1. John Bancroft 1,2,3 died in 1637 in Lynn, Massachusetts
1,2,3 .
GENERAL NOTES: John and his wife Jane are said
to have left London in April 1632 in the ship James and to have reached
Lynn, Massachusetts, some eight weeks later where they settled. John died
there five years later and in the Lynn records there is an entry noting
that in 1638 100 acres of land were granted to widow Bancroft.
The English records of John's and Jane's emigration spell their surname
"Barcrofte", a name which is to be found in English records of the period
but not, according to James Savage, in those of New England. Savage does,
however, quote one occasion when he came across that spelling, this involved
a John Barcrofte entering into recognisances of £40, with
a Samuel Maverick giving surety of £20, on condition that Jane, his
wife, should be of good behaviour. Savage adds that the index to the records
where this surety is noted, spell John's surname Bancrofte, so Bancroft
or Bancrofte was probably the recognised form of spelling when the
index was compiled. In passing, it is interesting to speculate what Jane
had been doing to offend puritanical sensibilities that required her husband
to guarantee her good behaviour in such a way!
There is no firm evidence of John's English descent but the family held
the belief in the C19th that John's family had come from Durham. There
is also a theory that he may have been descended from Thomas Bancroft of
Swarston or Swarkestone, a village near Derby on the River Trent. 4
John married Jane .
MARRIAGE NOTES: 19th century compilers of data
about the early settlers in America differ about the number of children
that John and Jane had. James Savage names two sons: John and Thomas; Royal
Hinman states that they had three sons: John, Thomas and Ebenezer.
Furthermore, whether the John Bancroft who married Hannah Draper was
their son or one of their grandsons has not been established. Hinman says
"perhaps son of John of Lynn"; Savage makes no connection. However, for
the purposes of this family history, John Bancroft of Windsor has been assumed
to be the the son of John and Jane — certainly, his dates make that possible.
2,5
Children from this marriage were:
+ 2 M i. John Bancroft 1,2,3
died in 1662 in Windsor, Connecticut 1,2 .
3 M ii. Thomas
Bancroft 1 was born in 1622
in England. 1
Second Generation
2. John Bancroft
1,2,3 died in 1662 in Windsor, Connecticut
1,2
.
GENERAL NOTES: As mentioned in his parent's notes, John may not be the son of John of Lynn. Was living at Windsor, Conn., about 1645.
John married Hannah Draper 2,3 on 3 Dec 1650 in Windsor, Connecticut 6.,7 Another name for Hannah was Hannah Duper or Drupper 1,2.,3
MARRIAGE NOTES: John and Hannah had at least
five children — three sons and two daughters — who are all mentioned in
the settlement of their father's estate. 8
Children from this marriage were:
4 M i. John Bancroft
1,2,3 was born in Dec 1651. 1,2,3
John married Rachel Stigg .1
+ 5 M ii. Nathaniel Bancroft 2,3,9
was born on 19 Nov 1653 in Windsor, Connecticut 2,3,9 and died on 20 Feb 1722/23
in Westfield, Massachusetts 9
at age 69.
+ 6 M iii. Ephraim Bancroft 2,9,10
was born on 15 Jun 1656. 2,3,9
7 F iv. Hannah
Bancroft 2,3,9
was born on 6 Apr 1659. 2,3,9
8 F v. Sarah
Bancroft 2,3,9
was born on 26 Dec 1661. 2,3,9
Sarah married Daniel Sefton .8
MARRIAGE NOTES: Daniel and Sarah are said to
have settled in Westfield 8
Third Generation
5. Nathaniel Bancroft
2,3,9 was born on 19 Nov 1653 in Windsor,
Connecticut 2,3,9
and died on 20 Feb 1722/23 in Westfield, Massachusetts 9 at age 69.
GENERAL NOTES: It is said that Nathaniel died as a result of being wounded by Indians. 9
Nathaniel married Hannah Williams ,2,3,9 daughter of John Williams and Unknown , on 23 Dec 1677 2,3.,9 Hannah was born on 13 Apr 1651 9 and died on 15 Mar 1727/28 9 at age 76.
GENERAL NOTES: Hannah was from Williston, North Dakota, USA
Children from this marriage were:
+ 9 M i. John Bancroft 8
was born on 28 Jan 1678/79 in Windsor, Connecticut 8 and died on 14 Oct 1749 in Westfield,
Massachusetts 8 at age
70.
10 M ii. Nathaniel
Bancroft 9 was born on 25 Sep
1680 9 and died <1740>
9,13
at age 60.
Something about his life:
• Will: 27 May 1740. 9,13 Nathaniel died without any surviving issue and his nephew Edward Bancroft is mentioned in his Will.
Nathaniel married Elizabeth Root .8
MARRIAGE NOTES: Nathaniel and Elizabeth died
without leaving any issue, whether or not they had any children who died
young is unknown.
Nathaniel next married Elizabeth Highley .8
11 M iii. Benjamin
Bancroft was born on 6 Jan 1683/84 14
and died on 13 Jan 1683/84 14
.
12 F iv. Elizabeth
Bancroft was born on 11 Oct 1685. 14
Elizabeth married Consider Maudsley .
13 M v. Edward
Bancroft was born on 3 May 1688 14
and died on 5 Sep 1707 14
at age 19. The cause of his death was Wounds.
6. Ephraim Bancroft
2,9,10 was born on 15 Jun 1656. 2,3,9 Another name for Ephraim was
Ephraim Bancraft.3
Ephraim married Sarah Stiles ,2,3,9 daughter of John Stiles and
Unknown , on 1 May 1681 9,10.,11
Children from this marriage were:
14 M i. Ephraim
Bancroft 2 was born on 8 Feb
1682/83. 2
15 M ii. John
Bancroft 2 was born in 1685
2 and died before 1690.
16 F iii. Sarah
Bancroft 2 was born in 1687.
2
17 M iv. John
Bancroft 2 was born in 1690.
2
18 M v. Benjamin
Bancroft 2 was born in 1694.
2
19 M vi. Nathaniel
Bancroft 2 was born in 1698.
2
20 M vii. Daniel
Bancroft 2 was born in Jul 1701.
2
21 M viii. Thomas
Bancroft 2 was born in 1703.
2
Fourth Generation
9. John Bancroft
8 was born on 28 Jan 1678/79 in
Windsor, Connecticut 8
and died on 14 Oct 1749 in Westfield, Massachusetts 8 at age 70.
GENERAL NOTES: In the Westfield town records
it is noted that in July 1731, a John Bancroft received 215 acres and his
brother Nathaniel 163 acres. Later in January 1733/34 there is another
entry saying that they received 43 & 33 acres respectively. There is
no proof that these are indeed the sons of Nathaniel but it seems very likely
that that is the case because John is known to have moved to Westfield.
John is recorded as having obtained a commission on March 13th 1758,
as a First Lieutenant in the British force which was being raised to invade
Canada, then a French possession; New Englanders made up a significant part
of this force. He was promoted to Captain a year later. 15
Something about his life:
• Will signed: 24 Feb 1748/49. 15 John made his eldest surviving son
John his executor and, though this is not specifically reported, presumably,
his residual beneficiary¹. He left his wife Kesia £270, his
daughter Ann Root £175, his daughter Elizabeth Fowler £285, his
grandson Stephen Fowler £177. John also mentions his two grandson's
the children of his late son, Edward. They were Edward (later Dr Edward)
and Daniel.
Daniel was also the beneficiary of a deed that John executed at Westfield
in 24th Feb 1748 leaving him various pieces of land in and about the town.
¹John Jr had to execute a bond in order to pay some of his father's
legacies. The bond was said to be to the value of 312 ounces of silver.
• Probate Granted: 14 Nov 1749. 16 John's son, John, obtained the grant.
John married Hannah Bridgeman 8 on 2 May 1716.9 Hannah died on 30 Mar 1730 8 .
GENERAL NOTES: Hannah is recorded as having come from Northampton in Massachusetts. 8
Children from this marriage were:
22 F i. Ann Bancroft
15 was born in 1716 15 and died in 1718 15 at age 2.
+ 23 M ii. Edward Bancroft 15
was born on 1 Aug 1718 in Westfield, Massachusetts 15 and died on 19 Aug 1746
15 at age 28.
24 F iii. Ann Bancroft
15 was born on 18 Apr 1720.
15
Ann married Joseph Root .15
+ 25 M iv. John Bancroft 15
was born on 19 Apr 1722 15
and died on 27 Jun 1793 15
at age 71.
+ 26 F v. Rhoda Bancroft 15
was born on 24 Nov 1724 15
and died before 1749 15
.
27 F vi. Elizabeth
Bancroft 12 was born on 31
Jul 1727. 12
Elizabeth married Bildad Fowler .
GENERAL NOTES: Bildad is said to have been a merchant in Westfield. 15
28 M vii. Daniel
Bancroft 15 was born in 1730
15 and died in 1733
15 at age 3.
John next married Kesia Smith on 13
Jun 1734.12
The child from this marriage was:
29 F i. Désirée
Bancroft was born in 1738 12
and died in 1742 at age 4.
Fifth Generation
23. Edward Bancroft
15 was born on 1 Aug 1718 in Westfield,
Massachusetts 15 and
died on 19 Aug 1746 15
at age 28.
Something about his life:
• Grant of Administration: 14 Apr 1747. 13 Edward had died intestate and his wife Mary was granted Letters of Administration. She was also appointed guardian of his two young sons.
Edward married Mary Ely 15 on 13 Feb 1743/44 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts.17 Mary was born in 1716 13 and died on 30 Jan 1761 13 at age 45. The cause of her death was Smallpox.13
MARRIAGE NOTES: An alternative date of marriage
has been suggested as 19th August 1740 but this would mean that Edward's
and Mary's first child, Edward, had not been conceived for 44 months which
seems out of kilter with the the speed with which Daniel followed. 13
GENERAL NOTES: Said to be of Springfield 13
Children from this marriage were:
+ 30 M i. Dr Edward Bancroft M.D., F.R.S. was born on
9 Jan 1744/45 in Westfield, Massachusetts, 18,19
was baptized on 13 Jan 1744/45 in Westfield, Massachusetts, 20 died on 7 Sep 1821 in Addington
Square, Margate, Kent 21
at age 76, and was buried in Iden, Sussex. 22
+ 31 M ii. Daniel Bancroft 19
was born on 2 Nov 1746 in Westfield, Massachusetts, 23 was baptized on 30 Nov 1746
in Westfield, Massachusetts, 20
and died on 7 Mar 1796 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 23 at age 49.
25. John Bancroft
15 was born on 19 Apr 1722
15 and died on 27 Jun 1793
15 at age 71.
John married Mary Ashley 15 on 1 Mar 1749/50.15 Mary died on 21 Feb 1779 15 .
The child from this marriage was:
32 M i. John
Bancroft
John married Elizabeth Holcombe .15
John next married Miriam Burt .15
26. Rhoda Bancroft
15 was born on 24 Nov 1724
15 and died before 1749
15 .
Rhoda married Stephen Fowler .
The child from this marriage was:
33 M i. Stephen
Fowler .15
Sixth Generation
30. Dr Edward Bancroft
M.D., F.R.S. was born on 9 Jan 1744/45 in Westfield, Massachusetts,
18,19
was baptized on 13 Jan 1744/45 in Westfield, Massachusetts, 20 died on 7 Sep 1821 in Addington
Square, Margate, Kent 21
at age 76, and was buried in Iden, Sussex. 25
GENERAL NOTES: Edward was a controversial figure,
of whom much has been written¹, particularly in connection with his
role as spy for the British Crown during the War of American Independence.
He was a noted naturalist, an exceptionally able chemist whose discoveries
in connection with vegetable dyes produced quercitron² for the calico
printing trade and a work which became the definitive reference on such dyes
for the next fifty years, an entrepreneur, a practicing physician, a speculator
in stocks and, perhaps above all, one of the most successful spies of all
times. His work for the British Crown only coming to light some seventy
odd years after he died when Government papers from that period were released
for public examination.
He was a man of great natural gifts and considerable drive; he comes
across as a busy person who warmly embraced the opportunities that life
offered him. As an aside, it may be that he was short in stature as such
"busyness" and his pugnacious approach to adverse comment are often characteristics
of smaller men. He displays a chippiness on certain occasions suggesting
that he was very sensitive about his honour and his worth and, certainly,
he had a very commercial (and for those times a rather ungentlemanly) approach
to all he did. However, as his stock speculation and double life show, he
was not averse to taking risks; indeed, he may well have enjoyed the excitement
of such ventures. He must also have been endowed with considerable courage
to see them through. He enjoyed convivial company, entertained a good deal
and was warmly regarded by his friends both in America and Britain. Regrettably,
his posthumous reputation suffered when his activities as a secret agent
became known.
Edward has attracted much opprobrium for his role as a secret agent
for the British, particular from American historians, including his distant
relative George Bancroft (1880-1891). This is not surprising. To patriotic
Americans Edward's disclosure of the rebel Colonist's activities in Paris
was great treachery, the more so because it was also a breach of the trust
placed in him by distinguished men like Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding
fathers of the United States, who was Edward's friend and mentor.
