George Cayley Bt
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George Cayley Bt (1773 - 1857)

Sir George "6th Baronet Cayley of Brompton" Cayley Bt
Born in Brompton, Yorkshire, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 3 Jul 1795 in Edmonton, Middlesex, Englandmap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 83 in Brompton by Sawdon, Yorkshire, Englandmap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Michael Cayley private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 19 Jun 2015
This page has been accessed 3,461 times.


Preceded by
Thomas Cayley Bt. (1732-1792)
Baronet Cayley of Brompton
1792-1857
Succeeded by
Digby Cayley Bt. (1807-1883)

Contents

Biography

Birth and Parents

George Cayley was the son of Thomas Cayley and Isabella Seton. He was born on 27 December 1773 and baptised at Brompton by Sawdon, Yorkshire on 30 December 1773.[1][2]

Education

George's mother arranged for him to be educated by two non-conformist ministers: the mathematician and engineer George Walker, then living in Nottingham, and the scientist George Cadogan Morgan who has a Wikipedia entry here.[3]

Baronetcy

George succeeded to the baronetcy of the Cayleys of Brompton on 15 March 1792 on the death of his father.[4]

Scientific and Related Interests

Sir George was a Fellow of the Royal Society.[4] He is best known for his pioneering work on aeronautics, working on flying machines of various kinds, including gliders able to lift a person, something akin to a helicopter, and airships. His work on gliders included extensive investigations into the design of fixed wings.[5] Some gliders he trialled in Yorkshire, with the first unmanned flight in 1809.[3][6][7] His grand-daughter Dora recalled an experimental flight in 1852 or 1853 in which Sir George's coachman was induced to take the cockpit of a glider for a flight across a valley near Brompton: she said that when he landed, the frightened coachman shouted out that he was giving in his notice, adding, "I was hired to drive, not to fly." Dora said that the contraption was subsequently stored in a barn, and she used to sit in it to hide from her governess.[8]

Sir George's scientific interests ranged much wider than aeronautics. Among other things he:[3]

  • made an artificial hand for a tenant
  • experimented with hot air engines, which he thought might be the solution to powered flight
  • designed a caterpillar tractor for use on wet ground
  • designed and tested finned projectiles with a view to their use against Napoleon - the government did not take advantage of his invention[7]
  • worked on a tensioned wheel (with spokes) for use for the undercarriage of flying machines, an early version of what was later used for bicycles[7][9]

In 1836, Sir George urged that every lifeboat should be self-righting.[10]

He was keen to spread awareness of scientific developments among the wider public. He was President of the York Mechanics' Institute; a founder member of the Philosophical Societies of Scarborough and Yorkshire ("philosophical" then had a wide meaning, embracing most areas of knowledge); played a role in the establishment of the Adelaide Gallery in London, which was used for lectures, demonstrations and exhibitions; and took a leading role in the Regent Street Royal Polytechnic, London (which has since evolved into the University of Westminster), serving as its chairman.[3][11]

In later life Sir George took a keen interest in railway safety, and published articles on ways of making improvements.[3][12]

He corresponded with leading scientists and inventors. In the British Library are copies of letters to Charles Babbage, who was clearly a friend.[13] When he and his family went to Paris in 1821, he took a box of fossils to Cuvier.[14]

Politics

Sir George was President of the York Whig Club from 1821 to 1827.[3]

In 1830 Sir George addressed a meeting in Brompton by Sawdon where he talked about the problem of low wages and the cost of living. He did not confine himself to just talking: in the early 1800s he donated an acre of land at Brompton to every able-bodied labourer living there, to enable them to grow food and pasture cows.[15]

He represented Scarborough in Parliament from 1832 to 1834.[3] When seeking election, he said of the Duke of Wellington, "As a prime minister, we cannot have a worse - as a general officer [in the army], we cannot have a better; but I hope he will never again be entrusted with civil power." He also argued at this time that the political parties should not constrain the voting of Members of Parliament - Members should be free to vote as they wished - and suggested that any Member pledged to vote according to a Party's wishes should be excluded from voting.[15]

In 1818 he published a pamphlet in which he foresaw the coming of "universal suffrage, nay, even republicanism".[15]

