From: Warrah Sanctuary
Biological Stn. Pearl Beach
Via Woy Woy
NSWTo: Miss M. C. Sadler
"White Lodge"
101 Northcourt Rd.
Abingdon, Berkshire
EnglandFebruary 15, 1953
My dear Margaret,
Everyone here has been so distressed to hear about the disastrous gales and floods which have done such damage to the coast of the dear homeland, and to Holland. Funds have been opened and I am sure they will be generously supported. But I would like a few lines from you to know if you are safe and well, or if any particular member of your family or friends have suffered. I cannot help thinking of your friends, your kindred - the Mangan's - and the friend you knew near Hull who was looking up "Ellerby Hall". They may have lived in the Sorely stricken area.
What a blessing it is that the summer is approaching, not the winter. We have news of big floods in Australia too, but fortunately they are in the sparsely populated areas of the Northern Territory and Queensland where only parts of the coastal towns hae suffered. In these isolated places we do not hear what has happened to some isolated homesteads far from means of communication.
What a lot I have to talk to you about! I have just been reading "Bombay in the Days of Queen Anne". There is no mention of the name Crommelin in this book but quite a lot on the Russell family. Here is a summary:
This book was published in 1933 and much of the information therein was due to the researches of Prof. F.W. Thomas, Librarian, and Miss L.M. Anstey of the India Office, London. The records we are seeking are probably easy to find there. Governor John Russell (1670-1735) was President and Governor of Fort William in Bengal. He was 4th son of sir John Russell (1640-1669), a Cambridgeshire baronet, and his wife Frances Cromwell (1637-1720). [Catherine Crommelin b.1614, and sister of Adrien Crommelin (refer to copy of letters to Charles C., Governor of Bombay, which mentions the death of Adrien, his uncle) married Abraham de Deuxvilles and their daughters married M. Mars whose son, Nicholas Mars married a grandaughter of Oliver Cromwell. Therefore Oliver Cromwell's grandaughter's children had Catherine Crommelin as a grandmother!]Governor John Russell was married twice. His first wife, Rebecca Eyre, whom he married Dec 17, 1697, was a sister of Sir Charles Eyre, Governor of Fort William 1695-1701. Madam Russell, as she was called, died at Chandermagore 14 April 1713. Their 4 children left for England with John R. on 9 Dec. for Europe on board the Marlborough. He arrived England Aug. 1714, and a year later, 7 Sept. 1715, he married his second wife, Joanna, sole daughter & heiress of John Thurban of Chequers, and widow of Col. Edmund Revett who fell at the battle of Malplaquet. Hence it comes about that Chequers, which through the liberality of the hero of Fareham, has become the official country residence of the Prime Minister of England and celebrated for its relics of the Cromwell family.
You may be able to find out if this is the only connection between the Russells and the Crommelins. I know that on Page 161 the genealogy says, "Nicholas qui a epouse une petite-fille d'Olivier Cromwell, Protecteur d'Angleterre..." John Russell's two daughters Mary and Elizabeth, returned to Bengal in 1728. The former married Josiah Holmes and died at Kasinbazar 30 Aug. 1732. The latter married Samuel Greenhill in 1728. Governor Russell's eldest daughter, Frances, became bedchamber woman to the Princess Amelia, daughter of George the Second and married John Revett, the son of her stepmother.
Charles Russell, the governor's son (1701-1754) who was a colonel in the army married a sister of John Revett and Chequers passed to her in succession to her sister-in-law, Frances. Her son, Sir John Russell (1741-1783) was 8th Baronet. The 10th Baronet died unmarried in 1804, and the Chequers property went to the children of Elizabeth Greenhill. The history of the Russell family has been carefully traced in the second volume of Dr. C.R. Wilson's "Early Annals of the English in Bengal", Vol.11 Pt1 pp 325-333. I have not seen this volume. I wonder if the Arden family could be looked up anywhere.