Despite this duplicity, Edward seems to have been able to maintain friendly
relationships with most of those (there are some exceptions, like Arthur
Lee) with whom he worked in the American Commission in Paris; a process which
must, at times, have tested his natural affability and resolve. Letters have
survived from both Benjamin Franklin and Silas Deane signed, respectively:
"yrs most affec:" & "affec: friend". Moreover, he rescued
Deane when he was in financial difficulties in London towards the end of
his life and continued to have a high regard for Franklin, publishing in 1787
a collection of the latter's Philosophical & Miscellaneous Papers.
In this respect, Edward is a bit of an enigma: on the one hand he worked
hard and disloyally to undermine everything that Deane and Franklin were seeking
to achieve in France and on the other he was an affectionate friend to them,
holding their confidence and respect throughout their lives. Such perhaps
is the nature of successful secret agents.
The American War of Independence and the uneasy period leading up to
it, created considerable difficulties for thoughtful Colonists, particularly
those who had spent time in England. It is not surprising, therefore, that
there were many loyalists both in America and England, who were appalled
at the actions of the rebels, and whose ranks provided the British with some
remarkably successful secret agents. Edward seems to have been a supporter
of the republican cause during his early days in England, if company that
he kept or his pamphlet, Remarks on a Review of the Controversy between
Great Britain and Her Colonies, published in 1769 and his writings on
American affairs for the London Monthly Review are any guide. The turning
point seems to have come during his meeting with Silas Deane in Paris in
June 1776 when he discovered the enormity of what the rebels were seeking
to achieve in France.
It is more difficult to see why British historians, like Lewis Einstein
(1933) and Sir Arthur MacNalty (1944), took such a moralistic attitude
to Edward's business, political and social activities and set out to paint
so black a picture of his character. Perhaps, their view of him was too
much coloured by earlier American writings or, perhaps, writing as they
were in the middle of the 20th century, they were imbued with a greater
moral rectitude than now exists. Spying was not regarded as an honourable
activity even if it was in the interests ones own King, spying for reward
was regarded in an even poorer light (unrewarded spying seems to have been
considered less reprehensible) and working as a double agent was, as it still
is, regarded as beyond the pale.
There is no doubt that Edward displayed a mercenary approach to his
work as a secret agent but it seems improbable that he was motivated to
work for the British just for the financial reward; political conviction
must have been a factor as well. Also, unlike Paul Wentworth and Revd.
John Vardill whose reward, or hoped-for reward, was an appointment in the
gift of the King, Edward preferred lump sum payments and a pension. Given
Edward's background in comparison to Wentworth and Vardill, perhaps that
was not surprising. He came from a respectable yeoman family in Massachusetts
but his father died two years after he was born and his mother married again
to a tavern keeper in Hartford, so the family were not well off and he and
his brother had to make their own ways in the world.
Wentworth records having difficulties with him over a demand for £500
for some information, writing that he detested "higgling in a bargain for
the King's services and the cause of my country", which, clearly, highlights
the difference in the two men's approach to money matters. Wentworth, himself,
was not averse to submitting an account for his expenses; in the five years
to December 1777 he had spent £2437 working for the British.
One final point on this issue. It is difficult to see how Edward could
have afforded to live with his family in Paris while working for the American
Commission without some income. No doubt, his quercitron trade was bringing
in something by then but he had given up his medical practice in London and
his American employers were not quick to remunerate him for his work for
them, if, indeed, they ever did.
It may well be that Silas Deane³, and other Americans, saw Edward
as a secret agent for their cause even after he left London and was working
for them in Paris. In practical terms, however, once Edward settled in Paris
he was no better placed than any other American there to know what was
being planned in London, so it is only during the period between June 1776
and April 1777 that Edward could have passed any useful intelligence to
the Americans.
During this time, despite the clandestine method he used of communicating
with Deane through the good offices of the French Chargé d'Affaires
in London and his frequent visits to Paris, it seems unlikely that Edward
took the risk of imparting any secret or confidential information to Deane
or that his activities on this front were undertaken without the full knowledge
and approval of William Eden who was responsible to Lord North for intelligence
gathering. Moreover, it is questionable whether or not Edward ever had
any secret or confidential information to impart. It is not surprising,
therefore, that his letters to Deane during this period turn out to consist
mostly of gossip and matters that were already in the public domain and are
much embellished by judicious name-dropping. The ingenuous Deane, in his
enthusiastic letters to his colleagues in America, ascribed a much greater
value to them than they justified.
There is no definite evidence that Edward received any remuneration
from the Americans for his efforts during this time. Such evidence as survives
is contradictory and comes from a letter that Deane wrote to the Secret
Committee of Congress saying that no man (Edward) had better intelligence
"but it costs something", which implies payment or at least expense, and
one from Edward to Deane saying that he was doing the very best that anyone
could do without money.
The British authorities did not, of course, trust Edward - his earlier
espousal of the rebels cause saw to that - and William Eden's office is
recorded as being party to a plan, hatched by the Revd. John Vardill, to
scrutinise letters being taken to Edward in Paris by his "mistress". (It
is not clear whether or not the lady in question was his wife or a lover
as Einstein assumes. At that time, Edward had recently moved to Paris to
join the American Commission, so it could have equally well been his wife).
The British could never be absolutely sure that he was not feeding them
false information and as the words taken from one of the King's letters to
Lord North show, George III was convinced until too late that "... as Edwards
[Edward Bancroft's alias] is a stockjobber as well as a double spy, no other
faith can be placed in his intelligence, but that it suited his private
use to make us expect the French Court means war". In fact, there is no
evidence that Edward ever passed false intelligence to the British as some
recent American historians have sought to suggest. Nor is there any evidence
that he or Paul Wentworth falsified their reports in order to manipulate
the Stock Exchange as George III chose to believe.
As to the importance of Edward's career as a secret agent, it is worth
reflecting on Einstein's interesting comment that "No government was ever
better served by its informers than that of George the Third, or possessed
more accurate information of its enemies most hidden plans or treated this
knowledge with greater neglect." Einstein goes on to suggest that because
George III had discovered that his American secret agents speculated on
the Stock Exchange (Paul Wentworth was also a keen speculator) "he refused
to believe in the seriousness of the news they gave to warn him of the impending
French Alliance, which he regarded as tricks to depress the funds, and delayed
until too late to the concessions he later was ready to make and which,
if offered in time, almost certainly would have preserved his Empire."
¹ Bibliography:
1) Winnowings in American History No IV - Edited by P. L. Ford
2) Dictionary of National Biography Vol III - Edited by Leslie
Stephen (Edward's original entry (Pages 105-106) was written by G. T. Bettany
in 1885 and makes no mention of Edward's activities as a secret agent. Later
editions show that this entry was later revised.)
3) Divided Loyalties by Lewis Einstein (1933)
4) Edward Bancroft, M.D., F.R.S., and the War of American Independence
by Sir Arthur S. MacNalty, KCB, MD, FRCP - Proceedings of the Royal Society
of Medicine, June 7 1944
5) Intrigue in Paris by G. J. A. O'Toole - Chapter 5 of Secret
New England - Spies of the American Revolution - Edited by Edmund R.
Thompson (2001)
² A yellow dye made from the bark of the Black Oak which grows
in North America.
³ Silas Deane had been sent to Paris in 1775 by the newly formed
Committee of Congress for Secret Correspondence with a view to obtaining
arms and supplies from the French that the Colonists urgently needed to
wage their war against the British Crown
26,27,28,29
Something about his life:
• Early Years: cir 1752 to1767, Various Places.
27,28,29,30
The details about Edward's early life vary from one account of it to another
but there is a general consensus about the following information: —
First, he was largely self educated but at some time Silas Deane was
his tutor or schoolmaster, possibly in 1758 when he was 14 years of age.
After his schooling he was apprenticed to an unspecified trade from which
he ran away to sea owing his Master money (the debt, it is said, was later
repaid).
He then made several voyages and in the process seems to have learnt
something of medical practice, possibly, as a result of being a surgeon's
mate whilst onboard. He then put this knowledge to use by serving as a
medical attendant on plantations in Barbados and in Surinam (Dutch Guyana).
It was in Surinam that he is first said to have met Paul Wentworth who
owned a plantation there and who later featured considerably in Edward's
life in London & Paris. It was, also, in Surinam that he turned his
attention to the local flora and fauna and it was his research on these
that later established his reputation as a botanist and zoologist. This research
was recorded in his first published book (1769), The Natural History of
Guyana, written as letters to his brother.
He seems also to have taken an interest in tropical plants and their
dye producing properties. As we shall see later, vegetable dyes were to
be the main commercial focus in his life.
In 1766, Edward left Surinam and returned to America where it is recorded
that he sold one-third of a tract land that he owned near Westfield for
£22 on November 3rd. In the spring of the following year he sailed
for London.
• Medical training: bet. Jun 1767 &1769, London. 27,28,29 There is no certainty about where Edward did his medical training but it is thought that he might have been a physician's pupil at St Bartholomew's as he dedicated the book he published in 1769 to William Pitcairn, MD, FRCP, Physician of St Bartholomew's Hospital, "with Respect and Gratitude". He obtained his MD, probably in absentia, from Aberdeen University where his name is to be found in the Roll of Marischal College for the year 1774. [Sir Arthur MacNalty].
• Early career: bet.1769 & 1776, London.
27,28
During this period, Edward did a little writing. On the recommendation
of Benjamin Franklin who he had got to know in London, he wrote comments
about American affairs for the London Monthly Review whose founder and editor was the London bookseller and publisher, Ralph Griffiths.
Earlier, in 1769, he published a paper entitled Remarks on a Review
of the Controversy between Great Britain and Her Colonies. Paul Wentworth
is reputed to have assisted him in writing this tract. At that time Wentworth
was the agent for New Hampshire in London and, like Edward, was sympathetic
to the Colonist's views.
Edward also tried his hand at a novel, which was published in 1770,
entitled The History of Charles Wentworth, Esq. The name of the
subject of this work being no doubt chosen as a compliment to his friend
and benefactor, Paul Wentworth. Sir Arthur MacNalty says of this work,
"In Charles Wentworth Bancroft tried to do two things: to write
an ethical and sociological treaties and a love-story. As a consequence,
he failed in both aims and the novel, although interesting as a study of
the author, cannot be regarded as a success." It was not a literary form
that Edward attempted again.
Before his marriage in 1771, Edward returned briefly to Surinam at Wentworth's
behest to see how Wentworth's plantation might be made more productive.
From there he sailed to America, returning to England in 1771. No doubt
Wentworth financed that expedition.
He then married and he and his wife settled in Marylebone, London, where
they started a family. He seems to have established himself fairly quickly
as a successful physician and, in between treating patients, he continued
the research into dyes that he had begun in Surinam.
By May 1773 he was able to present a paper to the Royal Society "on
producing and communicating colours", which resulted in his being unanimously
elected a Fellow. His sponsors for this election were the Astronomer Royal,
the King's Physician, and Benjamin Franklin. A year later he presented
another paper entitled Work on Nigrescent Vegetables; this was read
but not published.
By now Edward was considered to be a leading expert on dyes and was
well accepted as such by scientists in both London and Paris. He advised
the East India Company on the subject (Indian dyes being of significant
commercial value) and is reputed to have helped them introduce lac dye
(a scarlet dye like cochineal extracted from the crude shellac resin excreted
by the lac insect, Laccifer (Tachardia) lacca) though this seems unlikely
as the dye was in use long before Edward's time. It is more likely that
Edward advised them on how it could be extracted more efficiently.
When the Medical Society of London started in 1773, one of the founder
members was Edward and his figure appears in Samuel Medley's portrait of
the Founders that was painted in 1800.
For a man of Edward's entrepreneurial drive, the next step had to be
the commercial development of the dyes that he had discovered. To this
end he obtained a Government patent in 1775 that gave him a monopoly in the
manufacture, use and sale of certain dyes that he had discovered. The most
important and enduring of these was quercitron, so named by Edward, a yellow
dye made from the Black Oak of North America, whose use continued well into
the 20th-century.
It is unclear whether or not Edward was actually involved in the use
of dyes in finished products such as printed calico or woollen goods, or
just manufactured them. Sir Arthur MacNalty hints that it was the former
but it seems more likely that Edward's business interests were confined to
the importation of the raw materials and to the extraction of the dyes, certainly
this appears to have been the case ten years later when he secured the renewal
of his patent.
Edward also developed a taste for stock speculation during this time.
Perhaps he was introduced to that risky activity by Wentworth who had
made quite a name for himself in London and Paris as an international speculator.
In a period when fortunes were won or lost at an evening's cards or on the
racecourse, Wentworth is reputed to have justified his speculation on the
grounds that it was fairer than playing quinze or backing jockeys
at Newmarket [Lewis Einstein]; quite what he meant by being "fairer" is
unclear. Whether or not Wentworth was ever a partner with Edward in such
speculations is unknown, if he had been the person who introduced Edward
to the London Stock Exchange, then it is quite likely that they were at
some time jointly involved. It is, however, on record that Thomas Walpole,
a banker and MP for Lynn, was active with Edward's in "stock-jobbing", as
it was known, and in other financial ventures as well.
