Mrs. E. Stennard Robinson, Secretary of the National Cat Club, was also active in the Ladies’ Kennel Association, more for her administrative skills than as a breeder or exhibitor.

Alice Stennard Robinson (nee Cornwell), the daughter of George Cornwell and Jemima Ridpath (sometimes given as Emma Ridpath or Redpath) who had married in 1851, was a feisty personality. She was a prominent figure in the cat fancy as an organiser rather than an exhibitor, but was even more prominent in the doggy world, which led to financial scandal. She was involved in organising dog shows and cat shows to raise money for various good causes, such as funds to support war widows and organised the Ladies' Brigade of Collecting Dogs.

Personal Life

Mrs Stennard Robinson (sometimes rendered “Stannard-Robinson”) is more famous as Miss Alice Cornwell, a woman who became fabulously wealthy during the goldrush in Victoria, Australia. She was not a cat breeder, but was a show organiser involved in the National Cat Club. In Australia and New Zealand she was always known as Alice Cornwell. In Britain, she assumed the name Mrs Stennard Robinson, adopting the assumed name of her married lover (they never married).

Alice Ann Cornwell, was born in January 1852, in West Ham, Essex (before it became part of London). Her family emigrated to Melbourne on HMS Northumbria in 1853. Siblings George Edmund Cornwell (1856 – 1875), Frederick James Cornwell (b. 1858); Frances Octavia Cornwell (1860 – 1861), Georgina Mary Helen Grace Cornwell (1870 – 1875), Kathleen Clarise Cornwell 1872 and George Edmund Alexander Cornwell (1878 – 1879) were born in Australia. During this time, the family moved from Melbourne to Dunedin, New Zealand, in the early 1860s, then to Victoria, Australia in 1869 and they literally struck gold. Her mother Jemima Ridpath, died in 1883 in Melbourne, and her father, George Chatterton Cornwell, remarried in 1888. Her sister Kathleen Clarice would later take Alice Ann to court in London as part of the Ladies Kennel Association financial scandal.

Alice Cornwell - “Madame Midas”

Her achievements in mining and investments are described in “Princess Midas. The New Zealand Queen of Finance. Miss Alice Cornwell. A Sketch of Her Career.” (Otago Daily Times, 26th January 1889; The Otago Witness, New Zealand, 31st January 1889, and various others in full or in part):

“One of the most remarkable women of the present day is Miss Alice Cornwell. Born in England, she, at the age of nine, came over with her father and mother to New Zealand, where, until the age of seventeen, she remained, unconsciously preparing herself scholastically at a ladies’ school in Dunedin (Mrs, May’s Manor Lodge School) for subsequent enterprises which were to startle the whole world, She was not at school considered a very brilliant girl; neither did she in those days possess extraordinary personal attractions, or a defined and symmetrical figure; indeed, she to-day confesses openly to having had a waist ‘singularly remarkable for its conspicuous size.’ But what she lacked in outward appearance was certainly made up for by the inward possession of generosity, kindliness and warmth of heart; she gained for herself the sincerest friendship and warmest esteem of her companions, in whose minds Alice was associated always with goodness and amiability. Miss Cornwell remained in Dunedin until she was seventeen, and when she bade good-by to New Zealand to accompany her parents to Victoria, she left behind her ties and friendships which to-day retain unshaken and unaltered. The possession of boundless wealth, the ever-present consciousness of being ranked at Home amongst men and women of renown, and the knowledge that every new venture in which she embarks out here occasions as much sensation in London as in Melbourne–these circumstances have in no manner affected the early characteristics, or turned the head of Miss Cornwell; her regard and her affection for early acquaintances are as strong to-day as they were when she was under the paternal care of her father, a struggling railway contractor. Nor does the stranger, on introduction, detect in her manner aught savouring of self-consciousness or of affectation; no one who knew not of her fame would imagine her, from external indications, to be the possessor of three-quarters of a million sterling. She is as polite and agreeable in manner to a pauper as to a nobleman; she is ever ready to give her undivided attention to the ideas, suggestions, or schemes of anyone, be he ever so humble in circumstances; and if his scheme have merits and be practicable, the lady will promise to give it her ‘best consideration’; and she will too.

The subject of this notice married in Victoria an old man, a member of parliament, by name John Whiteman. The union does not appear, however, to have been a singularly happy one, from the circumstance that the pair have been living apart for the last ten years. And her parents, in order to get her away from surroundings which must necessarily have been unpleasant and distasteful to her, sent her to college in London, where, for a time, she devoted herself assiduously, to the study of music and art, and where, subsequently, she published three or four songs. But after passing several examinations in music, and gaining honors in literature, her academic career was suddenly brought to an untimely end one morning by her receiving from Mr. Cornwell a cablegram announcing the death of her mother (whose dying injunction was that Alice should resume her maiden name), and a request that she would return to Victoria. Her father was in Ballarat at this time, and had become heavily involved in mining speculations. He had sunk £40,000 in an estate he leased from Sir William Clarke, and had no return. It was at this time that the energy and determination of character of Miss Cornwell first displayed themselves, and to some extent shadowed forth the brilliant financial career, the beginning of which was soon to follow in the wake of these events. Mr. Cornwell’s misfortunes would appear to have brought about an abnormally phenomenal change in his daughter’s entire character, and from the dreamy, sentimental young woman, whose interest was concentrated in her studies, she suddenly became a matter-of-fact woman of the world, full of ambition, imagination, and energy. She had the interests of her family at heart, and devoted her whole time to thinking out projects which should retrieve their fallen fortunes, She felt that the only way by which she could successfully accomplish this should be, to use her own words, ‘to make the estate in which the money had been sunk return.’ So, having posted herself up in all the geological details of the gold-field, and having, after much inquiry, satisfied herself that gold did exist in its vicinity, she formulated a scheme by which she could carry her ideas into effect. Money was borrowed and a shaft sunk, and within a foot of the point she had indicated, the course of the lead was struck. This was the starting point of her mining career. Soon afterwards she became connected with numerous other mining companies in South Wales, but in no instances where she had not personally inspected and improved the claim.

