On Thursday, 2 March 2000 08:00:00 UTC, Peter Haizelden wrote: > Don, > > Sir Henry Harben was never Lord Mayor of London - just the man from the Pru. > And Caroline Harben not only married a local politian (as you put it - but > actually a screw manufacturer) but was mother to Rt. Hon. Joseph > Chamberlain, PC, MP, President of the Board of Trade, three times Mayor of > Birmingham, and in turn grandmother to Austen and Neville Chamberlain, the > latter now infamous for that cosy chat with a german chappy, and some say he > followed in the family's trade and screwed things up ;-o > > -- > Peter Haizelden > PHaizelden@Maypowder.Freeserve.co.uk > Researching the Mayors and Lord Mayors of London 1189-present (since 1975) > Now researching the Aldermen of the City of London > > > > "Don Moody" <don@hyperpeople.demon.co.uk> wrote in message > news:+3+yOCA5eRv4Ew1s@hyperpeople.demon.co.uk... > > Dear All, > > > [snip] > > > I would also like to hear from anybody researching BAIN, particularly > > the part of the family from Bonhill, Dunbartonshire; and from anybody > > researching HARBEN particularly including my ggrandfather Sir Henry > > Harben 1823-1911, Lord Mayor of London and boss of The Pru, and his vast > > number of descendants and siblings with their descendants. > > > > I have been surprised not to be able to find anything on HARBEN in > > GENUKI or similar sources. The family was not exactly invisible. It > > includes other quite well-known businessmen. Sir Henry's aunt Caroline > > married a local politician in Birmingham by name of J Chamberlain; and > > his great-aunt Susan Harben was said to be the model for Mrs Hardern in > > 'Jane Eyre'. Sir Henry's father Henry was one of 18 siblings, and his > > father, another Henry, was one of 13 siblings. Sir Henry fancied himself > > as an actor and there have been professional actors in the family, > > including a certain cook and his sister who played Mona Lott in ITMA. > > Put another way, the old devil fancied actresses and his second wife, my > > ggrandmother, was a wild Irish one. She lived next door to Sir Arthur > > Sullivan, who 'discovered' daughter Ethel as a singer and encouraged her > > to go to Germany. Which brings us back to my missing uncle Bernard. > > > > Sorry the posting is longer than normal, but it seemed best to include > > all available scraps of circumstantial information. Hopefully one bit > > will ring a bell with somebody somewhere. > > > > Don hi, im sallyann downes,daughter of pauline harben and am interested in family tree. my grandfather was lancelot george harben and his cousin was phillip harben. my husbands e-mail is billdownes99@gmail.com