As many of you know I have been tracing my family tree. In the last few weeks I’ve been concentrating on my Grandmother’s (Mary Newton White) family and I’ve found some interesting connections in relation to her aunt, Gladys White.

Gladys’ first marriage was to a Charles Meredith Browne whose parents were Charles Rouse Browne and Matilda Browne. Matilda Browne was the editor and author of a popular women’s fashion journal called ‘Myra’. ‘Myra’ was her pen name that she used when contributing to other publications before starting up her own, including those published by the Beeton family. Her other pen name was ‘Silkworm’. Myra is the focus of many an academic article and book on women’s magazines and women’s fashion at the end of the 19 century, and I have found Matilda listed in the 1920 ‘Who’s Who’ on the back of this publication.

Mrs Beeton, the author of various cook books and household management publications, was a good friend of Matilda’s, so much so that when Mrs Beeton died at the age of 27 after giving birth to her 4th child, Matilda took over the care of her two living children, (Sir) Mayson Moss Beeton and Orchart Samuel Beeton after she died. The 1971 census has Charles and Matilda living with Mayson and Orchart, as well as Mr Samuel Orchart Beeton, but by 1881 their father is also dead, with the Brownes in full responsibility of their care – it seems they packed them off to boarding school.

It’s amazing the information you can glean from rummaging around on the internet!