The Jabez Druitt Letters

[aspallek]

Here is the content of the two letters from Jabez Druitt to Gertrude Elizabeth Druitt. Unfortunately they show that these two distant strains of the Druitt family were not acquainted with one another after all, at least at the time the letters were written. Of course, they may have become acquainted afterward and this the speculation that Jabez's daughter Emily Druitt is the subject of the Crawford letter Crawford may still be valid. Gertrude was simply writing to every "Druitt" and "Dewitt" in an effort to gather genealogical information.

It is interesting that, despite the promise on the part of Jabez in the latter letter, there is no further correspondence between them even though the correspondence with others in this album goes on for many more years. This suggests at least the possibility that Jabez may have delivered the promised information in person, since the both lived in London and the families may have become acquainted.

447 Mile End Road
Oct 25 88

Miss G. E. Druitt
In reply to your enquiry for information respecting the Druitt family it has been handed down to me that ancestors came from Winchester one filling the office of Mayor of that city. My grandfather carried on the business of a Stone Mason in the parish of St. George in the East on a site now occupied by the London Docks. This was on my Mother’s side. My parents being cousins of the same name, my father dying about 45 years ago. I can better give you the information as handed down by my mother her birth dating back just over 100 years. I may be able to obtain more information from another branch of the family which if I obtain I shall be pleased to forward you.
Between 50 & 60 years ago there were only two others of the name in the London Directory, one a Zinc Worker in Chelsea the other of the same trade in Stepney. I am informed there are several of the name in Bournemouth and its neighbourhood which somewhat confirms the tradition we have that they came to England with the Huguenots part of the family settling in Winchester & part coming to London.
If this information suggests to you and enquiries I shall be pleased if I can answer them.

Yours truly,
Jabez Druitt

ENCLOSED MEMORIAL CARD

In loving remembrance of
Sophia
Beloved and devoted wife of
Jabez Druitt
who died 10th July 1888
Aged 64 years

Interred in the City of London Cemetery, Ilford

447 Mile End Road
Jan 1.7.89

Miss Druitt
I find it rather a difficult task you gave given me to answer your enquiries as often the case these get lain aside for a convenient season. This I must ask you to forgive.
I have kept the matter before me but have not yet been able to obtain any authentic information. I am about the only druitt(sic)-representative of my family now living of the same generation so all the information I can gather is from distant relations--which I will now make it a matter of business to look up and gather what records I can which I think will be very scanty. You shall have it in course of a week or two.

Yours truly,
Jabez Druitt

[aspallek]

This isn't terribly significant but it is an odd thing. Victorian novelist Lucy Bethia Walford wrote a character by the name of "Jabez Druitt" into her 1897 work "Iva Kildare." She evidently had a habit of basing characters on real acquaintances and using their real names. She must have known Druitt, or perhaps one of his daughters.

In 1881, Walford is living in Cheshire, in 1891 Romford, and in 1901 St. George, Hanover Square.

[Johnr]

Other London Druitts

Hello andy,
Sometime back, directly on your return from England I sent you a p.m. on London old Bailey Records ( recently deposited on the 'Net and, I think, indexed). A couple of the cases there recorded, referred to a man named Druitt. One was an engineer at Chatham, who witnessed a violent assault and robbery; the second was a resident of an inner London suburb, who was implicated in the presence of stolen goods in his house. Neither was Jabez.
Also recently, I turned up a reference in a Brisbane (Australia) paper, The Brisbane Courier of 3 November, 1890 page 5 as follows:
" Lord Bramwell laid down in the famous picketing case "R.versus Druitt" that ' mental coercion is sufficient to constitute the offense of intimidation'.
Mr Montague Williams ,magistrate, also cited this strick judgement when desiring to gaol a stevedore in 1890.
The case referred to has the proper legal reference of:
"Regina v.Druitt (1867) 10 Geo CC 592 Vol XXX VIII 302 ".JOHN RUFFELS.

