Chapter 6.9
Alice “Eliza” Mosman/Campbell 1862-1952
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| Alice Mosman as a teenager |
We know little of Alice’s early years but her adult life was just as interesting, in very different ways, as some of her siblings. We do know that her preferred name was Eliza.
Alice married James Morton Peto Campbell in Sydney in March 1888 when she was 25. Morton, as he was called, was the son of Sir James Alexander Campbell, of Stracathro House, Angus, Scotland , a wealthy and successful businessman and MP from an important Scottish family.
Alice married James Morton Peto Campbell in Sydney in March 1888 when she was 25. Morton, as he was called, was the son of Sir James Alexander Campbell, of Stracathro House, Angus, Scotland , a wealthy and successful businessman and MP from an important Scottish family.
James Morton Peto Campbell (1863-1926)
Morton came to Australia in 1880. We don’t know why he came, what he did or how he met Alice. They married in Sydney in 1888 but in only a year the newlyweds were in England and soon welcomed their first and only child, James “Hugh” Campbell. At the time of the 1891 Scottish Census when Hugh was one year old he was living with his parents in a stately home, Dun House, Angus, with seven servants!
Morton came to Australia in 1880. We don’t know why he came, what he did or how he met Alice. They married in Sydney in 1888 but in only a year the newlyweds were in England and soon welcomed their first and only child, James “Hugh” Campbell. At the time of the 1891 Scottish Census when Hugh was one year old he was living with his parents in a stately home, Dun House, Angus, with seven servants!
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| Dun House, Scotland |
However, life for the newlyweds was not to be a bed of roses. In May 1895 they separated, an unusual occurrence at that time especially in the wealthy classes. We don’t know why they separated or who had custody of James.
We do know that Morton’s father was so worried about his son’s conduct to his wife and child that he set up a special annuity of £1,000 pa (about £40,000 or $77,000 now) to support Eliza and his grandson for life.
We do know that Morton’s father was so worried about his son’s conduct to his wife and child that he set up a special annuity of £1,000 pa (about £40,000 or $77,000 now) to support Eliza and his grandson for life.
We know little of Hugh’s childhood years. He certainly had a governess as he left money to her in his will. It’s possible he was sent to boarding school at an early age, a comparatively normal thing in those days. The 1901 Census shows a Hugh Campbell age 11 at a private boarding school at Hillingdon, near London.
After her separation Eliza had become friendly with her father in law’s brother, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (CB), Prime Minister of Britain and his wife. They invited her into their home at 10 Downing Street and became good friends, possibly because they had no children and Hugh was possibly their only grandchild. When Lady Charlotte died in 1906, CB asked Eliza to act as his hostess at both No. 10 and Belmont Castle in Scotland!
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| Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman |
Family history tells us that Alice was hostess when King Edward VII dined at No. 10. Apparently Eliza was small with red hair and she decided to make a statement that evening by wearing a scarlet evening gown designed by French designer Worth. It was a minor sensation as that colour coordination was unheard of at that time.
Eliza sounds a real character and it would be interesting to know how the King reacted. He especially liked married women who were not happy with their spouse.
Eliza sounds a real character and it would be interesting to know how the King reacted. He especially liked married women who were not happy with their spouse.
James Hugh Campbell (1889-1934)
In 1908 when James Hugh was 19 years old he became very rich when his grandfather and CB died within three weeks of one another and made him their main legatee. Hugh inherited Stracathro House from his grandfather who didn’t leave it to his son under primogeniture. All his father got was a still considerable legacy of £20,000 per annum and the title. Hugh also inherited a magnificent townhouse in Chelsea.
In 1908 when James Hugh was 19 years old he became very rich when his grandfather and CB died within three weeks of one another and made him their main legatee. Hugh inherited Stracathro House from his grandfather who didn’t leave it to his son under primogeniture. All his father got was a still considerable legacy of £20,000 per annum and the title. Hugh also inherited a magnificent townhouse in Chelsea.
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| James ‘Hugh’ Campbell |
CB had no offspring and left Belmont Castle in Scotland, its heirlooms and his Glasgow properties, to his grandson Hugh, but in trust to Eliza for the next 6 years until he was 25. He left her “all articles of personal domestic or household or garden use or ornament including jewellery, plate, horses, carriages and stable furniture”. The mind boggles on what use she would have for some of those things.
