The Semper family links to the Cranstoun family through the marriage of Dudley Henry "Jack" Semper 1905–1982 married Muriel Aileen Malone 1916–1996, daughter of Walter Frederick Malone and Irene Evelina "Irenie" Cranstoun.
Thomas Semper 1770-1827 married Harriot Mary Walsh-Porter 1790–1873
Children:
***Dudley Semper
1773–1833 married Mary Margaret 1767–1832
Children:
Peter Semper Harriet Semper Martin Semper Mary Cabey Semper ?–1853 married William Shiell 1785–1853
Mary Cabey Semper married William Shiell, President of Montserrat in 1826. and went on to have eight children with her, the marriage was witnessed by his brother James Phipps Shiell who married Elizabeth Carey.
Mary’s husband William Shiell, went on to become President of Montserrat, and was one of the largest land owners along with her father Dudley Henry Semper on Montserrat. Mary was one of the eight children of the wealthy land owner Dudley Semper. By 1826 he had become a bitter enemy of William Shiell and went to great lengths in his Will to ensure that none of his estate passed to his hated son-in-law on his death in 1833.
The cause of this animosity is complex and is discussed in brief in the biography of William Shiell senior. With this in mind it may be thought surprising that this marriage ever took place. It seems to have been a love-match however, as Mary was pregnant at the time of her marriage.
From the Wills of both Micheal and Dudley Semper it is clear that Michael had no children, and Mary was one of the many children of Dudley Semper. There was considerable antipathy between William Shiell senior and Dudley Semper dating from as early as 1816 so it is likely that this union was without her father’s approval and she may have had to wait until she was 21. She was at an advanced stage of pregnancy and her son was born 4 months after the wedding. Dudley made careful provision in his Will that, on his death none of his Estate would fall into the hands of William Shiell or Mary’s children by William.
Montserrat’s slaves had been emancipated in 1834 and all the owners were compensated by the British Government with amounts depending on the value of each slave. Queely Shiell had been the largest landowner on Montserrat and in 1841 seven years after emancipation of his slaves, the value of Queely’s 5 remaining sugar plantations was still listed optimistically at £44,500. In addition he had 2 stock estates (£400) and 3 properties in Plymouth (L1,150) making him still the largest property owner on Montserrat.
Both Semper and Shiell were land rich and cash poor but due to the decline in the sugar industry it would eventually catch up with them. In 1847, William Shiell was listed as the manager of 16 sugar estates and a number of stock estates. These included 7 belonging to his father Queely valued at £44,700 and 5 belonging to the “Heirs of Dudley Semper”, valued at £27,500. These prices were quite unrealistic as the properties all carried heavy debts and were virtually unsaleable. William Shiell personally owned only one small stock estate (Morris’s) valued at £1000.
From all historical accounts William Shiell was a bit of an ass. On 9 April 1850 a letter from President Baynes to the Governor in Chief Mr. Higginson complaining of William Shiell……. “This man is possibly the evil genius of the colony, not only has he by bad management ruined himself but he drags down the Island by him. It would be hazardous under any circumstances to allow him ever again to administer the government……”
Known Historic References to William Shiell
1808 - Appointed to Council of Montserrat.
1808 - . William is Judge of Court of Chancery and Grand Session (no salary).
1808 - William is appointed Adjutant General of Militia.This was the time of the 2nd war involving Britain and the USA and the area was on a war footing.
1809 - William mentioned as being on the Council. The President is Hon. Joseph Herbert.
1810-1820 - William is Postmaster at Plymouth, Montserrat.
1815, June 17th. - William signs a document as “acting Comptroller of Customs.
1819 - Colonel Shiell supported Attorney General R Musgrave against F.Gore Willock.
1823 January 8th. - Mary McNamara gives birth to a son called William. William Shiell, a planter, is said to be the father.
1822-25. William is still on Council. (Mary McNamara, his presumed mistress, is recorded as paying taxes, so she was obviously a small property owner or business woman in her own right).
1826, June. - William marries Mary Cabey Semper, daughter of Dudley Semper. James Phipps Shiell was a witness according to Montserrat historian Dr. Griffin.
1826 August. - A son William is born to William and Mary (nee Semper). (Dr Griffin)
1827 - A second son, Henry, is born to William and Mary
1834 - , William Shiell is elected President of Council.
1835 - August. William Shiell is suspended from Council over a legal matter.
