Robert Hart GCMG (1835 - 1911)

Born 20 Feb 1835 in Down, Ireland

Husband of Hester Jane (Bredon) Hart — married 22 Aug 1866 in Dublin, Ireland

Descendants

Died 20 Sep 1911 at age 76 in Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

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Biography

Robert Hart GCMG is Notable.

Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet GCMG was a British diplomat and official in the Qing Chinese government, serving as the second Inspector-General of China's Imperial Maritime Custom Service (IMCS) from 1863 to 1911. Beginning as a student interpreter in the consular service, he arrived in China at the age of 19 and resided there for 54 years, except for two short leaves in 1866 and 1874.

Hart was born in a little house in Dungannon Street, Portadown, County Armagh, Ulster, Ireland. He was the eldest of 12 children of Henry Hart (1806–1875), who worked in the distilleries, and a daughter of John Edgar of Ballybreagh. At the age of 12, Hart's family moved to Milltown (near Maghery), on the banks of the Lough Neagh, staying there for a year before moving on to Hillsborough, where he first attended school.

In 1857 he took a Chinese concubine, Ayaou, with whom he had three children and for whom he developed genuine affection and respect. After becoming Inspector General at the end of 1863 one of his resolutions was to set a good example to his staff. For him this included parting with Ayaou (who seems to have been still in the south) and finding a respectable British wife. In May 1866 he arrived in Britain for his first leave. It seems likely the three children, (Anna, Herbert and Arthur Hart), travelled on the same boat with his Chinese steward, and his lawyer immediately found them a foster home.

He arrived home on 25 May, and on 31 May he and his aunt called on the 18 year-old Hester Bredon and her newly widowed mother. On their third meeting, on 5 June, he proposed and was accepted. They married in Dublin on 22 August and in September left for Peking. With Hester he had three legal children, Evelyn, Robert and Mabel, but did not see much of them. Hester returned to Britain in 1876 with their first two children. A brief reunion started on his second leave in 1878, during which he had a break down. Hester probably found out about the illegitimate children, whose education was causing expense, during this leave. She accompanied him back to Peking, where the third child, Mabel, was born, but from 1882 she and the children lived permanently in London. The relationship was maintained by letter. Hart wrote regularly to his wife and legal children. The two oldest visited him in Peking briefly in the 1890s, not very satisfactorily.

It is not known when Ayaou died. His diary records letters from her in 1870 and in May 1872. While making no direct contact with them, Hart took an interest in the progress of his illegitimate children. In his last decade, he was obliged to acknowledge them by legal declarations.

Sir Robert was survived by his wife and three children and was succeeded in the Baronetcy by his son Sir Edgar Hart, 2nd Baronet of Kilmoriarty (1893 - 1963). Sir Edgar was succeeded in the Baronetcy by his son Sir Robin Hart, 3rd Baronet of Kilmoriarty, who died in 1970 when the title fell into abeyance.

Sir Robert Hart was buried in All Saints Churchyard, Bisham, Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough, Berkshire, England.

Merged Biography

Sir Robert Hart, 1st Bt. was born on 28 February 1835. He was the son of Henry Hart and Anne Edgar. He married Hester Jane Bredon, daughter of Alexander Bredon, on 22 August 1866. He died on 20 September 1911 at age 76.

He graduated from Queen's College, Belfast, County Antrim, IrelandG, in 1853 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) He was Inspector-General of Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs in 1863. He was appointed Companion, Order of St. Michael and St. George (C.M.G.) in 1879. He was appointed Knight Commander, Order of St. Michael and St. George (K.C.M.G.) in 1882. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross, Order of St. Michael and St. George (G.C.M.G.) in 1889. He held the office of Pro-Chancellor of the Queen's College. He was created 1st Baronet Hart, of Kilmoriarty, co. Armagh [U.K.] on 17 July 1893. He was Inspector-General of Chinese Imperial Posts in 1896

Sources

• Wikipedia:Sir_Robert_Hart,_1st_Baronet
• This WikiTree profile is referenced from Wikidata: Item Q1704958, en:Wikipedia
• http://thepeerage.com/p7751.htm#i77505