"Our works do not pass away, as they seem to do" -- Bernard of Clairvaux

Information still continues to drift in, often when I've just about given up hope of receiving it. Several weeks ago I posted an entry about a stained glass window in the church at Bude Haven that was dedicated to the memory of Rev. Barton R. V. Mills, father of George Mills. Cornwall records had shown that a plaque had been approved, but I couldn't at the time verify that there actually was one or what it may have said.

Yesterday afternoon, however, I received the rest of the details from Cornwall:

Dear Mr Williams,

I’m afraid that I am probably not going to be of much help, and can only give you such information as I have obtained from Budehaven Church.

I quote from the guide book of the Church:
“The window on the North side of the Sanctuary is in memory of Rev. Barton Mills and shows St Bernard of Clairvaux, on whom this priest was an authority. It is an adaption of a 15th century panel of an altar-piece from the Abbey of Clairvaux, now in a Dijon Museum.”

Under the window itself is a small plaque which reads:
“To the glory of God and in loving memory of Barton Reginald Vaughan Mills for ten years Vicar of this parish 1891 – 1901”

The bronze tablet is on the East Wall of the North Transept of the Church, under the Organ, and reads:
“To the beloved memory of Barton R. V. Mills. Born 29 October 1857, died 21 January 1932. Vicar of this parish, 1890 – 1900. ‘Our works do not pass away, as they seem to do; they are the seeds sown in time of a harvest reaped in eternity.’ Saint Bernard of Clairvaux”

I’m afraid that any information on ceremonies or services held during his time, or for the dedication of the window, would be held in the County Record Office in Truro.

I hope some of this is useful, and if you require anything further, please do let me know.

With kind regards,

David Standen

The Rev'd Dr David Standen
Priest-in-Charge of the Benefice of
Stratton & Launcells, Budehaven with Marhamchurch

Thank you very much! That actually was a great help since it would've been cost-prohibitive for me to fly to Cornwall and read those myself.

Someday I'd like to make a trip and take a look at all of the places and all of the things I've been discovering instead of merely experiencing them 'virtually'. Teachers' salaries anywhere in the United States don't exactly make entering this profession a get-rich-quick scheme, and here in Florida, they make one feel more like a "plantation worker" than a "professional," but I'm starting to put away some nickels and dimes for just such an excursion.

Until then, however, I am exceedingly appreciative of the assistance and kindness I've received from everyone who is helping me learn so much about a place and a time that sometimes seem so very far away.

Regarding the information above, I've found reference to an "Altarpiece from the Abbey of Clairvaux, with five panels (15th cent.)" in Dijon. The source is the book Northern France, from Belgium and the English Channel to the Loire by Karl Baedeker (1909). I haven't been able to find the name of the artist of that piece or any five-part 15th century image.

I have come up with an image of St. Bernard "exorcising a possession" from an altarpiece [right] by the German painter Jörg Breu the Elder (c. 1475 – 1537). Breu was born in Augsburg, about 400 km from Dijon, so that makes him a possibility in terms of time and place, especially since the on-line date of the work is simply "circa 1500." I have not been able to find the location of this painting, though.

Does it look like the window? Probably. Would I have noticed the resemblance to the stained-glass Bernard above without anything having been mentioned? Probably not.

Finally, I think the quotation of St. Bernard's is particularly wonderful. I took the second half of the quote, the segment after the semi-colon, and punched it into three major search engines: Altavista, Bing, and various Google sites. I came up with only one location for it on-line, and it is lengthy: http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=TJ2Y9opQ5V8C&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=%22they+are+the+seeds+sown+in+time+of+a+harvest+reaped+in+eternity%22&source=bl&ots=gZwGGl6Lrl&sig=YXnAqnUvAHzMY_eSJ6KfZpZ1dXs&hl=en&ei=QXrYS9j1AobK8wTE5NWXBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22they%20are%20the%20seeds%20sown%20in%20time%20of%20a%20harvest%20reaped%20in%20eternity%22&f=false

It displays an excerpt from a 1937 book called Cornwall—England's Farthest South by Arthur Mee. Mr. Mee's context for the quote is: "The north window of the chancel has a big figure of St. Bernard holding a church; on a tablet nearby, in memory of a vicar, are these fine words of St. Bernard: Our works do not pass away, as they seem to do; they are the seeds sown in time of a harvest reaped in eternity."

It's obviously not a well-known quote, certainly not one that's proliferating across the internet. Barton R. V. Mills is the unnamed vicar in Mee's text.

I'm certain there are theologians and students of theology who study St. Bernard, his life, and his words today. I'm certain they write papers, present theses, and publish journal articles among themselves. Mills himself certainly did that.