Agricultural Improvements

Sir George was a major landowner in the area around Brompton by Sawdon. In 1800 he was active in securing an Act of Parliament for improved drainage to tackle flooding by the rivers Derwent and Hertford, and served as chairman of the Directors who oversaw the implementation of the scheme.[3]

Marriage and Children

On 3 July 1795 George married Sarah Walker, daughter of George Walker, his first tutor,[3] at All Saints, Edmonton, Middlesex.[16] The licence for their marriage was dated 1 July 1795.[17] (The marriage date is widely given as 9 July 1795, as in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,[3] Clay's expanded edition of Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire[18] and thePeerage.com[19] but the image of the parish register on Ancestry shows 3 July.[16] J Laurence Pritchard's biography of Sir George has the correct date.[20])

They had the following children:

  • Ann, born in 1796[21]
  • Isabella, born in 1797[22]
  • Emma, born in about 1800 (age 23 at her 1823 marriage[23])
  • Sarah Philadelphia, born in about 1802 (age 24 in her January 1827 marriage licence[24])
  • Digby, born in 1807[18]
  • George, buried at Brompton by Sawdon, Yorkshire on 2 March 1811[25][26]
  • Thomas, buried at Brompton by Sawdon, Yorkshire on 1 April 1811[27]
  • Catherine, born in 1811 or 1812 (said to be 29 in the 1841 census[28][29])
  • Mary Agnes, born in 1815 or 1816 (said to be 35 in the 1851 census[30])
  • one other daughter (the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says there were three sons and seven daughters[3])

Sir George's wife was apparently prone to uncontrolled outbursts of temper,[31] but her husband seems to have doted on her. For her 80th birthday he gave her a loving poem of his own composition.[32] Their daughter Catherine described Sir George Cayley as Sarah's "slave through life".[33]

Census data

The 1841 census lists Sir George at Hertford Street, London, age 67. Other in the household include the following Cayleys: Sarah, 68; Isabella, 40; Emma, 40; Anne, 40 ( the ages of the last three were rounded).[34]

The 1851 census lists Sir George at the High Hall, Brompton by Sawdon, Yorkshire, age 77, born Scarborough, Yorkshire. Wife: Sarah, 77, born Warrington, Lancashire. Son: Digby, 44. Daughter-in-law: Dorothy, 49. Grandchildren: Dora Cayley, 8; Emily Beaumont, 19.[35][36]

Death

George died at Brompton Hall, Brompton by Sawdon, Yorkshire on 15 December 1857.[37] He was buried at the parish church of Brompton by Sawdon.[3] His death was registered in the Scarborough district of Yorkshire in the 4th quarter of 1857.[38][39] Probate was granted on his estate on 9 February 1858, with his death date given as 15 December 1857.[40]

Research Notes

Wife

Wikipedia's entry for Sir George wrongly named his wife as Sarah Benskin Charlotte Elizabeth Illingworth up to 29 May 2022, when this was corrected.[41] The mistake may stem from the fact that the death of a Sarah Benskin Charlotte Elizabeth Cayley was registered in the Newington district of Surrey in the 4th quarter of 1854.[42]

Sarah Benskin Charlotte Elizabeth Cayley's birth was registered at Newington, Surrey in the 3rd quarter of 1849, with her mother's last name given as Hobbs.[43]

