Joseph Shepherd Munden (1758-1852)

My great 4x grandfather was a comedian in London. I found this information about him on-line:

"Birth: 1758
Death: Feb. 6, 1832

Actor, the son of a poulterer in Brook's Market, Leather Lane, Holborn, was born early in 1758, and was at the age of twelve in an apothecary's shop. Writing a good hand he was subsequently apprenticed to Mr. Druce, a law stationer in Chancery Lane. Prompted by his admiration for Garrick, he was in the habit of running away to join strolling companies, and was more than once brought home by his mother, In Liverpool he was engaged for a while at 10s. 6d. a week in the office of the town clerk, augmenting his income by appearing on the stage as a supernumerary. After playing with strollers at Rochdale, Chester, &c., and having the customary experience of hardship, he was engaged to play old men at Leatherhead. Thence he proceeded to Wallingford, Windsor, and Colnbrook, returned to London, took part in private performances at the Haymarket, and began to make his mark at Canterbury under Hurst, where in 1780 he was the original Faddle in Mrs. Burgess's comedy, 'The Oaks, or the Beauties of Canterbury.' In the company of Austin and Whitlock in Chester he held a recognised position, and he played at Brighton, Whitehaven, Newcastle, Lancaster, Preston, and Manchester. Money was then advanced to enable him to purchase the share of Austin in the management of the Chester, Newcastle, Lancaster, Preston, Warrington, and Sheffield theatres. At Covent Garden, with occasional summer appearances at the Haymarket, and frequent excursions into the country, he remained until 1811, rising gradually to the position of the most celebrated comedian of his day. In his first season he played Don Lewis in 'Love makes a Man,' Darby in the 'Poor Soldier,' Quidnunc in the 'Upholsterer,' Lazarillo in 'Two Strings to your Bow,' Level in 'High Life below Stairs,' Cassander in 'Alexander the Little,' Pedrillo in the 'Castle of Andalusia,' Daphne in 'Midas Reversed,' Tipple in the 'Flitch of Bacon,' and Camillo in the 'Double Falsehood.' On 4 Feb. 1791 he was the original Sir Samuel Sheepy in Holcroft's 'School for Arrogance,' an adaptation of 'Le Glorieux' of Destouches."

Joseph Shepherd Munden

Burial:St George's Churchyard Gardens
St Pancras Greater London, England


Joseph made a name for himself as a man of many faces. He was regarded as a caricaturist, being able to change his countenance depending on the situation. He was also apparently quite generous until he nearly drowned on his way back to London from Dublin in 1803. After that he became miserly with his money, leaving his wife an inadequate amount in his will. This was all the more inappropriate considering she rescued him from bad publicity brought about through his previous de facto relationship with Mary Jones, my four times great grandmother.

Mary Jones, by all accounts, was good looking, which presumably attracted Joseph in the early days. She called herself Mrs Munden in the 1780s, and she was given minor roles in plays he was involved in. Despite the fact that she had been described as vulgar and illiterate, she and Joseph had four daughters before she left him for actor John Hodgkinson in 1789. Hodgkinson in turn left her for another actress, Miss Brett, with whom he emigrated to America.

Mary continued to tread the boards as Mrs Hodgkinson until her death at Tiverton in Bath in October 1792.

Joseph, as mentioned earlier, overcame the bad publicity brought about through his relationship with Mary, by marrying the actress Frances Butler in 1789. She had social position, inherited from her father, and it seems she supported Joseph rather than concentrate on her own career, for the duration of their marriage.

Of course, we don’t really know what went on in people’s lives in these times before social media, so I will concentrate on the positive sides of my forebears where possible, rather than being too judgmental.

Thomas Greenwood (1750-1810)

Whilst Joseph was treading the boards in and around London and the provinces, Thomas Greenwood, also my four times grandfather, was, amongst other things, managing the family pub, known as the Bull and Gate, in Kentish Town. This pub is still standing, and has been for the last thirty years or so a popular watering hole offering live music. I believe Coldplay performed there once. We were fortunate enough to visit it with my cousin Dan, who also shares Thomas as an ancestor, in 2011.

Interestingly enough, Joseph Munden also had an association in Kentish Town, having lived there for a time, and was connected with the pub, probably through the fact that his first born daughter, Esther (1784-1875) ended up marrying Thomas junior (1779-1842).