The idea of revisiting London in the interests of gold-mining was suggested to her by the late Lady Brassey, then on a tour of the colonies, who pointed out to her the facilities and advantages she would meet with in the great metropolis for floating mines of such a character as the Midas. The lady also invited Miss Cornwell to visit her, should she repair to London. Home accordingly she went, and Midas–subscribed for five times over–was floated by her for £180,000, of which the shareholders received £150,000 net. This enterprise it was, of course, that made Miss Cornwell so publicly known. Other commercial ventures became soon afterwards associated with her name, amongst them that of the Sunday Times. A curious circumstance in connection with this venture was that she made up her mind with regard to its purchase in 24 hours. Mr Phil Robinson, whom hitherto she had known only as a friend, but who from this time became associated with her in business, came to her one day about 12 o'clock with the news that the Sunday Times was in the market. He advised her to buy, and laid down certain lines on which the journal should be run, assuring her that should these be carried into effect, there could be not the shadow of a doubt that it would be a success. She took 24 hours to consider the matter Next day, when at 12 o'clock, Mr Robinson called for her decision, he found Miss Cornwell perfectly willing to close the bargain at once, provided that he would agree permanently to edit the paper, take a small share therein, and conduct it on the lines he had sketched cut the previous day. The bargain was struck, and with a circulation of only 9000 copies, the Sunday Times started on its new career and under its new management, who have during the past 12 months increased the circulation by 31,000. And, as showing the indomitable pluck and determination of the woman, it may be mentioned that Miss Cornwell told the writer the other day, in the course of a conversation on the subject, that she will not be satisfied until her paper has reached a circulation of 250,000.. Mr Joseph Hutton is the editor in Mr Robinson’s absence, and there is also an able staff of contributors. Space is devoted, too, to American and Australian news, efficient correspondents being stationed at the chief centres of each of these countries. ‘The journal is one of the oldest in England, having been established in 1822. Miss Cornwell then embarked in electric lighting, and she purchased for £10,000 the patent rights of the Schanschieff portable light She avers that philanthropic, as much as commercial, motives induced her to hazard her money in this venture, the Schauschieff portable light being specially adapted for mining purposes, by reason of its immunity from the danger of explosion.

Miss Cornwell returned to Australia in April of last year, chiefly for the purpose of (to use her own words) ‘assisting the management in handing over the leases quickly to the new Company.’ Having done this, she journeyed through Queensland for the purpose of obtaining information for her popular London paper, the Sunday Times. During this trip the Wyonge state–which she thoroughly inspected and explored–was purchased by her for £252,000, The estate covers an area of 17,000 acres; a railway line runs through it. There is a frontage to a lake of twelve miles, and a frontage to a river of fourteen miles. In some parts of the estate there is a rich loam thirty or forty feet in depth, and it possesses, moreover, an abundance of the finest timber in New South Wales–cedar, mahogany, etc. From geological reports it is estimated that there are 280,000,000 tons of gas coal on the estate, and the profits on this, if worked, is further estimated, in round figures, at £30,000,000. On it are a railway station and a township already surveyed. Miss Cornwell contemplates raising £1,000,000 in London for the purpose of working and developing this property, and she hopes in two years to see on it in full work four sawmills and four collieries. So sanguine is she of the ultimate success that will attend the developing and working of this property that has decided to retain for herself one-third of the shares of the Company she is about to float in London, and particulars of which and of other things will be subjoined in another article. Numerous other ventures are engaging the mind and attention of Miss Cornwell at the present moment, but with them we have neither space nor time to deal. It may be mentioned, however, that she has partners in London, Sydney, 9 Melbourne, and Adelaide, as well as private offices in each of the places.

Miss Cornwell is much attached to New Zealand, where she allows the pleasantest days of her life were spent. She yearns to see Dunedin much as a child yearns to get back to its mother; and it occasions her the profoundest regret that her business here will not allow of her running across to New Zealand for a week or two before she returns to England. In the highest terms does she speak of many Dunedin families whom she knew in her girlhood days, and it is almost with tears in her eyes that she recalls and recounts the kindliness of manner that used to be extended to her by many of them. Always is she in her leisure moments recalling these happy memories.