Sources

  1. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J3H1-W3G : 18 September 2020), George Cayley, 1773
  2. Yorkshire Baptisms, FindMyPast and linked image of parish register
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by John A Hagley for 'Cayley, Sir George, sixth baronet', print and online 2004, revised online 2022
  4. 4.0 4.1 G E Cokayne. Complete Baronetage, Vol.III, William Pollard, 1903, p. 187, Internet Archive
  5. "The Truth About 10 Famous Inventions." SciShow. 22 May 2016. YouTube.com (Web), accessed 11 June 2016
  6. J Laurence Pritchard, Sir George Cayley, Max Parrish, 1961, passim
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 C H Gibbs-Smith. Sir George Cayley, HMSO for the Science Museum, 1968, pp. 7-9
  8. J Laurence Pritchard, Sir George Cayley, p. 172
  9. J Laurence Pritchard, Sir George Cayley, p. 139-145
  10. J Laurence Pritchard, Sir George Cayley, p. 137
  11. 'Our Heritage', University of Westminster website, accessed 30 May 2022
  12. J Laurence Pritchard, Sir George Cayley, pp. 174-187
  13. British Library catalogue search results, 30 May 2022: the letters have been read by Michael Cayley
  14. Sir James Digby Legard. The Legards of Anlaby and Ganton, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent and Co, 1926, pp. 6 and 181
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 J Laurence Pritchard, Sir George Cayley, pp. 113-118
  16. 16.0 16.1 London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936, Ancestry.co.uk and linked image of parish register
  17. Faculty Office Marriage Licences, FindMyPast
  18. 18.0 18.1 J W Clay. Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, with Additions, Vol. III, William Pollard, 1917, p. 299, Internet Archive
  19. http://www.thepeerage.com/p15252.htm#i152512
  20. J Laurence Pritchard. Sir George Cayley, p. 23)
  21. "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3Y8-48K : 11 December 2014), Ann Cayley, 06 Jun 1796, Birth; citing p. 112, Saint Mary's Gate, Saint Mary In The Town, Nottinghamshire, record group RG5, Public Record Office, London
  22. "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7NL-Q4W : 11 December 2014), Isabella Cayley, 08 Nov 1797, Birth; citing p. 113, Saint Mary's Gate, Saint Mary In The Town, Nottinghamshire, record group RG5, Public Record Office, London
  23. Yorkshire, Archbishop Of York Marriage Licences Index, 1613-1839, FindMyPast
  24. "England, Yorkshire Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1613-1887", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZKZJ-N1N2 : 8 November 2021), Sarah Philadelphia Cayley in entry for William Worsley or Worseley, 1827
  25. "England, Yorkshire, Parish Registers, 1538-2016", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6614-59D2 : 23 February 2022), George Cayley, 1811: another transcript on Familysearch wrongly gives the year as 1810 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:68ZX-LTR5) - the image of the parish register on FindMySearch confirms it was 1811
  26. Yorkshire Burials, FindMyPast and linked image of parish register
  27. "England, Yorkshire, Parish Registers, 1538-2016", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6614-GJT7 : 23 February 2022), Thomas Cayley, 1811
  28. "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, 4FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQGB-YY6 : 23 May 2019), Catherine Beaumont, Brompton by Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey
  29. UK Census, 1841: Class: HO107; Piece: 1260; Book: 4; Civil Parish: Brompton; County: Yorkshire; Enumeration District: 1; Folio: 8; Page: 8; Line: 1; GSU roll: 464234
  30. 1851 census, FindMyPast
  31. J Laurence Pritchard. Sir George Cayley, Max Parrish, 1961, p. 23
  32. 'An 80th Birthday Poem by the Aeronautical Baronet', Cayley Family History website, accessed 29 May 2022
  33. Sir James Digby Legard. The Legards of Anlaby and Ganton, p. 179
  34. UK Census, 1841: Class: HO107; Piece: 734; Book: 6; Civil Parish: St George Hanover Square; County: Middlesex; Enumeration District: 13; Folio: 41; Page: 8; Line: 8; GSU roll: 438836: transcript and image on FindMyPast
  35. "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SG1Y-PC7 : 12 September 2019), George Cayley, Brompton, Yorkshire,Yorkshire (North Riding), England; citing Brompton, Yorkshire,Yorkshire (North Riding), England, p. 2, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey
  36. UK Census, 1851: Class: HO107; Piece: 2368; Folio: 672; Page: 2; GSU roll: 87646-87649
  37. J Laurence Pritchard, Sir George Cayley, p. 218
  38. "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2NNJ-4ZG : 31 December 2014), George Cayley, 1857; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England
  39. GRO Death Index, Scarborough Vol. 9d, Page 234 q December 1857
  40. "England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPJ3-N165 : 30 August 2018), George Cayley, 9 Feb 1858; citing Probate, England, United Kingdom, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Great Britain.; FHL microfilm
  41. Wikipedia: George Cayley
  42. "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2NK5-SQG : 31 December 2014), Sarah Benskin Charlotte Elizabeth Cayley, 1854; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Newington, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England
  43. England & Wales Births 1837-2006, FindMyPast




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Comments: 2

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Colley-990 and Cayley-7 do not represent the same person because: Different Parents

Different LNAB

posted by David Horsley
Cayley-333 and Cayley-7 appear to represent the same person because: Self-evident duplicates
posted by Michael Cayley