From: Ranald [mailto:ranald@wn.com.au] Sent: Friday, 27 July 2012 10:12 AM To: Bess Flores Subject: Susan and the Duke
Hi Bess
Herewith another attempt to unravel the Susan Elizabeth Page mystery. When I sent the previous version to Ian, he queried how genuine the stories were, and if there actually was a duke. On my next visit to my mother I asked her to elaborate, and she came up with something surprising, although somehow in distant memories I may have heard it before. She said the 'duke' actually visited the Page's at White Hall while on an official visit to Australia - have you heard of that? Anyway, it started me off again, and the attached is the result. Any comments are welcome.
Best Wishes
Ranald Stewart
Susan Elizabeth Allen and yet another Duke
The Fabled Duke in the James Page/Susan Elizabeth Allen Saga
Following the distribution of my previous notes on the above subject, Ian Buckley queried the source of the story, and if it was another of the fairy tales handed down – as in the red herring of the Page millions.
From discussions with my mother Heather – the oldest living relative of James Page, and distant memories of discussions with my grandmother – nee Dorothy Mildred Hogg (b.1888), and the consistency of the tales through all branches of the family, I am convinced the story is genuine, or at least to some unproved extent.
After Ian raised his query, I had further discussion with my mother about the existence of the ‘Duke’, and she was definite that he not only existed, but visited James and Susan Elizabeth at White Hall when on an official visit to Australia. As I mentioned before, at this time mum is particularly lucid about the old days, and I have no doubt this is genuine – at least in her memory.
This further information is interesting as it introduces another aspect of the story not previously documented, but if it is correct, narrows down the list of possibilities about the ‘Duke’, as if he was on an official visit it would be well documented. After all, any official visit by a duke to a young colony would be a major event, but more on this later.
How were these stories distributed between the families?
Assuming the anecdotes about Susan’s story are at least partly correct (which I do!), and further responding to Ian’s ‘devil’s advocacy’, questions are raised on where the story originated.
Only two sources are possible: James or Susan, either separately or together. In that era, and with virtual arranged marriage and dowry contracts involved, the only person to know the full story would be James. I say this because in the circumstances of Susan’s illiteracy, it would be unlikely she would have been involved in the legal intricacies to any great extent. Unlike marriage contracts – which unite two persons in law, dowry contracts legally ally or form agreements between two families, and would certainly be done by lawyers.
In that era, the truth of the matter is that Susan Elizabeth (and with apologies to any feminists amongst us) would be regarded almost as a chattel, or at least with little say in matters of money, and possibly even her future. In fact, with dowry contracts of the era, the female invariable played no part in the negotiations or outcome. As with all legal contracts, a basis of a dowry agreement would need to be established between the parties, which in this case would likely be Susan being taken to Australia (to permanently remain there) in return for a dowry payment, marriage, passage, and the cost of establishment in the new colony – either as a lump sum or on-going. Knowing James’s business acumen he would have taken the lump sum, and quickly invested it in property or investments (which we know he did).
As mentioned in my previous notes, this arrangement would have been covered by a substantial legal agreement, a copy of which would be in James’s possession, and being trained in business he would have kept it carefully. Only one person in the family would likely be privy to the whereabouts and contents, and that would have been Horace James after he grew up and joined the business.
How did the stories eventuate?
Several scenarios present themselves:
Dukes visiting South Australia in James Page’s Era –
I have trolled Trove fairly extensively to ascertain the movements of Dukes who visited and stayed in South Australia, and these are as follows:
The Duke of Sussex (Duke of Cornwall & York) was recorded as visiting South Australia in about 1880, although his profile in no way fits the story and situation we are trying to match.
The Duke of Edinburgh visited about 1869, but as a son of Queen Victoria, and with German roots and a strict and controlled upbringing, neither does he remotely fit the profile of our story. His visit became notable after an attempted assassination attempt by a Fenian in Sydney, in which he was seriously but not mortally wounded. The unfortunate Irishman was almost summarily hung as a show of faith to the Queen.
The seventh Duke of Manchester (1823-1890) is a far more likely candidate, as he fits the stories we have of the son of the Duke being of like age (he was only two years her senior) and him being raised with Susan Elizabeth as they were so close in years. In fact there were three brothers of similar age to Susan.