Miss Cornwell is at 30, if not a prepossessing woman, at least not unhandsome. Her face and features, somewhat irregular and undefined, it is true, harmonise well with her symmetrical and well-defined figure, which is inclined rather to be embonpoint than slender. Her principal charms lie perhaps in the trueness of her eye and her gracious well-bred manner These qualities it was, no doubt, that assisted her materially in London in floating ‘Midas.’ No one could look into eyes like hers and doubt the truth of her utterances. But she has other charms still. She has a soft, womanly voice which even a blind man would associate with a character singularly earnest and sincere. High intellectual attainments, perceptive faculties of a high order, strong and humane feelings and kindliness of disposition go to make up a character harmoniously combining qualities that are unfortunately rarely ever met with in a single individual. Such is Alice Cornwell at 30; such is her career thus far.

Subjoined will be found a few particulars regarding the smelting apparatus in which she is interested, and a new company:– The Victorian Schanschieff Portable Electric Light and Power Company may be said to be fairly started, and the New Year will see them in full operation. They have secured an excellent factory in West Melbourne for the manufacture of the liquid and batteries, white their show rooms will be at 54 Queen Street, where the public and shareholders will obtain every information. The next P. and O. steamer from London will bring out general electric plant, together with 1000 batteries and 1000 miners’ lamps. This shipment, of course, will be supplemented by subsequent orders. Since the inauguration of the company Miss Cornwell has patented several improvements, and as she generously intends giving them to the company without farther payment, the value of the purchase by the Victorian Company is increased some 60 per cent. The news from London as regards ‘Schanscheiff’s invention’ is very reassuring, as Colonel Gourand has, after exhaustive trial, decided to adopt the Schanschieff battery for use in connection with Edison’s latest invention, the phonograph, Colonel Gourand considers that the Schanschieff battery is the best yet invented. Both the French and Russian Governments were experimenting with it at their own expense for use in torpedoes, and there were hopes of the lamps being adopted in magazines, their efficiency having been already officially and favourably reported upon.

Much Interest is attracted just now in the latest of Miss Cornwell's plucky commercial ventures– a new smelter invented by two Germans from Freiburg named Icke and Grosbernd, who are Miss Cornwell's practical partners in the concern. [There is then a technical description of the smelter and the joint stock scheme called the British-Australasian Mining Investment Company.]”

It is only really necessary to add a few notes covering that period.

In December 1875, aged 23, she married 53 year old widower John Whiteman at St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia. Whiteman was a blacksmith, gold prospector, auctioneer, hotel keeper and MP around Melbourne, Australia, and had an 18 year old daughter. In 1877, the couple had a son, George Frederick Francis Carl Whiteman, but separated a year later.

At the Royal Academy of Music in London, she showed promise as a composer of music and songs, gaining music prizes and honours in literature.

Alice and her father came to own several mines including the Midas Mines near Dowling Forest, the Speedwell Mine and the Victorian United. She pursued her own mining initiatives from around 1886, when the 'Midas' group of mines was floated at Sulky Gully. In January 1887, she headed a Melbourne syndicate that bought the Speedwell Tribute Company’s mine. In August 1887 a 617 ounce (51 lb 5 oz) nugget was unearthed at the Midas Mine, Sulky Gully worth £720 at the time (The Ballarat Star, 24th August 1887). In 1888, a mine on the White Horse Range, south of Ballarat, was named the 'Miss Cornwell Company'.

Alice returned to London in December 1887, seeking mining capital, and floated the Midas Company on the stock exchange. In London, she met Philip Stewart Robinson [a.k.a. Frederick Stennard Robinson]. She bought the ‘Sunday Times’ newspaper at the suggestion of her friend, colleague and lover Philip Stewart Robinson. Phil had been sacked as editor of the ‘Sunday Times’ for publishing an article on the Prince of Wales’ alleged debts. The Bulletin (Sydney), 10th January 1889, reported “Miss Alice Cornwell and Phil Robinson are not prospering in London, and the SUNDAY TIMES languishes.” Robinson and Cornwell returned to Australia. In May 1890 there was a libel action against Miss Alice Cornwell, proprietress of the Sunday Times (according to The Age, 26th May, 1890), brought by the well-known actor Mr. Terris regarding damaging comments in the journal. The Sunday Times was ordered to pay £500 damages. In 1893, she sold the newspaper to Frederick Beer.

Although not prospering London, they (or rather Alice) prospered in Australia and Alice was dubbed “The Lady of the Nuggets.” In 1888 she inspired the novel “Madame Midas” by Fergus Hume. The Westminster and Chelsea News, 29th June, 1889, wrote “Not the least interesting of these [guests] was the lady known to novel readers as ‘Princess Midas,’ whose story has been used by Mr. Fergus Hume to give an air of reality to his story. It was not easy to imagine that the young woman, who in a pretty Parisian dress and bonnet . . . was the clever business woman who descends daily to the bowels of the earth, and sees to the working of her Australian gold mines. By her parents’ wish, Miss Alice Cornwell resumed her maiden name on her return to her parental roof.”

