James Colquhoun Colvin (1834 - 1914)

Born 4 Nov 1834 in At sea, on an outward ship in the English Channel

Ancestors

Husband of Camilla Fanny Maria (Morris) Colvin — married 3 Sep 1868 in Abergwilly, Camarthen, Wales

Husband of Alice Jane (Hedley) Colvin — married 30 Sep 1887 in Pimlico, London, England

Descendants

Died 4 Nov 1914 at age 80 in Sutton Veny, Wiltshire, England

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Biography

James was born on the 4th November 1834, aboard a ship outward bound from England, in the English Channel. He was the son of Alexander Colvin and Elizabeth Colvin.^[1][2]

On the 3rd September 1868, he was married, firstly, to Camilla Fanny Maria Morris, in Abergwilly, Carmarthenshire, Wales.^[3]

Not long after the birth of his eldest son, James Morris Colquhoun, in late August, 1870,^[4] James' wife, Camilla, died just two weeks later, in Bignor in the North West Provinces of India.^[5]

After retiring from the Bengal Civil Service and removing to England, James married, secondly, Alice Jane Hedley, in Pimlico (London), on the 30th September 1887.^[6][7] Issue of the second marriage included:

• Robert Alexander Colvin (b.1889);^[8] and
• Madeline Elizabeth Colvin (b.1892).^[9]

1891 census enumeration (England):

• Thomas Brandreth, head, married, age 65; Admiral (retired), Living on own means; born at Liverpool, Lancashire
• Madeline, wife, married, age 47; born in London, Middlesex
• Colvin, son, single, age 23; Articled Clerk in Solicitor’s Office; do.
• Anna C., daughter, single, age 19; born at Weybridge, Surrey
• Kathleen C., do., …, age 17; born at Dorking, Surrey
• Margaret W.[?] Pitcairn, mother in law, visitor, widow, age 73, living on own means, born in London
• James C. Colvin, brother in law, married, age 56, Living on own means, born in “Outward Ship in English Channel”
• Alice Jane Colvin, sister in law, married, age 37, do.; born at Brighton, Sussex
• … with seven household servants
• census place: Fulgrove House, Farnham, Surrey.^[2]

... and in 1911:

• James Colquhoun Colvin, head, age 76, married; Bengal Civil Service. Retired on Pension; born at sea
• Alice Jane, wife, age 57, married 23 years, 2 children born and 2 children living; born at Brighton, Sussex
• Madeline Elizabeth Colvin, daughter, age 18, single; born at Pimlico, London
• Katharine Camilla Colvin, grand daughter, age 6; born at Simla, India
• … with household servants (7)
• census place: Sutton Veny, Warminster, Wiltshire.^[9]

James Colquhoun Colvin died at Sutton Veny in Wiltshire, on the 4th November 1914, aged eighty years. The Gloucestershire Echo published the following obituary:

A HERO OF THE MUTINY.

DEATH OF MR. J.C. COLVIN.

Mr. James Colquhoun Colvin, late of the Bengal Civil Service, who died at his home in Wiltshire on November 4, at the close of his 80th year, was one of the last survivors, if not actually the last, of that heroic episode of the Indian Mutiny, the siege of Arrah.

He was, at the outbreak of the Mutiny, assistant magistrate under Mr. Herwald Wake. In a hastily-prepared small garden-house the little garrison of 15 Europeans and 50 loyal Sikhs held out undismayed for eight days against the attacks of an overwhelming body of Sepoy mutineers from Dinpor, reinforced by the great Rajput landlord Koer Singh and his adherents, and armed with two guns. At the very last moment, when the enemy had succeeded in mining under their walls, they were rescued by a relieving force under Major (afterward Sir) Vincent Eyre. All accounts of the siege dwell on young Colvin’s indefatigable activity and cheerfulness during the days of trial. Sir George Trevelyan likened him to a “young Leonidas,” and his chief, Mr. Wake, related more soberly how he “rested neither night nor day, and took upon himself for more than his share of every disagreeable duty.”^[10]