[Robert]

Hi John

In 1867 there was a London tailors' strike, and one of the strike leaders was George Druitt. The court case concerned picketing, I believe.

[Sam Flynn]

In 1867 there was a London tailors' strike, and one of the strike leaders was George Druitt. The court case concerned picketing, I believe.

Or, since they were tailors, cotton-picketing

[Robert]

They downed trousers and walked out. Not a pretty sight.

[Johnr]

Thank you Rob,
For the fact George Druitt was a tailor in 1867.
Wonder where he fits into the Druitt genealogy?
Fancy Jabez marrying his Druitt cousin.(I know marrying cousins was common in the LVP, but there cannot have been a lot of Druitts about in London to marry).
Thanks for the puns Gareth and Rob.Can't think of any myself.So there you go. JOHN RUFFELS.

[lynn cates]

East Anglia

Hello. His first name is suggestive of Puritanism and a possible connection to East Anglia. This would tend to be congruent with the suggested ancient Huguenot descent.

LC

[Lechmere]

I thought I had stumbled across Jabez Druitt’s grave at the disgracefully semi derelict Woodgrange Park Cemetery (on Romford Road in Manor Park) today.
He isn’t related to Montague but often crops up in discussion due to the surname and he was based in Mile End.
Jabez was a monumental mason so I think this is just his company name on a border. It had been carelessly thrown on a rubbish tip with a lot of other grave markers.
I think I may have seen Jabez Druitt’s grave at the Tower Hamlets Cemetery, but I’m not sure.

[GUT]

G'Day all

At Montie's funeral there were two Mr J Druitts Snr and Jnr was one of these Jabez? Anyone know?

[Jonathan H]

It was James Druitt Sr. and Jr.

The former was a Dorset mayor of many years, a Tory, and possibly the conduit of the terrible family secret to fellow Tory pol Henry Farquharson.

James Sr. started a history of the clan in 1888 and then abruptly stopped in late November. When he resumed some years later he never mentioned Montie's wing of the family.

The son, James Druitt Jr. worked with his cousin William at the firm of solicitors in Bournemouth.

[GUT]

G'Day Jonathan

Thanks for that.

Interesting that it seems that Montie Mrs Druitt and Miss Druitt were all invited to the dinner in Wimborne for HRH as was Farquahrson on if I recall 22 December. I presume as they are all listed together it includes his mum and sister, though by the dear mum was n a home and Montie dead. So the family and Farquahrson moved in the same circles.

[Jonathan H]

And Farquharson was an Old Etonian, an aristocrat, a Tory and had tea plantations in India--like Macnaghten.

One of the aspects of the solution that Mac had obscured via Sims is how easy it had been: a couple of toffs conferring in a toff club a couple of years after it was all over, eg. it was solved by the Old Boy Net'.

This would not do.

So it became hardly detectives working night-and-day to zero in on the mad doctor whilst he was still alive.

Missing him by mere hours ...

The 'West of England' MP source is the missing link that Farson and Cullen so badly needed. Instead the former, lazily, accepted a McCormick hoax to shoehorn Druitt into the 1888 investigation (the Backert b.s.) and Farson sweated his way round the Australian outback trying to find a document by Montie's cousin that, ludicrously, gave away the family secret away for nothing (and was actually a pamphlet about Deeming anyway).

[David Andersen]

It was James Druitt Sr. and Jr.

The former was a Dorset mayor of many years, a Tory, and possibly the conduit of the terrible family secret to fellow Tory pol Henry Farquharson.

James Sr. started a history of the clan in 1888 and then abruptly stopped in late November. When he resumed some years later he never mentioned Montie's wing of the family.

The son, James Druitt Jr. worked with his cousin William at the firm of solicitors in Bournemouth.

Yes. I have seen Uncle James memoir. He recommenced writing it in 1894 opening with these words 'and avoiding mention of the defects which one hopes to conceal from ones neighbours...'