The Duke visited Australia in 1880 with the ostensive purpose of opening the Melbourne Exhibition on the 25th September 1880, but his first port of call was Adelaide. He is recorded leaving Plymouth on the 21st February accompanied by his youngest daughter, Lady Alice Maud Olivia Montagu.
This fits my mother’s story of him calling on the Pages while on an official visit, as naturally he would want to see his half-sister. He visited in 1880, 1884, 1888, always calling in on Adelaide first, and acquired extensive property interests in Australia, while representing investors wanting to do likewise.
On one visit he apparently stayed in Adelaide about two weeks, and is recorded making a visit to the botanical gardens at Mitcham, of which James Page was a founder and patron. No mention was made of any private visits, although if he did make a visit to White Hall it would probably be hushed to avoid any hint of the reason.
Evidently while visiting Adelaide he became an acquaintance of Sir William Morgan – James Page’s business partner, and on his 1884 visit made eulogistic comments on the occasion of Sir William’s death.
The erstwhile seat of the dukes of Manchester is Kimbolton castle near Huntington in Cambridgeshire, and not too far from where Susan Elizabeth was supposedly born. Kimbolton castle has since been sold and is now an exclusive residential school.
In another quirk of fate, the seventh Duke had a fling with a commoner – Sarah Maria Morris, and when Sarah was 8 months pregnant, the Montague Family had her married off to a Samuel Palmer on 4 March 1850. When the boy-child was born on the 10 May 1850, he was named William Edward Palmer. William Edward Palmer married Emma Prentice on the 24 December 1873 at Harrold, Bedfordshire. Obviously he was adequately compensated for his services. This remedy appears to be remarkably similar to stories of Susan Elizabeth and her dowry agreement, although on this occasion they apparently left things too late to hide, and had to officially acknowledge the young duke’s indiscretions. He first married in 1852, but was obviously a chip off the old block, and copied his father’s style if stories of Susan Elizabeth being the previous duke’s daughter are correct.
As far as the current 13th duke is concerned, his last recorded address was in Sydney. He married a woman from Geelong, but when this soured he later took up residence in the USA, and without bothering with the formalities of divorce, bigamously married a woman and had children there. After returning to Australia he was convicted of bigamy, and later of attempting to murder a man using a spear gun as a weapon, and after conviction did serious jail time. Apparently the fortunes and integrity of the house has deteriorated considerable over the years.
The Dukes of Manchester fit our story remarkably well – especially taking into consideration the additional information from my mother about the duke visiting the Pages in Adelaide. Whether anyone would want to claim relationship to them is a moot point, although as genealogists we must accept the good with the bad.
At this stage however I rest my case, as we all know one story is good until another is told. So . . . please feel free to make comments!
The Mysterious Dr. Mosely Stark
I am intrigued by the implications of this passenger’s presence on the Success. He is mentioned together with Mrs Page as being cabin passengers. As recorded in my previous notes, the actual transcript from the newspaper report of passengers disembarking from the Success (the only record, as no manifest was presented) reads: – and Dr. Mosely Stark in the cabin; and Mrs. Page . . . What better subterfuge to protect and watch over your charge than to be her physician? Obviously Mrs Page was Susan Elizabeth Allen travelling incognito to avoid attracting attention, as possibly was Dr Mosely Stark?
I have searched the internet for mention of this mysterious gentleman, but to no avail, and cannot find him in either the 1841 or 1851 census. It would be unlikely Susan would have been sent on the long journey to Australia unaccompanied – the terms of the dowry contact would need to be enforced and verified. Also, we are told in one version of the anecdotes she was accompanied by a brother of the ‘duke’. Brother of the ‘duke’ or not, I would guess this gentleman also ‘gave away the bride’ in the marriage that took place a day later, after which he would have handed over to James the final part of the deal – Susan’s dowry and James payment for services rendered. Then, with the contract fulfilled he would have headed back to England as soon as possible, although not on the Success as that ship never berthed at Adelaide and almost immediately sailed on for Port Phillip. It would be interesting to see who the official witnesses to James and Susan’s marriage were.
