Josephine's Ramblings: The Ardlay's Family Tree and their Social Status

The Ardlay's family is very dear to Keiko Nagita, who imagined this family as a young girl, trying to evade herself from the harsh realities of life. Understandably, the Ardlays became her friends as she gradually imagined each one of their members and their individual stories. It is only logical that these characters changed many times in her mind as she grew up, until she was able to introduce us to them back in the 1970s. However, I don’t think she told us everything about them. Even in Candy Candy: Final Story, we only get a glimpse at the tragic history of this wealthy American family. It is only natural to feel curious about this topic. If you ever felt like that, you’re not alone!

Guessing that the young Japanese fans who were following the publication of the manga were craving for more details about the Ardlays, the Nakayoshi magazine published a family tree as an appendix, back in the day the story was still being published. Years later, other versions of the family tree appeared in non-authorized merchandise. Although these family trees are not approved by the author, fans have always fantasized with the relations expressed in those graphic representations. You can still find some version of the same idea all over the internet if you care to explore a bit using your favourite search engine.

In this “rambling”, I will elaborate on the canonical information about the Ardlay’s family, and add a few unofficial details found in other sources (manga, anime, merchandise).

Let’s begin with the information available in CCFS:

1.      The Ardlays are Scottish immigrants.

2.      Albert’s father, William C. Ardlay was the head of the family and died when Albert was only 8 years of age.

3.      The family leadership was expected to go from father to son (“from William to William”), which may only refer to William C. Ardlay and his son William A. Ardlay. However, it may also refer to more than two generations. This last possibility is just speculation as no direct evidence is given in the novel.

4.      Aunt Elroy was Mr. Ardlay’s elder sister. The name Elroy is both a masculine name and a last name. For that reason, one can suspect that Elroy it is not the lady’s first name, but possibly her married family name.

5.      Besides Aunt Elroy, there are several elderly members that somehow become key supporting Aunt Elroy as she leads the family while William Albert becomes of age.

6.      William C. Ardlay and his wife had two children: Rosemary and William Albert.

7.      Albert’s mother died when he was born.

8.      Albert’s sister was already married when Albert was little. Albert confirms this fact in one of his letters, in which he asserts that there was an important age difference between them.

9.      Women tend to die young in this family, according to Albert.

10. Rosemary felt in love with a naval captain, Mr. Vincent Brown, and eloped with him when the family objected to the relationship. It is likely that the family’s opposition declined after her marriage because we are told she lived with Anthony in the Lakewood mansion and not at the Browns’ household.

11. Rosemary and Vincent had an only child, Anthony, who is Albert’s nephew.

12. Rosemary died while Anthony was little (perhaps 4 to 6 years of age, as he is able to remember her and retell memories of one important conversation with her).

13. Alistair and Archibald Cornwell are cousins to Anthony. Since their last name is Cornwell, one can guess that they are related to Anthony (and Albert) by their maternal side.

14. Alistair resembled his father, Mr. Cornwell Senior, and they also shared an interest in engineering. He had a business in Arabia that kept him and his wife away from the United States. His name and that of his wife are not mentioned in the novel.

15. Raymond and Sarah Lagan’s relationship to the Ardlays is not clear, but Eliza and Neil are said to be relatives to Archibald and Alistair. The exact connection is not revealed but it is likely that it comes from Mrs. Lagan, whose maiden name is not revealed in the novel.

16.  There is a distant relative named Mr. Winston, in whose home Patty stays during her time in Chicago, prior Alistair’s death.

17. Georges Villers was a young French orphan that Mr. William C. Ardlay took under his protection, giving him instruction and a place as his right-hand man and protector of his son. He was never adopted but became an important player in the family.

This information does not necessarily contradict the family tree published in the Nakayoshi magazine which provides other names and details:

1.      The family tree starts with Mr. William Ardlay the First (father to William C. Ardlay). The name of his wife is not revealed.

