Ellen Douglas (Bateman) Greppo

This donation comes from an intriguing source with a story only partially revealed. In the accession register, the donor is identified as Mrs. E.D. Greppo of New York. Mrs. Greppo was born Ellen Douglas Bateman in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1844. She was born into a noted family of actors. Her father, Hezekiah Linthicum Bateman (1812-1875) was well known as an actor and theatre manager in the United States and England. Ellen’s mother, Sidney Frances (1823-1881) came from an English acting family. In addition to her acting career, Sidney Bateman was a successful playwright and theatre manager. Several of their eight children also chose careers on the stage. Having begun acting in early childhood, Ellen and her sister Kate Josephine became known as “the Bateman children”.

In 1860 when the Batemans were living in New York, Ellen married Claude Greppo, a native of France, born in Lyon in 1834. By 1867, the couple were living in Paterson, New Jersey, where Claude Greppo opened the first silk dye shop in Passaic County.

But, why would Ellen Greppo, with no apparent connection to New Brunswick, donate artefacts, mostly from Nubia, to the Natural History Society in Saint John? The donation was made through Katherine Mary Diller Matthew, wife of George Frederic Matthew, both of Saint John. The relationship between Katherine Matthew and Ellen Greppo has not been discovered, but Katherine had numerous links to New York. She was born in Brooklyn and, after moving to New Brunswick, she maintained close contact with her family there. George and Katherine had eight children, of whom six migrated from Saint John to the United States, mainly New York. There was also a familial connection to the theatre. Daughter Elizabeth (Bess) Matthew trained as a musician and, in 1903, she married Edward (Ned) Manning, a musician and composer.

An important family event brought many members of the Matthew and Diller extended families together the same year as Katherine Matthew presented Ellen Greppo’s gift to the Natural History Society. For the golden wedding anniversary of George and Katherine Matthew on 1 April 1918, their son and daughter-in-law hosted a party at their home in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Entertainment for the party consisted of the premier performance of “Rip van Winkle”, composed by Ned Manning and performed by some of the relatives at the party. Perhaps Ellen Greppo was involved in some way. That Mrs. Matthew brought the donation back following the family gathering is indicated by the date they were received by the Natural History Society, 5 June 1918.

The most intractable mystery in this story is the identity of Mr. and Mrs. Danforth, who actually collected the artefacts in Nubia and along the Nile River. Who were they and what were they doing in Africa?