Syms Covington
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Syms Covington (1816–1861) was a fiddler and
cabin boy ''Cabin Boy'' is a 1994 American fantasy comedy film, directed by Adam Resnick and co-produced by Tim Burton, which starred comedian Chris Elliott. Elliott co-wrote the film with Resnick. Both Elliott and Resnick worked for '' Late Night with Dav ...
on HMS ''Beagle'' who became an assistant to
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
and was appointed as his personal servant in 1833, continuing in Darwin's service after the voyage until 1839. Originally named Simon Covington, he was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, the youngest child of Simon Covington V and Elizabeth Brown. After Covington's trip on the Beagle, he then emigrated to Australia and settled as a postmaster, marrying Eliza Twyford there.


''Beagle'' voyage

When he was fifteen years old, Syms Covington became "fiddler & boy to Poop-cabin" on the second survey expedition of HMS ''Beagle'', which left England on 27 December 1831 under the command of captain
Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...
. Covington kept a journal of the voyage, and in September 1832 at
Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
in South America he noted wildlife found there, including a find of rhea eggs, and giant
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
bones of the
megatherium ''Megatherium'' ( ; from Greek () 'great' + () 'beast') is an extinct genus of ground sloths endemic to South America that lived from the Early Pliocene through the end of the Pleistocene. It is best known for the elephant-sized type species ' ...
which were collected and sent to England. It is not clear if he was assisting
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
with this work, but FitzRoy's later account suggests that both Darwin and Covington worked at excavating the fossils, and on 3 November Darwin arranged some clothing for Covington. On 29 April 1833, Darwin and Covington landed and took up residence ashore at
Maldonado, Uruguay Maldonado () is the capital of Maldonado Department of Uruguay. As of the census of 2011, it is the seventh most populated city of the country. Maldonado is also the name of the municipality to which the city belongs. It includes the following zo ...
, while the ''Beagle'' went elsewhere on survey work. After an excursion into the interior lasting twelve days, they spent several weeks at Maldonado preparing the collections to be sent back to England. In a letter home started on 22 May, Darwin told his father that he had decided to take Covington on as a servant – He had been thinking about this for some time, but had not yet consulted the captain. In an addition to the letter, dated 6 July, Darwin announced that he had FitzRoy's agreement, and an unexpected saving – As well as working as a servant and general
amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...
, writing out Darwin's records of investigations, Covington became Darwin's assistant as a collector, hunter and taxidermist. In addition to his duties, Covington kept a personal journal regarding his impressions of the voyage. His journal includes accounts ranging from his daily mundane tasks to impressions of the lands and the people he encountered, and it provides an alternative perspective to supplement Darwin's ''Journal and Remarks'', better known as ''
The Voyage of the Beagle ''The Voyage of the Beagle'' is the title most commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin and published in 1839 as his ''Journal and Remarks'', bringing him considerable fame and respect. This was the third volume of ''The Narrative ...
''.


Return, work for Darwin and emigration

After the ''Beagle'' returned in 1836, Covington became Darwin's manservant and continued in his duties as a general
amanuensis An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...
. His own collection of bird specimens was invaluable in establishing the relationship of ''
Darwin's Finches Darwin's finches (also known as the Galápagos finches) are a group of about 18 species of passerine birds. They are well known for their remarkable diversity in beak form and function. They are often classified as the subfamily Geospizinae or t ...
'' to each of the Galapagos Islands as, unlike Darwin, he had taken care to label where each specimen had been taken. Covington remained in Darwin's service until 25 February 1839. He decided to emigrate, and was given a personal reference from Darwin in a letter dated 29 May 1839.


Life in Australia

Records indicate that Covington landed in Sydney in 1840, and he married Eliza Twyford who lived at
Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...
, a small town in northern
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. Eliza Twyford was from London, and had traveled to Australia with her family in 1832 on the ship Princess Royal as a free settler. Covington was able to draw on his naval connections to find employment, and by 1843 was working as a clerk at the Sydney coal depot of the
Australian Agricultural Company The Australian Agricultural Company (AACo) () is a public-listed Australian company that, as at 2018, owned and operated feedlots and farms covering around of land in Queensland and the Northern Territory, roughly one percent of Australia's la ...
. Around 1844 the family, with their first two sons, accepted the invitation of Captain Lloyd and moved to the South coast property at Pambula, which Lloyd had been given in lieu of a pension from the
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 ...
. Covington continued to correspond with Darwin, who sent him a gift of a replacement ear-trumpet to help with Covington's increasing deafness. His deafness may have been the result of exposure to guns used in collecting specimens. In response to Darwin's request for specimens, Covington and his eldest son collected a large number of barnacles at nearby
Twofold Bay Twofold Bay is an open oceanic embayment that is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The bay was named by George Bass, for its shape of two bights. The northern bight is called Calle Calle Bay; while the southern ...
. Darwin's letter of 23 November 1850 expressed his delight at having just received the box, which included particularly unusual species. This contributed to the extensive studies of barnacles which established Darwin as a biologist. Covington became Postmaster of Pambula in 1854, and managed an inn called the ''Forest Oak Inn'' built on the coast road above the floodplain where the first Pambula township had been repeatedly damaged by floods. His original inn was licensed in 1855, and the building which still stands was constructed on the same site about a year later. By 1848 he and his wife had eight children, six sons and two daughters. In 1861 Covington died of 'paralysis' at only 47 years old. The inn was then run by his widow, and later by her second husband Llewelyn Heaven. The license was taken over by John Behl around 1864, and the building became known as ''The Retreat'' in 1895. It has been used as a
doctor's surgery A doctor's office in American English, a doctor's surgery in British English, or a doctor's practice, is a medical facility in which one or more medical doctors, usually general practitioners (GP), receive and treat patients. Description Doc ...
and more recently as a Thai restaurant, and its red tin roof and double chimneys can still be seen beside a sharp bend of the main Coast Road.


Legacy


Books discussing Covington

"The Journal of Syms Covington, Assistant to Charles Darwin Esq." was discussed by Jonathan Hodge and Gregory Radick in ''The Cambridge Companion to Darwin''. In 1998, Australian author
Roger McDonald Hugh Roger McDonald (born 23 June 1941 in Young, New South Wales) is an Australian award-winning author of several novels and a number of non-fiction works. He is also an accomplished poet and TV scriptwriter. Life and career The middle son of ...
published a novel based on Syms Covington's life and his work for Darwin, called '' Mr Darwin's Shooter''. The children’s book Darwin’s Dragons by Lindsay Galvin is told from the fictionalised perspective of Syms Covington.


Portrayal in film

Covington was portrayed by Sam Downes in the 2009 film '' The Voyage that Shook the World''.


References

*. * *.


External links


Chapter 4 of Covington's Journal


{{DEFAULTSORT:Covington, Syms English sailors People from Bedford 1816 births 1861 deaths English emigrants to Australia Amanuenses