FEBRUARY 22, 1866—MAY 3, 1941
The fifth Doyle child and the fourth daughter, Lottie was named for Mary Burton, the family friend who provided invaluable support Charles' condition deteriorated—and in whose home she was born. She followed the example of elder sister Annette: augmenting her schooling at the Institution Ste. Clotilde in Les Andelys, France, then traveling to Portugal to support herselfand her family as a governess.
Conan Doyle remained close to his siblings throughout his life, and to Lottie in particular. He wrote her frequently, confiding his romantic misadventures, his difficulties with Mary Doyle's friend Bryan Waller, and his hopes for his writing career. He praised her—— "I wish I could come across another like you, but you are unique"—and advised her in her own matters of the heart. They worked together as a team, whether keeping sister Connie from an unsuitable romance, or nursing Arthur's wife Louise, through pregnancy and her long battle with tuberculosis. Lottie was an invaluable companion, caring for her sister-in-law during her travels in Switzerland and Egypt, airing and cleaning the sick room, and supervising the family's move to Undershaw. Her loyalty to her brother was such that she also befriended Jean Leckie when others questioned his judgment.
Lottie married relatively late in life. Following her brother Innes to India in 1899, she met Army engineer Leslie Oldham en route. They married the next year and had one daughter, Claire Annette. After Maj. Oldham was killed in action in July, 1915, Lottie devoted her remaining years to her daughter, with whom she lived in Lewes.
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