Emperor Norton's Sister, Aficionado of Anemones
Pull up a chair for the fascinating and enigmatic story of Emperor Norton’s younger sister, Selina Jane.
Born on the Cape of Good Hope in 1824, when Joshua, the future Emperor, was 6 years old, Selina “married Scottish” and married well — twice.
Selina had moved to England by age 20. She had four daughters with her first husband, a MacLeod, living first in Kent, then near Glasgow, then back down in Devon.
Shortly after her first husband died, Selina married a Mackenzie, whose prominence as a Scottish lawyer brought her to Edinburgh.
Two years later, this second husband died. A few years after that, Selina moved from Edinburgh to the North Sea cloister of St. Andrews and was gone herself within a year or so — at 45. But, her three surviving daughters continued to live in, and next door to, the St. Andrews house for another 20 years.
Along the way, Selina in 1861 wrote and published a lovely, finely observed article about her sea anemones — whom she called her “drawing-room pets.”
The article — and many, many other details — are documented here thoroughly, if not very deeply.
It’s tantalizing evidence that makes me want to learn more of the Emperor’s little sister.
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