a young man named Marr - Stanstead Abbots Hertfordshire
Wall monument with portrait surrounded by a grieving woman and urn, all below a coat of arms.
"In memory of Sir Felix Booth, baronet, FRS, of 48 Portland Place, Middlesex, and Great Catworth Hunts; The third and youngest son of Philip and Elizabeth Booth. He died January 25th 1850 aged 69.
He was created a baronet by His Majesty William 4th as a reward for his patriotism in fitting out at his sole cost and expedition in the Endeavour to discover a north west passage in the year 1829"
Sir Felix Booth, 1st Bart 1780 - 1850 was a wealthy gin distiller, and promoter of Arctic exploration, with various places in Nunavut, Canada, being named after him.
He was one of 7 children of Philip Booth 1818 & Elizabeth Walls who lived in the fashionable Russell Square on the Bedford Estate in Bloomsbury London.
His father ran Philip Booth& Company, distillers of Clerkenwell to which he joined with his 2 elder brothers later after his father's death working with his brother John Gillyat Booth, Felix would subsequently get sole control of the business.
With energy and drive, Felix expanded the business by building a second distillery at Brentford on the River Thames just six miles from Hyde Park Corner, and purchasing the neighbouring brewery of Hazard and Company, which he renamed as the Red Lion Brewery. By establishing a distillery at Edinburgh in Scotland, Felix could then boast that he was the owner of the biggest distilling business in Great Britain.
Having served as Alderman and Master of the Worshipful Company of Coopers, in 1828 aged 48, he was elected Sheriff of the City of London and the county of Middlesex.
He had by now accumulated considerable wealth and decided to use his money to privately fund a voyage of exploration to the Arctic Seas in search of the North West Passage. He provided £17,000 for the expenses of the expedition of Captain (later Sir John) Ross who also added £3,000, financing his 21 companions, equipped with stores and supplies to last several years, on a voyage on the paddle-steamer "Victory" which left in May 1829 and returned to Hull in October 1833 having mapped an area of over half-million square miles and naming the Gulf of Boothia, Isthmus of Boothia, Continent of Boothia Felix, Felix Harbor, Cape Felix, and Sheriff's Harbor etc after their patron:
For his financial contribution, he was knighted by the King and created a baronet Booth of Portland Place co. Middlesex and Great Catwood, co. Huntingdon on 27 March 1835, with in default of his own legitimate male issue, to the heirs male of his eldest brother, William Booth, of Roydon Hall, Essex.
In 1832, Sir Felix Booth bought the site of the old Ophthalmic Hospital in Albany Street, Regent's Park as a site for his distillery. In 1840, he went into partnership with William Grimble to experiment with producing vinegar from the spirits left over from the manufacturing process which was unsuccessful leaving him to revert to the more conventional method of vinegar brewing.
He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society & a Fellow of the Royal Society from April 1834.
Between 1840 to 1843, Sir Felix was in a blackmail situation and it was ultimately taken to court in 1843. (Sir Felix had a second cousin once removed also named Felix Booth, born 1805, who with the intent to exhort money, threatened to reveal to the police that Sir Felix had committed unlawful sexual crimes, namely homosexual relations with a young man named Marr. Sir Felix in court at Hull vigorously denied the claims and admitted he had fathered a son with a Scottish woman in Edinburgh, who he had financially assisted through his growth years. This 'love child' was referred in the court as simply Mr Marr. The court ruled Sir Felix to be innocent and his cousin Felix was found guilty of blackmail and sentenced to 20 years' transportation to Australia.
Sir Felix Booth died unexpectedly, still unmarried, of heart failure whilst staying in a Brighton hotel . His funeral procession passed respectful bare-headed villagers lining the roadside in Edmonton and Hoddesdon. Six horses, preceded by outriders, drew the hearse, 6 coaches of mourners followed it and Sir Felix's private carriage, empty of passengers, brought up the rear. It was said that "Sir Felix Booth dies generally and justly lamented. he was in every respect a princely citizen of London. His immense wealth, acquired by his own industry, was devoted to the benefit or enjoyment of others. His disposition was amiable and his habits splendid. He took delight in hospitality and in acts of kindness and charity".
His nephew, Sir Williamson Booth (1810–1877), succeeded him as 2nd baronet
His illegitimate son John Marshall Marr, a beneficiary of the will of his father, married Emma Minchin in 1836 at Exeter producing 4 sons & 8 daughters.
Booth's Gin, owned by Diageo, ceased production in 2017 and in November 2018, the brand was sold to the Sazerac Company.
His funeral hatchment is nearby www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/rQ88r6
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Booth - Church of St James, Stanstead Abbots Hertfordshire
hertfordshirechurches.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/st-james-s...
a young man named Marr - Stanstead Abbots Hertfordshire
Wall monument with portrait surrounded by a grieving woman and urn, all below a coat of arms.
