The collection contains 13 letters written by Midshipman Cuthbert Druitt
while he was stationed with the Royal Navy at Plymouth, England and
Montreal, Canada. Also included is one letter written by Captain Cochran
along with Druitt's Certificate of Health. ******* BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:
Cuthbert Druitt (b. c1852) was a naval cadet and midshipman in the Royal
Navy. He served aboard the H.M.S. Constance in 1865 at Plymouth, England,
and, in 1867, aboard the H.M.S. Wolverine at Montreal, Canada. Before
joining the Navy in 1864, Druitt attended a private academy in Gosport to
prepare for cadetship. Druitt was the son of Dr. Robert Druitt. He was the
cousin of Montague Druitt, a man who was suspected by some to be responsible
for the Whitechapel murders of 1888. (note: In his letters, Druitt
identifies the ship he is aboard in 1867 as H.M.S. "Wolverene," an alternate
spelling for H.M.S. "Wolverine.") Dr. Robert Druitt (1814-1883), medical
writer, was born at Wimborne, Dorsetshire the son of a medical practitioner.
He married a Miss Hopkinson in 1945 and their children included Cuthbert,
Robert Jr., Isabella (Ella), Emily (b. 1856), and Lionel. Dr. Druitt was
the uncle of Montague Druitt, one of the suspects in the famous Whitechapel
murder case. Bishop Francis Fulford (1803-1868) was the son of Baldwin
Fulford of Fulford Magna, Devonshire. He was appointed the first bishop of
the new diocese of Montreal, Canada in July of 1850. In September of 1867
he visited England to take part in the proceedings of the pan-anglican synod
at Lambeth. [Biographical Sources: Dictionary of National Biography: From
the Earliest Times to 1900, Oxford University Press, London. Ryder, Stephen
P. (Ed.). "Emily and the Bibliophile." Casebook: Jack the Ripper. Accessed:
13 March 2003.
ACCESSION DATA: Status: Open Photocopying: Permitted Provenance: Dr. John C. Hirsh, October 2004. Processed by Heidi Rubenstein, October 2004.
BULK DATES: 1865 - 1867
EXTENT: 1 box
SPAN DATES: 1865 - 1867
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