Henry James Beauchamp

[Brian J. Ticehurst]

Hello Julie - The extract came from (I think) the Southampton Times and Hampshire Express of that date I had to transcribe it from a very poor Microfiche copy at the Winchester, Hampshire Records Office and that was about 25 years ago - I just dont remember if there was any more.
Sorry.
Regards - Brian

 

[Mette McCall]

I've just found out that a Mr. Beauchamp dined with Jacob Milling before they got to Queenstown, Miling was a 2nd class passenger too. He wrote this on a postcard sent from Ireland.

 

[Mette McCall]

back in 2002, Steve Maynard says he just purchased an On board Titanic letter from Henry Beauchamp. I know he dined with Jacob Milling whose biography I'm currently writing so I'm curious to find out what Beauchamp said in his letter as it could help shed light on Milling's journey as well. I cannot contact Steve directly here on ET but am hoping to get in contact with him by posting this. Thanks!

[Moderator's note: This message, originally a separate thread in a different topic, has been moved to this thread discussing the same letter and passenger, and edited to remove a now unnecessary link to this thread. MAB]

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hello Mette,

quote:

I cannot contact Steve directly here on ET

Just click on his name where you can access his profile and send him a message. Steve has not accessed the message board since last February, so he may not see your post.​

 

[TraceyCA]

Hi All

This morning I’ve discovered Henry James Beauchamp and his adventures he is my father’s 1st cousin x3 removed, I would love to find out more and happy to share information about the Beauchamp family as I live very near where most of the family came from .
Regards
Tracey

 

[Arun Vajpey]

I am glad that this thread was revived. The mystery of Henry Beauchamp and Percival Sharp in terms of how they came to know each other and why they were travelling to America has intrigued me for some time. There are hardly any books or articles where either is mentioned.

Beauchamp was a middle-aged family man who worked as a Head Steward in a London Club; Sharp was an unmarried labourer with Mental Health issues and had spent time in an asylum before, including in 1911. The only similarity between them was that they were both Londoners, but Beauchamp lived in Lambeth whereas Sharp whad been an inmate in an asylum in Norwood.

No one seems to know how the two men met and why they were travelling together to America. The "On Board the Titanic" letter that Beauchamp reportedly wrote to his wife and sons is not alluded to in his ET bio but member Steve Maynard bought it in an auction. If he still is here on ET, perhaps he would share its contents? They are likely to give us a clue about the reasons for the trip. Also, Mrs Harriet Beauchamp never remarried and later moved to Liverpool; did she or either of their two sons ever mention the reason for the trip? The older son William, who died in 1991, was 12 years old at the time his father's ill-fated journey and might have learned the older man's plans.

There are a couple of other points about this mystery which may or may not be clues. According to Henry Beauchamp's ET bio, the older son Willaim used his mother's maiden name Dales as his own after his father died. The younger son David became David Savorey but there is no clue as to where that surname came from.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Update: I found this article on Wikitree, the genealogy site. Henry Joseph Beauchamp (1868-1912) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

Note that he is referred to as Henry "Joseph" Beauchamp, whereas everywhere else his middle name is James. TraceyCA above, who revived this thread, knows the family and refers to him as Henry James Beauchamp which therefore must be correct. But apart from that single apparent error, rest of the information on Wikitree appears accurate, as you can see. Therefore, it is the same man.

The following is the relevant excerpt from that article:

He was a second class passenger and was apparently traveling to Canada for a new start. [2] It is not known if his wife was aware of his plans or not as appears in the following letter that he wrote 11 April 1912 while aboard the Titanic.

