Charles Pellew, 7th Viscount Exmouth

Charles Pellew was born on 11 March 1863 in London, England.[1] His father, Henry Pellew, was the grandson of Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, a British admiral who saw action in the American War of Independence and the Napoleonic Wars.[2][3] Charles was Henry Pellew's second son, his older brother being the writer George Pellew.[4] His mother was Eliza Jay, the daughter of a judge from New York and a descendant of John Jay, the Van Cortlandt family, the Livingston family, and the Schuyler family. His step-mother was Augusta Jay – his mother's sister. The family came to the United States in 1873, and Charles Pellew, being a minor at the time of his father's naturalisation in 1877, then automatically became a United States citizen upon attaining the age of 21.[5] He married Miss Margaret W. Chandler, who was the daughter of Dr. Charles T. Chandler, a Dean of Columbia College, on 29 April 1886 at St Thomas's Church, New York.[6][7] On 18 February 1892, his older brother, George Pellew, died from a concussion when he fell down a flight of stone stairs while walking in New York City. An inflammation of the eyes had temporarily caused him to be partially blind.[4]

Pellew graduated from the Columbia School of Mines in 1884.[8] From 1886 until 1897, he was a professor at the College of Physicians and Surgeons. His appointment to this post, by his father-in-law, Dr. Charles Chandler, who was the Dean of the College of Mines, was not without some controversy.[9] During the same time period, he became the president of the Berkshire Industrial Farm in Canaan Four Corners, New York, but he resigned this position[10] shortly after being appointed a chemistry professor at Columbia College, where he remained until 1911.[11] His father had previously been president of the farm.[12]

Advertisement for the New York Society of Craftsmen courses during the summer of 1920.

In addition to being a professor at Columbia College, Pellew wrote at least one chemistry book, and he was a frequent public lecturer on many topic topics including alcoholism, dyes and dyeing of fabrics, and chemistry. He served as the president of the New York Society of Craftsmen at the Art Centre in New York City, and his professional memberships included the American Federation of Arts as well as the American Chemical Society. He was a Fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences.[13] When Dr. Chandler, his father-in-law, resigned as the Chairman of the Chemistry Department at Columbia College, Pellew, along with the rest of the department faculty as a matter of formality, also resigned. Pellew was surprised though when his resignation was accepted.[14] He then became a consulting chemist.[15] Pellew had been consulting on projects for many years. One notable example was his appointment, along with a commission of 16 other men, by the President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, "...to examine and test the fineness and weight of coins..." for the US Mint. These tests, known as the "Annual Trial of Coins," were conducted on 8 February 1888 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They examined coins produced in 1887 from each of the different US Mint branches. All coins were found to be within the tolerances allowed by federal laws.[16]

When Henry Pellew, Charles' father, inherited the viscountcy from the fifth Viscount Exmouth on 17 August 1922 at the age of 94, Henry tried to prevent himself from being elevated to the peerage. The British Embassy in Washington informed him that whether or not he ever went to London and sat in the House of Lords, the titles belonged to him. His father also found out that he could not directly pass the titles on to his son Charles.[13][17]

Because of the advanced age of his father, Charles Pellew was the person who went to England to settle the estate of the fifth Viscount Exmouth. His father, Henry Pellew, died on 4 February 1923, less than six months after inheriting the title of Viscount Exmouth. Charles Pellew, being the only surviving son of Henry Pellew, then became the seventh Viscount Exmouth.

Charles Pellew's wife had died of pneumonia less than a year earlier.[7] He married Miss Mabel Gray on 12 May 1923, in the St. Ambrose Chapel of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.[18] Upon their marriage she became Mabel, Viscountess Exmouth.

The couple sailed to England on 22 August 1923 so that Pellew could claim his seat in the House of Lords.[19] Upon arriving in England, he notified the English authorities that he intended to become a British subject again and take his seat in the Lords. News accounts in 1923 stated it was necessary for him to reside in England for five years to become a British subject before he could take his seat with the rest of the Lords; however, it was not until 1931 that he was finally able to sit in that chamber.[20][21] In April 1931, Pellew finally provided a statement as to why he became a British subject. He stated that before his father's death, he asked, "'. . . me to come to England and be of some service to the family and the country of my birth,' Lord Exmouth said. 'His dying wish was that I spend my life here [in England], and I am doing my best to gratify it.'"[22]

The Honourable Anne Pellew, the only child of Charles and Margaret Pellew, died in Paris, France, on 11 January 1928 while recovering from an operation. Services for her were held at the American Church in Paris on 14 January 1928.[23]

Charles Pellew did not have any children with his second wife. When he died on 7 June 1945 at Hindhead, Surrey, England, he was 82 years old. He was buried in the family vault at St. James's Parish Church (Saint James Churchyard) in Christow, Devon, England. His wife, Mabel, Viscountess Exmouth, died on 28 March 1949, at the age of 77, also at Hindhead.[24]

Upon his death, the title of Viscount Exmouth went to Edward Irving Pownoll Pellew, his 77-year-old cousin, who was living in Pau, France.[25] He became the eighth Viscount Exmouth.

Pellew served on active duty with the US Army and later with the New York National Guard.[26] On 2 May 1898, Charles Pellew enlisted as a sergeant in Troop A, New York Volunteer Cavalry, and he was mustered into this unit on 20 May 1898. He travelled with this unit to Falls Church, Virginia, where he was discharged on 6 June 1898 to accept appointment as a first lieutenant in the US Army Signal Corps.[27][28] Pellew was then sent to Tampa, Florida where he was assigned to the 15th Company, Signal Corps, US Volunteers for duty. One of his duties was to assist in the experiments being made with observation balloons.[29] He was then appointed a captain on 1 August 1898,[30][31] transferred to Camp Wikoff at Montauk Point, Long Island, New York,[32] and honourably discharged from the service on 10 September 1898.[33] He later served as a member of the New York 12th Infantry during 1915 – 1916.[21][25]

Pellew served on the Board of Managers of the Burnham Industrial Farm, later called the Berkshire Industrial Farm, which was an institution devoted to the reformation of boys, eight to sixteen years of age, that tended toward the criminal life. The school provided strict discipline and work to encourage them to lead a more productive life.[34]

Pellew served on the Committee for the Promotion of Agriculture helping to find a location for a new agricultural school in the New York area. The committee chose the Briarcliff Farm, on 67 acres of land, 27 miles from New York near Sing Sing.[35] This later became the School of Practical Agriculture which moved to 415 acres of land near Poughkeepsie, New York. Pellew remained with the new organisation as a trustee.[36]

Pellew served as a founding member and director of the Arts Center, Inc. which brought seven organisations together to promote the arts and make them available to everyone.[37]

Pellew helped organise the Washington (D.C.) Handicraft Guild in May 1921, and he assisted in providing artwork for the Guild's first exhibition in May 1922.[38][39]