What strikes me is that it was the death of Mills that managed to keep these powerful words by Bernard of Clairvaux alive among the lay people in Bude Haven. Arthur Mee never mentions Mills, but keeps the words of the saint alive in an English language text for the public at large—something Mills had been working to do during his career as a cleric. Finally, St. Bernard's words find their way here—on a blog, of all things!

Perhaps Barton Mills knew that St, Bernard's words were withering away in Latin, unavailable to the masses of the Modern age in which the reverend found himself in the early 20th century, post-World War I.

According to Mills' friend and colleague, Rev. Watkin W. Williams, M.A., in the Introduction to Williams' own short 1920 book on St. Bernard, The Treatise of St. Bernard, Abbat of Clairvaux, Concerning Grace and Free Will: "Researches made by my friend, the Rev. Barton Mills, have led to the conclusion that Mabillon's [commonly known] text of St. Bernard's writings, as presented in the Benedictine folio edition of Migne's Patrologia Latina, is far from trustworthy. It is not, perhaps, generally known that, when the Abbey of Clairvaux was sacked at the period of the French Revolution, a certain number of its literary treasures were rescued, and ultimately found an asylum in the Bibliothèque de la Ville in Troyes, where they still remain under the guardianship of the learned and courteous librarian, Mons. Morel-Payen."

Barton Mills spent the latter part of his life trying to define the thinking of Bernard of Clairvaux for a person—perhaps for members of his own family—and translating it for use by an increasingly modern public, regardless of social class.

Mills' 1901 book, The Marks of the Church, was initially criticized in the Church Quarterly Review [Vol. 54, April/June, 1902] as being "average" and "unnecessary," its sermons being "too plain and commonplace in style and matter to attract more than passing attention." However, a secular publication, The Bookseller [11 October 1901], had already lauded Mills for publishing a book that "more than merits the attention of the public," and whose "sermons fall in with the vogue of the day. Even pulpit utterances must be up to date, no less than other more sublunary affairs."

Perhaps the most interesting critique of the book came from The Churchwoman: "Plain and practical sermons, very much of the Walsham How type, which will describe them best." Rev. William Walsham How, of course, was a 19th century cleric who became Bishop of Wakefield. From Wikipedia: "He founded the East London Church Fund, and enlisted a large band of enthusiastic helpers, his popularity among all classes being immense."

In 1929, at almost 70 years of age, Barton Mills published his English translation of St. Bernard's twelve Degrees of Humility and Pride. In its preface Mills writes: "This volume is intended for those who do not read Latin, all quotations from classical or patristic writers have been translated, and for this purpose I have used and acknowledged public translations where such exist. Quotations from the Bible present some difficulty. St. Bernard of course uses the vulgate, and his arguments and phraseology are profoundly—and sometimes unfortunately—affected by that version."

I can't believe anyone in the hierarchy of the church was exactly doing cartwheels over a new interpretation of the 12th century writings of a saint, but Mills was at odds with the Anglican Church over several other issues as well, it seems. Writing about religion in a manner that would have suited the populace, not the Church, seems to have been one of those. Perhaps it was because his translations might not have encouraged theology students of the new century to read original church manuscripts in the Classical Languages. Why bother when clear, well-researched English language editions would be available?

In conclusion, the above quote from Bude Haven—written by St. Bernard and translated by Mills—is a remarkably fine example of what Mills was doing with the later years of his life: Making something he deeply and faithfully believed in available to us all.

St Bernardus in the Chancel North window and Revd. B. R. V. Mills

Ask and ye shall receive, as the verse goes…

I don't recall exactly how I found what I hadn't quite expected—searching the internet is like trying to see one of those weird Magic Eye images instantly, looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, and doing all of the "across" clues in the Times Sunday Crossword without having a glance at the "downs", all at once.

Especially given the proclivity of newspapers and periodicals of the late 19th and early 20th century to play fast and loose with things like spelling—I've seen George Mills' surname spelled Mill, Milles, Hills, and Miles, as well as seeing virtually every editor on every newspaper more than 100 miles from London "correct" the Earl of Orford, turning him into the "Earl of Oxford"—it can be tough to search every conceivable permutation of every sentence, phrase, or series of letters in a word.

Do some math and you'll quickly find out how many different possibilities there might be to search for, say, George's father, Reverend Barton Reginald Vaughan Mills, once vicar in Bude, Cornwall. Just try searching his name with each of Reverend, Rev., and Revd. tacked on, and you may not just get tired of checking each plethora of results, you may get simply tired of typing. Try it with all of various combinations of his initials and it gets even more time consuming.

And sometimes you can't even predict how an internet source will read. My best example: "ABTHT7B MILLS, Bbq., IC.P." = "ARTHUR MILLS, Esq., M.P." That's George's father, pictured right. I wish I could say it was anything but luck that allowed me to work that one out!

