THE CAVENAGHS OF KILDARE by Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh

Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh (1856 – 1935), a first cousin of my great grandmother Kathleen Cudmore née Cavenagh (1874 – 1951), was the son of Sir Orfeur Cavenagh (1820 – 1891). He was interested in family history and heraldry and he spent a considerable amount of time researching Cavenagh family history in the Irish National Archives.

W. O. Cavenagh

W.O. Cavenagh presented his research to the Office of Arms in Ireland and the original manuscript and typescript (about 175 pages) is held by the Genealogical Department, Dublin, Ireland; it is much used by Cavenagh family historians. His research has also been microfilmed by FamilySearch.

Other family history documents, including many fine heraldic illustrations, are in the possession of his grand-daughter.

Some of the family history recorded by W.O. Cavenagh

Some of his research on the Cavenaghs of Kildare has been transcribed by another cousin, who has given me permission to share it.

wentysdoc-2Download

Family Search

• Cavenagh, W O. Cavenagh Manuscript. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1949. (Family History Library microfilm 100178.)

Related posts

• A is for arms
• An excursion from Lewes

East to Kent

On Saturday 25 May we drove east from Lewes to Hastings and on to Kent.

We did not visit the battlefield of 1066, because, said Charlotte, “It wasn’t National Trust, and there would have been an entrance fee”. My reasons were different. We had already been to a few battlefields on this trip. They make me sad, and anyway, just visiting the scene of the carnage doesn’t help me to understand its place in history.

We went to Hastings‘s seaside promenade instead, parking opposite a villa with a blue plaque which commemorated Thomas Carlyle’s stay there in 1864. At the time he was working on his twenty-two volume life of Frederick the Great, and doubtless his walks along the seafront aided his reflections. Or perhaps not. His biography has been called a “mythopoeic effort”, which I guess means he strayed from the facts; maybe he was distracted by the ladies in their bathing machines.

 

Carlyle lived here

From Hastings we went on to Rye and Rye Harbour, once important sea-ports but silted up over the centuries by strong tidal flows. In the north-west of Western Australia we have ten-metre tides and there’s not a medieval harbour in sight. Without suitable local ports an Australian prime minister named Robert Menzies was obliged to get himself appointed Lord Warden of the English Cinque Ports.

After Rye we visited the church of St Mary in the Marsh near New Romney. The author Edith Nesbit, whose children’s books I greatly enjoyed as a girl, is buried there.

Romney Marsh

Edith Nesbitt’s grave marker

En route to Hythe we stopped to walk on the sea wall near Dymchurch. There has been a sea wall there since Roman times but the new sea defences were built in 2011.

In Hythe after a bit of searching we found Hay House, where my 3rd great grandfather James Gordon Cavenagh (1770-1844) lived for ten years or so from 1830. He seems to have had quite a temper. There was a gate in the fence between his house and the Royal Staff Corps Barracks next door. In 1830 the Royal Staff Corps decided to remove the gate and close up the fence. Cavenagh took exception to this, and drawing his sword, threatened the men removing the gate. “I’ll run the first man through the body that attempts to touch the palings”. There was a brawl but eventually a fence was erected and the gate removed. When the matter went to court a jury found against Cavenagh and awarded 10 pounds damages. The barracks has since gone and Hay House is all that remains of the site. Now subdivided into flats, it looks a bit run down.

We attempted to visit the local parish church of St Leonard where my great great grandfather Wentworth Cavenagh and his siblings were baptised, but a wedding was about to begin and we couldn’t get in.  It seems to have been a fashionable occasion and the narrow lanes and Einbahnstraßen around the church were choked with well-dressed Poms in Range Rovers trying to find a place to park. We somehow got caught up in the tangle, our fat black Mercedes further disrupting the traffic and Anglo-German relations, until we finally shot out of the mess and promptly got lost. Being lost feels better than knowing where you are and not wanting to be there.

Lunch we had in the garden of the Riverside Inn at Ashford. Low clouds threatening rain made it a dismal meal. Charlotte had scampi and Peter had a burger; the cider was warm, flat, and sour but not unpleasant. The inn had a few forlorn gum trees, a reminder of home. You had to imagine the strong bright sunshine and cold beer.

cider on tap

gum trees far from home

We spent the afternoon at Sissinghurst, where the gardens were just as beautiful as we remembered them from our 1989 visit. Greg had predicted that the intervening thirty years of tourism would have ruined Sissinghurst. I’m glad to say he was quite wrong.