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| Stracathro House |
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| 22 Carlisle Square, Chelsea |
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| Belmont Castle |
CB’s funeral was held at Westminster Abbey with the kind of pomp and ceremony expected for a late Prime Minister. As next of kin Hugh and his mother (reported below as Mrs J Morton P Campbell) were in the first carriage following the hearse along with Eliza’s husband’s sister. They had front row seats in the Abbey and were first to follow the coffin out of the Abbey. Next came the Prince of Wales and then most of the Cabinet including Lloyd George and Winston Churchill. Not bad for a girl from Randwick!!
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| First carriage behind the PM’s hearse |
Before WW1 Eliza and Hugh moved to CB’s Belmont estate until it was sold in 1914. They then moved to Stracathro and Eliza stayed there while Hugh was away in the Black Watch at the Somme. At the end of the war he was a Captain and had worked at the War Office. After the war he was appointed ADC to the Governor of Newfoundland (then still an UK colony). While he was there, in 1920, he married Flora Shannon Clift, daughter of a prominent Newfoundland lawyer.
In WW2 Eliza and Flora lived together in Newton Mill near Stracathro House as the House had been taken over for use as an emergency hospital.
Eliza may have stayed on in Scotland. She died in Careston Castle, Angus, Scotland, the home of Hugh’s aunt, on 15 July 1952 at age 90. She was the last surviving child of the Mosman twins. She is buried in Stracathro Churchyard with her son Hugh and Flora, who died 21 years later, but not with Morton her estranged husband. She left £39,000 to Flora, equivalent to more than $1 million now.
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| Flora Campbell/née Clift |
When James and Flora moved to England at the end of his posting they lived in Hugh’s townhouse at 22 Carlyle Square in Chelsea not too far from where Eliza lived near Regents Park.
In 1930 descendants of George Mosman visited Eliza in London and commented that she was very small like her cousin Ida and she had reddish hair when she was younger. Eliza paid for two first class fares from Australia for another visit and treated them like the grandchildren she never had.
For a few years, with Flora, Hugh lived the life of a “country gentleman” dividing his time between Carlisle Square in London and Stracathro in Scotland. His greatest joy was singing. He was a baritone who some thought could have been a professional singer as he had a voice of “great purity”. Others thought his voice had limitations but his “art was exquisite”.
Sadly Hugh had a short life and died of pneumonia in London in 1934 aged 45. A memorial service was held at Stratcathro attested to his popularity locally as it was attended by at least 100 people. He left effects of £132,000 (current value several million AUD).
Eliza lived “alone” in London between the wars, not far from Flora, at 6 York Terrace, overlooking Regent’s Park. She had two or three live-in servants and her neighbours on one side were a Viscount and a Countess on the other! The Terrace is now heritage listed and the large terrace houses divided into several large stylish apartments with current selling prices up to £4 or 5 million.
For a few years, with Flora, Hugh lived the life of a “country gentleman” dividing his time between Carlisle Square in London and Stracathro in Scotland. His greatest joy was singing. He was a baritone who some thought could have been a professional singer as he had a voice of “great purity”. Others thought his voice had limitations but his “art was exquisite”.
Sadly Hugh had a short life and died of pneumonia in London in 1934 aged 45. A memorial service was held at Stratcathro attested to his popularity locally as it was attended by at least 100 people. He left effects of £132,000 (current value several million AUD).
Eliza lived “alone” in London between the wars, not far from Flora, at 6 York Terrace, overlooking Regent’s Park. She had two or three live-in servants and her neighbours on one side were a Viscount and a Countess on the other! The Terrace is now heritage listed and the large terrace houses divided into several large stylish apartments with current selling prices up to £4 or 5 million.
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| York Terrace |
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| Cariston Castle |
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| Stratcathro Churchyard |
Eliza may have stayed on in Scotland. She died in Careston Castle, Angus, Scotland, the home of Hugh’s aunt, on 15 July 1952 at age 90. She was the last surviving child of the Mosman twins. She is buried in Stracathro Churchyard with her son Hugh and Flora, who died 21 years later, but not with Morton her estranged husband. She left £39,000 to Flora, equivalent to more than $1 million now.
Again,not bad for a girl from Randwick!