Denis Gage Deane-Tanner at approximately 36 years old. Denis Gage Deane-Tanner (born 14 September 1876 – ?) was the brother of

William Desmond Taylor William Desmond Taylor (born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner, 26 April 1872 – 1 February 1922) was an Anglo-Irish-American film director and actor. A popular figure in the growing Hollywood motion picture colony of the 1910s and early 1920s, ...

and nephew of

Charles Kearns Deane Tanner Dr Charles Kearns Deane Tanner (20 September 1849 – 21 April 1901) was an Irish surgeon and politician.'Obituary. Dr. Tanner, M.P.', ''The Times'', 23 April 1901 Dr. Charles Kearns Deane-Tanner was the uncle of early Hollywood (film industry) ...

Early life

Denis Gage Deane-Tanner was the fourth of five children born to Jane O'Brien (of Carlow, Ireland) and British Army

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Thomas Kearns Deane-Tanner (of Cork, Ireland) in what is now

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Denis was raised at the family home, Straw Hall, until he attended school at Pooles House, Clifton College in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His father was a lifelong military man, who also started the Volunteer Fire Brigade in Carlow. Denis had two uncles via his father, both were Doctors. Uncle Lombard worked at both the Charity Hospital and St. Kevins hospital in Cork.

, an Irish surgeon and politician was Denis' other uncle. Uncle Charles was deeply involved in Home Rule politics, eventually leaving medicine to concentrate solely on his interest in the Irish Home Rule cause. Tanner was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the

King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the ...

of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, during which time he was awarded both the King's and Queen's medals for service in what is now

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Life in the United States

After leaving the military, he traveled to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to join his elder brother William Cunningham, arriving in 1903. Denis followed his brother Williams example and went into the

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

business, working at The Antique Shop on Fifth Avenue and A.J. Crawfords also on Fifth. Denis met his future wife Ada in New York City. Ada was from a long established family, the Ketchums of Buffalo New York who helped establish the Buffalo and Erie area of New York before the Revolutionary War. Denis and Ada Charlton Brennan wed 14 September 1907 in New York City; the couple had three children: a daughter Muriel Denise (born August 1908), a son Kearns (born August 1909), who died within hours of his birth, and a daughter Alice Eleanor (born December 1910). Ada and her son Kearns are buried along with several generations of Ada's Brennan in-laws in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York. Ada who had contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

(presumably from Denis, as he and many of his close and distant relatives had the disease) was periodically treated for the illness throughout her life. Denis was in fact treated for the illness at the Acoaxcet Sanitorium in Westport,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

and the Ogden Farms Sanitorium in New York during their courtship. On 25 August 1912 (his daughter Muriel's fourth birthday), after visiting Ada in the Edward Livingston Trudeau Sanatorium in

Saranac Lake, New York Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park. The village is named after Upper, Middle and Lower Saran ...

, where she was receiving tuberculosis treatment, Denis, as his brother did several years before him, disappeared from his family and all known friends and acquaintances. From that day forth, Denis never contacted his wife nor children again. After being abandoned, Ada and her daughters moved to

Monrovia, California Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 37,931 at the 2020 census. Monrovia has been used for filming TV shows, movies and co ...

to be near her sister Lillian and where Ada continued to receive tuberculosis treatment at the Pottenger Tuberculosis Sanatorium which was run by Ada's brother in law Dr. John Lanabee Pomeroy. Eventually Ada established contact with Denis' brother, esteemed Hollywood director

. William generously began sending Ada $50 per month to help support her children. It is believed that Denis eventually moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and resumed contact with and quietly worked for his brother for a few years. The rumor that the blacksmith in Taylor's 1914 film ''

Captain Alvarez ''Captain Alvarez'' is a 1914 Vitagraph's five-reel#Motion picture terminology, reel film, based on a stage play. Written by Marguerite Bertsch, and directed by Rollin S. Sturgeon. Plot A melodrama about an American who becomes a revolutionar ...

'' was Denis Deane-Tanner was mentioned in the papers and attributed to an anonymous New Yorker who stated he recognized him.

Connection to the murder of William Desmond Taylor

Many theories exist trying to tie the disappearance of Denis to the murder of his brother William. While the rumors vary from the wild and salacious to mere conjecture, the reality is that through the investigations of both the police and reporters of the time, Denis was not the murderer, nor was he a part of the murder. Reporters at the time floated the idea that Denis was masquerading as Edward Sands, his brother's felonious butler.

Handwriting analysis Graphology is the analysis of handwriting with attempt to determine someone's personality traits. No scientific evidence exists to support graphology, and it is generally considered a pseudoscience or scientifically questionable practice. Howe ...

of both men and known photo comparisons quickly disqualified the misinformation. Denis never contacted his family in the United States, nor his family in England and Ireland. It was believed within the family that Denis eventually succumbed to tuberculosis while living in anonymity in either the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

References

External links

TAYLOROLOGY

Sources