successful_blended_family

This is an old revision of the document!


Successful blended family

The evidence for the warm relationship between TLM-P and his step-sisters includes:

  • The name TLM-P chose for his last station, Maroon, was the name of Louisa’s last home at 23 Fernlea Road, Balham, London.
  • TLM-P's daughter Rosa (Praed) was present at Louisa’s death 1) and a beneficiary of her estate.\\2)
  • There is a beautifully made photo album inscribed ‘The Hon[oura]ble Thomas Murray Prior from L.M Prior June 18th 1878’, that is from Louisa.
  • The next year, Jemina gave TLM-P another handsomely bound book, a large Family Bible with the inscription that it was ‘The Gift of his Sister Jemina, November 13th, 1879’, that is, for his 60th birthday.
  • Seven years later, Jemina gave him a beautifully illustrated and boxed Book of Common Prayer. It has the inscription ‘Tho[ma]s L. Murray-Prior. The gift of his Sister Jemina. Southsea. 13 Nov[ember]r 1886’.3)
  • TLM-P also refers affectionately to Jemina and Louisa in his diaries.4)
  • Jemina Prior left TLM-P £1,000 on her death in 1899 (roughly around $163,698 in today’s values)5), as well as leaving TLM-P her ‘music box’ and various items to other members of TLM-P’s family.6) Do these items exist now, I wonder?

1)
Darbyshire
2)
Patricia Clarke, Rosa! Rosa! A Life of Rosa Praed, novelist and spiritiualist, Melbourne University Press, 1999, p.182.
3)
These 3 books are in author's possession
4)
check
5)
M-P papers in NLA, Box 10.
6)
Andrew Darbyshire
  • successful_blended_family.1504156654.txt.gz
  • Last modified: 2017/08/31 15:17
  • by judith