Beeden-McCarthy Family Mysteries

Profile manager: Barbara Hampson [send private message]

The Story of Esmet

I've been trying to trace down a family story about my great grandfather, George Beeden II. As the story goes, his great aunt Ursula was English governess to the Khadive of Egypt. During a civil uprising she escaped with the children and a bag of jewels to England. The ruler was so grateful that he gave her rewards, including a gold watch inscribed with the story.

The watch is supposed to be in the London Museum, but I've written to the current Museum of London and they have not been able to find record of the watch. However, I was told it's possible the watch might not have been properly catalogued back in 1960's when the collection was moved to the new museum. And with coronavirus the physical museum is closed so they are not able to do a physical search of their stores at this time.

What would help to track this story down (and verify if it is true or just family folklore) is if I had more information on 'Great Aunt Ursula' like perhaps her full name, or when she served as governess, to which Khadive, etc.

I have very limited information on George Henry Beeden II parents, only their names George Henry Beeden I and Emily (McCarthy) Beeden and that they were both born in England around 1830. Great Aunt Ursula would have been the aunt of one of these two.

Here's a link to the Story of Esmet , hoping that provides some additional clues. I would love to hear any suggestions for how to track this down and confirm if these events are true. It's an intriguing story that was sent to me in 1976 by my father's cousin Emily (Hickey) Jurinski, who helped me get started in genealogy.

Thanks! Barbara