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From: "harshawardhan_bosham nimkhedkar" <>
Subject: Re: [India-L] Re: Woodhouse/Wodehouse
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2003 13:15:50 +0530
References: <1d2.eaee68d.2c5d1bd7@aol.com> <018d01c35985$be807d40$cf65013d@pentium4> <3F2CE431.1B52BBAE@hal-pc.org>


----- Original Message ----- From: "Ian Poyntz" -- I'm not sure that any of
Wodehouse's ancestors was called Woodhouse. I can't find any, but my
records of the name only go back to Roger Wodehouse who died in 1588. Just
for the fun of it, I've taken a look at his family to see if I could make a
connection to India. I found that the Wodehouse line has close historical
ties to South Africa but none to India that I could find.
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I started this thread, and I will conclude it by adding something more to Mr
Poyntz's informative message --- I promise, I'll be as brief as possible.
Apologies to those who may find this boring.

1 -- To begin with, the Wodehouse -- India (historical) connexion. The most
important one -- Sir Philip Edmond Wodehouse, (1811 - 1887), was Governor of
the Bombay Presidency from 1872 to 1877. There is a road named after him in
Colaba, Bombay (and also one in Malaya -- Malaysia). He was a second cousin,
once removed, of P.G. (Plum) Wodehouse. Their common ancestor was Sir Armine
Wodehouse, 5th baronet, MP, 1714 - 77. (See, "Wooster Sauce", the journal of
the PGWodehouse UK Society, December 2001 issue).

Of secondary importance, are these facts --- (a) Plum's elder brother Armine
served in India during the first two decades of the last century as an
educationist. He was stationed first in Benaras, and then in Bombay. He was
closely associated with the Theosophical Movement, and at Dr Annie Besant's
behest, taught the then young J. Krishnamurti, who later became a world
famous philosopher. (b) Leonard Rowley, the first husband of Plum's wife
Ethel, was in India, working for the Kolar Gold Fields. He and Ethel had one
daughter Leonora, who was born in India. Rowley died around 1905, because of
water-borne infection. He was buried somewhere near Kolar GF. Ethel then
re-married twice, Plum was her third and last husband. Later on, he adopted
Leonora as his daughter. (c) India had also another, very weird, influence
on Plum's life. His father Henry Ernest was a colonial magistrate in Hong
Kong. He used to be paid in Indian Rupees. After retirement, he returned to
England. To his horror, the government continued to pay him his pension in
Indian Rupees there also, which he had to convert in pounds at the then
prevailing rates. (The exchange rate was very jumpy, even at that time.)
This affected the state of his finances, and therefore, he could not afford
to send Plum to any university, after his school life. Plum was always
rather bitter about this Indian shadow on his life.)

2 -- On the point of the variant spelling of Wodehouse / Woodhouse (in
Plum's family) ---
the Alumni Cantabriensis entry for Sir Philip Wodehouse (c.1559? - 1623)
says this --- :

WOODHOUSE or WODEHOUSE, PHILIP; College: TRINITY; Entered: Easter, 1577;
Born: Died: Oct. 30, 1623; ---- etc.

see --- http://apling.freeservers.com/Names/Wodehouse.htm

See also the "Wodehouse branch of the family" from the "Woodhouse History"
at http://www.rm2.mcmail.com/history.htm

Thanks, and regards

--- Harshawardhan Nimkhedkar
August 4 2003

***** I am able to love my God
because He gives me freedom to deny Him. *****
---- Rabindranath Tagore

Harshawardhan Nimkhedkar in Nagpur, India
phone -- 0712-2239027
My internet group on P.G.Wodehouse --
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blandings
I am also a member of the English language study-list


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