Dering query

[dpth...@gmail.com]

I posted this at the Nobiliana Forum, but I know there are more British nobility experts here, so I post it here as well. Can anyone shed any light on whether G E Dering actually married?

Here is an interesting story I found while looking into the Dering Baronets.

George Edward Dering (1831-1911) was a great-grandson of the 6th Dering Baronet. During his life he inherited three great properties:

1. from his father, Lockleys, in Hertfordshire

2. from his paternal uncle, Barham Court, in Kent

3. from his maternal uncle, Sir George Shee, 2nd Bt., Dunmore, in County Galway

He was known as an inventor and scientist. All printed volumes of Burke’s and Debrett’s I can find show him as unmarried with no children. However, a Burke’s online edition, sub Dering of Barham Court, says that he left Lockleys to “his daughter Rosa Georgina”. The Barham and Dunmore estates passed to the descendants of his paternal aunt, Mrs Haslewood, and some took the surname Dering (though this aunt had no descent from the Shees of Dunmore).

I found a web-page which sheds some light on this.

http://www.welwynww1.co.uk/neall.html

According to this page, G E Dering married one Martha Dale, and had been living with her in Brighton under the name “George Dale”. The story says that he never told Martha or their daughter, Rosa Georgina, his true identity, and Rosa did not know about it until his death, when she learned that she had inherited the Lockleys property.

I cannot determine how believable the story of the marriage is, though Rosa Georgina must certainly have been his biological daughter.

 

Below is the relevant genealogy:

Sir Edward, 5th Bt. (ca 1706-15 Apr 1762); m.1st 24 Feb 1728 Mary Henshaw (d.Mar 1735); m.2nd 11 Sep 1735 Mary, of Barham Court and Madekin (bap 13 Nov 1708-16 Dec 1775), widow of Henry Mompesson, and dau of Charles Fotherby, of Barham Court

1.Sir Edward, 6th Bt. (28 Sep 1732-8 Dec 1798); m.1st 8 Apr 1755 Selina Furnese (d.29 Mar 1757); m.2nd 1 Jan 1765 Deborah Winchester (d.20 Mar 1818)

1.1.Sir Edward, 7th Bt. (16 Feb 1757-30 Jun 1811); m.16 Apr 1782 Anne Hale (d.17 Jul 1830), gdau of Sir Charles Farnaby, Bt. à subsequent Dering Baronets

1.2.George (13 Feb 1776-19 May 1820); m.28 Jun 1798 his cousin Elizabeth Dering (see below), heiress of Barham Court

1.2.1.George Charles Robert, of Barham Court (24 Aug 1800-5 May 1880); m.17 Oct 1831 Louisa Grace Hamond (d.21 Dec 1869)

1.2.2.Robert, of Lockleys (7 May 1802-12 Apr 1859); m.4 Jun 1829 Letitia (d.19 Jun 1852), dau of Sir George Shee, Bt.

1.2.2.1.George Edward, of Barham Court, of Lockleys, and of Dunmore (15 Jan 1831-5 Jan 1911); he suc his paternal uncle to Barham and his maternal uncle to Dunmore; he apparently m. Martha Dale, and the marriage apparently was kept somewhat secret and is not mentioned in most standard genealogies; he also allegedly kept his real identity secret from her and used the surname DALE when living with her

1.2.2.1.1.Rosa Georgina DALE; she is said not to have known about her father’s true identity until on his death she inherited Lockleys; she m.1890 Alfred Neall

1.2.3.Charlotte Elizabeth (22 Apr 1804-12 Jun 1867); m.12 Jun 1834 Rev. Frederick Fitzherbert Haslewood (d.25 Nov 1876)

2.Charles, of Barham Court [inherited through his mother] and Madekin (bap 13 Jul 1738-bur 13 Dec 1815); m.21 May 1770 Elizabeth (d.12 Nov 1785), dau of Sir Thomas Farnaby, Bt.

2.1.Elizabeth (19 Mar 1773-11 Oct 1810), in her issue heiress to Barham; m.28 Jun 1798 George Dering (see above)

[G. Willis]

An interesting mystery! I've done a bit of digging, but sadly haven't been able to definitively prove the marriage.

Firstly, G. E. Dering's probate record definitely refers to Rosa: 'Dering, George Edward, of Lockleys, Welwyn, Hertfordshire and of 7, Walsingham Terrace, West Brighton died 5 January 1911 at Lockleys. Probate London to Rosa Georgina Neall (wife of Alfred James Neall)'

I looked for a marriage in 1859 between George and Martha- even for each individually in case another name was being used for the spouse (as well as with different permutations of names, omitting surnames altogether, etc)- and came up with nothing, but the 1861 census has a Rosa G. Dale, aged 2, born at Brampton, Middx., 'daughter of visitor', alongside Martha Dale, aged 20 ('visitor'), born at Pointon, Somersets., in the household of Richard Henderson at Lower Marine Terrace, Thanet, Kent. Interestingly, Martha is listed as 'married', and under 'occupation' it reads 'wife of lecturer in chemistry'. Given George Dering's scientific interests, this is strongly indicative, alongside the ages- Rosa said to be born just after her parents' 1859 marriage (if this took place), and the 1894 death record of Martha Dale giving her birth year as 1841. Of course, just because Martha listed herself as George's wife in the census doesn't actually mean they WERE necessarily married; maybe, for example, neither of them believed in the institution but wanted to avoid any stigma for their daughter?

'Pointon' may be an erroneous form of 'Taunton'; given the lack of a 'Pointon' in Somerset, this is very likely. In the 1881 census, a Martha Dale, b. 1841 at Taunton is resident lodging in the household of Thomas Smartt of Church Road, Steyning, W. Sussex, alongside a George Dale, b. 1831, living on 'income from dividends'. They are stated to be married.

The 1871 census has Martha lodging with the Oakley family at Brighton, 'married' but without George or Rosa; the 1891 census has her as head of the household at Leylands Road, Cuckfield, 'living on her own means', with a visitor and three servants, but, again, no sign of George or Rosa, but again stated to be 'married'.

I couldn't, however, find anything conclusively indicating a marriage between George Edward Dering and Martha Dale.

[dpth...@gmail.com]

Thanks for that information!

Though the question is still undecided, I suspect that he never married. My guess is that Barham Court was entailed in a certain way, and that it went to his aunt's family because he had no legitimate issue. Possibly Dunmore had been added to the entail. Lockleys, as private property of George's father, may never have been in the entail, allowing George to dispose of it as he wished.  ....    Just a guess.

[G. Willis]

I definitely agree with your suspicion; further, I was unable to find a 'Martha Dale' born at any time around her evident birth year of 1841 in Somerset, which leads me to imagine that either he claimed to be 'George Dale' from their first meeting on, or they both adopted Dale as their 'married name' to cover their tracks- if that's not making them seem rather more scheming than perhaps they actually were! 

I wonder also about the extent to which Martha was unaware of George's means, also, given he appears in the census as 'living on income from dividends' and she herself 'living on own means' later- although these phrases do always sound perhaps a little more grand, potentially, than the reality they reflect, I suppose. Alternatively, George appears to have done a fair bit of inventing; perhaps he was living on sales of such devices? All very interesting!