Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-02-26
VOL TXXXIV. T
The TichbOrne BarOnetcy Case.
An Immense Fortune and ExtraOrdI-
81 nafy Family History.

lhOi1uOhN 0O. ~ OF Cno new L OrK
| Herald
I While the political world of England is,
engaged i'm the discussion of reform, and
tBEitish statesmen are at their wits end to
discover a scheme by which to silence the
voice of public opinion and satisfy the peo-
pie the fashionable circles of Belgarvia and
1 the upper ten" generally are eagerly dis
crssing the merits of a case shortly to be
brought before the courts. in which is in
volved baronetage and $500,000 per an
mum. The English press has been occu-'
pied for some time with voluminous cor
respondence on the subject, and great in-
terest in the case is felt by all who make
the history of aristocratic families their
particular study. Although many versions
of this extraordinary story have been given,
to the public, have not seen, as yet. any;
! thing like true and correct narrative in
the English press. AS happen to be ac-l
quainted with the principal character and
know all the Incidents in the drama. am
enabled to afford your readers one more IL
Illustration of the maxim that truth is
stranger than fictiop.H Before proceeding
with the story however, tits necessary to
clear the ground by a short Sketch Of fam
The family Of iTichborne, or, as it was
I,fOrmerly called, De Itchenhorne, is one OF
the oldest in England. In the county of
/ Hants the beafero of the title and the pos.
SCISSOR of the estates of that name was re-
notableliR Hamshire before the conquest,
and ever since. in spite of revolutions and
intrigues. has inherited the same land.-
Similar possessions in other parts of the
countrv-includiug property in Galway.
1reland--have been added to the original
estates, from time to time; but these
changes took place so long ago that the
latest of them is old in history. From the
time of Henry III till 1920 the principal
REPRESENTATIVES of the family were simple
knights. But when Queen Elizabeth died,
Sir John de Tichborne, knight who was at
the time sheriff of Southampton. acting on
| his. own responsibility, went directly to
| Winchester, and there proclaimed James
WI of Scotland her successor, as King
james of England. After the monarch
| had been settkd on his throne, one of his
| first acts was to reward his Hamshire
champion, and Sir john de III chborne was
created a baronet and his four sons were
knighted. He was also made custodian of
the castle of Winchester, which was settled
on him in fee form. zr
| This baronetcy has come down to his de-
tscendants in the present day, and Sir Al
fred Doughty Itch hborne, baronet, who died
a short time since, was the last bearer of
the hereditary dignity. The career of this
fgentieman was a wild and reckless one,
and the English public recolleet seeing his
name in the of bank ruptcy.. His net
sincOme-E75,00 900 per annum-was not suffi-
cient, and in fact Sir Alfred was terribly
embarrassed. One of his-frst acts in sue
1ceeding to the title and estates was to pur-
chase yacht at cost of $4,000, and
five hundred stand of the best breach
loading rifles for his own private shooting.
The estates became heavily nIortSaged !;
but the Jews who lent the money felt per-
fectly secure. On Christmas day last, how
ever, there landed in England, from the
steamship Celia, from New York to Lon
don, a gentleman whose presence appears
to have had the effect of a falling bomb
shell among Jews. and Gentiles who lent
| money on the Tichborne estates-no other,
| in fact, than the Tightful ownerIto the
estates, Sir Roger Charles Tichborne, baro-
net. Never before in the family history
has so strange an incident been known.
The official books record that Sir James
Francis Doughty rTichberne,, baronet, of
TichbOrne, Hants, born in 1884. succeeded
his brother as tenth barenet in 1853. He had
at this time two sons, viz, Roger Charles.
| born in 1929, and Alfred Joseph. born 9th
September, 1899, who married in 1861 Teresa
Mary, eldest daughter of Lord Arundel.
There were of this family also two daugh-
ters who died. Thus the eldest son and heir,
Roger Charles. was, when the father be-
came baronet in 1853 q years of age, and
his younger brother, Alfred Joseph, was IA
years old. In 1852 the father died, but in
the meantime the heir, who had been sub
Eject from childhood to nervous attacks,
| took his departure from England, with the
( fintention of visiting America and the col
oniee at the antipodes. Some time before
the death of Sir James news came to this
country that the ship in which Roger
Charles took his departure to Australia
was lost off Cape Horn, with all on board.
The sad intelligence was confirmed by the
fact that nothing was afterwards heard OF
the lost heir. So the younger brother took
the title and estates. However,2he had no
son to succeed him, and when he died, a
few months ago, it was thought by many
that the title would be eXtipguished in that
branch. But his lady bore posthumous
child, and great rejoicing was made when
the infant was formally declared heir of the
line. a--- c.-r.
But DOW comes the extraordinary part of
the story. Although the ship y(the Edin-
burgh, believe) in which Roger Charles
sailed, was lost, with nearly all on board,
he himself. with four others, managed to
scramble into boat, and, among the ice
bergs of the cape, for four dreary days and
nights held on to existence. Picked up by
vessel bound to Valparaiso, Roger Charles
landed in South America, his sole property
being suit of clothes and borrowed hat.
A good Samaritan. named Thomas de Cas-
tro, a Spaniard, took compassion on the
castaway, and lent him such aid that he was
enabled to live com mfortabiy, and at the same
time acquire a knowledge of the people
among whom he was so strangely thrown.
He wandered among the different States for
two years; but when at Callao he made the
acquaintance of a sea captain in the Aus
trdlian trade, he accepted berth as ships
steward, and in that capacity landed in
Melbourne, Australia In grateful remem-
brance of his Spanish friend he assumed
| the name of Thomas de Castro; and leav-
ing the ship at Melbourne sought work
as shepherd in the interior of the
colony. He readily obtained employ
mo- nd hu of Il
very soon received the confidence of
| his employers and the settlers generally.
| About this time he, learned through the
| English papers that his father, Sir James,
| was dead, and that the title and estates had
| been assumed by bis brother, Alfred Joseph,
to whom he was very much attached
| Thinking that as he was considered dead it
would be better to let his brother enjoy the
title for a time atleastaand besides the row.
! ing wild life of an Australian settler was
suited to his taste, while he enjoyed better
health under the southern sun than he ever
did in England, he made up his mind to
maintain his incognito and settle down in
the country, Years rolled by, and Thomas
| de Castro, alias Sir Roger Charles Itch
! borne, baronet, became the manager and
owner of butchering establishment in
| Walla Walla, near Sydney. He prospered
in business, and Mr.. de Castro became
known in the settlements as an excellent
| butcher and an honest man.
| But the romance would not be complete
without the usual tale of love, ending with
happy marriage. Thomas dc Castro, the
butcher, fell violently in love with Mary
Bvrne, daughter of plasterer. In due
time the marriage took place, and there
were high times in the ranche for a week
| before and month after the event. Mrs.
de Castro, however, was utterly ignorant
of the previous history of her husband un-
til some few months since, when Sir Roger
declared himself the rightful owner of the