John Arthur Chandor

John Arthur Chandor (January 18, 1850 – June 1, 1909) was an American businessman, journalist, inventor, minor U. S. diplomat, and bigamist. According to historian Michael Hagemeister, sources contemporary with John described him as "an adventurer of the most dangerous character", an "inveterate liar", and a "scoundrel in money matters".

John was born in New York City. His parents were the Hungarian inventor and entrepreneur Lasslo (Laslo) Philip Chandor Lasslo (Laslo) Philip Chandor (born László Fülöp Sándor) (1815/1817 - October 7, 1894) - Lasslo was born in either Austria or Hungary, and he emigrated to the United States sometime in the 1840s. Several of Lasslo's direct descendants and relatives by marriage claimed he was a member of the Sándor de Szlávnicza (Slávnicza) family (aka the Sándor de Szlávnicza et de Bajna family), a Hungarian noble family whose members had held the title and rank of "count" since 1787. People who made this claim about Lasslo include his son John Arthur Chandor, his grandson Douglas Granville Chandor, his great-grandson Elbert Haring Chandor (April 12, 1921 - December 22, 2003), and Kyrill Feodorovich de Shishmareff (April 11, 1907 - May 12, 1975), who was a son of Lasslo's granddaughter Paquita de Shishmareff. Elbert Haring Chandor conducted genealogical research and constructed descendancy charts of various branches of his family. These charts became part of the E. Haring Chandor Manuscript Collection in the archives of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in Manhattan, New York City. All the persons mentioned appear to have believed that Lasslo was a brother of Count Móric (Móricz, Moritz, Maurice) Sándor de Szlávnicza (May 23, 1805 - February 23, 1878), a famous Hungarian horseman and duelist, who was a friend of Napoleon III, King of France. Authentic genealogical and historical sources do not support or substantiate this belief that Móric and Lasslo were brothers. For example, Magyarország családai czimerekkel és nemzékrendi táblákkaldo (The Families of Hungary, with Coats of Arms and Genealogical Tables) (13 Vols., 1857-1868) (Pest, Hungary: Kiadja Ráth Mór), edited by Iván Nagy, in Tizedik Kötet (Vol. 10) (1863), p. 35, does not show Móric Sándor de Szlávnicza as having a brother named László Fülöp. Móric's parents were Count Vincze (Vincenz) Ferdinand Benedikt Sándor de Szlávnicza (March 20, 1765 - August 17, 1823) and Anna Mária Szápáry de Szapár de Muraszombath et Széchysziget (June 7, 1766 - May 31, 1819), who were married in Graz, Austria on March 25, 1788. Móric is known to have had 3 sisters, and an older brother named Sándor (who died young). Móric's sisters (who were all countesses, due to being daughters of a count) were: Erzsébet (1793-1829), Matild (Matilda) Mária Isabella (March 21, 1798 - November 11, 1843), and Wilhelmina ("Wilma" or "Vilma") (September 5, 1801 - January 20/21, 1864). Lasslo was also not a son of Tamás Sándor de Szlávnicza (September 7, 1781 - August 14, 1855), whose wife was Eszter Ivánka de Draskócz et Jordánföld. In the Hungarian genealogical source referenced above, the family of Tamás appears on p. 33, where 4 sons of Tamás are listed as follows: István (István Emericus Sándor de Szlávnicza) (December 16, 1806 - April 24, 1888), Zsigmond (Zsigmond Sándor de Szlávnicza) (November 15, 1810 - February 17, 1876), László, and Kálmán. The MyHeritage genealogy database reveals that this László (the third-listed son of Tamás) was László János Sándor de Szlávnicza (1814-1884), whose wife was Ludmila Ordody (1837-1905). Clearly, this is not the same person as Lászlo Fülöp Sándor. Furthermore, according to the Wikipedia articles titled Famille Sándor and Sándor Móric, Móric (born 1805) was the last male member of the branch of the Sándor family into which he was born. At least 34 different branches of the Sándor family have been identified in Hungary and nearby countries - see: Sándor család (egyértelműsítő lap) (Sándor Family Clarification Sheet). Of all these branches of the Sándor family, the Sándor de Szlávnicza branch was the only branch of the family whose members ever held the title and rank of count. Móric's paternal grandfather Baron Antal Sándor de Szlávnicza (February 17, 1734 - 1788) had been raised from the rank of baron to the rank of count on August 27, 1787 by Joseph II (1741-1790), Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary. Taking all this evidence into consideration, Lasslo (who was born in 1815/1817) could not have been a member of the Sándor de Szlávnicza branch of the Sándor family, unless he was born out of wedlock and the facts of his birth were covered up so that his connection with the Sándor de Szlávnicza family went unrecorded. The claim that Lasslo was a "count" of the Sándor de Szlávnicza family quite possibly was simply a fabrication invented by his son John Arthur Chandor. John's invention and spread of this fabrication presumably would have been primarily for the purpose of attempting to enhance his own social status (and to possibly obtain financial credit) in the various countries where he resided, which included the United States, England, France, and Russia. After arriving in the United States sometime in the 1840s, Lasslo first established himself as a silverplater in Manhattan, New York City. Later he became a stock and bond broker, a prolific inventor, the founder, owner and director of the Mineral Lighting Company in New York City, and finally an international entrepreneur and businessman. The Mineral Lighting Company specialized in formulating and marketing new and improved types of fuels for different lighting purposes, and in the production of new and improved types of lighting fixtures. These lighting fixtures were designed to burn the new and/or improved lighting fuels marketed by the company. Most of the lighting fuels and lighting fixtures developed and marketed by the Mineral Lighting Company were actually Lasslo's discoveries/inventions. In the late 1850s and early 1860s Lasslo began to cultivate relationships with various American and Russian politicians, diplomats, and businessmen who were involved in US-Russian trade relations. As a result of his involvement and cooperation with these various politicians, diplomats, and businessmen, by the mid-1860s Lasslo had become a successful municipal lighting contractor in St Petersburg and a few other Russian cities. It was reported that Lasslo amassed a fortune of over $8,000,000 (8 million dollars) from his business activities in the US and Russia in the 1860s and early 1870s. Due to inflation and the devaluation of the U.S. Dollar, $8,000,000 in 1870 is the equivalent of approx. $190,000,000 in 2024. At the time of his death Lasslo was living in a house located at 4 Montague Place, Bedford Square, Bloomsbury, St. Giles District, Middlesex. London. This house is literally almost directly across the street from the northern end of the British Museum. This wing of the museum houses the King Edward VII Galleries, and it features an entrance to the museum on Montague Place. Lasslo's date of death, and details of the probate of his estate, are officially recorded in the ''Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England'' (London, England - Crown copyright), in the volume for year 1895, surnames Cable-Dyton, p. 42. The complete statement on p. 42 reads as follows: "Chandor, Lasslo - Of 4 Montagu Place, Bedford Square, Middlesex, died 7 October 1894. Probate - London, 20 April [1895] to Francis Hastings Medhurst, engineer. Effects: 252 (pounds sterling)." The probate of Lasslo's estate was handled by his son-in-law Francis William Hastings Medhurst (March 7, 1844 - September 12, 1914), a mining engineer and inventor who had married Lasslo's daughter Arabella Chandor (1848 - October 21, 1906) in 1869. (1815/1817 – October 7, 1894) and Laura Mannabourg (Mannaberg) (September 28, 1827 - April 14, 1878).

