letter to E.Vivian, in: Vivian, Cl. R.H.Vivian, first baron Vivian p.266

Claud Vivian’s memoir of Richard Hussey Vivian, digitised and available through archive.org, shed no light light on Charles Fox Champion de Crespigny’s presence in Belgium, he is not mentioned by his brother-in-law.

(5) Charles Fox Champion de Crespigny inherited a considerable fortune but it dwindled away bring his life. At this stage I don’t know how, perhaps there were some significant failings in investments or a bank. He does not appear to have been a gambler.

(6) Charles Fox Champion de Crespigny is buried at St Peter’s, Leckhampton, Gloucestershire with his wife and his grandson Constantine Pulteney Champion de Crespigny (1851-1883)

Related posts

  • Philip de Crespigny in the French Revolution
  • Constantine Pulteney Trent Champion de Crespigny (1851 – 1883) He was the cousin of Charles Stanley and also brought up by his grandfather Charles Fox

St Paul’s Ballarat

19 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by Anne Young in Ballarat, Champion de Crespigny, Chauncy

≈ Leave a comment

This week Greg and I are going to the concerts of the 23rd Organs of the Goldfields Festival in Ballarat.

This morning’s recital was in St Paul’s, East Ballarat. My great great grandparents Annie Frances Chauncy and Philip Champion de Crespigny were married there in 1877.

The organ of St Paul’s was built in 1864 by J. Walker, London, and installed a year later.  With 20 stops and 830 pipes, this organ was said to have had a ‘beautiful tone’. In 1892 it was moved and a new hydraulic blowing engine was installed. In 1957 it was rebuilt and electrified, though the original pipework and tonal work was retained. In 2013 the organ was completely overhauled.

Despite these various improvements and restorations the organ we heard today is essentially the instrument that was played at my great great grandparents’ wedding 140 years ago. It might have been drowned out by  the rioting though.

organ at St Pauls Bakery Hill

The organ at St Paul’s Bakery Hill

 

 

Organ in St Pauls Church Ballarat Star 1865 05 23

THE ORGAN IN ST. PAUL’S CHURCH. (1865, May 23). The Ballarat Star (Vic. : 1865 – 1924), p. 2. Retrieved January 19, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112886936

 

 

The east window is claimed to be the oldest example of the Melbourne firm, Urie and Ferguson. It was first installed in 1863. The church building collapsed in 1864 and was rebuilt and the window was refitted into the new building.

the east window of St Pauls Bakery Hill

The east window of St Paul’s, Bakery Hill, Ballarat

 

Ballarat Star 1863 03 31 pg 2

NEWS AND NOTES. (1863, March 31). The Star (Ballarat, Vic. : 1855 – 1864), p. 2. Retrieved January 19, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72555970

References

  • History of St Paul’s Church, Bakery Hill
  • Ferguson and Urie WordPress blog: 31-03-1863: St Paul’s, Humfray St, Bakery Hill, Ballarat, Victoria.

Related posts

  • Wedding Wednesday: Philip Champion de Crespigny married Annie Frances Chauncy 25 October 1877
  • Trove Tuesday: discreditable conduct in church

Portrait of Mrs Geoffrey de Crespigny by Ernest Milston

16 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by Anne Young in Adelaide, artist, Champion de Crespigny, Cudmore, portrait, Trove Tuesday

≈ 4 Comments

Kathleen portrait

Mrs Geoffrey de Crespigny née Kathleen Cudmore (1908-2013), portrait by Ernest Milston

My father has a portrait in oil of his mother, my paternal grandmother, Kathleen Cudmore (1908-2013) painted about 1941 when she was 33.

The signature is ‘Milston’. Who was he? Before the Internet it was hard to find out.

Trove has made it easy. Here is newspaper article mentioning the portrait:

nla.news-page000011037338-nla.news-article128344371-L3-ee0616e85a76de121e849d13fcfddeb2-0001

SEES ART FUTURE FOR AUSTRALIA (1946, March 30). News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 – 1954), p. 3. Retrieved January 15, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128344371

 

Ernest Milston (1893-1968), born in Prague Czechoslovakia, graduated from the University of Prague in 1916. He was Jewish and fled Europe in 1939 and began practicing as an architect in Adelaide in 1940. He enlisted in the Australian Army in November 1942 as Ernest Muhlstein, and served with the Royal Australian Engineers. He was discharged on 20 March 1946.

