Mordaunt Ricketts (1786 - 1862)

Born 5 Jun 1786 in Marylebone, London, England

Ancestors

Husband of Maria Elizabeth (Crommelin) Ricketts — married about 5 Jul 1811 in India

Husband of Charlotte Elizabeth (Fitzgerald) Ricketts — married 1 Nov 1824 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

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Biography

Mordaunt Ricketts was born on 5 June 1786 at Marylebone, London, England. He was the son of George Poyntz Ricketts and Sophia Watts.

He was with the Honourable East India Company Service.

According to the will of Seraphina Donclere dated 1809 and proved in 30 May 1810 Mordaunt had under his protection a Mrs Bridget Watson who had given birth to Fanny Ricketts in 1809 and would give birth to Charlotte Caroline Ricketts in Oct 1810.

Seraphina's will was dated 1809, and bequeathed items to Seraphina's illegitimate children and to a friend who was the mistress of an Indian Civil Service official.

He married, firstly, Marie Elizabeth Crommelin, daughter of Charles Russell Crommelin and Julia Barker, on or before 21 February 1812.

He married, secondly, Charlotte Fitzgerald on 1 November 1824

Mordaunt, like Charlotte’s first husband, had his financial troubles and was removed from the East India Company after allegations of corruption. The couple returned to England and lived in Cheltenham, where they built Lake House, later called Southwood House. Their eldest son, also Mordaunt, went to Haileybury College, became a magistrate in service of the East India Company, and was killed in the church at Shahjehanpore during the uprising of 1857.

He died on 29 July 1862 at age 76.

Rickett's rose through a succession of minor appointments in Calcutta and Bengal to become Deputy Collector at Furruckabad (1811-13), Collector at Shahjahanpur (1813-16), and Collector at Gorrackpur (1816-18). He then moved into the Political Service and was Agent to the Governor-General at Murshidabad (1818-19), Agent to the Governor-General, Bundelkand (1819-22), and then Resident at Lucknow from 7 December 1822 until he took retirement, under something of a cloud owing to exceeding his authority on financial matters, on 1 May 1830. Ricketts was resident at the Court of Oudh at the time when there were negotiations with Kind George III to create the Nawab, King of Oudh. Ghazi-ud-din Haidau, the King of Oudh in 1819 honoured his guests and members of the court by presenting them with a portrait of himself. Ricketts is depicted with such a gift.

Sources

• http://www.thepeerage.com/p65218.htm#i652179