It is interesting to reflect, as Lewis Einstein does, that if it had
not been for Edward's and Wentworth's stock speculation, George III might
have had greater confidence in the intelligence that they gathered for him
concerning the intentions of the American rebels and the alliance they were
forging with the French. As it was, he believed until too late, that they
were trying to manipulate the Stock Market and ignored the valuable information
they were giving him. As we shall see later, George III did have grounds
for such concerns but there is no evidence that Edward or Wentworth ever
misreported any development though they did, from time to time, use information
that they discovered to their own advantage.
• Years of intrigue: bet. 1776 & 1783, London
& Paris. 27,28,31
This period in Edward's life has to be seen against the background of the
American Colonist's rebellion against British rule. From 1765 onwards there
had been rumblings of discontent from the Colonists over various British
attempts to tax them in order to defray the cost of the British administration
there, particularly the armed force that was thought necessary to protect
the colonies from the Indians. By late 1773 these rumblings had developed
into open revolt — witness the Boston "Tea Party" when duty-free tea belonging
to the East India Tea Company was destroyed in Boston harbour leading to
the closure of that port to the colonists in June 1774 — and into guerrilla
warfare against the British forces stationed there.
By the end of 1775 it became clear to the American rebel leaders that
they could not hope to win their fight against the British without outside
support, so the newly formed Continental Congress set up a special committee
known as "Committee of Congress for Secret Correspondence" (CCSC) whose
role was to secure, secretly, support from France and perhaps also from
Spain and Prussia. The CCSC appointed Silas Deane, a Connecticut deputy,
as their agent to go to Paris with the objective of sounding out the French
with regard to an alliance and of securing arms, ammunition and clothing
for 25,000 troops, as well as, gifts for the Indians to the value of £40,000
— bribes to keep them quiet while the Colonists fought the British!
Deane was instructed to take on the character of a merchant and, inter alia, "...to procure a meeting with Mr Bancroft by writing a letter to him under cover to Mr. Griffiths at Turnham Green near London, and desiring him to come over to you in France or Holland, on the score of old acquaintance". "Mr Bancroft" was, of course, Edward whom Deane would have known as a pupil. Edward is thought to have visited America in 1775 and met various members of Congress, including his friend Benjamin Franklin; it is very likely that he and Deane had renewed their acquaintance during that visit. There is no doubt that the members of the CCSC considered Edward sympathetic to the Colonist's cause and hoped that he would provide Deane with useful intelligence.
Much has been made of this clandestine method of contacting Edward in commentaries on Edward's “spying” activities for the rebels. However, it should be remembered, also, that it was important for Deane's presence and true purpose in Paris to be kept secret from the British as long as possible. Letters were regularly intercepted and read by the Post Office, particular if they were addressed to known Colonist sympathisers, and, in contacting Edward on this occasion, it was obviously prudent to avoid such scrutiny by sending it via Ralph Griffiths, the publisher of the Monthly Review in London, who was well-known to both Benjamin Franklin and Edward.
Edward met Deane in Paris on 8th July 1776 and during the course of
the next two weeks learnt from him every detail of his secret mission.
Deane for his part sought Edward's help in keeping him informed on how matters
stood for the Colonist's cause in England. Edward agreed to do this but,
given Edward's position and contacts in London, it is difficult to see what
information of value he could have imparted to Deane; certainly, he could
have kept him informed of the gossip and general sentiment with regard to
the rebel cause but he had no access to confidential information or, indeed,
to anyone in the Government who could have provided such information.
Our knowledge of the next part of this affair comes from Edward's memorial
addressed in 1784 to Lord Carmarthen, then Secretary of State, to solicit
the continuation of the pensions that had been promised him by the former
Secretaries of State. In it he describes the circumstances in which he
came to work for the British Crown as a secret agent.
It seems that on Edward's return from Paris, he was approached by his
friend Paul Wentworth and persuaded to speak of what had passed between
him and Deane. By this time, Wentworth held an appointment as an adviser
to the Cabinet on American affairs, a role which seems to have involved him
working mostly as an "intelligence gatherer" (he bitterly resented being
thought of as a spy) for William Eden, then Under-Secretary of State to Lord
North.
It is unclear whether or not Edward volunteered the information about
his Paris visit or whether he was persuaded to do so because Wentworth
confronted him with the fact that his visit was known to the British authorities,
having been marked by British spies in Paris. Whatever the case, Edward
agreed to repeat what he had discovered about Deane's mission in Paris to
William Eden and then to Lords Weymouth and Suffolk, Secretaries of State.
It is worth reflecting at this stage that had Edward been the ardent
supporter of the Colonist's cause that both the CCSC members and, probably,
Wentworth believed him to be, he would have been much less forthcoming about
what had passed between him and Deane. In the event, his meeting with Deane
seems to have left him with considerable qualms about the course (total
independance through armed conflict) that the rebels were bent on pursuing.
The Lords Weymouth and Suffolk realised that Edward's contact with Deane
provided a wonderful opportunity for keeping track of what the Americans
were doing in Paris and they suggested that he might like to become a secret
agent of the British (though doubtless it was put to him more subtly than
that). Edward agreed to this and was promised a pension for life of £200
per annum.
For the next 10 months Edward corresponded with Deane and visited him
from time to time in Paris. Their correspondence was carried out through
the French Chargé d'Affaires in London, Mr Garnier, who was a known
sympathiser with the Colonist's cause and with whom the CCSC had, rather
ingenuously, instructed Deane to correspond much to the French diplomat's
discomfort. With the help of Garnier, Edward was able to send his letters
to Paris unopened in the French diplomatic bag. However, as Edward was
now working for the British, it is extremely unlikely that his visits to
Paris or his correspondence with Deane were carried out without the British
authorities knowledge and consent. Further, it seems unlikely that Edward
would have tried, even if he had had secret or confidential information,
to pass it on to Deane; he would have known that he was being carefully
watched and that any indiscretion that was discovered would be disastrous
for him.
Despite Edward's lack of hard information, Deane wrote enthusiastically
to his colleagues in America about Edward's contribution to their cause.
In truth, Deane seems to have been extremely naive about the information
that he was receiving from Edward and, indeed, from others, holding it in
much higher regard than it deserved and repeating, without hesitation, various
accusations of spying made by Edward about certain Americans in Paris.
It is unclear whether or not Edward received any recompense from Deane
for the intelligence work that he was supposedly doing during this period.
At one stage Deane writes of Edward to the CCSC that no one had better
intelligence in England "... but it costs something.", implying that Edward
was being paid. On the other hand, Edward asserts in a letter to Deane that
he was achieving as much as was humanly possible without money. Given Edward's
later problems concerning remuneration from the Colonists, it is quite possible
that the only recompense that he received was for his expenses.
In December 1776, Deane's solo efforts in Paris were reinforced by Benjamin
Franklin and, later, by Arthur Lee creating a formal American Commission
there. When the British authorities became aware of this, it was clear that
it would be much more useful to have Edward directly involved with this
Commission and to this end he was persuaded to leave London and settle Paris.
He did not agree to do this, unsurprisingly, without some contract of
employment and a remarkable document has survived, which was negotiated
between him and Wentworth, and which sets out in great detail the terms of
this arrangement.
The contract covered Edward's remuneration — increased from £200
per annum to £500, the various subjects on which Edward was to report
— the progress of the treaty with France, the nature of the assistance expected
by the colonists and so forth, the method of communication — fictitious
love letters with information written in invisible ink between the lines
where to be hidden in a sealed bottle and deposited in the hollow of a certain
box tree growing in the Tuileries Gardens. This bottle was to be collected
every Tuesday evening and another substituted in its place containing any
instructions for Edward. The British Ambassador, Lord Stormont, was to act
as the go-between in this arrangement, passing on all Edward's information
to Wentworth.
Having got the contractual side of the venture agreed, it was expedient
to establish some plausible reason why Edward and his family should leave
London and settle in Paris. Edward first wrote to Deane saying that he
might not be allowed to remain in England much longer. Next, he contrived,
no doubt with the assistance of the authorities, to have himself arrested
in London for corresponding with Deane and put in jail; an event that a
distressed Deane duly reported to the CCSC, saying: "This worthy man is
confined in the Bastile [sic] of England...”
Then, quite fortuitously, Edward was implicated in the "John the Painter" affair. This concerned a Scotsman by the name of James Aitken, a painter by trade, who, having lived in America, had become fanatically involved in the republican cause and had hatched a wild plan to destroy Portsmouth and Plymouth dockyards. He had submitted in this plan to Deane in Paris who had sent him to see Edward. Soon after, Aitkin set fire to the Rope House at Portsmouth Dock and some buildings in Bristol and was later caught and hanged for these offences. His connection with Edward emerged at his trial in March 1777. Edward vigorously denied the connection and, needless to say, the British authorities took no action on the matter. Nevertheless, it seemed to confirm that Edward's sympathies were with the Colonist's cause and his departure a month later with his family to the safety of Paris was not considered surprising. Ironically, far from bring him safety, his departure to Paris was the beginning of an extremely dangerous venture.
For the next six years Edward and his family lived in Paris and four
of his children were born there. During that time Edward, when not enjoying
the pleasures of that City in so far his family life would allow, worked
for Deane and Franklin at the American Commission's office in the Passy
suburb of Paris.
He had access to all the Commission's secret documents and copies of
these duly found their way to Paul Wentworth via the bottle hidden in the
Tuileries Gardens. Additionally, from time to time, Deane and Franklin
sent him back to England on various missions. These visits to London allowed
Edward to make personal reports to William Eden and his colleagues.
It is a tribute to the arrangements that Wentworth and Edward had set
up for the collection of Edward's information that a copy of the Franco-American
treaty of February 1778 was in the hands of George III within forty-two
hours of it being signed, though in this instance a special courier was used.
It is also remarkable that Edward's work for the British authorities went
undiscovered, if not unsuspected, for all the years that he worked for the
American Commission in Paris.
The Commission was soon to discover that there was a leak and eventually
Arthur Lee (one of the commissioners) accused Edward of being responsible.
There seems to have been considerable animosity between Lee and Edward,
which may have accounted for this accusation. Lee, who was not liked by
Deane and Franklin, could furnish no proof of his suspicions and the matter
was eventually dropped. Ironically, it was later discovered that Lee's personal
secretary, Major John Thornton, was working for the British.
After about a year in Paris, Edward wrote to the Committee for Foreign
Affairs of Congress setting out the work that he had done for Deane and
the other commissioners in Paris and complaining of his lack of recognition
by Congress. In it he threatens to give up his work for the Commission and
focus on his own business affairs. What prompted him to write this letter
is unclear. Perhaps, his pride was hurt that his efforts had gone unacknowledged
(and unpaid) or, perhaps more likely, he thought it expedient, given the
difficulties that he had had with Arthur Lee and his lack of a formal appointment
within the Commission, to make a show of getting matters put on a proper
footing. There is no record of whether or not he ever was recognised or
remunerated by Congress but, no doubt, the letter did help deflect suspicion
from him.
The French, who spied against all the American Commissioners, seem to
have had full confidence in Edward. Indeed, Vergennes, the French Foreign
Minister, asked Edward to go to Ulster in 1779 to ascertain whether or
not it would be possible to start a revolt among the Presbyterians there
who were believed to be sympathetic to the republican cause. Disguised
as an English merchant, Edward duly visited Ireland but on his return to
Paris advised against the idea.
Despite being in Paris, Edward maintained his keen interest in speculating
on the London Stock Exchange. There are reports of two episodes, neither
entirely to Edward's credit, where he used information gained from his post
with the Commissioners to further his own interests or that of his friends.
In the first, he delayed reporting the news of General Burgoyne's defeat
at Saratoga so that he could make a "killing" on the Stock Exchange, writing
instead to his London broker. Unfortunately, George III learnt of this
and never really trusted his intelligence reports again, fearing that they
were designed simply to manipulate the market. In the second, Edward was
accused by Arthur Lee of passing confidential information, including the
approaching Franco-American treaty, to his friends the Whartons so that they
could use it to speculate in stocks. The truth Lee's accusation does not
seem to have been ever properly established; there were claims and counterclaims,
statements and retractions from the protagonists with no one coming out
of the affair in a very good light.
By 1779, such was Edward's value to the British that they increased
his remuneration to £1000 per annum for so long as he lived in France,
which he did until June 1783 when he returned to England to live in London
once again. By then, hostilities had ceased and the Treaty of Paris was
in the process of being finalised; it was eventually signed on September
3rd 1783.
• Later years: bet. 1783 & 1821, Various
Places. 27,28,31
Edward, now 38 years old, settled his family once again in London, placed
his two eldest sons, Edward, Jnr., and Samuel, with Mr Rose's academy at
Chiswick and sailed for America in August 1783.
The purpose of this visit is uncertain. Some believe that he was sent
by the British to discover how the fledgling United States was coping with
its new-found independence and it is true that he had a meeting with Lord
North and Mr Fox prior to his departure. The reason he himself gave was
that he went to recover payment of a loan made by the Prince of Luxembourg
to the State of South Carolina. Somehow he had acquired the power of attorney
for the Prince in this matter, which concerned a warship called the Indian,
later the South Carolina, and from which Edward was to have received
a commission of 6% from all that he could recover. Unfortunately, he was
unable to reach a satisfactory settlement with the State on that and other
occasions though he pursued the claim for some years, even sending his son
Samuel to America in 1796 to plead the case.
