INTRODUCTION
Welcome to my pages on the members of the Order of the Golden Dawn in the 1890s!
Way-below is a list of all those who were initiated into the GD at its temples in London, Bradford and Edinburgh between 1888 (the year it began) and 1901. There were also temples in Paris and Weston-super-Mare, but I’ve decided to leave their initiates out, Weston-super-Mare because it doesn’t seem to have lasted long, and Paris because of the difficulty in researching its members.
The list of names is based on the data R A Gilbert put in his book The Golden Dawn Companion, published by The Aquarian Press in 1986. Gilbert had inherited the Golden Dawn’s Membership Roll and he transcribed all the signatures written on it, for his book. I used the book and the original Members’ Roll, to make my list; correcting some wrong spellings and adding in one person who was on the Members’ Roll but not in the book - I guess Gilbert must just have overlooked her, amongst so many names.
For the last few years I’ve been working on biographies of the Golden Dawn members in the list below, using the web and libraries in London. While I have not even been able to identify some of the members, I have found an extraordinary amount of information on some of the others.
I’d like to make two important points about what I’ve been doing:
1) Those of you who want to find out about the Golden Dawn’s magic: these biographies are not for you. I’m no magician and I’ve concentrated on the members’ other lives - their day job, if you like - birth, family/relationships, work/income, death.
2) Some of the people on the list have had biographies done already. There are books on:
Allan Bennett
Sir William Crookes
Aleister Crowley; a lot of books on him, of course. My contact at the OTO recommended the one by Tobias Churton.
Florence Farr with coverage of her sister Henrietta Paget and her brother-in-law Henry Marriott Paget
Maud Gonne, including some coverage of her sister Kathleen Pilcher and her cousin Mary Kimble Gonne
Mary Eliza Haweis
Annie Horniman though these tend to concentrate on her later career as a theatrical impresario
William Thomas Horton – a profile at //1890s.ca/horton_bio focusing on his art work
William Forsell Kirby
Samuel Mathers including coverage of his wife Mina (later Moina) née Bergson
Constance Wilde
W B Yeats including some coverage of his uncle George Pollexfen.
The books aren't always easy to find but it still seemed superfluous for me to do any more work on those people.
In addition, I’ve heard of a biography in preparation for William George Lemon; though as at August 2021 I’m not sure that it has been published.
Some members of the GD now have a wikipedia page; for example:
Henry Edward Colvile though there's not much on his second wife, GD member Zelie née de Préville
Robert William Felkin though without much on his first wife, GD member Mary née Mander; or his sister-in-law, GD member Jemima Mander
Isabella Pearce, who wrote as Lily Bell; and her husband Charles William Pearce. In their case there’s also a good PhD available to read online.
Henry Pullen-Burry though without much on his wife, GD member Rose née Anwyl. I have done a life-by-dates of Henry and Rose.
and William Wynn Westcott.
R A Gilbert’s papers, including the Members’ Roll, are now in the archives at the Museum of Freemasonry. A big thank you from me to the archivist and volunteers there, for the help they are still giving me. Here is a message from them, because they would love more people to visit the Museum to work on the Golden Dawn archives:
For anyone wishing to explore the membership or development of the Golden Dawn, archives relating to the Order and its successor bodies are available at the Library and Museum of Freemasonry - all resources have been catalogued with full descriptions for each document [reference: GBR 1991 GD] - see details for these records on the on-line catalogue at: http://www.freemasonry.london.museum/catalogue.php
Some short forms I use in the list of members:
AAR = member Ancient and Accepted Rite
In the GD, which temple were they a member of? Assume Isis-Urania in London – it was the one with most members. Otherwise B = Bradford; B/L = Bradford while living in Liverpool – quite a few of those; E = Edinburgh and P = Paris.
TS = member of the Theosophical Society
SRIA or Socros = member of Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia; membership available to freemasons only
SOCPR = member of the Society for Psychical Research
After the GD: SM = Stella Matutina; IRR = Independent and Rectified Rite or Order.
UPDATE MARCH 2024
I’ve been working on the GD members for quite a few years now! Every so often I have a trawl around the internet to see if any new information has surfaced on GD members. This year’s trawl was a good one. Google is a wonderful thing.
UPDATE JULY 2023
I’m adding to the web pages some files listing the publications of those GD members who ventured into print – a surprising number of them did. In some cases I’ve put into the file a short profile as well.
UPDATE AUGUST 2021
I’ve added in an introductory amount of biographical information to the GD member’s line. I hope it will help particularly with the members whose biographies I haven’t got round to yet! It might also be useful to readers wanting to consider the GD members as a social group.
At last! - the list of members!:
AITKEN, Andrew Peebles. E. Dates 1854-1904. Analytical chemist, academic.
AITKEN, Georgiana or Georgina Burnett. Previous surname Brown. E. Dates 1856-?? Married GD member Andrew Peebles Aitken 1881.
ATHERTON, Jeremiah Leach. B. 1838-1908. Worked in the wool industry. Freemason. SRIA.
AYTON, Anne. Previous surname Hempson. 1820-1898. Teacher before her marriage. Married GD member William Alexander Ayton 1862.
AYTON, William Alexander. 1816-1909. Married GD member Anne Hempson 1862. Cleric, Church of England. Alchemist, occultist; loaned occult Mss to GD members.
Family
History
Occult
Activities
BABINGTON, Anna Mary. Born 1846 London; d 1934 Switzerland. Owner of the Babington Tea Rooms in Rome. Unmarried.
BAKER, Julian Levett. 1873-1958. Friend then brother-in-law of George Cecil Jones. Relation of GD member Katherine Julia Buckman. Analytical chemist. Writer, editor.
Biography
Partial
list of publications.
BARCLAY, Oswald. E. FM in Scotland but not England. Born Portsmouth 1872. Father in Royal Artillery. Family in Edinburgh by 1891. Oswald worked for Inland Revenue in Edinburgh. Official/ceremonial appointments in Edinburgh; freedom of city, CBE 1933. Died 1942.
BARRACLOUGH, James. B. ?1845-1902.
BATES, Emily Katherine or Katharine. 1846-1922. Traveller, novelist. Spiritualist.
Her life-by-dates:
Family
Background and Early Years
1850s
to 1871
1870s
to 1885
1885-93
including Kat and the GD
1894
to 1898
1900
to 1902
1903
to July 1907
1907
to 1922
Her travels: US and Canada 1885-86
The
Voyage Out; Boston, New York, Washington
Philadelphia
to the Grand Canyon
Los
Angeles, Yosemite
San
Francisco, British Columbia, Yellowstone
Montana,
Utah, Colorado
Back
East: Chicago, Ontario, New York; and home
Her travels: Australasia, China, Japan, Alaska, Canada 1887-88
BEASLEY, Thomas Henry. IU. FM in 1870s. Born c 1838. Died1889. Ex-policeman; worked in a coroner’s office.
BEAUFORT, Edith Jermyn. IU. Born 1861. Parents accountant William Barton Ford and 2nd wife Elizabeth Jermyn. Large family. Edith: journalist and novelist. Married journalist/editor Ernest Beaufort 1887; no children; they had separated by mid-1890s. Suicide April 1898.
BENNETT, Charles Henry Allan. Lived Sri Lanka 1901-14 as Buddhist monk, Bhikku Ananda Metteya. 1872-1923. Analytical chemist. Taught Crowley.
BENNETT, Ida Previous surname Turner. 1849-1910. Married Adrian Bennett 1869.
BERGSON, Mina. see MATHERS
BERRIDGE, Edward William. 1844-1920. Doctor; homoeopath; writer, editor, compiler of a Materia Medica. Follower of Thomas Lake Harris; writer, editor.
BLACKDEN, Ada Mary. 1872-1965. Sister of GD member Marcus Worsley Blackden.
BLACKDEN, Marcus Worsley. 1864-1934. Brother of GD member Ada Mary Blackden. Artist; Egyptologist. After the GD: freemason; IRR/O.
Family
and Youth
Egypt
and the Golden Dawn
After
the Golden Dawn
Book
of the Dead – Chapter 62; Hymn to Osiris
BLACKWELL, Anna. 1816-1900. Sister of Dr Elizabeth Blackwell. Journalist. Feminist. Spiritualist. Translator of works of Allan Kardec.
BLACKWOOD, Algernon. 1869-1951. Writer. Broadcaster.
BLYTH, Lilian Grace Mary see PRAEGER
BORTHWICK, Gabrielle Margaret Ariana. 1866-1952. TS. Car and motorbike driver; mechanic. Owner of the Borthwick School of Motoring and Engineering. Unmarried.
BOXER, Edward. 1856-1935. Naval family. Worked in a bank. Married by 1876; separated by 1901.
BRETTELL, John. C 1830-1901. Founder of T and J Brettell of Smethwick, iron workers and engineers.
BRIGGS, Mary. 1869-1909. Psychic. Married Howard Swan 1900; then lived US, Japan, China.
BRODIE-INNES, Frances Annesley. E. 1853-1942. Daughter of Rev Charles Voysey, founder of the Theist church. Sister of GD member Henrietta Voysey; and of architect/designer Charles Annesley Voysey. Married GD member John William Brodie-Innes 1879. TS.
BRODIE-INNES, John William. E. 1848-1923. Barrister and advocate. Married GD member Frances Annesley Brodie-Innes 1879. TS.
BROOKES, William Thomas Percy. Born 1874. Still alive September 1939.
BROOMHEAD see ROWE.
BROWN, Robert SMITH see SMITH BROWN
BUBNA, Count Franz Otto. ?1847 or ?1841-?? Stockbroker. Born ?Austria. Living in England 1890s. TS in London.
BUCKMAN, Katherine Julia. 1863-1928. Daughter of naturalist James Buckman. Relation of GD member Julian Levett Baker. 1898 married William George Hutchison (d 1907).
BULLOCK, Percy William. 1868-1940. Solicitor's clerk; then qualified as a solicitor and ran his own business. TS. Married GD member Pamela CARDEN 1894.
BURNETT, Emily. 1839-1915. Sister-in-law of William Wynn Westcott. Copyist.
BURRY, Henry Pullen. see PULLEN-BURRY.
BURRY, Rose Pullen. see PULLEN-BURRY.
BUTLER later HUNTER, Harriette Dorothea. 1867-1958. Sister of Chris Cohen. Married Edmund Hunter 1896, 2 sons. See below, THE HUNTERS AND THE BUTLERS
CALDECOTT, Marion. Previous surname Brind. 1850-1932. Daughter of a wine merchant. Married illustrator Randolph Caldecott 1880.
CALLIE, James William Stewart. B; lived Liverpool. 1857-1940. B. Worked for the Financial Reform Association; writer on free trade.
