Talk:Colvin family

Connections between Colvins
I have discovered the following connections between some of the Colvins, and for future reference wanted to record this information for myself or other editors to use. Not all of what I have found is solid gold, but it provides good leads. This talkpage seems a central place to record this.

There was a James, not listed here but his story might be worth telling if sources permit, whom we can consider the start of all this. He was a merchant with the East Indies in the early C19, with "houses" (i.e. offices) in London and Calcutta, as mentioned in The Times obit of his son, held conveniently on Wikisource. His name appears in various combinations with others, giving us company names such as Crawford, Colvin & Co. at one point, Colvin, Bazett & Co. at another, and I think I recall seeing a reference to all three names together in one joint venture. (Insertion: the Crawford appears to be William Crawford (London MP) or one of his family.) He purchased The Grove, an Elizabethan house and estate in Little Bealing, near Ipswich, in 1824, according to the village website. That is a typical "retiring to the country" sort of thing to do -- the merchant buying land to ensure his sons are seen as gentlemen. He had two sons who are important to us. David Bazett (1806-1871), presumably named after his erstwhile partner, inherited in 1847. He in turn had (at least) two sons, one named after himself (1842-1890), and Sidney (1845-1927), who grew up to be a curator, critic, and friend of Robert Louis Stevenson. E.V. Lucas wrote a biography of Sidney, but I haven't seen a copy.

Those who stayed in India did so as soldiers and administrators, moving away from trade. The second son (fourth child) of James was John Russell Colvin (1807-1857), who ended up lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces and died during the Mutiny. He had ten children, and the four sons I know about all stayed in India or the extended Empire. Auckland was more able than his father; Walter Mytton did quite well; Bazett Wetenhall hasn't got a page and may or may not deserve one; Elliot Graham likewise, though he did father the rather extraordinary Brenda; Clement Sneyd ran part of the India Office in London.

Then it gets more tenuous. There is a James Colquhoun Colvin, Esq. (latterly of the Manor House, Sutton Veny, Wiltshire), who claims connection with the family, and "served with the Bengal Civil Service and was awarded the India Mutiny medal". This is according to The Corbould Genealogy(1935), a remarkable work stretching back before the Norman Conquest, which features a potted bio of his elder son James Morris Colquhoun Colvin (1870-1945), British Army officer and VC. (James Morris named his first son, born 1910, James Bazett - might that point to James Colquhoun being the son of Bazett Wetenhall?)

The India List and India Office List gives account of several Colvins. Sir Auckland is gleaming with honours. His brother Bazett Wetenhall, less so; retired 1885 after 35 years' service. Eliott Graham began his service in 1883, so can he be a brother, or another generation? John Russell Colquhoun Colvin began in 1879; his name strongly suggests a connection, and in 1887 he was appointed private secretary to the new lieuenant governor of the NW Provinces and Oudh, who was -- no surprise -- Sir Auckland. The only other one in that list is Sir Colvin Colvin-Smith, who ended up surgeon to the king.

Unlikely but possible is a link to Hugh Colvin (1887-1962), soldier. Howard Colvin (1919-2007), the architectural writer, seems closer in spirit to Sidney above, but I may be clutching at straws; his obit lists him as the son of Montagu, a Vickers executive. BrainyBabe (talk) 12:25, 8 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Found some more scions of John Russell, not on the list. Will add them. Clement Sneyd's son ended up as Admiral Sir Ragnar Colvin, KBE, CB, and fathered John Horace Ragnar Colvin, the Cold War diplomat. The most recent generation is the Australian journalist Mark Colvin.BrainyBabe (talk) 13:54, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

Summary

 * James, East India merchant, early C19. Partnerships suggested by company names such as Crawford, Colvin & Co. at one point, Colvin, Bazett & Co. Retired to Ipswich 1824.
 * David Bazett (1806-1871), presumably named after his erstwhile partner, inherited in 1847.
 * one son, heir, named after himself (1842-1890)
 * one son, spare, Sidney (1845-1927), a curator, friend of RLS
 * John Russell Colvin (1807-1857), lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces and died during the Mutiny. 10 kids.
 * Auckland, more able than his father, whose job he eventually got after administering Egypt
 * 3 daughters
 * Walter Mytton did quite well
 * 3 daughters
 * Bazett Wetenhall hasn't got a page and may or may not deserve one. POSSIBLY the father of two
 * James Colquhoun Colvin "served with the Bengal Civil Service and was awarded the India Mutiny medal".
 * elder son James Morris Colquhoun Colvin (1870-1945), British Army officer and VC.
 * elder son James Bazett Colvin, b. 1910
 * John Russell Colquhoun Colvin, whose career began in 1879 (so born c 1857-1860) as secretary to Sir Auckland, a good post for nepotism
 * Sir Elliot Graham, of whom I know nothing, though his portrait is in the NPG and he did father
 * Brenda, landscape gardening pioneer
 * Clement Sneyd ran part of the India Office in London.
 * Sir Ragnar Colvin, Australian-British Admiral
 * John Horace Ragnar Colvin, the Cold War diplomat & spy
 * Mark Colvin, journalist

another branch
There is a whole other set of Colvins who appear in the public record in the C19 and C20, serving King and Country. How do they tie together? Some info on this family history site.

William Colvin, two sons


 * Beale Blackwell Colvin (d.1817), of Tishopury [or Pishopury], Herts, and Monkhams [or Mangham] Hall, Essex, bequeathed to brother
 * Robert Sharp Colvin[or Colville] (1765 - 1825), partnered with his brother & others in making ink for printing presses (various names: first Beale Blackwell 1785-1806; then Blackwell and Colvin 1807-1825; next Blackwell, M. Colvin and Co. 1826-1829), only son:
 * Beale Blackwell Colvin (1809 - 1864), married 1853 Emma Elizabeth Mary Britten (b. 1834), daughter of Daniel Britten, JP, with two brothers, Forrester and Richard, whose names they used for their sons
 * Richard Beale Colvin (1856 - 1936), JP, High Sheriff of Essex 1891-1892, MP 1917-1923, Lord-Lieutenant of Essex 1928 - death.
 * Cecil Hodgson Colvin (1858 - 1938), Army officer, Egypt, South Africa (Rough Riders), militia once back in UK, married 1888 Ida Craigie-Halkett
 * Ivan Beale Colvin (1891 - 1962), Lieutenant, RN, married 1931 Rubber King heiress Joyce "Joy" Frances Arbuthnot
 * Michael Colvin (1932 - 2000), Conservative MP & apartheid apologist
 * Daphne Joan Ida Colvin (b. 1900)
 * Lt. Col. Forrester Farnell Colvin (1860 - 1936), married 1894 Isabella Katherine McClintock Bunbury (b. 1874), also served in Boer War, three sons and one daughter:
 * John (Jack) Forrester (b. 1895)
 * Felix Beale, married in South Africa
 * George Denys (died as a boy)
 * Mary Colvin (1907 -1988), military administrator and horsewoman

Diplomatic links
And then there is British-born Canadian diplomat Richard Colvin, whose uncle David Colvin was UK ambassador to Belgium (1996 - 2001). And Kathryn Colvin, (born 1945), UK ambassador to the Holy See. Likelihood is not proof, but it is reason to look for proof. BrainyBabe (talk) 15:02, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

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