Lewes: navigating that twitten again – no paint lost thanks to warnings

Related posts

• H is for Hastings
• N is for neighbours

An excursion from Lewes

Today, 24 May 2019, we called on one of my Cavenagh cousins. She and her husband live in a beautiful house near Heathfield in East Sussex with their two delightful Springer Spaniels. She very kindly treated us to lunch, which included delicious fresh juice pressed from their own apples and some lovely shortbread. It was a sunny day; we ate on the terrace, with marvellous views over the Sussex countryside.

a Sussex road

My cousin and I are related through the Cavenagh family. Her grandfather, Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh (1856 – 1935) was an accomplished family historian. His father was Orfeur Cavenagh (1820 – 1891), an army general and former Governor of the Straits Settlement,now known as Singapore. When we were there we walked down to look at the bridge across the Singapore River named in Orfeur Cavenagh’s honour. W.O. Cavenagh was a first cousin of my great grandmother Kathleen Cudmore née Cavenagh (1874 – 1951).

W.O. Cavenagh’s family history endeavours included beautiful heraldry, neat handwriting and he documented his sources. I really need to study the photographs I took and explore the Cavenagh branch of my family history further.

After lunch we visited Rudyard Kipling’s home ‘Bateman’s‘, about fifteen miles south of Royal Tunbridge Wells. It was a short visit. He was 5’4”, only half an inch taller than me. His wife was 4’8”, and they had to have their dining room chairs put on blocks. My daughter Charlotte confided to her diary that “It was a much cosier place than some of the grand houses we went to. I liked his library / writing room. I was surprised that many of the guides did not like Rudyard Kipling’s writing but were more fans of the house and the history.”

Batemans

dining room

raised chairs in dining room

dining room

Kipling’s library – writing room

Kipling’s library

A Kipling poem in the garden

Bateman’s Estate is 300 acres

rhododendron

Chooks on a bench near the Mill

 

In the evening Greg and I went for a stroll around Lewes where we were staying in East Sussex. Looking back through the photos I took, I’ve just come across one of a book in a shop window with the title “Five on Brexit Island”, one of a satirical series making fun of present-day fads, especially corporate fads. It is striking how the coronavirus plague has pushed so much of what we took to be ‘present-day’ so quickly into the past. When did anyone last hear about Brexitor the Hong Kong democracy protests?

Harvey’s Brewery on the River Ouse

Lewes Castle

St Thomas à Becket Church

St Thomas à Becket Church

Lewes War Memorial

Lewes War Memorial

a very narrow twitten

helping with furniture removal

a cardboard coffi in a shop window

Five on Brexit Island

 

In a supermarket we bought some Abernethy biscuits. These reminded me of our trip to Scotland. My Taylor and Hutcheson forebears lived in Abernethy, near Perth.

Surgeon James Gordon Cavenagh at Waterloo

A guest post by Diana Beckett; great great granddaughter of James Gordon Cavenagh.

Miniature of James Gordon Cavenagh in the possession of a granddaughter of Lt Col W.O. Cavenagh

 

Lt Col W.O. Cavenagh, (Wentworth Odiarne / WOC / Cousin Wenty) who did extensive research on our Cavenagh ancestry, was the grandson of the surgeon. The latter died in 1844 and WOC was born in 1856, so they never met. However, WOC knew as family tradition related by his father (Gen Sir Orfeur Cavenagh) that the surgeon had served at Waterloo, but was puzzled that he never received the Waterloo medal awarded to all those who served there. This therefore raised the question to later generations as to whether it was indeed true.

J G Cavenagh was the Staff Surgeon of the Royal Staff Corps, a regiment responsible for short term military engineering, which was stationed in Flanders from April to July 1815. The Battle was on June 28th.

In his book “The Bloody Fields of Waterloo”, M.K.H Crumplin, a retired surgeon, medical military historian much involved in Waterloo re-enactments,  meticulously lists all the surgeons present at Waterloo or working with the wounded in the aftermath. Cavenagh is listed on page 157 as a late arrival. Presumably he was not ordered from his Flanders base to the battlefield in time.

On page 148 Crumplin explains that surgeons who arrived late were not awarded the Waterloo medal nor the two years added pension rights.

“There must have been many a military medical man who wished he had been present at this monumental battle. The staff who were there, were mostly surgeons both in regimental and staff posts. Some arrived late and would not receive the coveted Waterloo medal and two years added pension rights.” See Appendix below.

Arriving late, Cavenagh would have worked after the battle in one of the several hospitals in either Brussels or Antwerp where the wounded were treated. We do not know how long he stayed in Belgium but WOC records that sometime after the battle he proceeded to Paris where he was joined by his wife. (GO471 p 29)
An internet search shows that at least 3 officers of the Royal Staff Corps did receive the Waterloo medal.

