Our common ancestors - Herbert - Contents
Augustus Reebkomp (later Montgomery)
- References:
- Reebkomp's Royal Navy record.
- MALTASS paper and microfiche in [SOG] Document Collection
Capt. Augustus Montgomery, Royal Navy, 1789 (age 27).
Picture in possession of Gibbon of South Africa.
This is is a (very good) painted copy of the original portrait by Sir William Beechey which is now in Wilton House.
The original portrait by William Beechey was commissioned by the 10th Earl, exhibited at the Royal Academy 1792 (when everyone involved in the affair was still alive), and now hangs in the Colonnade Room, Wilton House.
Light adjusted digitally. See full size and alternative and original.
Image courtesy of Mike Hilligan.
Augustus Reebkomp (later Montgomery) [descendant of Edward III], see here,
illegitimate son of 10th Earl of Pembroke, born 23rd Nov 1762, England,
his will 1796 mentions a grant of a coat of arms from the Herald's Office "by which my father the Earl of Pembroke acknowledges me as his son",
it is about as well-documented an illegitimacy as you could imagine, and about as well-accepted by the legitimate family, even Lady Pembroke generously welcomed him at Wilton (though she blocked his adoption of the surname Herbert),
he was liked especially by his half-brother George (the future 11th Earl), who had no other brother,
money came out of the Herbert family for them for almost a full hundred years,
think he grew up mainly at Wilton,
not sure how much contact he had with his mother Kitty Hunter, the Earl of Pembroke paid her a pension, presumably she did not visit Wilton,
but they stayed in contact, her new lover the (future) Earl of Bristol was Reebkomp's godfather, and her eventual husband Alured Clarke stayed in contact with Reebkomp (and the Montgomery family, after Reebkomp's death),
referred to in letters as "Reeb" or "Rep:",
educ Eton 1767-71,
entered Royal Navy as child
(first record June 1773, age 10),
was allowed be present at Wilton during the Royal visit 1778,
Apr 1778 (age 15), midshipman, on the Bienfaisant,
Mar 1779, midshipman, Europe
(possibly this is the
Europa),
Sept 1779, midshipman, Victor, serving with Royal Navy off America as at 1779,
his Gibbon descendants said he was on
Grand Tour
with his half-brother, but this would be temp 1779,
he was in Navy,
Mar 1780 (age 17), appointed Lieutenant on the Hope,
conflict with the newly-independent America,
en route from "Charlestown" [unidentified, a number of possibilities] to New York to join the Hope,
he was captured 24th Mar 1780 off "Sandy Hook" [unidentified, a number of possibilities]
by an American privateer,
carried into Rhode Island,
July 1781 (age 18), appointed Captain of the Ranger
(later the Pigmy),
took surname Montgomery on receiving his commission 1781,
May 1782, Captain, Buffalo,
June 1782, leave,
Sept 1782, Captain, Borcas,
May 1783, Captain, Concord,
Sept 1783, leave (for nearly 5 yrs),
May 1788, Captain, Mercury,
May 1791, leave (got married, George conceived),
mar post-May, 1791 [mar settled by 10th Earl]
to Susan Maltass [born est c.1770],
Jan 1793, Captain, Inconstant,
the 11th Earl writes to his mother, Aug 1793, saying that Reebkomp's marriage is not happy:
"A Wasps' Nest there very likely is, but I fear she has been herself unsupportable to him,
and she is such an execrable fool, that I am inclined to fear there are but small hopes
and I have likewise heard enough to make me suspect that her conduct has not always been the
most regular in any respect."
[Pembroke Papers, vol.II],
however, Reebkomp in his will 1796 still refers to "my beloved wife Susan",
as at Apr 1794, Inconstant is in Mediterranean
[Steel's list],
Jan 1795, Captain, Courageux
(a ship captured from the French in 1761),
June 1795, Captain, Audacious,
July 1795, Captain, Bedford,
Nov 1795, leave (Elizabeth conceived),
May 1796, Captain,
Theseus,
pron. "Thee-seus",
will dated 13th June 1796, written on board the Theseus at sea,
died on board his ship the Theseus at
Cawsand Bay, Plymouth,
6th Feb 1797, age 34 yrs.
|
This was just one week before the second
Battle of Cape St. Vincent
(and here)
off Portugal, 14th Feb 1797,
the first of
Nelson's naval victories
against the French and Spanish
(leading up to the
Battle of Trafalgar 1805).
Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent was the Captain, under Capt. Ralph Willett Miller. The Captain was badly damaged in the successful battle. After Reebkomp's death, the Theseus came out from England to join the fleet, with the crew a "hotbed of mutiny and intrigue". Nelson made the Theseus his new flagship, under Capt. Miller, c.Apr-May 1797, and they restored order. It took part in the Battle of the Nile 1798. Note there would be further ships called HMS Theseus. |
Reebkomp was bur 16th Feb 1797
in church yard
of Stoke Damerel,
Stoke,
city of Plymouth,
Devon,
no monument erected to him there,
this is the parish church of St.Andrew & St.Luke,
E end of Paradise Road, S end of Stoke
(see map),
his will was pr
(by 11th Earl) 11th Mar 1797,
Prerogative Court of Canterbury.
