Elizabeth Fair. 1903 ish.
I’ve been blogging about my one day trip to New York City, and I mentioned that Margaret Nicholson visited NY in 1902 and mentioned it in a letter. A friend (or more likely relation)moved to Union City New Jersey in and around 1900.
Margaret mentions ‘all the all buildings’ but that is it. I wonder where they took her in 1900. Probably to one of the department stores. And likely also to Central Park.
I just happen to have a 1910 travel diary in my possession. It belonged to the young woman above, Elizabeth Hardy Fair, who just happens to be General Douglas MacArthur’s first cousin, and a great aunt of my husband’s on his father’s side.
She did a tour of London, Wales and Paris in 1910.
(In 1903, she attended Douglas MacArthur’s West Point Graduation, for I saw the dance card.)
Her diary says she is 5 foot 10 and a half, so just imagine how TALL she was in one of the big hats of the era!! Her foot size is 5, so I wonder how she kept from falling over.
Elizabeth went to Europe in July 1910, two months after the King’s death and a year before the big heat wave, labour rallies and the Coronation.
Her diary is banal, which is too bad. She was a pretty social butterfly from Virginia, not a witty observant girl. Unfortunately, that’s who often had the money to travel.
And she visited the usual destinations, many of them popular today.
July 18: Had breakfast and at eight thirty saw Mrs. Moore off and then went shopping with Mrs. Morgan. Came home, ate lunch and rode in a bus to the Army and Navy store. Spent all afternoon there. My purchases consisted of 2 collars and one umbrella. Rained all morning. London awfully dingy and buildings all dark and dreary looking.
July 20:
Made an early start for Windsor. Reached there at 11 am and saw the Castle thoroughly. A perfect castle, just my idea of what one is. The dining table is 150 feet long and the table set used for state occasions has ten tons of gold plate in it.
The State Apartments are magnificent. Had lunch in a nearby restaurant (which one?) and then took a carriage down to Eton and attended a sevice in a quaint chapel (Which one?).
July 21: After breakfast, we visited the shops, returned to the hotel (The Metropole, which apparently can be seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) for lunch and later Mr. and Mrs. Morgan and I went to the Wallace Collection. A perfectly wonderful collection of things for one man ot have gathered together in a life time. Wallace was a benevolent man, an Englishman, and while in Paris in 97 he gave away over forty thousand pounds to the poor. After leaving the Collection, I took a bus down to the Strand, as far as the bus went.. Had dinner and after an hour or two in the lounge, retired…
July 22. Day clear and a vist to the Tower of London was the first thing on the programme and then Mr. William Campbell and his sister and I took a bus to Waite Chapel. There we hailed a taxi and drove to the Cheshire Cheese Inn for lunch. (Finally, you named a place!) Then we visited the Courts and saw the barristers all in wigs and gowns.
Then we visited Goldsmith’s grave, the old church built in the 10th century where the Knight’s Templar were organized (Temple Church) and dressed and went for tea with the Rafferty’s at 69 Grosvenor Street – the Empire Club. After the tea we took a spin in their motor.
July 23,
Day lovely for England but quite cool. Went all through the House of Parliament. Very grand. The House of Lords is particularly handsome. All red.House of Commons was green. Had lunch. Saw the suffragettes having a parade. Later went to the theatre with Mr. Traverse to see “Miss Gibbs”. Well-staged but much too long. (Editor: Understatement. This was a huge demonstration of thousands of suffragettes to Hyde Park. Edith Nicholson would have passed out for joy, or joined them. But Miss Elizabeth of Norfolk was not a ‘new woman’…”Our Miss Gibbs was a popular musical with 23 numbers.)
July 26. Mrs. Campbell and I spent most of the morning shopping and visited the SS offices. Met Mr. William Campbell and had lunch with him at Fuller’s. Then got on a bus and took a ride down the Strand and over London Bridge. Went home by taxi and after straightening ourselves out a bit, re-joined him and went by the tube to Hyde Park. Took tea at a nearby tea house. Hyde Park is nice, but as it is out of season, there is not a great deal to do there.