Cavenagh is also mentioned in the Medico Chirurgical Transactions 1816 (Volume 7, part 1) when he was consulted about an operation on the jaw and mouth of a young drummer. The wound healed and the young man was discharged on August 16th.

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=XvK3l9ZKvHsC&pg=PA108

P148 Crumplin Bloody Fields of Waterloo.

Related post

• N is for neighbours

Singapore visit

In April we stopped over in Singapore on the way to England.

Our flight took us over central Australia where we could see Uluru from the air. I managed to photograph the Olgas (Kata Tjuta).

On the drive to our hotel, we were struck by all the flowers lining the roads.

Our hotel room was on the 30th floor with most impressive views. Dachshunds were not welcome though.

The next day we had breakfast at Killiney Kopitiam which has been operating since 1919 and claims to be Singapore’s oldest existing Hainanese coffee shop.

Our activities for the day included

• the Singapore Flyer, a large ferris wheel with terrific views
• the National Orchid Garden
• visiting the Cavenagh bridge which I wrote about at A is for arms

 

 

 

While there were glimpses of colonial Singapore I don’t think Orfeur Cavenagh would recognise the city. It has changed enormously since the 1860s.

The next day we continued our journey to England. The terminal at Changi airport was most impressive. We didn’t give in to retail temptations, but we admired the koi and the flowers. It was raining and the butterflies were staying out of the deluge.

N is for neighbours

My 3rd great grandfather was James Gordon Cavenagh (1770-1844), an army surgeon who was with the Royal Staff Corps at Waterloo.

Cavenagh obtained his diploma from the Royal College of Surgeons. In 1795-6 he first saw active service, with the 83rd Foot in the so-called ‘Maroon War’ in Jamaica. On 21 February 1800 he transferred to the Royal Staff Corps. The Royal Staff Corps was a corps of the British Army responsible for military engineering which was founded in about 1800 and disbanded in about 1837.

In March 1815 Cavenagh married Anne Coates. They lived at Hythe, Kent, where the Corps was headquartered and had eight children.

View at Hythe; illustration to Ayton’s ‘Voyage round Great Britain‘, vol. VII. 1823.  Print maker, draughtsman and publisher  William Daniell. In the collection of the British Museum retrieved through watercolourworld.org https://www.watercolourworld.org/painting/hythe-tww00a352

Engraving of “The Barracks and Town of Hythe, Kent” from Ireland’s History of Kent, Vol. 4, 1831. It appears between pages 224 and 225. Drawn by G. Sheppard, engraved by C. Bedford. Retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

On 25 June 1825 Cavenagh retired on half pay, afterwards continuing to live at Hythe.

In 1830 he leased a house next to the Royal Staff Corps Barracks, which earlier had been connected with it. There was a gate in the fence between the house and the barracks and the Royal Staff Corps decided to remove the gate and close up the fence. Cavenagh took exception to the this, and threatened the men removing the gate with drawn sword, saying, “I’ll run the first man through the body that attempts to touch the palings”. There was a brawl but eventually the fence was erected. When the matter went to court a jury found against Cavenagh and awarded 10 pounds damages. [The amount, hard to express in today’s money, would come to somewhere between £500 and £10,000.]

Hull Packet 17 August 1830 page 2 digitised by the British Library Board and retrieved through FindMyPast

In 1834 Cavenagh became the mayor of Hythe and was still living there in 1837. He died at Castle House, Wexford, Ireland in 1844 and is buried in Wexford in the family vault in St Patrick’s Abbey.

The Royal Staff Corps Barracks has gone, with the site from 1968 occupied by a Sainsburys supermarket and carpark. The only surviving part of the barracks complex is Hay House on Sir John Moore Avenue. It was built in 1809 and became the Commandant’s House. It is now subdivided into 6 flats.

It would seem that Hay House is the house that J. G. Cavenagh rented. The Mainwarings of Whitmore family history states

During the short peace between the Peninsular war and Waterloo James Cavenagh was quartered with this corps at Hythe, where he met and married his wife. On the termination of the campaign he returned with this regiment to Hythe, and when it was disbanded he remained there for some years, living in the Commandant’s house which he rented from the Authorities and in which all his children were born.

