1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,080 Speaker 1: You're listening to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: Radio and Aaron Minkey Listener discretion advised. In the summer 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: of eighteen sixty five, an Australian lawyer named William Gibbs 4 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: was sitting in his office reading the Sydney Morning Herald. 5 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 1: His eyes glazed over a large advertisement. The ad had 6 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: been placed in papers for weeks, and by now Gibbs 7 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: practically knew the words by heart. A handsome reward will 8 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: be given to any person who can furnish such information 9 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:37,000 Speaker 1: as will discover the fate of Roger Charles Tickborne. He 10 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:39,760 Speaker 1: sailed from the port of Rio de Janeiro on the 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 1: twentieth of April eighteen fifty four in the ship Labella, 12 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 1: and has never been heard of since. Roger Tickborn ship, 13 00:00:48,680 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 1: it seemed, had completely wrecked, but rumor had reached England 14 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: that the survivors had been rescued by ship headed to Australia, 15 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,680 Speaker 1: and Roger's mother, Lady Tickborne, was conveyed iNTS that her 16 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: son still lived, making him the rightful heir to the 17 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: tick Born baronetcy. Gibbs put down the newspaper and looked 18 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,679 Speaker 1: at his next client, a local butcher from Wagga Wagga 19 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: named Thomas Castro. Castro's situation was pretty bleak. There wasn't 20 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: much Gibbs could do to help him. Do you have 21 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: any other properties that you could maybe liquidate? He asked, 22 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: any valuable as you could sell any family abroad. Castor 23 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: was evasive. Yes, there was some property. He had an 24 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: entitlement back in England, but most of his possessions and 25 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: his paperwork had been lost in a shipwreck. Castro pulled 26 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: out a beautifully carved briar pipe and began smoking. It 27 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,319 Speaker 1: was the pipe of a gentleman, and Castor had hoped 28 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,000 Speaker 1: it added an air of legitimacy to the excuses he 29 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: made to his lawyer. Please, sir, he said, I have 30 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: a wife and daughter. Isn't there something you can do 31 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:58,279 Speaker 1: for me? Gibbs asked for a closer look at Castro's pipe. 32 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 1: On the side of the burn mahogany would were three 33 00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: gilded initials, almost invisible in the surface. R. C. T. 34 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: Roger Charles Tickborn. Gibbs salivated. His mouth tasted like copper. 35 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: He rose to his feet and paced to the window, 36 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: then paced back to his desk. All while the butcher 37 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:27,360 Speaker 1: who had called himself, Thomas Castro watched him nervously. I think, 38 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: Gibbs said, still walking, pacing in steady circles around his 39 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:35,360 Speaker 1: small hot office. I think you've been lying to me. 40 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: I don't know what you're talking about. Castro answered. I think, 41 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: Gibbs said, his voice triumphant, that your real name is 42 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: Roger Tickborne. Castro's eyes caught the newspaper still splayed on 43 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 1: Gibbs's desk. He saw the words reward, inheritance, and air. 44 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:01,960 Speaker 1: The man cleared his throat, he in and exiled, and 45 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: then looked right into gives his eyes and said two 46 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:09,079 Speaker 1: words that would send Victorian England into a frenzy to 47 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: words that would launch the longest trial England had seen 48 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: up until that point, Words that would tear families and 49 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,639 Speaker 1: lives apart, Words that would captivate writers like Mark Twain 50 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: and George Bernard Shaw and ignite a populist movement. The man, 51 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: using the name Thomas Castro, who from that day on 52 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:33,640 Speaker 1: would most commonly be referred to as the claimant, looked 53 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: directly at his lawyer and said, you're right. I'm Danish 54 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: Schwartz and this is noble blood. The story of the 55 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,720 Speaker 1: tick Borne claimant doesn't actually begin in Australia. It doesn't 56 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: