George Alfred Muskett was a
chemist and druggist. In 1808, at the age of 22, he met Mary Anne Habgood, an 18
year old ward of Chancery, due to inherit a large sum of money. He eloped with
her and married her without the permission of the court, and for this he was put
in Fleet prison. There he wrote a very complicated marriage settlement,
renouncing all his rights to her fortune, but allowing that if she had no
children she could bequeath her money to whoever she pleased. He was released
from prison, and 2 months later Mary Anne made a will leaving everything to him.
Six months later she died, and he inherited her fortune.
He bought many houses and became a landlord. He also bought 3 Cornish tin mines
and a Welsh quarry. He bought the Bank of St Albans and held several important
positions in the financial world. He became the lord of the manor of
Rickmansworth, a JP, and the Liberal MP for St Albans. In the late 1830s he
started to have serious financial problems, and the Bank of St Albans was on the
point of insolvency. The Times newspaper accused him of owning a brothel, but
later withdrew this accusation. One morning in early 1843 he was unexpectedly
found dead, and his family declared the bank closed and insolvent, causing riots
in the streets of St Albans. The coroner refused to release the details of the
findings of the coroner's court and it is strongly suspected that he committed
suicide. Many people were ruined. His family were turned out of the manor
house, and all his assets were seized and sold by the court of Chancery.
For more details of George Muskett's colourful life, see http://dione.no-ip.org/~judith/habgood/HVHINT0.htm.
(Contributed by Judith Everett née Habgood)
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September 2010