Alfred Dampier staged a production of Hume’s “Madame Mida, The Gold Queen” at the Alexandra Theatre, Melbourne. It ran for four months. According to The Bulletin (Sydney), 29th June 1889, “ ’Madame Midas’ also comes to a lame conclusion at the Alexandra on Friday night. The last hour of this illiterate shilling shocker have been saddened by the arrival of a lawyer’s letter threatening Mr. Alfred Dampier with an action for damages. The aggrieved party is Miss Alice Cornwell’s lesser half.”

The Age, 5th March 1889 reported Miss Alice Cornwell had left for England to get British investors for her Largs Bay outer harbor scheme for the accommodation of ocean going steamers. The Pall Mall Gazette, 3rd May 1889, and The Macon Telegraph, 3rd June, 1889 reported Alice Cornwell’s latest 3 proposed schemes. One was the construction of a Largs Bay harbour where she had obtained a concession of a mile of foreshore and which would allow the unloading of vessels which currently had to make a nine mile detour up-river to Port Adelaide. The scheme was the brainchild of Mr Rowland Rees, MP, and Alice Cornwell’s part was to raise capital. Another scheme was the Wyong Timber, Agricultural, and Coal Mining Company to develop the Wyong estate, not far from Sydney, which contained valuable coal mines, timber and agricultural land. The third was the British Australian Mining and Investment Company to allow people to invest directly in Australian mines. In 1889 Alice Cornwell Whiteman, Madame Midas built a grand mansion in Hotham-street, East Melbourne.” (The Bulletin (Sydney), 29th June 1889)

Between 1888 and 1894, her concerns flourished. The Age, 20th August 1888 reported her trial of the Schanschieff electric light, the rights of which were bought by Alice Cornwell when she visited England some months previously. The trial was at the Band and Albion mine, but the portable, battery-powered lamps were equally suitable for domestic, railway, vehicle and other purposes. In September 1888 she issued the share prospectus for the Victorian Schanschieff Electric Light and Power Company. In 1889, said the Yorkshire Herald, 26th March 1889, she was in London to raise a million pounds for developing the Wyong Estate in New South Wales where there was an estimated 280,000,000 tons of gas coal. Her new smelter which allowed gold or silver to be separated from lead without shutting down the furnace was expected to cause a stir in silver stocks on exchanges.

The Otago Witness, 6th February 1890, wrote “Miss Alice Cornwell made her reappearance in London on November 23, after a severe illness . . . will now be able to launch the schemes on which she has been so long engaged.” Further details of the illness were not given.

According to the Otago Witness, 9th March, 1893, Miss Cornwell became a millionaire at 30 and one morning “a few years ago” she appeared on Threadneedle street, London, as a promoter of mines. She contributed to the columns of a London weekly paper under the pen-name “Madame Midas” and had business offices in London, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and elsewhere. She proposed to open an office in Wall Street, New York and possibly one in San Francisco.

Alice Cornwell and Phil Robinson travelled between England and Australia, before settling down in England in 1894. Although Britain was notoriously class conscious (impoverished aristocracy usually trumped “new money” industrialists in social circles), Alice’s great wealth bought her high social status that overcame both her working-class, colonial background and her lover’s notoriety. They were nicknamed the “Swish Family Robinson.”

On December 27th 1895, the New York World-Herald reported that the war scare would prevent “Miss Alice Cornwell of London” from opening an office in New York. It also mentioned her debut as a promoter of the “Midas” silver mine in the Argentine republic and the investigation and purchase of an abandoned project of a diamond mine in Kimberly, South Africa which she had turned into one of the most valuable mines in the diamond fields.

During the mid 1890s, Alice Cornwell reinvented herself in Britain as Mrs Ann( e) Stennard Robinson. She was unable to marry Phil because he was separated, but never divorced. His legal widow was Sarah Eliza Robinson(nee King) who was still living in 1911.

"Mrs" Stennard Robinson

Philip Stewart Robinson was born in Chunar, India, in 1847 and in 1876 he married Sarah Eliza King in Bombay and they had 2 surviving children. He worked as a war correspondent to the Daily Telegraph, and later as a special correspondent, and was also a natural history writer. Sarah petitioned for divorce in 1884 on the grounds of Philip’s cruelty and his adultery with two women. In 1889 she was granted judicial separation on the grounds of her husband’s adultery. For the next eight years – right up until Phil’s death - they were in court over unpaid alimony, child custody and visitation issues. Sarah even accused him of drugging her with morphine and having her confined to an asylum! Phil – using the name Frederick - ended up at the family home “Mortivals” in Takeley, near Dunmow, Essex, hiding from his wife, his creditors and because of the scandal of his lover Alice Cornwell. In 1887 Alice settled down with Phil, who now called himself Frederick Stennard Robinson, and assumed his name. Two years later, Phil/Frederick legally separated from his wife in 1889. In the same year Alice and Phil/Frederick had an illegitimate daughter, Myrtle Dorothy Wentworth Robinson at Takeley. Alice was listed on the birth certificate as Alice Robinson, formerly Wentworth. Myrtle was also known as Miss Mortivals. According to an edition of “Forest and Stream” in 1895, Mr. Stennard Robinson was offered a knighthood, but this seems unlikely.