John attended Harvard Law School, but left the school without obtaining a law degree. The records indicate that he entered the Junior Class (the lowest class) of Harvard Law School on October 1, 1868, and left the law school, without graduating, sometime in 1869.

In the 1870s and 1880s, John lived in Paris, with his wife Adeline and his mistress Elizabeth Fry Ralston, partly on the proceeds of investments from his father's career.

Family #1 - Wife Adeline Augusta Dickinson
John married Adeline Augusta Dickinson Adeline Augusta Dickinson (May 3, 1850 – September 18, 1947) - Adeline (whose's nickname was "Addie" or "Addy") married John Arthur Chandor in Manhattan on April 1, 1874 (marriage certificate #2148). The marriage was conducted onboard the U. S. Navy ship "Roanoke" (an iron-clad frigate) by U. S. Navy Chaplain Rev. James Johnson Kane (October 18, 1837 - March 9, 1921). Kane retired from the U. S. Navy on October 30, 1896 with the rank of Captain, but on December 11, 1906 his rank was increased from Captain to Rear Admiral, with his new rank being retroactive to June 29, 1906. He wrote a few books of fiction that had spiritualist themes, and he was a driving force behind publication of Progress of British Newspapers in the Nineteenth Century, Illustrated (London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Ltd.) (1900?) by Henry Richard Fox Bourne, et al. The following notice of John and Adeline's marriage appeared in the New York Times (issue of May 13, 1874): "Chandor-Dickinson - In this city, on Wednesday, April 1, 1874, by Rev. James J. Kane, Chaplain, United States Navy, iron-clad frigate, Roanoke, J. Arthur Chandor, of St. Petersburg, Russia, to Addie A., daughter of John Dickinson, esq., of Fordham, NY. St. Petersburg and Paris papers please copy." After the death of her husband John Arthur Chandor in London, England in 1909, it appears that Adeline never remarried. The evidence for this conclusion is as follows: In the 1940 U. S. Census records Adeline is listed as "widowed" and as living with her widowed daughter Alice C. (Chandor) Dickinson (1880-1956) (who is listed as the "head of the household") at 164 East 72nd Street, Assembly District 15, Manhatttan, New York City. Adeline's death certificate (#20184) states that she had been living at this address since about 1929. In various 1940 census databases Adeline Chandor's name is misspelled either as "Adeline Chandon" or "Adeline Chardon." Adeline's obituary appeared in the New York Times on September 20, 1947. According to this obituary, she died on Sept. 19, 1947 at 164 East 72nd Street in Manhattan. However, her death certificate (#20184) states that she died on Sept. 18, 1947. Adeline's name was originally recorded as "Alice Dickinson Chandor" on this death certificate, but the mistake was later corrected (the name "Alice" was crossed out and replaced with the name "Adeline"). The name on death certificate #20184 now reads "Adeline Dickinson Chandor". (1850-1947) on April 1, 1874 in New York City, and they had six children:


