Jeannie
Musgrave, born in 9th October, 1833, was married to Sir Anthony Musgrave,
the Governor of South Australia. Jeannie Musgrave had three sons,
Dudley (born 1873), Arthur (born 1874) and Herbert (born 1876).
Sir Anthony Musgrave died in 1888 and two years later Jeannie moved
to Hurst an Clays in East Grinstead. All three of Lady Musgrave served
in the British armed forces. Dudley Musgrave, an officer in the Royal
Navy, died in Bombay in 1895. Major Herbert
Musgrave, one of the founders of the Royal Flying Corps, was killed
in action in the final stages of the First World War in June, 1918.
Brigadier General Arthur Musgrave survived the war and later became
chairman of East Grinstead Urban Council (1928-29).
Lady Jeannie Musgrave was an active member of the East Grinstead Conservative
Association. She was a strong opponent of the campaign for votes
for women and in May 1911, Lady Musgrave helped form the East
Grinstead Anti-Suffrage League. Lady Musgrave became president
of the organisation and Dorothy Bagot of Brook Cottage, was elected
as secretary. Lady Jeannie Musgrave died on 12th August 1920.
(1)
An Anti-Suffrage Society was formed in East Grinstead in May 1911.
A report of the meeting was published in the East Grinstead Observer
on 27th May 1911.
There was a large attendance
at a ‘At Home’ held at Hurst-on-Clays, East Grinstead, by
kind permission of Lady Jeannie Lucinda Musgrave on Tuesday afternoon.
Mrs. Archibald Colquhoun of the Women’s National Anti-Suffrage
League… said that women had never possessed the right to vote
for Members of Parliament in this country nor in any great country,
and although the women’s vote had been granted in one or two
smaller countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, no great empire
have given women’s a voice in running the country. Women have
not had the political experience that men had, and, on the whole,
did not want the vote, and had little knowledge of, or interest in,
politics. Politics would go on without the help of women, but the
home wouldn’t.
The speaker also stated that in a recent canvas by postcard, of the
200 odd women in East Grinstead, they found that 80 did not want the
vote, 40 did want the vote and the remainder would not sufficiently
interested in replying.Lady Musgrave, President of the East Grinstead
branch of the Anti-Suffragette League said she was strongly against
the franchise being extended to women, for she did not think it would
do any good whatsoever, and in sex interests, would do a lot of harm.
She quoted the words of Lady Jersey: "Put not this additional
burden upon us." Women were not equal to men in endurance or
nervous energy, and she thought she might say, on the whole, in intellect.
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