Title: Fowle vs. Fowle : suit for divorce and alimony. In the Court of the Recorder of Rangoon, civil regular no. 20 of 1876. Author(s): Fowle, Charlotte Rebecca Webster. Publication: [Rangoon?] : British Burma Advertiser Press, Year: 1876 Description: ii, 12a, 129, 27 p. ; p., 28 cm. SUBJECT(S) Named Person: Fowle, Edward. Named Corp: Burma, Lower. Court of the Recorder of Rangoon. Note(s): “This case [was] brought under the Indian Divorce Act.” — p. [1a] Document Type: Book

After the divorce Rebecca Fowle returned to England with her daughter Emily. In her will Charlotte leaves all her money – 42,981 pounds – (quite a lot for then) – to her doctor – James Cameron and his wife Mary Louisa.  Charlotte owned a house at 109 Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill, West London which was also willed to the Camerons and where she died on 3 August, 1913, aged 76.  Emily received just ten pounds and so mother and daughter must have had some kind of ‘falling out’.  In 1884 Emily married a man called Dudley White in London and they went on to live in Wandsworth (see 1891 census) and later in Southsea. When it came to making their wills, Emily, who died first, left her estate to the Countess Ruth Metaxa while her husband left his to a gardener. Emily was born in France in 1857 and Dudley in Marylebone in about 1860. They did not have any children. (see note at the end of this page on Dudley White).

Among some family papers a poem to Louisa Caroline has been preserved titled: ‘A few lines suggested for Mrs. Man’s consideration by her unfortunate starving children’

1
Accept pray this hint and trust me ’tis true
The beef bone you left although it’s burned blue
Will be served up by Emma for dinner again
And we shall be starved the more to your shame.
2
We’ve had nought to eat but beef since you went
Such a horrible time we ne’re before spent
A Rabbit was purchased and made up a stew
But was quartered for that between me and you.
3
The bread it is mushy the pudding ‘s not done.
No butter’s allowed, potatoes we’ve none.
Black pepper’s avoided because it is dear.
And we’re told to thank God for what we have here.
4
Aunts Emma and Jane and also Miss Ann
On this Rabbit have fed now five days
It’s been hashed, frigassee’d and stewed in a pan
And the bones in a Pee will be raised.
5
Poor Joe has left, not a bone can he get
The Cats are reduced down to skin,
Our Williams so thin, it hurts him “to sit”.
And there’s nought on his leg left but skin
6
Aunt Jane’s got up and sadly complains,
That her back and her stomach are subject to pains,
Starvations the cause and should death take place
Coroner’s verdict will bring you disgrace.
7
To beer we are strangers, cold water’s our drink
The effects are distressing, we really do think
For the Cholera now on our vitals does play
And we all have the Stomach ache every day.
8
The song truly says “there’s no place like home”
But surely t’was never intended, a “Bone”
Should be all the food to be found in a place
So honoured by Poets and Men of that “Race”
9
To complete this sad picture we need only say,
We are all getting thinner and dwindling away
Our spirits are gone for my word it i sad
The effects of starvation will drive us all mad.
10
In conclusion; perhaps you may have a desire,
to see us again before we expire
Our advice then pray take
let it not be in vain
Never think of departing from Halstead again
Till you have stocked your house
both with eating and drinking
And form your Motherly duties
BE SHIRKING.
______________________

Morrice Man has added the following note: ‘Rhymes suggested for Mrs. Man’s consideration. Halstead Hall. Mention of Emma and Jane (sisters of writer? daughters of Mrs. Man) and ‘Aunt Ann’. Notes by David Man made in 2001: Mrs. Man is Louisa Caroline Man (nee Fowle) wife of Harry Stoe Man. Her children are probably the four youngest born at Halstead between 1829 and 1841 namely: Emma, William Lionel, Edward Garnet, and George Octavius. Aunt Emma is probably Emma Claudiana Man (1780 – 1856) Harry Stoe Man’s sister. Jane is probably Jane Fowle, Caroline Louisa’s unwed elder sister, who was christened, according to the IGI, on 23 July 1783 at Allington in Kent. (See IGI Batch No. C109992) and died 5 October 1854 aged 70 years, and is therefore another aunt, and not a daughter as suggested by Morrice. Miss Ann is in fact a great aunt Eleanor Ann Rankin Man (1789-1873). All these ladies died at Halstead Hall. Who actually penned these lines is not possible to say although the handwriting looks like Edward Garnet Man’s.

From the Monthly magazine of 1815: Died at Boxley, whilst sitting in his chair, in good health, after having eaten a hearty dinner, and drunk a bottle of wine, Wm. Fowle, gent. 59. He was a man of very eccentric habits, and has in his will directed, that his body shall be deposited in a niche of the wall of a room under his windmill, at Boxley; and the parties to whom he has bequeathed his property are to enjoy it on condition only of obeying his directions for the disposal of his body. They were of course complied with ; and, from their eccentricity, the funeral drew together a considerable concourse of people. The following lines were composed by the deceased for his epitaph, and are to be inscribed on his tomb:

“Underneath this little mill
Lies the body of poor Will:
Odd he liv’d, and odd he died,
And at his burial no one cried.”