actually begin in England either. It begins in France, in 57 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: a cell in eighteen o three, where an English nobleman 58 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: named Henry Seymour was imprisoned during the Napoleonic Wars. Also 59 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: imprisoned with him was a man named James Tickborne, one 60 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,880 Speaker 1: of the sons of an English baronet. Henry Seymour didn't 61 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: let a little thing like being a prisoner of war 62 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 1: stop him from enjoying himself. While in captivity, He seduced 63 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 1: the daughter of the Duc de Bourbon and became the 64 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: father of a daughter whom they named Henriette. Years passed 65 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,480 Speaker 1: and Henriette still hadn't found a husband. When she turned twenty, 66 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: her father, Henry Seymour, took matters into his own hands 67 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 1: and decided to arrange a match with James Tickborne, his 68 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: former brother in arms as a prisoner of war in France. 69 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: So what if James was twice Henriette's age, was ugly 70 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: and had the conversational abilities of a brick wall. Henriette 71 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: was twenty already an old maid, and James, as the 72 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: son of a baronet, was a suitable match, and so 73 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,600 Speaker 1: the pair got married and had a son of their own, 74 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:05,960 Speaker 1: Roger Charles Doughty Tickborn. James was his father's fourth son, 75 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: and so the odds weren't in his favor when it 76 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: came to him or his son Roger inheriting the baronetcy. 77 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: But as luck would have it, his older brother died 78 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,320 Speaker 1: with no male heirs, his second eldest brother died young, 79 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: also with no children, and his third brother only had 80 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 1: a daughter, a girl named Catherine, and so it was 81 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: young Roger who was raised with the knowledge that he 82 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: would one day become the baronet. As one might have predicted, 83 00:05:32,839 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: the arranged marriage between Henriette and James Tickborne was rocky 84 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: at best. Although they eventually had another surviving son named Alfred, 85 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 1: the spouses lived almost entirely separate lives. With her French pedigree, 86 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,279 Speaker 1: Henriette believed that France would be the best place to 87 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: give her son Roger a proper education, and so she 88 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 1: brought little Roger with her to Paris, where he spoke 89 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,479 Speaker 1: French before he spoke English. The little heir lived there 90 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: until his father intervened and sent him to a British 91 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:05,719 Speaker 1: boarding school, where British schoolboys. Being British schoolboys, Roger was 92 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: endlessly mocked for his thick French accent. His adolescence was 93 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 1: not a happy one. After school, Roger joined the British 94 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: Army and during his leaves he would spend time at 95 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: Tickborne Park with his uncle Edward, the Baronet, his aunt 96 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: and his cousin Katherine. It's there that he found the 97 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 1: only joy in his young life because even though she 98 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:32,000 Speaker 1: was his cousin, Katherine was beautiful and Edward, who was 99 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:35,359 Speaker 1: tall and slim with dark hair and dark eyes, was 100 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: very handsome. The two cousins became enamored with one another. 101 00:06:45,080 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: The marriage between first cousins wasn't strictly forbidden in the 102 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:53,000 Speaker 1: nineteenth century. Roger's uncle, Sir Edward, was not a fan 103 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: of the idea. He forbade Roger from seeing Katherine until 104 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:01,640 Speaker 1: their youthful attraction diminished the planned in work. Whenever Roger 105 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: had time away from the army, he would sneak back 106 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: to see Catherine, the two meeting in secret by moonlight. 107 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: They exchanged love letters written in code, but Catherine's father, 108 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: Sir Edward, was never going to agree to the match. 