Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1888-04-18
FAMILY FAILURES.
Famous People Who Fell from Position
and Wealth.

From the London Telegraph.
If we believe that it is better to visit
the house of mourning than the house
the decline and fall of our great families
is better than the story OF their rise and
progress.
1t is better, we presume, inasmuch as
the moral Illustrative of the instability
of human greatness, ETC., is profound
one; otherwise the record is a truly sad
one and the reading of very melancholy
interest Nevertheless, it is very curl
count of some OF the most noteworthy
lapses o. great and royal families from
wealth and princely power to mental
servitude and beggary.
NO race in Europe surpassed the
Plantagenets in royal position and per-
sOnal achievements, and yet, not to de-
scend further than the year 1887, we
find the MISREPRESENTATION of Mar
garet Plantagenet. daughter and heiress
of George, Duke of Clarence, following
the trade of a shoemaker in Newport,
oalop. This is conspicuous fall, but
not more so than that of another
branch of the same family, for among
the ineal descendants of Edmund of
of Edward T., occur butcher and toll
gatherer; the first a Joseph Smart, Of
Halesowen, the latter George Will
mont, keeper of the turnpike gate at
Cooper's Bank, near Dudley Then,
again, among the descendants of
Thomas Plantagenet, Duke of Glouces-
ter, fifth son of Edward ILL.,, we find a
Stephen James Penny, who was, not
many years ago sexton at St Georges
Hanover Square.
Another melancholy fall was that of
the Cromwells. Bef re the time of the
Protector the family possessed estates
the present day, and the great Oliver
himself inherited considerable proper
ty, which, augmented from private
sources, made up total sufficient to
maintain his family perpetuaiiy in easy
circumstances. But within q century
after his death we find Thomas Crom-
we'll. his eat-grandson. setting up as
grocer on Snow Hill, and his son Oil
yer, the last male heir, as an attorney in
London.
In the female line the fall was much
more striking. One of the protectors
granddaughters, after seeing her hus-
band die in the workhouse of small
Suffolk town, died herself a pauper,
wife of a shoemaker and the younger
the wife of a butchers son, who had
been her fellow servant. Another of
Oliver Cromwells granddaug ,ters had
two children, of whom tue son became
a small working jeweler and the daugh-
ter the mistress of small school at Mil
denha1.
When the twelfth Earl of Crawford
was imprisoned in Edinburg Castle, to
restrain his recklessness and prodigali-
ty, he left one child, a daughter, who,
having no one whatever to look after
her, received not scrap of education
and was lett to run about like q gypsy
She eloped with common crier, and at
one period of her lie lived by mendi-
cancy. Charles II. granted her pen
sion of 9lO0 year, but owing to her ut
ter degeneracy it proved more hurtful
than beneficial.
The male head of this family died in
1744, in the capacity of hostler In an inn
at Kirkwall, IN the Orkney Islands
The estate had been dissipated by the
"Spendthrift Earl, - his father and with
his patrimony he, Lord Lindsay Earl
of Crawford, bought a small property on
which he resided for some years, until
through averse fortune, this went too,
and to save himself from starvation he
was fain to go as hostler
A story is told of scion of the great
house of Uruhart, of Cromarty, who
was neces>itated by his extravaganza to
sell his inheritance, and who, sinking
step by step to the lowest depths of
Indebtedness, came at last wander
ing beggar to the door which had once
been his own.
A similar story is told by Fraser of
Kirkhill, who relates that be saw the
Earl of Traquair, cousin of James VI.
begging in the streets of Edinburgh
cite was" says Fraser, Gin an antique
garb, and wore broad old hat, short
cloak and panier breeches, and con
tributed toward his relief. We gave him
a noble. He was standing with his hat
off, and received the piece of money
from my hand as humbly and thankful