Minor Characters in Samantha's Series (A-M)

Ruth Adams

One of Samantha's school friends. She's a friend, and a very honest one.

Monsieur Andreyev

The manager of the Imperial Excelsior hotel in Paris, France in Danger in Paris.

Dr. Barnett

A doctor at Mount Bedford. The protagonist and Samantha visit his office in The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha; he examines the bump on the protagonist's head.

Mr. Bertram

The owner of Bertram's Book Shop, seen in The Stolen Sapphire. He has white hair. He spots Samantha waiting on Nellie and says two books have been delivered that were ordered by Cornelia for their upcoming trip, handing the package to her to take home.

Miss Brennan

The head of a settlement house in New York City. She calls Nellie 'Miss Nellie O'Malley-All-Mended" because of the way she was able to dissemble and reassemble things to repair them. She knew Nellie before she moved in with the Edwards and is pleased to see that Nellie's life has improved. She is a brisk and bossy, but cheerful and warm. She is rarely found in her office and can be found in various places all over the settlement house and enjoys a variety of classes (she is first located in a singing class). Her parents died when she was young and she went to Clark School to learn to be a teacher. She comes from the same Irish background as Nellie and gives her an Irish coin in payment for fixing her clock to remind her of her family's past.

When she first meets Cornelia and Samantha, she greets them warmly. She enjoys Cornelia's help at the settlement house. When Uncle Mike comes to the house trying to seek information about Nellie, she gives him a piece of her mind before sending him off. She and Nellie share Irish tea and Nellie first confesses about Uncle Mike to her and her unhappiness at school. She tells Nellie that she has to make a decision on her own about where to take her life, regardless of Uncle Mike, and to choose the future she wants. She inadvertently gives Nellie information about Clark School and prompts her to write the letter. Later she helps Cornelia locate a school that Nellie would prefer.

She both inspires Nellie to become a teacher (and takes it as a great compliment) and gives her sound advice about taking control of her life regardless of her home life.

Charlotta Billingsley

The twelve-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Billingsley seen in The Stolen Sapphire. She has blonde ringlets and an upturned nose. She is haughty, sneaky, two-faced, and snotty, but Samantha does not think Charlotta is as smart as she assumes herself to be. She is fond of openly correcting others who do not know what she does even when she is wrong and, while behaving politely around adults, mean to Nellie and Samantha. She speaks French and while she claims to be better than the two girls, her mother states to Grandmary that she wishes that she had arraigned lessons for her to improve.

Charlotta is introduced when the R.M.S. Queen Caroline is pulling away from the dock; she accuses Samantha and Nellie of not being first class and that the area they are located is only for first class. She then calls their tutor, Nicole Étienne, their "nanny" and boasts that she's too old to have one, which makes Nicole uncomfortable.

When Nellie is not feeling well due to seasickness and only she and Samantha are dining together, she asked Nellie's age and--hearing that both girls are eleven--states that they don't look like twins. She is shocked to hear that Nellie is adopted (and Bridget and Jenny) and used to be a servant, which makes Samantha uncomfortable. After that point she is passive-aggressively rude to Nellie in low-detection ways, such as saying that Nellie's French needs work but that it's "lovely" she's trying to improve herself and that she must be grateful to be adopted into "better" society.

Mr. Billingsley

A wealthy man who, along with his wife and their daughter Charlotta, is aboard the R.M.S. Queen Caroline in The Stolen Sapphire. He is stout with small, close-set eyes.

Upon seeing the Blue Star sapphire that Professor Wharton is transporting, he says that as a collector of fine jewels he knows anything can be bought, and for the professor to name his price to try and obtain it.

Mrs. Billingsley

A wealthy woman who, along with his wife and their daughter Charlotta, is aboard the R.M.S. Queen Caroline in The Stolen Sapphire. She is plump and fond of jewels, even wearing a fancy diamond pendant to dinner.

At the first night's dinner, she pesters the Professor to see the Blue Star sapphire and asks about its interesting (and violent) history. Upon seeing the sapphire, she stares at it transfixed and asks how much it costs. She again asks to see it the second night they are able to dine together which is when the disturbance is made that makes the jewel appear to be stolen. She openly accuses Nicole of being the thief as the last family she worked for had items stolen from them, and this action shows Grandmary her true nature.