(A decree of judicial separation confirms that a couple no longer have to live together as a married couple but, unlike divorce, it does not dissolve a marriage. Both Phil and Alice were still legally married to their previous partners, but lived as Mr and Mrs Stennard Robinson.)

SINGULAR DIVORCE SUIT. Dewsbury Chronicle and West Riding Advertiser, 1st June 1889 (and others): “The case of Robinson v. Robinson, in which Mrs. Robinson sued for a divorce by reason of the alleged cruelty and misconduct of her husband, Mr. Philip Stewart Robinson, an author and editor, has been resumed before Mr. Justice Butt in the Divorce Division. There was also an allegation of desertion, and an application was made that the petition should be amended, adding this plea, but this was ruled to be out of order, as insufficient notice was given. Mrs. Sarah Eliza Robinson, the petitioner, appeared in person; and Mr. Inderwick, Q.C., held a watching brief for the respondent. In her evidence, petitioner said she was married in 1876, at which time her husband was a war correspondent and leader writer. There were two children of the marriage. She alleged that he left her in 1883 at Eastbourne with one of the children who was in a dying condition. She also stated that he locked her up in an asylum, and gave her morphia, which caused her brain to be in a very excited state. Replying to the learned judge, she said that she had no witnesses from the asylum. His lordship pointed out, after the evidence of one witness (who said that he fetched medicine for her, but could not say whether it was morphia), that she had better employ a solicitor. She had made applications to him in regard to her case, and it was impossible on the evidence to grant her a divorce. Mrs. Robinson said that she had evidence to call of misconduct on the part of her husband, and, in answer to the learned judge, she said that she would be satisfied with a judicial separation. Testimony was then adduced to the effect that in 1884 a Mr. and Mrs. Robinson took passage on the steamer Drummond Castle at Lisbon for England. They occupied the same cabin, and gave the passengers to understand that they were man and wife; one of the witnesses, William Barker, the steward, recently identifying the respondent at the office of a newspaper [i.e. the ‘Sunday Times’]. His lordship said that upon this evidence he would grant Mrs. Robinson a decree for judicial separation, with costs. A question arose also as to the custody of the children, who, it appeared, were being educated in France. An order had been made that the wife should have the custody, and this had not been complied with, consequently she applied for a writ of attachment against her husband. Mr. Porter, who represented Mr. Phil Robinson, read some affidavits, from which it was alleged that the petitioner was not a fit and proper person to have the custody, as she had suicidal tendencies, and that she had been in several lunatic asylums. His lordship pointed out that Mr. Robinson was clearly in contempt of Court for not having delivered up the children, but if it was proved that it would endanger their lives by their being given up to the mother, he would not make the order. Mr. Porter read two letters in support of the contention as to petitioner cutting her thumb, and also setting fire to her dress, she not recovering from her wounds for some time. In answer to the learned judge, Mrs. Robinson admitted mutilating her thumb and setting fire to her dress. His lordship: Then I cannot hand you over the custody of the children. Mrs. Robinson (excitedly) But this was three clear years ago. His lordship thought that in regard to this matter something might be arranged. The children should be brought to this country and placed at school, and Mrs. Robinson could visit them say once a week. Mrs. Robinson (excitedly): More than that. I love them so! I have been such a mother! Mr. Porter undertook to bring them within the jurisdiction within a fortnight, and it was arranged that the Registrar should settle the periods in regard to the access. Mrs. Robinson intimated that if the time allowed was not sufficient she would appeal. His lordship said it was an unfortunate case altogether, and he hoped that Mr. Robinson would bring about some reasonable arrangement.”

In the Commercial Gazette, 27th December, 1893, she was listed as “Robinson Alice Anne, Mortivals, Takeley, wife of Frederick Stennard Robinson, of same address.” The 1901 census listed the family as Frederick Stennard Robinson (i.e. Phil), wife Anne Stennard Robinson, daughter Myrtle, and stepson Frederick (Ann’s son George Frederick Francis Carl Whiteman). Phil’s disappearance was aided by his 2 brothers and he managed to remain hidden from his ex-wife and 2 legitimate children to avoid further payments to them. He was not a recluse, but this explains why his name is not as well-known as that of Mrs Stennard Robinson.

Mrs Stennard Robinson founded the “Mortivals" kennels and later claimed that she knew so little of Kennel Club rules that she registered her little daughter, Myrtle, in the Kennel Club books as Miss Mortivals, being ignorant of the rule forbidding the use of assumed names. This was not pointed out till the "Mortivals" pugs became well-known and the matter was resolved by the Kennel Club changing its regulation so that Myrtle continued to exhibit under that name! (The whole family were living under assumed names one way or another.)

In 1900, she organised a Ladies' Poultry Show at the Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park. In August 1901, she was involved in a serious carriage accident and was unable to attend any shows for several months.

Alice’s legal husband, John Whiteman, died in Melbourne, Australia, in 1892. Phil/Frederick died in 1902 at Mortivals, Takeley, Essex, aged 54, of heart failure after a long illness (there seems to have been some suspicion of syphilis). His death certificate recorded him as Frederick Stennard Robinson. An obituary appeared in ‘The Times’ on 12th December, 1902: "ROBINSON on the 9th Dec at Little Clanfield, Takeley, Essex, after a long and painful illness Frederick Stennard Robinson." His legal wife, Sarah, was still living.

