Adolph and Alma Emma Spreckels

Adolph and Alma Emma had a son called Adolph Bernard Spreckels, as I said. His claim to fame was to have married Kay Williams who had previously been married to the film star, Clark Gable. Kay and Adolph had two children, one of whom died at the early age of 27,  from a drug overdose ,having inherited his share of the Spreckels fortune and become a 'surfing legend' in Hawaii.

Adolph's Mother, Alma's nickname was 'The Great Grandmother of San Francisco'. Her husband Adolph Spreckels had studied in Germany for two years and then returned to the USA to work for his Father.

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco owe their existence to Adolph and Alma, and the Spreckels' millions.

He was involved in many business pursuits and philanthropic works. He also donated the land for Golden Gate Park. He was President of the San Francisco and San Mateo Railway and Vice President of the Western Sugar Company and the Oceanic Steamship Company.

He built the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park, in San Diego, with his brother, John.This has the largest outdoor organ in the world, according to Wikipedia.

He also owned and bred racehorses and his horse Morvich was the first Californian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby in 1922.

Adolph died of pneumonia in 1924, aged 67. The house he built in 1913 is currently owned by the novelist, Danielle Steele. It is at 2080 Washington Street in the Pacific Heights area of San Francisco.

More on the Spreckels Family

Claus Spreckels always maintained that the Nevada divorce obtained by Tom Watson was illegal and that, as a result,  he and Emma were not legally married. I think he may have had good reason. I also wonder if Tom's first wife, Catherine, back in England even knew that she had been divorced!
When Thomas Watson died in 1904 there were two grants of probate: the first to Catherine Watson, widow, (£50), later revoked and another to Emma Claudine Watson, widow (£4,185). All very odd.
In 1937 Nancie knew that her new employer Jean Harris was  very wealthy but I'm not sure if she knew what the source of the wealth had been. She never mentioned sugar to us as children! It is possible that she didn't know the complete story of the Spreckels Family.

Emma Spreckels actually had four brothers. ( I think I forgot to mention Rudolph previously.) He became President of The First National Bank and played a major role in the corruption case against Eugene Schmitz, the Mayor of San Francisco and Abraham Ruef. He and his wife Eleanor, nee Joliffe had four children.

Claus Augustus (Claus Junior) married Susan Oroville Dore, one of a family of young ladies famed for their beauty and who all married into money, having come from quite a modest background. Claus Jun and Oroville had a house in Avenue Foch, in Paris and a villa in Monte Carlo. Every year she would visit her Mother, Mrs Dore, back in California. The other Dore sisters were: Lavinia, who married Bernhard Hoffacker, Lillie Martin who married Philip Wooster and Ruby, who married a Mr Bond. A younger brother seems to have died as a boy and three more children died young.
 Oroville and Claus had a daughter Lurline Elizabeth Spreckels, born in 1886. She married firstly, in Berlin, Spencer Fayette Eddy, a US Senator who served in St Petersburg, Berlin, Argentina and The Balkans. He died in 1900 and she later married Joseph Kuznik.

Adolph Bernard Spreckels, another of Emma's brothers, shot the the local newspaper publisher but luckily did not kill him. The San Francisco Chronicle had published an article suggesting the Spreckels' Sugar Company had defrauded its shareholders. Adolph pleaded temporary  insanity and was acquitted! He married Alma Emma be Bretteville who was of Danish origin. They had three children: Alma Emma, Adolph Bernard and Dorothy C.

Mr and Mrs Thomas Watson move to England

Mr and Mrs Thomas Watson left the USA to go and live in England, at Kingswood Manor, near Reigate in Surrey. 'Tom' Watson became Chairman of the local Parish Council there. Emma later sued her Father for the return of the properties that she had given back to him after her marriage to Thomas Watson. Her lawyers argued that she should not have given the Hawaiian properties away without the permission of her new husband!
There is little doubt that Thomas Watson was a 'gold-digger', as feared by Emma's father, the super-wealthy Claus Spreckels. Tom had gone to America in the 1880s, as a Grain Broker, leaving a wife and daughter at home in England. How, then did he manage to marry the young heiress and daughter of his friend in the USA? The New York Times reports that he managed to divorce his first wife in Nevada. I wonder if she knew? In 1892 his daughter from that first marriage was living in Brooklyn,  according to the US census.   Anita's probate record in 1908 states a '£50' bequest to Catherine Watson, widow. It looks as if Tom's first wife Catherine survived her ex-husband by 21 years. When she died in 1925 she left £19,902 12s 7d to her nephew, George Heath Crocket.
At least Catherine seems to have been well provided for and also their daughter Anita .The latter seems to have been good friends with her stepmother as they are only a year apart in age. They travel to the USA together in 1904, aged 35 and 34. Anita lived in Hale, Cheshire, possibly with her Mother. Catherine died in a house on the promenade, in Blackpool which, if she owned, explains the
money she left. Maybe that old scoundrel Tom Watson made provision for both his ex-wife and daughter as well as his new family.

