The Colvin family, for the purposes of this article, is that group of people descended from James Colquhoun Colvin (1767–1847), the son of Alexander Colvin (1718–1791) and Elizabeth 'Bettie' née Kennedy (1714–1795). James was a merchant trading between London and Calcutta during the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. This

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The ''Oxford English ...

family was intimately involved with the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, first as traders and then as administrators and soldiers. Their descendants continued in service to the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and later in some of its constituent countries.

First generation

In 1802 James married Maria Jackson (1780–1834) at

Fort William, India Fort William is a fort in Hastings, Calcutta (Kolkata). It was built during the early years of the Bengal Presidency of British India. It sits on the eastern banks of the Hooghly River, the major distributary of the River Ganges. One of Kolkat ...

. Among their children were: * Elizabeth Jackson Colvin (1803–1856) who married her cousin Alexander Colvin (1787–1864) * Anna Maria Colvin (1804–1867) who married Robert David Colquhoun (1786–1838) * Bazett David Colvin JP (1805–1871) see below * John Russell Colvin (1807–1857) see below * Binny James Colvin (1809–1895) who married Helen Catherine née Best (1818–1910) daughter of John Rycroft Best of Barbados * Henrietta Hall Colvin (1812–1841) who married Rev. Ellis Walford (1803–1881) * James Edward Colvin (1814–1814) * Edward Thomas Colvin (1815–1857) who married Mary Anne Browne (1822–1877) daughter of Dr John Browne, Surgeon General in the Bengal Medical Service * Margaret Matilda Colvin (1817–1894) who married Walker Pitcairn (1808–1857) Maria's eldest sister had married a Thomas Binny, who had traded at Madras and retired to

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

, Scotland. It was in their household that Bazett, John, and Binny Colvin passed their childhood.

Bazett David Colvin and his children

Bazett David Colvin (1805–1871) was the eldest son of James. In 1840 Bazett married Mary Steuart née Bayley (1820–1902) the daughter of

William Butterworth Bayley William Butterworth Bayley (1782–1860) was acting Governor-General of India during the period March–July 1828. Bayley was a member of the Bengal Civil Service (1799–1830) and a director and chairman of the British East India Company (1834– ...

a director and chairman of the British East India Company from 1834 to 1858. Among their children were: * Lt Col William Butterworth Colvin (1840–1883), commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion the Royal Fusiliers from 1881 until his death at Bellary in 1883. * Bazett David Colvin MA (1842–1924) who migrated to Australia and married a widow Jessie Stanley Phipps née Tomlins (1859–1924) * Robert Colquhoun Colvin (1844–1844) * Prof Sir Sidney Colvin MA LLD (1845–1927) - critic, curator, and great friend of

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

. * Maria Colvin (1846–1847) * Agnes Colvin (1849–1849) * Caroline Louisa Colvin (1852–1852) In 1847 he inherited his father's estate at The Grove, Little Bealing, near

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

John Russell Colvin and his children

John Russell Colvin John Russell Colvin (29 May 1807 – 9 September 1857) was a British administrator of the East India Company, and Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces from 1853 until his death from cholera during the Indian Rebellion of 18 ...

(1807 – 1857), the second son of James, rose to be lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

during the

mutiny of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

, at the height of which he died. He married Emma Sophia, daughter of Wetenhall Sneyd, a vicar in England; they had ten children, many of whom continued the family connection with India. * James Henry Bayley Colvin (1828–1879), of the Bengal Civil Service. * Bazett Wetenhall Colvin (1830–1909) who married Mary Elizabeth née Graham (1839–1916) daughter of Major-General Joseph Graham (1799–1880) * Russell Pakenham Colvin (1834–1892) who married Emily Mary née Mitford (1844–1916), widow of Bernard Augustus Hewitt * Elliott Colvin (1836–1883) who married Edith née Cunningham (1846–1914) * Sir

Auckland Colvin Sir Auckland Colvin (1838–1908) was a colonial administrator in India and Egypt, born into the Anglo-Indian Colvin family. He was comptroller general in Egypt (1880–2), and financial adviser to the Khedive (1883–87). From 1883–92 he w ...

(1838–1908) who married Charlotte Elizabeth née Herbert (1838–1865) * Emma Colvin (1840–1877) who married Col George Falconer Pearson (1826–1923) * Maria Worsley Colvin (1841–1869) who married Rev. Simon James Gordon Fraser (1825–1904) * Clement Sneyd Colvin (1844–1901) who married Alice Jane née Lethbridge (1850–1885) * Constance Colvin (1845–1902) * Sir

Walter Mytton Colvin Sir Walter Mytton Colvin (13 September 1847 – 16 December 1908) was a British lawyer and colonial administrator, part of the illustrious Anglo-Indian Colvin family. Biography Walter Colvin, Sir Auckland Colvin's youngest brother, was born in ...

(1847–1908) Barrister at Law, who married Annie née Money (1847–1908) Bazett Wetenhall, Elliott Graham Colvin, and

all passed distinguished careers in India, and a fourth, Clement Sneyd, C.S.I., was secretary of the public works department of the

India Office The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of I ...

in London. The third son,

(1838–1908), was lieutenant-governor of the North-West Provinces and

Oudh The Oudh State (, also Kingdom of Awadh, Kingdom of Oudh, or Awadh State) was a princely state in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the British in 1856. The name Oudh, now obsolete, was once the anglicized name of ...

, and also served in Egypt. He co-founded the

Colvin Taluqdars' College Colvin Taluqdars' College is a private school located in Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is th ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

; he also published a biography of his father in 1895.

Further generations

Elliott Graham Colvin's daughter

Brenda Colvin Brenda Colvin CBE (1897–1981) was a British landscape architect, author of standard works in the field and a force behind its professionalisation. She was part of the Colvin family, which had long ties to the British Raj. Biography Colvin ...

(1897–1981) was an important landscape architect, author of standard works in the field, and a force behind its professionalisation. One of Clement Sneyd's sons became Admiral Sir

Ragnar Colvin Admiral Sir Ragnar Musgrave Colvin, (7 May 1882 – 22 February 1954) was a long-serving Royal Navy officer who commanded the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) at the outbreak of the Second World War. Early life and background Colvin was the son of C ...

, KBE, CB, and fathered John Horace Ragnar Colvin, the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

diplomat. Another son Sir C. Preston Colvin had much involvement in railway administration in Burma and India. John Colvin's son was the Australian journalist

Mark Colvin Mark Colvin (13 March 1952 – 11 May 2017) was an Australian journalist and radio and television broadcaster for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and worked on most of the flagship current affairs programs. Notably, based in Sydne ...

(1952–2017), who wrote of his own and his father's careers in his 2016 book ''Light and Shadow: Memoirs of a Spy's Son''.

First generation

Bazett David Colvin and his children

John Russell Colvin and his children

Further generations

See also

References

Further reading