The Stonors are here largely on the basis that Edmund Stonor was a domestic chaplain to Leo XIII at the same time Mgr Henry O’Bryen was. The Stonors are an old recusant family. There are three obituaries, all published in the Tablet in the 1880’s. The first is Mgr Stonor’s elder brother Francis who died eight days before his father, followed by his father’s obituary, and then finally their mother’s
The Hon. Francis Stonor (1829-1881)
We also deeply regret to have to record the decease of the Hon. Francis Stonor, which took place suddenly, after a short illness of scarcely two days, on Monday afternoon, at his residence in South Audley-street [no. 78]. His death will create a painful void, not only in his own family, and not only among Catholics. In all matters affecting Catholic interests, Mr Stonor was always ready to show himself a loyal son of the Church, and in general society he was most deservedly popular. He was taken ill on Saturday night, and, though he was attended by several eminent physicians, the symptoms increased in gravity on Sunday, and after receiving all the last rites and consolations of religion from the hands of the Rev. F. Christie, S. J., he expired between 4 and 5 p.m. on Monday afternoon. The Hon Francis Stonor, Clerk in the House of Lords, was the second and eldest surviving son of Lord Camoys and his wife Frances, daughter of Mr. Peregrine Edward Towneley, of Towneley, Lancashire, and had only just entered upon his 52nd year, having been born on January 5, 1829. He married September 25, 1855, Eliza, second and youngest daughter of the late Sir Robert Peel, the great statesman. Their children are :—Francis Robert Stonor, born in December, 1856, two other sons, and an only daughter, Julia Caroline. Mrs. Stonor is Bedchamber Woman to the Princess of Wales. [ later Queen Alexandra] —R.I.P. [The above text was found on p.24, 15th January 1881 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .]
Thomas Stonor, 3rd Baron Camoys (1797–1881)
We regret to announce the death of Thomas Lord Camoys, in the peerage of England, which took place at Stonor, the family seat near Henley-on-Thames. For some time past his lordship had been in feeble health, arising from his advanced years, and was unable to attend his son’s funeral at Stonor on Saturday last. He expired at about ten o’clock on Tuesday morning, having previously received the Holy Sacraments and the final blessing of the Church. A correspondent informs us that when Lord Camoys was rising his attendant heard him fervently invoking our Blessed Lady. His lordship immediately grew very faint, and the Rev. W. Stone, the family chaplain, was summoned at once. Lord Camoys made a humble confession, and whilst Mass was being said was prepared for Holy Communion by his daughter, Lady Smythe. After Mass he received Holy Communion devoutly, and then seemed so much better that he dressed himself. The exertion was too much for his feeble strength, and there was but time to give the last blessing when he calmly expired without a struggle. His daughters the Hon. Catharine Stonor and Lady Smythe were the only ones of his family present. His son, Monsignor Stonor, and most of his family had left Stonor only the preceding evening, and were summoned at once, but were too late to be present when the melancholy event took place.
The deceased peer was the eldest of the two sons of Mr. Thomas Stonor, of Stonor, Oxon, by his wife Catharine, daughter of Mr. Henry Blundell, of Ince Blundell, Lancashire, and was born 22nd October, 1797, therefore he had recently entered on his 84th year. He married 25th July, 1821, Frances, daughter of the late Mr. Peregrine Edward Towneley, of Towneley Hall, Lancashire, by Charlotte Drummond, a member of the noble House of Strathallan, by whom he leaves surviving issue an only son, the Hon. and Right Rev. Monsignor Edmund Stonor, Domestic Prelate to his Holiness, and Canon of St. John Lateran,
and seven daughters (three of whom are nuns), including the Hon. Catharine Stonor, the Hon. Lady Smythe, the Hon. Mrs. Leopold Agar Ellis and the Hon. Mrs. Pereira. The deceased nobleman became Lord Camoys in September, 1839, her Majesty having been pleased to call out of abeyance the ancient barony, created by writ in 1383. The peerage had been in abeyance from the reign of Henry VI. His lordship had been for a long series of years one of her Majesty’s Lords in Waiting, having been attached to the Court in that capacity from 1846 to February, 1852; from January, 1853, to February, 1858; again from June, 1859, to July, 1866; and from December, 1868, to February, 1874. He was returned M.P. for Oxford in 1832, but was unseated on petition, and unsuccessfully contested the city in 1835 and the county in 1837. R.I.P.
By his lordship’s death his grandson, Mr. Francis Robert Stonor, eldest son of the late lamented Hon. Francis Stonor, who died somewhat suddenly on the 10th instant ( eight days before his father), born December 9, 1856, succeeds to the barony. The family has the reputation of being very ancient, and according to Shirley, an excellent authority, may certainly be traced to the 12th century as resident at Stonor. In the reign of Edward II. and Edward III. Sir John Stonor, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, whose tomb is preserved in the chancel of Dorchester church in Oxfordshire, was the representative and great advancer of the family. One of its members, the Right Rev. John Talbot Stonor, Bishop of Thespiae, i.p.i., [in partibus infidelium, meaning “in the lands of the unbelievers”; i.e a titular bishop] was appointed Vicar Apostolic of the Midland district in 1716, and died in 1756, at the age of 79. [The above text was found on p.23, 22nd January 1881 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .]
The Hon. Mrs Eliza Stonor (1832-1883)
It is with regret that we record the death of the Hon. Mrs Stonor which took place at her residence, 78 South Audley-street, on the evening of Saturday the 14th inst. Her death was the result of injuries sustained in a carriage accident more than five years ago. The deceased lady was the youngest daughter of the late Right Honourable Sir Robert Peel, and on the 25th September 1855, married the late Hon. Francis Stonor, by whom she had issue the present Lord Camoys, the Hon.Henry Julian, [Sir Harry Stonor had the rather impressive distinction of managing to be a courtier to five successive monarchs. He was a Gentleman Usher to Queen Victoria, Edward VII, and George V and then an Extra Groom-in-Waiting to Edward VIII and George VI.] , the Hon. Henry Alexander and the Hon. Julia Caroline Stonor. The deceased lady was appointed a lady in waiting to the Princess of Wales upon the formation of Her Royal Highness’s Household in 1863. The funeral took place on Wednesday at Pishill, Oxfordshire, a short distance from Stonor. Her Majesty the Queen and others of the Royal Family sent wreaths of flowers.
Attached to the wreath sent by the Prince and Princess of Wales were the words, “In token of affectionate and grateful remembrance, from Albert Edward and Alexandra ; April 18, 1883.“ [The above text was found on p.25, 21st April 1883 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .]