CAMPBELL, John MacNaught. E. C 1850-after 1915. Trained as a surveyor. Naturalist. Curator, Kelvingrove Museum Glasgow. Freemason.
CARDEN, Alexander James.
1839-1897. Son of Robert Carden, banker and first Baronet.
Married GD member Anne Rule Carden 1863.
CARDEN,
Ann Rule. Previous surname Clements. 1841-1924.
Married GD member Alexander James Carden 1863. 5 sons 2
daughters including GD member Pamela Carden Bullock.
CARDEN, Pamela. 1871-1929. Married GD member Percy William Bullock 1894. See entry for BULLOCK, Percy William
CATHCART, Mrs Agnes. E. Née Baxter. First cousin of GD members Cecilia Macrae and Florence Kennedy, through the Laing family. 1835-1913. Married Robert Cathcart 1857; three sons. . See also the LAINGFAMILY file, at MACRAE, CECILIA
CATTANACH, Andrew Petri. E. 1856-1939. Worked for Cowan and Co, paper-makers, in Edinburgh and then London. Freemason. TS. Friend of Isabel de Steiger. Later: Bahai.
CHAMBERS Violet. Initiated as Chambers but see TWEEDALE
CLARK, Frederick Stewart. This identification is rather tentative as the man seems a bit young. IU. Born London 1872, son of a stockbroker. In 1891 was studying for the diplomatic service though he doesn’t seem to have been sent abroad. Died London 1898.
CLAYTON, Fanny Isabel. B. 1863-1934. Daughter of GD member Joseph Clayton. Teacher, colleague of GD member Eliza Craven. See entry for CLAYTON, Joseph..
CLAYTON, Joseph. B. 1837-1912. Father of GD member Fanny Isabel Clayton. Teacher; then ran the family cookware shop. Spiritualist.
COFFIN, Thomas Walker. 1840-1904. GP and surgeon in Cornwall, then London. Freemason. SRIA.
COHEN, Chris. Original name Mary Ann Louise Butler, sister of Harriette Dorothea Butler, later Hunter. 1869-1946. Married (1) 1888 Maximilian Cohen, (2) 1907 David Hercules Robertson. See below, THE HUNTERS AND THE BUTLERS
COLLETT, Edith Grace. Born India 1869 d Italy 1927. Doctor possibly specialising in TB.
COLLINSON, John. C 1835-1906. Worked In London for the Great Northern Railway. Freemason. SRIA.
COLVILE, Henry Edward. 1852-1907. Married GD member Zélie de Préville 1886. Career army officer, in same regiment as husband of GD member Albertina Herbert. Served Africa, Burma [Myanmar], Gibraltar, Boer War. Killed in motorcycle accident.
COLVILE, Zélie. Previous surname de Préville. 1861-1930. Born France; mother English. Married GD member Henry Edward Colvile 1886; 1 son. Travel writer, FRGS.
COOMBS, William Godwin. C 1833-1919. Doctor, specialising mental health.
COOPER, Augustus Montague. Probably son of Augustus Montague Cooper (1820-80) of the Indian Army; married 1845 Elizabeth Borthwick. GD member born 1864, surname registered as Morten as his parents weren’t married. Mother Mary Ann, probably born 1840, using surname Cooper after 1881. GD member lived north London. Professional musician ?teacher of music mid-1890s. Later, salesman for firm making pianos and organs. Unmarried at 1911. Died Brighton 1940.
COPE, George Cope. Born as Pinniger, surname change 1867. 1855-1931. Barrister.
CORYN, Herbert Alfred William. Surname spelled CorIn until 1870s. 1863-1927. Brother of GD member Sidney Coryn; brother-in-law of GD member Jessie Louisa HORNE. TS. GP in South London. Emigrated 1898 to Point Loma theosophical community, San Diego.
CORYN, Sidney Glasson Pierce. Surname spelled CorIn until 1870s. 1865-1921. Brother of GD member Herbert Coryn; married 1888 Agnes, sister of GD member Jessie Louisa Horne. TS. Worked for Canadian Railway Co. Emigrated to USA 1902; editor of the San Francisco Argonaut. Daughter Marjorie was an author.
CRACKNELL, Maud. 1858-1950. Daughter of a pharmacist. Living in 2nd Order rooms 1900.
CRAVEN, ELIZA. B. 1866 to after 1901. Born Kirkstall. Father worked in a stuff mill in Bradford. See entry for CLAYTON, Joseph.
CRESWELL, Keppel Archibald Cameron known as Archibald. 1879-1974. Architectural historian specialising in Fatimid Egypt; lived Egypt 1919-73.
CROOKE, Herbert. B; lived Liverpool. 1860-1931. Engine fitter; then worked for insurance companies. TS.
CROOKES, William B. 1832-1919. Chemist, physicist, editor, inventor eg the Crookes tube. Spiritualist. SOCPR. FRS. Knighted 1897.
CROWE, Frederick Joseph William. 1862-1931. Organist, conductor, working for Church of England. Freemason; writer on and collector of masonic regalia.
CROWLEY, Aleister. 1875-1947.
CUNNINGHAM, Marion. Previous surname Ellis. 1859-1930. Married John Strange Cunningham, Canada ?1891; 1 daughter; separated ?1894. Playwright. WSPU; then Women’s Freedom League
DAVIDSON, Alexander Gordon. 1860-1924. GP; after c.1903 worked in Ghana as medical officer, Tarquah gold mines. Freemason.
DAVIES, Jane Anna. Previous surname Greenaway. 1835-1908. Psychic. Married journalist and teacher Rev Charles Maurice Davies 1856.
DE BLAQUIÈRE, [Caroline] Dora. Previous surname Bettridge, sometimes spelled BettEridge. 1838-1901. Born and died Canada. Married Charles de Blaquière 1865 (he died 1869). Journalist in Europe 1880s, 1890s, for Girl’s Own Paper.
DE BRÉMONT, Anna. Previous surname Dunphy. 1852-1922. Born USA. Married Émile Léon, Comte de Brémont 1877. Singer; then journalist, poet, novelist.
DE PALLANDT, Agnes Alicia Margaret. Original surname MacLean. Surname Wade between 1879 and 1881. 1849-1925. Friend of Blavatsky. TS.
DE STEIGER, Isabel (correctly Isabelle). IU; B/L; E. Previous surname Lace. 1836-1927. Married Rudolph Adelf von Steiger 1861. Artist, writer, translator. TS. Friend of Anna Bonus Kingsford and Mary Ann Atwood.
Her life, in date order:
1836-1872
1873
to May 1878
1883
and 1884
January
1885 to February 1888
February 1888 to end 1889: Isabel joins the GD
1900-1927
Some Files on her work as a painter and commentator
on art:
Isabel’s
art works: by date
Isabel’s
art works: alphabetical by title
Isabel’s
career as an artist
Isabel
on art
Details
of works exhibited
DENT, Vyvyan Edward John. 1862-1929. Lived Shanghai. Official in the China Inland Customs service.
DICKSON, George. E. Born c 1839 Edinburgh. MD Aberdeen 1864. LRCP Edinburgh, LRCS Edinburgh 1863. GP in Edinburgh. TS. Very active in freemasonry, fringe masonry and other occult groups, in Edinburgh and England. Member, Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia (SRIS), the Scotland offshoot of SRIA. Wife Elizabeth. 3 daughters; Janet, known as Jennie, some art and design work. 1 son, William Elliot Carnegie Dickson, important in London occult circles between the world wars. George died 1909.
DODD, Frank. 1871-1955. Worked for the British Bank of South America. Moved to Rio de Janeiro mid-1890s. Friend, ?colleague of Herbert CROSSLEY MORRIS.
DOUGLAS, Emily. B. Previous surname West. 1851-?? Worsted weaver before her marriage. Married GD member John Andrew Douglas 1883.
DOUGLAS, John Andrew. B. Born c1849; died ?1917. Book-keeper. Married GD member Emily Douglas 1883.
DRUMMOND, Edith. C 1874-?? Daughter of GD
member Emily Ann Drummond. Comason.
DRUMMOND, Emily
Ann. Previous surname Mason. Born York 1854; died
Edinburgh 1910. Married James Drummond 1872. Mother of GD
member Edith Drummond. Comason; writer on freemasonry.
Joint
Entry
DRUMMOND, Mary.
DUNCAN, Isabella see C W PEARCE
DUNCAN, Thomas Appleton. B; lived Liverpool. 1850-1922. Cleric, Church of England. TS.
DUNCKLEY, Joseph, known as Joe. B. Born c 1832; d 1912. Labourer in the woollen industry. TS. Married (1) 1853 Hannah Stephenson, several children; (2) 1878 Mary Ann Abbott. Friend of Thomas PATTINSON.
DUNN, Edward John. 1867-1926. Surveyor. Lived York, then Middlesbrough. TS. Sister Charlotte married (1899) Samuel Veale Bracher, founder of the Tolstoyan Whiteway House colony, Stroud.
DUNN, William Arthur. 1866-1921. Musician, conductor. TS. Emigrated 1902 to the Point Loma theosophical community, San Diego.
DURAND, James Madison. IU then Paris. Probably born
1870 Newark New Jersey; artist; probably died 1920 Brooklyn. Artist.
Knew Strindberg, Paris 1890s.
DURAND, Theodosia.
Original surname Moore. 1863-1949. Born and died
California. Artist; later raconteur, journalist. Married
GD member James Madison Durand 1893 in Channel Islands; divorced
1917. Lived Paris, Egypt, Italy; then mainly US from 1914.
In the
GD; and rather sketchy life of James Madison Durand
Theodosia Durand: the Moore Family; Theodosia’s life as an artist
Theodosia Durand: life-by-dates 1914 to spring 1926
Theodosia Durand: life-by-dates 1927 to 1949
EDWARDS, Bogdan Edward.
Original surname Jastrzebski. C 1860-1923. Brother of GD
member Louis/Lewis Stanley Jastrzebski, later Jast. Husband of
GD member Henrietta Edwards. Surgeon Halifax; then GP
Brighouse. FM. SRIA. AOL Garuda Temple Bradford.
EDWARDS,
Henrietta. Previous surname Palmer. 1861-1927. Wife
of GD member Bogdan Edwards. Worked as a hosier before her
marriage.
Jastrzebski Brothers and Poland
ELLIOT, Eleanor Blanche. Previous surname Bruce;
mother’s original name Corbet. 1864-1947. Married GD
member Hugh Elliot 1896.
ELLIOT, John Hugh
Armstrong known as Hugh. 1861-1948. Married GD member
Eleanor Blanche Bruce 1896. Barrister; editor at Heinemanns;
part-owner Rebmans.
ELLIS, Frank Tate. 1861-1928. Son of a railway porter. Trained teacher. Worked for Church Missionary Society at Bishop Gobat school Jerusalem 1888-1925. Married twice; both wives were missionaries in Palestine. Died in Jerusalem.
