Captain John Moberly (25 June 1788 – 15 January 1848) was born in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, Russia, the son of an English merchant, Edward Moberly, a freeman of the
Russia Company
The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company russian: Московская компания, Moskovskaya kompaniya) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint s ...
. He entered the Navy in 1801 when he was only 12 and by 1815 had become a post Captain, serving on a number of ships.
In 1834, Moberly was appointed to be Commandant in control of all operations appertaining to the navy, at the
Penetanguishene Naval Yard
Penetanguishene Naval Yard was a Royal Navy yard from 1834 to 1856 in Ontario.
Land was first acquired in 1798 near Penetanguishene and a base finally built in 1813, but it was abandoned in 1815 at the end of the War of 1812. It was reinstated ...
on
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To ...
, Canada. Although the naval section of the post was closed in that year, in 1835
Penetanguishene
Penetanguishene , sometimes shortened to Penetang, is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual (French and English) community has a populati ...
had 40 naval personnel known as a
batteaux
A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes. ...
establishment for the conveyance of provisions, military stores, etc. and a general sale of craft and naval and marine appliances was ordered in 1832 and continued for some time.
While stationed in Penetanguishene, Captain Moberley was a major fundraiser for the building of an
Anglican church of
St. James on-the-Lines
St. James on-the-Lines (often written as St. James-on-the-Lines or St. James On-the-Lines) is a historic Anglicanism, Anglican garrison church in Penetanguishene, Ontario. The church is still in use today serving as the Anglican parish church in Pe ...
in 1837. He was later buried in the graveyard of the church
along with his infant daughter, Sophia.
Family life and heritage
In 1825 Captain Moberly married Miss Mary Fock (a.k.a. Marie Foch), daughter of General Fock of the
Russian Imperial Service. She was born in
Sebastopol
Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
,
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
, where her father was then stationed. General Fock (a.k.a. Foch or von Fock) was a member of a Polish family of distinction. Of this union were born nine children, six sons and three daughters.
Children
Mary born at
Sowerby,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, 1829; married in 1850 Sir Harford Jones-Brydges, Radnorshire, Wales.
George, also born at Sowerby in 1830, became a barrister in
Collingwood, Ontario
Collingwood is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is situated on Nottawasaga Bay at the southern point of Georgian Bay. Collingwood is well known as a tourist destination, for its skiing in the winter, and limestone caves along the Nia ...
and married Fanny Maria, third daughter of the late Col. E. G. O'Brien,
Shanty Bay, Ontario.
Walter
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
was born at
Steeple Aston
Steeple Aston is a village and civil parish on the edge of the Cherwell Valley, in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire, England, about north of Oxford, west of Bicester, and south of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish populatio ...
, Oxfordshire in 1832 and went on to become a
civil engineer.
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
was born at Penetanguishene, Ontario in 1835. He entered the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
's service in 1854.
Clarence Clarence may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division
* Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow
* Clarence River (New South Wales)
* Clarence Strait (Northern Territory)
* City of Clarence, a l ...
was born at Penetanguishene in 1838. Also known as William, Clarence became a civil engineer and was for many years Chief Engineer of the
Northern Railway of Canada
The Northern Railway of Canada was a railway in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was the first steam railway to enter service in what was then known as Upper Canada. It was eventually acquired by the Grand Trunk Railway, and is therefore a p ...
, from
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
to Collingwood. He resigned from this position in 1875, to become the contractor of the Northern Extensions Railway to Gravenhurst. Following its completion later that year, he became Chief Engineer of the Ontario & Pacific Junction Railway, which proposed to build a connection from there to the proposed CPR. The O & P J was never built. Clarence W. Moberly died in Collingwood in 1902.
Arthur Moberly, born at Penetanguishene in 1840, became a doctor and married Caroline Jean, daughter of J.O.Bouchier of Sutton, Ontario, and died in 1879.
Sophia, born at Penetanguishene in 1843, died in infancy, and is commemorated on her father's gravestone.
Frank Moberly, born at Barrie in 1845, Civil Engineer. In 1871 he took charge of the government survey from
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
to the
Kootenay Plains, at the headwaters of the Athabaska in the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
and engaged in a number of transcontinental railway and exploration surveys both in Canada and the United States, from
Newfoundland to
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
and in the States to California.
Emma, born at Barrie in 1847, remained unmarried and lived with her sister Lady Brydges, Radnorshire, Wales.
Life after the Navy
In 1837, Capt. Moberly was offered a commission as
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
in a regiment at
Barrie
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
; but as he was a sailor and not a soldier he relegated the honour to one of his sons. Capt. Moberly was appointed Licence Inspector for Simcoe County in 1843 and on moving to Barrie in 1844 was appointed Agent for the Bank of Upper Canada, opening the first bank branch in the
County of Simcoe. He died in 1848 at Barrie at the comparatively young age of 59. Mrs. Capt. Moberly died in 1879.
See also
*
References
External links
* Simcoe County pioneer papers, Simcoe County Pioneer and Historical Society, Barrie, Ontario, 1908.
*http://www.ourroots.ca/f/page.aspx?id=587397 See chapter: "Commanders of the Fleet" from page 106.
* http://www.ourroots.ca/f/page.aspx?id=587700
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moberly, John
Royal Navy officers
1848 deaths
1789 births
People from Penetanguishene
Royal Navy captains