In Adelaide a September 1940 newspaper review of the Spring Exhibition mentioned a portrait of a mother and son Milston exhibited. In April 1941 he was reported as being responsible for the decor of an amateur ballet performance.

After the war Milston moved to Melbourne and successfully practised as an architect. He also exhibited with the Victorian Artists’ Society and in 1945 one of the paintings he showed was my grandmother’s portrait.

My grandmother kept a newspaper clippings book and it includes a review from the 1945 exhibition by George Bell in the Sun newspaper (not apparently currently digitised by Trove).

Newspaper clippings Kathleen Sept 1945 - 1

 

Milston is best remembered for winning the design for the second world war memorial at the Melbourne Shrine.

Milston The Age 18 Feb 1950 pg 2

News of the Day (1950, February 18). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954), p. 2. Retrieved January 15, 2018, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187342730

 

Thanks to Trove I have been able to learn much more about the artist who painted my grandmother.

Further reading

  • biography of Ernest Milston in a database of unsung architects compiled by Built Heritage Pty Ltd

Related post

  • Kathleen Cudmore: a Memoir
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  • genealogical records (21)
  • genealogy tools (22)
    • AncestryDNA (5)
    • DNA Painter (3)
    • GedMatch (2)
    • MyHeritage (6)
  • geneameme (87)
    • 52 ancestors (13)
    • Sepia Saturday (20)
    • Trove Tuesday (41)
    • Wedding Wednesday (4)
  • gold rush (2)
  • Governor LaTrobe (1)
  • Greg Young (7)
  • GSV (2)
  • heraldry (2)
  • illness and disease (16)
    • cholera (4)
    • tuberculosis (5)
    • typhoid (6)
  • immigration (24)
  • inquest (1)
  • insolvency (2)
  • Kathleen (10)
  • land records (2)
  • military (19)
    • army (3)
    • Durham Light Infantry (1)
    • navy (9)
  • Napoleonic wars (6)
    • Waterloo (1)
  • obituary (10)
  • occupations (30)
    • artist (5)
    • author (5)
    • aviation (3)
    • lawyer (6)
    • medicine (9)
    • public service (1)
    • railways (3)
    • teacher (1)
  • orphanage (1)
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  • piracy (3)
  • police (1)
  • politics (11)
  • portrait (8)
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  • prison (2)
  • prisoner of war (7)
  • probate (5)
  • PROV (2)
  • Rafe de Crespigny (8)
  • religion (15)
    • Huguenot (4)
    • Methodist (2)
    • Mormon pioneer (1)
    • Puritan (1)
  • Royal family (1)
  • Salvation Army (1)
  • sheriff (1)
  • shipwreck (2)
  • South Sea Company (1)
  • sport (12)
    • cricket (2)
    • golf (3)
    • riding (1)
    • rowing (2)
    • sailing (1)
  • statistics (2)
  • street directories (1)
  • temperance (1)
  • Trove (31)
  • Uncategorized (6)
  • ward of the state (2)
  • Wedding (10)
  • wikitree (2)
  • will (4)
  • workhouse (1)
  • World War 1 (53)
  • World War 2 (15)
  • Young Charlotte (3)
  • younger son (2)

Pages

  • About
  • Ahentafel index
  • Champions from Normandy
  • Index
    • A to Z challenges
    • Boltz family index
    • Cavenagh family index
    • Chauncy family index
    • Cudmore family index
    • Dana family index
    • Dawson family index
    • de Crespigny family index
    • de Crespigny family index 2 – my English forebears
    • de Crespigny family index 3 – the baronets and their descendants
    • Hughes family index
    • Mainwaring family index
      • Back to 1066 via the Mainwaring family
    • Sullivan family index
    • World War 1
    • Young family index
    • DNA research

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