ELPHICK, William Henry. IU. Born circa 1828 in Rotherfield Sussex. Master baker working in the family bakery until the 1870s. Married 1857 Mary Ann Leeming (she died 1892); 5 daughters 1 son. Family moved to Deptford in the 1870s and Elphick then worked in an office and as a music teacher. Interested in Euclid and the practical applications of maths, and had surveying experience. May have known Sydney Turner Klein, initiated on the same day. Elphick died Deptford 1912.
EMERY, Florence see under FARR
EUSUF, Mohammed. Surname usually spelled YUSUF. C 1872-1928. Born Patna. ICS; judge in Burma, Calcutta. Change of name by deed poll 1926 to Maurice Dean.
FARQUHAR, William Muir. C 1863-1939. Born Amritsar. Cleric, Church of England.
FARR, Florence. 1860-1917. Farr is her original surname. Married 1884 Edward Anderson Emery; divorced 1895 and reverted to original surname.
FELKIN, Mary Jane. Previous surname Mander. 1855-1903. Married GD member Robert William Felkin 1882; sister of GD member Jemima Tertia MANDER.
FELKIN, Robert William. 1853-1926. Married 1) GD member Mary Jane Felkin 1882; 2) GD/Stella Matutina member Harriet Miller Davidson 1908. Brother-in-law of GD member Jemima Tertia MANDER; father of Stella Matutina member Ethelwyn Felkin. Missionary work in Africa; FRGS 1880. Physician, taught tropical medicine Edinburgh 1880s, 1890s; knew Edith Grace COLLETT. Writer, translator. Moved to London 1894; GP. Founder of Stella Matutina 1903. Emigrated to NZ 1915.
FFOULKES, Louise Florence Wynne. Original surname Jeffreys. Born NZ c 1853; d 1936. Married Rev Henry Wynne ffoulkes 1881; he was first cousin of GD member Marian Charlotte Vibart. Friend of GD members Hugh and Blanche Eleanor Elliot. Poet.
FIRTH, Oliver and Florence. Both Bradford; both TS. Oliver: 1860-1939. Florence: nee SPINK so see also SPINK SISTERS; 1868-1939, married Oliver Firth 1890, 3 children. Firth owned a TB sanatorium.
FIRTH, Walter. 1859/60-1915.
FORSYTH, Alice Jane. Uncertain identification but probably c 1849-??
FORTESCUE Ethel Peverell Freda Fryer née Davis. Daughter of a naval officer. 1862-1938. Married Frederick Ernest Fryer Fortescue 1884; one child. Friend of Pamela Colman Smith.
FREEMAN, Francis. 1848-1920. Worked in a bank.
FULHAM HUGHES, Helen Priscilla, known as Reena. Born New Zealand ?1851. Died 1916. Married (1) ?1872 Archibald Little RN, 2 children; (2) 1896 Alfred Joseph Fulham Hughes. Had reverted to the use of surname 'Little' by 1911.
GARDNER, Frederick Leigh. 1857-1929. Stockbroker. Book collector. TS. Freemason. SRIA. Collector of occult books; would buy and sell for other occultists. Married Miriam Joseph 1885; 1s. They divorced 1911. Correspondent of WESTCOTT until W’s death 1925.
GARDNER, Joseph Knight. 1864-c 1926. B/L.
Married GD member Rachel Taylor 1895 Accounts clerk. Emigrated
to Canada 1908. TS Liverpool and Canada.
GARDNER,
Rachel. B/L. Original surname Taylor. 1867-1929.
Married GD member Joseph Knight Gardner 1895. Emigrated to
Canada 1908. TS Liverpool and Canada.
Joint
Entry
GASKELL,
Ellen Sophie. Original surname Atkins; 1855-1940; married
George Arthur Gaskell 1895. Occultist; writer on diet, occult.
Spiritualist medium.
GASKELL,
George
Arthur. 1843-1933; Not a member. List of
literary and artistic works.
GIBSON, John
GILLISON, Jean Brash. See NISBET.
GLYNES, Webster. 1836-1919. Solicitor. Married 1898 US writer/actress Ella Dietz (1847-1920). Freemason; knew GD members William George Lemon and Harold Levett. Friend of US psychic Cora Richmond.
GOBERT, Frederic Charles. 1873-1947. Carpenter and joiner. IU
GONNE, Mary Kimble. 1863-1929. First cousin of GD members Maud Gonne and Kathleen Pilcher. Married 1902 Neville Sneyd Clay or Bertie-Clay.
GONNE, [Edith] Maud. 1866-1953. Political activist. 3 children. Married 1903 John MacBride.
GONNE, Kathleen see PILCHER
GOOLD, William Albert. 1847-1927; born and died in Walsall. Owned a leather-goods business. Married 1875 Harriet Ann Rowbotham. Daughter Ethel Goold worked in the family business.
GORDON, Alice. Original surname Heath or Heath-Tomlinson. C 1843-?? Married 1863 William Gordon of the Bengal Police. Met Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Col Olcott in India 1879. Also knew Alfred and Patience Sinnett in India and England. Husband retired 1889. TS. Writer on spiritualism.
GRAHAM, William Marten. Born 1848 Herts. Civil servant, Admiralty. Freemason. Married to Alice by 1881. Died 1911. First cousin of GD member John A S HASTIE; their mothers were sisters.
GRANT, Mrs Margaret Jane Dalziel.
GRASON, Charles Herbert. B though lived Leamington after 1894. 1867-1916. ?relation of GD member W H Grason. Ran a watch-making and jewellery business. Married 1896 Margaret Mary Walsh.
GRASON, William Hall. ?relation of GD member C H Grason. ?probably died 1890s.
GREENHOUGH, William Henry. Born Bradford 1856 but grew up Manchester. Librarian, Manchester then Reading. Married 1888 Catherine (Kate) Freeman. Died 1930.
HAILEY, Alfred Difficult to identify; possibly worked at the Admiralty 1880s. TS; knew GD member Alice Gordon.
HAMILTON, Lina Rowan. More usually ROWAN HAMILTON so see under ROWAN HAMILTON
HANDYSIDE, James. E.
1845-1905. Born Edinburgh. Office worker: GP practice; then
coal merchant. Married GD member Lucy Handyside by 1881. TS.
HANDYSIDE, Lucy. E. Original surname Hurt.
Born 1848 in Gainsborough; father a baptist minister, later living in
Scotland. Married to GD member James Handyside by 1881. TS.
After her husband’s death, ran a hat shop in Edinburgh. Died 1931.
HARBORD, Lady Eleanor. Daughter of the Duke of Grafton; original surname Fitzroy. 1853-1905. Married 1) 1872 Herbert Fitzroy Eaton; 2) Walter Harbord; div 1900; 3) 1904 Herbert Magniac. TS.
HARRISON, Francis Drake. B. Difficult to identify. Freemason. TS. Co-mason; Grand Secretary in UK until 1912. Wife’s name Mary.
HASTIE, John A S. Born 1862. Grew up Herts but father’s family Scottish. First cousin of William Marten Graham; their mothers were sisters. By 1891 ran a paint and oil-selling business in Glasgow.
HAWEIS, Mary Eliza. Original surname Joy. 1848-1898. Married Rev Hugh Haweis 1867. Artist, designer; writer of books on good taste.
HENDERSON, George Jacob. B; lived Middlesbrough. Born 1851 London. By 1891 managing a boot shop in Middlesbrough. Married 1876 Juliana Newton. Probably died 1916.
HERBERT, Albertina. Original surname Denison. 1854-1929.
Life by dates; occult life by dates; the diaries
In the Hermetic Society (maybe); in the GD (definitely)
Occult Episodes 1891-98 plus Theosophical Society 1909
HILL, Amy Jane. B/L. Original surname Earp. 1860-1939. Teacher before her marriage. Married 1894 as second wife GD member John Hill. TS.
HILL, John. B/L. Born c 1847. Book-keeper; then commercial traveller. Married (1) Elizabeth; large family. Married (2) GD member Amy Earp, 2 children. TS very active. Died 1915.
HILL, Luther. B. Born 1864 son of a draper. Warehouseman; then cloth-dealer. Married 1888 Lucy Hannah Brown; 3 daughters. Went to Canada (on his own) 1907; died in Canada. Declared bankrupt in England. TS.
HOPGOOD, William Charles. B; lived Middlesbrough. Born 1854 into a family of doctors. May have been related to GD member James Handyside. Trained Edinburgh, UCL. Then a GP with his father to 1880; in Middlesbrough 1880-1914; in Hastings 1914-37. Freemason. Amateur artist. Married (1) 1893 Ann Stainsby Gardiner (2) 1937 Lucy Martin. Died 1937.
HORNE, Jessie Louisa. Born south London 1862. Mother ran a hat and dress shop in Stockwell. Sister Agnes married 1888 GD member Sidney Coryn. Teacher, working for LCC; later headmistress of a school in Plumstead. TS; interested in yoga. Died 1948.
HORNIMAN, Annie Elizabeth Frederica. 1860-1937.
HORTON, William Thomas. Born Brussels 1864. Lived Brighton. Trained as an architect but worked as a book illustrator – see //1890s.ca/horton_bio for more on that. Correspondent of W B Yeats 1896-1919. Married 1888 Fanny Ryde; 1 son; they separated c 1904. Later relationship with Amy Aubrey Locke (1881-1916). Died 1919.
HUMPHRYS, William Evans Hugh. 1876-1950. Motor car enthusiast, journalist, magazine owner, businessman, inventor. Married (1911) Jessie Holliday; 1 son.
1876-1906
including the GD
1907-end
1909
1910-1950
HUNTERS and BUTLERS: Harriette Dorothea Butler, later Hunter (1867-1958). Dorothea’s sister Mary Ann Louise Cohen, née Butler, known as Chris (1869-1946). Edmund Arthur Hunter (1866-1937). Amy Turner, née Hunter (1865-1945). Fanny Beatrice Hunter (1863-1938).
Two
Butlers, two Hunters and one Turner
The
Butlers, Hunters and Turner in the Golden Dawn
Edmund
and Dorothea and St Edmundsbury Weavers
HUNTER, William Sutherland. E; lived Glasgow. Not related to the Hunters above, as far as I know. Born c 1850. Worked for the family firm, originally John Hunter and Sons, grain dealers. TS. Freemason. Book collector. Correspondent of GD member Frederick Leigh Gardner. Unmarried. Died 1938.
JACOB, George. Born 1862/63 son of a grocer. Lived Ipswich. Clerk in a solicitor’s office. Unmarried. Died 1939. IU, then IRR.
JAMIESON, James. E. Born Bowden 1841; died Edinburgh 1905. GP. LRCP Edinburgh and LRCS Edinburgh 1864. Living in Chile late 1860s; then GP in Edinburgh at 43 George Square. Elder of the kirk, St Giles Cathedral. Married Agnes Boyd; 2 sons.