When Nicole is fully accused of the theft and confined into Cabin Thirty-Two, she comes to visit Nicole in the night (while Nellie is inside, unbeknown to her). She is initially kind, but then says she wants the Blue Star and offers increasingly large sums of money to buy it--then says she'll make things hard for Nicole and storms out. Her rude outburst, however, clears her and her family of the theft.

Mrs. Calloway

An employee at Ravenscourt. In The Curse of Ravenscourt, she serves as the cook for Samantha's and Nellie's family.

Mr. Carruthers

The owner of Mr. Carruthers's Candy Shop.

Lady Chambers

A friend of Mary Edwards aboard the S.S. Londonia, who shows others how to make Japanese origami cranes.

Claire

A woman who works as a maid at the Imperial Excelsior hotel.

Miss Crampton

The headmistress at Miss Crampton's Academy for Girls. She wears wire-rimmed glasses.

She is very serious about exercise and every day at one o'clock in Samantha's class, she leads the girls in exercises. When Samantha mentions she wishes to help a friend with her education, she offers Samantha some beginning textbooks to aid her.

In Samantha: The Gift she comes in the classroom and informs the girls about the speech contest and has them start on their speeches. During their recitals, she gives tips on elocution. She praises Samantha's speech and says that she and Edith Eddleton are the winners and will give their speeches. During Samantha's public speech, she is seated in the front row and beams proudly at Samantha's line about horses, but swiftly looks shocked at the change of speech, even going pale.

Mary Crosby

An Irish maid employed at Ravenscourt. In The Curse of Ravenscourt, she serves as the maid for Samantha's and Nellie's family.

Daisy

A woman who works as a maid at Lockston Castle.

Mrs. Davis

A woman who works at an orphanage in Mount Bedford. She's seen transporting two young orphans to the city in The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha.

Silas Diffenbacher

A man seen expressing interest in purchasing Piney Point from Mary Edwards in The Cry of the Loon.

Doris

An elderly woman who serves as a maid for Mary Edwards. She is a tall, thin, elderly woman who is hard of hearing and so speaks loudly. She accompanies the family on the trip to Europe in The Stolen Sapphire.

Madame DuBois

Margurite's mother. She teaches French at Lessing's Boys School and is widowed.

Marguerite DuBois

A French girl who attends Samantha's school. She is looked down upon for being lower-middle-class. Marguerite is a skilled ballerina and performs at a talent show in Samantha's Special Talent.

Edith Eddleton

A snobby well-to-do girl. Originally illustrated with short curly brown hair, she is later shown with long lighter brown hair in a braid, and owns a bicycle herself.

She is first seen in Samantha Learns a Lesson in class, smugly answering what la gorge means. When Samantha is walking Nellie and her sisters home from school, she rides by on her bicycle and, upon seeing them, says that she was raised to be better than to play with servants. She makes it into the speaking contest along with Samantha and presents her speech on generic progress.

In Happy Birthday, Samantha! she attends Samantha's tenth birthday party and gifts her a book of piano music.

In Samantha: The Gift she and Helen Whitney are walking home arm in arm when they see Samantha with Nellie. Before Samantha can introduce Nellie, Helen speaks up and says she's dressed like a servant, and Edith states they don't consort with servant girls and tugs Helen along. Later, Edith is with a group of girls gossiping at the start of school. When confronted by Samantha, Edith asks rudely about Samantha's friend--calling Nellie a servant girl--and asks if Samantha's learning to peel potatoes. When Samantha snaps back she'd rather peel potatoes than pick posies with them and calls her a nincompoop, Edith flushes and says she wonders what others would have to say about her servant friend. (it is implied she tells her mother, who later calls on Mary Edwards to complain about Nellie spending time with Samantha.) Her speech is changed from being about generic progress to being about the Wright Brothers and their airplane.

Mrs. Eddleton

Mrs. Eddleton is the mother of Edith Eddleton. She is described as having a high, shrill voice.

She and Mrs. Ryland come over to the Edwards house to fuss about the O'Malley family and Samantha's interactions with Nellie; she looks down on Nellie for being a servant and states that Nellie and Samantha shouldn't be friends.

In Samantha and the Missing Pearls, she accuses Nellie of stealing the lost pearls to Mrs. van Sicklen.

In Samantha: The Gift she only speaks on Nellie (as the rest of her family is not present) and says that Edith informed her that Samantha has been seen keeping company with a servant girl and her daughter Edith is concerned. Her name is not stated.