2.      Mr. William C. Ardlay (second in line) was married to a lady called Priscilla.

3.      Mr. William C. Ardlay and Mrs. Elroy are siblings, but they also had a younger sister, Janet.

4.      Janet Ardlay married (husband’s name unknown) and had a daughter: Janice, who was first cousin to Rosemary and Albert.

5.      Janice is Alistair and Archibald’s mother. We know her husband is Mr. Cornwell, but the first name of this man is not revealed.

6.      According to one family tree, Aunt Elroy married a widower who already had a daughter of his own. This daughter, whose name is not revealed, eventually married in turn and had a daughter, named Sarah. This Sarah would become Mrs. Lagan. So, in this family tree, the Lagans are not related to the Ardlays by blood. They are only related through legal connections from Aunt Elroy’s deceased husband.

7.      In a second family tree, Sarah appears as Aunt Elroy’s daughter, but that would not make much sense, since in the novel, Sarah never calls her mother.

So, considering this information (both factually stated in the novel and also speculations derived from the non-canonical family trees) one could elaborate the following theories about the Ardlay’s family.

Let’s start by establishing Albert’s age and possible year of birth. Please, be patient as I take you though my reasoning.

1.      Candy is about to become 13 years old when she is hired by the Lagans.

2.      According to the novel, Albert was 17 when he met Candy, when she was 6. So, there is a difference of 11 years between the two of them.

3.      There is not much information about Candy’s age at different stages of the story in the novel, but let’s follow a hint in the anime in which she says to be 15 when she and Cookie meet as stowaway passengers.

4.      The following year, WWI starts, when she is already studying nursing at Mary Jane’s school. So, if we follow this logic, she is 16 years of age when the war started.

5.      Nakayoshi magazine published a character profile in which Candy’s birthday is placed in May 1898. This matches the anime timeline that places Candy at 16 years of age in July 1914 (when the WWI started).

6.      So, considering Albert’s age in relation to Candy, he must have been born 11 years before Candy. This would place his year of birth in 1887.

7.      Since there is a great difference of age between Albert and Rosemary, let’s imagine Albert’s father was no so young when Albert was born.

8.      So, let’s say Mr. William C. Ardlay was 35 when Albert was born. So, William C Ardlay could have been born in 1852 (subtract 35 from 1887, year of Albert’s birth).

9.      If we imagine that Mr. William C. Ardlay’s father was 25 years of age when his heir was born, then the first Mr. William Ardlay could have been born in 1827 in some place in Scotland. His family was very likely poor since William felt the need to migrate in search of opportunities.

10. Mr. William Ardlay, as the first of his dynasty, should have immigrated to the US alone but while still young, or perhaps with some younger siblings of whom we don’t know anything (maybe these are the elders referred in the novel). Let’s say that Mr. Arday the First was 18 years of age when he got to the US. So, his arrival to the country that saw him become rich could be hypothetically placed in 1845.

11. If we consider that amassing a fortune takes time, let’s imagine that it took him 20 years to become wealthy. This places the dawn of the Ardlay’s fortune at perhaps 1865, after the Civil War, when the country was in the midst of heavy industrialization and crucial political and social changes. It was certainly a time for new business ventures and the generation of new wealth.

If we develop this theory further, we can suggest the following possible interpretations:

• Mr. Ardlay the First started his family while still working hard to become rich. His children (Aunt Elroy, William C, and perhaps Janet) saw their family go from rags to riches.

• William C. consolidated his father’s legacy being the second in line.

• Albert received a legacy of only two generations before him.

• Aunt Elroy is perhaps so snobbish because she has tried hard to distant herself from her poor origins, which she can still remember from her youth.

• ·By the beginning of the century, when Albert is 13 years of age, the Ardlays are still considered new money, as only families that had been part of the elite for multiple generations (100 years or more) were consider true old money.

Please remember that these conclusions require a bit of interpretation on the part of the reader. The only facts we can considered canon are those that appear in the novel, as mentioned above. However, I have done my best to apply common sense and bit of historical knowledge to make this theory plausible.