Edward stayed in America until June 1784 returning to London via Paris
— he had interests in the dyeing trade there in partnership with Paul Jones
(of which more later) — to find that his wife, Penelope, had died on May
10th of that year. Whilst in America, Edward wrote to the British authorities
about conditions and the political situation there lending credence to the
story that he was still in the British Government's employ. He also wrote
proposing the idea that a restrictive policy towards American shipping would
fracture the unity of the new Union to Britain's advantage; a view born,
no doubt, of his loyalist leanings. He was later to advance this idea again
to William Pitt on his return to England and reported that it had been favourably
received but by then the British had had enough of conflict with America.
From 1784 onwards Edward seems to have given up his political activity
and concentrated on his business and literary interests. With now no wife
to run an establishment in London, he is said to have placed his three daughters,
Maria, Julia and Catherine, in the boarding school Baron House at Mitcham,
but they were all quite young, particularly Catherine, who was a barely
three years of age and, in addition, there was their youngest brother, John,
who was only four years of age. Perhaps, the younger ones were left in
the care of a nurse or housekeeper.
It was in 1784 that Edward wrote the memorial to Lord Carmarthen, which
was referred to earlier and in which he sets out the details of the work
that he had done for the British Crown between 1776 and 1783. It was intended
to remind Lord Carmarthen of the promises that previous Secretaries of State
had made concerning Edward's life pension. It is not known whether or
not Edward ever received the pension he had been promised but the assumption
has to be that he did, for the matter was not raised again.
For the next seven or eight years Edward seems to have flitted between
London and Paris possibly running an establishment in each. He had business
interests in both cities. His monopoly on the importation of the American
Black Oak bark for the manufacture of quercitron in England was renewed
for a further ten years by an Act of Parliament in 1785 and he secured a
similar monopoly from the French Government in the July of that year; how
long that latter monopoly survived is unknown, probably, not beyond 1793
when Britain and France were again at war with each other.
Prior to obtaining the French monopoly, probably as early 1779, he is
said to have had a business venture in France in partnership with John
Paul Jones, a Scottish naval adventurer who is regarded as the "father"
of the United States Navy, being the first to hold a commission in it,
and after whom Edward named his third son. They were promoting the use
of quercitron for the dyeing of wool and, several years later, the diaries
of Gouverneur Morris, the first United States Minister to France and a
friend of Edward's, record Morris's assistance to Edward in winding up
that partnership in 1790. Paul Jones died two years later.
Edward's brother Daniel was one of his agents in America for buying
Black Oak bark and a letter has survived, dated November 1791, in which
he tells Edward that much of this bark is now finding its way to Ireland
for the tanning trade and advises him to buy some land and grow his own
trees.
It has been said that the quercitron business produced Edward an income
of between £800 and £900 per annum but whether or not this
figure took account of his French interests is unclear.
In 1786 he resided in Charlotte Street, Rathbone Place, London and later
in 1789 moved to another house in Francis Street, St Pancras, and practised
as a physician in the neighbouring Bedford Square. He remained there until
1802 when he left London to go to South Carolina. Also in 1789, Silas Deane
died on board a ship from Gravesend bound for America. Deane had fallen
on hard times and on coming to London from Ghent had incurred various indignities
from which Edward had rescued him. Edward clearly held Deane in sufficient
regard to help him out when he fell on hard times, despite having betrayed
his trust over many years.
In 1787 Edward had edited a collection of Benjamin Franklin's Philosophical
& Miscellaneous Papers that were published by Dilly, a London printer.
Edward seems to have quit Paris in 1791 and settled finally in England.
By this time he had taken British citizenship. Throughout 1792 Edward
was engaged finalising the text of what was to be his magnum opus.
When this was published in 1794 it was entitled: Experimental Researches
Concerning the Philosophy of Permanent Colours and the Best Means of Producing
them by Dyeing, Calico Printing, &c.. It was probably the first
definitive work on dyeing and dyestuffs in the English language and it remained
a popular work until the discovery of coal-tar dyestuffs in the 1850s &
1860s. It sold well and the thousand copies that were printed were soon
taken up. Edward lamented in the second volume that second-hand copies
of his first volume were selling at six times their original price adding
"... without any benefit to me".
There is an unsubstantiated family story that Edward was present at
the execution of the French King, Louis XVI, who held him in high regard
and who gave him his lace ruffles at the scaffold. These, so his granddaughter
Mrs Lister says in a letter to Mrs Allen, another granddaughter, are in
her possession. Edward makes no mention of this in any of his papers nor
does it seem that he was in Paris at that time (January 1793).
In 1799 Edward suffered a severe setback to his business interests because
the House of Lords, succumbing to much lobbying by Northern dye manufacturers,
threw out the Act of Parliament to renew of Edward's English monopoly on
the quercitron bark trade. Edward was incensed and wrote a pamphlet of protest
to Parliament on the matter but there was no going back and years later
he was to write: “I was left with very little remuneration for the labours
of a great part of my life. In less than twelve months this bark rose to
three times the price at which it had been invariably supplied by me, and
at which I should have been bound to supply it for another term of seven
years, if the bill had become law; and it has on the average been at nearly
double that price to the present time. This is the only instance, I
believe, in which an invention ever became more costly after the expiration
of a monopoly, granted to remunerate the inventor, than it was during the
continuance thereof, and it has demonstrated most incontrovertibly
that my opponents were greatly deceived and that I was greatly wronged”.
Edward's financial circumstances were now considerably less rosy. He
had by this time lost the income from his quercitron bark imports but,
presumably, was still in receipt of his pension. However, that would have
probably been all taken up covering the expenses of bring up his children
and keeping his London establishment going. Moreover, he had not lost his
taste for speculation and after some unfortunate business at Brentford in
which he lost £2500, he found himself in rather straighten circumstances
and a letter has survived in which he writes to his daughter-in-law, Mary,
(the wife of his son Samuel) saying: "my situation is such as imperiously
to demand my departure from England as soon as possible, otherwise I shall
have nothing left to help myself with." So in September 1802 he embarked
at Portsmouth for South Carolina and arrived in Charleston on October 22nd.
Before doing so, however, he took the precaution of making a new Will (his
final one as it turned out) leaving his surviving children equal shares in
his estate.
Edward was by now nearly 59 years of age and it is a tribute to his
energy and courage that he undertook this journey and, also, another to
South America a year later. His voyage to South Carolina was in all probability
in connection with the outstanding matter of the Prince of Luxembourg's
loan to the State of South Carolina, which was mentioned earlier, but there
is no record of this. As it is pretty certain that this visit to America
was made in order to strengthen his financial position, it is quite likely
that he also tried to recover some money he was due on land at Vandalia,
Illinois. Unfortunately, he seems to have been unsuccessful with this claim
as well because many years later it surfaced again as the "Bancroft Claim".
It has never been paid.
Edward returned to London in December 1802, presumably, with his financial
circumstances much as they had been when he left. For a brief while he
took a house in Margaret Street and November 1803 embarked once again at
Portsmouth, this time, for British Guiana. We know from a note in his eldest
son's Essay on Yellow Fever which he edited, that he stayed with Dr
and Mrs Ord when travelling between Demerary (Demerara) and Berbice. The
note explains that Dr Ord was formerly Surgeon to the 39th Regiment and
that Edward had ascertained from him that he did not consider Yellow Fever
contagious. In April 1804 he sailed to Barbados where he records he received
great hospitality from Lord Seaforth and other gentlemen of the Island.
He returned to England July 6th 1804. There is no record of why he undertook
his visit to British Guiana and it is difficult to see how it could have
helped his financial situation.
1811 finds Edward living in Chelsea and in that year his eldest son's
Essay on Yellow Fever mentioned above was published. He must have
taken a keen interest in young Edward's work as he supplied a number of
footnotes to the book. In that year also, Edward, Jnr., who have been working
at St George's Hospital, was forced to leave England due to ill health and
take an Army appointment in Jamaica; they never met again.
In 1813, Edward published a revised version of his first volume of his
magnum opus, The Philosophy of Permanent Colours, together
with the long-awaited second volume. In the title page of the latter, he
notes that he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences of
the State Massachusetts Bay; an honour which he must have acquired some
time after the publication of the first volume otherwise, doubtless, it would
have been mentioned at that time.
There is a paper written by him in French (his American friend, John
Adams, says that he was an excellent French scholar) for the Annales
de Chemie in the 1816 entitled " Instruction concernant les preparations
nominées 'lac-lake' et 'lac-dye'.", but apart from this there
is little known about the last few years of his life. It is said that his
declining years were spent in straitened financial circumstances and that
he was in debt in 1818.
Towards the end of his life, Edward went to live in Margate and he died
there in September 1821. His daughters Maria and Penelope probably looked
after him and his only married daughter, Julia, lived not far away. She
was the wife of Dr. George Lamb, Rector of Iden, and that may have been
the reason why the rest of the family chose to move down there. He was
buried in the churchyard at Iden in a plot set aside for members of the
Lamb family. The plot and Edward's gravestone were recorded to be intact
in 1906 but by 2004 both had disappeared.
• Will signed: 11 Sep 1802, London. 32 Before he left on one of his later voyages to America, Edward made what turns out to be his last Will leaving any property that he had to be divided equally amongst his four surviving children, Maria, Julia, Catherine and Edward Jnr. Such a Will was rather unusual for that period as it gave no preference to his eldest son and, as he did not expect Edward Jnr., who was in Jamaica, to be able to act as the Executor of it, he appointed each of his daughters an Executrix counselling them to get good advice on what to do.
• Probate Granted: 28 Sep 1821, London. 33 Maria, Edward's eldest daughter,
obtained probate for his Will. She had been living with him in Addington
Square, Margate, at the time of his death. According to the Legacy Duty
record of his affairs, she swore that his assets were under £200, though
this seems to have been revised to £300 in June 1822.
There is a rather cryptic entry in this record; in the columns to be
used for setting out the amounts each beneficiary is due to receive, it
says: "Insolvent" followed by "R [??]1811-1822". What this entry indicates
is unclear. Perhaps it means that there were no free assets to distribute
and, possibly, that he had been insolvent for some time.
Edward married Penelope Fellows , daughter of William Fellows and Penelope Wells , <1771>. Penelope was born on 26 Nov 1749 14 and died on 10 May 1784 14 at age 34.
MARRIAGE NOTES: Edward's and Penelope's wedding
is said to have been a "runaway " affair as Penelope's parents, who were
Roman Catholics as, no doubt, she was, objected to her marrying Edward. 28
Children from this marriage were:
+ 34 M i. Dr Edward Nathaniel Bancroft M.D., F.R.C.P.
34 was born on 16 May 1772 in Marylebone,
London, 34,35 died on 18 Sep 1842 in Kingston,
Jamaica 34,36,37
at age 70, and was buried on 19 Sep 1842 in Kingston Parish Church, Jamaica.
38
+ 35 M ii. Samuel Forrester Bancroft 41 was born on 18 Apr 1775 in Downing
Street, Westminster, London 41
and died in Dec 1799 in Duke Street, London 41 at age 24.
36 F iii. Maria
Frances Bancroft 41 was born
on 19 Oct 1777 in Chaillot, Paris, 41
was baptized on 23 Nov 1777 in Chaillot, Paris, 41 and died on 18 Jan 1853 in
Coblentz, Germany 41
at age 75.
+ 37 F iv. Julia Louisa Bancroft 42 was born on 25 Jan 1779 in Chaillot,
Paris, 42 was baptized
in Passy, Paris, 42
died on 25 May 1851 in The Parsonage, Iden, Sussex 42 at age 72, and was buried
in Iden, Sussex.
38 M v. John
Paul Bancroft 42 was born on
6 Apr 1780 in Passy, Paris 42
and died on 2 Aug 1786 in London 42
at age 6.
39 F vi. Catherine
Penelope Bancroft 42 was born
on 13 Sep 1781 in Chaillot, Paris, 42
was baptized on 13 Oct 1781 in Chaillot, Paris, 42 and died on 12 Apr 1866 in
Southsea, Portsmouth 14,42 at age 84.
Something about her life:
• Probate Granted: 28 Mar 1866, Oxford. 44 Effects: under £450
39a F vii. Sophia Bancroft
was born circa. 1873, probably in Chaillot, Paris, and died of smallpox
in 1884 in London.
31. Daniel Bancroft
19 was born on 2 Nov 1746 in Westfield,
Massachusetts, 23 was
baptized on 30 Nov 1746 in Westfield, Massachusetts, 20 and died on 7 Mar 1796 in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 23
at age 49.
GENERAL NOTES: Danielis said to have practised medicine in the town of Wilmington 24
Daniel married Mary Magdalen Valleau
14 <1776>.24 Mary died <1834> in Gallatin.
Children from this marriage were:
40 F i. Eliza
Bancroft .45
Eliza married James Ross .45
Eliza next married W. F. Barrett .45
41 F ii. Harriet
Carolina Bancroft 45 was born
in 1781 45 and died
<1800> 45 at age
19. The cause of her death was from eating poisoned preserves.45
42 F iii. Mary
Ann Bancroft 45 was born on
12 Jul 1788 in Wilmington North Carolina U.S.A.. 45
Mary married Horatio Turpin 45 on 30 Mar 1803 in Cumberland.
MARRIAGE NOTES: Horatio and Mary had issue: 2
sons and 1 daughter.