 * Valentine Laura Chandor (February 14, 1875 – October 25, 1935)
 * Jack Arthur Feucheres Chandor (October 22, 1876 – September 20, 1935)
 * Alice Marie (Mary) Chandor (July 30, 1880 – February 5, 1956), married George Edward Dickinson (1863–1938)
 * Harold Alvin Chandor (February 23, 1882 – May 25, 1952)
 * Reginald Mortimer Chandor (March 1, 1884 – October 5, 1936)
 * Roland Giles Chandor (October 19, 1886 – January 27, 1903)

Family #2 - Mistress (Possible Wife) Elizabeth Fry Ralston
In December 1875, John met Elizabeth "Lizzie" Fry Ralston (née Red) (November 9, 1837 – November 30, 1929), the widow of San Francisco businessman and financier William Chapman Ralston (1826–1875), on a ship travelling from New York City to Europe. Although he claimed to be single, in reality John already had a wife and daughter (wife Adeline A. Dickinson, and daughter Valentine Laura Chandor) in New York City.

Famous daughter Louise A. Chandor (Paquita de Shishmareff) (L. Fry)
About 5 years after they had first met, John and Elizabeth had one child (probably out of wedlock), Louise A. Chandor (February 16, 1882 – July 15, 1970), who was born in Paris, France. At the time Louise was born in 1882, John was employed as Second Secretary at the U. S. Embassy in Paris, a position that qualified him to be classified as a minor diplomat in the U. S. diplomatic corps. On May 26, 1906 (Old Style) Louise married Captain Feodor Ivanovich Shishmarev (August 16, 1876 - 1917) (of the Czarist Russian Imperial Army) in St. Petersburg, Russia, and subsequently she was usually referred to by her married name: Paquita Louise de Shishmareff. After emigrating from Russia to the United States in 1917 with her 2 sons - Kyrill (April 11, 1907 - 1975) and Misha (Michael) (January 17, 1910 - 1983) - Paquita became an antisemitic, pro-fascist author who wrote articles and books under the pen name L. Fry (Leslie Fry). Her most famous book is titled Waters Flowing Eastward (Paris: Éditions R.I.S.S., 1931), which includes an account of her provocative original research on the origin of the infamous Protocols of the Elders of Zion (see Waters Flowing Eastward, Part Two, Chapter I, titled How the Protocols Came to Russia, pp. 95–100). Louise was co-author, along with Edith Starr Miller (Lady Queenborough) (1887-1933) and others, of the famous conspiracy classic titled Occult Theocrasy (2 vols.) (Abbeville, France: Imprimerie F. Paillart, 1931-1933).

Family #3 - Mistress (Possible Wife) Lucy May Newton
John and Lucy May Newton (1867 – July 1912) had three children:
 * Violet May Chandor (1886 – March 1916)
 * Colonel Hugo Henry Chandor OBE (1895 – October 22, 1966), married Daphne Rachel Mulholland (previously married to Esme Bligh, 9th Earl of Darnley)
 * Douglas Granville Chandor (August 20, 1897 – January 13, 1953), famous portrait painter and garden designer.