1836 - William Shiell is back as President of Council.
1836. William Shiell and John Cannonier jointly awarded £1693 in an amended award for slave compensation.
1839-43 - William is still President of Council.
March 1840 - Administrator Hamilton died and William assumed the office of Administrator ”by virtue of his office of President of the Council” - no annual salary but he is given fees of £94. He is allowed a house and 10 days leave but took neither of these. 1840. Letter from William Shiell to Lord John Rupert soliciting a job - presumably that of Administrator of the Government.
1840 August 12th - William requests leave for one week to go to Nevis on business- this was granted.
1841 - William is President Administering the Government of the Island until August 1841.Career administrator Edward Dacre Baynes was eventually appointed, much to the annoyance of William.
1841 June - William unsuccessfully solicits an army commission for his oldest legitimate son William.
1842 May 7th - Letter from William Shiell to Lord Stanley, Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies. William again solicits an army commission for his oldest legitimate son, William, ” I am the father of 8 children, 3 receiving education in England and 3 upon the point of being sent there for a similar purpose”...” eldest son William, now in his 16th year ”.
1842. November - Riot in Plymouth, Montserrat.
1843 Feb 8th - worst earthquake in Montserrat’s recorded history with great destruction and 6-8 deaths.
1843 April - William again solicits a commission for his son.
1845 - William still President of Council1
1846 Aug 8th - Severe drought on Montserrat. President Baynes on leave, so William is reappointed Administrator of the Government with a salary £250 for the period.
1847 Aug 12th - William applies for 6 months leave of absence.
1847 September. William’s brother John dies in Antigua. He was a Barrister at Law and the Chief Justice of the Island of Antigua.
1847 November 27th . Queely Shiell dies in London. The final Codicil to his Will of January 1847 leaves his debtladen properties to his sons John (who had died 2 months earlier) and William.
1847 December - William is still President of Council and Baynes is back as Administrator.
1847 - A report by Administrator Baynes criticizes the earthquake loan from the British Government to the Planters of Montserrat. “…injurious to the general interests of the island. Of the whole amount of £20,000, £15,000 was lent to 5 individuals…….. The entire revenue of the country is answerable under the Act for the defaults made by these individuals one, who received £6000, has not paid a single sixpence and another who received £5000 has paid interest for one year only although the time fixed for the payment for the third year is near at hand….” Property values are down to half their listed value and William Shiell, no friend of Baynes, is presumed to be one of these unnamed individuals.
1847 - William Shiell was listed as the manager of 16 sugar estates and a number of stock estates. These included 7 belonging to his father Queely valued at £44,700 and 5 belonging to the “Heirs of Dudley Semper”, valued at £27,500. These prices were quite unrealistic as the properties all carried heavy debts and were virtually unsalable. He personally owned only one small stock estate (Morris’s) valued at £1000.
1848 - William is censured by Baynes, (along with some other attorneys) for inefficient management of estates and frequent nonpayment of wages to plantation labourers (which were 1 shilling local currency per day).
1849 December 4th - Letters from Mrs. Therese Kennedy, heiress of Sir Michael Cole and widow of Captain Kennedy, “…friend of Mr. Edmund Semper and Colonel Shiell….” Regarding the sale of her 350 acres for only £20 after late payment of £2 tax (W. Shiell the executor, who usually paid this tax for her, was laid up after a severe fall from his horse at the time).
1850 March 13th - Dispatches-“Smallpox prevailing to an appalling extent on Montserrat”.[66] October 31st. Areport by Administrator Baynes mentioned the double infliction of unusual drought and a loathsome disease which prostrated in illness more than three fourths of our population.
1850, April 9th - Letter from President Baynes to the Governor in Chief Mr. Higginson complaining of William Shiell……. “This man is possibly the evil genius of the colony, not only has he by bad management ruined himself but he drags down the Island by him. It would be hazardous under any circumstances to allow him ever again to administer the government……” In another letter he says “…Mr. Shiell, who as storekeeper and trader in this town was at the time largely engaged on mercantile and other concerns…”
1850 April 27 - William Shiell writes to Rt. Hon. Earl Grey, Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies seeking the job of Provost Marshall.
1850 May 17th - Correspondence of Mr. Richard Goodall, who was appointed Master of Chancery, regarding bankruptcy and other charges against William Shiell.