William Edwards

The late husband of Mary Edwards and father of Lydia and Gardner. He died before the start of the series, sometime after Lydia and her husband died.

Samantha finds the story of her grandparents' courtship romantic; they met in 1865 a month before William went to England for a year, and wrote letters every week for the full year he was away. They were engaged upon his return in 1865, and married two years later on June 10, 1867. His family is from England.

William is discussed in more detail in The Cry of the Loon. He didn't laugh as much as other suitors, but he spoke to Mary all the time about his plans for college and a career, and asked her about her own personal plans as well (unique in an era where women were only expected to think about marriage and family). After they were married they'd talk every night after dinner and he asked her opinion regarding business matters; Mary would help him think things over, and he often took her advice or was able to justify his own ideas, and this led to success in his business and enough money to buy Piney Point. Mary recalls they made a good team.

His grandson William Samuel Edwards is named after him.

William Samuel Edwards

William Samuel Edwards is the infant son of Gardner Edwards and Cornelia Edwards.

Cornelia informs Samantha, Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny that she is pregnant at the end of The Curse of Ravenscourt, and the girls hope for a little sister though Samantha says a brother would be fine. William is born before the events of The Cry of the Loon. Cornelia and Gardner named him after Samantha's grandfather William and Samantha (however, since Samantha is a girl's name, it was changed to Samuel). Samantha thinks the name is large for such a small baby. Samantha asked Gardner if he was going to call the baby Sam since that was his nickname for her and Gard assures her that the baby will probably be called William.

For a birthday gift to Grandmary, Cornelia and Gardner give a picture of the three of them together.

Walter Enderby

The owner of Enderby Towers and Horace Raven's business rival. He pays Mr. Winthrop to scare residents away from Ravenscourt with accidents in The Curse of Ravenscourt.

Nicole Étienne

A French woman hired to be a French tutor for Samantha and Nellie in The Stolen Sapphire. She is a small, slender young woman with large brown eyes and a hint of freckles across her nose.

She accompanies the two girls on their trip aboard the R.M.S. Queen Caroline and, at the time of their departure, had been in the US for two years which is longer than she had originally planned. She had come to tutor the children of the Larchmonts and is happy to return home. She had been engaged to a cousin of the Larchmonts; however his family refused to allow the marriage due to Nicole's lower class and she was forced to call off the engagement. She still hopes to reunite with him or hear from him.

She is accused by multiple people of stealing the Blue Star after it goes missing and because of this, is removed from tutoring the girls and confined to an empty first class cabin by herself. Her name is later cleared once Henry is uncovered as the thief. She is freed from her confinement in time to wave goodbye to Samantha's family as they leave to visit Ireland--a change from their first stop being in London.

Mr. Fisher

The tutor of Henry and Ian Stallsworth in Clue in the Castle Tower.

Florence Flothingham

Sir Charles' goddaughter and the daughter of his cousin, the Earl of Norwood. She aspires to work for a newspaper, despite the disapproval from her father. She only appears in Clue in the Castle Tower.

Miss Frantzen

Nellie's teacher. She assigns Nellie extra arithmetic to do while on her trip in The Stolen Sapphire.

Tusnelda Frouchy

The head matron (or "directress") of Coldrock House. She is a stout, portly woman with green eyes, cold, puffy hands and a false demeanor--such as a sickly-sweet smile for the wealthy, feigned surprise, and false sympathies. Nellie thinks she is sneaky as a cat.

Mrs. Frouchy is a mean woman who believes that orphaned children should learn to make their way in the world as servants, and must learn to defer to their betters and obey the rules of obedience, order, and discipline; she calls Nellie and her sisters "independent-minded" in a derogatory sense and says that the girls she cares for are rough without any idea of polite behavior (that is, not properly deferential to their social betters). She also denies the children any sort of luxuries, extra needs, or privacy and punishes them for anything she perceives as misdeeds and running away from the orphanage.

She quickly takes any treats Cornelia and Samantha (and later Gardner) bring for them, saying that too much rich food is bad for them, that extra gifts will spoil them, and they need nothing at all but what they are given by the orphanage. She attempts to remain in the room whenever the family is visiting and thus keep control over the girls' behavior at all times; she also snaps at the children for being too impolite, familiar, or attempting to show that they are in anyway unhappy at Coldrock. She takes the gloves that Samantha gave Nellie to keep her hands protected, accuses Nellie of stealing them, and thus punishes her with no dinner. When Nellie is picked to go on the orphan train without her sisters by Mrs. Frouchy, Samantha insists on the O'Malleys leaving and assists in their running away. There are no further interactions with Mrs. Frouchy and her methods of discipline are left unquestioned.