Dear Mr Streeton,

My letter will no double give rise to alarm but my hasty departure from London I trust will not be so to you. I will write to you from New York and detail matters concerning myself. I am going to Toronto to a berth and I trust my new venture will clean the past which I have created by my own folly. My wife is in England do not write to her the parting has been bitter but she has submitted to this for our future welfare. I shall pen you my desires and intentions in the week and post at New York. Do not refer to my wife my letter to you in the chance of you meeting her. Yours still faithfully,

H Beauchamp [3]

It does not sound like the letter that Steve Maynard said he bought in the auction 20 years ago. That was supposedly written to his wife and included a postcard for his sons. So far I have not been able to find out who this "Mr Streeton", the recipient of the above letter, is; perhaps Tracey can come up with an answer. But the contents suggest that there were problems at home (qv: "clean up my past which I have created by my own folly"), which might explain the changing of their surnames later.

I'll contact the Project Manager and see if they can give any additional information.

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Note that he is referred to as Henry "Joseph" Beauchamp, whereas everywhere else his middle name is James. TraceyCA above, who revived this thread, knows the family and refers to him as Henry James Beauchamp which therefore must be correct.

Henry James is correct. As noted in his biography, ET states that his birth was registered as 'Henry James Beauchamp Ware'. He was 'also baptised under this name.'

It does not sound like the letter that Steve Maynard said he bought in the auction 20 years ago.

Looking further at the sources which the article used, it references George Behe's book "On Board Titanic: Memories of the Maiden Voyage", which states "Courtesy of Steve Maynard". So it in fact, appears to be the letter.

So far I have not been able to find out who this "Mr Streeton", the recipient of the above letter, is;

Again according to George's book, Mr. Streeton was a friend of Beauchamp's. And from reading the letter he was a close friend, as Beauchamp appears to be confiding in him. On Board RMS Titanic: Memories of The Maiden Voyage

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Looking further at the sources which the article used, it references George Behe's book "On Board Titanic: Memories of the Maiden Voyage", which states "Courtesy of Steve Maynard". So it in fact, appears to be the letter.

Thanks Jason. I have Behe's excellent book and somehow missed the reference to Henry Beauchamp. In fact, there are two; one in which Behe mentions Beauchamp's letter to Mr Streeton, which, going by the acknowledgement, looks like the one that Steve Maynard purchased. There is also a mention on p413 where Behe confirms that Beauchamp was having "difficulties with his wife" before he left London and eventually boarded the Titanic in Southampton with Percival Sharp but the book does not say how the two men became acquainted. That is unacknowledged and so might have been the result of Behe's own research. Of course, both Beauchamp and Sharp sadly died in the sinking.

From the information available thus far, we know the following points:

• Henry James Beauchamp in 1912 was a 44-year old married man with 2 children, employed as head steward in a London Club. Although I have not so far found out which club it was, I am guessing that it was a good job that paid reasonably well, probably including gratuties.
• Beuchamp had been in some sort of trouble in his youth (details unknown) which resurfaced around that time and which caused a rift between him and his wife, eventually prompting Beauchamp to leave home (Streeton letter).
• Percival Sharp was a 27-year old labourer with Mental Health issues and as late as 1911 had been an inmate in an asylum (ET biography of Sharp).
• Whether Beauchamp and Sharp knew......or even knew of......each other before is a mystery. But it looks like at some stage in early 1912 the two men met and became acquainted.
• The two men bought a Second Class ticket on the Titanic for its maiden voyage. They were travelling on the same ticket No: 244358 that cost £26, not a small sum for people of their station in those days.
• During the crossing from Cherbourg to Queenstown, Beauchamp wrote a letter to a Mr Streeton, possibly a friend, about his plans to get away from his past and try for a position in Canada. In that letter, Beauchamp acknowledged that he had parted from his wife under unpleasant circumstances and asked Streeton not to mention the letter to his wife. (Note: Jason, while you could be right in conjecturing that Streeton was a friend of Beuchamp's, would the latter have referred to him formally as "Mr Streeton" in the letter if he was such a close friend? Could Streeton have been a lawyer or something?)
• Both Beuachamp and Sharp died in the sinking. The former's body may have been found by the Mackay-Bennett but no formal identification was made and in any case it was given a sea burial.
• According to the information on Beuachamp's bio on ET, his sons may have changed their surnames after their father's death; William adopted his mother's maiden name Dales, whicle David became David Savorey, the origin of the latter name unknown. Beuchamp's wife Harrient never remarried and eventually moved to Liverpool, living her life out there. (Note: Recent research by ET member TraceyCA has suggested that the family may not have officially changed their surnames as hinted on ET. TraceyCA has found that on all official documents Harriet, William and David bear the name Beauchamp; in case of Harriet, the married name remains in her obituary).