Hay House, Sir John Moore Avenue, Hythe, glimpsed from the entrance to the Sainsbury’s Loading Dock. Image from Google Street View May 2009 https://goo.gl/maps/BsWaHM8Kzxk

Sources

• The Mainwarings of Whitmore and Biddulph in the County of Stafford. An account of the family, and its connections by marriage and descent; with special reference to the Manor of Whitmore. J.G. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, about 1935
• John Booth (1816). The Battle of Waterloo: containing the series of accounts published by authority, British and foreign, with circumstantial details, relative to the battle, from a variety of authentic and original sources, with connected official documents, forming an historical record of the operations in the campaign of the Netherlands, 1815 : to which is added the names alphabetically arranged, of the officers killed and wounded, from 15th to 26th June, 1815, and the total loss of each regiment, with an enumeration of the Waterloo honours and privileges, conferred upon the men and officers, and lists of regiments, &c. entitled thereto : illustrated by a panoramic sketch of the field of battle, and a plan of the positions at Waterloo, at different periods, with a general plan of the campaign. Printed for John Booth …, T. Egerton … and J. Fairbairn … (Edinburgh). p. 20.
• Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London (1816). Medico-Chirurgical Transactions. Longmans, Green and Company. p. 108.
• “No. 18174“. The London Gazette. 10 September 1825. p. 1649.
• Hull Packet 17 August 1830, page 2 digitised by the British Library Board and retrieved through FindMyPast

• Dover Telegraph and Cinque Ports General Advertiser 8 February 1834, page 8 digitised by the British Library Board and retrieved through FindMyPast

• Paton, David. “Hythe’s Guides Town Walks (p. 38).” Hythe Life Magazine Spring Edition Issue 12, Hythe Life Magazine, Mar. 2017, issuu.com/hythelifemagazine/docs/hythe_life_magazine_-.
• Hay House.” Historic England, historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1068931.

A is for arms

When we stop over in Singapore on our way to London one of the places we will be visiting is the Cavenagh Bridge, named in honour of my 3rd great uncle Orfeur Cavenagh (1820 – 1891), Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1859 to 1867.

Orfeur Cavenagh was the fourth of eight children of James Cavenagh (1766 – 1844) and Ann Cavenagh nee Coates (1788 – 1846). James Cavenagh was a Royal Staff Corps surgeon. He was at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Orfeur Cavenagh trained at Addiscombe, the East India Company Military Seminary in Surrey near London, and passed his exams in 1837. He served in India and was wounded severely twice.

Sir Orfeur Cavenagh

In recognition of his services during the 1857 Indian Mutiny,  Orfeur Cavenagh was offered the post of Governor of the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malaya and Penang): he governed there from 1859 to 1867. In his book, Reminiscences of an Indian Official, Sir Orfeur, summed up the changes that had taken place under his Governorship of
the Straits Settlements:

“When I assumed charge of the Government, the Settlement contained but few public buildings, lines of communication were in many parts much needed, many of its official establishments were weak, and its financial position was unsatisfactory. During my tenure of office, extensive public works of every description were carried out, every Department of the Public Service was placed on an efficient basis, and I left the Straits a most flourishing colony with a revenue amply sufficient to meet all legitimate expenditure.”

The Governor, Chief Justice, Members of Council &c. Singapore. Orfeur Cavenagh is sitting next to the Chief Justice. Photograph from The National Archives UK Colonial Office photographic collection retrieved through https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/7886252386/

The Singapore Court House was built during Orfeur Cavenagh’s governorship. Image retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalarchives/7886252086/in/photostream/

Between 1850 and 1860 Singapore’s population grew from 60,000 to 90,000. The first thorough census of Singapore was taken in 1871 and the population was 97,111. Singapore had grown rapidly in the decade before Orfeur Cavenagh’s arrival but the population increase was more restrained in the period of his governorship. In June 2017 Singapore’s population was 5.4 million, sixty times the population of 150 years earlier. Singapore has continued to prosper in the last 150 years: Singapore’s economy is very strong and Singapore is ranked third in the world by gross domestic product (at purchasing power parity) per capita.

Cavenagh is remembered as a hardworking Governor and apparently, in general, the verdict of modern historians on Cavenagh’s performance is favourable. However, in 1862 he embarrassed Anglo-Siamese relations with an un-authorised bombardment of Kuala Trengganu. It was possibly this incident which meant his career languished after the Governorship.

In 1881 Orfeur Cavenagh was appointed KCSI, Knight-Commander of the Order of the Star of India.

On 3 July 1891 he died in Surrey, England, aged 70.

Cavenagh Bridge is one of Singapore’s oldest and its only suspension bridge. It was built in 1868 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements held in 1869. It is named after Colonel Cavenagh, the last
Governor of the Straits Settlements (1859 – 1867) under the Government of British India.

A plaque at each end of the bridge includes the Cavenagh coat of arms and the inscription honouring Orfeur Cavenagh.

Cavenagh Bridge, Singapore Photograph by Wikimedia user yeowatzup [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

The wheatsheaf [heraldic garb] is the standard crest of the Cavenaghs.

The left hand side of the shield is the generic Cavenagh arms, probably in red [gules] on white/silver [argent].