Anyway, I was running a search on Google for "Revd Barton Mills" when I stumbled upon this record in The National Archives, among the Diocesan Records in the Cornwall Record Office: "[no title] D/R/10/7 27 May 1932 Contents: Erection of stained glass memorial window to the Revd. Barton Mills wwith bronze tablet, with correspondence and design."

Cool! I immediately sent of an e-mail to the Diocese at Truro, and, fter having my message forwarded around the Diocese, I received the following reply:

Dear Mr Williams

I have the following information on the window at St Michael & All Angels parish church at Bude Haven.

The single light window is located in Chancel North. It was inserted in 1932 (Faculty granted on 6th July 1932). It was designed by Hubert Blanchford of Exeter, a local studio with a very small output, but responsible for three windows at Bude. It is dedicated to Revd Barton Reginald Vaughn Mills, and I have a note that he was an authority on St Augustine. I have no details of the content of any memorial plaque. I have attached a photograph, and apologise for the poor quality.

Best wishes on your research

Michael Swift
Stained glass adviser to the Diocese of truro

Many thanks, Michael, to you and the Diocese of Truro for both the information and the image. What a wonderful memorial and tribute to a man and his life's work, may he rest in peace. If you do click the image, it will enlarge it some!

I didn't know that about Barton and St. Augustine. I knew [and you can see from the window] his special interest at one point in his career was St Bernard of Clairvaux, although that was some years after he left the vicarage at Bude Haven in 1901. I am, however, hot on the trail of a friend of Barton's, the Revd. Watkin W. Williams [one of the clerics presiding over the wedding of George Mills and Vera Beauclerk in 1925]. I believe Williams also wrote on St. Bernard, and that he and Barton Mills helped each other research, translate, and interpret his writings. Watkins did, I'm certain, attend St. Augustine Missionary College in Canterbury. A link? Who knows?

I do know Williams was rector in Drayton St. Leonard, pictured at right, and I'm waiting to hear from them, although I understand that it was long ago...

Well, while I wisely wait for word on Watkin Wynn Williams, I'm sure we all wish for me wisdom: The wisdom of knowing when to stop using alliteration in such an annoying way!

Word from a Relative of George Mills...

A few weeks ago I was doing a routine internet search for George Mills-related web pages and stumbled on something interesting. At a genealogy site in a section entitled Ramsay Family Genealogy Forum, I found this posting:

Looking for information on the children and further generations of Sir George Dalhousie Ramsay C.B 1828-1920. He was married to Eleanor Juliat Chartris Crawford and they had issue Edith E. Ramsay and Alex O.P Ramsay. Sir George was the son of Sir Alexander Ramsay 2nd bt of Balmaine and by his second marriage to the Lady Elizabeth Maule (dau 1st Lord Panmure). I believe Edith married Barton Reginald Vaugh Miles.

I thought about it and sent the person requesting the information, David, this reply:

Edith Ramsay did marry Reverend Barton Reginald Vaughan Mills [M.A. Oxford, 1883, b. 29 October, 1857, d. 21 January, 1932], a "holy cleric and scholar". He was the son of Arthur Mills, Esq., M.P., from Taunton and Exeter, one of the leading experts on Colonial Economics and the cost of the Sepoy Mutiny, so much so that his books on the subject are still in print today. Barton was the first living son of Arthur Mills, and had a younger brother, Col. Dudley Acland Mills [Broadlands, Jersey. Retired; b. 24 August 1859]. They were also grandchildren of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland [pictured, right], Killerton House, Broadclyst, Devon.

Barton had a son, Arthur Frederick Hobart Mills, b. 12 July, 1887, with his first wife, Lady Catherine Mary Valentia Hobart-Hampden. they had been married on 10 July, 1886, when she was granted the rank of Earl's daughter. Lady Catherine died on 25 September, 1889.

Elizabeth Edith Ramsay and Barton R. V. Mills were married on 10 January, 1894, and had three children: Agnes Edith Mills, born 11, June 1895, George Ramsay Acland Mills, b. 1 October, 1896, in Bude, Cornwall, and Violet Eleanor Mills, born 17 November, 1902.

Barton was the vicar of Bude, Cornwall [I believe the vicarage is pictured, left], at the time, a position in which he remained until 1901. He then became the Assistant Chaplain of the Royal Chapel of the Savoy, where he stayed until 1908. He wrote, edited, and translated religious texts, notably involving the writings of St Bernard, and his work is still cited by theologians today.

George Mills attended Parkfield in Haywards Heath and Harrow before fighting in WW I, first as a private and finishing as a lance corporal, in the Royal Rifles and the Royal Army Service Corps. He then attended Christ Church and Oxford, but did not receive a degree. He went on to be a Junior Teacher at Windlesham School, then in Portslade, at Lent, 1925. That same year he married Vera Louise Beauclerk, a granddaughter of Sir Robert Hart and daughter of the Duke of St Albans, on 23 April, 1925, and they bought a house in Portslade.