JASTRZEBSKI, Lewis/Louis Stanley, known as Stan. 1895 changed surname to Jast (pronounced with a ‘J’). 1868-1944. Son of a Polish immigrant. Brother of GD member Bogdan Edwards; brother-in-law of GD member Henrietta Edwards. Librarian in Peterborough, Croydon and 1915-34 Manchester. Poet; dramatist. Married 1925 Millicent Murby.
A
life by dates
Belief,
magic and love
Poems
and Epigrams
JEFFERSON, George Drinkall. B; lived Yorkshire. Born 1843. Sometime farmer. Married Mary Dannatt Foster 1872; large family. Very little else known; death unidentified.
JOHNSON, Frederick Jabez. Born 1862. Lived London. ?Freemason. TS. Knew GD member Herbert CORYN. Married 1899 Elizabeth Maria Flinn. Sales rep for Lysol Ltd, wholesale chemists. Died 1919.
JONES, George Cecil. 1873-1960. Friend of GD member Julian BAKER; married Julian’s sister Ethel 1905. Chemical engineer; later in business as an analytical chemist. Occultist. Friend of Aleister Crowley to 1911.
JUBB, Frank. B; lived Halifax. Born 1864 son of GP. GP himself in Halifax; then Peckham. Married 1897 Violet Lucy Donovan. Died Peckham 1932.
KENNEDY, Florence E S. Original surname Laing. 1853/54-1952. Sister of GD member Cecilia MACRAE; sister-in-law of GD member Louisa Ida MACRAE; cousin of GD member Agnes CATHCART. Married 1) 1879 Edward Sherard Kennedy; 2) 1902 Ioannes Gennadius. Artist. For her family, see also LAINGFAMILY file, at MACRAE, CECILIA
Florence
Kennedy to 1902-ish
Florence
and Edward Sherard Kennedy as Artists
KERR, George. E. Born 1850; died 1924. Father a businessman importing fish and fish products. MA Oxford; MB CM Edinburgh 1882 but may not have practised. Member, Fishery Board for Scotland 1904. Wife Helen Louisa née Howden a campaigner on housing and nursing issues; long wikipedia article on her. Helen and George both part of the social circle around Patrick Geddes.
KIRBY, William Forsell. Born 1844 Leicester. Entomologist, specialist in butterflies. Worked for the Natural History Museum 1879 to retirement 1909. Translator. Publications: entomology, poetry, translations from Finnish and Arabic. F Linnean Society. Member, Folklore Society. Married 1866 Johanna Maria Kappel (died 1893); 1 son. Spiritualist. Hermetic Society; knew Anna Bonus Kingsford. TS. Died 1912.
KLEIN, Sydney Turner, Profile and Publications
KNEVITT, Herbert Dr. Born 1867 son of naval officer. LRCP, MRCS 1891; GP in Ealing. Married (1)1897 Alice Ada Spencer; divorced 1904. Married (2) 1916 Alice Marian Thorp. Died 1943.
LACY, John Valentine. 1867-1947. Born Agra, son of a Brahmin convert to Christianity. Grew up Edinburgh; adopted by Vibart family so see Marion VIBART. Worked for Biltor Ltd of Oxford Street, pipe and cigarette holder makers. TS. Unmarried.
LAMBERT, William Henry.
LAMMIN, Harriett Emily. Original surname Skelton. Born Lincolnshire 1853 daughter of a brewer. Married 1888 as second wife Archer Davison Lammin. They were living in Bilbao 1890s 1900s. Living in Deal by 1929. Died St John’s Wood 1938.
LANCASTER, Harold N. Born 1872 son of William Lancaster, an underwriter. Living Channel Islands 1891. Initiated 1894 so still alive then; no trace after that year and ‘dead’ written in GD records.
LANGRIDGE, Minnie Constance; aka Mlle Marguerite
LAW, forename(s) unreadable so unknown by R A Gilbert.
LEMON, Rev Dr Thomas William. 1846-1919. Cleric, Church of England; various appointments in Devon and Cornwall. Very active freemason, mostly in Devon. SRIA. Married 1894 Mary Louisa Brian.
LEMON, William George. Born ?1831. University of London 1853, 1866. Teacher. Bar, Lincoln’s Inn 1866; barrister. Freemason; very active, very eminent. SRIA. Local government: Lewisham vestry; London School Board; LCC. Married 1855 Selina Kent. Died 1897.
LEVETT, Harold John. 1845-1927. Worked for the London Joint Stock Bank; last posting as manager of its Paddington branch. TS; knows Edward BOXER. Freemason; knows Webster GLYNES. Married 1870 Mary Ann Selina (Marian) Cornelius.
LITTLE, Helen see FULHAM HUGHES
LLOYD, Irene Augusta Ada. 1861-1959 Married 1898 Alfred Holtzer. Cape Colony 1898 to 1914. TS in South Africa. Divorced 1923. ?Co-mason. ?Liberal Catholic Church. Died England.
LOVE, Laura Gertrude. Original surname unknown. Couldn’t identify her.
LOVELL, Arthur probably the professional name of David Williams or David Coethyr Williams. Therapist – breathing techniques, relaxation. Writer – mind/body/spirit. Freemason. Spiritualism. Born Wales 1862/63. If identification correct, wife’s name is Susan; living Willesden 1911; died 1930.
MACBEAN, Edward. E; lived Glasgow. Born Canada 1846 son of a Presbyterian minister. Married Priscilla Stewart 1869. Founded Edward Macbean and Co of Glasgow, which made waterproofs. Freemason; knew many GD members. SRIA. TS. FRGS. Member, Philosophical Society Glasgow. Died 1919.
MACHEN, Arthur; correctly Jones-Machen. Born 1863 son of CofE vicar. Editor, cataloguer, translator of French; short story writer. Friend of A E WAITE. Married (1) 1887 Amy Hogg; (2) 1903 Dorothy Purefoy Hudleston. Died 1947.
MCFARLANE (later MACFARLANE), William Evan. 1866-1919. Missionary family. Trained as a doctor. Astronomer. Lived Loyalty Islands, Mongolia, South Africa, Australia.
MACKENZIE, Alexandrina. Original surname Aydin. C 1848-1908. Married 1) 1872 Kenneth MacKenzie the freemason and occultist. Married 2) 1893 George Alfred Parratt.
MACKAY, Edward. B. TS FM. AOL Garuda Temple Bradford. Born Greenock c 1848 living Bradford by 1871. Registered pharmacist; ran own business in Broadstones then Forster Square. Married 1876 Mary Clay (she died 1903); 1 d 2s. Died 1925.
MACLAREN, Mrs Emily.
MACMILLAN, Albert Duncan. Born Ireland 1862/1863-1945; father worked in HM Customs. Civil servant, Inland Revenue; firstly in Croydon, then Norwich. Retired to Kent; some publications on tax and tax law. Married 1892 Florence Grain; possible 2nd marriage by 1939. Died 1945.
THE TWO MACRAEs
LAING
FAMILY re Agnes Cathcart, Florence
Kennedy and Cecilia Macrae.
MACRAE,
Cecilia Mary Bruce. Original surname Laing.
1848-1942. Sister of GD member Florence Kennedy; sister-in-law
of GD member Louisa Ida Macrae; cousin of GD member Agnes Cathcart.
Married 1877 Charles Colin Macrae.
MACRAE,
Louisa Ida. 1857-1943 Sister-in-law of GD member
Cecilia Macrae and GD member Florence Kennedy.
KENNARD,
Mary Eliza. 1850-1936. Sister of Cecilia and
Florence. Not a GD member. Married Edward Kennard 1870.
Sportswoman. Writer of fiction and articles on motoring.
MAITINSKY sometimes MAITINSKI, Florence Lily. Original surname unknown. ??-?? Married George J Maitinsky, manager of grocer’s shop in Bedford Park, 1890s. TS. Acquaintance of Frederick Leigh Gardner.
MAJOR, Alice Elizabeth. She does not appear in Gilbert’s book but she is on the GD Members’ Roll now at the Freemasons’ Library. Born 1849. Father was curator of British Museum map collection. Letters from her published Light 1883. Living Italy, then Belgium 1890s. Vegetarian campaigner. Died Nice 1906.
MALDEN, Charles Herbert. 1857-1932. Cleric, Church of England; in Madras Presidency 1890s; then England. Freemason; writer on ritual, and history of freemasonry in southern India.
MANDER, Jemima Tertia. 1857-1935. Younger sister of GD member Mary Jane FELKIN. Family owned Mander Brothers of Wolverhampton, paint and varnish manufacturers. Therefore sister-in-law of GD member Robert William FELKIN. Unmarried; independent income.
MAPLES, Caroline. ?1854-1922. Original surname Williams. Born Manchester. Married Charles Maples 1877; he died 1878; 2 sons. TS Lived Llandudno then Chiswick where acquaitance of Frederick Leigh Gardner.
MARTYN, Elizabeth Anne. Born 1850/51 ?Cornwall. Active in Humanitarian League; Women’s Vegetarian Union; Pioneer Club. Writer on diet. Died 1897.
MATHERS, Mina; later Moina. IU then Paris. Very little known. Born 1865 as Bergson, ?Geneva. Jewish by birth. Sister of philosopher Henri Bergson. Slade School of |Art; knew Annie Horniman. Shared a studio late 1880s with Beatrice Offor. Some exhibited paintings late 1880s; most of her art done for GD and now lost. Married Samuel Liddell Mathers 1890; GD member Rev William Ayton conducted the service. Lived Paris 1892-?1918. Ran a post-GD order London 1920s. Died 1928 London.
MATHERS, Samuel Liddell; later MacGregor Mathers. GD founder. IU then Paris; expelled from GD in England 1900. Born London 1854. Occultist, translator of occult manuscripts. Freemason. SRIA. Hermetic Society; close friend of Anna Bonus Kingsford. Married Mina Bergson 1890. Lived Paris 1892-his death 1918.
MIDGLEY, John. B. TS with wife Sarah; secretary of Bradford Lodge. Old Baildon family. Born 1859/60. Book-keeper, worked for Bradford Corporation. Married Sarah Moore 1884; 2 d 2 sons both killed in WW1. Died 1918.
MILLS, Elizabeth Watkin, see WATKIN MILLS.
MINSON, George Samuel. Born 1845 London. Son of George, a tailor; and Barbara, a dress-maker. Father of GD member Mabel Hathaway Minson. Worked in a bank; was a branch manager by 1881. GD member Mabel Hathaway MINSON later MORRIS is his daughter. Died 1902.
MINSON, Mabel Hathaway 1876-1954 Daughter of GD member George Samuel Minson. Married 1898 GD member Herbert Crossley MORRIS; he died 1899. 1911 living with her mother in Kent.