Regarding the Dutch genealogy, my copy was given to me by George de la Cherois of the Manor House Donaghadee when I met him there in 1936. I am afraid they are unprocurable now. I had the paper-covered volume bound in London. Charles Russell, the governor's son (1701-1754) was a colonel in the army, as I mentioned earlier, and Gov. Russell's nephew, Sir Francis Russell (E.I.C.) became chief at Kasimbazar in 1728, going to Council at Fort William in 1731 and returning in 1741 to Kasimbazar. He d. Calcutta 1743. He married Ann Gee and this lady survived him and M. Thomas Holmes in 1744. Henry Frankland was another of Governor Russell's nephews (1684-1728). They must have all been living in close connection and it is strange there is no mention of any Crommelins in this book. One of my sisters was given a copy of some verses which grandfather (Thomas Lake C.) had written about his school fellow Greenhill when he was at Rugby, but I don't know what she did with them. As I said before, I am the only member of our family who has ever taken the slightest interest in it!
It was so nice to have your last letter and I feel very flattered by your praises. Please do not think of me as doing anything of such great importance. I am just a simple country woman working for the preservation of our very beautiful flowers, trees, birds, and animals. I love them with all my heart - understanding a little of their very great value to our country and seeking their preservation. I do not like that photo in 'Woman' and I don't think it is a good likeness. My face is not so long and I do not think my eyelids fall quite so much at the corners. Of course I am growing wrinkled now and have never had time to spend on 'beauty treatments'! However I would rather use both time and friends for something far more beautiful and more lasting! I have the Crommelin 'nose', a rather large one, and as a child I was sensitive about that. "The mind is the measure of the man", and not having beauty, I am quite content if instead I could be kind and helpful.
I am so delighted to learn from you that my great uncle James was a friend of Sir Charles Hooker. Modern life has revealed many strange secrets of the universe and when listening to the wireless, knowing that I am hearing the voice speaking thousands of miles away which is coming straight to me without any barriers, but only recorded by that little instrument, it seems to draw me very close to anyone with whom I am in touch. What a marvelous thing! First the all-important thought, all powerful, coming by speech without hindrance and without barriers... What an immense responsibility rests with us having such great power, and how very important for us to direct our thoughts into the right fields. All the lovely things of the world are free for us to enjoy, and the 'simple life' of home may be very complete and very satisfying. It is a fact I can obtain as much pleasure from looking at a little flower than from many expensive entertainments...
I am glad you found the stamps on my letter useful. I will send you a few old ones which may be useful to some of the younger members of your family. I had quite an adventure with some of the new "Grow More Food" issue. I lost 13/- worth on the way home, but did not miss them from my shallow pocket but next day I found them in the envelope addressed to me. It had rained during the night and things were all stuck together, but I managed to separate them, and then they again stuck to the plate on which they had been placed to dry!
You have not told me much about yourself, and have you a photo to spare? Have you any hobbies or work, and tell me about your family and your home. At present it is raining here and the trees of the surrounding 'bush' (as we call the forest here) look so beautiful with all shades of green and sparkling with raindrops. In the foreground are some wattles (acacias). Some of them have very pale silvery leaves, all feathery, and they look so beautiful against the darker background. It is a very wild garden and too often filled with weeds. I cannot do much gardening now, although I love it. Another reason is that I am so busy with everything to do, and so many visitors!
I nearly forgot to tell you that "Warrah" was 'on the air' the other night. I did not hear the talk which was given by Professor Sydney Mangham upon "The Promotion of Field Studies" but I wrote for the script when I heard about it. I have asked for some copies and will send you one when they come. The Professor was here last year with other scientists. He made a slight mistake when he said the students "have the use of her property at Warrah". Of course, I gave all my property to the University years ago.
You may know something of the work of the "Council for the Promotion of Field Studies" at home, and if so, you might tell me about them. As I am still working for the expansion of our reserved areas, especially for Warrah Sanctuary, any information about the work being done in other places is helpful and presses home the point. Our present politicians appear to be more interested in horse and dog racing; hotels and nightclubs, and other things of that kind. Meanwhile our parks and open spaces have been lost to us. I will send stamps separately (only a few) because it is risky to put unusual ones on ordinary mail letters.
My love to you, Margaret, and many thanks for all your kind help and interest. Although we may not meet, we know each other rather well already. Love from Minard.