My grandmother Kathleen brought a small dish back from Ireland with the Cavenagh arms on it. This shows two crescents but our family uses three; for example, the arms used by Matthew Cavenagh (1740 – 1819) were “Azure, a lion passant argent, armed and langued gules, between three crescents of the second.” Matthew Cavenagh was the grandfather of Orfeur (and my fourth great grandfather).

A souvenir from Ireland

The left hand side of a shield is the more important/honoured/valuable – because it is the right hand side of the person wearing/carrying it. That the Cavenagh arms appear on that side makes sense.

The right hand side of this shield is a chevron with three “covered cups” (goblets with lids).

I was puzzled by how this connected to Orfeur Cavenagh.

With the help of some cousins I have learned that these arms are associated with the Odiarne family. Orfeur Cavenagh’s mother, Anne Cavenagh nee Coates, was the great great grand daughter of Thomas Odiarne (1639 – 1704). Both her father and grandfather were named Odiarne Coates. The Odiarne arms appeared as one of the 856 shields on the ceiling of the cloisters of Canterbury Cathedral, but it appears they may not have survived to be among the shields there today.

Orfeur Cavenagh’s father, James Gordon Cavenagh, used these arms for his bookplate, and Orfeur Cavenagh seems to have adopted his father’s design. Neither of them registered the arms with the College of Arms.

the bookplate of James Gordon Cavenagh

Sources

• Cavenagh, Orfeur, “Reminiscences of an Indian official “(London: Allen & Co, 1884) Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/reminiscencesofi00caveuoft/page/n4)
• http://www.buildingmysg.com/landmarks-from-the-set/cavenagh-bridge/
• GULLICK, JOHN. “THE CAVENAGH PAPERS.” Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 75, no. 2 (283), 2002, pp. 51–64. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41493473.
• Cavenagh-Mainwaring, J.G.. The Mainwarings of Whitmore and Biddulph in the County of Stafford. An account of the family, and its connections by marriage and descent; with special reference to the Manor of Whitmore.  published about 1935
• Wikipedia: Demographics of Singapore
• Willement, Thomas. ”Heraldic notices of Canterbury cathedral.” (London: Harding, Lepard, and Co, 1827), page 73; digital images, Archive.org ( https://archive.org/details/heraldicnotices00willgoog/page/n94) The Odiarne arms were found in the tenth compartment in the south-west angle,
• https://www.theheraldrysociety.com/articles/the-great-cloister-of-canterbury-cathedral/      Unfortunately it seems that the Odiarne arms may not have survived as they are not mentioned at https://www.drpaulfoxfsa.com/bay-10.
  Update July 2020: I have received an email from Dr Paul Fox FSA advising “The arms in question I have attributed to the Cavendish family.  I believe that the Odiarne family were granted similar arms at a later date.” He adds “If you have evidence that these ancestors of yours  were living as gentry in the early 15th century I would be interested to hear of it.” From
  Edward Hasted, ‘Parishes: Wittersham’, in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 8 (Canterbury, 1799), pp. 486-493. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol8/pp486-493  [accessed 18 July 2020].
  “ OWLIE, antiently written Oveley, is another manor in this parish, which had once owners of that surname, in which it remained till the beginning of Richard II.’s reign, when the family of Odiarne, who were of good note in this county, became possessed of it, who bore for their arms, Sable, a chevron,between three covered cups,or; as they were formerly painted in the window at the entrance of the north chancel of this church; in whom it remained till the latter end of Henry VIII.’s reign, in the 36th year of which Thomas Odyarne appears by his will to have died possessed of it. He resided at his mansion-house of Acteden, now called Acton, in this parish, which Thomas Rayfield, of Wittersham, brother of Robert Rayfield, abbot of Boxley, had died possessed of anno 1494, and by his will had ordered it to be sold, and which, with the manor of it, as well as this of Owlie, he devised to his two sons Thomas and John Odiarne, and they soon afterwards sold the latter to John Maney, esq. of Biddenden, whose descendant Sir John Maney, bart. of Linton, in king Charles I.’s reign, passed it away by sale to Peter Ricaut, esq. afterwards knighted, who sold it to Mr. Menell, of London. …”
• http://www.canterbury-archaeology.org.uk/bosses/4590809625

O is for Orfeur

Although “Orfeur” is an unusual forename, I have seven in my family tree, honouring my fifth great grandfather Captain John Orfeur (1695-1753)

John Orfeur was a Captain in General Phinias Bowles’ regiment of horse, later known as  “the Carabiniers” or 6th Dragoon Guards.  His career is summarised by Charles Dalton in George The First’s Army 1714~1727 — Volume 2. Page 362

Son of Philip Orfeur and Mary, dau. of Col. Richard Kirkby, of Kirkby Ireleth, Lancashire, was gazetted lst Lieut, to his uncle (i.e. Maj.-Gen. John Orfeur) 10 Jan. 1708/9, in Visct. Shannon’s Regt. of Marines. In 1724 he joined Lord Shannon’s Regt. of Horse, the 3rd Dragoon Guards, on the Irish Establishment, now the 6th Dragoon Guards or Carabiniers. Retd. as Capt.-Lieut. in 1745. Settled in Ireland, where he d. in 1753. He married Juliana, dau. of Col. Thomas Palliser, of Portobello, co. Wexford.”—(Communicated by Col. W. O. Cavenagh.)