Family names Augustus, Augusta and Montgomery
in the Gibbon family after him.
Susan, "otherwise Suzanne",
"widow, householder",
is listed as residing at
62 rue Neuve-Saint-Augustin,
Paris,
at time of her death
[SOG document],
this is now
rue Saint-Augustin,
between Avenue de l'Opera
and
Rue de Richelieu
(see map),
note her mother
was possibly French,
her
will dated 12th Dec 1850
[SOG document],
died 12th July 1851, age est c.81 yrs
[letter to Arthur Augustus Gibbon 27th Dec 1882],
admin 14th July 1853,
Prerogative Court of Canterbury,
"All property to her son
Augustin Henry Saladin Montgomery",
had issue:
- Rev. George Augustus Montgomery,
born 7th Nov 1793. - Elizabeth Montgomery,
poss. after her grandmother Kitty Hunter [Elizabeth Catherine],
born 12th July 1796,
bapt 13th July, par of St.Margaret, think Westminster, Co.Middlesex,
there is a book of Gulliver's Travels, pub 1803, a gift from her uncle the 11th Earl to her, 22nd Dec 1806 [her age 10, must be Christmas present],
there is a book, Fables by John Gay, a gift to her from "the Dowager Lady Pembroke" (must be Elizabeth Spencer, widow of her grandfather), 21st Oct 1807 [her age 11],
mar 1814 to Arthur Gibbon and had issue.
- Augustin Henry Saladin Montgomery,
not listed on Gibbon family tree,
and Elizabeth's marriage contract 1815 doesn't list him, it states: "And whereas the said Testator" [Reebkomp] "left issue two children, a son and a daughter", namely just the two above,
but [SOG document] lists him as Susan's son, and as sole beneficiary of her will, pr 1853,
not mentioned in Reebkomp's will 1796, possibly born after his death?, i.e. born late 1797,
presumably should be "Augustus" - after his father - the same [SOG document] refers to his father also as "Augustin",
"Saladin" is the great medieval Muslim leader who fought the Crusaders, seems an amusing reference to his mother's Turkish background.
A quarter-size copy, in possession of the Gibbon family, of the original portrait at Wilton.
This copy is thought to have been painted by Reebkomp's great-granddaughter Florence Gibbon around the turn of the century.
See full size and alternative scan.
(Left) Detail of a
portrait of her father
by Florence Gibbon.
See full size.
(Right) Detail of our copy of the Reebkomp portrait.
See full size.
Seems to be the same style.
Florence must have been allowed in to Wilton
around the turn of the century to copy it.
Augustus Reebkomp.
Picture in possession of
Gibbon of South Africa.
Looks like a sketch of the portrait at Wilton.
Light adjusted digitally.
See original.
Image courtesy of Mike Hilligan.
The church of St.Andrew & St.Luke, Stoke Damerel, Plymouth
Burial place of Augustus Reebkomp (later Montgomery), 1797.The church of St.Andrew & St.Luke, Stoke Damerel, Plymouth.
Click to toggle map/satellite view. Click to zoom in/out. Drag to move.
From Google Maps.
The church of St.Andrew & St.Luke, Stoke Damerel, Plymouth. Photo 2006.
See full size.
From here.
See terms of use.
62 rue Neuve-Saint-Augustin, Paris
Susan Maltass lived here 1851.This is now rue Saint-Augustin, though street view shows numbers on rue Saint-Augustin do not go up to (or even close to) no.62 today.
Rue Saint-Augustin, Paris, today.
Click to toggle map/satellite view. Click to zoom in/out. Drag to move.
From Google Maps.
The lost Greuze portrait
Augustus Reebkomp as a younger man, perhaps around the time he got his commission 1781.
See smaller shot.
This is a photo of a lost portrait, thought to be by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (NOT Greuse).
We know that Greuze painted Reebkomp's half-brother the 11th Earl in Paris in 1780. Probably this portrait was done around the same time.
The Greuze portrait
was inherited by Reebkomp's descendant
Arthur F.V. Gibbon.
The above
photo shows the Greuze
hanging in
Lawn House
in Apr 1913.
See full size
and original.
See close-up
and further close-up.
Shows that the Greuze
was quite a large picture.
To the left and right are the portraits of
Capt. Robert Gibbon
and
Barbara Yeats.
Detail
also shows the silhouette of
William Henry Gibbon.
Arthur F.V. Gibbon sold the Greuze
sometime between 1913 and 1926
to meet debts
(notably school fees).
Maybe the above picture of it is cut out of the auction catalogue.
The photo looks very professional.
Its whereabouts are now unknown.
- Jean-Baptiste Greuze
- search (and here)
- image search (and here)
