"Howdie," as he was known to his intimates, was born in London on 30 January 1855 into an affluent New England American family. His father, Russell Sturgis, was a China trader and lawyer who later became head of Barings Bank in London. His mother was Russell's third wife, Julia Overing (née Boit) Sturgis. Among his siblings were brothers Julian (who also became a novelist) and Henry (who became MP for South Dorset) and sister Mary (wife of Bertram Falle, 1st Baron Portsea). From his father's earlier marriage, he had an elder half-brother, John Hubbard Sturgis, who was a noted Boston architect.