In 1911, Alice was listed in the census as a mining speculator. A sales catalogue from 1912 details the sale of “Frogs Hall and Mortivals Farm” so she must have moved from there (not being married to Phil/Frederick, she would have had no claim to the Mortivals). Alice died in January 1932 (aged 80) at Hove, near Brighton, of kidney cancer. Her death was announced in ‘The Times’ on 9th January 1932. Her daughter, Myrtle Dorothy Wentworth Robinson, died in childbirth in 1929 in Sussex, aged 40; the 1921 census listed her as an actress living in Brighton.

INTERVIEW IN 1896

INTERVIEW WITH MRS. STENNARD-ROBINSON. Black & White, 21st November 1896
It may not be generally known, except to cat fanciers, that cats have a National Club of their own with twenty-eight rules and regulations. The cats are not members of the club, however, which has for its presidents the Duchess of Bedford and Lord Marcus Beresford. The club is for promoting honesty in the breeding of cats so as to ensure purity in each distinct variety. Cats cannot be expected to look after this matter themselves. Hence the National Cat Club, upon whose honorary secretary and treasurer, Mrs. Stennard-Robinson, a representative of ‘Black and White’ called with the object of ascertaining all that was to be known on the subject. Mrs. Stennard- Robinson is also honorary secretary and treasurer of the Ladies' Kennel Association, and it is only within the last year that she has taken an active interest in the Cat Club, when it was reorganised and constituted on a basis almost identical with that of the Ladies' Kennel Association.

"You are very fond of cats, I suppose?" I remarked.
"I like them, of course," said Mrs. Stennard-Robinson, "for I am fond of all animals. But I am not a cat woman in the ordinary acceptation of the term. I had never been to a cat show in my life prior to the one held at Brighton, and so I was all the more surprised when Mr. Louis Wain asked me if I would become honorary secretary and treasurer of the National Cat Club. The club was formed in '87, but it was not fulfilling any useful function beyond organising cat shows where no care was taken to check the different contributors."
"How is that accomplished, now?"
“By registration. Every would-be exhibitor at a cat show must register his or her cat exactly in the same way as dogs are registered. The fee is one shilling. There were prophecies in the air that this charge of a shilling would ruin the show, but the entries for the show at the Crystal Palace are the largest that have ever been known."
"Has a cat no chance of winning a prize unless the owner can register its pedigree?"
“O, a cat without a pedigree has as much chance of winning a prize as a cat with one as long as its tail. The judges don't know the pedigrees of any cat. They are guided by the different points a cat shows at sight. But a cat without a pedigree, even though it wins a prize, is of very little use for stud purposes."
"What are the different points about a cat which the judges notice?"
"On that matter I speak with all deference," said Mrs. Stennard-Robinson, "but the principle points are the head, the coat, and the eyes - especially the eyes. You see, a white cat with yellow eyes would not be nearly so valuable as a white cat with blue eyes. Then there are all the different shades of blue - some shades being more coveted than others. The coat also is very important; for example, a Chinchilla cat has a silvery coat that shades into a delicate grey at the tips. The delicacy of this shade of grey is a very important point."
"What about the ordinary or kitchen cat?"
"The kitchen cat at the present time, I am afraid, is not in great favour with the fanciers. There are very few entries of it for the show. Of course, there are some beauties. A lady called the other day to see me about something. After she had gone she returned in a little quite excited. She said she had just seen such a beautiful cat and tracked it to its home, where she bought it for ten shillings. She said it was worth at least five pounds."
"What do the prices of cats range from?"
“The prices of show cats range, I should say, from five to thirty pounds. Some fanciers have refused fifty pounds for a cat."
"Persian cats are the favourites just now, are they not?"
“Not with everyone. The Duchess of Bedford, for example, prefers the Siamese cat. She thinks no cat can equal it for fidelity and cleverness, besides being very strong. Her favourite Siamese cat has brought a large hare into her drawing-room. Indeed, that is the one fault that all lovers of cats will admit against their cats - poaching. It is not well to have a pheasantry near where cats have taken up their abode. In one very notable place, which I shall not particularise further, a magnificent collection of over fifty cats gradually disappeared. The Princess of Wales is a great lover of cats, but she prefers Persians, like Lady Marcus Beresford."
"Personally, you prefer dogs?"
"Yes,” said Mrs. Stennard-Robinson. "In my kennels I have had some beautiful dogs . . . “

[. . .] Mrs. Stennard-Robinson has very little spare time, for she has almost more work than she can undertake with the National Cat Club and the Ladies' Kennel Association. With her, however, it is purely a labour of love.