109 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: Love sick lonely and desperate, Roger needed to get away. 110 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: The twenty three year old resigned his military position, where 111 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:25,880 Speaker 1: his regiment had just been stationed in the British Isles, 112 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,960 Speaker 1: and he left on a private tour of South America. 113 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:33,320 Speaker 1: Roger's ship landed safely in Chile, where he received a 114 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:36,360 Speaker 1: letter informing him that his uncle had passed away just 115 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:40,880 Speaker 1: weeks after Roger had departed on his voyage. Now Roger's 116 00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: father was the baronet. The air continued his journey, traveling 117 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: through South America for nearly a year, crossing the Andies, 118 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 1: traveling to Buenos Aires and then to Brazil. It was 119 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: from a port in Rio de jan Era that Roger 120 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:59,160 Speaker 1: boarded a boat called Labella, sailing for Jamaica, what would 121 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:02,680 Speaker 1: be one of the final stops on his tour. No 122 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: one aboard Labella was ever heard from again. Four days later, 123 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 1: a wreck was discovered off the Brazilian coast, presumed to 124 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 1: be the ill fated Bella. By all appearances, every passenger, 125 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: including Roger Tickborne, had perished, but Roger's mother, Henriette now 126 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:25,280 Speaker 1: Lady Tickborne, refused to believe that her eldest son was dead. 127 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: Roger had been her shining boy, the beautiful child she 128 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: had raised in Paris and spent the mornings with chattering 129 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 1: in French. He was the dashing soldier, well read, quiet, 130 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: always polite, and he couldn't possibly be dead without telling 131 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: her husband. One afternoon, Lady Tickborn snuck out to see 132 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,600 Speaker 1: a psychic in London, at the type of place where 133 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: a woman of her stature would have been more than 134 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 1: a little embarrassed to be seen, but Lady Tickborn didn't care. 135 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:58,480 Speaker 1: She brought with her one of Roger's hats and a 136 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 1: newspaper clipping but the wreck of the Bella, and laid 137 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:06,000 Speaker 1: her beating heart onto the psychic's velvet covered table. The 138 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:10,440 Speaker 1: psychic smiled and told Lady Tickborne that, without a doubt, 139 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: her son was still alive. There were rumors that the 140 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: passengers of the Bella, or at least some of them, 141 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: had been picked up by a ship and brought to Australia. 142 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: Roger must have been among them. That was the conviction 143 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 1: that Lady Tickborne carried with her after the death of 144 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,200 Speaker 1: her husband. When her indolent younger son, Alfred became the 145 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: new baronet, it was the conviction that Lady Tickborne carried 146 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,120 Speaker 1: with her when Alfred's drinking and gambling nearly led him 147 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: to bankruptcy and he had to begin to lease out 148 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:44,360 Speaker 1: the estates of Tickborne Park to tenants. And it's the 149 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:47,240 Speaker 1: conviction that she carried with her when she issued out 150 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: a series of advertisements in Australian newspapers, including the Sydney 151 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,959 Speaker 1: Morning Herald, which a lawyer in Wagga Wagga named William 152 00:09:56,000 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 1: Gibbs just happened to read. The man who had been 153 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: going under the alias of Thomas Castro, whom history would 154 00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: refer to as the Claimant, made his way from Wagga 155 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:17,560 Speaker 1: Wagga to Sydney, where he raised money from banks on 156 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,840 Speaker 1: the declaration that he was Roger Tickborne, heir to a 157 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:24,839 Speaker 1: title and a vast fortune. The claimant said he had 158 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 1: been on the sinking Bella, but had been rescued by 159 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 1: a ship and made it to Melbourne, and with his 160 00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: memories adult from the trauma of the shipwreck, he had 161 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: made up the name Thomas Castro, taking on the surname 162 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: from a kind family he had met in South America. 