In the film Mrs. Frouchy is given a more integral part and set up as a latter half antagonist to Samantha. She is much more harsh and cold but remains sweet-faced to the rich donators of the orphanage such as the Vandergelds. However, she is actually taking money from the donations for her personal use. When Nellie and Samantha see this during their escape and run away, she accuses Samantha of theft repeatedly and attempts to confront Samantha at the Edwards house, accuses her of stealing her "dear girls" (and the money she's stolen) but is sent away by Gertrude. Investigations into Mrs. Frouchy's actions in the running of Coldrock, the discovery of the financial fraud, and reports from Nellie--including how she steals from donations, abuses them, and separates families--lead to her outright dismissal by the donors and this is told to her by Mrs. Vandergeld, a large donor.

She is played by Donna Goodhand.

Gertrude

Gertrude is the housekeeper for Gardner and Cornelia Edwards; she has a long nose. Samantha thinks she is somewhat mean, stingy, notices everything, and is always making Samantha feel as if she's done something wrong or making things improper; Nellie later says in Nellie's Promise that she is grumpy, cross, and displeased that she now must serve girls that would have likely been maids and thus of her social class if not for their being taken in by the Edwards.

Gertrude is first seen bringing tea to Cornelia and Samantha in Changes for Samantha while they are making valentines. She is upset that Samantha is sitting on the floor and when given the paste pot to refill, holds it as if it were a pail of snakes and hoptoads.

She becomes very suspicious of the sounds in the attic when Nellie O'Malley and her sisters are hiding there after leaving Coldrock House, and accuses Samantha of eating enough for ten children and sneaking food when she is bringing food to them; she catches Samantha trying to carry hot chocolate up and has her sit to drink it. When she discovers the girls hiding, she calls them ragamuffins and makes them and Samantha all march downstairs, accusing the O'Malley girls of being no better than beggars and sneaking through the house stealing from the family.

In the movie Gertrude is given a much kinder, sympathetic personality; she drives Miss Frouchy away when she comes to accuse Samantha and does not resent the O'Malley girls once she learns of them.

In Samantha's Mystery Party Game it is revealed Gertrude once had a husband and daughter who were lost at sea.

Miss Grise

Samantha's teacher in her New York School. She is strict and when Samantha makes mistakes in French she sucks in her cheeks like she's eaten a lemon and scolds her.

Captain Arthur H. Goodwin

The captain of the S.S. Londonia during Samantha's trip in Samantha's Ocean Liner Adventure; he is a friend of Admiral Beemis.

Mrs. Gray

A woman who, alongside her sister Martha, schemes to rob Archibald Beemis of a private government letter in Danger in Paris.

She has a dog named Prince, whom she mistreated before abandoning him at the Hotel Excelsior. Prince is later adopted by the Admiral and Mary Edwards.

Burl Griffith

The new manager of Piney Point. He was wounded during the Spanish-American War and walks with a limp.

Glenda Griffith

Mr. Griffith's wife.

Homer Griffith

The son of Mr. and Mrs. Griffith.

Jack Griffith

The son of Mr. and Mrs. Griffith.

Mrs. Grissom

The housekeeper at Lockston Castle, seen in Clue in the Castle Tower.

Mr. Hardy

A librarian at Mount Bedford Public Library.

Mr. and Mrs. Harrington

Friends of Mary Edwards aboard the S.S. Londonia. They live in San Francisco and are upset by the news of the San Francisco Earthquake while they are aboard. Mrs. Harrington takes to her bed with smelling salts, and Mr. Harrington is busy trying to telegram his office.

Ingrid

A young woman who works as Bertie Vanderhoff's nanny.

Jack Jackson

A reporter for the New York Daily. He is small, blond, and wiry with a rapid-fire voice and reminds Samantha of an eager terrier.

In The Stolen Sapphire, he books a ticket on the R.M.S Queen Caroline so he can write a story about the Blue Star Sapphire and interview Professor Wharton regarding, going so far as to upgrade his ticket to first class to be able to question the Professor at dinner. He is present when the sapphire goes missing but, as it has (unbeknownst to nearly everyone) already been taken at that point he is found clear after searching.