Research notes

• The Asian and African Studies office of the British Library hold the Papers of James Colquhoun Colvin (1834–1914), Bengal Civil Service,—pertaining to is part in the siege of Arrah in 1857 where he was assistant magistrate, and further operations in 1858 at Arrah and Jagdispur, Shahabad District, Bihar.^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. James Colquhoun Colvin born 4th November 1834, son of Alexander Colvin and Elizabeth Jackson [Colvin]; baptised 26th December 1834 at Little Bealings, Suffolk. Microfilm copy held by the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA (FHL film no. 918524); index online at ancestry.ca (accessed by Alison Kilpatrick by subscription, 2018-07-09).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} England 1891 Census. Household of Thomas Brandeth, Admiral (retired), with his wife, Madeline, children, and Colvin relatives [John Colquoun Colvin and wife, Alice Jane] in Farnham, Surrey. Original records: Census Returns of England & Wales, 1891 (Kew, Surrey: The National Archives of the UK, 1891); sub-registration district: Farnham, enumeration district no. 1, civil parish of Farnham; PRO ref. RG12, piece 568, folio 26. Digital image online at ancestry.ca (accessed by Alison Kilpatrick by subscription, 2018-07-09).
3. ↑ Allen’s Indian Mail. Vol. XXVI. No. 830 (9 Sept. 1868). Marriage notice: “COLVIN—MORRIS—James Colquhoun Colvin, Esq., Bengal Civil Service, to Camilla F.M., daughter of the late Rev. Edward Morris, at Abergwilly, Carmarthenshire, Sept. 3.” (pg 905).
4. ↑ British India Office. Ecclesiastical Returns. James Morris Colquhoun Colvin, born 26th August 1870, son of James Colquhoun Colvin, Bengal Civil Service, and Camilla Fanny Maria [his wife] of Bignore; baptised 25th September 1870 at Moradabad by J.A. Stamper, Chaplain. Digital image online at findmypast.co.uk (accessed by Alison Kilpatrick by subscription, 2018-07-10).
5. ↑ British India Office. Ecclesiastical Returns. Death of Camilla Fany [sic] Maria Colvin, 9th September 1870, aged 22, in childbirth; wife of J.C. Colvin, Bengal Civil Service; buried at Moradabad, 10th September 1870. Digital image online at findmypast.co.uk (accessed by Alison Kilpatrick by subscription, 2018-07-09).
6. ↑ Index of civil registrations of marriages, England. James Colquhoun Colvin and Alice Jane Headley, 3rd quarter ending 30th September 1887, St George Hanoveer Square RD (London), vol. 1a, pg. 847. Original record: General Register Office, Southport. Index and digital image online at FreeBMD, freebmd.org.uk (accessed by Alison Kilpatrick 2018-07-09).
7. ↑ Belfast News-Letter, 3 September 1887 (pg 1). Marriage notice: “COLVIN—HEDLEY—August 30, at St. Saviour’s, Pimlico, London, by the Rev. Alex Colvin Ainslie, LL.D., Prebendary of Wells, assisted by the Rev. H. Washington, Vicar of the parish, James Colquhoun Colvin, late Bengal Civil Service, to Alice Jane, daughter of Robert Hedley, of 44, St. George’s-Square, London, S.W.” Digital image online at The British Newspaper Archive, britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk (accessed by subscription, and transcribed by Alison Kilpatrick 2018-07-09).
8. ↑ The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine. Vol. XXXIX (1917). “Capt. Robert Alexander Colvin, killed in action at Neuve Chapelle, March 12th, 1915. Aged 25. Son of late James Colquhoun Colvin, of Sutton Veny. Adjutant of 2nd Batt., W. Yorks, Regt.” (pg. 115)
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} England 1911 Census. James Colquhoun Colvin, age 76, with wife, Alice Jane, daughter Madeline Elizabeth, and granddaughter, Katharine Camilla; living at Sutton Veny, Warminster, Wiltshire. Original record: Census Returns for England & Wales, 1911 (Kew, Surrey: National Archives of the UK, 1911), PRO ref. RG 14, piece 12012, registration district: Warminster, subregistration district: Warminster, enumeration district no. 4, household schedule no. 113. Digital image online at ancestry.ca (accessed by Alison Kilpatrick 2018-07-09, by subscription).
10. ↑ Gloucestershire Echo, 6 November 1914 (pg 3). “A Hero of the Mutiny. Death of Mr. J.C. Colvin.” Digital image online at The British Newspaper Archive, britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk (accessed by subscription, and transcribed by Alison Kilpatrick 2018-07-09).
11. ↑ British Library. Asian and African Studies. James Colquhoun Colvin (1834-1914), Bengal Civil Service 1855-1873; relating to his part in the siege of Arrah in 1857 where he was assistant magistrate, and further operations in 1858 at Arrah and Jagdispur, Shahabad District, Bihar. BL ref. Mss Eur Photo Eur 407.

Links

• Wikipedia: Colvin family