1850 July 1st - Letter from B. Howes (a Public Servant in England) to Mr. Higginson regarding the propriety of removing Mr. W. Shiell from Council. “…. There are imputations too, affecting the conduct and character of Mr. Shiell, which if established against him, we suggest the propriety of removing him from the seat which he holds in the Council of Montserrat, and it is further alleged that he is bankrupt, which under ordinary circumstances ought itself to be disqualification. Lord Grey requests in particular to be furnished with your opinion on this subject”.
1850 July 9 - W. Shiell applies again for the job of Provost Marshall, also as Clerk of Court and Secretary of the Island.
1850 24th July - Further letter from Howes regarding William Shiell. “…that Mr. Shiell, a Member of Council, is distinctly accused of having, in his capacity of receiver in Chancery, neglected to pay taxes on properties in his charge until they were put up for sale by the Provost Marshall, and of having then bought the properties himself in his private capacity for almost nominal prices. His only explanation is that he did not intend to buy them for himself, but for the benefit of the parties for whom he was acting in trust as Receiver - but he does not deny that the deeds were such as to convey the property absolutely to himself. Neither is it denied that his accounts received were not ordered as they ought to have been” In defense, William, in a letter dated 22 July 1850, claimed to have been unable to pay the taxes on time because he was “dangerously ill at the time and confined to my bed.”
1850 Aug 12th - W. Shiell informs of the death of Mr. Hamilton, the Provost Marshall (and the son of a former President). He again requests the job as his replacement.
1850, Aug. 20th - A British Colonial Office official’s attaches the following comments to Shiell’s letter of July 9th “But this is the person whose conduct or misconduct rather as Receiver in Chancery in Montserrat has formed the subject of a recent correspondence with Mr. Higginson 20 Aug 1850”
1850 August 27th - Last date with William Shiell in attendance as Council President. William Shiell resigns from Council on the grounds of insolvency but there are further allegations against him. Other dates are given for his resignation elsewhere.
1850 September 14, October 28 & 30 - Letters and complaints against Baynes and Dobridge.
1850 Oct 31st - President Baynes reports on the 1849/50 smallpox epidemic, “the loathsome disease which prostrated in illness three-fourths of our population” also in the same letter ‘“the Asssembly elections- a watershed with 6 whites and 6 coloreds being elected”
1850 Nov 14th - Letter from William Shiell to Lord Grey referring to a document listing Shiell properties seized and sold.“..My Estates which have been thus confiscated enabled the proprietor, my late Father, to educate a large Family, of seven children. The income from these properties amounted to more than £5000 per annum, sterling, after deducting the expenses”.[81]He also complains of the inappropriateness of appointing Mr Baynes, “a stranger who is totally unconnected in the Island”, as President.
1851 January 28th - A 28-page letter from Governor Mackintosh to Earl Grey containing charges against President Baynes, mentions William Shiell’s resignation or retirement in different places and asks that the vacancy be not filled “because of the difficulty under its present distressed circumstances in furnishing a sufficient number of adequate candidates”
1851 Feb 10th - President Baynes in a letter mentions “the street in the Strand between Messrs Sheill’s (sic) and Semper’s stores”.
1852 - The Montserrat Council and Legislative Assembly are amalgamated into a new Legislative assembly of 12 members (4 appointed and 8 elected by the freeholders of the island for 3 year terms (2 from each of the 4 Parishes).
1852 August - The Montserrat Customs House was closed.
1852 - Tuitt’s Estate, 200 acres, the property of William Shiell was sold to Thomas Greer for £317 subject to repayment of the £1050 loan form the British Government for repairs subsequent to the 1843 earthquake.
1853. William Shiell senior dies - his wife Mary dies the same year.
In 1809, William Shiell is mentioned as being on the Council of Montserrat, the President is the Honourable Joseph Herbert. Coincidence, relatives, I can’t figure it out, truly interesting though. However, we now need to look back at Nevis and see that John Richardson Herbert was the three time President of Nevis.
So we need to go back to Jeremiah Browne who’s brother, John Browne who had a daughter named Sarah Browne, who married John Richardson Herbert the three time President of Nevis. His other brother James Browne married Ann Nisbet. In Jeremiah Browne’s will he leaves all sums due from John Herbert to his grand daughter. To top it off Jerimiah Browne's daughter Sophia married James 6th Lord Cranstoun!