The Survey of London Volume 19 describes the various buildings in the Kentish Town area in the 1800s, and this paragraph is taken from it:

"Thomas Greenwood, who died in 1810, owned the Bull and Gate and adjoining property. (ref. 138) He appears to have granted building leases from 1786 onwards. His wife Elizabeth took the property under his will. When it passed to his son Thomas Greenwood of Russell Square, esquire, in 1824, the Bull and Gate was tenanted by David Beynon. (ref. 139) The whole estate was then described as formerly the freehold inheritance of Samuel Shore and Francis Edmunds, afterwards of Mr. William Truman and since of John Craven, the trustee being Joseph Shepherd Munden. (ref. 140) In 1786 James Haygarth of St. Pancras and William Timmins of Bethnal Green, brickmakers, were building five houses in Craven Row, of which the northernmost was leased to Mary Emmotte of Charlotte Street, Rathbone Place, mantua maker, in 1789, and assigned by her executor in 1798 to Joseph Shepherd Munden of Kentish Town, comedian, (ref. 141) who afterwards appears as the occupant of a house on the site of the Convent now standing on the other side of the road (see p. 35)."

The Bull and Gate

Dan and myself 2011

Thomas Greenwood Jnr (1779-1842)

Thomas Snr and Elizabeth lived just down the road from the Bull and Gate, and not far from Greenwood Place. When Thomas Greenwood Jnr inherited the pub in 1824 he was by all accounts residing in Russell Square. He married Esther Munden and went onto become a very successful stockbroker and land owner near Regents Park. He acquired Number 21 Cumberland Terrace in 1835.

He and Esther lived led a fairly comfortable existence, beginning as inn keepers and through their own business sense and possibly good luck, becoming very wealthy.

After Thomas Jnr’s death Esther felt they should give something back to the community, and in her husband’s honour she started the Greenwood Alms Houses near the old neighbourhood in Kentish Town. They still stand today as offices, but the plaque bearing the Greenwood name is still on the building.

Greenwood Senior residence

Greenwood Junior residence

Joseph Greenwood (1816-1861)

The Joseph Greenwood story is a complicated one, and there are many more questions than answers. He certainly packed a lot of living into his 44 years.

He was the youngest son of Thomas and Esther Greenwood, and was born at St Pancras, London on 24th November 1816. Apparently his mother had wanted him to join the clergy, but instead he chose the army. He was educated at a military academy in Hanover before he was appointed Ensign in the 31st Regiment of the Imperial Army on 6th May 1836, then became Lieutenant on 27th October 1831, and eventually Captain on 31st March 1846. He greatly distinguished himself, under General Pollack, in the war in Afghanistan and he wrote a book called “The Campaign in Afghanistan” in 1844. It was during this time based in India that he married Catherine Sabina Perroux, from a medical family in Patna. This was on 24 September 1838.




In 1847 Joseph was appointed Major of Brigade and left on 1st July from Gravesend with Catherine and their son Colin Halkett Greenwood on the Minerva, along with a detachment of 80 Fencibles, for New Zealand. On board were 69 women and 147 children. They eventually arrived at Official Bay on 9th October, where he and Major General Pitt were received by a guard of honour.

The Fencibles were retired British soldiers and sailors of good character who were brought to New Zealand between 1847 and 1852 to provide a defence force for Auckland.

The Greenwoods lived very well, at one stage residing in a house at Emily Place in Auckland which had a frontage of around 150 feet to the road to Britomart Fort, and facing St Paul’s church. It was considered to be part of the best area in Auckland at the time, and had seven rooms and a cellar of Tasmanian timber, and stables out the back. They also owned land on both sides of Big Muddy Creek. Six hundred and twenty-one acres were on the Karangahape side, of which 118 acres were a free grant. A five hundred acre estate at Mangere, which they called Ascot, was where Joseph kept racehorses.

During his time in Auckland Joseph became involved in the community in various ways. He was a member of the Amateur Dramatic Society (carrying on the Munden tradition, perhaps), and through his interest in racehorses became a steward at various race meetings and jockey clubs. He was also on the committee of the Agricultural Society.

The Greenwoods attended the usual functions of the well-heeled, such as fancy dress balls and the Auckland Regatta.

Joseph undertook various excursions with local natives around the North Island, and during these excursions he continued to write. In 1850 he published an article called “Journey from Auckland to Taupo”, which appeared in the Maori Messenger in both English and Maori.