"In memory of Sir Felix Booth, baronet, FRS, of 48 Portland Place, Middlesex, and Great Catworth Hunts; The third and youngest son of Philip and Elizabeth Booth. He died January 25th 1850 aged 69.
He was created a baronet by His Majesty William 4th as a reward for his patriotism in fitting out at his sole cost and expedition in the Endeavour to discover a north west passage in the year 1829"
Sir Felix Booth, 1st Bart 1780 - 1850 was a wealthy gin distiller, and promoter of Arctic exploration, with various places in Nunavut, Canada, being named after him.
He was one of 7 children of Philip Booth 1818 & Elizabeth Walls who lived in the fashionable Russell Square on the Bedford Estate in Bloomsbury London.
His father ran Philip Booth& Company, distillers of Clerkenwell to which he joined with his 2 elder brothers later after his father's death working with his brother John Gillyat Booth, Felix would subsequently get sole control of the business.
With energy and drive, Felix expanded the business by building a second distillery at Brentford on the River Thames just six miles from Hyde Park Corner, and purchasing the neighbouring brewery of Hazard and Company, which he renamed as the Red Lion Brewery. By establishing a distillery at Edinburgh in Scotland, Felix could then boast that he was the owner of the biggest distilling business in Great Britain.
Having served as Alderman and Master of the Worshipful Company of Coopers, in 1828 aged 48, he was elected Sheriff of the City of London and the county of Middlesex.
He had by now accumulated considerable wealth and decided to use his money to privately fund a voyage of exploration to the Arctic Seas in search of the North West Passage. He provided £17,000 for the expenses of the expedition of Captain (later Sir John) Ross who also added £3,000, financing his 21 companions, equipped with stores and supplies to last several years, on a voyage on the paddle-steamer "Victory" which left in May 1829 and returned to Hull in October 1833 having mapped an area of over half-million square miles and naming the Gulf of Boothia, Isthmus of Boothia, Continent of Boothia Felix, Felix Harbor, Cape Felix, and Sheriff's Harbor etc after their patron:
For his financial contribution, he was knighted by the King and created a baronet Booth of Portland Place co. Middlesex and Great Catwood, co. Huntingdon on 27 March 1835, with in default of his own legitimate male issue, to the heirs male of his eldest brother, William Booth, of Roydon Hall, Essex.
In 1832, Sir Felix Booth bought the site of the old Ophthalmic Hospital in Albany Street, Regent's Park as a site for his distillery. In 1840, he went into partnership with William Grimble to experiment with producing vinegar from the spirits left over from the manufacturing process which was unsuccessful leaving him to revert to the more conventional method of vinegar brewing.
He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society & a Fellow of the Royal Society from April 1834.
Between 1840 to 1843, Sir Felix was in a blackmail situation and it was ultimately taken to court in 1843. (Sir Felix had a second cousin once removed also named Felix Booth, born 1805, who with the intent to exhort money, threatened to reveal to the police that Sir Felix had committed unlawful sexual crimes, namely homosexual relations with a young man named Marr. Sir Felix in court at Hull vigorously denied the claims and admitted he had fathered a son with a Scottish woman in Edinburgh, who he had financially assisted through his growth years. This 'love child' was referred in the court as simply Mr Marr. The court ruled Sir Felix to be innocent and his cousin Felix was found guilty of blackmail and sentenced to 20 years' transportation to Australia.
Sir Felix Booth died unexpectedly, still unmarried, of heart failure whilst staying in a Brighton hotel . His funeral procession passed respectful bare-headed villagers lining the roadside in Edmonton and Hoddesdon. Six horses, preceded by outriders, drew the hearse, 6 coaches of mourners followed it and Sir Felix's private carriage, empty of passengers, brought up the rear. It was said that "Sir Felix Booth dies generally and justly lamented. he was in every respect a princely citizen of London. His immense wealth, acquired by his own industry, was devoted to the benefit or enjoyment of others. His disposition was amiable and his habits splendid. He took delight in hospitality and in acts of kindness and charity".
His nephew, Sir Williamson Booth (1810–1877), succeeded him as 2nd baronet
His illegitimate son John Marshall Marr, a beneficiary of the will of his father, married Emma Minchin in 1836 at Exeter producing 4 sons & 8 daughters.
Booth's Gin, owned by Diageo, ceased production in 2017 and in November 2018, the brand was sold to the Sazerac Company.
His funeral hatchment is nearby www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/rQ88r6
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Booth - Church of St James, Stanstead Abbots Hertfordshire
hertfordshirechurches.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/st-james-s...