Captain John Orfeur was the father of Catherine Hyde Orfeur (1738-1814) who married Matthew Cavenagh (1740-1819) in about 1769.

Catherine and Matthew Cavenagh had fifteen children. Their fourth child was named Mary Orfeur Cavenagh (1779-1823). Their tenth child was Orfeur John Howard Cavenagh who died sometime before his father’s death in 1819.

James Gordon Cavenagh (1770-1844), the oldest child of Matthew and Catherine, had seven children. His fourth child was named Orfeur Cavenagh (1820-1891).

Orfeur Cavenagh had two sons, the elder was named Orfeur James Cavenagh (1849-1931). He in turn had a son named Orfeur.

My great great grandfather Wentworth Cavenagh-Mainwaring named one of his sons Orfeur. I have a second cousin once removed with the middle name Orfeur.

Family tree showing those with the name Orfeur

General Sir Orfeur Cavenagh

Sir Orfeur Cavenagh gives his own account of his career in a letter of 1868 included in his private letter book number 11:

Statement Of Major General Cavenagh’s Service

Passed the examination at Addiscombe on the 12th June 1837 and early in 1838 joined the 32nd Regt. N.I. In 1840 passed the prescribed examination at the College of Fort William. Appointed as Interpreter and Quartermaster to the 41st Regt. N.I. Attached to the Force employed in watching the Nepaul frontier 1840/41.

In 1842 appointed as Adjutant to the 2nd Regt. Irregular Cavalry employed against the insurgents in the Saugor and Nerbuddah Territories. Susequently transferred to the 4th Regt. Irregular Cavalry.

In 1843 engaged at the Battle of Maharajpore. Left leg carried away by a round shot, and otherwise severely injured by his charger, which was killed, falling on him.

For upwards of a year compelled to use crutches. Continued however to perform all his duties even those of parade, being placed upon his horse and taken off again by his orderlies. During this period compiled the Abstract of General Orders, for a long while the standing book of reference for the Army, the profits of the compilation made over to the Lawrence Asylum. Appointed 2nd in command of the 4th Regt. Irregular Cavalry, and, for a short time officiated as Pension Paymaster at Meerut.

In 1845-46 employed with the Army of the Sutledge, and, at the relief of Loodianah by the Division under Sir Harry Smith again severely wounded losing the partial use of his left arm. Whilst still on the Sick List and unable to sit on his horse without being held, at the particular request of the late Sir Hugh Wheeler, took charge of the whole of the native sick and wounded, many of whom were in great distress, owing to the want of proper food and clothing. Drew and issued the requisite advances, visited the hospitals and personally conducted the accounts of several hundred of men of various corps.

Appointed Superintendent of the Mysore Princes and subsequently of the Ex-Ameers of Scinde [Sindh] and Seikh Sirdars, as well as of the Ex-Governor of Kerman, the Persian nobleman, Agha Khan Mehlatee.

In 1850 selected for the political charge of the Nepaulese Embassy. On his return from England accompanied it to Kathmandoo, and afterwards prepared a report on the State of Nepal. Received the thanks of the late Court of Directors and of the Supreme Government.

For many years a Director of the military and Orphans Funds. Compiled and edited the Bengal Army List, containing the services and dates of commissions of every officer — the profits of this work made over to the Orphan Society.

In 1854, at the special request of the then Governor General Lord Dalhousie, accepted the appointment on his staff of Town Major of Fort William [the fort in Calcutta]. In this capacity as the Governor General’s representative, recommended the numerous alterations in the European Barracks and other buildings as well as general sanitary improvements, which have led to the ordinarily satisfactory state of health of the Garrison.

On the 26th January, 1857, frustrated the design of the Mutineers to seize Fort William (vide statement of Jemadar Durrion Sing, 34th Regiment, N.I.).