Seventh Generation
34. Dr Edward Nathaniel
Bancroft M.D., F.R.C.P. 34
was born on 16 May 1772 in Marylebone, London, 34,35
died on 18 Sep 1842 in Kingston, Jamaica 34,36,37 at age 70, and was buried
on 19 Sep 1842 in Kingston Parish Church, Jamaica. 38
GENERAL NOTES: The following account of Edward's
life is given in the family history of the Bancrofts:
"Edward Nathaniel was born on May 16th 1772 in the parish of Marylebone,
London & spent his early life in London & Paris — In July 1783 he
was placed under the care of Mr Rose at Chiswick, & that he was a clever
boy is shewn by a letter written by him to his father in America in 1784,
very well written and expressed, on family affairs & business. He
was afterwards educated by Dr Samuel Parr & Dr Charles Burney, &
eventually went to St John's College, Cambridge, and graduated as a bachelor
of medicine in 1794. While yet at Cambridge in 1792 he went with the Hon'ble
Thos. Walpole to Munich as his secretary, Walpole having been appointed
Minister plenipotentiary there, and he travelled about Germany & the
Low Countries learning the language & improving his knowledge.
In 1795 he was appointed a physician to the forces, and served under
Sir Ralph Abercrombie [Commander-in-chief West Indies 1795 - 1797, where
he took Grenada, Demerara, and Trinidad & relieved St Vincent] in the
West Indies in from the end of 1795 until Dec'r 1797 — In 1798 & part
of 1799 he was sole Inspector of Hospitals to the large army (about 20000
men) under General Lord Howe in the Eastern District — He then served in Portugal
and was head of the British Hospital Staff in that kingdom.
In 1800 he served under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, & Lord Hutchinson
in the Mediterranean & in Egypt, & was in charge of pest houses in
Aboukir in 1801, returning to England in 1802. He proceeded to the degree
of M.D. 1804, & practised as a physician in London, retaining half
pay the rank in the army. He joined the College of Physicians in 1805
& became a fellow in 1806, and was appointed to give the Gulstonian
lectures at the same year. In 1808 when only 36 years of age he became
Censor, doubtless for the reason that he tried to do the monopoly of the
College some service by pamphleteering against the growing pretentions [sic]
of Army Surgeons.
He was appointed physician of St George's Hospital, London in 1808,
which was considered a most distinguished appointment, carrying as it did
a large portion of the West End practices. In 1811 however, owing to ill
health in consequence of a pulmonary affection which was rapidly undermining
his constitution, he was forced to give up that appointment, & went to
Jamaica where he resumed his full pay as physician to the forces & was
appointed Deputy Inspector General of Army Hospitals. Soon after that however,
he went on half pay again & practised as a physician in Jamaica.
On Oct 6th 1812 he married at the Parish Church, Kingston, Jamaica,
Ursula Hill, daughter of William Hoseason of Jamaica, & by her had
two sons & three daughters. She died Jan 31st 1830. In 1840 he again
asked to be put on full pay, in order that he might get his son, William
Charles, into Sandhurst (letter of Mrs Espeut his daughter), and remained
on full pay until his death which took place on the 18th Sept 1842 at Kingston,
Jamaica. A mural tablet to his memory was placed in the Cathedral Church
of Kingston "by the physicians & surgeons of Jamaica"." 39
Something about his life:
• Obituary: 26 Sep 1842, Kingston, Jamaica.
46 A Jamaican newspaper published
this report of Edward's life:-
It was our painful duty in last week's Standard
to record the death of Edward Nathaniel Bancroft, M. D., Graduate of the
University of Cambridge, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons,
London, Inspector General to the Army in this Island, and a member of a variety
of learned and scientific societies abroad, with many of the professors of
which he was in literary communication, and by whom his high character and
extensive attainments obtained the acknowledgement which they deservedly
merited. Among his contemporaries in England, by whom he was held in considerable
estimation, we may insert the names¹ of Halford, Heberden, ????, and
Baillie. With the latter especially, he was particularly intimate, and of
whom he was accustomed to speak in terms of the highest admiration. The
brief memoir which we are thus introducing to our readers, has been presented
to us by one who gained it from Doctor Bancroft himself on various occasions,
and the materials have in consequence being thrown together without any reference
to date order.
Doctor Bancroft's professional career was ultimately divided not by
choice but by destiny. Having been elected a Physician to St Georges Hospital,
which is a most distinguished appointment, carrying as it does with it a
considerable portion of the practice of the West End of London, almost considered
as a contingent upon it; his disappointment was so much the greater, in finding
that he could not retain the office, in consequence of a pulmonary affection,
which was rapidly undermining his constitution. He did not, however, abandon
his post until he had procured the advice of the chief physicians then living,
who decided upon the absolute necessity of his doing so.
Doctor Bancroft shortly afterwards joined the staff of Sir Ralph Abercrombie,
and served under that gallant officer in Egypt. He visited the Continent
professionally, to be in attendance upon the Honble Mrs
Ellis, the present Lord Seaford's wife. Before his arrival, however, the
lady died - upon which he made the tour of Europe - thoroughly acquainting
himself with all that was to be found remarkable in the countries through
which he passed - France and Spain, Portugal and Italy were severally examined
by him, as well as Malta, and the most interesting of the islands in the
Grecian Archipelago. As he travelled, he did not fail to instruct himself
in the several languages, and with such assistance and a most comprehensive
mind, as well as a most inquiringof indefatigable spirit, he furnished himself
with a store of literary knowledge of a character so general as seldom falls
to the lot of a single man to possess. Having been appointed Secretary to
the British Delegation at Munich, which deputation was then in the occupation
of the Earl of Oxford - another very celebrated man in the world of letters
- he had an opportunity of extending his favourite studies throughout Germany
and the Low Countries. Subsequently Doctor Bancroft repaired to the West
Indies, among the Winward [sic] Isles of which he remained for some time;
and was then presented as Chief of the Army Medical staff in Jamaica of which
he was afterwards for a period deferred, but to which he was restored about
two years since. We have thus given to our readers a summary of the life
of a gentleman whose death we are persuaded will be greatly lamented by
those who wished to be assisted in their laudable endeavours to obtain knowledge,
for Doctor Bancroft was studiously attentive and patient, neither trouble,
nor time, indisposition or occupation (unless of an extraordinary nature)
were ever allowed to form obstacles either to his acquiring or imparting
knowledge. He was in every sense a gentleman and a scholar, on whom nature
had bestowed more than her ordinary gifts.
Doctor Bancroft's work on Yellow Fever² about which so much has
been said and written, has now gained the status which it long ago ought
to have done - a new edition of it has been called for, and we learn that
it has also become a class or text book - a work to be studied in a course
of medical education at Edinburgh - We have finished - Requiereat in pace!
¹ Of Edward's contemporaries mentioned above, Sir Henry Halford
(1766-1844) was an eminent physician who was for 24 years President of the
Royal College of Physicians; Matthew Baillie (1761-1823) was an equally
eminent physician and anatomist who published The Morbid Anatomy of Some
of the Most Important Parts of the Human Body (1793), a work for which
he is famous, and William Heberden (1710-1801), also a physician, was for
many years personal physician to the Queen — Samuel Johnson, whom Heberden
attended, called him "the last of our learned physicians".
² Edward's work on Yellow Fever entitled An Essay on the Disease
Called Yellow Fever, with Observations Concerning Febrile Contagion, Typhus
Fever, Dysentery and the Plague was published in London in 1811 with
a forward by his father. He produced a sequel to this in 1817. Though these
works contained many interesting records of disease, their value was somewhat
undermined by Edward's bias towards the theory that such diseases were noncontagious
and by his endorsement of the view that Yellow Fever & Malaria were
identical.
Comment: The author of this obituary, as mentioned in the text, had
little knowledge of the chronology of the events in Edward's life which
are noted here.
Edward married Ursula Hill Hoseason ,47 daughter of William Hoseason and Maria Hill , on 6 Oct 1812 in Kingston Parish Church, Jamaica 39.,40 Ursula was born on 5 Oct 1788 in Kingston, Jamaica 47,48 and died on 31 Dec 1830 in Kingston, Jamaica 39,47 at age 42. Another name for Ursula was Ursilla Hill Hoseason.
MARRIAGE NOTES: Edward was 40 years of age when
he married Ursula who was 16 years his junior.
A splendid letter has survived written by Edward to Ursula in August
1813, about 10 months after they were married, when she seems to have been
away from their Kingston residence recuperating from an undisclosed illness.
Her need for recuperation may have been as a result of a miscarriage because
it was not until 2 years later that she bore their first child.
Edward's letter, which seems to have been in response to his wife's
worries about his failure to write to her, contains a number of charming
passages whose sentiments were, no doubt, the reason why the letter has
survived all these years. Of these, the following are worth recording:-
"But why, sweet Ursula, should you permit such an apprehension to
enter your mind as that you had done something that I had taken offence
at? - It is, I am confident, quite impossible for you wilfully and unknowingly
to do any thing of the sort, and I trust that I should be very loth &
backward indeed so to misinterpret your actions as to consider them of an
offensive character, when they can never be ought but what is beneficent,
affectionate & proper. I am perpetually indeed erring in my judgment,
but in regard to you I have never judged wrong, except in not rating you
so highly as you really deserved. I loved you & married you with the
expectation of finding sooner or later in you many or, at least a certain
proportion, of the failings of your sex & of human nature, but in this
alone I have erred that I supposed you rather to resemble other women, that
to differ from them so materially as you do, to my infinite joy and pride
and with the knowledge which I now possess of your exemplary principles, and
steady conduct, I feel quite assured that nothing will ever be done by you
that I can have just grounds to be offended at."
"Adieu, my excellent wife; make yourself as easy and comfortable as
possible where you are, for I wish most ardently to have you here again
ere long "
"Oh my love - how earnestly I do pray for the perfect reestablishment
of your health! - Adieu, my dearest, sweetest Ursula - and believe me
to be, while sensation shall be left to me...Your most faithful & affectionate
friend, lover and Husband"
GENERAL NOTES: Ursula's death was mentioned in
a letter from John Hoseason of Annotto Bay, St Mary's, Jamaica, dated 7th
October 1831, to his brother Robert Hoseason of Uphouse, Shetlands. The
extract reads as follows:
"You will no doubt hear of poor Mrs Bancroft's death after much suffering
& giving birth to her Seventh child which survived her only a few weeks.
She was a sweet woman & I cannot tell you how much I feel her loss.
The Doctor poor man is smarting under the hardships of the times in common
with almost everyone else & is unable to send any of his children to
England for their Education, indeed (between you & I) he is in difficulties
— and it is distressing to me to be unable to assist him further than I have
already done without leaving myself bare — I think however that something
will turn up soon and — & that he may succeed in getting placed on full
pay again which would materially assist him."
This extract was copied from the original letter by W. S. Hoseason
on 17:VII:1934
[Doctor Bancroft did eventually succeed in getting placed on full pay
again but that was not until 1840.] 47
Children from this marriage were:
43 F i. Ursula
Maria Bancroft was born on 21 Sep 1815 in Kingston, Jamaica, 49 was baptized on 10 Oct 1815
in Kingston Parish Church, Jamaica, 50,51 and died on 28 Aug 1840
14 at age 24.
44 M ii. Edward
James Bancroft was born in 1817 14
and died in Spain.
+ 45 F iii. Julia Eliza Bancroft was born on 25 Aug 1820
14 and died on 14 May
1858 14 at age 37.
+ 46 F iv. Marianne Augusta Bancroft was born on 13 Nov
1822 and died on 29 May 1891 in Beaufort House, Oxford-Road, Gunnersbury,
Chiswick 52,53 at age 68.
47 M v. George
A Bancroft was born in May 1823 14
and died on 8 Dec 1823 14
.
+ 48 M vi. Lt. General William Charles Bancroft was born
on 22 Jun 1826 in Kingston, Jamaica, 14
was baptized on 14 Dec 1833 in Kingston Parish Church, Jamaica, 55 died on 30 Jan 1903 in Knellwood,
Farnborough, Hampshire 56
at age 76, and was buried on 3 Feb 1903 in Farnborough Cemetery, Farnborough,
Hampshire. 57
49 M vii. Charles
A Bancroft was born <1830> and died <1831> at age 1.
35. Samuel Forrester
Bancroft 41 was born on
18 Apr 1775 in Downing Street, Westminster, London 41 and died in Dec 1799 in Duke
Street, London 41 at
age 24.
GENERAL NOTES: The Alumni Cantabrigienses entry
for Samuel reads: -
BANCROFT, SAMUEL. Adm. pens. (age 17) at TRINITY, May 25,1792.
S. of Edward, of London. School, Hammersmith, London (Mr Burney). Perhaps
brother of Edward N. (1789).
It is not clear whether or not Samuel went on to follow any profession
or occupation. There is a note in "The Bancroft Family" to the effect that
he was dependent upon his father. 58
Samuel married Mary Dixon 59 <1797>.
The child from this marriage was:
+ 50 F i. Nancy Bancroft 60
was born <Oct 1799> and died on 22 Jan 1870 61 at age 71.
37. Julia Louisa
Bancroft 42 was born on
25 Jan 1779 in Chaillot, Paris, 42
was baptized in Passy, Paris, 42
died on 25 May 1851 in The Parsonage, Iden, Sussex 42 at age 72, and was buried
in Iden, Sussex.