MOFFAT, Kate Rankin. E, then IU. Born 1860 Edinburgh. DOD unknown but possibly after 1922. Living Fulham c 1901; had left London by 1903; living Edinburgh 1911. Daughter of John Moffat who ran a photography business; younger sister of Sophia Elizabeth Moffat. Some music publications with brother Alfred Moffat. Brother Arthur Elwell Moffat was an artist. TS. Friend of John William Brodie-Innes. Member, Independent and Rectified Rite; member SM ?1920s.
MOFFAT, Sophia Elizabeth. E, IU. Born 1856 Edinburgh. DOD unknown possibly by 1911. Daughter of John Moffat who ran a photography business; elder sister of Kate R Moffat. Brother Arthur Elwell Moffat was an artist; brother Alfred Moffat was a song-writer. Living in England 1890s; as a teacher; living Fulham c 1901. TS. Member, Independent and Rectified Rite.
MOLESWORTH, Arthur Hilton. 1860-1928. Son of a CofE cleric. Unmarried. Barrister, Inner Temple 1885; may not have practised much. Astronomer, member Royal Astronomical Society 1892; patent for a geocentric astronomical chart 1894. Cousin Percy Braybrooke also a noted astronomer.
MOLLOY, Joseph H Fitzgerald, known as Fitzgerald or Fitz. Born Wexford 1858. In London by 1880s. Author: novels including A Modern Magician 1887; short stories; serialised fiction in magazines; biographies; history; court life; theatre life. In 1880s knew George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, GD’s Samuel Mathers. Unmarried. Died London 1908.
MORRIS, Ronald Arthur Vennor. 1877-1943. First
cousin of Herbert Crossley Morris. Married 1898 Eliza Augusta
Jevons.
MORRIS, Eliza Augusta Vennor. Original
surname Jevons. 1858-?? Married 1898 GD member
Ronald Vennor Morris.
Joint Entry
MORRIS, Herbert Crossley. 1870-1899. First cousin of GD member Ronald Vennor Morris. Married 1898 GD member Mabel Hathaway Minson.
MORRIS, Lizzie. Doesn’t seem to be a relation of Ronald A V and Herbert C Morris; so nothing known.
MOSALLI, Selim. Born Beirut 1857 or 1858. 1870s, 1880s, interpreter and dragoman for British navy and army in Middle East. In London 1892 same lodging-house as GD member Henry Wright. ?Married an English-woman ?1892; 1 daughter. Later lived Cairo, teaching a wide range of languages. Died 1911 on a visit to London.
MURRAY, Joshua Davidson. E. Very little known about him but he was elected a member of the Scottish branch of the Astronomical Association 1896.
MURRAY, Oswald. IU then Paris from 1894. Born c 1850 Scotland; grew up Manchester. Supposedly, reporter for the Times. Definitely owned a chemical company. Acquaintance of George Bernard Shaw. Member, National Liberal Club. Spiritualism 1880s. TS. SocPR. Several publications as Quaestor Vitae: occult philosophy. Married ?Paris 1885 Louise Jeanne Faustini Chambolle (d 1944). Founder and first secretary 1899 of International Psychological Institute. Living Hampstead late 1880s, 1911. DOD unknown but probably between 1924 and 1940.
NELSON, Andrew sometimes NEILSON. ?1841-after 1898. Worked for Union Bank of Scotland.
NISBET, Agnes Elizabeth née
Williams. B, lived Liverpool; then Paris. 1864; d Paris
1947. Married 1886 GD member Robert B B Nisbet. Moved to Paris
1893.
NISBET, Jean Brash; usually known as Jeannie.
B; sister of GD member Robert B B Nisbet, sister-in-law of GD member
Agnes Nisbet. C 1858-1920. Married 1) Robert Gillison
1871; 2) 1905 Alexander Armour.
NISBET, Robert
Baird Brash. B lived Liverpool; then Paris. Born Liverpool 1857
d Paris 1931. Brother of GD member Jean Brash Gillison. Married
1886 Agnes Elizabeth Williams. Moved to Paris 1893.
NUNN, Richard Joseph. 1831-1910. Born Wexford, emigrated to USA. Fought for the Confederates in the US Civil War. GP, Savannah Georgia. Freemason. Travelling in Europe 1875/76; may have met William Wynn Westcott.
O’CONNELL, Theresa Jane. Born Yorkshire 1845. Father an army officer. May have studied at the Slade. Friend of Mina Bergson until early 1890s. In 1900’s was working as a manscript researcher and copyist. Still alive 1911. DOD unknown.
OLIVER, Charles Mackay. E. Born Scotland c1867. Worked for a paper manufacturer, probably Cowan and Co; so may have known Andrew Cattanach. TS. Some poetry published. DOD unknown.
PAGE, Frank Johnston. Uncertain identification; probably 1859-1937, born Shoreditch died Willesden. In 1890s working for a tea importing firm. Wife Jane; several children.
THE PAGETS, Henry Marriott and Henrietta née Farr.
Henry: 1857-1936. Artist, illustrator and designer.
Henrietta: 1852-1947. Artist. Sister of GD member
Florence Farr. They married in 1879.
The
Unity of Religions and the GD
Family
life
Friends
Henry
and Henrietta as artists
Henry:
List of Known Paintings
Henry:
Design, Theatre and War
PALLANDT is in as DE PALLANDT.
PALMER-THOMAS, Robert. See THOMAS
PARR, Charles Chace. Born London 1847; father in the Indian army. Harrow School. Solicitor, based Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Good cricketer. Some poetry published. Married 1872 Katherine or Katharine Millar. Died 1897. Daughter Olive an author, professional name Beatrice Chase.
PASSINGHAM, Catherine Amy. Born Exmouth 1840; father John Staple. Married 1863 George Augustus Passingham, mountaineer and sports club owner. May have been vegetarian. Spiritualism. TS, friend of Countess Wachtmeister. SocPR. Lived Cambridge 1880s; Exmouth 1890s; then Ledbury. Husband d 1914; she d 1918.
PATTINSON, Eliza and see also Thomas Henry B. TS; one daughter also very active in it to 1920s. Born as Butler Bradford 1852; father may have worked in a worsted mill. Married 1875 or 1876 GD member Thomas Henry Pattinson. 4 daughters. Lived Horton 1880s; Bowling; Baildon.
PATTINSON, Thomas Henry and see Eliza Pattinson. B. TS but favoured William Quan Judge and Universal Brotherhood. FM. SRIA. Occultism – made instruments for William Alexander Ayton and probably others. Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor. AOL Garuda Temple Bradford. Born Tranmere 1851. Parents Henry and Selina both dead by 1869. Grew up Rawdon with a step-father. Jeweller, watch-maker; ran own business. Died 1939.
Had his own clock and watch-making and jewellery business in Bradford. Married 1874 GD member Eliza ?Clerk. Occultist, very active, lots of acquaintances who later became GD members; eg Rev William Alexander AYTON for whom he made occult instruments. Freemason. SRIA. TS; very active, helped set it up in Bradford. Died Bradford 1939.
PEARCE, Alfred John. Born 1840; father a homoeopath and MRCS. Professional astrologer, writer and editor. Took over as the 3rd Zadkiel of Zadkiel’s Almanac in 1875; continued until his d in 1923. Publications: astrology of weather; textbooks for astrology students. Married 1869 Marie Léonie Riéder. Lived south London.
PEARCE, Charles William. E. Born London 1841. First
career in insurance. Married (1) Mary 1863; large family but they
were probably separated by 1891. 1890s: second career in C W Pearce
and Co, wine merchants and publishers, of Glasgow and London; agents
for publications and wines of the Brotherhood of the New Life, of
California. Friend and defender of BNL’s founder Thomas Lake
Harris. ?Married (2) Isabella Duncan; after 1891. Died Glasgow
1906.
PEARCE, Isabella. E. Journalist as Lily
Bell. Political activist. Born Glasgow c 1860; father
John Duncan an accountant. ?Married as his second wife, date unknown
but after 1891, GD member Charles William Pearce. Journalism in
Labour Party publications, as Lily Bell.
PEART, Alfred Henry. Born 1859; father a CofE cleric. Cambridge University; graduated 1884. Schoolteacher; later a private tutor. Lived Cambridgeshire. TS. Married 1898 Maud Lennox Patrick; she d 1942. He died Malvern 1945.
PECK, William. E. Born 1862 son of a coachman.
Brother of GD member Harriet Peck. City astronomer, Edinburgh
from 1889. Also: inventor, holding several patents; maker of
scientific instruments; publisher of books on astronomy. Married 1889
GD member Christina Thomson. Freemason. TS. Died Knighted 1917.
1925.
PECK, Christina. E. Born c 1865 daughter of
an estate agent/architect. Sister of GD member George Lorimer Thomson
and Margaret Kells Thomson. Married 1889 GD member William
Peck; sister-in-law of GD member Harriet Peck. Died 1922; no
children.
PECK, Harriet. E. Born c 1870 younger
sister of GD member William Peck; sister-in-law of GD member
Christina Thomson Peck. Still alive 1901.
PETERSON,
Andrew Frater. E. 1871-1953. Son of John Peterson, a
harbourmaster. Worked in a bank. Married Christina Gardiner Meldrum
Wilkie.
PETERSON Jnr, John. E.
PILCHER, Kathleen. Born Ireland 1869; younger sister of Maud Gonne. Both are daughters of an army officer. Both are first-cousins of GD member Mary Kimball Gonne. Grew up France, Italy; school in Devon. Married 1889 army officer Thomas David Pilcher; 4 children. Living London late 1890s, friend of W B Yeats. South Africa 1899-1900 then back to England. Marriage failing by 1901; divorced 1912. Died Switzerland 1919.
POLLEXFEN. George Thomas. 1839-1910. Uncle of GD member W B Yeats.
POULTER, Herbert. B. Difficult to identify Possibly: 1873-1923; son of a blacksmith, trained as an engraver.
PRAEGER, Wilfred George Frederick. Born London 1869 a son of Ferdinand Praeger, composer who knew Wagner. Friend of W B Yeats. Worked for 9th Earl of Dysart (d 1935). Married 1898 GD member Lilian Mary Blyth. Died in an asylum 1955.
PRAEGER, Lilian Mary. Born 1864 as Blyth, daughter of CofE cleric. Grew up Kew; knew Frances Countess Russell. Musician, composer. RC convert. Married 1898 GD member Wilfred Praeger. Genealogist of Blyth family. Died 1942.
Lilian and Wilfred’s son John Blyth-Praeger was a vice-president of the British Society of Dowsers.