Joseph Richardson Herbert’s sister Mary Herbert married William Woolward and they had a daughter named Frances “Fannie” Woolward and she married Dr. Josiah Nisbet of Nevis and they had a son named Joshua Nisbet. Dr. Josiah Nisbet died leaving her with a son. Mary Herbert and her husband had died and John Richardson Herbert was in England and invited Frances “Fannie” Woolward-Nisbet, his niece, back to Nevis to live with him, at his Monteplier Estate, one of the nicest plantations on the island of Nevis. John Richardson Herbert was also close friends with the Duke of Claremont, later King William IV and often would entertain him. Back a page and we find John MacNamara was also close friends with the Duke of Claremont.
John MacNamara was also related to Rear Admiral James MacNamara who was under Admiral Cornwallis as was Lord Horatio 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte and James 8th Lord Cranstoun, James Edmund 9th Lord Cranstoun uncle.
The Duke of Claremont, later King William IV, served in the Royal Navy in his youth and was, both during his reign and afterwards, nicknamed the “Sailor King”. He served in North America and the Caribbean, but saw little actual fighting. In late 1786, he was stationed in the West Indies under Horatio Nelson.
While at the Monteplier Estate, Captain, at the time, Horatio Nelson met and courted Frances Woolward-Nisbet and they eventually married at the estate. The Duke of Claremont, later King William IV, gave the bride away.
John Shiell was William’s brother who married Elizabeth Nugent and was Chief Justice of Antigua who presided chiefly in Antigua but visited Montserrat in February, May, August and November on official duties. He died on 6 September 1847 aged around 58 years and was succeeded by Sir Robert Marsh Horsford, KCB. who is believed to have fathered an illegitimate son Samuel “Sammie” Horsford at that time, who is not included in the extensive “Pedigree of Horsford” listed in Oliver’s book The History of Antigua. When Sammie died in 1913 The Times of London provided a major obituary for him (December 20th, page 11c)
“The Hon. Samuel L. Horsford, of St. Kitts, died in London recently, aged 64. Mr. Horsford, who was born in Antigua in 1849, received his commercial training in that island and migrated to St. Kitts, where he succeeded to the mercantile business of the late Captain J. H. H. Berkeley, and became the agent of many of the principle sugar estates in the island. His ability and public spirit were recognised by his appointment to be a member of the Legislative Council of St. Kitts-Nevis and the Federal Council of the Leeward Islands in 1894, and in 1911 he was nominated a member of the Executive Council of the Federal Establishment, on which he sat until his death. He proved a keen debater, and a strong advocate of economy in public affairs and of representative government. A staunch Freemason, he had filled all the offices in the Mount Olive Lodge of St Kitts, and he was for many years a member of the West India Committee and the West Indian Club in London. The Canadian Government appointed Mr. Horseford Commercial Agent for the Dominion of Canada and he represented St.Kitts-Nevis at the conference at Ottawa in 1912, which resulted in the reciprocal trade agreement between the Dominion of Canada and a majority of the British West Indian Colonies. He was married to Miss Augusta Sheill, of Montserrat, who, with five children, one of whom has attained the distinction as a throat specialist, survive him. Mr. Horsford will be greatly missed not only in St. Kitts, where he was a general favourite, but also in this country.
The funeral service will be held at College Chapel, Swiss Cottage, at 2 o’clock on Monday, and the interment will be at Kensal Green.” The company of S.L. Horsford & Co. Ltd on St Kitts grew, in the 21st century, into one of the major corporations in the West Indies. While located on St Kitts, it handled a major series of business enterprises and supported soccer teams and various cultural and civic activities.
The Shiell family interests in the firm were sold in 1929 to Burchell Marshall
(does this name ring a bell). Michael Joseph Semper Thomas Semper - Dudley Semper Jr.
Children:
*Honourable Dudley Henry Semper1870–1935 married Helen Antoinette Dyett
Elizabeth Semper
*Honourable Dudley Henry Semper 1870–1935 married Helen Antoinette Dyett (Helen was cousin to Susan Elizabeth Grieve Dyett who married Solomon David Malone ?–1915)
Children:
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Ultima Semper married ? Bellot
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Helen Elise Margaret "Daisey" Semper 1904–? married Hugh Sinclair Mallalieu 1907–1993
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**Dudley Henry "Jack" Semper
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Edmund Philip Vincent Semper 1907–?
