On 16 Sep 1862, at Chelsea in London, Temple Wilmot (junior) was born. He was the son of Temple Wilmot, Captain Horse Artillery and Marian Wilmot née Davenport. The couple were living at 1 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London. Temple has gone up in the world!
I could not trace a marriage between Temple and Marian Davenport but they may have married using different names.
Sadly there is no further trace of Temple junior or his mother Marian. Did they die? Were they abandoned and changed their names?
By early 1863 Temple is in Jersey grooming Catherine Bosustow!
I searched the 1861 census for any sign of Temple and eventually found the following entry at Kingston Upon Thames.
He’s listed as Cleaveland Wilmot age 32 (born about 1829) living at The Grey Towers Kingston Upon Thames. Born St James Middlesex and employing two servants. His occupation was listed as Retired Captain from Horse Artillery and ‘foreign’(?) Diplomatic service and HM War Office. (It appears as though he has been promoted!!)
As we saw in ‘part 1’ he married Catherine in Jun 1863 at St Saviour’s church in Jersey and his daughter Rose was born six months later at Ennis, Clare in Ireland.
On 27 Feb 1864 Campbell Bouverie Cleveland Wilmot was indicted for fraud and sentenced to 12 months in prison. I don’t know what happened after he was released from prison but in 1870 when his son was born he was using the name Charles Howard.
Charles Mowbray Fitzallen Howard was born on 17 Oct 1870 at Corfe Castle, Dorset. This is the second time Temple has been associated with Dorset, his first son and daughter were also baptised at Dorchester in Dorset. The birth is registered by Catherine ‘Howard’ and father’s profession is listed as ‘gentleman’.
By the time of the 1871 census Charles Howard was not living with his family. Catherine, Rose and Charles Junior were living in Southampton. There is no trace of Temple/Charles on the 1871 census so he must be abroad, or using another alias or in prison under a different name.
At his 1876 trial a letter from his wife was mentioned, letter dated Southampton, 23 April, 1874, addressed to ‘Captain Howard, Passas, Bavaria,’ signed ‘your affectionate wife, C. H.‘ (Catherine must have just realised she was pregnant and was perhaps writing to inform him.) On 20 December 1874 Thomas David Kenneth Howard was born in Stoke Damerel, Plymouth. Temple/Charles was using the alias Temple Howard.
By this time Temple Wilmot aka Capt Charles Wilmot had deserted the family and was residing with another woman, as his wife, ‘in a very expensive style’ at the Hotel Rautenkranz Eisenach in Germany.
Temple was now using the name Von Zobeltitz and his wife was Ana Von Zobeltitz! They arrived with 16 portmanteaus and rented 3 rooms. Temple then began to write letters to fraudulently obtain money.
Charles Howard alias FC Judford (47) was charged with unlawfully obtaining 380l. of Richard Harvey, by false pretences. Chief Inspector George Clarke found 82 names of people that he had corresponded with and stated “and there might be more.”
At the trial Richard Harvey described the letter he received “Strictly private and confidential. Mr. F. C. Judford presents his compliments to Mr. John Harvey. In 1870 a man of wealth died leaving a last will signed in compos mentis bequeathing property to the amount of forty thousand pounds to John Harvey, son of William James Harvey, of Carnousie, in the county of Banff, Esq., and of Mrs. Isabella Harvey, his wife.” The will had been deposited with some bankers and that 380l. would be required to release it. Mr Harvey duly sent the money! How many others fell for the con?
At the trial Matthew Wyatt Gunning gave evidence which filled in a few more gaps in the life of Temple Wilmot:
“I am a clerk in the Financial Department of the War Office, Pall Mall—the prisoner was a temporary clerk there, he came l think in 1855, and remained till 1858—I think his name is Talbot Bouverie Cleveland Wilmot—I heard that in 1858, before he left he met with an accident to his thumb, but I was in China at the time—I saw him in Ireland in 1864, but did notice his thumb—I know his writing, I had to examine all queries in his accounts; I believe these letters to be his writing; I have no doubt about it. The last time I saw him write was in 1856, I believe—I gave evidence on the trial in Ireland in 1864…”
The prisoner was further charged with having been previously convicted in February, 1864, in the name of Campbell Bouverie Cleveland Wilmot, of obtaining a book by false pretences, when he was sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment. To this he PLEADED GUILTY. Inspector Clarke stated that the prisoner “had been pursuing this course for the last ten years, and obtaining from various persons large sums of money.”
On 21 Oct 1876 Charles Howard alias F.C. Judford was sentenced to 5 years penal servitude and 5 years police supervision for fraud and obtaining property by false pretences.
On 31 Jan 1879 Catherine remarried in Brentford Middlesex to Sergeant Joseph Lionel Gould, it’s not clear if she was actually divorced at the time! The marriage certificate describes her as a widow!
On 31 Jul 1882 their son, Francis Joseph Lionel Gould was born at Thanet in Kent.
Joseph Gould’s first wife was Ann Boice/Beice and they married in 1861. She died in 1868 in Wells Somerset. Joseph died in 1886 when his son was aged six.
In 1891 Catherine had reverted to her maiden name of Bosustow and appeared on the census living with her mother at Ramsgate in Kent with her three sons. Catherine was working as a nurse.
The last trace I have of Francis Gould is the 1901 census, he was living at a boarding house in Deptford and working as a draper’s assistant.
To be continued……
The Lanyons 