The daily gazette., 1879-12-19
The Bxtcser-Barones

REMARKABLE LIrIaATIoNs ON REC
ORD.
Six years have not been suffered 10
elspse since Thomas Castro, alias Roger
Thomas Castro, alias Arthur Orton,
alias Sir Roger Charles Tichborne,
Bart, was sentenced by Lord Chief JUS
tice Cockburn to fourteen years. penal
servitude, before reopening Of the
whole remarkable case Is threatened. A
cable despatch published yesterday
stated that the Attorney General, Sir
John Holker, had granted q fat for Q
writ Of error la his case, on the ground
that matters have been put before him
justifying the discussion Of the point
whether the Lord Chief Justice should
not have made the two sentences of sew
en- years penal servitude-one OF which
has just expired-concurrent instead OF
successive.
The Tichborne family, of which the
claimant pretended to be the heir, was
one of importance in Hampshire even
before the Norman conquest. It owned
then, as 1t still owns, some lands at tho
head of the river Itchen. Hence /. was
named De Itchen Bourne, Of the ltchen
bourne, or brook. This name has Ii
time been shortened to Tichbourne, or
Tichborne. Sir Roger De Tichbourne,
knight, in the reign Of King Henry II,
married Mabella, only daughter and
heiress Of Ralph de Lanerston, in the
Isle Of Wight, and acquired the Lamer-
stOn estate. Sir John de Tichborne, in
the time of Edward II, was . lawyer
and Sheriff of Hants, judge, a knight
Of the shire in Parliament, land some
time one Of the Kings justices -itiner-
ant. His son, Sir Roger de Tichborne,
married another heiress, daughter oi
Roger Loveday. At the end Of Queen
Elizabeth's reign there was Sir Benja.
min de Tichborne, who was also mem.
Der Of the House Of Commons; and he
being High Sheriff when the Queer
died, hastened to proclaim James vi o.
Scotland King James 1 Of England with
out waiting for any Government orders
For this he was rewarded with bar.
onelcy, grant of the Castle of Win
chester and knighthood for each Of hil
four sons. He served Charles l. In tn,
civil wars, giving command ofthe CAstl'
otWinchester to his brother r-in-law, ,Lort
Ogle, to be held as a royal fortress. Th'
family remained Catholic throughout
The fifth baronet was Jesuit priest q
Client, who died in 174S.
Roger Charles Tichborne, born OF
January 8, 1920, was, after his father
Sir Edward. He was educated il
France and at the Catholic college Q
Stonyhurst, entered the army in 1876
and his marriage with his cousin Kate
Sir Edwards daughter, being oppose
by her parents, he resigned his commits
sion in 1862 and went to sea. He
known to have arrived at Valparaiso
June 10, 1858, aud having crossed th
continent eastward, on April 20, 1885,
he sailed from Rio for New York In th
Bella, which was lost at sea. His fathe
succeeded 10 the baronetcy, March
1853, and died June II, 1862. 1t the
passed to the second son, Alfre
(Roger being presumed to be lost), VIII
died February %, 1885, and was su,
ceeded by his posthumous son, the pre-
ent Sir Henry Tichborne, born May .
in that year.
In 1885, Sir James widow, hopiu
that Roger might yet be alive, had ad
vertised for him in the English ar
Australian papers in 1855 her adver
tisement was answered by one Thom
Castro, q butcher at Wagga Wagg
Australia, who pretended to be her so
asserting that he had been saved fro
the wreck of the Bella. After some co
respondence with Lady Tichborn
castro sailed for England, where he a
rived December 25, 1865; in Januar
1867, he Joined her at Paris and was
her accepted as her son, though most
the other members of the family repud
ated him. In March he filed q b
against the trustees of the estate, al
having been occupied in the interim
obtaining witnesses and testimon
brought the action for the recovery
the estates, valued at $24, 700 q year,
trial May II, 1871. Lady Tichborl
had died March II, 1868, still believil
Castro to be her son.
The trial tasted at one session 1
days, and-with adjournments It
;. March 6, 1872. The Claimants stor
; as developed on the trial, was to the g
feet that, being wrecked at sea on &
Bella, in 1854, he had been picked U
the sole survivor Of the ships compan
by vessel bound to Australia, whe
he had, for private reasons, passed
Thomas Castro. Seeing the death
bis father Gas he called him), Sir Jamt
noted in the Australian papers, he b
returned to England to claim his OWL
g and so his troubles began,