Letters shine a light on the Earl of Dudley’s illegitimate daughter
In Bugle 1504, June 23, SARA SHARP told of her hopes to prove the family legend that they were descended from the 1st Earl of Dudley. Now she updates her investigations
FOR the past 5 years I have tried to find any evidence at all that the family stories passed down the generations were true and that my great-greatgrandmother Selina Hampton Bourne was indeed the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Dudley, William Ward (1817-1885).
Family stories passed down told that the Earl of Dudley acknowledged his daughter Selina, despite not being on her birth certificate, and would pay maintenance for her and take her on days out. It was such a lovely story that I just had to try and find out if it was true.
Investigating this so far has proved very frustrating to say the least, but has also been extremely interesting. A few months ago I made contact with Dudley Archives to see if they held any records regarding the Earl’s personal affairs, to which they told me I would have to look on their online catalogue, which they gave me the link for.
Matches
In all honesty, it isn’t the easiest database to use and for many weeks I entered different words such as ‘Selina,’ ‘Bourne,’ ‘Earl’s daughter,’ etc., to see if I could find any matches in the archives but with no luck.
Then I changed direction slightly and entered ‘Amelia Ward’ into the database to see if there were any personal records for the Earl’s mother. Amazingly, I found details of a letter between Amelia Ward, who was staying in Geneva at the time, and her son Lord Ward, with reference to Lord Ward’s daughter! I was excited, firstly because at that point the Earl did not have any official children (his first wife, Constance De Burgh, had died childless a few years earlier and he didn’t remarry until 1862) and secondly, my great-great-grandmother Selina Hampton Bourne was born the previous year, in 1857.
I excitedly contacted the archives and paid for a copy of the letter to be sent to me and felt that this was the evidence that I had been looking for. I was hoping to finally confirm to my 93-year-old great uncle that I had found the evidence we needed that his grandmother was the Earl’s daughter.
My excitement was short lived as I soon realised upon receiving a copy of the letter that Amelia Ward was
referring to Lord Ward’s daughter named Katie. She had been travelling to Germany with her grandmother, Amelia, and Amelia was writing to her son, William Ward expressing her admiration of young Katie and also trying to encourage Lord Ward to make some effort to see his daughter.
Initially, I was very disappointed as I felt it was the worst blow to my search I could have received. I had, for some time, romanticised the idea that Lord Ward had fallen in love with my great-great-great-grandmother Elizabeth Bourne and that she had fallen pregnant with his child. Sadly, because of the difference in social class, a marriage between them was forbidden and so looking after his daughter was the best way to show his love for Elizabeth. Finding the letter mentioning Katie suddenly made my romantic vision shatter into a million pieces. But, I read on, intrigued as to
who Katie was.
I went back to the archive catalogue and discovered a couple of letters regarding Katie on file. One written to Lord Ward from Katie herself. Of course, I paid for the copy, wanting to know more about Lord Ward’s secret daughter. I needed help transcribing the letters as they were written in Victorian handwriting, but eventually I managed to piece them together and get a good idea as to what they said.
In the letters it is clear that Katie was born around the early 1840s and she is aged roughly 15-17. She is kept abroad most of the time, mainly in Germany but visits Himley with her grandmother Amelia occasionally. I believe she was born local to Himley (if not at Himley) and her mother was local. She has a very close bond with her grandmother Amelia and the two travel together regularly. Katie had
been unwell with throat problems in one of the letters, and the Wards had paid for her to try the ‘Grape Cure’ (fashionable with the wealthy in the mid-19th century) in Switzerland, under the care of a Doctor Foist.
Some aristocratic families knew about Katie, including the Lawrence family (Reverend Alfred Lawrence and his wife Lady Emily Lawrence lived at the Rectory, Sandhurst) who were fond of Katie and allowed the governess they had for their children, Madame Delphine Ragon, to take care of Katie while she was abroad.
Wife
Amelia Ward was hoping the Lawrences’ youngest son, William Lawrence, might make Katie his wife and in one letter writes about a plan she had to set Katie and William up. All this information is absolutely fascinating, but after the letters I am left knowing nothing more about Katie. Who was she and what happened to her?
I have of course searched the internet for Katie and ordered a copy of the Earl’s will in the hope that Katie
might be mentioned, which sadly she isn’t. What happened to her? I find it so sad that the daughter of Lord Ward was hidden abroad by the family. In the letters Katie writes how she wishes Lord Ward would write to her to let her know how he is doing, and how she feels like she is going mad because she is lonely. I am keen to find out who she was as her descendants may share DNA with my family, offering some evidence that the story of my great-great-grandmother was true.
If any of your readers have heard any stories that have been passed down to them from their ancestors telling of Lord Ward having illegitimate children, especially one called Katie or if they think they may be a descendent of Katie, I should be interested to hear from them. Also, anyone who has an interest in William Ward, first Earl of Dudley and/or Amelia Ward can contact me and I shall be happy to share the information I have.
If you wish to get in touch with Sara, please email editor@blackcoun trybugle.co.uk and we shall forward any messages.