Throughout the Mutiny discharged all the arduous duties connected with the command of Fort William and Calcutta, including the charge of the state prisoners, the raising a Corps of Volunteers, the organisation of a body of Native Servants for the use of the troops arriving from England, the management of a large Military Canteen, the protection of the town, the control of all Public Departments, Military Buildings, Hospitals, etc., and the entire charge (arming, clothing and victualling) of all European invalids and recruits, numbering several thousands, of the company’s service. On four occasions received the thanks and commendation of the Supreme Government.

At the close of the mutiny, appointed Governor of the Straits Settlements. In addition to the ordinary duties connected with the Government, specified in the report forwarded to the India Office, obtained from the Sultan of Acheen an apology for the insult offered to the Governor General’s Envoy, Major Haughton; prepared a special report upon the resources of the State of Sarawak and carried out the secret instructions for preventing the exportation of arms and ammunition to Japan and the North of China. For the efficient performance of these duties received the thanks of the Secretary of State and the Governor General of India.

Received through the Secretary of State, the thanks on two occasions of the Emperor of France for assistance rendered to French vessels, and also the thanks of the Secretary of State for the Colonies for the valuable aid afforded in effecting the transfer of the Straits Settlement.

An account of the Indian Mutiny by Colonel G.B. Malleson described the part played by Orfeur Cavenagh in 1856 and 1857 in frustrating the mutineers efforts to seize the fort:

Major Orfeur Cavenagh, an officer of great shrewdness and perspicacity, who filled the important office of Town-Major of Fort William in Calcutta, visited, October and November 1856, the districts just beyond Agra. He had been struck everywhere by the altered demeanour of the sipáhís [sepoys], and loyal natives had reported to him the great change which had taken place in the feelings of the natives generally towards the English. Disaffection, he was assured, was now the rule in all classes. To the clear vision of this able officer it was evident that, unless precautions were taken, some great disaster would ensue.” … “one of the sergeants attached to Fort William reported to Cavenagh a remarkable conversation, between two sipáhís, which he had overheard …

…

Cavenagh, who, as Town-Major, was responsible to the Governor-General for the safety of Fort William, took at once measures to baffle the designs of which he had been informed, and then drove straight to Lord Canning to report the circumstance to him. Lord Canning listened to Cavenagh with the deepest interest, and sanctioned the measures he proposed. These were to transfer from Dam-Dam, where one wing of the regiment which was responsible for the safety of the Presidency, the 53rd Foot, was located, one company to Fort William. For the moment the outbreak was deferred.

In recognition of his services during the Indian Mutiny Orfeur Cavenagh was offered the post of Governor of the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malaya and Penang): he governed there from 1859 to 1867. Cavenagh Bridge in Singapore is named in his honour.

In 1881 Orfeur Cavenagh was appointed KCSI, Knight-Commander of the Order of the Star of India.

On 3 July 1891 Sir Orfeur Cavenagh died in Surrey, England, aged 70.

Sir Orfeur Cavenagh

Sources

• Col. W. O. Cavenagh who provided information to Charles Dalton was Wentworth Odiarne Cavenagh 1856-1935,the son of Orfeur Cavenagh 1820-1891 and my first cousin three times removed. He undertook considerable research on the Cavenagh family history.
• I am grateful to my cousin Diana Beckett for the pictures in this post.
• Sir Orfeur Cavenagh’s private letterbooks from his time as Governor of the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Malaya and Penang) have been transcribed and digitised copies are available through the website of the the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada at https://www.uvic.ca/library/locations/home/spcoll/book/cavenagh.php
• Sir Orfeur Cavenagh published his reminiscenses in 1884: Sir Orfeur Cavenagh (1884). Reminiscences of an Indian Official. Allen.
• Malleson, CSI, Colonel G. B. (1891). “Chapter III: The first mutterings of the storm”. The Indian Mutiny of 1857. London: Seely and Co Ltd (republished on the web by the HyperWar Foundation). pp. 34, 36.
• Entry for Orfeur Cavenagh in Dictionary of Indian Biography. Ardent Media. p. 76.

250 posts later

In writing on the Web about my family – I have just submitted my 250th blog post – I try to go beyond just listing names and dates and adding relatives to my tree.

How have I gone about my research and what have I noticed along the way?

My method is to be thorough. When I prepare a blog, I revisit any earlier work I might have done and check my notes and the original records. There’s always more to know on any subject, and often there’s something new to say, though I do feel that despite more research I can’t help thinking that I don’t know and understand my more remote ancestors any better than I did. I certainly don’t feel more Scottish or Irish, for example, despite confirming Celtic DNA in my blood.

More than any other topic, I have written about my forebears and relatives who have my maiden name Champion de Crespigny. Because this surname is uncommon it’s easier to research. People with the name Champion de Crespigny are certainly related to me and to one another.