Julia married Revd. George Augustus Lamb
D.D. on 25 Jun 1806 in St Mary's, Marylebone, London.43 George died <1864>.
Children from this marriage were:
51 M i. William
Pitt Lamb 43 was baptized on
21 Aug 1809 in Iden, Sussex, 43
died <1815> at age 6, and was buried in Iden, Sussex.
52 F ii. Julia
Louisa Lamb 43 was born on
1 Jun 1812, was baptized on 6 Aug 1812 in Iden, Sussex, 43 and died <1880> at age
68.
Julia married Revd James S Allen on 25 Apr 1838. James was born on 10 Mar 1814.
GENERAL NOTES: Vicar of Hawkley
53 M iii. Edward
Augustus Lamb 43 was baptized
on 4 Aug 1813 in Iden, Sussex. 43
54 M iv. Thomas
Adam Lamb 43 was baptized on
22 Dec 1815 in St Mary's, Marylebone, London. 43
Eighth Generation
45. Julia Eliza
Bancroft was born on 25 Aug 1820 14 and died on 14 May 1858
14 at age 37.
Julia married Captain John O'flanagan
on 15 May 1854. John died in 1857 14
.
Children from this marriage were:
55 F i. Helen
Ursula Bancroft O'flanagan 62
was born on 20 Jul 1855. 62
56 F ii. Maryanne
Augusta Bancroft O'flanagan 62
was born on 12 Apr 1857 62
and died in 1864 62
at age 7.
46. Marianne Augusta
Bancroft was born on 13 Nov 1822 and died on 29 May 1891 in Beaufort
House, Oxford-Road, Gunnersbury, Chiswick 52,53
at age 68.
Something about her life:
• Grant of Administration: 13 Apr 1892, London,
England. 63 Effects: £90
8s 6d
Marianne married Peter Alexander Espeut ,34 son of William Francis Espeut and Joséphine Périne Adèle Du Bourg , on 18 Sep 1842 in Kingston, Jamaica 34.,54 Peter was born on 23 Aug 1816 in Hope Hill, Parish Of Metcalfe, Jamaica 34 and died on 11 Jun 1868 in The Retreat, St Andrews, Jamaica 34,64 at age 51.
MARRIAGE NOTES: Marianne and Peter were married
by special licence at 2am on September 18th 1842 at her dying father's bedside.
He lived for another 19 hours. 65
GENERAL NOTES: R. J. Green whose information
came from Peter's daughters Julie Vidal (née Espeut) and her sister
Helen Oakes, paints a rather moralistic picture of Peter writing as he does
of him: "When Peter Alexander Espeut died there was chaos in the family
affairs. Due to his extravagant hospitality and having no sense of thrift
he left no means.... almost everything had to be sold and no care was taken
of much apart from family belongs."......"P.A. Espeut thought nothing of entertaining
an entire regiment of soldiers. He put up the officers in his house and accommodated
the men in his enormous outbuildings. Next to the Governor he was the most
influential man on the Island. His wife lead [sic] society in Kingston.
A home with the score of indoor servants and more outdoor than there was
work for, two other residences, Mount Espeut and Dover Castle, and everything
carried out with a lavishness that was really wicked waste, resulted in the
properties being mortgaged up to the hilt".
Apart from this anecdotal information, parts of which are, no doubt,
rather exaggerated, little is known about Peter's lifestyle or activities.
Before his father died he seems to have been involved with the Planters
Bank describing himself in 1843 as "Cashier " there and later as "Banker".
Following his father's death in 1846, he must have inherited some of his
father's Jamaican property and it is about this time that we find him purchasing
the "Retreat" on the outskirts of Kingston. Following that acquisition,
he bought various other properties; these being Dover Castle (a sugar estate
in the north of the Island) and Mount Espeut (a residential property in the
St Catherine's hills northeast of Kingston) and two other sugar estates,
Leith Hill in St Thomas in the East and Greenwich Hill.
Unfortunately, details of Peter's financial affairs at his death are
not known but from the probate records in Jamaica it would appear that there
was little or nothing left for Marianne after his estate had been wound-up
and the family's circumstances after his death seem to confirm that position.
Whether or not the parlous state of his finances was because of his
reputed extravagant lifestyle or because of the declining of sugar production
in Jamaica is not known. Perhaps it was a combination of both circumstances.
(NOTE: Sugar plantations, which were his main assets and source of
income, went into even greater decline - many had already become uneconomic
after slave labour ceased to be available in 1838 - following the removal
of tariff protection on colonial produce in the British market in 1846.)
Whatever the case, his wife and family were left with very little in
the way of income and were forced to dispose of all the family's properties.
This seems to have happened over a period of seven or eight years following
which his wife and her five unmarried daughters left Jamaica and settled
in England. Had it not been for the generosity of his wife's brother, Lt.
General Wm. Bancroft, who provided an annuity for her (said to be £800
pa, though that seems to be a very substantial figure for those times and
is completely out of kilter with General Bancroft's financial situation),
she and her unmarried daughters would have been more or less destitute in
England, there being no support forthcoming from the two sons who remained
in Jamaica. 66
Something about his life:
• Will: 8 Jun 1863, Jamaica. 67 He left everything to his wife Marianne
during her lifetime or widowhood. On her death or her remarriage, his estate
was to be equally divided between all the surviving children of both his
marriages.
He appointed as his executors, his wife, Hon. Henry Westmoreland of
St Andrews, Hon. William Hosack of St George & Stephen Cave of London.
The witnesses were: Julia S. G. Georges & Francis B. Lynch
It is interesting that Peter treated all his children equally in his
Will; perhaps, that was due to the influence of his French heritage.
• Report of death: Jun 1868, Kingston, Jamaica.
68 The "Gleaner" in Kingston reported
Peter's death as follows:
We deeply regret in having to announce the death
of the Hon. Peter Alexander Espeut, which occurred on Wednesday afternoon
last at his residence at 'Retreat' in St. Andrew's. Mr. Espeut was in the
prime of life and up to the period of his last illness, would have been
pronounced by anyone who saw him to have been in the bloom of health. But
it was proved that his appearance was deceptious, as an incurable malady
had already made serious inroad upon his constitution. He suddenly became
ill and, when circumstances permitted, he left the county on a trip to the
Windward Islands in the hope of recruiting his strength, so as to be able
to undergo further medical treatment. His hopes were not realised, his strength
gave way the more, and he returned here in the 'Atrato' on the 14th instant
only in time to end his life in his own home, and among his family and friends.
The Hon. Mr. Espeut has long been connected with this island, holding
property both in St. Andrew and St. Thomas, having a fine Sugar estate
in the latter parish. He was for many years Official Assignee for Cornwall,
in conjunction, in anticipation, it was reported, of some changes contemplated
by the Government which were to place him in a higher and more responsible
position. Under the old regime , he was for several years connected with
political life, commencing with the representation of Kingston in the House
of Assembly, as colleague of the Hon. Mr. Jordon and the late Mr. March.
After holding his seat for some time, a general election came round, and
he and Mr. March had to make way for Charles Levy, Esq., and the Hon. Dr.
Bowerbank. He was elected for St. John, for which parish he sat until the
abolition of the Assembly. He had also been an Alderman for Kingston, and
held commissions of the Peace for several parishes, and soon after the late
disturbance, he was appointed Custos of St. Thomas in the room of the late
lamented Baron Ketelhodt. He was a gentleman of intelligence, was esteemed
by all who knew him, and his death will be generally regretted. As a mark
of respect for his memory the flags of the Commercial Exchange, the RM Company
and the Museum of the Royal Society of Arts were kept at half-mast all yesterday.
• Probate Granted: 17 Jun 1868, Jamaica. 67 When Peter's estate was wound up,
it was found that he was more or less insolvent and there were, therefore,
no assets left for Marianne to inherit.
Children from this marriage were:
57 M i. Hon.
William Bancroft Espeut F.L.S. 34
was born on 21 Jul 1843, 34
was baptized on 23 Aug 1843 in Kingston Parish Church, Jamaica, 69 died on 23 Oct 1892 in 17
Fopstone-Road, London. S.W. 70,71 at age 49, and was buried
on 26 Oct 1892 in Chiswick Old Cemetery, Chiswick, Middlesex. 72 The cause of his death was
pneumonia, pluresy and cardiac failure.73
Something about his life:
• Will: 15 Jun 1881, Jamaica. 74 He left his wife an interest in
his estate (without any impeachment of waste; i.e. she was not committed
to preserving the assets) during her lifetime or widowhood. In the event
of her dying or remarrying, his estate was to be split equally between his
surviving children.
William appointed his wife, the Hon. Wellesley Bourke & Ernest Edward
Lake a solicitor in London as his executors.
• Report of death: 26 Oct 1892, Kingston,
Jamaica. 75 This report was published
three days after he died:
We regret exceedingly this morning, to recall
the death of the Hon. W. B. Espeut at his residence in London. The first
intimation of the sad event reached this island by telegram yesterday, and
later in the day was confirmed by the telegrams of the West India and Panama
Telegraph Co. The death of the deceased gentleman seems to have been sudden
and unexpected, but no particulars are to hand. By the death of Mr Espeut,
Jamaica has lost one of her ablest sons. Whatever faults may be charged
against him, no one has ever denied his great abilities, his wide range
of knowledge, his enthusiastic support for anything he thought right. To
Mr Espeut the parishes of St Thomas and Portland owe their bridges. Many
will remember the persevering manner in which he pegged away at this matter
until he got the Government first to recognise the necessity of the bridges
and then to raise the necessary loan to build them. To Mr Espeut the colony
owes the introduction of the postal orders which have done so much to facilitate
the remitting of small sums from town to town, and have actually taken the
place of a paper currency of less denomination than one pound notes. To
Mr Espeut the country is indebted for forcing on the Government the Educational
question, and for bringing to a head the wearisome arguments for and against
the formation of a Board of Education and compulsory education. And so
we could go on, but time and space forbid us enumerating what he has done
for the country.
Mr Espeut was the son of the late Hon. P. A. Espeut, Custos of Portland
and member of the old Legislative Council. He began life in the Colonial
Secretary's Office, which he quitted on the death of his father and took
to agriculture. He was a man of an ingenious turn of mind, and he patented
several inventions of his own for improvements of various kinds. He was
elected to the Legislative Council on the 27th Aug 1886, in the room of the
Hon. George Henderson, resigned. Recently Mr Espeut resigned his seat after
a prolonged residence in England, whither he had gone to recruit his failing
health. Whilst in London he never failed to take a keen interest in all
that concerned Jamaica, and at public meetings he made excellent speeches
in favour of his native land. His last effort was at the London Chamber
of Commerce meeting, when he advocated the drawing closer together of the
colonies and the mother-country, and the imposition of a slight differential
duty against the products of all foreign countries in favour of the colonies.
We tender his wife and family our sincere sympathy.
• Obituary: 27 Oct 1892, Kingston, Jamaica.
76 A Jamaican newspaper gave this
report of William's life & death:-
The Telegrams announce the death of Mr. W.
B. Espeut, one of Jamaica's most talented, derided and abused sons. His
ability has kept him in the forefront for many years past, and his services
to the country have been numerous and valuable. He was the son of the late
Hon. P. A. Espeut, Custos of Portland and a member of the old Legislature
and commenced life in the Civil Service, which he left to become a planter.
Mr. Espeut had keen powers of observation, was a wide reader and deep thinker,
and intensely practical, the latter feature resulting in several patented
inventions.
Elected to the Legislature for the Parish of Portland on the retirement
of Mr. Geo. Henderson, Mr. Espeut at once took a prominent position there,
his extensive knowledge of public matters and his ability as a debater
particularly fitting him to be a leader. We wer[e] at variance with him
on the Emigration question and on transfer of the Railway, but we must
acknowledge that in those questions he was conscientious, and acted in the
full belief that he was promoting the welfare of the country. To Mr. Espeuts
exertions Portland and St Thomas are indebted for the Bridges which were
so much needed, and the attention that has been drawn to this question will
probably resulted in such works being extensively undertaken in other parts
of the island where needed. We believe the work which Mr. Espeut did
in bringing the Education question to the front and pressing the Government
to confer this inestimable boon upon the people his best and will always
be held in grateful remembrance.
Such a man must ever be running counter to the views of some and a full
measure of abuse and misrepresentation has fallen to his lot at hands of
unprincipled detractors. Their day is to come. They will yet be brought
under the light of truth and it will be seen who sinned. Jamaica has never
had a more earnest advocate, Mr. Espeut never had an opportunity to pass
unutilised for bringing to the front the advantages of our island.
The deceased gentleman has left behind him a widow and several children
to whom in their bereavement we tender our heartfelt sympathy and condolence.
• Probate Granted: 25 May 1894, Jamaica. 74 Probate was granted to Hon. Wellesley
Bourke with rights reserved for the other two executors, William's wife
& Ernest Lake. As the latter were in England, presumably, they did not
apply themselves.
William's assets were sworn as under £1500
William married Bessie Adela Jeannette Armit , daughter of Lt. Col. Louis John Amadée Armit and Bessie Bredin , on 25 Oct 1870.34 Bessie was born on 16 Feb 1852 14 and died on 11 Jun 1912 in Elmhurst, Brookland Avenue, Cambridge 14,77 at age 60.
