Frederick George Barton

[shellyesq]

He seems rather old to have served, doesn't he?  Of course, he could have lied about his age, too.  If he served with the US, there isn't anything comprehensive online as far as service records from WWI.

[shellyesq]

There is a press photo of him when he was in the Los Angeles jail in 1938 - http://picclick.co.uk/1938-Press-Photo-Lord-Frederick-Hastings-Seymour-at-Los-391572104547.html  The photo is for sale on ebay, if you are inclined to want it.

[shellyesq]

There is a 1938 article that seems to mention him being sent back to England - https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/140472580/

This one seems to mention him signing notes as J. Frederick Augustus Harrington Seymour in 1907 - https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/142121000/

[Smokey807]

Excellent Work Shelley !!!!........You are fantastic. Its amazing to me how you find so much information for me. Its developing into quite a story. A person could write a book on the life of this man.

Perhaps you, or anyone, could help me tie up a few loose ends regarding Barton's daughter Elaine Elizabeth Barton who's birth was registered at Steyning Sussex Jan 1892. Her mother, Barton's first wife was Celestine Elizabeth Barton. I have all the info I need about Celestine and her family. Barton and Celestine were married in 1891 in Brooklyn NY and after the marriage she and her husband went to live in England. She expected to be living his "castle" that he bragged about but initially lived in the best hotels in London on her and her mothers money which he conned them out of. They then rented a house in Brighton, Sussex and while there Elaine was born and soon after Barton was arrested and put in jail for various thefts. Passenger lists show Mrs Celestine Elizabeth Barton and her 10 month old daughter Elaine sailing back to New York from England in 1893, having been send some money by family and friends in the USA to pay for her passage.

An article in The Eagle of Brooklyn NY picks up the story of Elaine when her father as Major Frederick Hastings-Seymour shows up at the office of the The Eagle in 1920 asking for help in locating his daughter. The article about this says that when Elaine was age 13 she was given up by her mother who could not care for her or give her a good life. She was adopted, or at least her guardian was Ferdinand Danton, an artist painter (actually an art forger). Article continues by saying Elaine married a Mr Fairfax and for two years she toured with her husband as a theatrical performer under the name of Elaine Fairfax. She was an accomplished painter and accounts say a talented stage performer. I have a report from The Eagle that Elaine died in Virginia in 1915 when her canoe capsized and she was drowned.

I would like to get a photo of Elaine; also any information about her marriage and her theatrical career and details about her death. I hope someone can help so I can complete the sad and short story of her life as she would only have been 23 yrs old when she drowned. I did a general search for her as Elaine Fairfax on google but nothing came up.

[shellyesq]

I didn't see any Virginia death certificate that seemed to match Elaine.  Maybe her mother was lying, or the information was off.

[shellyesq]

I think this may be Elaine, although the death was Alabama rather than Virginia.  https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDDF-SJN

In the NY Dramatic Mirror from 1913/1914 on www.fultonhistory.com, it said that Elaine R. Miller, known professionally as Berenice Woods and Elaine Fairfax, drowned in the river at Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Oct. 5 (which is a bit off from the death record).  She was the wife of Max C. Elliott, well-known agent from Chicago.  Her body was being shipped back East for burial.  An article from the NY Clipper said she was to be buried in Boston.

An article in Billboard said Elaine Fairfax & Max Elliott were married in Chicago on 17 Dec. 1912.

[shellyesq]

There's another Elaine Miller death record for a slightly earlier death date - https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3B6-K42   

[shellyesq]

Looks like Elaine may have been a victim, too. 

From what I can see from the snippet from the Montgomery Advertiser from 3 Aug. 1913, Mrs. Sites, alias Elaine Miller nee Elaine Elizabeth Barton, claimed that she was an unwilling participant in fraud committed by her husband W.C. Sites, alias Max C. Elliott.  http://www.rootschat.com/links/01ivx/  This was shortly before her drowning death. 

You can see another article that looks to have the same wording here - https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/119309845/

[shellyesq]

In the DeKalb Co. Alabama marriage index, there is an entry for Elaine Elizabeth Barton and William C. Sites, who married 24 Jul. 1913. 

On www.fultonhistory.com, if you search for the exact phrase "Elaine Elizabeth Barton", there is a picture of her in an article for the Buffalo, NY Courier from 1905.