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Hugh Oliver Semper 1909–1973
**Dudley Henry "Jack" Semper 1905–1982 married Muriel Aileen Malone 1916–1996
Dudley Henry "Jack" Semper was a Supreme Court Judge in Jamaica he marrie Muriel Aileen Malone and they moved to England and had a daughter Margaret H. I. Semper born in 1957.
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This wonderful picture shows how close the relationships of the families was. This is a picture of the marriage of Dudley Henry "Jack" Semper and Muriel Aileen Malone on November 26, 1036 in Basseterre, Saint Kitts, British West Indies. From left to right: Hyacinth “Cynthia” Cranstoun (daughter of Arthur Cranstoun and Hyacinth Palmer), Ultima Semper, Dudley Henry “Jack” Semper, Aileen Malone, Doreen Malone, Mildred Malone, John Mallalieu, Peter Mallalieu (children of High Sinclair Mallalieu)
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Children:
- Margaret Helen Irenie Semper
In an interesting twist of fate, in December 2015 as I was putting the final touches on this book I was contacted by my second cousin Margaret Haward, the granddaughter of Irene Evelina “Irenie” Cranstoun and Walter Frederick Malone.
She had contacted me through a web site I had put up on the Cranstoun family. She wrote me, “I am the daughter of Dudley Henry "Jack" Semper. My name was Margaret Helen Irenie Semper. I am married to the Reverend John Talbot Hayward we have a daughter: (name withheld due to age)”
I was overjoyed as it had been a very difficult road to uncover the family of my grandfather’s eldest sister and to be contacted by Margaret seemed like the icing on the cake. I wrote her back telling her quickly how happy I was to hear from her and I sent a quick synopsis of what I could remember of her family background.
She wrote back, “I would be more than happy to provide any information you require, but my father Dudley Henry Semper (Jack) for some strange reason would not talk about the families. I can remember as a teenager trying to find out from him details, I did not get very far. Mum, Aileen Malone did not say much either.”
****Hugh Ryley Semper 1786–1840
Married Caroline Georges Fahie daughter of Richard Augustus Fahie brother of the Honorable William Charles Fahie Knight Commander of the Royal Sicilian Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit and Knight Commander of the Honorable Military order.
ST. CHRISTOPHER REGISTER G4 document no.18361 folio 166 17 FEBRUARY 1831 William Charles Fahie to Hugh Ryley Semper and anors EXTRACT: The indenture was made between the Honorable William Charles Fahie Knight Commander of the Royal Sicilian Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit and Knight Commander of the Honorable Military order and Hugh Riley Semper esquire and George Augustus William Fahies esquire barrister at law of Saint Christopher. Richard Augustus Fahie leased to William Charles Fahie a certain plantation estate called Belle Tete which is now being bought by George Augustus William Fahie and Henry Riley Semper.
Unsuccessful claimant for the compensation for the enslaved people on Belle Tett on St Kitts, which had belonged to his father-in-law Richard Augustus Fahie, and awardee on several smaller claims in St Kitts and Montserrat.
Mentioned in the will of John Rawlins of St Kitts, "practitioner in physic and surgery", dated 12/01/1850, Catherine Louisa, wife of Henry James Scholes and daughter of Hugh Riley Semper of St Kitts.
Presumably related to Michael Joseph Semper senior and Dudley Semper senior (both q.v.). A clue as to possible links is given in the claim of Dudley Semper junior for Montserrat claim number 4 for Ryley's estate, "'attorney to Michael Joseph Semper [junior] the executor of Michael Joseph Semper [senior] deceased who was executor of Martin Semper, who was executor of Thomas Semper who was executor of Catherine Ryley executrix of Michael Ryley deceased."
Children:
Ann Semper ?-? Catherine Louisa Semper ?-? Dr. Richard Edmund Semper
1821–1901 married Eloisa Wheatland "Ella" Rawlins who was the daughter of Richard Edward Rawlins 1826–? and Anne Chambers Palmer ?–1908 who was the daughter of Dr Thomas Chambers Palmer married Mary Sophia Robinson Henville. They were also the parents of Neville Edwin Palmer 1870–? married Sarah Louisa Bernadine Parmenter/Pamenter 1870–? who were parents of Hyacinth Neville Marguerite "Cynthia" Palmer 1901–1991 married Arthur Herbert "Artie" Cranstoun 1894–1932. Hugh Reilly Semper 1831–1882
Marshall Family
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