PREWETT later MARTIN, Minnie. Born 1863, Cookham, daughter of a coachman. 1880’s was matron of a girls’ training school. Lived Liphook 1890s; may have known the PULLEN-BURRYs. Married 1897 John William Martin; one daughter. ?Died 1909.
PROCTER, Annie. Born Ann Louisa Horner 1849 Cheshire; father a solicitor in Manchester. Married 1873 James Procter of Procter Brothers, traders and ship-owners. Lived Madagascar 1870s; possibly 1880s. Large family; son Lionel was an actor, professional surname Dunrobin. In England by early 1890s. Spiritualism; some writing on subject. James died 1909. By 1911 Annie living Brighton. Died 1936.
PROWER, Nelson. Born 1856. Teacher; writer. FRGS. Freemason. AAR. SRIA. Married 1909 Maria Bowles. Emigrated to Canada ?1920s. Died British Columbia 1943.
PULLEN-BURRY, Henry. Born 1855 Sussex, registered as
Pullen. Family changed its name to Pullen-Burry c 1870.
Medical practitioner, occultist. Knew Arthur Conan Doyle.
Freemason. Married 1882 GD member Rose Anwyl. Klondike
goldrush. Living Portland Oregon by 1910; died there
1927.
PULLEN-BURRY, Rose. Original surname Anwyl.
1859-1922. Married 1882 Henry Burry Pullen-Burry; deserted by
him ?1898. Probably after 1906, went to live with her daughters in
South Africa. ?died Natal 1922.
The
Pullens, the Burrys and the Anwyls
Henry,
Rose and the GD
Henry
in North America
PURKIS, E Heywood.
RAEBURN, Jessie Ramsay. E. Born c 1855. DOD unknown
RAND, Helen Mary. Original surname Rand; father a
doctor. 1864-1953. Married 1888 her cousin John Rand.
Member Independent and Rectified Rite; close colleague of A E Waite.
Probably member Fellowship of the Rosy Cross. Long friendship
with Annie Horniman.
RAND, John. Born 1864, son of
an auctioneer. Estate agent/surveyor. Married Helen Rand 1888; left
her c 1907 for another woman. Died 1942.
Helen
Rand in the GD including friendship with Annie Horniman
Helen
and John Rand: Family History Information
RANKING, Devey Fearon, Profile and Publications
RANSTEAD, William. B; lived Liverpool. Born 1859 Liverpool son of an engine fitter. Fabian Society. Lived Toynbee Hall end 1880s. Manager/part owner, Gandy Belt Manufacturing Co to 1898. Political activist. Married Margaret Lyon Loch 1883. Emigrated to New Zealand 1900. Died NZ 1944.
REX, John. E. Born ?1860 ?Yorkshire. In Scotland by 1891. Partner in Forslind and Rex timber merchants; then owner of John Rex and Co of Leith. Married Louise Thomasina; large family. Died Leith 1926. Freemason.
REYNOLDS, Mary Palethorp(e), known as Sister Mary. Difficult to identify but probably born 1852 in Leeds; died 1917 in Kensington. Unmarried. Professional nurse – 1881 in a district infirmary; by 1895 as a private sick-nurse. ?TS – one non-TS source gives Blavatsky Lodge c 1890.
RICHARDSON, Charles Lovell. ?IU ?B. Born Rugby 1868, father a bricklayer. Difficult to spot after 1891. Worked as a dentist though may not have been qualified. TS. By 1939 married to Daisy. DOD unknown.
RITCHIE, William. E. Difficult to identify. Possibly a teacher of maths and science at George Watson’s College 1880s 1890s; this man was elected FRAS in 1898.
RITCHIE, Frederick Clarence. ?newly arrived from USA 1897; living St John’s Wood. Otherwise, nothing known.
ROBERTSON, Emily B. E. Lived 1890s at Kirklands Lodge Hermiston so probably the wife of Robert A Robertson, its tenant at that time.
ROBERTSON, John Charles George. E. Born Scotland. MRCS, LSA 1863. Worked 1860s Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum; 1869-?1890 Monaghan and Cavan District Lunatic Asylum. Retired to Edinburgh. Freemason. Died Edinburgh 1897.
ROBERTSON, Walter Wood. E. Born 1845 son of a weaver. Architect and surveyor working for several different companies in Scotland and London before joining the civil service. Appointed Principal Architect and Surveyor for Scotland 1877; retired 1904. Married Alice Nesbit Alcorne; 4 sons 2 daughters. Died 1907. Detailed wikipedia article on him listing the buildings he designed.
ROGERS, George Frederick. 1867-1943. Physician. Academic Cambridge University 1900-14. Home Office 1914-43. Freemason. TS. SRIA. SOCPR.
ROSHER, Charles Henry and ROSHER, [Caroline] Lily Summers. Joint Entry
ROWAN HAMILTON, Lina Mary. Born 1857 daughter of Sir George H Beaumont, 9th Baronet. Presented at Court 1875; married 1876 Gavin (also seen as Gawen) Rowan Hamilton of Killyleagh Castle county Down. Both TS. He is also SocPR. Lived London and Ireland but may have left Ireland after the partition. He died 1930; she died Kensington 1934. Important fact about Lina Rowan Hamilton: it is HER, not Elaine Simpson, whose GD motto was ‘Fidelis’ in the GD’s Flying Roll 4, written 1892.
ROWE, Kate. Original surname Broomhead.
1859-1903. Musician. Married 1897 William J M Rowe known as
Cosmo Rowe.
ROWE, Sarah Ann, known as Sissie.
IU, then IRRO/R. Born 1856 Manchester. Photograph
retoucher. DOD unknown. Sister-in-law of Kate Broomhead
Rowe.
ROWELL, George. Born 1863 son of an ironmonger. LRCP 1886. MRCS, FRCS. Anaesthetist. Trained Guy’s Hosp and returned there 1893 as anaesthetist and lecturer. Research into use of chloroform. A lot of other medical work in various hospitals. Knew Victor TOLLER. Married 1906 Frances Emily Holmes. Died April 1918.
ROY, Robert. IU but may not have attended any meetings. Born 1847 son of a CofE cleric. Cambridge University. Barrister, Middle Temple 1881. Worked on the Oxford/Gloucester circuit. TS. Freemason, very active. AAR. SRIA, important member. Retired to St Leonard’s-on-Sea; died 1916. Unmarried.
RUSSELL, Alexander David. E. Born 1864 Aberdeenshire son of a CofScotland minister. Aberdeen University 1885. Colonial service: The Gambia c 1900, publications on Arabic law; from 1906 Trinidad and Tobago. Stayed in Trinidad after retirement; died there 1934.
SALMON, Frederick George Burton. B; lived Liverpool. Born Wexford 1865 but grew up Liverpool. Trained as a joiner; later had his own company, building and shop-fitting. Married Elizabeth (she’s not a GD member); large family. Living Queensland c 1888 to mid 1890s; then back in Liverpool. Couldn’t identify him after 1901 and DOD unknown.
SANDHAM, Robert. B; lived Liverpool. Identification uncertain: probably born Lancaster 1842. Worked for a railway company; then for a firm making lubricating oil. Living north London 1891; couldn’t identify him after mid-1890s.
SCANLAN, Alfred Ernest. B; lived Middlesbrough. Born Chester 1857 son of a watch-maker/jeweller. LRCP LRCS 1880; moved to Middlesbrough 1881 to join brother’s GP practice. Also working for Middlesbrough Poor Law Union 1890s. Married 1885 Jemima Sayce. Councillor in Middlesbrough. TS, knew W R Old and G R S Mead. Acquaintance of W B Yeats. Retired mid-1920s and died 1930.
SCOTT, Maria Jane Burnley. Born 1854 in the Punjab, daughter of Allan Octavian Hume, ICS and ornithologist. Family knew Blavatsky and Olcott; the Sinnetts; and Alice GORDON in India, all members of the TS there. Maria married 1881 Ross Scott, ICS and member of TS in India. Returned to England 1894 with her father but without her husband, didn’t live with Ross Scott (died 1908) again. TS England. Died London 1927.
SHEFFIELD, Evelyn Diana. Born Eliza Dinah Fairchild 1856. Married Henry Digby Sheffield, son of Sir Robert Sheffield 4th Baronet 1877; husband died 1888. Relationship with John Lewis Garden (died 1892) of Redisham Hall. 1894 patent jointly with Lewis Abraham Tallerman on a piece of medical equipment. Sued Marquis Townshend for breach of promise 1905. Died London 1942. THIS BIOGRAPHY IS BY DINAH'S DISTANT RELATIVE TONY MARTIN with just some trimmings by me.
SHERLOCK, Thomas Travers. Born Ireland c 1853; educated London. Minister in the Congregationalist church; Liverpool, Smethwick. Radical politics; work known to Sidney Webb. Died Smethwick 1915.
SHIELD, Elizabeth Key. Born Scotland 1841-[after 1911]. Sister of GD member Jane Hunter SHIELD. Father George was a senior law-court official in Edinburgh
SHIELD, Jane Hunter. Born Scotland 1849-[after 1911]. Sister of GD member Elizabeth Key SHIELD. Father George was a senior law-court official in Edinburgh. Exhibitor Royal Scottish Academy 1872-89.
SIMMONS, Alpheus Butts. IU but almost certainly never went to a meeting. 1865-1915. Lived Georgia USA; member of two prominent local families. MD 1884. GP Savannah. Member American Electro Therapeutic Association 1891. Freemason; very active, very senior.
SIMONSEN, J Hermann. IU but almost certainly never went to a meeting. Born Norway, unknown date. Lutheran pastor Wisconsin 1870s; persecuted there and later in Norway for being a Freemason. Later lived Denmark; DOD unknown but possibly between 1895 and 1900.
SIMPSON, Alice Beatrice. IU; expelled 1900. Born India 1877 daughter of Alice Isabel SIMPSON, sister of Elaine Mary SIMPSON. Took professional name Beatrice IRWIN 1900. Professional actress 1900-at least 1911. Based in the US from 1902. Performance poet. Later: interior designer specialising in lighting. Knew dancer/choreographer Ruth St Denis. By 1913 Ba’hai; active in US. Also Sufism, knew Inayat Khan. Lived Los Angeles 1927-42. Died San Diego 1956.
SIMPSON Alice Isabel IU though expelled April 1900; Paris. Born India 1853 daughter of John Hall, Indian medical service; commissioned a biography of him. Grew up Europe. Married Munich 1875 William Simpson, cleric Church of England; postings in India and Glasgow 1888-95; may have died 1895. GD members Alice Beatrice SIMPSON/Irwin and Elaine Mary SIMPSON are her daughters. Alice Isabel living Kensington by 1899; family was friendly with Aleister Crowley. Member, Royal Asiatic Society 1911. Died Kensington 1935.
