Sampson Michell (1755–1809) was a British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

officer who left and became an Admiral and Commander of the Brazilian Navy.

Life

He was born in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

in 1755 the son of Dr Thomas Michell MD (1726-1811) a "fox-hunting squire" in Cornwall, and his wife Jane Sprey (1728-1759). His mother died when he was only four. His paternal uncle appears to have been Admiral Reynell Michell and he chose ro join the

. He joined

Admiral Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a British naval officer. After serving throughout the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations aga ...

's fleet as a lieutenant in August 1778. In 1790 he was serving as a lieutenant on the impressive 98-gun HMS Saint George under Sir

George Collier Vice Admiral Sir George Collier (11 May 1732 – 6 April 1795) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the fourth-rate shi ...

. He left the Royal Navy in 1790 (with consent of the Royal Navy) to join the Portuguese navy and initially lived in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

with his family. He left Portugal when the French invaded in 1807 and after a brief time back in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

Accompanied the King of Portugal in his exile to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

where he was given the rank of Admiral and stationed in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. He formed part of the flotilla containing the Portuguese Royal Family and many military and naval leaders which left Europe in December 1807 under command of Captain Graham Moore and arrived in Brazil in January 1808. Here the King promoted him to Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Navy in exile. He died in

on 20 January 1809 aged 53 and is buried there in the Bastion.

Family

In 1787 he married Ann Shears (1755-1838) and they lived at Croftwest in

. They had two sons, Admiral Sir

Frederick Thomas Michell Frederick Thomas Michell KCB (1788–1873) was a British commander in the Royal Navy. He was also Mayor of Totnes from 1855 to 1858. Life He was born on 8 April 1788 in Exeter the son of Admiral Sampson Michell (1755-1809) and his wife An ...

and

Charles Collier Michell Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Collier Michell, KH (29 March 1793 in Exeter – 28 March 1851 in Eltham, London), later known as Charles Cornwallis Michell, was a British soldier, first surveyor-general in the Cape, road engineer, architect, artist ...

, and four daughters including Emma Carolina Michell who married Rev Sir John Stuart Page Wood, becoming Dame Emma Carolina Page Wood in 1820. Their children included Henry Evelyn Wood VC. Their daughter Anna Marie Michell (1791-1889) married Sir Benjamin Wood MP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michell, Sampson 1755 births 1809 deaths People from Truro Royal Navy officers 1807 in Portugal 1808 in Brazil