163 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:44,720 Speaker 1: The so called Thomas Castro then settled in Wagga Wagga, 164 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: began working as an apprentice. Butcher got married and had 165 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,680 Speaker 1: a daughter. But now the memories were flooding back. He 166 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: was actually Roger Tickborn and all he needed was enough 167 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:57,240 Speaker 1: money to get back to England to see his mother. 168 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 1: In order to prove it while in Sydney, the claimant 169 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:04,720 Speaker 1: meant a man from Roger Tickborn's past life, a servant 170 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,560 Speaker 1: named Andrew Boggle. Boggle was born a slave in Jamaica, 171 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:11,680 Speaker 1: but had stowed away with Roger's uncle Edward, and worked 172 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:14,559 Speaker 1: with him as a man servant for many years until 173 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:18,880 Speaker 1: Edward's death, when Boggle was cast off unceremoniously into forced 174 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:23,080 Speaker 1: retirement with a tiny pension. Most long time servants at 175 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,720 Speaker 1: the time were given a small property upon retirement. Boggle 176 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,640 Speaker 1: had been given scarcely enough to support himself, which necessitated 177 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: his move to Australia, where living was cheaper. At first, 178 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 1: Boggle didn't recognize the man calling himself Roger Tickborn. As 179 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: a youth, Roger was lean, all angles and long legs. 180 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:47,080 Speaker 1: The man before him was nearly two hundred pounds, his 181 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: facial features less defined. During his time in Sydney, the 182 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: claimant would gain twenty pounds, and he would gain another 183 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:58,840 Speaker 1: forty pounds on the ship from Australia to England. Sympathizers 184 00:11:58,880 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: explained he was just in joining his new found indulgent lifestyle. 185 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: Skeptics would say the man was purposely trying to distort 186 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:10,559 Speaker 1: his appearance. But Bogle looked closely and he made his determination. 187 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:15,800 Speaker 1: The man was most certainly Roger Tickborne. And so, with 188 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:19,200 Speaker 1: the money he had raised in Australia, he his wife, 189 00:12:19,440 --> 00:12:22,800 Speaker 1: his daughter and Boggle would all depart back in order 190 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: to claim his inheritance from his mother, Lady Tickborne. So 191 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:35,880 Speaker 1: the claimant made his way to England. He stayed at 192 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:38,320 Speaker 1: a hotel in London and whispered to the man at 193 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,280 Speaker 1: the front desk that his identity was actually that of 194 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,480 Speaker 1: the missing Baronet, Roger Tickborne, but that it was top secret. 195 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:50,120 Speaker 1: Moms the word. The receptionists promised. First thing that the 196 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 1: claimant set out to see Lady Tickborne at her London residence, 197 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:55,599 Speaker 1: but when he got there he was told that the 198 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: lady was residing in Paris. Then the claimant went somewhere else. 199 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,160 Speaker 1: He went to a rough Cockney neighborhood in East London 200 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,040 Speaker 1: called Wapon and as the first man he saw, if 201 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:09,560 Speaker 1: he knew the whereabouts of family? Called Orton, Who's asking? 202 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 1: The stranger responded. The claimant said that he was close 203 00:13:13,679 --> 00:13:17,559 Speaker 1: friends with Arthur Orton. They had worked together in Australia 204 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:21,400 Speaker 1: on a cattle station. Orton, the claimant said, had done 205 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: incredibly well for himself and was now one of the 206 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:28,720 Speaker 1: wealthiest and most successful men in Australia. The claimant was 207 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: told that the Orton family had left the area a 208 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:35,560 Speaker 1: while back. Just over a week later, the claimant met 209 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:39,319 Speaker 1: Lady Tickborne at the Hotel de Lille in Paris. Upon 210 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:44,480 Speaker 1: seeing his face, Lady Tickborne burst into tears. It's my son, 211 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: she cried. She embraced him and declared for all the 212 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 1: world to hear that her lost son Roger, had been 213 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: found at last. Although Lady Tickborne was fully convinced that 214 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,760 Speaker 1: the claimant was the lost heir and haply bestowed an 215 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,120 Speaker 1: income of a thousand pounds a year on him, the 216 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:07,080 Speaker 1: rest of the Tickborn clan remained less than convinced. The 217 