SIMPSON, Elaine Mary. IU: expelled April 1900. Born India 1875 daughter of Alice Isabel SIMPSON; sister of GD member Alice Beatrice SIMPSON/Irwin. Close relationship with Aleister Crowley lasting several decades. Married 1900 Paul Harry Witkowski 1900 and lived Hong Kong then Shanghai; he died 1907. Married 2) 1909 Karl Julius Emil Wölker, divorced 1924. Living Frankfurt 1929 with third husband, Eastlake. DOD unknown to me. PLEASE NOTE Elaine is NOT the GD member Fidelis mentioned in Flying Roll 4 from 1892 – that’s Lina ROWAN HAMILTON.
SIMPSON, George Lumsden. E. Born 1858 Aberdeen. By 1881 living Edinburgh with mother; working in a bank. TS, very active. Died Edinburgh 1929.
SIMPSON, Mary. E. Not sure whether this is George Lumsden’s mother, or his sister; who were both called Mary Ann. Probability is it’s his mother, born c 1828 Scotland; he was still living with her in 1911. Sister difficult to identify. Whichever woman it was: TS.
SIMPSON, Thérèse Charlotte. E; then IU. Born Liverpool 1838; father Henry a businessman. Very musical family. TS. Teacher of music, particularly singing; and a singer herself, ?soprano. Brother Frederick James Simpson became a composer; she lived with him later in her life. Died Norfolk 1923.
SLATER, [John] Herbert - Profile and Publications
SMITH, James Webber. Is in as WEBBER SMITH
SMITH, Pamela Colman. She’s in as COLMAN-SMITH.
SMITH, Thomas. C 1867-??
SMITH BROWN, Robert. E. Born Edinburgh 1836. Pharmacist in Edinburgh. Then worked full-time at the Scottish grand lodge; Grand Scribe of Scotland by 1879. Very active in freemasonry, fringe masonry and occultism. Married Janet Mitchell; 2 sons 1 daughter. Died 1911.
SNEYD, Ralph de Tunstall. Born 1862; Staffordshire landed gentry, a very old family. RC convert. Married 1894 Harriett Brookes (died 1916), daughter of a labourer. Disinherited by his Father John William Sneyd (died 1904). TS. Some poetry published. Member, Welsh Bardic Order. Died Leek Staffordshire 1947.
SPINK SISTERS - Catherine Elizabeth (Kate) born Bradford 1867 died Hull 1953; Florence 1868-1939, see also FIRTH Oliver and Florence; and Gertrude Jane born Bradford 1869 died Oxfordshire 1947. All B; lived Bradford, then London. All TS, very active, Kate worked for the TS in London to 1909. Gertrude worked for the Artificers’ Guild in London; some illustration work.
STEEL, Robert Elliott. B while living Bradford. Born Tynemouth 1853 son of a warehouseman. Scholarships to Manchester Grammar School; and to Oxford – first in chemistry. Member, Chemical Society. Science teacher: Bradford Grammar School 1880s; Northampton; from 1907 to retirement at Sherborne School. Geologist. Some publications: textbooks. Married 1895 Annie Caroline Elliott; one daughter. Died Dorset 1933.
STEPHENS, Riccardo - Profile and Publications
STEWART WALKER, Alice; and Jessie. They’re in as Stewart WALKER.
STRACEY, Alice Maud, born Kennington as Alice Minnie Osborn 1864. Father made wigs for law and court professions; by 1881 Alice Maud working in the family business. Married 1883 William John Stracey (born 1859), a professional entertainer. Lived Wandsworth. Died 1946; husband survived her.
STREET, Eugène Edward. Born Sussex 1847. Never worked; a man of independent financial means. Freemason. SRIA. AAR. Unmarried. Died Sussex 1913.
STRICKLAND, Francis. B; living Halifax. TS. Very difficult to identify but possibly born England c 1849; working in music hall firstly as a comedian, later as a manager; consequently on the move all the time. ?same man has three different wives listed on various census entries: Mary Teresa 1871, 1881; Violet 1891; Beatrice 1901; all entertainment professionals. Couldn’t find him after 1901.
SWAIN, Rose Mary Howard. Born 1865 daughter of a doctor; he died 1875. Her uncle was partner of Helen RAND’s father in GP practice in Dulwich. Teacher before her marriage. TS; knew Edith Lanchester. Married 1893 Alfred Robinson, solicitor, partner in Hind and Robinson of Lincoln’s Inn. Died 1937.
TAYLOR, Rachel, see GARDNER.
TAYLOR, Thomas Arthur. Born c 1843. Partner in T A Taylor and Co of Madras (Chennai); insurance agents. Died Madras 1893.
THEOBALD, Robert Masters. Born Birmingham 1839. Expelled from theological college for heretical views. MB London University 1854. Practised as a homoeopath. Struck off GMC list 1894 but reinstated 1899. One of founders of Bacon Society. Knew A E Waite slightly. Publications: homoeopathy; Shakespeare/Bacon controversy. Married 1858 Mary Wagstaffe. Lived Lee, Kent. Died 1914. Brother Morell Theobald and family very active in spiritualism.
THIELLAY, Eugène. Born France c 1840. Died London 1901. Chemist. Hairdresser; inventor of platinum blonde hair dye. Led a double life. Freemason. SRIA.
THOMAS, Robert Palmer; PALMER-THOMAS by 1911. Born Camden 1851 son of a CofE cleric. Worked for South Eastern Railway. Spiritualism. Occultist – August Order of Light. Freemason, very active. SRIA. TS. IRR. Acquaintance of A E Waite. Married 1890 Frances Ann Palmer. FRGS. Royal Societies Club. Died 1918.
THOMAS, William Eliot. Born 1866 Plymouth, son of a beer seller. Telegram boy; then reporter on Western Daily Mercury. Freemason, very active but only Devon; knew Frederick CROWE. Married Emily Vosper 1887. Died Torquay 1929.
THOMSON, John Lorimer. E. Brother of GD members Christina Thomson PECK and Margaret Kells THOMSON. Born Scotland 1867. Civil engineer; partner to 1921 in family firm of James Thomson and Son, architects and land valuers, based Edinburgh. Married Margaret Edith Gairdner. Died 1936.
THOMSON, Margaret Kells. E. Very difficult to identify. Born Scotland c 1866. Sister of GD members John Lorimer THOMSON and Christina Thomson PECK. Still alive; and still unmarried 1901.
THORNTHWAITE, James Falon. Born Islington 1855. Father a partner in Horne, Thornthwaite and Wood, opticians to Queen Victoria and others. Cambridge University; BA 1884. Inner Temple; called to bar 1886, worked on the South Eastern circuit. Unmarried. Died St Leonard’s-on-Sea 1923.
THURNAM, William Rowland, called Rowland. Born Carlisle 1868; family were booksellers. MB, BS Durham. Worked mental asylums Bristol and Bethnal Green. Treated for TB. Founder of Nordrach-upon-Mendip TB sanatorium 1899; its MO until retirement 1932. RC by 1916; translations of Catholic-inspired literature from French. Poet, style of Walt Whitman. Knew: Clark shoe-making family, of Street Somerset; Aubrey Beardsley; Samuel Butler; Pamela COLMAN-SMITH. Unmarried. Died 1941.
TODHUNTER, John. Born c 1839 Dublin. Qualified as a doctor but didn’t practice. Married (2) 1879 Dora Louisa Digby and moved to Bedford Park. Poet, playwright. Wide range of acquaintances in Anglo-Irish and theatre worlds; including W B YEATS and the PAGET family. Died 1916.
TOLLER, Victor Conyers Ebenezer. Born 1864, father the MO of Gloucester District County Asylum. Started work for General Post Office 1885; Liverpool, Cardiff then GPO hq in City of London. Married 1896 Martha Fauriel Dickson; they had separated by 1911. Died 1915; George ROWELL was his executor.
TUCKEY, Charles Lloyd. Born Canterbury 1854; father physician, worked at London Homoeopathic Hospital. Irish family. Distantly related to Irene LLOYD HOLTZER. MD MB Aberdeen; GMC registers 1875. Private practice treating using hypnotherapy to treat addiction; important publications on this. Spiritualism. Freemason. SRIA. SocPR; very active for several decades, knew George ROGERS. TS. Married 1915 Beatrice Marsland. Died 1925.
TURNER, Amy. Older sister of GD member Edmund Arthur HUNTER; first cousin of GD member Fanny Beatrice HUNTER. Father and uncle in business as wine merchants, Bury St Edmunds. Born 1865. Married 1889 Alfred Turner; who died ?1899. Living London 1890s, 1900s. Died Bristol 1945. See under HUNTER.
TWEEDALE, Violet. Born 1861 Edinburgh. Father Robert Chambers (died 1888) part-owner of Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal. First cousin of writer/traveller Menie Muriel Dowie. Unpaid work as editor for family firm late 1870s. Married 1891 Clarens Tweedale. Spiritualism. Traveller. Writer: some poetry; novels 1895-1930; experiences of ghosts. Close friend of Albertina HERBERT. Later knew Beverley Nichols and Joseph Conrad. Died Torquay 1936.
TWEEDALE, Violet, Publications
VIBART Marian Charlotte. Born India 1854, father in the Indian Army. Grew up India; living England by 1881. First cousin by marriage of Louisa Florence FFOULKES. Unmarried. Some poetry and songs published. Member, Women’s Vegetarian Union 1890s. Investor in Biltor Ltd; knew John Valentine LACY. Died 1932.
VÖGE, [Johannes] Anton. E. Born 1866 Germany. Living Edinburgh by; 1892 naturalised Briton. Partner in Voge and Dacker ship-brokers and coal exporters. Married Lily Bothwell Gosse c 1894. Died 1931.
VÖGE, Elizabeth Margaret, always known as Lily. E. Born Egypt c 1865 as Elizabeth Margaret Bothwell Gosse; father dead by 1871, mother kept a lodging-house in Edinburgh. TS. Sister Jane Amy/Aimée Bothwell Gosse an important co-mason and writer on freemasonry. Lily married Anton Vöge c 1894. Still alive 1931.
VOGT, Carl. Born Germany c 1856. Businessman. Only sighting in England: census day 1901, as a lodger in a boarding house near Euston station.
VON WYSS, Clothilde Rosalie Regina. Born Zurich 1871; arrived England 1884/85. School teacher at North London Collegiate School; knew Marie Stopes. Then taught teachers at what is now the Insitute of Education. Publications: nature; nature study; biology. M Linnean Society 1910. Long relationship with [Beatrice] Ethelwyn Mackie. Died 1938.
A
life by dates
Family
and teaching career
Personality,
Marie Stopes and Ethelwyn Mackie
VOYSEY, [Mary] Henrietta Annesley. E. Born Yorkshire 1855. Father Rev Charles Voysey prosecuted for heresy and left CofE to found the Theistic Church. Sister of GD member Frances Annesley Voysey BRODIE-INNES; sister-in-law of GD member John William BRODIE-INNES. Trained nurse. Working at Chalmers Hospital Edinburgh 1890s. Boer War: working at Krugersdorp Burgher Camp 1901, ?1902. Introduction to nursing practice published 1905. TS. Died London 1905.
