Figure 1.--

I think it is fairly safe to assume that he had been an Army Captain rather than a Naval captain, considering that at least two of his sons were definitely in the Army - and possibly two others. A relative has provided us some information on the family patriarch, " Sidney Stanley (1828-1896) was born Sidney Wentworth but was obliged to change his surname to Stanley in 1856 under the terms of the Will of his unmarried great-uncle Joseph Stanley (1769-1856), a surgeon and property developer in Cambridge, in order to inherit his considerable fortune. In 1859 Sidney married Sara Foster (1839-1912), of the Cambridge banking family, and that year bought Longstowe Hall, to which he made substantial alterations, all of which are emblazoned with the SS monogram as seen on the front of the photograph album, and the coats of arms of the Wentworth and the Stanley families."

Parents

Sidney’s father, a doctor in Cambridge, died in 1832 aged only 38. He should have been the heir of his wealthy uncle Uncle Joe Stanley.

Birth

Sidney Stanley was born in 1828 as Sidney Wentworth.

Childhood

Military Service

He was nominally a Captain in the 1st Huntingdon Light Horse (Duke of Manchester’s), but was not an active soldier.

Name Change

Stanley was obliged to change his surname to Stanley in 1856 under the terms of the Will of his unmarried great-uncle Joseph Stanley (1769-1856), a surgeon and property developer in Cambridge, in order to inherit his considerable fortune. Sidney, and particularly his widowed mother, had been very reluctant to change his name despite that being the main condition of the inheritance, and Sidney gave each of his children the last forename Wentworth. By the next generation “Wentworth Stanley” had became usual form of address and this was eventually formalised as the family’s surname to Wentworth-Stanley.

Marriage

Sidney in 1859 married Sara Foster (1839-1912), of the Cambridge banking family.

Longstowe Hall

Stanley after marrying Sara purchased Longstowe Hall, to which he made substantial alterations, all of which are emblazoned with the SS monogram as seen on the front of the photograph album, and the coats of arms of the Wentworth and the Stanley families. At Sidney Stanley's death in 1896, severe economic cutbacks were necessary. Our reader tells us, "Despite the efforts of his son Charley to keep Longstowe, it had to be sold in 1905 (by chance, it is now owned by cousins through another branch of my family). Charley, however, had enough left over to live as “a gentleman” (i.e. not to need a job), and was knighted in 1929 for services to the community."

Life Style

The Wentworths were not a wealthy family but Sidney knew from an early age that the fortune was coming to him. When it did come he did little to keep it and lived an extravagant life playing the country gentleman.

Public Service

Stanley served as High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire in 1873-4 and over the years as a local magistrate (Justice of the Peace), and earned the respect of the county for his public service and philanthropic acts.

Children

Sidney and Sara Stanley had 13 children. The boys were Charley, Alan, Bertie, and Guy. Some of the boys were very close in age. The children appeared in the very early 1860s, the same time that CDVs appeared. (At least in America, I am not sure precisely when they first appeared in Britain.) Thus we have some portraits of the children. The brothers were : Charley (1860), Alan (1861), Foster--Bertie (1863), John (1868), Maurice (1874), and Guy (1867). The sisters were: Ethel (1862), Ellen (1864), Grace (1865), Connstance (1870), Florence (1872), Winifred (1877), and Marguerite (1879). . As most of the images are individual portraits, we do not have a good idea of the relationship between the brothers and sisters.

Sources

Wentworth-Stanley, Christopher. E-mail message, October 16, 2005.