New-York tribune., 1912-08-16
ME NEW EARL FERRERS
uis Relationship with the Fam
iIv of George Washington.

.ticryrigEt, lSA-" -
ror,unately, the new Earl Ferrers'
,...,tb OF his line. al architect oy pro-
,,r Is very rich man through his
-. the daughter and heiress Of the late
o.As-t Moon. ard will therefore be able
-.o-. in a measure the fortunes -
-. ,esrage. which has been so closely
u~ uiso5 ,b-ouchout English history with
.,oi,,anance and care Of the famous
s ~ long horned Wild white cattle.
n. ..s fsr,ilv had many American asso-
- and the new Earl Ferrers can
20, ~ the same descent as the first
.,ss,, VO@ ~ the United States. for the
s,s, Earl Ferrers Of the present family
-.,-r,ed Elizabeth, only child and heireSs
laurence Washington. The latter
- h-othsr. Robert Washington, was
- ~ the Manor Of Sulgrave and an
- n George Washington in the direct
-, line \ nsmesake Of the new LORD
rS.,srs and A member Of the family OF
-h,cb p. is now the chief was that
u,.,,s~ shirley who was Colonial Gov
- n Massachusetts, and commander
= cbisf NJ the British forces In America
:. The beginning Of those troubles be
,vsen the Colonies and the mother coun-
~ which eliminated in the War OF In
SSnendence. The town Of Shirley nea-
cro,or in Massachusetts. Is named after
hin.
Tba Fsr~srs pccraEe and the Charley
nj r-o-s~-,. with the herd Of Wild cat
~ came iuto the Shirley family through
,,s marriage of Sir Henry Shirley TO
Ia Dorothy DeversuN. daughter ~
orssr Ffzaaeth's favorIte Lord Essex,
rb, vas also Lord Ferrers. On Essex
s,,b his tsrcrv Of Fcrrers fsli into
.hevan,c. whence II vas recalled b
S1'arIss II IN favor OF Sir Robert Shirley,
grandson Of LADY Dorothy DcyereuN
srbseouer-ly Charles II advanced him 10
-. d,qrir,ss gl viscount TamwOrth 2Dt
Earl Fs-rers.
7, is unnecessary 10 recall here the de-
ser,n,ion OF tae crime OF the fourth earl,
who after trial by MS peers in the House
of Lords lr I7ss. sentenced 10 death.
drove 10 the gallows a. Tyburn. where
,hs Marble Arcn row stands II London
IN mis- state cCsch-sui-slX, namely, ths
carriage. all gilced and painted, that
was otherwise used At court functions, At
formations and for the opening Of Parl.a-
ment.
I, was a. his execution that the drop
uss used for the first time in Englani n
MACE Of the Old system Of cart and ladder.
The drop. il Is reported. did not work very
veil II Is on record that the earl 3 toes
touched the ground, ard that he suffered
a little, having time 70 -aise the cay.
but the execuuo1er pulled II down as"lh
and then pulled his legs. 50 that no Wa
soon out OF pain and quite dead in four
minutes" After he had Deeu left hang
ing for an hou- he vas buried in old St
pancrss Chu-crvar6. Twenty years later
his body was diSintsrred and conveyed 20
the family Inausoleum a. stanton HaE-
old near Ashby where II
now reposes.
This particular earl was separated ,r9'n
bis wife. and as she refused 10 Eo'd any
communication with him after his arrest
and triaI he cursed her on the scaHo!d
and predicted for her terrible death o.
Ere. After his death she married LoTo
Frederic Campbell, brother OF the
Duke OF A-gyA. and lived FOR nearly nifty
Years. Bu; She vas always haunted oy
he terrible curse Of her first husband
ma b.r fears increased with age 20
mich So that she caused suite OF hTe-
proof rooms 10 be specially prepared for
her Al considerable expense IN her mouse
Of CoOmbe Bank.
DESPITE these precautions she vas
burned 20 death i1 her bed. for having
fallen asleep while reading the hlnsy
bangtDgs Of her bed caught tre at the
amu standing b. her bedside. This took
g.scs hundred years ago.
The Charley Hall estate, with its 400
acre park. is now owned by Colonel Wal
ter Congreve. who won his Victoria Cross
while endeayoring 10 save the guns at the
battle OF Colenso, in the earlier disastrous
iays OF the Boer War He has been
AID c. 10 Lord Kitchener and military
secretary 10 the Duke or Connaught he
bought up the property at the remarkably
low price OF 800, coo. including the moated
Charley Hall "a part Of which dates
from Euzabethan times) and the ivied
ruins OF Charley Castle. which was built
By Randolph de Blandeville. fourth Earl
Of Chester, on his return from the Holy
Land
The new Earl Ferrers, although he has
thus lost this ancient home. comes into
the possession Of the Staunton Harold es-
tate, near Ashby-de-la-Zouche, in Leices-
tershire which has been occupied by the
Shirley family since the reign of Henry
VIII, when It came into their hands
through the marriage of Sir Francis Shir-
ley 10 the widow and heir Of Sir John Con-
greve. oddly enoIgh. an ancestor OF the
present owner of Charley. The house
itself dates from the early part OF the
Elizabethan era, and is a very stately
and withal homelike. mansion. OF red
brick. half t,mbered construction.
II Is in the nausoleum of the Shirleys'
q a sheltered nook Of the park at Staun-
on Harold, that the late Earl Ferrers has
been laid 10 rest, in the same vault that
holds the body Of the fourth earl, who
vas hanged at Tyburn.