From the Monthly repository of theology and general literature, Volume 10 – Eccentric Funeral. – On Friday last, the remains of William Fowle, Gent, of Boxley, were interred, according to his will, under part of a windmill upon his estate. The funeral was respectably attended by his executor and relatives, and was conducted with a solemnity well according with the awful circumstance of sudden death ; and the eccentricity of selecting such a spot for the occasion drew together a considerable assemblage of persons. On arriving at the mill, the coffin was carried into the building, and the Rev. Mr. Harris, of the Society of Unitarians, in the open air addressed the persons assembled on the singular request of the deceased, and after some religious reflections on the uncertainty of human life, and the particular instance of it which had called them to that spot, Mr. Harris repeated a prayer, and concluded with the Pater noster. The body was then committed to its silent abode ; and the following epitaph (the deceased’s own composition) is to be placed on his tomb : ” Underneath this little mill Lies the body of poor Will ; Odd he liv’d, mid odd he died. And at his burial no one cried.” M. Chron. April 11. [Below the Mill in which William Fowle was interred. The mill no longer exists]

Below is a clipping from the Oxford Journal dated Sept 25 1830 based on article from the Maidstone Gazette outlining how Robert Fowle (see his grave above) accidentally shot himself while out hunting.

William Fowle’s will (notes) Source: Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Probate 10 Oct 1840. William Fowle of Boxley, farmer, will dated 19 Sep 1833. To be buried in vault as my late father was at the mill in the field called the poor field, part of my estate at Boxley. Wife Isabella, Brother in law William Sharp Avery of Boxley, yeoman, trustee Edward Simmonds of Woodchurch, salesman and farmer, trustee. Property in Boxley, Aylesford, Chatham, Gillingham and Strood. Witnesses: H A Wildes – B Harrison – Jos’h Harrison, clerks to Mr Wildes, solicitor, Maidstone. Codicil dated 25 Mar 1836. Witnesses: Thomas Fumer – William Dickin – H A Wildes.

SOME FOWLE COURT CASES

In 1841 three of Caroline’s brothers: Thomas, George, and Edward were involved in a court case to do with claiming money from an inheritance that can be read HERE.

The Times March 17 1825.  William Fowle (1755 -1815) had four illegitimate children, two boys and two girls.  The following court case was taken up by the two sons – William and Robert – against their cousin George Robert (son of William’s brother George).

Below  from The Times November 25 1841 (no further reference to this case has been found yet)  All the male members of the Fowle family mentioned here: George, Thomas, and Edward are the brothers of Louisa Caroline (Fowle) Man.

THE AUCTION OF THOMAS FOWLE’S FARM: HALF YOKE  (The Times, August 21 1854). (Thomas was Louisa Caroline Man’s brother. He appears not have had issue.)

Half Yoke Farm, Maidstone, and Cottages and Woodland, Nettlested, Kent Mr. Summerfield has received instructions from the Executors of the late Thomas Fowle, Esq. to SELL by AUCTION, at the Mitre Hotel, Maidstone, on Thursday, August 31, at 3 for 4 precisely, the above valuable PROPERTY, in two lots Lot 1 comprises the well known Half Yoke Farm, containing about 43 [acres], in the occupation of Mr. F. W. Day. This truly valuable farm is situate near the beautiful valley of the Medway, over which it commands an extensive view. It is distant two miles from Maidstone, and close to the Farleigh Railway Station. It offers a most desirable opportunity for investment, being highly productive land, and admirably calculated for the growth of hops, of which there are at present about 11 acres. Lot 2 consists of Three Cottages, with large gardens, occupied by Coulter and others, and about four acres of superior woodland in the parish of Nettlested. This property is situate adjoining the road leading from Wateringbury to Yalding and Brenchley, and commands an extensive frontage to the said road. It is within a short distance of the Wateringbury, Yalding and Paddock-wood Railway Stations. Particulars and conditions of sale, with plans attached, may be obtained at the Auction Mart, London; Mitre Hotel, Maidstone; Allen and Walker’s, Solicitors, Tunbridge; and at the office of Mr. Summerfield, surveyor and land agent.

Also in The Times of November 25, 1841 is a case brought by the widow of George Fowle. (George is Louisa’s brother).

Below: A Footnote to History. Poor Ella Jarrett committed suicide in November 1933. She was the great, great, great, granddaughter of Robert Pattenden whose sister Anne was the mother of Louisa Caroline Fowle.

The old oasthouse that once formed part of the Cobtree Manor estate has now been converted to the Museum of Kentish Life. In this picture, taken in 1986, a school party visits the site.

NOTES ON DUDLEY WHITE.

