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English noble dies in drunken debauch
On this day in 1885, English nobleman Joseph Heneage Finch died on his
ranch near Big Spring, Texas. Finch was associated with the prince of
Wales and his high-living social set in the 1870s. Exiled from England
after going through a notorious divorce, he settled in Texas in 1883.
Though initially unable to gain the acceptance of the local
cowboy-cattleman fraternity, the earl won them over in time by his
generosity with his liquor, by his being introduced formally at roundup
by a prominent cattleman, and by his pleasant personality. He spent his
waking hours partying, drinking, and hunting, to the neglect of his
ranch and stock. Although mysterious and remote, he became a valued and
respected member of the community, for the frontiersmen did not pry into
one's personal life. On January 13, 1885, after hosting a two-week party
that was spoken of in awe for years, he unexpectedly died. His hard
drinking had apparently caught up with him. Finch was a colorful example
of the "remittance man," typically a wealthy European who for various
reasons was exiled to reform or to perish, to the remote regions of the
world, where he regularly received money (remittances) from home.
- Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
- FINCH, JOSEPH HENEAGE
- ENGLISH
- BIG SPRING, TX
- DUDE RANCHING
- Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
- Rival cities cooperate to open gigantic airport (1974)
- Future scalp hunter enlists in army (1847)
- "Red Fox of the Big Thicket" arrested for the first time (1939)
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