The sun., 1902-03-02
TELEPHONE GIRL 4 DuCHESSY
May Harriet DrummOnd. Great-Grand-
daughter OF Earl OF Perth Just Dead.

There is a telephone girl employed in
this town who has a well-founded idea
that by the death just announced Of George
Drummond, Earl Of Perth and Melfort,
in the Scottish peerage, she may succeed
to some Of his titles IL not to any money.
II so happens that tho Earl. who died in
his ninety-fifth year. lived in the humbest
circumstances and had no landed estate
He may have had the half pay OF a captain
Of the Ninety-third Highlanders to sus-
tain him at the residence Of his declining
years, The Cottage. Kew, England.
The name OF the girl is May Harriet Drum
mond. Since her christening she has been
Lady Nav Harriet Drummond, unacknowl-
edged II she should establish her descent
or II she should be able to prove that her
father had established his she would
be entitled to call herself now the Countess
OF Melfort in the Scottish peerage and the
Duchesse de Melfort, Comtesse de Lussan
and Baronne Valrose in France.
Her father was George Essex Montifex,
Lord Drummond and Niscount Forth. The
Earl Of Perth and Melfort held only Scotch
and French titles He had no seat In the
House Of Lords. He had two sons by his
first marriage. One Of them died In in-
fancy and the other, George Henry Charles
Francis Malcolm Drummond, died in 1891,
leaving son, George Essex Montiiex
DTllmmOnO. May lfdTTpl ldtlleT dlWdNs
said that he was this son, and there is little
doubt that he was.
Certainly II is Of record that George
Essex MontifeX Drummond ran away from
England with his nurse, Eliza Harrison.
when he was 10 years old and married her
on Long Island in 1871. An infant son
died and then Lady May was born. George
Drummond had little means 10 support his
wife and child. He farmed il on Long
Island and afterward got jobs In newspaper
Offices and ia clothing stores along Broad
way, and was a ticket chopper on the Sixth
avenue elevated railroad for several years.
He died in ST. Luke's Hospital in 1857.
His wife married again. She became
the wife Of Henry W. Masters, an iron
mouder, who lives in BROOKLYN at 1864
Fulton street. The daughter. now Duchess
and Countess Of she can prove il was
married several years ago, but separated
from her husband and resumed her maiden
name
Mrs. Masters was quoted yesterday as
saying that she was almost persuaded
10 say that she was glad that the Earl was
dead. He had never recognized the Amer
lean branch of his family and had always
been crusty and ugly when questioned
about them. Now that the old man was
dead, Mrs. Masters said she intended to
see that her daughter had her rights II
the rights were worth having
II was said yesterday that not only is
there no landed estate, but no personal
estate Of any consequence, What little
personally there might be the Earl would
doubtless leave TO daughter by his second
marriage. Lady Edith Drummond, whom
the English books describe az also the heir
ess TO his Scotch and French Melfort titles.
These books have never recorded the
American marriage or any other contracted
by Vscount Forth. The heir 70 the Earl
dom of Perth is Viscount Strathslan, a
distant relative.
The telephone girl works in the Cort-
landt street long distance exchange of the
New York Telephone Company.
Should she marry again and have son,
he would be Scotch Earl and a French
Duke. always providing tho case was
properly established.