He is there when Nellie and Samantha--having figured out how the tablecloth was pulled from underneath--explain to the Captain and Admiral. Jack gives a low whistle and looks at Harry, who finds the matter ridiculous; when Harry says he doesn't chew gum and the gum underneath the table is likely old, Jack examines it and--saying that he's chewed a lot of gum in his time--that the gum is not. Jack outbursts and correctly realizes that the sapphire was not in the box that night at all during the fracas since no one actually saw it before the disturbance, and its storage box was likely instead weighed down with pennies by someone who knew the weight; thus, the gem couldn't be found that night because it wasn't there. He says this would only work with the Professor or Harry and wouldn't have thought to accuse them or mention the theory before as they were on the other side of the table, but with the girls' deductions he's convinced Harry could have done it, and that Samantha and Nellie's investigation have convinced him.

Jacques

A man escorting Samantha and Nellie's tour group through the Catacombs in Danger in Paris.

Jones

Jones is a new hired man at the Van Sicklen home as a handyman. He is never friendly and only speaks to growl at Samantha and Nellie. He also dumps the ashcans, so is covered in soot. He owns a dog that Nellie feels is just as mean as he is and lives in the carriage house in the room next to the O'Malleys.

In Samantha and the Missing Pearls. Samantha and Nellie suspect him of stealing the missing black pearls since he was the only one who had seen them arrive. Nellie and Samantha attempt to avoid him, but when he makes his way towards him telling them to get away from the chute, they slide down the coal chute (which ultimately leads to the discovery of the lost pearls). Jones yells down the coal chute about their foolishness, but is scolded by Mrs. Van Sicklen.

Frederick Keller

A young man from Toronto, Ontario seen touring Paris alongside his cousin William in Danger in Paris.

After contracting a fever in the fall of 1906, all of Frederic's hair fell out and he resorted to wearing a wig. His cousin, William, cares for him to make sure he wouldn't fall ill again.

William Keller

A young man from Toronto, Ontario touring Paris alongside his cousin Frederick in Danger in Paris. William works as a doctor in Toronto.

Monsieur LeBlanc

The owner of LeBlanc's Paris Tours who escorted Samantha and Nellie's tour group in Danger in Paris.

Lincoln

Jessie's husband, who works as a porter on a train that runs from New York to New Orleans. He brings back postcards and candies, as well as tales and descriptions of the city that seem exotic to Samantha.

In Meet Samantha, Lincoln finds Samantha and Nellie tangled up after they startle Jessie into peering into the window and laughs upon finding them. After Jessie cleans up the girls and explains that because of their newborn son she must stop working for Grandmary, Lincoln escorts the two girls home so they aren't caught.

Due to the removal of the chapters, he is not present in Samantha: The Gift.

Louisa

A well-off girl in Samantha and Nellie's school. Louisa hates the gym bloomers and wants to toss them over the edge of a hot air balloon. She plans on going on a ride in one for her birthday. Louisa got a pony for her eighth birthday and wants to be a dancer like Isadora Duncan.

Mabel

A girl who works as a maid at Lockston Castle. Mabel had begun working at the manor house after her father's death in 1905, resulting in her family's farm suffering and her family going into debt.

She only appears in Clue in the Castle Tower.

Martha

The sister of Mrs. Gray.

She poses as a maid in order to aid in robbing Archibald Beemis of a private government letter in Danger in Paris.

Martin

A Pinkerton detective hired by Horace Raven to investigate the accidents occurring at Ravenscourt, going undercover as a doorman in The Curse of Ravenscourt.

Mary

An employee at the Mount Bedford Glove Factory. In The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha, she's given the task of showing the protagonist what to do and informs her about the factory's policies.

Mother on Eighteenth Street

An unnamed woman living on Eighteenth Street in the apartment building that Mike O'Malley lived in (and that Nellie, Bridget, and Jenny lived in briefly). She has at least seven children, one of which is a baby; the six others help her make paper flowers to sell, and her apartment is crowded and dark but clean. When the O'Malley girls were abandoned, she attempted to take them in herself. They worked without complaint but after a week, Nellie wouldn't stay any longer feeling as if they were eating their food without contributing. She took the three girls to Coldrock House since it was the only thing she knew to do for them so they could be safe, warm, fed, and educated and wished she could do more for them; she thought of them as good and polite girls and Nellie as smart and bright, but that Mike was good for nothing but drinking.