Claus Spreckels, The Sugar King

Mimi's Mother, Jean Ferris was born in Reigate, Surrey. She was the daughter of Thomas Wakefield Ferris (born Fairford, Gloucestershire) and his wife, Emma Claudine. Emma was the only daughter of Claus Spreckels, otherwise known as The Sugar King, in the USA. Think 'Mr Tate and Lyle' in Britain!
 Claus was born in Hanover, in Germany and came to the USA where he made a lot of money from brewing and was able to buy land in both California and Hawaii. He made even more money growing and refining sugar.
His wife, Anna Christiana Mangels was also from Hanover and they had four children.Three were boys: John Dietrich, Adolph Bernard and Claus Augustus. Emma Claudine Spreckels was their only daughter. Her Father doted on her and was horrified when she eloped in 1896 with 'Tom' Watson, a San Francisco broker. They were married at San Jose. Thomas Watson was a friend of her Father's who used to come and dine with them. He was old enough to be her Father.
Claus had already given Emma about $2 million and when he expressed his displeasure at her marriage she returned $1,500.000 in bonds and property to him. He was furious and refused any contact with her new husband. He had just built a new mansion (see above) and had expected her to act as hostess to all his friends. Claus Spreckels was not a man who liked to be thwarted.

The Strange Story of Mimi's Mother Jean Harris, nee Ferris

It is not surprising that Nancie waited until she was 28 to marry my Father, Jack. She saw several marriages that were a disaster and not helped by the wealth of the couples. At the beginning of December in 1937 she had a long chat with Mimi's Mother, Jean Harris.In her diary Nancie says, about Jean, " What a life of accidents she has had!"
It certainly is a very strange story but a fascinating one. I'm not sure if Nancie knew the background detail at the time or just how much Jean told her at the time. She may not have known exactly where her wealthy employer's money had come from, only the fact that it did not bring her the happiness she craved. I had never heard of Claus Spreckels when I started my research but it is to the USA and The Sugar King himself that we need to go back to, to understand Jean's situation. 

Above we see Jean's daughter, Mimi Harris and her friend Consuelo Earle.

Nancie meets Reverend Donald Caskie

On the 5th November 1937 the fireworks from the Paris Exhibition woke little Mimi. The following week Nancie took her to see the exhibition. Her diary includes the comment, "Grande Bretagne very disappointing. Austria, Rumania, USSR and Germany, especially the last two, very impressive." Sounds a bit like The Eurovision Song Contest!
Nancie would take Mimi, on the bus to the Scots Kirk, in Rue Bayard, near Rue Jean Goujon. They got off the bus at the Pont d'Alma. "Mr Caskie", says Nancie,"stays at Rue Puccini." Not long after their first meeting Nancie dined with Donald Caskie (later to become famous as ' The Tartan Pimpernel' ) and another Scot, Allan Gourlay.
Donald Caskie was born on Islay where his Father was a crofter. He attended Bowmore School and Dunoon Grammar School before going on to Edinburgh University to study Arts and Divinity. His first job as a minister was at Gretna and from there he went to the Scots Kirk in Paris.
When the Germans arrived in Paris during the Second World War he went down to Marseilles in the south of France, where he helped British Servicemen to escape. He worked with Pat O' Leary RN who was later awarded the George Cross. When being interrogated by the enemy Caskie spoke in Gaelic which really confused them. He then went to Grenoble where he acted as Chaplain for the British POWs. He was nearly executed for his efforts to get civilians released but was put in a POW camp instead, having narrowly escaped a firing squad.
Returning to Paris after the war he was awarded the OBE for his work and he was also honoured by the French. Nancie kept in touch with him over the years, remembering the dinners and dances put on by the Caledonian Society in Paris in the pre-war years. Donald Caskie died in Greenock in 1983, having lived in Edinburgh after he retired. Before that he was Minister at Wemyss Bay, Skelmorlie,and Monkton, Ayrshire.
When Nancie eventually met Jack she hope that they would be married by Donald Caskie at the Scots Kirk in Paris but sadly Hitler scuppered her plans! The Scots Kirk was damaged during the war and all proceeds from " The Tartan Pimpernel", the book which he wrote about his life, were to go towards its rebuilding.

Villa Korsar in St Jean de Luz

On the 15th October 1937 Nancie was interviewed in London by a Mrs Josephine Grove who lived in Kew and was, Nancie thought, a close friend of the parents of her new employer, a Mrs Harris. She was to be governess to Mrs Harris' s daughter, Elizabeth Marshall Harris, affectionately known as 'Mimi'. Little Mimi was about four years old in 1937 . Nancie later found out that Josephine Grove had been companion to Mrs Harris, then Jean Ferris, when she was a girl.
On 20th October, after a few days in London visiting old friends (such as Iona Watson) and also Aunt Min, Nancie flew to Paris.
It was around now that she finally broke off her romance with 'Mac', by letter. She had received his letters which had been forwarded from the Old Greyhound Pub. She wrote many letters and received many all her life. She wrote to Mrs Roger for whom she had worked in Iraq. A lot of these friendships lasted for many years and she supported many of her friends through the upheavals in their own lives.
Little did she know that this job would lead to her meeting my Father and finally settling down to become a housewife in Hough Green, Widnes (then in Cheshire), England, living a quiet life with her son and daughter: me and my brother.
Nancie had a few more adventures to come before then so let us return to the Villa Korsar in autumn 1937.
  

