The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-05-08

Sir Stafford Howard, the newly APP
pointed ecclesiastical commissioner of
Great Britain, and rs such intrusted
with the administration of the prop
erty of the Established Church in
England, is the head OF the ancient
house of Howard Of Greystoke Castle.
i'll Cumberland. and next after tho
Towards of Glosso. in remainder to
the dukedom of Norfolk. to the hercdi-
tary earl marshalship of the kingdom.
to the dignity of premier peer of tho
realm, and TO the possession of Arun-
del Castle, once the home where 1000
years ago Alfred the Great held court
His grandfat her Lord Henry MolyneuX
Howard, was the brother of the twelfth
Duke of Norfolk. Sir Staffords
younger brother, Esme Howard. spent
several years in the United States as
councillor of the English embassy at
Washington, and rs charge d'affaires
He has become n convert to the Church
of Rome, to which his Anglo Roman
wife, Il Princess Giustininni Bandini.
belongs. But Sir Stafford Is a member
of the Established Church.
Sir Stafford was formerly commits
sioner of woods and forests in Eng
land, that Is to say, of the crown es-
tates, and also under secretary for
India. He is married TO n very rich
wife, possessed of extensive estates,
not only In the United Kingdom, but
also in Canada, rs we'll as $4,000 acres
of land In California. She Is tho
daughter of the late Sir Arthur Cowell-
Stcpney, an extremely eccentric baro-
net, who about four years ago was
found dead In village railroad sta
ton in Arizona, after having shaken
off the dust of England from his feet.
and secured letters of naturalization
as an American citizen.
Sir Arthur who In hiS daSS
had been In the diplomatic service,
developed such ecccntricities that his
Wife was obliged to secure n scpara-
ton, and an order OF the court grant
ing her the custody of the only child
of the union, a daughter. Moreover.
on the strength OF afiidavits of the late
Mr.. Gladstone. of Lord Currie. and Of
the late Sir Robert Meade Under Secre-
tary of State for the Colonial Depart
mcnt, also of Lord Sanderson. Sir
Arthur was committed to Il sanatoriun.
and remained undor tho treatment Of
specialists for mental ailments for n
couple of years. On his release no
came to America. and gave vent to his
anger for the persecution to which he
considered himself to have been sub
jcctcd by abjurlng his English ma
tionality
Sir Arthur was very proud OF his
American citizenship, and in writing
crs and of Brooks, two of the most
important clubs in London, OF which
he retained his membership to the
time Of his DEATH always begged that
they should address him as "Mr. Ar
thur Stepney," since, on becoming an
American citizen. he had dropped the
baronetcy for good and all"
While on this side of the Atlantic, he
obtained decree OF divorce in tho
state of Idaho, with the object OF
venting his displeasurc on his wife for
the share which she had taken in es-
tnblishinS his mental uniltness for the
guardianship of their daughter. But
this divorce was never recognized by
the English tribunals. and was de-
clared by them to be invalid. The
widowed Lady Cowcll- Stepney is con-
nectcd with the Wadsworuhs. of Gene
see. y. Y. and her elder sister Is tho
mother of that Sir Bryan leighton
who volunteered for service under tho
American flag during the war with
Spain. and went through the entire
campaign.
All that riverside district of London
now known as Stepney formerly be-
lonEed to the Stepney family. Henry
VII. needed it for docks, and accord
ingly gave in exchange for it several
valuable manors and estates in Hert-
fordshire and in Wales. which now be
long to the former Catherine Cowell-
Stcpney. at present tho wife OF Sir
Stafford Howard. She is able to trace
her descent from the royal house OF
Tudor, and on the tomb, in Llanelly
parish church. OF Sir Thomas Stepncy,
who died in l7i6. 1t is recorded THAI
tho deceased was descended from
Henry VII" Tho painter Vandyke H.
also among her ancestors. his daugh-
ter. Justine. having married Sir John
Stepney. the fourth baronct OF his line,
and Lady Howard has In her posses
sion Il very fine portrait by Vandyko
entitled The Inverted Hand"
Copyright, 1914. by the Brentwood
Company