He was off the teaching roster at Windlesham [right] by Fall, 1926, and subsequently taught at Warren Hill School in Eastbourne, The Craig in Windermere, the English Preparatory School in Glion, and Eaton Gate Preparatory School in London. Vera died on 5 January, 1942. They were childless and he apparently never remarried.

Most notably, Mills authored four very popular books, mostly about preparatory school boys: Meredith and Co. [1933], King Willow [1938], Minor and Major [1939], and St. Thomas of Canterbury [1939], all of which can be found in the British Library. The books were reprinted into the very late 1950s, but it appears Mills never published another word after his prolific 1938-1939 period.

He then disappears from sight until his death in Devon [possibly Budleigh Salterton] in 1972.

The only thing I know about his sisters, Agnes and Violet--other than that Violet Mills was a bridesmaid at his wedding, but Agnes Mills was not and attended unescorted--is that the girls donated a collection of Sir George Dalhousie Ramsay's papers to the British Library in 1947, still using their maiden names. The sisters would have been about 52 and 45 years old at the time. If they had, indeed, remained unmarried, it seems likely they were childless as well.

Almost immediately, David answered:

Edith Judith Ramsay did indeed marry Rev. Barton Mills. I was most interested to read that he was vicar of Bude, N. Cornwall. I would imagine that it was St. Michael's Church in Bude [left]. I was a choir boy there in the 60's!! I was at boarding school at St. Petroc's School in Bude, following my father's footsteps in education.

Now another interesting point here for me, was that my Great Grandfather was the Rev. George Wingate (died Dec 16, 1898) who was vicar of St. Andrew's Church, Stratton, N. Cornwall. The towns of Bude and Stratton are next to each other. Rev. George Wingate had married Elizabeth Patricia Maule. Her father was the Hon. William Ramsay Maule (1809-1859) and his father was Lord William Ramsay Maule, Lord Panmure of Brechin & Navar. His father was Lord George Ramsay 8th Earl of Dalhousie.

You mentioned Sir George Dalhousie Ramsay, he was the son of Lady Elizabeth Maule and Sir Alexander Ramsay, Bt of Balmain. Elizabeth Maule (1796-1852) was daughter of William Maule Ramsay, Lord Panmure.

Sir George Dalhousie Ramsay (1828-1920) married Eleanor Juliat Charteris Crawfurd (1827-1918) daughter of John Crawfurd, Gov. of Singapore. Their issue were: Edith Elizabeth Ramsay, Alexander Oswald Panmure Ramsay (1867-1897) and Edith Judith Ramsay and the rest you know!

Thank you so much, David, and I do look forward to hearing from you again.

One oddity in all of this would be the name of George's mother. David—a man with more than ample knowledge of his family's history—writes that "Edith Judith Ramsay", not "Edith Elizabeth Ramsay", married barton Mills. Other genealogical sites list his wife as "Elizabeth Edith Ramsay".

It's possible that, due to handwriting that was difficult to read, or merely a transcription error, Judith and Edith could have been confused in paperwork. Looking in the ancestry.com database, she is listed as "Elizabeth Edith Ramsay", but her husband in that database is listed as Barton R. V. HILLS, not Mills. In fact, David's records may have had him recorded as "Barton R. V. MILES.

It's also possible that the person attending to the certificate of her birth didn't put in a correct name. In my ex-wife's family, it was years before they discovered that what they had been calling their daughter—Alice, I believe—was not the Christian name that had been written on her birth certificate, simply because the physician hadn't really cared for the name "Alice".

Stranger things have happened. Needless to say, errors likely abound. I spent countless hours looking for "Vera Beauclerc" before I became aware that the wife of George Mills was actually named "Vera Beauclerk".

Oh what a difference a single letter can make!

One primary source that I have for the name Elizabeth Edith Ramsay is the 1901 census [pictured, left]. It's unclear if the Mills family [Barton Reginald Vaughan, Elizabeth E., Agnes Edith, and George Ramsay Acland Mills] is still in Cornwall at the time it was taken, or if they already have moved to London, where Barton apparently found employment as the Assistant Chaplain of the Royal Chapel of the Savoy sometime in 1901. London, Middlesex, will be the birthplace of George's sister, Violet Eleanor Mills, in 1902.

[UPDATE: I just checked the records, and the housemaid in that census, listed immediately above Barton R. Mills, is Kate R. Neave, age 20. That sets her birthdate around 1882. She's listed in the 1901 census as residing in London, England, on the date of the census, 31 March. It appears that the Mills family already has moved to London by the late spring, 1901.]

Thanks to Jennifer for researching the above census! And if you have any information about the Ramsay family that might help David in his own genealogical quest, please let me know and I'll have him get in touch!