THE LADIES'S KENNEL ASSOCIATION FINANCIAL SCANDAL

Mrs Stennard Robinson was Secretary of the Ladies' Kennel Association and was one of its founders (its first incarnation in 1894/5) soon after the first edition of her “Ladies’ Kennel Journal.” She also founded the Ladies' Country House Club, which embraced various branches of the animal fancy and livestock breeding, and became Secretary of the reconstructed National Cat Club. She was evidently an able administrator, dedicated, persevering, had plenty of time on her hands and put her own money into the venture. The first mention of a Ladies' Kennel Association appeared in "Our Dogs" January 19th 1895, the secretary being a most formidable lady described in the report as 'the indefatigable Mrs Robinson.' She was also Secretary and Treasurer of the National Cat Club, whose first President, Mr Harrison Weir, had resigned because members were more interested in winning valuable prizes than in promoting the welfare of cats. The LKA Committee decided to hold a dog show at Earl's Court ‘for the benefit of Mrs Stennard Robinson’ i.e. with all profits going to her. The 1901 winter show made a £300 loss, and Mrs Stennard Robinson "made good" that amount (donated the money to the LKA) and in 1902 she requested no further shows for her benefit (she didn’t actually need the money). In addition, her husband was ill and she was suffering from "anxiety" at the time of the show (The Sphere, 30th November 1901).

By 1902, the Ladies Kennel Association took formal possession of premises in the West End to be used as their Club House. Mrs Stennard Robinson immediately sacked all male members of staff. Ladies’ Kennel Association was often in dispute with the male-dominated Kennel Club who could refuse to grant licences for LKA shows. Each year there was pressure on Mrs Stennard Robinson to organise bigger and better shows - a Coronation Show, a Grand Festival etc. There were also problems with its finances and Mrs Stennard Robinson called upon her solicitors on several occasions and there were calls for votes of no confidence in her as chairwoman, although she survived these and she also became involved in founding the International Kennel Club and the "Country House Club" (for sponsoring prizes at agricultural shows). For the latter, she obtained £50,000 in subscriptions to purchase a suitable estate.

"I note that Mrs. Stennard Robinson has resigned the honorary secretaryship of the L.K.A., on account of ail attack made upon her by an anonymous correspondent to one of the ‘doggie’ papers. Of course, this will not be accepted. Indeed. I cannot imagine what the Association would do without Mrs. Stennard Robinson at its head, for undoubtedly it owes its present position to her unbounded energy. No one who achieves success can be exempt from criticism, unjust though it may be, and I feel sure Mrs. Stennard Robinson will be induced to reconsider her position. She simply could not be allowed to go, for no successor to her could be found." – The Gentlewoman, 1st August 1896.

"By the way, I wonder how the Ladies' Kennel Association is getting on? The last I heard about it was the resignation of the Secretary, Mrs. Stennard Robinson, because some paper had accused her of using slang terms. But we all do. Do we not? This is an age of slang, and even if we wish to avoid it, the misfortune is that it is often so very graphic and so exactly fitted to what we wish to express. This makes it extremely difficult to resist." -Truth, 20th August 1896

“The first show of the National Cat Club, now in progress at the Crystal Palace, is a signal success, a fact undoubtedly due to the influence of the Ladies’ Kennel Association, founded by Mrs Stennard Robinson two years ago. At no previous cat show have pedigrees of the entrants been registered, and lovers of pure-bred animals can now depend on their cats being as represented for, as in the case of dogs shown at shows held under Kennel Club rules, all animals intended for exhibition are now registered at birth.” - Sheffield Independent, 14th October 1896

From "Dog Shows And Doggy People", by Charles H. Lane (1902) comes this piece reproduced from The Kennel Gazette: “Although some members of her family have long been known as exhibitors of dogs - mostly Pugs, I think - and have bred some very good specimens, as I know from having them sometimes before me to judge, I do not think this lady has done much, if anything, in that way. But she has been for some years a very prominent figure amongst Doggy People, and probably is on intimate terms with more exhibitors and breeders of the fair sex than any other lady in this or other countries. As Secretary of the Ladies' Kennel Association, of which she was, if not the founder, certainly closely connected with it from its first inception, as the initiator of the International Kennel Club, inaugurated under such distinguished patronage, with branches throughout the Continent and Colonies, also of the Ladies' Country House Club, which seems to embrace all the various sections of live stock hobbies, and Secretary of the National Cat Club, Mrs. Stennard Robinson has shown an amount of ability, perseverance, and resource which are almost incredible, and quite unexampled in the history of this country. Of course, matters have not always run smoothly - it is not to be expected they could; but the manner in which this lady has overcome obstacles and opposition, and brought many and important undertakings to a successful issue, has compelled admiration even from those who might differ from her on some matters of detail. I think there is no doubt this lady is entitled to the thanks of Doggy People in general for enlisting the sympathies and influence of the higher classes in dogs and dog shows, etc., and obtaining the active patronage of the highest in the land, from the Royal Family downwards, and making the exhibition of dogs, cats, and other live stock "social functions " in which the best people are not ashamed to take part.”

