Hello again Captain2,
Forgive me for taking time to debate whether to "enlighten" further, it's just that the Furnivals (i.e family of Joseph and Sarah Jane Lloyd) were a very tight-knitted family and effectively kept the identity of Joseph's father to themselves. However, these things all happened a long time ago, and I see no reason why I should continue that trend!
Joseph was illegitimate. But, according to his granddaughters (of whom one was my grandmother), his real father was Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, the 1st Duke of Westminster.
To my knowledge, Sarah Ann Furnival worked at Eaton Hall for a short while in her late teens (perhaps very early twenties). She and Hugh Lupus had a short affair (he wasn't married to Lady Constance Leveson Gower until a few years later) and, despite her requests, he refused to legitimise the child through marriage. And, let's be honest, that was unlikely given that she was a domestic servant and he one of the richest men in the United Kingdom. But, either way, Joseph was his first born son.
Of course, this may sound preposterous. But have another look at the photo of Granville Furnival at the link I provided earlier and I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.
Personally, despite that fact that I am 99% convinced that my great-great-great-great grandfather was Hugh Lupus, I have no affinity with the family from a "these are my roots" perspective. For me, the fact that Sarah Ann brought up a little boy by herself in poverty during an age where illegitimacy was taboo means far more.
But the person I feel most close to is Granville. That is why I have his photograph on the wall, just to remind myself how fortunate I am to have the lovely young family that he ought to have had. I fully intend to travel with my mother to his grave at Lijssenthoek War Cemetary in the next few years - no family member has ever done so to date.
So, now I've written that I'm wondering whether to click "post". But there's no good reason not to do so anymore.
Best wishes,
Christian