Something about her life:
• Grant of Administration: 14 Aug 1912, London, England. 78 Effects: £1059 14s 10d
58 M ii. Charles
Allen Bancroft Espeut 34 was
born on 21 May 1845, 14,34,79
was baptized on 25 Jul 1845 in Kingston Parish Church, Jamaica, 80 died on 12 Nov 1850 in Jamaica
34,79,81
at age 5, and was buried in Kingston Parish Church, Jamaica. 82 The cause of his death was
cholera.
59 M iii. Edward
Mackenzie Bancroft Espeut 34
was born on 31 Dec 1849, 14,34 was baptized on 6 Jun 1850
in St Andrews Parish Church, Half Way Tree, Jamaica, 83 and died on 6 Aug 1867 in
The Retreat, St Andrews, Jamaica 14,34 at age 17. The cause of
his death was yellow fever.
Something about his life:
• Employment: 1866.1867, Spanish Town, Jamaica. 84 Teddy, according to his father, secured "a capital appointment in the Governor's financial office in Spanish Town" sometime in the autumn of 1866 and was presumably still employed there when he died about a year later at the age of 17.
• Report of death: Aug 1867, Kingston, Jamaica.
85 At the Retreat, St Andrews,
on Tuesday the 6th, Edward MacKenzie Bancroft Espeut aged 17 years, 8 months
& 6 days the third son of the Honorable Peter Alexander Espeut, Custos
Rotulorum of the parish of St Thomas. The deceased was attacked by the
prevailing [yellow] fever & fell a victim after a brief illness. He
was a dutiful and loving son and affectionate brother & was held in great
esteem by a large circle of friends. His career in life on which he had
just entered was most promising & his early demise has proved a deep
source of anguish to his parents & relatives by whom his death is greatly
lamented.
60 F iv. Ella
Augusta Bancroft Espeut 34
was born on 2 May 1852 14,34 and died on 12 May 1902 in
13 Grosvenor Road, Gunnersbury, Chiswick 14,86,87
at age 50.
Something about her life:
• Probate Granted: 10 Jul 1902, London, England.
88 Effects: £96 19s 2d
61 M v. Augustus
Charles Bancroft was born on 31 Aug 1853 14,34
and died in 1927 in Jamaica at age 74. Another name for Gussie was Augustus
Charles Bancroft "Gussie" Espeut.34
Gussie married Sarah E Henriques on
20 Oct 1887.
62 F vi. Helen
Bancroft Espeut 34 was born
on 19 Jun 1855 14,34 and died on 25 Feb 1929
89 at age 73.
Something about her life:
• Probate Granted: 6 Apr 1929, London, England.
90 Effects: £7966 1s 5d
Nellie married Hildebrand Henry Oakes 66 on 24 Jun 1899.66 Hildebrand was born <1828>, died on 19 Nov 1925 in Oakholm, 13, Grosvenor-Road, Chiswick 89,91 at age 97, and was buried on 23 Nov 1925 in Brompton Cemetery, London. 92
Something about his life:
• Probate Granted: 30 Jan 1926, London, England.
93 Effects: £8836 5s 7d
63 F vii. Henrietta
Alice Bancroft Espeut 34 was
born on 30 Mar 1857 14,34 and died on 25 Feb 1894 in
Beaufort House, Oxford-Road, Gunnersbury 34,94 at age 36. The cause of
her death was meningitis.
64 M viii. Henry
Du Bourg Bancroft Espeut was born on 9 Apr 1859 34 and died on 9 Aug 1896 in
South Africa 95 at
age 37. The cause of his death was cyanide poisoning.
+ 65 F ix. Julia Ursula Bancroft Espeut 34,96
was born on 17 May 1861 in The Retreat, St Andrews, Jamaica, 34 was baptized on 2 Jan 1862
in St Andrews Parish Church, Half Way Tree, Jamaica, died on 5 Jun 1939
in 385 High-Road, Chiswick, Middlesex 97,98 at age 78, and was buried
on 9 Jun 1939 in Chiswick Old Cemetery, Chiswick, Middlesex. 99
66 F x. Caroline
Edith Espeut 34 was born on
21 Feb 1864. 14,34
Edie married Herbert E Ashmore 66 in Sep 1895.66
67 F xi. Pauline
Charlotte Espeut 34 was born
on 3 Aug 1867 14,34 and died on 9 Jul 1871
14,34
at age 3.
48. Lt. General
William Charles Bancroft was born on 22 Jun 1826 in Kingston, Jamaica,
14 was baptized on 14 Dec
1833 in Kingston Parish Church, Jamaica, 55
died on 30 Jan 1903 in Knellwood, Farnborough, Hampshire 56 at age 76, and was buried
on 3 Feb 1903 in Farnborough Cemetery, Farnborough, Hampshire. 57
GENERAL NOTES: This account is taken from the
"Bancroft Family".
William was educated in Germany and received his first commission after
Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in the 3rd West India Regiment in June
1844. Four years later he was transferred to the 76th Foot and subsequently,
in 1850, to the 16th Bedfordshire Regiment in which he remained for the
rest of his service.
He was aide-de-camp to General Bunbury and to Sir Henry Barclay in Jamaica
and afterwards to the latter in Australia where he met and married Eliza.
Sometime around the beginning of 1864 William, then a Captain, returned
to England and rejoined his Regiment, the Bedfordshire. He served with this
regiment in England, Ireland, the West Indies, Canada (during the Fenian
Insurrection¹) and in India, rising eventually to take command. He
later went on to command the 16th Regimental District and also the 12th Brigade
Depot at Preston.
William had been made up to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1872 when
he took command of his Regiment but did not receive a substantive commission
until he commanded the Brigade Depot in 1879. He was made a Major General
in April 1883 and later retired with the honorary rank of Lieutenant General
at the end of 1887. In May 1900 he was appointed Colonel of the Bedfordshire
Regiment, an appointment he held until he died.
In the 1889, he purchased the property of Knellwood in Farnborough and
lived there with his family for the rest of his life.
He was a Freemason, a Member of the Geographical Society and of the
United Service Institution, and also of the United Service & Junior
United Service Clubs. He was also interested in the Primrose League and
was made a Knight thereof in July 1890.
In 1872 he published a translation (presumably from German) of the Introduction
to the employment of Krieg's Spiel apparatus. The British Library has
a copy of this work.
¹ A force of one brigade of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB),
a secret revolutionary group founded in Dublin on March 17, 1858, by James
Stephens, under the command of Colonel John O'Neill. 102,103
Something about his life:
• Report of death: Feb 1903, London, England.
104 The Times reported William's
death as follow:-
The Colonelcy of the Bedford Regt. is vacant by the death on Friday
evening at the age of 76 at his residence Knellwood, Farnborough of Lieut.
General W. C. Bancroft. He entered the army as an ensign in the 3rd West
India Regt.& being transferred to the 16th Foot (now the Bedfordshire
Regt.) in 1850, served with that Regt. for many years. He reached the rank
of Colonel in August 1872 and that of Major General in April 1883. He was
placed on the retired list on December 31st 1887 & since May 1900 had
been Colonel of the Bedfordshire Regt.
• Funeral: 3 Feb 1903, Farnborough, Hampshire.
105 A local newspaper reported
William's death and funeral as follows:-
An old resident of Farnborough, and a veteran
of the Army, passed away in the person of Lieutenant-General W. C. Bancroft,
who died at his residence, Knellwood, Farnborough, on Friday morning, after
a short illness. General Bancroft was placed on the retired list in December,
1887, and has spent most of his time since that date in Farnborough. He
lived a retired life, and never sought publicity of any sort in the place
which he had chosen for his residence, his name being perhaps best known
to the generality of the town by the negotiations which ended in the purchase
by the Urban District Council of certain land belonging to him for the purpose
of the sewage scheme. He was, however, highly respected by those who came
in contact with him, either as his equals or as servants, and his beautiful
grounds at Knellwood were thrown open on occasions for garden parties, etc.,
in connection with the Church.
William Charles Bancroft was the second son of the late Dr. Edward Nathaniel
Bancroft, M. D., F.R.S., etc., and was born in Jamaica, June 2nd, 1826.
He was educated in Germany, and received his first commission in the 3rd
West India Regiment in June, 1844. Four years later he was transferred to
the 76th Foot, and in 1860 to the 16th Foot,, now the Bedfordshire Regiment,
of which he was Colonel from May, 1900, to the time of his death. He attained
the rank of colonel in August, 1872, and major-general in April, 1883, and
retired with the honorary rank of lieutenant-general on December 31st 1887.
He was Aide-de-Camp to General Bunbury and Sir Henry Barkley in Jamaica,
and afterwards to the latter in Australia, where he married the eldest
daughter of Mr. Henry Miller, of Melbourne. General Bancroft was a Freemason,
a member of the Royal Geographical Society, and of the United Service Institution,
and also the United Service and Junior United Service Clubs. General Bancroft
had been ailing for some time, but the illness which finally claimed him
as its victim only lasted some three days. Mrs. Bancroft pre-deceased him
by some years, but General Bancroft leaves three daughters.
The internment took place at Farnborough Cemetery
on Tuesday afternoon, under atmospheric conditions which made Nature seem
a sympathiser. Overhead what Tennyson so aptly described as "an under-roof
of doleful grey" was broken by streaks which suggested rather than revealed
the sunshine beyond, and spoke vaguely of "the larger hope." The funeral
cortège arrived at the cemetery shortly after three o'clock, and
already there was a considerable gathering of sympathisers, though the late
General led a very quiet life at Knellwood, and outside the circle of immediate
friends was known only by name in the neighbourhood in which he had spent
so many of the declining years of his life. The service in the cemetery
chapel and at the graveside was conducted by the Rev. A. E. Kinch, rector
of Farnborough, assisted by the Rev. G. Cotesworth, vicar-designate of St
Mark's, Farnborough. Among those who were present at the graveside to pay
their last duty to the departed General were: - Mrs. Alexander and Mrs. Cooke
(daughters), Captain Alexander, Mr. and Mrs. Oakes, Mr. Charles Stanley,
Mr. Alan Stanley, the Rev. G. C. Carter, Miss Kinch, General Clive Justice,
C.M.G., Colonel Wavell, Colonel Carlyon, and Mr. H. Foard Harris.
The deceased General was laid to rest in a vault lined with yew branches
and white chrysanthemums, as quietly as he had lived, and there was a conspicuous
absence of the pomp and pageantry which sometimes attends the funerals of
those who have attained such distinguished rank in the Army. Major J.
S. Lightfoot was present to represent the Bedfordshire Regiment, with which
General Bancroft's service was connected. The body which was conveyed in
a hearse, and covered with the Union Jack, was escorted by a contingent of
non-commissioned officers, consisting of Sergeant Major Peirce (16th Regimental
District), Quartermaster-Sergeant Thompson, Quartermaster-Sergeant Smith,
Colour-Sergeant Cockings (Depôt), and Colour-Sergeant Marshall, Colour-Sergeant
Selman, Colour-Sergeant Seabrooks, and Bandmaster King (3rd Battalion Bedfordshire
Regiment). On the grave were laid some very choice wreaths, arum lilies
and magnificent violets being the most conspicuous features, though lilies
of the valley and white narcissi also featured prominently. The following
is a list of the wreaths and their inscriptions: -
"From Mary."
"For dear Uncle, from Nellie and Hilda [Hildy] Oakes, with much sorrow.
"
"In loving memory of dear Uncle, from Bessie Espert [Espeut]."
[The list continues with many more wreaths from various Regimental
sources and personal friends]
• Grant of Administration: 5 May 1903, London, England. 106 Effects: £6282 14s 1d Resworn: £7036-14-3
William married Eliza Henrietta Miller ,107 daughter of Henry Miller and Eliza Mattinson , on 18 Jul 1860 in St Peter's Church, Melbourne, Australia.55 Eliza was born in 1836 in Tasmania, 107 died on 31 May 1895 in Knellwood, Farnborough, Hampshire 108,109 at age 59, and was buried in Farnborough Cemetery, Farnborough, Hampshire. 57
Something about her life:
• Probate Granted: 10 Jul 1895, London. 110 Effects: £5771 16s 1d
Children from this marriage were:
68 F i. Edith
Maud Bancroft 62 was born on
4 Feb 1862 62 and died
on 19 Mar 1941 in 12 Foxenden Road, Guildford 111 at age 79.
+ 69 F ii. Blanche Florence Bancroft 62 was born on 10 Sep 1863 62 and died on 25 Nov 1931
112 at age 68.
+ 70 F iii. Alice Eliza Bancroft 62 was born on 30 Sep 1865 62 and died on 2 Mar 1945 at
age 79.
50. Nancy Bancroft
60 was born <Oct 1799> and
died on 22 Jan 1870 61
at age 71.
Nancy married Major J Lewis Mackenzie
114,115
on 16 Oct 1820 in London.61 J died
in 1853 115 .
Children from this marriage were:
+ 71 M i. James Dixon Mackenzie 116 was born on 22 Apr 1830 in London
116,117 and died on 24 Jun 1900
116,117 at age 70.
+ 72 F ii. Nancy Copley Mackenzie 29,116
died on 11 Jan 1903 61
.