In 1853 the electors of the Pensioner’s Settlements nominated Joseph as a Candidate for the House of Representatives, and he was successfully elected. He retained this position until 1857, when he returned to England.

While it appears that Joseph lived the life of a much respected politician and family man, this was not in fact always the case. In 1856 he became the father of a half-caste son, Joseph McLean Greenwood, as a result of a liaison with an eighteen year old Maori girl by the name of Miriama Potiki. Not much is known about Miriama at that stage, apart from the fact that she was from Kawhia. What is known though is that she went on to live with a Solomon Clarke, who was known to Joseph, and in fact Joseph Junior apparently was christened Joseph Clarke. Miriama then went on to have two more children with Clarke.

When Joseph Senior returned to England it was possibly to try and restore his marriage, but unfortunately it was not to be. In the Census of 1861 he is listed as being the head of the house in Clarendon Square, and a Sarah Greenwood, nee Cousins, is listed as his wife. It appears that they were married in Chelmsford, Essex, in 1859, although there is no mention of her in his will in 1861. Catherine and his son Colin were meanwhile staying with Joseph’s brother and sister-in-law at the time of the census.

The following is an excerpt from an 1863 newspaper article written in relation to a court case brought by Catherine after his death, contesting his will:

"A NEW ZEALAND ROMANCE
COURT op PROBATE, and DIVORCE. March 7. (Before Sir C Cresswell and a Special Jury.) SCOTT AND HARRISON, V. GREENWOOD. In this case the plaintiffs propounded a will, of which they are the executors ; and the defendant, who is the widow of the testator, opposed it, on the ground of the incapacity of her husband at the time of his making the will, and also that undue influence had been exercised over him. Mr. Coleridge, Q.C., and Dr Spinks were counsel for the plaintiffs ; and the Queen's Advocate, Mr. Hawkins, Q.C., Dr Swabey, and Mr. Archibald for the defendant. Mr.Coleridge, Q.C., in opening the plaintiffs' case, said that the testator, Joseph Greenwood, who had been a captain in her Majesty's service, executed the will in question in August, 1859, and died in July, 1861. He was the son of a gentleman who had made a large fortune on the Stock Exchange. During the life of "his father he entered the army, which he joined in India, where he greatly distinguished himself, under Sir G. Pollok, in the war in Afghanistan. He was a clever man, of unusual abilities, and wrote a book on that war which had been considered a work of standard authority. In 1845, on his return from India, he joined the depot of his regiment (the 31st) at Chatham. He had while in India married Miss Greenwood, his cousin, the defendant, with whom he lived for some time in perfect harmony, and a son was born to them in Chatham. In 1847 he went to New Zealand as brigade major on the staff of General Pitt, and in the same capacity served General Wynyard on the death of General Pitt. He remained in New Zealand ten years, and, being a man of considerable ability, obtained a property in Auckland worth between £15,000 and £20,000. While there, he formed a connection with a native woman called Miriam, the result of which was a son, to whom, by the disputed will, he has left his New Zealand property. He returned to England at the end of December, in 1857, and it appears that he was then a man of unrestrained habits of drinking and of profligate manners. He came to his mother's house in Regent's Park, and in the following January, under the authority of his wife, mother, and brother, he was removed to Dr Stillwell's asylum. In consequence of this the Captain felt deep resentment towards his family. He escaped from the asylum, but was recaptured, and he remained there until November 1858, when he was allowed to leave with a certificate stating that he had very much improved. During that time Dr Stillwell had also Mr. Ruck as a patient, who was discharged in August, 1858, and was the plaintiff in the case of Ruck v Stilwell. On his leaving the asylum the testator went on a visit to Captain Scott, at Strontian, in Argyleshire, who had taken some shooting there, and who had been in the same regiment with him. Some of the letters written by the testator on business were read, to show what his capacity was. In all such letters he wrote sums of money not in figures but in words, as is the frequent habit of business men. On his return from Scotland he wanted some advance of money, and Mr. John Whittington, a solicitor at Bristol, before he would negotiate the matter with him, required that he should be examined as to his sanity before Drs King and Allen, of Brighton, where he was then staying with Captain Scott. They reported that they were satisfied that he was a sane man. Mr. John Greenwood, the brother of the deceased, negotiated on the part of the wife of the testator terms of mutual separation, and it was contended that he negotiated with his brother as a sane man. After the testator's decease, Mr. John Greenwood, in a letter, dated 23rd December, 1861, to Mr. Whittington, said that his brother had left another will, made subsequently to the one disputed, and executed when he was better able to do it. Thus, continued Mr Coleridge, the defendant has two strings to her bow. But the other side could not embarrass him with the second will, as they had elected to say that the will propounded by' the plaintiff was a bad one. By the will the testator gave £100 to each of his trustees; his New Zealand property he left to his son by the New Zealand woman; all his other property he left to his legitimate son Colin Halketh Greenwood, charging it with an annuity of £50 a-year, payable to his wife, and another £50 a year, payable to Catherine Mclntyre a woman of loose character with whom he had contracted an intimacy while in Scotland.
Captain Scott, Mr. John Whittington, the solicitor, and the two medical men, were examined, and they all concurred in thinking the deceased was a sane man ; but Captain Scott and Mr. Whittington admitted that he was of very profligate and intemperate habits, and he suffered at times from delirium tremens, and was not cleanly in his person and habits. The case, which commenced on Friday, was concluded to-day (Saturday), the defendant, the widow of the testator, giving up her opposition ; and the court pronounced for the will." — Telegraph.