Family #4 - Mistress (Possible Wife) Mary Clarke Albert
John's last-known mistress (or possible wife) with whom he had a child (or children) was Mary Clarke Albert (1875-1924). John Arthur Chandor and Mary Clarke Albert had a son named Peter France Chandor Peter France Chandor (January 6, 1904 - May 30, 1969) - He was born in the 7th arrondissement of Paris (Palais-Bourbon), France, and died in Easton, Talbot County, Maryland. He attended Queens' College, Cambridge (from about 1921-1925), where he studied education and trained to be a teacher. On March 19, 1926 he was assigned by the British government to serve as the British Superintendent of Education for the Northern Province of the Tanganyika Territory (known as Tanzania since 1964), a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the British government in various guises from 1916-1961 - see: Tanganyika Territory Blue Book for the Year Ended 31st December 1926 (Printed and Published by the Government Printer, Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika Territory), pages 67-72, 78, and 81. Peter made a trip to England where, in January 1929, he married Eileen Marian White (née Wilmer-Hives) (January 3, 1903 - November 7, 1975) in St. Martin (Registration District), City of Westminster, London. Peter F. Chandor was Eileen's second husband. Eileen's first husband was Andrew Gibb White (August 29, 1907 - January 1997) (born in Logiecrait, Perthshire, Scotland, died in Taunton, Somerset, England), who had been educated at Winchester College (Winchester, Hampshire, England) and then Oxford University. When the Tanganyika Territory came under British control, the British government divided it into 18 provinces, each of which had its own British Superintendent of Education. The various British Superintendents of Education were overseen by Stanley Rivers-Smith (October 9, 1877 - October 13, 1965), who on October 1, 1926 was appointed the British Director of Education for the entire Tanganyika Territory. Rivers-Smith had previously served as the British Director of Education in Zanzibar from 1907-1920. Peter's headquarters as British Superintendent of Education for the Northern Province of the Tanganyika Territory was at the Moshi School in the municipality of Moshi (now Moshi, Tanzania), a city located in the northeastern part of the Tanganyika Territory. The Moshi School was a boarding and day school, built on a 50+ acre tract of land. The subjects taught at the school were elementary and primary courses in agricultural and industrial pursuits, village handicrafts, and medical work. There were buildings on the school grounds suitable for staff quarters and workshops, and for the operation of a coffee plantation. The school grounds were spacious enough that playgrounds for sports could be built on the property - see: Report by His Britannic Majesty's Government to the Council of the League of Nations on the Administration of Tanganyika Territory for the Year 1925 (issued by the Colonial Office, 1926) (Colonial No. 18) (Annual Report). Peter resigned from his position as Superintendent of Education for the Northern Province of the Tanganyika Territory on December 13, 1932 - see: The Tanganyika Territory Gazette (Dar es Salaam: Government Printing Office), Vol. XIII, No. 54 (issue of Dec. 23, 1932), p. 760. After resigning from his position at the Moshi School, Peter and his wife Eileen returned to England, where they resided with their 2 children - Ann Penelope Wilmer Chandor (December 9, 1929 - February 20, 2019) and Peter John Anthony Chandor (November 9, 1932 - November 28, 2014) - at "Windy Ridge" in Limpsfield, Surrey. Ann and Peter J. A. Chandor were both born in the Tanganyika Territory. Peter and Eileen's second daughter - Valerie Fleur Chandor (May 4, 1936 - June 15, 1973) - was born in England. Eventually Peter and Eileen got divorced. During World War II Peter served in the British Army from 1940-1945, in the Green Howards (Alexandra, Princess of Wales's Own Yorkshire Regiment), where he was promoted to the rank of Major on January 1, 1945. After World War II, he was employed by Great Britain's Colonial Office. The records show that he held 2 positions in the Colonial Office in 1948 - he is listed both as a Temporary Administrative Officer, and as a Principal Officer in the Information Services Branch. The Information Services Branch supplied information about Great Britain and the Commonwealth to the British Colonies and to foreign countries (and vice versa), provided information about the organization of Regional Information Offices, and was in charge of broadcasting services operated by the Colonial Office. See: The Colonial Office List 1948 - Comprising Historical and Statistical Information respecting the Colonial Empire, Lists of Officers serving in the Colonies, etc. and Other Information (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1948) (Colonial No. 226), pp. 282, 285. In 1947 Peter published 2 novels: Arena: A Novel (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1947) (247 p.) and The Road to the Wall - A Novel (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1947) (288 p.). Sometime in the 1950s Peter moved to the United States. In the 1960s he was living in Woodstock, Virginia (in Shenandoah County, Virginia), where he bred and showed Bullmastiff dogs, assisted by his daughter Ann Penelope Wilmer Chandor. Ann attended and graduated from the Charters Towers School for Girls, located at 39 Hastings Road, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, South East England. On May 19, 1949 Ann was presented at the Court of St. James's (in St. James's Palace) at a presentation party held by the King and Queen of England. Peter is buried in Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. (1904-1969).

John's Death, and Probate of his Estate
John Arthur Chandor died in Kensington, Middlesex, London, England on June 1, 1909. His date of death, and details of the probate of his estate, are officially recorded in the ''Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England'' (London, England - Crown copyright), in the volume for year 1912, surnames Aanonson-Czerny, p. 355. The complete statement on p. 355 reads as follows: "Chandor, John Arthur - Of 5 Abingdon Court, Kensington, Middlesex, died on 1 June 1909. Administration (limited): London, 11 November [1909] to Reginald Mortimer Chandor, publisher, and attorney of Adeline Augusta Chandor (John's widow). Effects: 1317 (pounds sterling) and 10s."