WAITE, Ada Alice. According to her husband, only attended one GD meeting before dropping out. Born Middlesex 1866; father William Lakeman was a gardener. Worked as a children’s nurse before her marriage. Married Arthur Edward Waite 1888. Died Kent 1924.
WAITE, Arthur Edward. Born 1857 or 1858, Brooklyn USA. Father dead by 1861 and family back in London. Mother converted RC 1860s. Married (1) 1888 Ada Alice Lakeman. Editor, publisher, writer especially on the occult. Spiritualism; knew the Sinnetts by late 1880s. ?possibly member of Hermetic Society mid-1880s. Freemason after he joined GD; knew Robert PALMER-THOMAS. SRIA after the GD. 1903 led the group that founded GD daughter order the Independent and Rectified Rite. Died 1942.
WALKER, Alice Stewart. Nothing known. R A Gilbert suggested she was a daughter of Jessie Stewart Walker. She must be a relation but I can’t find her as a daughter or a daughter-in-law. She’s a mystery.
WALKER, Jessie Muir Stewart. IU. Born Jessie Muir Stewart Liverpool 1842. Raised there by two maiden aunts. Married 1866 underwriter William Walker; 4 daughters 2 sons. Lived Wavertree 1870s and 1880s. TS in Liverpool. SocPR late 1890s only. Interests: eugenics, esperanto. Moved to Notting Hill 1897; later lived Brondesbury. Husband died 1904. Jessie died 1918.
WALLACE [John] William McNair. E. Born Leith 1868 son of a solicitor. Lawyer, member of the Signet, Edinburgh. Married 1893 Jane Anne Mitchell. Family emigrated 1910 to Western Australia. Died Western Australia 1947.
WALLEEN[-BORNEMANN], Baron [Carl] Alphonse. Born 1863 Sweden. Family socially prominent in Scandinavia; father possibly a diplomat. First sighting in England 1891 as a medical student; doesn’t seem to have practised and later held patents for engineering inventions. By 1912 living Germany; later Denmark. TS; knew W R Old and G R S Mead. Later, Anthroposophical Society, very active; friend of Rudolf Steiner. Friend of August Strindberg from 1905. Some publications, not in England. Married 1902 Sophie Christine Elisabeth Rosenberg (1861-1940); both were in SM 1914. Died 1944.
WARNER, Jemima Tertia. Surname wrongly transcribed by Gilbert. See MANDER
WATERS, Ada Whisstock. IU; then Paris. Born Hackney 1862, father a butcher. Grew up Mitcham. Worked as a governess before her marriage; and possibly for her ?uncle, George Evans Waters, bookseller, stationer and publisher of 97 Westbourne Grove to 1898. Married 1900 Pierre Édouard BERNARD (b 1872), initiated Ahathoor temple Paris 1896. Lived France. Pierre BERNARD killed September 1914. Ada Bahai World War 1; active then and afterwards. Died 1952 Warwickshire.
WATKIN MILLS, Elizabeth. Born as Hore 1849, father a carpenter in a shipyard. Married 1869 Robert Watkin Mills the bass-baritone (1849-1930). Knew Frederick CROWE. Probably died 1914; husband emigrated to Canada that year.
WATSON, [Bernard] Harry. Born Peterborough 1859, father a confectioner. Apparently a man of independent financial means. Astronomer. TS. Married 1888 Annie Maria Greaves (?d 1899). Living London 1901; died 1906.
WEBBER SMITH, James. NB also called just SMITH, and WEBBER and even WEBBER WEBBER in official documents. Born Ireland 1845. Army family with grandfather, father and GD member all called James Webber SMITH; grandfather – Peninsular War, Waterloo; father – Crimea. Family owned land in Sussex; sold 1896. GD member’s sister Julia an ancestor of David Niven. GD’s James in army: India; Scotland; Sudan; Ireland 1890s; retired by 1900. SocPR by 1893. GD late 1890s informal group with William Wynn WESTCOTT and Francis W WRIGHT as other members. SM. Married (1) 1879 Alice Eleanor Moore; she died 1888. Married (2) Anna Marion Connell who was a member of IRR by 1908. Connell family owned a whisky distilling business based Langholm. Living Chelsea 1901; Bournemouth by 1930. James died Bournemouth 1930. Anna died Newbury 1945.
WEEKES, Charles. Born Dublin 1867. At Trinity College Dublin with W B YEATS; founded a Dublin Hermetic Society while they were students there. Dublin’s TS. Some poetry published and he knew poets George Russell - AE; and Kenneth Morris brother of GD member Ronald Vennor MORRIS. Late 1890s in London, proof reader at George Allen publishers. Back in Dublin, ran Whaley and Co, publishers. Married Ellen 1901. Qualified barrister 1902. Died London 1946.
WELTCH, Ethel Mary. Born as Johnson, Lambeth, 1863; I couldn’t identify her parents. Actress in Fred Benson’s Shakespearean Co ?1880s. Married 1889 Henry Herbert WELTCH see below; didn’t work as an actress after her marriage but did adapt books for children’s theatre. Died Suffolk 1944.
WELTCH, Henry Herbert. Born Bromyard 1865. Father was CofE cleric and headmaster of Bromyard Grammar School; acquaintance of John Henry Newman. From school, worked as secretary to Sir George Grove, director of Royal College of Music; to 1894. Married 1889 Ethel Mary JOHNSON see above. 1894-97 at London Organ School and International College of Music. Then, to Oxford University; BA 1899. After leaving Oxford University, hard to identify. Musician, teacher of music; occasional acting roles. Still alive 1911; dead by 1939; couldn’t identify his date or place of death.
WESTCOTT, William Wynn. 1848-1925. With Samuel MATHERS, the co-founder of GD. Brother-in-law of GD member Emily BURNETT; employer of GD member Thomas Henry BEASLEY. Married 1873 Eliza Burnett; 2 sons 3 daughters. Doctor: as a GP in Somerset 1870-79; then as a coroner in London ?1881 ?1883 to 1920. Publications. Lived Durban Kwazulu Natal 1920-25. Wife and four children pre-deceased him. As occultist: translations, talks, book collector; author, editor. Freemason. Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA); its Supreme Magus 1892-his death. Hermetic Society mid-1880s knew Anna Bonus Kingsford. TS, knew Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and Annie Besant. SocPR. WESTCOTT NEEDS A FULL BIOGRAPHY. The files below make a start:
Occultism: TS, Hermetic Society, GD
Occult Library: list of volumes at 1897
As Coroner 1883-1919. Societies. Two Colleagues
As GP. The Extra Pharmacopoeia. Campaigning
WESTMAN, Louise. IU.
WILDE, Constance Mary. Original surname Lloyd 1858-1898. Married 1884 Oscar Wilde. Changed surname to Holland 1895 after he was jailed; and went to live abroad. SocPR. As friend of Anna DE BREMONT and she also knew W B YEATS etc of course.
WILLIAMS, George Easthall. Difficult to identify. Gave Primrose Club as his address so probably lived abroad.
WILLIAMS, Thomas. Very difficult to identify. Possibly on 1891 census living on Jersey, Channel Islands, with wife Annie; if so, born around 1854, man of independent financial means. Possibly TS; with addresses Channel Islands, Sussex, Dorset. Nothing certain, after 1900.
WILLIAMS, William. B. TS member in Bradford but with no address. Impossible to identify.
WILLMOTT, John. Born around 1853-1889. Worked in Hong Kong 1880s. Freemason in Hong Kong. SRIA. Died Sussex 1889 shortly after being initiated.
WILSON, Arthur. B; lived Middlesbrough. TS in Bradford with Middlesbrough address. Identification uncertain but probably this man: born 1868, Darlington, son of a man who kept a chemist shop. By 1891 self-employed as a music teacher in Middlesbrough. Married 1892 Annie Thackeray. Still alive and teaching 1911. Date and place of death hard to identify.
WILSON, Samuel Gave Atlas Club as his address at initiation so probably lived abroad. Difficult to identify without more to go on.
WILSON, Thomas Duddington. E. Born Edinburgh around 1851, son of a doctor. MB Edinburgh 1875, also trained Paris. Worked at Leith Hospital; then Craiglockart Hydropathic Institution; set up as GP at West Newington House 1883. Married by 1891 to Ella Mary McIntosh or MacIntosh; 4 step-daughters. Active local Tory politics. Died 1906.
WILSON, THOMAS W. B; possibly lived York and/or Manchester in 1880s. Chemist, known to Rev William Alexander AYTON as a fellow occultist 1880s. Freemason. SRIA. Otherwise difficult to identify.
WILSON, William. E. Difficult to identify but the address he gave the GD in the late 1890s was 38 West Register Street, Edinburgh, the offices of Cowan and Sons, paper manufacturers so a colleague of Andrew Petri Cattanach.
WOLF, Annie. Gave address in Philadelphia USA on initiation so difficult to identify. Apparently a married woman.
WOODMAN, William Robert. 1828-91. Doctor. Freemason. SRIA. IU but for form’s sake only, as he was head of SRIA at the time GD was founded. Probably never went to any meetings.
WRIGHT, Francis William. Born Maidstone 1858, father a corn dealer. Worked in milling and corn dealing himself, at Raymond and Reid in City of London, then at West and Wright, based Maidstone. Knew Sydney Turner KLEIN. Married 1885 Gertrude Walker. Freemason. SRIA. AAR. In GD late 1890s, informal group led by William Wynn WESTCOTT; with James WEBBER SMITH. Knew Frederick Leigh GARDNER. TS. Died Kent 1938.
WRIGHT, Margaret; Henry; Charlotte. Two sisters and a brother, children of a grocer in Wilsden Yorkshire. All IU though born Wilsden which is near Bradford. All unmarried. Margaret Elizabeth born 1857. Henry born 1858. Charlotte born 1867. All living in London by 1894; definitely sharing a house by 1901. Spiritualism.
Henry living Fulham 1891; Selim MOSALLI a lodger at the same address. Henry works in the accounts office of a Poor Law Board. Charlotte works as a teacher for a local school board, firstly in Bradford, then in London. Margaret keeps house.
Margaret died 1914 in Fulham. I couldn’t identify the deaths of Henry or Charlotte. Charlotte may still have been alive in September 1939, retired and living in Bingley Yorkshire.
YEATS, William Butler. 1865-1939. Needs no introduction.
YUSUF. The more usual spelling; but see under EUSUF.
If you want to email me about any of the members I’m at
COPYRIGHT SALLY DAVIS
March 2024
***