Death Certificate

Miriama Potiki (1838-1888)

Miriama is the first spouse in my direct Greenwood line that I have enough information on to write about, although there is nothing in writing about her own heritage. I have assumed that she is Tainui, coming from the Kawhia area, although the Potikis are spread far and wide, from the Bay of Plenty down to Stewart Island.

How Miriama met Joseph is also unknown, but she was as mentioned earlier only eighteen when Joseph McLean was born. He thought enough of her and their son to provide for them and include his son in his will. When Miriama went to live with Solomon Clarke after Joseph’s departure from New Zealand it was with his blessing it seems, and as mentioned earlier she went on to bear Solomon two  children in the next two years.

In 1863 Miriama left Solomon and their two children and went on to marry Richard Joel Paltridge, to whom she then bore six children. He was the signaller at Manukau Heads, and they were married for 25 years, until her death at fifty, in 1888. She was buried in the graveyard at Awhitu Central where there is a small wooden church still standing, looking much like it would have in the 1800s. Her actual grave was marked only recently, in the early 2000s, and at the time of writing, family members are organising a fitting memorial to her.

Manukau Heads lighthouse

Awhitu Central church and cemetery

It is regrettable that  there are no photos available for either Miriama, Joseph or Joseph junior, but one can assume that Miriam junior, Miriama's daughter with husband Richard Paltridge, inherited her mother’s features. John looks like he may have taken after Solomon.

John Clarke

Miriam Junior with her husband Duncan Forbes-Dawson and father Richard Joel Paltridge

Joseph McLean Greenwood (1856-1889)

After Joseph senior's departure from New Zealand in 1857, Joseph McLean junior was living in the home of Solomon Clarke. It is possible that he went to school at St Stephens Maori Boys School in Parnell, but the records were destroyed in a fire unfortunately.

He was joined in the household by two half siblings, Susan and John, through Miriama, and then in 1868 when Solomon married a widow by the name of Lucy Maria Drake (nee Holmes), the family expanded even more with the addition of Lucy’s daughter Lucy junior. She would have been six, and Joseph twelve. Miriama had left and married Richard Paltridge five years earlier.

As fate would have it, after getting married at fourteen to John Taylor and giving birth to three children, Lucy junior was to leave her husband to go and live with Joseph junior in Hamilton in 1881. They were never married, but had six children before his death at the young age of thirty-three from congestion of the lungs, or typhoid fever.

Most of what is known about Joseph is found in newspaper articles of the time, especially his obituary in the Waikato Times on 21st March 1889. We learn from that that he was a “half caste”, the son of Major Greenwood, he had a business (hairdressing), and was an unassuming character. He also played the violin at local dances and was a member of the Hamilton Light Infantry.


