New-York tribune., 1907-11-20
JUMBO" IN NO DANGER.
Late Duke of Portland Nearly 90
Years Younger than Il. O.. Druce.

| IN London, although the popular belief that he
| Inenaced with the loss not only of his dukedom
and other peerages but also of his vast estates
| has 10 great extent obscured the real point at
| issue. The defendant in the proceedings which
| are based upon charge of perjury, is the
| Duke of Portland, who does not appear in the
affair at all, indirectly but Herbert Druce
| younger son of the late Thomas G. Druce by his
second marriage to a Miss May, and the legatee
by virtue of will of all the wealth of his father
| to the exclusion of the children by the first
| riage and to the exclusion also of their children
The estate included, among other things the great
| emporium known the Baker Street Bazaar, in
| London. OF course. the will was contested by the
children Of the first marriage and after their death
| by their children. of whom is George Hoamby
| Druce. the prosecutor in the present case.
J After assailing the testamentary bequest Of the
property to Herbert Druce the ordinary grounds
or undue influence, etc. without avail. they finally
hit upon the extravagant story to the effect that old
| Thomas Druce and the late Duke of Portland were
one and the same Individual and that the death
| of Thomas DruCe December o. 1864, and his
subsequent interment in Highgate Cemetery
| bogus and that he had survived until 1879 the
| fifth Duke of Portland. Now. OF course, II this
| fairy tale were true the Will made by old Thomas
| c. Druce such. bequeathng his property to his
| younger son. Herbert Druce would be invalid. and
in the event of the will being invalid. the bequest
| Of all the Druce property TO Herbert Druce would
| become null and void. In word. the real estate
would go to the plaintiff well large share
of the personal property. In order TO prove the IL
legal character Of Thomas Druce's will 1t is
sary for the plaintiff establish the fact that the
testator survived his alleged death. In the person
| OF the fifth Duke of Portland. and If he should
succeed in doing that-which is out Of the question
then he would naturally. at the time prove
that the fifth Duke of Portland who is on official
| record having died childless. his grand
father, and that he, the eldest of the eldest
son Of the duke was entitled to the dukedom of
Portland and the entailed estates which go with
that peerage.
| The will of Thomas c. Druce having been ad-
mitted TO probate. many years ago. and the claim
ants to his property having failed to find any other
means of obtaining full judicial hearing OF their
pretensions. which they have borrowed large
| sums of money, they have now, through the plain
tiff. George Hollamby Druce charged Herbert Druce
with perjury, In having sworn at the time Of the
probate of his fathers will, to the latter's death
| in December 1864 and having him laid in
the coffin, which the plaintiffs and their eccentric
Staten Island witness insist contains nothing but
lead.
All these stories Of bogus burials and twofod per-
sonalites have obscured the very essential and
elusive circumstance that there is far too great a
discrepancy OF TO admit of Thomas Druce and
the fifth Duke OF Portland being and the
person. The duke was born in 1880. whereas I. ..
Druce necessarily have been horn before l7S5.
since he is shown by marriage certificate. and by
other legal and official documents OF the nat
ure TO have married in 1916. at the age of con-
siderably over thirty Miss Elizabeth Cricklam.
the mother of his eldest children. Tom Druce
described as being the time the owner of pros
porous drapery store. and 10 have been man OF
such Importance I'm the community that he was
elected churchwarden and member Of all sorts of
church committees in that year He held -hese
places. which would not have been accorded 10 a
mere youth. until 1890, when he made sensational
failure In business. calling for action of the courts
In the previous year-that is TO say. Bi9-the Duke
| of Portland had received his commission officer
I'm the army and in 1924 was elected TO Parliament
thus becoming n public character. In 1895 Thomas
Druce had recovered sufficient money 10 found the
| London Baker Street Bazaar. in the management OF
| which he personally and actively engaged until
In 1864 he succumbed to internal Assesses, after
being operated upon for them b. Sir William Fer
guson and DR.. Edmund Shaw. the case remaining
! impressed upon their memory owing 10 the fact
that one OF the assisting them I'm the oper-
alton got poisoned hand therefrom and died.
ALL DESCENDED FROM ROYALTY.
1t is difficult to understand why Mrs. Minthorne
| Woolsey wife of the banker and broker OF that
| name in Nassau street, New York, should nave
been anxious TO establish her descent from Euro
| pean kings and queens of ancient times and should
| have exposed herself to being mulcted by a New
York City the tune Of nearly $1,000 IN gene
alogst's fees and legal expenses. for the sake OF
establishing her descent from monarchs who
| regned considerably over thousand years ago.
| For while a lineage OF this kind may qualify peo-
pie for IA so-called "Order OF the Crown" at De-
trolt, organized by a Mrs. Henrietta Farnsworth,
| that city, ii ConferS no distinction whatsoever.
| The so-disant Marquis de RuVigny,' who' In
sn,te of his foolish pretensons Englishman
10 mythical French title. is an extremely pains
| taking genealogist, published some years ago very
carefully compiled, yet by means complete list OF
M fewer than twelve thousand English and Amer
| lean citizens who can trace legitimate descent
| from British royalty far back as King Henry
| VII OF the twelve thousand names vast pro-
| portion belong to the masses and in a great num-
her Of instances the twentieth century descendants
| rT,,Jo rfppq ND
| in the humblest occupations.
Thus as an illustration Of how the blood Of King
Henry VII. who gave Westminster Abbey its no
blest feature travelled down in the very midst
| of the people. may mention the case OF Joseph
| smart who is a butcher in a very small way in
| the little town OF Halesowen, in Shropshire. His
| pedigree begins with Mary Tudor, daughter OF
| Henry VII of England who, after becoming the
| widow Of King Louis XII of France, married as
her second husband the Duke of Suffolk Their
daughter, the Lady Frances, married Henry Grey,
| MARQUIS of Dorset whose eldest daughter, Lady
Jane Grey was for brief period Queen of Eng
land losing her head the scaffold. Lady James
Younger sister, Lady Catherine Grey, married Ed
ward Seymour Earl of Hertford, whose son. Lord
| Beauchamp, married Honora Rogers. With that
marriage the line began to lose its sem-royal
character and when Lord Beauchamp's daughter.
Honora Seymour. married Sir Ferdinand Sutton
| who was also Lord Dudley, 1t definitely passed
away from the shadow of the throne. Sir Fer
dinand's daughter Frances. Baroness of Dud-
| lev who married Humble. Lord Ward In the
right his mother, thcr son. Edward second
| Lord Ward. also eleventh Lo"d Dudley. This
peers only son, the Hon. William Ward, had n
daughter Frances Ward. the first person in the
pedigree who lacked either title or an honoritc
| prefix She married William Lea, u small country
| gentleman at Halesowen, in Shropshire, end her
daughter Frances contracted similar union her