I have enjoyed being inspired by ‘Sepia Saturday’ prompts and by ‘Trove Tuesday’. It’s great fun to explore the immense digitised repository ofthe National Library of Australia, especially its digitised newspapers.

For the last four years I have joined in the ‘A to Z Blogging Challenge’ in April. Trying to find ideas for every letter of the alphabet is not easy but it has lead to some fascinating research. For example, in the first Challenge, I was wondering what to write for the letter Z. My son suggested the Zulu wars. I knew my paternal grandmother’s Mainwaring relatives were in the army and sure enough I found a second cousin of mygreat great great grandfather who fought against the Zulus. I had heard of the Zulus, of course, but the blogging challenge led me to learn much more. It was fun and satisfying.

I used to enjoy historical novels, but now I can find real life history in my own family researches. Who needs fiction!?

And it’s everywhere. For example, next week our family is travelling to the Northern Territory for a short holiday. One of the main streets of Darwin is named after my great great grandfather Wentworth Cavenagh. I visited Darwin many years ago and knew of Cavenagh Street though I only learned about the family connection afterwards.

I’ve looked in Trove to learn more. On 13 January 1869 the SouthAustralian Advertiser, and other newspapers,  published instructions from W. Cavenagh, commissioner of Crown Lands, to Mr Goyder, the Surveyor-General, giving guidance to Goyder in his expedition to survey the Northern Territory. These instructions had been tabled in Parliament. The document was more of a mandate to proceed than detailed instructions. The SouthAustralian Register of 13 January 1869 notes that the instructions were in keeping with the Strangway’s Government’s laconic style. It was interested to see what Cavenagh’s role was and how it was interpreted by newspapers of the day.

In the unlikely event that someone asked for my advice about writing family history I’d say just go ahead and do it. It’s great fun.

Wentworth Cavenagh who, after being Commissioner of Crown Lands, served as Commissioner of Public Works of South Australia from 1872 to 1873. Image retrieved from the State Library of South Australia id  B 5622/17

Cavenagh Street Darwin photographed in 1915 by Ted Ryko: Chinese shops at the north west end of Cavenagh Street, Man Fong Lau in foreground. Photograph retrieved from Territory Stories ID PH0135/0045

E is for Eden Park, home of Wentworth Cavenagh

My great great grandfather Wentworth Cavenagh (1822-1895) was a member of the South Australian Parliament, elected in 1862 to represent Yatala, part of the Adelaide metropolitan area north of the River Torrens. He served as Commissioner for Crown Lands and Immigration from 1868 to 1870 and Commissioner of Public Works from 1872 to 1873.

 

Portrait of Wentworth Cavenagh, member for Yatala. This is one of 36 portraits of members of the South Australian House of Assembly, 1872-1875, in a composite compiled in 1872 (Picture from State Library of South Australia reference B1288-38)

James Shaw, oil-on-canvas painting ‘South Australian Parliament; the House of Assembly‘, c. 1867. Painting in the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia. I am not certain which of the parliamentarians portrayed is Wentworth Cavenagh.

Wentworth Cavenagh had arrived in South Australia in January 1853 on the Queen of Sheba. On 16 February 1865 he married Ellen Jane Mainwaring (1845-1920) at St Paul’s Church, Adelaide. They had ten children.

The Cavenagh family lived at a house called Eden Park in Marryatville two  miles from the city centre. Their oldest daughter Eva was born there in 1867. Their first child, James Gordon Cavenagh, had been born at Norwood in December 1865.

St Matthews Church is close to Eden Park. The Cavenaghs were involved in fundraising for the church. My grandmother, Kate (1874-1951), was running the bran pie (lucky dip) when she was 12. This was the beginning of a long career in fundraising for good causes.

 

CHURCH NEWS. (1886, December 13). The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 – 1889), p. 6. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37164097

St Matthew’s Church Marryatville

In 1892 Ellen Cavenagh inherited the Mainwaring estate at Whitmore in Staffordshire, and the family left South Australia for England. The house at Eden Park was sold. With it went the grounds covering 21 acres and a tennis court and stables.

Advertising (1892, March 9). South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 – 1900), p. 8. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48219128

In 1900 the house was purchased by Thomas Roger Scarfe who pulled down most of the old home and rebuilt it. Today the house is the Year 11 and 12 centre for Marryatville High School.

Marryatville High School occupies the grounds of Eden Park

The stables are now the music centre

The house, which is not the one the Cavenagh family lived in as this was built in 1900 by the Scarfe family, is now the year 11 and 12 centre.

Related posts

• Trove Tuesday: Kathleen Cavenagh dressed for a children’s ball in 1887
• 1892 journey on the Ballaarat
• A shipboard romance aboard the SS Ballaarat
• N is for Naval husbands
• F is for fundraising