"It is with deep regret we chronicle tho death of Mr J. Greenwood, of Hamilton, who died yesterday afternoon of typhoid fever. He was a half-caste, son of the late Capt. Greenwood, of the Imperial service, and since he set up business in Hamilton made himself very generally liked for his quiet, unassuming manners and steady habits. In musical circles he will be much missed, as his services as a violinist were always in requisition at all the dances in the country aide. His funeral takes place this afternoon at four o'clock, and will be attended by the Hamilton Light Infantry, of which corps he was an active member. He leaves a widow and four young children, in whose bereavement great sympathy is felt."

Waikato Times 21st March 1889

"A Thames Divorce Case
TAYLOR V. TAYLOR. (Auckland, Last night)
An application was made at the Supreme Court this afternoon, before Mr Justice Conolly, under the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act, 1867. The petitioner was John Henry Taylor and the respondent Lucy Taylor. Mr E. Cooper appeared for the petitioner, and stated that the co respondent was dead. The Respondent was not represented by counsel, and did not appear in person. John Henry Taylor deposed that he was a miner of Thames. On the 27th July 1876, she was married" to the respondent, John Taylor. Prior to the marriage the respondent's name was Lucy Clark. They lived together at Thames for three Months, then visited England and subsequently returned to the colony again.
On the 23rd March 1881, his wife left him. She took away a child ten weeks old and left witness two little boys. He had no knowledge that she was going to leave him, and knew no reason why she should have left him. There had not been any quarrel, nor had he ill-used her. As far as he knew she came to Auckland from the Thames and thence to her parents at Komokoriki. She did not go away in company with a man.
Witness wrote, to his wife to ask her to come back, but she refused. Respondent gave no reason to him for going away like that. There had not been any communication between them since, either personally or by letter. The two boys were still with witness and the girl had been left with his wife's mother. Witness was not acting in collusion with respondent in these proceedings. About 12 months after his wife left, he became aware that she was living in adultery. Solomon Clark deposed that he resided in the Waikato. The respondent, Lucy Taylor, was his daughter. Witness was present at the marriage, and signed as one of the witnesses.
He remembered his daughter leaving her husband and coming home again. She first stayed a little time in Auckland. Respondent only remained at home a few months. He knew a man named Joseph Greenwood, who had resided about three miles from Komokoriki. His daughter got acquainted with Greenwood while at home. Afterwards she came up to Auckland, where Greenwood then was staying. His daughter next went up to the Waikato. She only visited home once, that was three or four months afterwards, and stayed about a week. Witness next saw respondent in the Waikato. She was then living with Greenwood. They appeared like man and wife. Witness stayed two nights in the house, and he believed that Greenwood and respondent occupied the same bedroom. Respondent had another child. Nest time witness saw respondent she was still living with Greenwood. His daughter was now residing at Hamilton, She now had four children. Greenwood died last March. Respondent lived with him until the time of his death. She was still called Mrs Greenwood in Hamilton, where she was carrying on a small business. Witness knew of no reason why his daughter should have left her husband. As far as he knows Taylor did not ill-treat her.—By His Honor: When first she left her husband she did not tell witness that she had left him for good. About a week or two afterwards she told them, but did not say why she had left him. Witness asked her but she gave no answer. The case is proceeding."

The Thames Star 17th September 1889

And in The Observer 21st September 1889

Lucy Clark with Tom Chappell and Greenwood/Chappell children

Lucy Clarke Junior (1862-1918)

Much of the Lucy Clarke story has been told in the previous chapter, but here are some more details.

Lucy was born Lucy Drake, on 7 February 1862 at Little Muddy Creek, West Auckland. After her father, John Drake, died in 1865, Lucy changed her name to Clarke, after her mother Lucy’s second husband, Solomon Clarke, in 1868. She was only 15 when she married John Henry Taylor in Thames in 1876.

The account of her leaving Taylor and moving in with Joseph Greenwood Jnr has been well documented, but it seems that since Lucy stayed with Joseph until his death and bore him at least six children, she was happy in that relationship.

Unfortunately Joseph was to succumb to typhoid at the age of 33, leaving Lucy a young widow in 1889. Two years later, however she married Thomas Chappell, to whom she bore a further seven children. Little wonder that he outlived her by 20 years. She died of stomach cancer in 1918.

There are as usual more questions than answers, several of which concern the nature of her marriage to John Taylor. Was she pregnant? Did she end up leaving her three children indefinitely in order to live with Joseph Greenwood? She would have given birth to at least 18 children in her lifetime, and indeed she looks to be more than 55 in the photo above. Perhaps it was taken shortly before her death.