John Arthur Chandor

John Arthur Chandor (January 18, 1850 – June 1, 1909) was an American businessman, journalist, inventor, minor U. S. diplomat, and bigamist. According to historian Michael Hagemeister, sources contemporary with John described him as "an adventurer of the most dangerous character", an "inveterate liar", and a "scoundrel in money matters".

John was born in New York City. His parents were the Hungarian inventor and entrepreneur Lasslo (Laslo) Philip Chandor (1815/1817 – October 7, 1894) and Laura Mannabourg (Mannaberg) (September 28, 1827 - April 14, 1878).

John attended Harvard Law School, but left the school without obtaining a law degree. The records indicate that he entered the Junior Class (the lowest class) of Harvard Law School on October 1, 1868, and left the law school, without graduating, sometime in 1869.

In the 1870s and 1880s, John lived in Paris, with his wife Adeline and his mistress Elizabeth Fry Ralston, partly on the proceeds of investments from his father's career.

Family #1 - Wife Adeline Augusta Dickinson

John married Adeline Augusta Dickinson (1850-1947) on April 1, 1874 in New York City, and they had six children:

* Valentine Laura Chandor (February 14, 1875 – October 25, 1935)
*Jack Arthur Feucheres Chandor (October 22, 1876 – September 20, 1935)
*Alice Marie (Mary) Chandor (July 30, 1880 – February 5, 1956), married George Edward Dickinson (1863–1938)
*Harold Alvin Chandor (February 23, 1882 – May 25, 1952)
*Reginald Mortimer Chandor (March 1, 1884 – October 5, 1936)
*Roland Giles Chandor (October 19, 1886 – January 27, 1903)

Family #2 - Mistress (Possible Wife) Elizabeth Fry Ralston

In December 1875, John met Elizabeth "Lizzie" Fry Ralston (née Red) (November 9, 1837 – November 30, 1929), the widow of San Francisco businessman and financier William Chapman Ralston (1826–1875), on a ship travelling from New York City to Europe. Although he claimed to be single, in reality John already had a wife and daughter (wife Adeline A. Dickinson, and daughter Valentine Laura Chandor) in New York City.

Famous daughter Louise A. Chandor (Paquita de Shishmareff) (L. Fry)

About 5 years after they had first met, John and Elizabeth had one child (probably out of wedlock), Louise A. Chandor (February 16, 1882 – July 15, 1970), who was born in Paris, France. At the time Louise was born in 1882, John was employed as Second Secretary at the U. S. Embassy in Paris, a position that qualified him to be classified as a minor diplomat in the U. S. diplomatic corps. On May 26, 1906 (Old Style) Louise married Captain Feodor Ivanovich Shishmarev (August 16, 1876 - 1917) (of the Czarist Russian Imperial Army) in St. Petersburg, Russia, and subsequently she was usually referred to by her married name: Paquita Louise de Shishmareff. After emigrating from Russia to the United States in 1917 with her 2 sons - Kyrill (April 11, 1907 - 1975) and Misha (Michael) (January 17, 1910 - 1983) - Paquita became an antisemitic, pro-fascist author who wrote articles and books under the pen name L. Fry (Leslie Fry). Her most famous book is titled ''Waters Flowing Eastward'' (Paris: Éditions R.I.S.S., 1931), which includes an account of her provocative original research on the origin of the infamous '' Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' (see ''Waters Flowing Eastward'', Part Two, Chapter I, titled ''How the Protocols Came to Russia'', pp. 95-100). Louise was co-author, along with Edith Starr Miller (Lady Queenborough) (1887-1933) and others, of the famous conspiracy classic titled ''Occult Theocrasy'' (2 vols.) (Abbeville, France: Imprimerie F. Paillart, 1931-1933).

Family #3 - Mistress (Possible Wife) Lucy May Newton

John and Lucy May Newton (1867 – July 1912) had three children:
*Violet May Chandor (1886 – March 1916)
*Colonel Hugo Henry Chandor OBE (1895 – October 22, 1966), married Daphne Rachel Mulholland (previously married to Esme Bligh, 9th Earl of Darnley)
* Douglas Granville Chandor (August 20, 1897 – January 13, 1953), famous portrait painter and garden designer.