By May of 1902 there were internal problems. Mrs Stennard Robinson wrote a letter, regarding a forthcoming dog show, that said 'if my committee will not help me, others will,' so she clearly did not have the support of the whole LKA committee. Mrs Stennard Robinson resigned in January 1903 along with others, including Lady Aberdeen (who later rejoined). Although no reasons were given at the time, it turned out that the LKA was still running at a substantial loss with debts standing at £3,000. Lady Aberdeen – also a cat fancier - became Chairman and Mrs Stennard Robinson unsuccessfully tried to claim £1,000 expenses from the association, but was unable to provide evidence for this in the LKA books. She managed to involve her sister, Clarice Dealtry, "Madame Danvers" ("The Field," 1th June, 1903), and Kathleen’s husband, Herbert Arthur Berkely Dealtry, into promoting dog shows and guaranteeing prize monies and when the money from the 1904 dog show went missing the Dealtrys were sued by the prize-winners who wanted the promised prize-money. In fact the LKA, which had always been running at a loss, had been using money taken for one show to pay the prize monies of a previous show. The Dealtrys had been trustees for the prize winners; they were declared bankruptcy and moved to the USA. The LKA continued in various forms, overshadowed by the £3,000 debt, even having to sell off its trophies.

"Lady Aberdeen presided at a meeting of the members of the Ladies' Kennel Association yesterday. The solicitors to the late hon. secretary, Mrs. Stennard Robinson, wrote protesting against certain statements in the report, whereupon Mrs. Manley, the secretary, replied that that lady could have the use of all the books of the association. Lady Aberdeen [. . .] dealt with the report, in which it was stated that the accounts of the club-house, Wyndham-place, had been investigated. [. . .] A claim of over £1,000 was made by the late hon. secretary, Mrs. Stennard Robinson. [. . .] Lady Evelyn Ewart mentioned that she had been asked by Mrs. Stennard Robinson to join the committee because she wished it to be ‘smart,’ but she had-never been able to get a financial statement." - St James's Gazette, 7th April 1903

“Dealtry and Another v. The Countess of Aberdeen and Others. Heard before Mr Justice Darling and a Special Jury” was reported by several newspapers. By the time of the trial, Mr Dealtry was an undischarged bankrupt. The court case ran for several days and was reported in many papers, including The Times (London), June 28, 1905. By this time Mr Stennard Robinson had died. One wonders why “Madame Midas” had needed loans and had not simply cleared the debts of the Ladies Kennel Association, though perhaps her gold-mining concerns were on the wane after 1894.

Mrs Stennard Robinson said in evidence that the shows were Ladies Kennel Association shows and the money received was theirs. There was no evidence that she had received money or that any of the shows were dummies (run in someone else’s name). The London Aquarium show had been cancelled because the Kennel Club had blacklisted the LKA and refused to grant them a show licence due to unpaid prize monies from other shows. As secretary she had acted for the benefit of the LKA and the foundation of the court case was that monies were passed from one account to another, and that what appeared to belong to one person was really the property of another. She was the only person who was authorised to draw cheques for the LKA. She had accepted a large loan from a founder member who believed it would clear all LKA debts, and she had also organised a show in Mrs Dealtry’s name, rather than in her name (“Mrs Dealtry was being asked to run a show as a dummy”), however, this was because Mrs Stennard Robinson was overseas at the time.

Mr. Justice Darling (to Mrs Stennard Robinson): Is the truth of the matter this? You managed all these things and when one of them was short of money you borrowed from another? [Reply] That is quite so your lordship; that is exactly what took place. ("The Daily Telegraph," 27th June, 1905.)

The International Kennel Club was started by the LKA, but was independent of it and it was supposed to have its own separate bank account. There was also something called the “Mortival” account (related to Mortival Kennels?).

Mrs Dealtry, a novelist, had been advancing money to Mrs Stennard Robinson through 1901 and 1902, although she had run away from her husband in 1901 and was in financial difficulty herself. In 1902, Clarice had married Dealtry, formerly a lieutenant in the Worcestershire Regiment. She had expected to inherit money upon the death of his mother in 1903, but they received no inheritance, which meant they were unable pay the prize-winners who were making claims against them. As a result the Dealtrys sued the LKA for money to pay the prize-winners. Mrs Dealtry did not know anything about he sister's business affairs, or those of Mr Stennard Robinson. Mrs Stennard Robinson had written LKA cheques to Mrs Dealtry, but there was no money to meet the cheques and they were written "merely to keep the books clear" ("The Daily Telegraph," 27th June, 1905.) Mrs Stennard Robinson had bee drawing cheques for large amounts for the sake of appearing to find prize money in order to comply with Kennel Club rules although the LKA did not actually have the funds. This was fraud. The LKA had not been using a chartered accountant and unravelling the finances was difficult. The 1901 and 1902 pass books (account books) had gone missing. The LKA had resorted to selling off trophies that had been won by exhibitors and could be considered the property of the winners. There was nothing in the minutes, nor any mention in club correspondence, that Mrs Stennard Robinson had acted with the authority of the LKA committee in regard to the questionable transactions.

(Mrs Stennard Robinson’s sister was born Kathleen Clarice Louise Cornwell in Melbourne, Australia, 1872. 19 year old Kathleen Clarice married 34 year old Herman(n) Klein in 1890 and went by the name of Clarice Naomi Klein. They had three children, but Clarice began an affair with the much younger Herbert Arthur Berkely Dealtry. Klein granted a divorce and Kathleen Clarice married 25 year old Herbert Arthur Berkeley Dealtry in 1902 wrote several stories under the name Kit Dealtry. After the court case, they lived in America for a while, but Kathleen Clarice was back in London by 1908. In 1918 she married Sydney Groom. She died in 1954.)