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: claimant's physical stature aside, and by now he was nearly 218 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:14,040 Speaker 1: four hundred pounds, he didn't speak a word of French, 219 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:17,200 Speaker 1: nor did he speak with a French accent, and after 220 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: all French had been Roger's first language. The claimant mixed 221 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: up Greek and Latin, didn't know his Virgil, couldn't identify 222 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 1: distant family members, but then again, he didn't know small 223 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 1: strange details about Roger's life. He knew the type of 224 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,720 Speaker 1: fly fishing tackle Roger had used and the name of 225 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: the dog he had adopted during his travels in South America. 226 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 1: On one hand, he knew where certain paintings were located 227 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,400 Speaker 1: at Tickborne Park. But on the other hand, he had 228 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: referred to his mother, Lady Tickborn, in a letter as Hannah, 229 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:52,640 Speaker 1: even though her name was Henriette. Still, Lady Tickborn would 230 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: hear nothing against the miraculous return of her son, and 231 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: though the family didn't allow him to formally claim the 232 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: baronet tight after the degenerate Alfred's death, that title went 233 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:06,880 Speaker 1: to his infant son. The claimant still received a thousand 234 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 1: pounds a year annual income from her ladyship, and he 235 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: was quite content enjoying his new position in society as 236 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: a rogue noble, that is, until Lady Tickborn died. To 237 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: the outrage of the Tickborne family. The claimant took the 238 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: position of chief mourner at her funeral to them, he 239 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: was a low born impostor, an embarrassing blight on their 240 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 1: family name, and he would receive no title and no 241 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 1: more money. Bankrupt, the claimants set up a fundraising venture 242 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: in which he issued Tickborn bonds that holders could purchase 243 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: and then received interest for once he had claimed his 244 00:15:44,160 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: rightful inheritance. He made a living that way, affording enough 245 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: to temporarily maintain his posture living as a noble born gentleman. 246 00:15:54,040 --> 00:15:56,720 Speaker 1: But if he actually wished to prove to the world 247 00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: that he was Roger Tickborne, then the claimant had only 248 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:10,640 Speaker 1: one an option. He needed to go to court. While 249 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: the claimant was living as either a pretender or a 250 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 1: populist hero, depending on your perspective, members of the Tickborne 251 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: family sent private investigators to try to look into the 252 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: story that they were told the cleimant had mentioned that 253 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 1: he used to work with a man named Arthur Orton 254 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: on a cattle ranch in Australia. Maybe if they could 255 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,720 Speaker 1: find Orton, they would uncover the truth about the claimant. 256 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 1: The Tickborne family agent traveled down to Australia and made 257 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,360 Speaker 1: it to the old cattle station where the claimant had 258 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:43,240 Speaker 1: claimed to work a place run by a man named 259 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 1: William Foster. Foster's widow checked the old employment records. There 260 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:51,120 Speaker 1: was an Arthur Orton listed, but no one by the 261 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: name of Thomas Castro the claimants alias. Maybe he had 262 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,640 Speaker 1: been using another alias at the time. The agent showed 263 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:01,120 Speaker 1: the widow the photograph of the man claiming to be 264 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:05,640 Speaker 1: Roger Tickborn. Oh I do know him, she said, that's 265 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:11,399 Speaker 1: Arthur Orton. Arthur Orton, born in Wapping in England, was 266 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: the son of a butcher who had traveled to Chile 267 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:17,480 Speaker 1: as a young man and later moved to Australia. He 268 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:20,359 Speaker 1: worked at the cattle station owned by William Foster, but 269 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,679 Speaker 1: his paper trail ends there. It's as if he disappeared 270 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:27,919 Speaker 1: from existence or took up a new identity. When the 271 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:31,440 Speaker 