In this regard I have also searched the passenger lists for those sailing out of Adelaide, but there is no mention of Dr Stark. With his designated tasks completed, it is possible he reverted to his true identity, which was . . . ? Possibly I should be looking for either Robert or Frederick Montagu?
As they say in the movies – the plot thickens, or does it make things clearer? What I am proposing is certainly plausible. The Duke of Manchester had two brothers who could fit the bill as Susan’s companion, with Robert – the elder of these (born 1825), the same age as Susan Elizabeth.
As I previously suggested, there are two prime elements researchers need to discover: – firstly her birth certificate; secondly where she is in the 1841 census, and finally, who she was with.
As I said previously: – I rest my case!
Good Luck!
Ranald Stewart
APPENDICES: –
Morgan, Sir William (1828–1883)
by E. J. R. Morgan
Sir William Morgan (1828-1883), merchant and politician, was born on 12 September 1828 at Wilshamstead, Bedfordshire, England, son of George Morgan, farmer, and his wife Sarah, née Horne. He reached Port Adelaide in the Glenelg on 13 February 1849. He worked first on land near the River Murray and his life was saved by an Aboriginal, Ranembe, whose name Morgan later gave to one of his sons. Morgan was next employed by Boord Bros, grocers, of Hindley Street, Adelaide, until he left for the Victorian gold diggings in 1851. He had modest success and on returning to Adelaide bought Boords' business and established William Morgan & Co., wholesale and retail grocers in Hindley Street. By 1865 the retail business was closed and the firm had become merchants in Currie Street but retained the premises in Hindley Street for about five years.
Morgan was elected a member of the Legislative Council in August 1867, coming second in the poll; re-elected in 1877, he headed the poll despite his refusal to have a committee working for him and retained his seat until 1883. He became chief secretary in the second Boucaut ministry on 3 June 1875 but resigned on 25 March 1876 because personal business was too pressing. He served again as chief secretary in the fourth Boucaut ministry from 26 October 1877 to 27 September 1878. When Boucaut was elevated to the bench of the Supreme Court Morgan became premier and chief secretary on 27 September 1878. He resigned office on 24 June 1881 because his financial affairs had become involved, particularly through unfortunate investments in copper and nickel mines in New Caledonia. Among many other business interests he was a founder in 1865 of the Bank of Adelaide. In politics he was a free trader, claiming that direct taxation should be levied mainly on individuals according to their incomes rather than indirect taxes on what they spent, which to Morgan was the general effect of customs duties. During his periods in office public works were greatly extended: a town, named after him, was made at the railhead of the line connecting Adelaide with the north-west bend of the River Murray; Adelaide's deep-drainage sewerage system, the first in an Australian capital, was begun; and much building in Adelaide, including the first parts of the University of Adelaide, the Public Library and in 1881 the National Gallery. He had been a delegate to the 1871 and 1880 Intercolonial Conferences in Melbourne and in a much-quoted speech in 1877 strongly advocated Federation of the Australian colonies.
Morgan was far-seeing, imaginative and energetic; he crammed much, probably too much, publicly and privately into his fifty-five years. He declined the offer of a baronetcy because he believed that Australia was too young a country to be burdened with hereditary titles, but in May 1883 he accepted appointment to the order of K.C.M.G. On 8 July 1854 he had married Harriett, daughter of Thomas Matthews of Hurd's Hill, Coromandel Valley; they had nine children. In June 1883 he left for England on a business trip. He died on 2 November at Brighton, and after a well-attended Anglican service was buried beside his parents at Wilshamstead.
Select Bibliography
Morgan, E. J. R., 'Morgan, Sir William (1828–1883)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/morgan-sir-william-4246/text6857, accessed 2 July 2012.
The Maitland Mercury – 05 June 1880
MELBOURNE. Friday.
A private letter to Sir Samuel Wilson announces that the Duke of Manchester and his youngest daughter will leave London on a visit to Melbourne in June or July.
South Australian Register, 14 June 1884
I had some further conversation with His Grace (The Duke of Manchester), and he requested me to state that he heard with extreme regret of the death of the late Sir William Morgan, who was a loss not only to this colony, but to Australia. His Grace met Sir William on the occasion of his last visit, and one of his remarks yesterday was, ' Poor Morgan, I made his acquaintance the last time I was here.'