One possible clue to this mystery is whether Percy Sharp was somehow part of the "past folly" that Beauchamp refers to in that letter. On Sharp's own ET bio there are a couple of posts that might be suggestive. ET member Lester Mitcham posted in 2008 that the Titanic Relief Fund Mansion House had paid out £35 compensation to Sharp's dependent.....his mother. Several years later, new member Judy Baacke posted that she was a direct descendant of Percival Sharp and was trying to get more information on him; I have sent her a PM to ask if she found anything out. Then in 2018, another member named Mrs Baker confirmed Mitcham's info that the TRFMH had paid that compensation but she had information that Percy Sharp's mother may have died in 1891, in whch case he would not have had a "dependent mother" in 1912.

This is getting really intriguing; I think a pattern is beginning to emerge.

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

(Note: Jason, while you could be right in conjecturing that Streeton was a friend of Beuchamp's, would the latter have referred to him formally as "Mr Streeton" in the letter if he was such a close friend? Could Streeton have been a lawyer or something?)

Even though Mr. Streeton was a friend he could also have been a person of authority such as a lawyer, yes. It's definitely not out of the realm of possibilities.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

I found this copy of the letter that Henry Beuchamp wrote from the Titanic during the crossing from Cherbourg to Queenstown. It was addressed to a Mr Streeton, possibly a friend; I agree with Jason that he must have also been a person of authority, like a lawyer.

The source was a Tweet by "Inviting History" who had quoted my ET post #24 on Twitter during a related discussion.

Has anyone found further information on this odd Henry Beauchamp - Percival Sharp connection?

 

[Arun Vajpey]

The source was a Tweet by "Inviting History" who had quoted my ET post #24 on Twitter during a related discussion.

I have a strong feeling that "Inviting History" is the Twitter name for Anna Gibson-Holloway, a respected Maritime Historian based at Washington DC.

 

[Tim Burt]

I have just come across this site. My father (94) was recently researching this person, since he now believes that Henry James Beauchamp is his maternal grandfather. If he is correct then Henry Beauchamp was the father of both his mother and her brother (out of wedlock) and that he left his wife in order to start a new life with his grandmother, which of course never happened. I will ask him for more details or else suggests he posts here directly.

 

[Arun Vajpey]

If he is correct then Henry Beauchamp was the father of both his mother and her brother (out of wedlock) and that he left his wife in order to start a new life with his grandmother, which of course never happened.

Thanks for posting Tim! I would be very grateful if you could find out who the mother of your father's mother and her brother was - the one with whom Henry Beauchamp allegedly had an affair out of wedlock. Also, please find out whether your paternal grandmother (father's mother) was older or younger than her brother and if possible their approximate year of births. I have a strong feeling that Percy Sharp, the man travelling with Henry Beauchamp on the same ticket, was actually a lot younger than 29, the age that his ET bio mentions.

Come to think of it, does the name Percival Sharp mean anything to your father?

Did you mean that Beauchamp was leaving his wife to start a new life with his grandmother's support? Was she living in Canada or the USA at the time the Titanic sailed?

I am very interested in this Beauchamp-Sharp mystery and would be grateful for any factual clue.

 

[Tim Burt]

Sorry if any confusion caused, but I meant that he was reportedly leaving his wife to start a new life with my great grandmother. Presumably going out to North America for a new life and would then arrange for her to come over. My father will have all the details requested regarding his family and I will endeavour to get this. I am seeing him this weekend anyway and should be able to respond then.