Josceline George Herbert Amherst (1846 - 1900)

Born 7 Jun 1846 in Kent, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Died 1 Feb 1900 at age 53 in Darlington, Western Australia, Australia

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Biography

Josceline George Herbert Amherst was born on 7 June 1846.1 He was the son of William Pitt Amherst, 2nd Earl Amherst of Arracan and Gertrude Percy. ^{[1] [2]}

He passed away in 1900^[3].

Death Notification

DEATH OF THE HON. J. G. H. AMHERST. We regret to record the death of the Hon. Josceline George Herbert Amherst, of Darlington. near Smith's Mill, which took place at his residence early last evening. The deceased gentleman had been ailing for some time and was attended by Dr. Elgee, of Guildford, but his health had not been such as to cause any anxiety on the part of his friends. However, yesterday afternoon his condition became worse, and at 7 o'clock in the evening he expired. Mr. Amherst was the fifth son and eighth child of the late Bt. Hon. William Pitt Amherst, second Earl Amherst, of Arracan in the West Indies, Viscount Holmesdale, and baron Amherst, of Montreal, Kent, in the peerage of the United Kingdom by his marriage with Gertrude, sixth daughter of the late Hon. and Right Rev. Hugh Percy, D.D. Lord Bishop of Carlisle, third son of the first Earl of Beverley and grandson of the first Duke of Northumberland. The deceased gentleman was born in Kent on the 7th of June, 1846, and was educated at the university of Cambridge. After completing his university career, he chose the law as a profession, and was admitted a barrister of the Inner Temple. In June, 1881, he received the appointment of private secretary to Sir George Des Voeux, Governor of Fiji, which he retained till September, 1883, and in March, 1986, he was appointed private secretary to the late Sir Frederick Napier Broome, Governor of Western Australia whom he came to this colony. After the departure of Sir Frederick Broome, Mr. Amherst remained in the colony, and embarked in viticulture. Together with his friend, Dr. A. R. Waylen, he took up land in the vicinity of Smith's Mill, and their extensive vineyard and orchard at Darlington was one of the first of the many large vine-growing properties of the kind which have during the past ten years been planted in the central coastal districts. The scale upon which operations were carried on stamped Mr. Amherst as one of the pioneer vignerons of the colony, and not many years elapsed before the Darlington grapes and, Dalington wines obtained a high reputation throughout the colony. Of Mr. Amherst it may justly be said that he was one of the. most enthusiastic and successful vine growers in Western Australia; and he took an equal interest in horticulture; and indeed, in all matters connected with the cultivation of the soil. He held the office of president of the Royal Agricultural Society for several years, and a similar position in the Swan Vine and Fruit Growers' Association. At one time he took a keen interest in horseracing, and in dogs and shooting - indeed in most pursuits which form part of the life of an English country gentleman he showed the liveliest interest. He was undoubtedly a man of many parts. Well read; a scholar in every sense of the word, possessing literary ability of a high order, he united with these many of the qualifications which belong to the shrewd, keen business man; and, notwithstanding the many demands upon his leisure, he found time during the early days of Responsible government to devote some time to the Government of the country of his adoption by accepting a seat in the nominated Legislative Council of the first Parliament under the present Constitution. Of his social qualities it may well be said they were such as to render him extremely popular amongst his large circle of friends and acquaintances. Full of geniality, a brilliant and witty conversationalist, given to the exercise of a wide hospitality for which his bachelor home at Darlington was proverbial and delighting in the pleasures of social intercourse, he made friends wherever he went, and was always a lively and entertaining companion. During the earlier part of his life in the colony, he took an enthusiastic and active interest in Freemasonry, and for some time was one of the most prominent members of the Craft in Western Australia. His death removes one who for years had been a central figure in the social life of the colony, and by his wide circle of friends the keenest regret will be felt at his decease, which occurred just at a time when still, comparatively speaking, in the Prime of life, he was entering upon the full enjoyment of the results of his adoption of the pursuits of a West Australian country gentleman. ^[4]

Probate

The Honorable Joscelyne George Herbert Amherst, late of Darlington, esquire, to the WA. Trustee, Executor, and Agency Co., Ltd., leave being reserved to Captain the Honorable Hugh Amherst, the other executor, to prove, ¿£8,286 17s. 1d ^[5]

The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians

AMHERST, Hon. Josceline G. H., b. 1846, d. 2.1900. Arr. per Rome 16.6.1885 and to Eastern colonies, arr. again Ballarat 25.11.1885 from Eastern Australia with Gov. Broome. Private Secretary to Governor and Clerk of Executive Council - 1887. Returned to London and back to W.A. per Carthage 18 .3.1888. Proprietor of "Holmesdale". Darlington. President: of Royal Agric. Soc and of Swan Vine & Fruit growers" Assoc. and founding member of Agric. Bureau and Swan Rd Bd. Educ. Cambridge University. ^[6]

Research Notes

There are many articles relating to his passing. ^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ https://thepeerage.com/p26906.htm#i269054
2. ↑ Sir Bernard Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire, 11th edition (London, U.K.: Hurst & Blackett, 1849), page 22. Hereinafter cited as The Peerage and Baronetage, 11th ed.
3. ↑ WA Death Records. Reg No. 2146, Reg year 1900
4. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23828420
5. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/33179765
6. ↑ The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians, pre-1829-1888, Vol 1, A, pg 36. [compiled by Rica Erickson] https://www.friendsofbattyelibrary.org.au/bicentennial-dictionary
7. ↑ https://trove.nla.gov.au/search/advanced/category/newspapers?keyword=amherst&date.from=1900-01-01&date.to=1900-12-31&l-advstate=Western%20Australia