Family #4 - Mistress (Possible Wife) Mary Clarke Albert

John's last-known mistress (or possible wife) with whom he had a child (or children) was Mary Clarke Albert (1875-1924). John Arthur Chandor and Mary Clarke Albert had a son named Peter France ChandorPeter France Chandor (January 6, 1904 - May 30, 1969) - He was born in the 7th arrondissement of Paris (Palais-Bourbon), France, and died in Easton, Talbot County, Maryland. He attended Queens' College, Cambridge (from about 1921-1925), where he studied education and trained to be a teacher. On March 19, 1926 he was assigned by the British government to serve as the British Superintendent of Education for the Northern Province of the Tanganyika Territory (known as Tanzania since 1964), a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the British government in various guises from 1916-1961 - see: ''Tanganyika Territory Blue Book for the Year Ended 31st December 1926'' (Printed and Published by the Government Printer, Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika Territory), pages 67-72, 78, and 81. Peter made a trip to England where, in January 1929, he married Eileen Marian White (née Wilmer-Hives) (January 3, 1903 - November 7, 1975) in St. Martin ( Registration District), City of Westminster, London. Peter F. Chandor was Eileen's second husband. Eileen's first husband was Andrew Gibb White (August 29, 1907 - January 1997) (born in Logiecrait, Perthshire, Scotland, died in Taunton, Somerset, England), who had been educated at Winchester College (Winchester, Hampshire, England) and then Oxford University. When the Tanganyika Territory came under British control, the British government divided it into 18 provinces, each of which had its own British Superintendent of Education. The various British Superintendents of Education were overseen by Stanley Rivers-Smith (October 9, 1877 - October 13, 1965), who on October 1, 1926 was appointed the British Director of Education for the entire Tanganyika Territory. Rivers-Smith had previously served as the British Director of Education in Zanzibar from 1907-1920. Peter's headquarters as British Superintendent of Education for the Northern Province of the Tanganyika Territory was at the Moshi School in the municipality of Moshi (now Moshi, Tanzania), a city located in the northeastern part of the Tanganyika Territory. The Moshi School was a boarding and day school, built on a 50+ acre tract of land. The subjects taught at the school were elementary and primary courses in agricultural and industrial pursuits, village handicrafts, and medical work. There were buildings on the school grounds suitable for staff quarters and workshops, and for the operation of a coffee plantation. The school grounds were spacious enough that playgrounds for sports could be built on the property - see: ''Report by His Britannic Majesty's Government to the Council of the League of Nations on the Administration of Tanganyika Territory for the Year 1925'' (issued by the Colonial Office, 1926) (Colonial No. 18) (Annual Report). Peter resigned from his position as Superintendent of Education for the Northern Province of the Tanganyika Territory on December 13, 1932 - see: ''The Tanganyika Territory Gazette'' (Dar es Salaam: Government Printing Office), Vol. XIII, No. 54 (issue of Dec. 23, 1932), p. 760. After resigning from his position at the Moshi School, Peter and his wife Eileen returned to England, where they resided with their 2 children - Ann Penelope Wilmer Chandor (December 9, 1929 - February 20, 2019) and Peter John Anthony Chandor (November 9, 1932 - November 28, 2014) - at "Windy Ridge" in Limpsfield, Surrey. Ann and Peter J. A. Chandor were both born in the Tanganyika Territory. Peter and Eileen's second daughter - Valerie Fleur Chandor (May 4, 1936 - June 15, 1973) - was born in England. Eventually Peter and Eileen got divorced. During World War II Peter served in the British Army from 1940-1945, in the Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), where he was promoted to the rank of Major on January 1, 1945. After World War II, he was employed by Great Britain's Colonial Office. The records show that he held 2 positions in the Colonial Office in 1948 - he is listed both as a Temporary Administrative Officer, and as a Principal Officer in the Information Services Branch. The Information Services Branch supplied information about Great Britain and the Commonwealth to the British Colonies and to foreign countries (and vice versa), provided information about the organization of Regional Information Offices, and was in charge of broadcasting services operated by the Colonial Office. See: ''The Colonial Office List 1948 - Comprising Historical and Statistical Information respecting the Colonial Empire, Lists of Officers serving in the Colonies, etc. and Other Information'' (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1948) (Colonial No. 226), pp. 282, 285. In 1947 Peter published 2 novels: ''Arena: A Novel'' (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1947) (247 p.) and ''The Road to the Wall - A Novel'' (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1947) (288 p.). Sometime in the 1950s Peter moved to the United States. In the 1960s he was living in Woodstock, Virginia (in Shenandoah County, Virginia), where he bred and showed Bullmastiff dogs, assisted by his daughter Ann Penelope Wilmer Chandor. Ann attended and graduated from the Charters Towers School for Girls, located at 39 Hastings Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, South East England. On May 19, 1949 Ann was presented at the Court of St. James's (in St. James's Palace) at a presentation party held by the King and Queen of England. Peter is buried in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. (1904-1969).

John's Death, and Probate of his Estate

John Arthur Chandor died in Kensington, Middlesex, London, England on June 1, 1909. His date of death, and details of the probate of his estate, are officially recorded in the ''Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England'' (London, England - Crown copyright), in the volume for year 1912, surnames Aanonson-Czerny, p. 355. The complete statement on p. 355 reads as follows: "Chandor, John Arthur - Of 5 Abingdon Court, Kensington, Middlesex, died on 1 June 1909. Administration (limited): London, 11 November 909to Reginald Mortimer Chandor, publisher, and attorney of Adeline Augusta Chandor (John's widow). Effects: 1317 (pounds sterling) and 10s."

References

External Links

* Magyarország családai czimerekkel és nemzékrendi táblákkal (13 Vols., 1857-1868) (Pest, Hungary: Kiadja Ráth Mór) (''The Families of Hungary, with Coats of Arms and Genealogical Tables''), ed. by Iván Nagy (1824-1898). The HathiTrust Digital Library has digitized this multi-volume reference work and made it available for free online viewing at: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007884384.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandor, John Arthur
1850 births
1909 deaths
People from New York City
Bigamists