Stanley Deason

If you go to Brighton or Hove you will see this name on many of the local buses. The Leisure centre also bears the name 'Stanley Deason Leisure Centre'. Sadly the school named after Stanley Deason is no longer in existence. The man in question was a Socialist and a councillor and alderman from 1928 until 1973. He was made Mayor in 1963, helping to fund raise for the restoration of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton when millions of pounds were needed.
Back in 1937 Stanley and his wife Vera Rose (nee Winter) were running the Old Greyhound pub in Tinsley Green. Nancie gave him the nickname 'le chameau' (the camel) but describes his wife as 'ravissante'. He does somewhat resemble Frankie Howerd in photographs!

The Old Greyhound Public House at Tinsley Green

On her return from Haft Kel at the end of 1937 Nancie stayed at the same hotel in London that she had previously stayed in with the Holt family. It was near Kensington Gardens and she enjoyed the lovely green grass and the 'heavenly trees. After the bare landscape of the Anglo-Iranian oilfields it must have seemed like paradise.She also went home for a few weeks and enjoyed meeting up with all her old friends. She celebrated her 25th birthday while she was there.
On July 19th 1937 Nancie returned to London by train and met a Mr Winter with his brother in law Mr Deason. A few days later she met Mrs Deason and on the 29th they left Shrubbery Gardens for Tinsley Green.
Nancie was to look after the Deasons' little daughter Diana. They lived at The Old Greyhound Pub in the village of Tinsley Green, in West Sussex. The pub has been replaced by a more modern building but is still the home of the annual World Marbles Championship. This was apparently revived in 1932 after a break of 50 years and takes place every Good Friday, the prize being a silver cup.
Nancie never mentioned this to us as children so I don't know if she was aware of the marbles connection. The old pub building is still there at the edge of the car park for the new pub building. It is just an old cottage really. There is a film of the World Marbles Championship taking place there in 1938 on you-tube, if anyone is desperate to see it!
When I first wrote these notes up I was amused to realise that I was doing it on  Good Friday. Nancie didn't stay with the Deasons for very long and didn't, as far as I know, keep in touch with them. She does mention 'working in the evening' and I take this to mean that she was expected to work behind the bar. Having been used to be waited on in her time abroad, this really wasn't her 'cup of tea'. By October of that year she was being interviewed for her next post.

Nancie's First Romance with Bill Park

Nancie left Kilmacolm School when she was about fifteen and went to work in an office at Hurry Brothers in Greenock. She found it very boring but it was probably then that she met Bill Park. He was several years older than her and she considered herself 'engaged' to him when she set off for Baghdad in 1929. On her return he bought her a ring and the engagement became official. Bill Park was at sea and travelled the world on the Prince Line, eventually becoming Chief Electrician on the 'Southern Prince'. In 1930 Nancie went off to Le Havre, in France to work. They kept in touch by letter and when Bill met a girl called 'Tissie' he asked Nancie for his ring back. She happily sent it to him but regretted it later. Bill and Tissie had a son, David but sadly she died of cancer in her thirties. Nancie considered that her early courtship had been a good life-lesson. She had her principles and wasn't going to give up on them, even with a ring on her finger. Other people, she decided were not so principled. She believed in marriage but it had to be with the right person and one who shared her moral principles. She had seen unhappiness in a marriage and wanted something better for which she was prepared to wait! Her faith and her strong moral sense kept her safe through many romantic adventures. Both jobs, in Baghdad and Haft Kel were in isolated places where females were in short supply. No wonder Nancie was never short of an escort or a dance partner!

Haft Kel - the middle of nowhere.

Nancie met quite a few young men during her time in Haft Kel. One of these was Len Smedley and others included Ken Henry, Graham Service and Denzil Ian Norman McCleod. The latter, known to her as 'Mac' was to figure quite largely in her life. Unfortunately her diary for 1936 has not survived and part of  the 1937 one is missing so there will be gaps in her story. She did always boast that she was engaged five times before she met my Father! Her first engagement was a 'useful' one that served to put off prospective suitors. She claimed to be engaged to 'someone back home'. That someone was  I think, Duncan Bryson. It was a convenient arrangement and he always took her out when she came home. Nancie and 'Mac ':

Nancie's life in Haft Kel. 1936

As you can see from the photographs Haft Kel was a bleak and desolate place for a young woman to spend a whole eight months. The scenery is like a moonscape!It was quite a long way inland from the port of Abadan. The complex's living quarters consisted of a lot of identical bungalows for the employees and a clubhouse. There was a golf course, a swimming pool, tennis courts and workshops associated with the oil business.
There was one other unattached young lady who was called Iona Watson and she and Nancie became firm friends. They met up later in London in 1937, the day before Nancie left for another job in Paris.
Life revolved around the social club and the two girls would have been in great demand for tennis, dancing and so on. They were amused to see how the wives had tried to decorate the identically furnished bungalows with fabric brought from England to bring a bit of individuality to the decor.
It must have been a strange life and eight months was probably quite enough for Nancie.