1: claimants civil trial came to court in eighteen seventy one, 272 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:35,679 Speaker 1: the defense lawyer asked about the mysterious Arthur Orton. The 273 00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:39,120 Speaker 1: claimant was evasive, saying they had been friends in Australia, 274 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:41,840 Speaker 1: but that saying anything else about the time they had 275 00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: spent together would incriminate him. Finally, the lawyer asked the 276 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: man on the standpoint blank, are you Arthur Orton? No? 277 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:55,560 Speaker 1: The claimant responded, I am not at stake in the 278 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:59,360 Speaker 1: trial was Tickborne Park, which consisted of over two thousand 279 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:03,280 Speaker 1: acres manners farm land in Hampshire and a number of 280 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: other properties in London and beyond. The baronet title would 281 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 1: afford whoever held it an annual income of what to 282 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 1: day would be several millions of dollars. The witnesses lined 283 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: up to testify. Some pointed out that the claimant couldn't 284 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 1: speak French, or claimed that the real Roger Tickborn had 285 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:26,080 Speaker 1: had tattoos. But some witnesses, former soldiers in Roger's battalion, 286 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:29,120 Speaker 1: a servant that Roger had traveled with in South America, 287 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 1: maintained that after spending time with the man, the claimant 288 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 1: was Roger Tickborne. The defense lawyer had two hundred witnesses 289 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 1: ready to go to disprove that claim, but the judge 290 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:44,679 Speaker 1: held up his hand no more witnesses would be necessary. 291 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,199 Speaker 1: The case was dismissed and the claimant was arrested on 292 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:56,159 Speaker 1: charges of perjury. During that civil trial, the claimant had 293 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:00,640 Speaker 1: become a massively popular figure of the public imagination. Here 294 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: was a working class hero with a Cockney accent going 295 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 1: up against the aristocracy and the criminal system, being denied 296 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,800 Speaker 1: something that belonged to him. I appealed to every British 297 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:14,399 Speaker 1: soul who was inspired by a love of justice and 298 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 1: fair play, and is willing to defend the weak against 299 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,720 Speaker 1: the strong, The claimant wrote in an essay appealing for 300 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:26,040 Speaker 1: donations for his upcoming criminal trial. Support poured in his 301 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: story was a Victorian sensation. His trial followed breathlessly. Knick 302 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,240 Speaker 1: knacks were sold featuring the major players of the story. 303 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:39,480 Speaker 1: Tickborne was recreated in wax at Madame Tousseau's In a 304 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:43,520 Speaker 1: political cartoon published in Punch magazine in eighteen seventy one, 305 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,359 Speaker 1: the claimants to destroy the shoulders of a man demarcated 306 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:51,959 Speaker 1: as quote representing the British public. The quote British public 307 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: man is sweating and read under the significant weight of 308 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,840 Speaker 1: the claimant, his cheeks puffed out with effort. On either 309 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:04,320 Speaker 1: side of the men are crowd holding signs Australia police, socialism, politics. 310 00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:07,800 Speaker 1: The caption of the cartoon reads, I cannot be expected 311 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:10,600 Speaker 1: to attend to any of you with this interesting topic 312 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 1: on my shoulders. George Bernard Shaw wrote about the case 313 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: and its peculiar contradictions and the introduction to his play 314 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:22,400 Speaker 1: Andrew Cles and the Lion, A Shaw wrote, the claimants 315 00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,639 Speaker 1: attempt to pass himself off as a baronet was supported 316 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: by an association of laborers, on the ground that the 317 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: tick Borne family, in resisting it, were trying to do 318 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 1: a laborer out of his rights. Two Shaw, the paradox 319 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,880 Speaker 1: was obvious, who had to believe simultaneously that this man 320 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:41,920 Speaker 1: was a cockney workman just like you, and at the 321 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:45,480 Speaker 1: same time that he was a born and raised, legitimate aristocrat. 322 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,960 Speaker 1: Mark Twain also paid attention to the massively popular trial. 