The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-07-07

cCbsg.isht. ma b 4. D. Jasohssas
Many Of TIE ~old'' nobility Of England
owe their rank. and mainly their wealth.
not to deeds of vaior and arms. though
their ancestral halls are decorated with
trophies Of battles. but to the commercial
instinct and the ability Of their sires to
strike . good bargain. Merchants. farm
err. srocers, brewers. and traalckers as-
ure In the romances Of the British peer
ase and baronetcy. mere accident some
time0 leading the way to . title, estates,
and vast privileges.
The story Of Edward Osborne 10 we'll
known Az an apprentice he Jumped from
London Bridge into the Thames to save
his masters daughter from drowning.
OF course, she married him. and he thus
came into q goodly fortune. This Os-
borne was the founder of the Ducai
House Of Leeds, his son, by influence and
intrigue. attaining to the highest rank in
the British peerage.
Then there was william Ward. another
London apprentice, who founded the
family Of the Earl Of Dudley. He went
to the city when lad. and was appren-
ticed to q goldsmith. A lucky chance
made him rich. for shortly after he had
Set Du5luS88 IOI ulIn8eh In Lombard
Street, a sailor. just landed from his ship,
came to his shop and offered to sell
him what proved to be q lot of rough
diamonds. Ward bought them "for a
song" and also second lot, which the
sailor brought next day.
This lucky stroke enabled Ward to be-
come court jeweler. But II was the bar
gain he struck with the last Of the SUIT
tons. Lord Of Dudley. which made Of him
. peer Of the British realm. The Lord
of Dudley was hard up, and wanted a
f2ooco loan on ample security. Ward re-
piled that he might do better than that.
He himself had son. Humble by name.
and his lordship had a granddaughter.
II his lordship would marry the young
lady to his son, Humble Ward. he would
be well satisfied with that security. The
bargain was struck. and thus the Wards
and the Suttons became united.
David Cecil. the first Of the ,Salisburys.
was middle-class water bailif. and
could only bequeath his daughter the
moderate sum of 500 at his death. but
his son Richard was a page, and after
ward groom Of the robes to King Henry
VIII. and he made such good use Of his
that he was successful In
huge grants Of land and title
for his son, William Cecil, who became
Lord Burghley.
And 1t was no baron who founded the
house of Bedford. but one Henry Rus
sell. who in the fifteenth century made
a modest living out Of the part owner
ship Of a barge at Weymouth.
Nearly 80 years ago there was piquant
scene In the House of Lords. when the
Earl of Arundel taunted the Earl Spencer
Of those days with the fact that at q
time when certain great events were hap
pening Lord Spencer's ancestors were
keeping sheep.
when my ancestors were keeping
sheep, as you say" retorted Lord Spencer,
your ancestors were plotting treason"
It is an incident in the family history
Of the Spencers which recalls the fact
that they sprang from farmers who bred
their sheep and cattle in the Warwick
shire fields in the fifteenth century, the
founder of the line being John Spencer,
a grazier, who took to wife the daughter
of one William Graunt. a husbandman-
The founder of the great House OF
Anglesey was william Paget. son OF one
of the Sergeants of the Masy in the
City Of London. About 500 years ago
the Bathursts were trading as clothiers
at Canterbury and Staplehurst. In time
one Lancelot Bathurst became a London
Alderman. and his grandson secured the
title, Spencer title.
Some so years ago the head OF the
House Of Cavendish, OF which the Duke
of Devonshire now is the chief. was an
obscure land owner in Suffolk. who had
the good fortune to be appointed Treas
urer of the Chamber to the King. He
managed to obtain valuable grants. from
wealth.
The Marquis of Ripon descended from
a line of tradesmen at York. whose
name he bears. and II was behind the
counter that the foundations Of his
house were laid. There would be no
Earl Of Craven today il William Craven.
the son Of a Yorkshire husbandman in
Queen Elizabeth's time. had not taken
IL into his head to tramp to London to
win a fortune. The Earls of Essex are
equally indebted for fortune and rank to
William Capel, a poor Suffolk boy, who.
like William Craven. tramped to London
and found riches John Barring. the son
Of a parson passing rich on $40 year."
similarly became the founder of four
noble houses. two OF earls-Cromer and
two of barons The
Earl of Onslow has for ancestor one
Thomas Foot. who was a grocer's assist
ant in the days of the first Stuart King.
while among other proud peers whose
served behind the counter are
the Earls Brownlow. Denbigh, and Lei
cester.
Perhaps of the most remarkable ro-
of the baronetcy Is that provid-
ed by the history of the Cummings, the
of which. Sir Kenneth
William Cumming, has seen service in
all parts OF the world. Sir Kenneth en-
tered the medical service Of the army in