Mother Of Florence

[Howard Brown]

For your Labor Day enjoyment and perusal.

I found this while diggin' around for material this morning. I didn't see it posted here on this site nor in Feldman's book or Caz & Mr. Skinner's book.

[Howard Brown]

Philadelphia Inquirer
August 9,1889
Page 1





MRS.MAYBRICK'S MOTHER...

A career that was almost as sensational as that of the convicted daughter.

From the Baltimore American.

The conviction of Mrs.Maybrick for the murder of her husband is only one startling episode in a remarkable family history. Mrs.Maybrick is an American by birth,about 25 years old and her maiden name was Chanler (sic), Her grandfather on the maternal side was Darius Blake Holbrook, a wealthy New Yorker, and one of the best known men of his day who died in 1858. His daughter,Carrie E.Holbrook, the mother of Mrs. Maybrick went to Mobile,Alabama about 1856 on a visit to her uncle, the Rev. J.J.Ingraham, the rector of St. John's P.E.Church in that city and famous as the author of the "Prince of The House of David". She was very popular in society,being a good conversationalist,handsome,though not pretty, and quiet and prepossessing in demeanor. Among those who joined her troop of admirers was young William G. Chanler, son of one of the most prominent merchants of the city. Chanler was educated and refined and successful in business. The two young people were mutually taken with one another and he followed her to her home in New York city, where they were married. Returning to mobile they lived in good style and Mrs. chanler increased her influence on society. She was as much of a belle before marriage and her society was especially sought by young men.
It was at the beginning of the war that Mrs. Chanler's path was crossed by Frank DuBarry, who is said to have been a French vicomte, and who at that time was a captain of ordnance in the Confederate Army. He was a remarkably handsome man and a dashing officer. He fell in with the Chanlers and soom there was some talk of his attentions to the lady. Suddenly Mr. Chanler fell ill. He grew rapidly worse and his relatives went to offer their assistance, but were refused admittance to the house. Chanler died attended by no one but the young wife and the report arose that he had been killed by her. There was no official investigation of the charge but it affected her position which became so unpleasant that she took her two children and moved to Macon,Ga. In less than a year she married DuBarry there. Shortly afterward DuBarry was ordered to go to Europe as a representative of the Confederate Government. He and his family took passage on a blockade runner out of Charleston or Savannah, it is not known which and had proceeded by a couple of days when DuBarry died. The captain of the steamer proposed to return to port in order that the officer might be interred, but the widow strenuously insisted that the vessel should continue. She said she did not like the risk of turning the vessel back and demanded the body be cast overboard. This was done and the vessel reached Europe in due time.
In a year or two,Mrs. Dubarry drifted back to New York where she was involved in a scandal with some actor, which was published in the papers at the time and created a great sensation. After this she went again to Europe and met and married Baron Von Roque. There was shortly a scandal with him also, as it was said that he was not faithful to her and at one time he gave her a beating, so she left him. It seems that they led an adventurous life together. After separating from Von Roque the lady became a woman of the world and when last heard from was filling the equivocal position of "wife" of an attache of the British legation at Teheran,Persia.
The widow of Darius Holbrook, the maternal grandfather of Mrs.Maybrick, had died in New York city in 1876. At the time of Mr.Holbrook's death, in 1858, his estate was valued at fully $ 1,000,000, but it consisted largely of property in Cairo,Illinois, and throughout the Southwest. which greatly depreciated in value after the war. The estate had been bequeathed by Mr. Holbrook to his widow and daughters and before the death of Mrs. Holbrook she and the latter united in placing the remnants,which embraced some valuable real estate on Fourteenth street in New York city, in trust for the benefit of the two Chanler children- a son named Holbrook, now dead and Florence,the present Mrs.Maybrick. This trust was attached by a Trieste banker named Rosenthal, who had lent money to Baron Von Roque on notes endorsed by his wife and the baroness came to New York with her son and daughter to defend it. The suit terminated in 1880 with the defeat of the banker and the baroness and her daughter who was then about 18 years old, at once returned to Europe.

On the voyage they made the acquaintance of James Maybrick, who had been for a number of years in the cotton business in Norfolk and Baltimore and in 1881 Florence became Mrs. Maybrick. From the evidences brought out at the trial of the latter their married life does not appear to have been very happy. Mrs. Maybrick seems to have given her husband abundant cause for unhappiness. Her acknowledged paramour, to whom the letter intercepted by the nursemaid was addressed was named Brierly. He is a dissipated looking man of about 28 years with reddish hair and whiskers and Mrs. Maybricks' wanton affection for him is one of the strangest features of this strange story in real life.

[Howard Brown]

Anyone gettin' the feeling I have about Mom Chandler here?

She's two for two with the drop dead hubbies.

Nice move to toss the second overboard. Why no return to land?

Like mom,like daughter?

How Brown
Liverpool Tattler