323 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 1: While in London, the celebrated writer was at a party 324 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,120 Speaker 1: with the claimant, where he noticed the way Uppercross men 325 00:20:57,119 --> 00:21:00,240 Speaker 1: and women in high society always referred to him as 326 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: Sir Roger. It was Sir Roger, always, Sir Roger, on 327 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:07,760 Speaker 1: all hands, no one withheld the title. Of course, the 328 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,879 Speaker 1: upper Cross didn't really believe that the man was Sir Roger. 329 00:21:11,359 --> 00:21:13,560 Speaker 1: The only reason that this man had been invited to 330 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 1: all these parties in the first place had been a 331 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: sort of a joke, a hilarious little pantomime like seeing 332 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:23,320 Speaker 1: a monkey dressed in human clothes. But the claimant maintained 333 00:21:23,359 --> 00:21:27,880 Speaker 1: that he was Roger Tickborne, never wavering even as lawyers 334 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 1: and witnesses abandoned his case. His criminal trial for perjury 335 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,000 Speaker 1: lasted one hundred and eighty eight days, one of the 336 00:21:36,119 --> 00:21:41,280 Speaker 1: longest trials in English history, but the deliberation lasted only 337 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:46,120 Speaker 1: thirty minutes. The jury declared that he was not Roger Tickborn, 338 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: and he was guilty on two counts of perjury and 339 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:54,359 Speaker 1: sentenced to fourteen years in prison. The loss in court 340 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 1: did nothing to quell the groundswell of popular support among 341 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:00,960 Speaker 1: the working class for the claimant and his lawyer, an 342 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:05,040 Speaker 1: eccentric irishman named Keennoy, who was ultimately disbarred thanks to 343 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:08,159 Speaker 1: his violent and excessive performance in court during the trial. 344 00:22:08,920 --> 00:22:12,439 Speaker 1: But Kenoy used that popularity to launch a campaign for 345 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,360 Speaker 1: election to Parliament, which he won in a landslide victory. 346 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:19,560 Speaker 1: But if the people were hoping for a champion, they 347 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:23,119 Speaker 1: had unfortunately chosen the wrong one. Keen only attempted to 348 00:22:23,119 --> 00:22:25,960 Speaker 1: get the House of Commons to establish a Royal Commission 349 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: to re examine the Tickborn case, but it only received 350 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:38,600 Speaker 1: a single gay vote. His own popularity and fervor over 351 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:43,440 Speaker 1: Roger Tickborne and his mysterious disappearance and reappearance gradually dissolved, 352 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,720 Speaker 1: and newspapers moved on to covering newer and more exciting gossip. 353 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,879 Speaker 1: In eighty four, after serving a ten year sentence, the 354 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 1: man the public had come to know as the Claimant 355 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,919 Speaker 1: was released from prison. He had lost nearly a hundred 356 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:01,880 Speaker 1: and fifty pounds. Ironically, his time in jail had made 357 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:04,719 Speaker 1: him look even more like Roger Tickborn than ever before. 358 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,560 Speaker 1: His old supporters attempted to rally him into their populist 359 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:11,480 Speaker 1: political movements, but the claimant had no interest in any 360 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 1: of that. Instead, he made paid appearances at dance halls 361 00:23:15,359 --> 00:23:18,919 Speaker 1: and circuses and married a young music hall singer he 362 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,879 Speaker 1: had long since separated from his Australian wife. When no 363 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,280 Speaker 1: one in England seemed to care about him anymore, he 364 00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: went to America, where he thought he still might make 365 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,240 Speaker 1: some money. But no one in America cared about who 366 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,160 Speaker 1: he was either, and the claimant worked as a bartender 367 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: there Before coming back to England. A newspaper paid him 368 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,159 Speaker 1: a few hundred pounds for a confession that he was 369 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,440 Speaker 1: Arthur Orton all along. The claimant retracted that confession as 370 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 1: soon as he spent the money. The claimant died in 371 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:52,640 Speaker 1: abject poverty on April Fool's Day in eighteen. His funeral 372 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,840 Speaker 1: was attended by nearly five thousand people. For one last moment, 373 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: the public seemed to care about him again. Some call 374 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:04,760 Speaker 1: it foolishness or kindness or mercy, but for whatever reason, 375 00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:08,399 Speaker 1: the Tickborne family permitted a card on the claimant's coffin 376 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: that said Sir Roger Charles Doughty Tickborn. And so it 377 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 1: was a coffin that bared the title of a baronet 378 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:28,199 Speaker 1: that was laid into a pauper's grave. That's the end 379 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:30,680 Speaker 1: of the claimant's life, but his story doesn't end there. 