William Dodge James

William Dodge James, CVO DL (1854-1912) was the son of a wealthy American merchant, who was raised and educated in England. He married Evelyn Elizabeth Forbes, daughter of the 4th Baronet of Newe who became a celebrated society hostess of the period. Edward, Prince of Wales was one of the frequent visitors to their West Dean country estate in West Sussex.

William’s father, Daniel, was the son of a Connecticut farmer who when young had walked barefoot to New York to save wear on his shoes. He married the daughter of merchant Anson Greene Phelps and ran the British end of his organisation, exporting metal to America and importing cotton in return. He remained in Liverpool for the rest of his life, becoming a highly respected merchant in Anglo-American trade. His American partners diversified into lumber, property and rail roads. When Daniel died in 1876 he was a shareholder in his brother Henry's lumber business in Baltimore, and he held an 18% share of the Phelps, Dodge & Co., business, considered to be the largest mercantile house in the world dealing in metals. His eldest son from his first marriage, Daniel Willis James also held 18%.

Following the death of his first wife in 1847, Daniel James remarried to American, Sofia Hall Hitchcock. They had 3 children, Frank Linsly, John Arthur and William, who was the youngest. After Daniel's death, the three sons received the interest from $100,000 invested for each of them by their American Trustees (Daniel Willis James and Henry James) until William reached the age of 25. At this point they became entitled to the principles sums and investments of their father's estate.

William, educated at Harrow, suffered ill-health as a teenager and as a consequence spent several winters in the warm climate of Egypt with his elder brother, Frank, who had graduated from Downing College. The brothers become interested in exploration and in 1877, they undertook a desert crossing from the Nile to the borders of Abyssinia. The following year they travelled to India and accompanied troops through the Khyber Pass. In 1880-81 they explored areas of Sudan in preparation for a more extensive expedition and hunting trip the following year. During 1882-83 season, William accompanied his brother to Mexico, crossing overland to the Pacific side of the country. The brothers became members of the Royal Geographical Society (Frank was elected Fellow in 1881). William learnt map making techniques and during the 1884-85 season, he accompanied his brother on an expedition through Somalia, mapping areas hitherto unknown to Europeans. These were used to illustrate books published by Frank as were glass plate photographs taken by William.

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