cont.
The historical narrative states that the eldest son of the 5th Earl of Alborough Mason Gerard Stratford with second (or third) wife Mary Arundell was called Henry, and that he called himself 'Lord of Aldborough'.
Evidence gathered from Trove (Australian newspapers) shows that Edward Stratford, who arrived in Australia in the Rip Van Winkle with brother Henry in 1852, was actually called Henry Edward Stratford. As his other brother was Henry Mason, he was probably known as Edward.
British newspapers from the 1851-52 period state that the 3 Stratford brothers, Henry (23), Charles (21), and Edward (19), had been sentenced to death or prison, but then had their sentenced changed to exile and they were sent off to Australia. The ages don't match, except for Charles, probably born in 1830.
The daughter of the British Vice Consul at Leghorn, Italy, Mary Thompson has a recollection of the Stratfords.
"Now I must speak of Lord Aldborough and his family [Mason Gerard Stratford 1784-1849, buried in the New English Cemetery of Livorno, NdR]. He must have been, to say the least of it, a very peculiar man, who lived in a large house in Leghorn in the Via dei Condotti [nowadays Via de' Larderel], on the opposite side to where the Macbeans lived. Mr Alexander Macbean was Papa’s chief at the Consulate. He was the Consul, and Papa the Vice Consul. Well Lord Aldborough had a very large family, there were three grown-up sons and one quite a lad, and two grown-up daughters, and one about 13 or 14 I fancy and a little one. During their Father’s lifetime there were some dreadful quarrels among the young men, and one of them shot at another. Papa was sent for, to call them to order. It seemed strange at the time to me, why the parents could not manage to quiet their own sons without having a comparative stranger sent for. Anyway I believe Papa succeeded. Some time after Lord Aldborough died [Oct. 15th, 1849, NdR], and it was found out that the so-called Lady Aldborough [Mary Arundell, NdR] was not entitled to the name. There had been three wives, and the first one, the real Lady Aldborough was alive [Teresa Davenport, NdR], and all these young people were illegitimate. Lord Aldborough had had a great objection to having his children educated. One daughter Charlotte was for some time at the same school as Helen and myself, but sent by the mother without Lord Aldborough’s consent or knowledge. After his death all the daughters and some of the sons used to join a Sunday class held by Mr. Sleeman, the Clergyman, in the Church. Then the tree eldest sons got into great scraps by joining some Italian secret revolutionary society. They were seized and thrown into a fearful dungeon, in a fortress at the entrance to the Leghorn inner mole. Helen may remember that fortress, as she has been in Leghorn since my time, and I still remember it.
Then there was the great correspondence between the British and Italian Governments, the British trying to get these three young men out of Italy. Papa, of course, had a great deal to do with it, and at last he got them out, only to ship them off to Australia. I do not know if they ever saw their mother or their sisters. Evidently, they educated themselves, as, many years afterwards I met one of them as Warden or Chief Magistrate of some of the New Zealand Goldfields. Of course they were all badly off, for all that their Father left went to the first wife and family. The so-called Lady Aldborough came to live in the same house that we did for some time, then went to England. She gave us 6 beautiful French cups and saucers; my cup got broken, but I have kept the pieces. I afterwards had it mended and put together."