380 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,520 Speaker 1: Stick around after a brief sponsor break to learn more 381 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:36,560 Speaker 1: about how the Tickborn case lives on a century later. 382 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: Because the Tickborne controversy had happened a century before the 383 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: discovery of DNA evidence, it's impossible to determine for certain 384 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:56,280 Speaker 1: who the claimant actually was. He went to his grave 385 00:24:56,440 --> 00:25:00,199 Speaker 1: still declaring that he was Roger Tickborn. Years later, the 386 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,119 Speaker 1: claimant's daughter would go on to say that her father 387 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,560 Speaker 1: had confessed to her that he had accidentally killed Arthur 388 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:09,760 Speaker 1: Orton back in Australia, and that's why he couldn't reveal 389 00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: the true details of his past. The claimant's daughter would 390 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 1: spend a lifetime declaring that she was Roger Tickborne's daughter. 391 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,719 Speaker 1: Some believe that the claimant was Arthur Orton all along, 392 00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,200 Speaker 1: and that he was helped in the details of Roger's 393 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 1: life by the disgruntled servant Boggle, angry at the Tickborne 394 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:31,200 Speaker 1: family for terminating his position and looking for revenge, Perhaps 395 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:35,760 Speaker 1: they orchestrated the conspiracy together. Another theory is that the 396 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,439 Speaker 1: real Roger Tickborn had made it to Australia and befriended 397 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,280 Speaker 1: the man who would later claim his identity. Maybe that 398 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 1: man had killed the real Roger Tickborn. In his nineteen 399 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,040 Speaker 1: fifty seven book The Tickborne Claimant, Douglas Woodruff argues that 400 00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:53,000 Speaker 1: it's possible the claimant actually might have been the real 401 00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:57,560 Speaker 1: Roger Tickborn all along. After all, what kind of lunatic 402 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,440 Speaker 1: would travel halfway across the world with the wife and 403 00:26:00,560 --> 00:26:03,120 Speaker 1: daughter in tow to meet a mother and a family 404 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:05,880 Speaker 1: he knew nothing about if he had nothing to go on. 405 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:10,439 Speaker 1: The soap opera saga of the Tickborn case captivated the 406 00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: Victorian public, but it's a story that continues to fascinate 407 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:19,879 Speaker 1: modern audiences. In the Simpsons, writer Ken Keeler Pendant episode, 408 00:26:19,960 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 1: he says was influenced by the Tickborn case. In the 409 00:26:23,080 --> 00:26:26,919 Speaker 1: episode Principal, Skinner reveals that his real name is Armand 410 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:30,080 Speaker 1: Tamsarian and that as a soldier in the Vietnam War, 411 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,280 Speaker 1: he made friends with the fellow platoon man named Skinner. 412 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: When Skinner was assumed dead, Tamsarian went to Springfield in 413 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: order to deliver the bad news to his mother. Mrs 414 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 1: Skinner mistook Tamsarian for her own son, and Tam'sarian began 415 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:48,120 Speaker 1: life anew under a false name. It was an episode 416 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,439 Speaker 1: so outlandish that some critics consider at the end of 417 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: The Simpsons Golden Age. Ironically enough, the episode takes its 418 00:26:55,880 --> 00:27:00,399 Speaker 1: title from a story by Mark Twain. It's called The 419 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:07,480 Speaker 1: Principal and the Pauper. Noble Blood is a co production 420 00:27:07,480 --> 00:27:10,440 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio and Aaron Mankey. The show is 421 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 1: written and hosted by Dana Schwartz and produced by Aaron Mankey, 422 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:18,679 Speaker 1: Matt Frederick, Alex Williams, and Trevor Young. Noble Blood is 423 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:21,639 Speaker 1: on social media at Noble Blood Tales, and you can 424 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,160 Speaker 1: learn more about the show over at Noble Blood Tales 425 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:27,640 Speaker 1: dot com. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit 426 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:30,960 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you 427 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:32,359 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.