+ 73 F iii. Julia Louise Mackenzie 115,118
was born on 18 Oct 1840 in Mount Gerald, Inverness 115 and died on 10 Apr 1911
in Rome 115 at age
70.
Ninth Generation
65. Julia Ursula Bancroft
Espeut 34,96 was born on 17 May 1861 in The Retreat,
St Andrews, Jamaica, 34
was baptized on 2 Jan 1862 in St Andrews Parish Church, Half Way Tree,
Jamaica, died on 5 Jun 1939 in 385 High-Road, Chiswick, Middlesex 97,98
at age 78, and was buried on 9 Jun 1939 in Chiswick Old Cemetery, Chiswick,
Middlesex. 99
Something about her life:
• Probate Granted: 14 Aug 1939, London, England.
119 Effects: £1520 12s
8d
Julie married Captain John Henry Vidal R.N. , son of Revd. Francis Vidal and Mary Theresa Johnson , on 24 Apr 1878 in The Parish Church, Stoke Damerel, Devon 100.,101 Jack was born on 8 Sep 1839 in 42 South Street, Great Torrington, Devon, 120 died on 7 Feb 1918 in 34 Park Road, Chiswick, Middlesex 121 at age 78, and was buried on 11 Feb 1918 in Chiswick Old Cemetery, Chiswick, Middlesex.
GENERAL NOTES: Richard Green, his son-in-law,
wrote these things about Jack in his account of the Vidals:--
"John Henry Vidal was much the strongest and the most athletic of a
family of athletes. He was exceptionally powerful and agile. In 1860
in the wardroom [of HMS Hibania] he jumped five wardroom chairs placed
back to front in series. The chairs were fore and aft so that beams overhead
were at right angles and 6ft 1 inch from the deck. The length of [each
of] the chairs was 2ft 10 inches. There was no space to run, only space
enough for a man to stand at either end. John Henry Vidal was 5ft 11¾
inches. He jumped the chairs in a crouched position. It was a most outstanding
feat of agility, like a panther's spring.
He and a boatswain were the only men in the Navy who could lift a large
gun from its base and insert fresh blocks single-handed.
He was inventive, some of his ideas being used by the Navy. He received
£100 from the Admiralty for an invention, a torpedo catcher.
As a craftsman he had remarkable ability of the highest order. He made
several silver tea services of such a small size that the teapot held at
a single drop which it actually poured out. These minute services he sold
at £10 each for charity.
For a wager, when a midshipman, he ate his wineglass to the stalk.
One of the surgeons spoke of dire results but J.H.V. told me that he suffered
no ill effects.
On the 24th July, 1876 he killed with fly salmon weighing 27, 18, 28,
23, 32lbs. -- total 128 -- on the Rastagouche in Canada."
Pleasance Bevan (née Scrutton) in her account of the Vidals
recalled that:-
"He was very good with his hands and you "boys" [Pleasance's two sons]
may remember that I gave you the little silver sailor hats* that he had
made. I think I handed them over to you when you were too young, and you
probably lost them, but they were beautifully made. He also made the napkin
rings he gave my parents for a wedding present. One with letters Frederic
and the other Maude. He made them out of melted down half-crowns."
*Some have survived to 2000, his great grandson, John Green, has one.
122,123
Something about his life:
• Education: Apr 1848-Jul 1853, Eton College. 124
• Naval Service: 1853.1886, Various Places.
125,126
Jack reckoned his active service as being 29 years and 293 days. He was
promoted to Captain on his retirement and awarded a special naval pension
for distinguished services. According to his official naval records, Jack
retired voluntarily; and his retirement pay was £385pa.
While serving with the "Pylades" he became involved in the Fenian uprising¹
in Canada and on June 4th 1866 in command of the hired river steamer "Royal"
with 40 ratings from the "Pylades", he sailed up the St Lawrence river "with
thousands of Fenians on the river bank" and not a shot was fired. Thirty
years later he received his medal for this service, it had been overlooked.
It happened in 1896 that his name appeared in a newspaper which was read
by a former captain of the "Pylades" (Lord Hood, it is thought) who remembered
that Jack had not been given the medal to which he was entitled.
When Jack served on HMS Victoria & Albert Yacht, Albert, the Queen's
Consort, presented him with a six penny piece for winning the officers race
round the decks. Jack later mounted this in a frame of his own silverwork.
¹ A force of one brigade of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB),
a secret revolutionary group founded in Dublin on March 17, 1858, by James
Stephens, under the command of Colonel John O'Neill.
• Report of death: Feb 1918, Various Places.
A local Sunderland newspaper reported Jack's death:-
Captain John Vidal, R.N., died at his residence
in Chiswick on Thursday evening from a seizure. He was born at Torrington,
Devon, in 1839, and was the third son of the Reverend Francis Vidal, who
had the famous Vidal's House at Eton College. After leaving Eton in 1853
he passed into the Navy as a cadet to H.M.S. Juno. During his service he was
awarded a medal for being in charge of the gunboat which quelled the Fenian
disturbance in Canada, was appointed to the H.M. Royal Yacht Victoria and
Albert in 1860. And became commander in 1872. He came to H.M.S. Durham, the
old Sunderland Guard Ship, in 1880, and commanded her for some time. On retirement
he was awarded a special naval pension for distinguished services. The Devon
family, of which he was a member, was famous for its sailors and soldiers
and his cousin, the former First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir A. Kynvet-Wilson, V.C.,
is now the only surviving member of his generation.
Captain Vidal married a daughter of the Hon. P.A. Espeut, who survives
him, together with their four sons - - Major F. Vidal of the War Office,
Capt. J. Vidal, M.C., Lieut. W. Vidal, R.E. and Mr C. Vidal (British Representative
to America as Shell-Gauge Expert) - - and one daughter, Mrs Richard Green,
of Sunderland."
Another local paper, probably in the Chiswick area where he had lived,
reported his death:-
We regret to announce the death, which took
place suddenly on Thursday of last week, at his residence, 34, Park - road,
of Captain John Henry Vidal, R.N., at the advanced age of 78 years. Born
on the 8th of September, 1839, the third son of the Rev. Francis Vidal, of
Eton College, the late Captain Vidal had had a most interesting and varied
naval career, and may well be described as a link with the "old wooden walls"
period in the naval history of England. When only fourteen years of age he
went to sea on the frigate "Juno" - - on which they were then still eating
Peninsula War provisions - - in 1853, served in the Black Sea at the time
of the Crimean War, and as a lieutenant on the "Victoria and Albert", Queen
Victoria's yacht. He was also on the "Merrimac," the first ironclad, during
the American Civil war, and saw service in Canada during the Fenian raids.
He was also on board the "Vigilant" during the siege of Vienna by the Austrians.
The "Vigilant" was the only English warship ever permitted to go up the Grand
Canal and anchor off the Doges Palace. His last foreign service was as commander
on board the battleship "Bellerophon". Later Captain Vidal took over the
command of the training ship "Durham" performing coastguard duties, retiring
with a supplementary good service pension to live in Sunderland, in November,
1886. He removed to Chiswick in 1905. Captain Vidal married Julia Ursula
Bancroft, fourth daughter of the Hon. Peter Alexander Espeut, of Jamaica,
thus resuming a family association which began as long ago as 1655, when
Cromwell sent Penn and Venerables to conquer Jamaica, the then John Vidal
being an officer in the army of occupation. He leaves a family of four sons
and one daughter. Three of his sons are temporarily serving in His Majesty's
forces.
The funeral took place on Monday last, the first part of the service
being conducted at St Michael's, Sutton Court, by the Rev. L. McNeil Shelford,
the internment being at the Chiswick burial ground, where the "Last Post"
was sounded over the grave by the buglers of the 4th Battalion, Middlesex
Volunteer Regiment. Nearer relatives and a number of friends were amongst
the mourners."
• Probate Granted: 1 Mar 1918, London, England.
127 Effects: £1476 11s 11d
which he left to his wife.
69. Blanche Florence
Bancroft 62 was born on
10 Sep 1863 62 and died
on 25 Nov 1931 112
at age 68.
Blanche married Capt. Frederick Henry Thomas Alexander 107 on 17 Jun 1899 in Farnham.62 Frederick was born in 1860 in France 107 and died on 26 Sep 1921 138 at age 61.
GENERAL NOTES: Sometime of the Leicestershire Regiment and Army Pay Dept. 107
Children from this marriage were:
75 F i. Elizabeth
Maud Alexander 107 was born
on 22 Jun 1902 107
and died on 28 Sep 1959 at age 57.
Elizabeth married Kenneth Evers-Swindell ,107 son of Harold Evers-Swindell and Mary Beatrice Bartlett , on 12 Apr 1928 107.,139 Kenneth was born in 1902 in Pedmore, Worcestershire 107 and died on 22 Mar 1958 in The Forbes Fraser Hospital, Bath at age 56. The cause of his death was leukaemia.
GENERAL NOTES: Sometime Stockbroker in Bristol.
76 F ii. Freda
Alice Alexander 107 was born
in 1904 in Chelsea, London 107,140 and died in 1904 in Chelsea,
London 107,141 .
70. Alice Eliza
Bancroft 62 was born on
30 Sep 1865 62 and died
on 2 Mar 1945 at age 79.
Alice married Lt. Col. Sidney Fitzwyman Cooke ,107 son of Robert Thomas Cooke and Mary Catherine Wavell , in 1896 in Farnborough, Hampshire 62.,113 Sidney was born <1865> in India and died on 24 Jan 1943 142 at age 78.
MARRIAGE NOTES: Their three sons went to Temple
Grove Prep School and to Charterhouse.
GENERAL NOTES: Sometime of the South Wales Borderers 107
Children from this marriage were:
77 M i. Lt. Col.
Geoffrey Charles Sidney Bancroft Cooke 107
was born on 8 Sep 1897 107,143 and died on 4 Dec 1980
144 at age 83.
Geoffrey married Vivienne Charlton Paine ,107 daughter of Unknown and Unknown , in 1929 in Farnham.145 Vivienne was born on 31 Oct 1911 107 and died on 22 Nov 1989 146 at age 78.
78 M ii. Major-General
Ronald Basil Bowen Bancroft Cooke C.B.; C.B.E.; D.S.O. 107,147
was born on 1 Sep 1899 107,147,148
and died on 26 Mar 1971 149
at age 71.
Ronald married Joan Chichester , daughter of Claude Chichester and Unknown , in 1933 in Kensington, London.150 Joan was born on 7 Aug 1911 151 and died on 11 Apr 1989 151,152 at age 77.
79 M iii. Desmond
Aubrey Robert Bancroft Cooke 107
was born on 7 Mar 1901 107,153 and died on 25 Aug 1987
154 at age 86.
Desmond married Hon. Sarah Myfida Mary Tyrell-Kenyon . Sarah was born on 13 Sep 1917 155 and died on 21 Dec 1999 in Battersea, London 156 at age 82.
GENERAL NOTES: Myfida's father was the 4th
Baron Kenyon
71. James Dixon
Mackenzie 116 was born
on 22 Apr 1830 in London 116,117 and died on 24 Jun 1900
116,117 at age 70.
GENERAL NOTES: 7th Baronet of Scatwell 116
James married Julia Stanley 29,116
in 1858.116
The child from this marriage was:
80 F i. Louise
Augusta Mackenzie 115,118 was born on 22 Nov 1865
115 and died on 9 May 1944
115 at age 78.
Louise married Baron Arild Rosenkrantz ,115,118 son of Baron Iver Holger Christian Rosenkrantz and Julia Louise Mackenzie , on 12 Dec 1901 115.,118 Arild was born on 9 Apr 1870 115 and died on 28 Sep 1964 115 at age 94.
GENERAL NOTES: Artist. Lived near Taplow (See
windows in St Nicolas's Church there)
72. Nancy Copley
Mackenzie 29,116 died on 11 Jan 1903 61 .
Nancy married Thomas Anthony Lister
29,116
on 17 Jun 1854 in London 61.,116 Thomas died in 1873 29,116
.
The child from this marriage was:
73. Julia Louise
Mackenzie 115,118 was born on 18 Oct 1840 in Mount
Gerald, Inverness 115
and died on 10 Apr 1911 in Rome 115
at age 70.
Julia married Baron Iver Holger Christian Rosenkrantz 115,118 on 22 Nov 1864 in Turin, Italy. Iver was born on 1 Mar 1813 115 and died on 25 Jan 1873 115 at age 59.
GENERAL NOTES: Of Sophiendal, Denmark
Children from this marriage were:
82 M i. Baron
Iver Gunde Lewis Augustus Rosenkrantz 115
was born on 14 Oct 1865. 115
83 M ii. Baron
Palle Adam Vilhelm Rosenkrantz 115
was born on 22 Apr 1867 115
and died on 1 Oct 1941 115
at age 74.
84 M iii. Baron
Marcus Holger Rosenkrantz 115
was born on 5 Mar 1869. 115
85 M iv. Baron
Arild Rosenkrantz 115,118 was born on 9 Apr 1870 115 and died on 28 Sep 1964
115 at age 94.
Arild married Louise Augusta Mackenzie ,115,118 daughter of James Dixon Mackenzie and Julia Stanley , on 12 Dec 1901 115.,118 Louise was born on 22 Nov 1865 115 and died on 9 May 1944 115 at age 78.
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