Dudley White married Emily Fowle the daughter of Edward Fowle and Charlotte Rebecca Webster. Dudley has been found in the Admission Registers of St. Paul’s school where he is listed as follows: Dudley Stuart Septimus White, aged 9, son of Thomas W., gentleman farmer, 48, Portland Place. 1877. Clerk in a Solicitor’s Office. We know from the probate record that he was a solicitor. Dudley’s family has been found on the 1871 Census. He is aged eleven and his mother is the widow of a landowner. Dudley is indeed the seventh child and the family is living at 52 Portland Place. He and all his siblings were born at Wateringbury, Kent. Although Dudley White does not appear on the 1861 census what that census record does tells us is that Dudley’s father was born at Yalding, Kent, a center of Fowle family habitation. It also shows the names of Dudley’s siblings including Louisa Elizabeth (1851-1896) of whom more below. We also know that Dudley’s mother was Louisa Frances Winton (d. 1905) the daughter of the William Winton of Halland Park, Sussex.

The identity of the ‘Countess Ruth Metaxa’, to whom Emily (Fowle) White left her entire estate, was at first puzzling but it turns out that Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Emily’s sister-in-law Louisa Elizabeth White’s. On 14 November 1871 Louisa E. White married the very long named Andrea Rushout Northwick Prescod Metaxa-Anzolato, (8th count Metaxa) who was the eldest son of Jean Baptiste (count Metaxa of the Ionian Isles). Andrea was born in 1844. The Count and Countess Metaxa had two children: 1. Andrea Francis Cochrane Andrew METAXA , (9th Count Metaxa) who was born on June 13, 1874 at Malling, Kent and who on December 5 1900 married Ruth ANKETELL-JONES. The count died on February 16, 1903, on the Isle of Wight at the age of 28 years. Thus it is this Ruth, the count’s widow, who is Emily’s beneficiary. Andrea and Ruth had a son: Count Andrea Dudley Richard Metaxa who was born on 20 January 1902. Ruth and her husband have been found on the 1901 census.

From Who’s Who 1905 – METAXA, Andrea, The Count; b. 23 Mar. 1841; m. 1871, Louisa Elizabeth, d. of late Thomas White of Congelow, Yalding, Kent (d. 1896). Educated at Cheltenham. Special war correspondent, 1870. Publications: Round the Wight in an Open Canoe; Journal of a Tour in the Mediterranean; Walking Tour through Isle of Wight, 1870. Recreations: rowing, public and political speaking on Eastern Question, Women’s Suffrage Bill, Deceased Wife’s Sister’s Bill, and Married Woman’s Property Act. Heir:

g. s. Andrea-Richard-Dudley, b. 20 Jan. 1902. Address: Sutherland House, Grove Park, Chiswick, W.

We should also note that among the names of the White family of Yalding is one Alfred Starnes White and Thomas Starnes White. This may indicate a connection to the family of Mary Fowle Starnes who married William Lionel Man and whose father, Laurence Starnes, was a farmer in Yalding. The White family lived at Wateringbury Hall, near Maidstone; and Congelow in Yalding. According to one source Samuel White of Yalding, married Anne daughter of James Starnes, Esq. of Congelow. Samuel died in 1837 leaving a son,

A chart showing the relationship among the Fowle, Starnes, White, and Metaxa families can be viewed HERE (<– one page PDF).

Thomas White, Esq. of Wateringbury Hall, and Congelow, in Kent, and 53, Portland Place. Thomas was born in 1812 and on 3 December 1842, he married Louisa Frances, younger daughter of the William Winton of Woodgate House, Beckley, Sussex. It could be that James Starnes and Laurence Starnes were brothers.

A brother of Dudley’s was George Meryon White-Winton, who was a lawyer and who was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and who matriculated 20 January 1871, aged 18; B.A. 1874, M.A 1880, barrister-at-law, Inner Temple, 1877. He assumed his mother’s maiden name as an additional surname 1905.

A sister of Dudley’s – Helena – married a son of the Marquis of Huntly as follows:

From The Churchman 1882 – MARRIED: On September 27th, at All Saints’ church, Margaret street, London, England (choral service), by the Rev Archibald White, chaplain of All Saints’ church Baden-Baden, brother of the bride, Hubert George Gordon, son of the late Lord Cecil Gordon, and grandson of the ninth Marquis of Huntly, to Helena, daughter of Thomas White, Esq. of Portland Place, London, Congelow, Yalding, and Wateringbury Hall, county Kent, England. American papers please copy.

Note on the name of Pattenden

This is an English locational surname. It originates from a former medieval village of the same name in the county of Kent. Surnames from now ‘lost’ villages are a feature of the British Isles surnames listings, and it is estimated that over three thousand modern surnames survive from this source. Today the village of Pattenden has disappeared completely and according to the gazetters of Britain, is only recorded as a locality. The name is believed to translate as ‘The valley of the Peatta tribe’, the latter being a well known people of Ancient British origins who inhabited various parts of the south east of England in the period after the end of the Roman Invasion in 410 a.d. As to why villages disappeared has been the subject of many books. In general the most usual reason was changes in agricultural practice, when sheep farming took over arable land, and required fewer workers. However war and in particular plague, also played their parts, the latter wiping out large sections of the community. In this case we have a number of examples in early records. These include Henry Pattenden, recorded as being a student at Oxford University in 1582 – 83, whilst Margaret Pattenden married George Fowle at St Georges Chapel, Hanover Square, Westminster, in 1790.