Biographical Note of Sir Francis Beaufort
Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857) was the son of Daniel Augustus Beaufort (1739-1821),
rector of Collon, Co. Louth, Ireland, and a geographer, and Mary Waller Beaufort. His
grandfather, Daniel Cornelius de Beaufort, had been a Huguenot refugee from France who
established a ministry in London, and his family's consciousness of its religious
heritage was very strong.
He was first sent to sea in 1789 on the Vansittart, commanded by Lestock Wilson, to
whose family he became very close, and whose daughter, Alicia Magdalena, became his
first wife in 1813. Subsequently, he entered the British navy, and from 1790-1800 served
successively on the Latona, the Aquilon, and the Phaeton; the latter's commander (Sir)
Robert Stopford became a close professional acquaintance. During these years his closest
confidant was his older brother, William Lewis Beaufort, who took orders and served
under Thomas St. Lawrence, Dean of Cork (marrying the Dean's daughter in 1805).
Active in the sea war against France, in particular Cornwallis's retreat (1795),
Beaufort became Lieutenant in 1796, and, following a near-fatal wounding in a battle
with the Spanish, November, 1800, he was promoted Commander. He was not given a command,
however, and, invalided home, he lived with his family. He became close to Richard
Lovell Edge-worth, inventor and landowner, father of the novelist Maria Edgeworth, and
husband (after 1798) of Francis's sister, Frances (Fanny). Beaufort and Edgeworth worked
on projects including the Dublin-Galway semaphore telegraph (1803-04), until 1805, when
he was named commander of the storeship H.M.S. Woolwich. Only in 1809, after much
frustrations over his eventless command (although in 1807 he did his first major
hydrographical work, surveying the Rio de la Plata), did he get an active command, that
of the H.M.S. Blossom. Soon after his return on the Blossom from a mission to Quebec, in
1810, Beaufort was given post rank, and assigned command of the frigate, H.M.S.
Frederiksteen. From his base on Malta, during 1810-1812 Beaufort conducted surveys
geographical and hydrographical of the eastern Mediterranean, particularly Karamania
(the south Turkish coast). He was again grievously wounded in June, 1812, and returned
home, marrying Alicia, living quietly, and writing his widely acclaimed book
Karamania, or a Brief Description of the South Coast of Asia Minor...
(1817), based on his survey. His researches and book earned him membership in the Royal
Society, in which he was active throughout his life, and access to the scientific
circles of England, which included such luminaries as Sir Humphry Davy. He was much
involved in plans for the establishment of mining and other industries in Ireland, and
with his father's revisions of his map of Ireland and financial troubles, until Daniel's
death in 1821.
In 1829, after years of petitioning for reactivation in the Navy, Beaufort was named
Hydrographer to the Navy. Until his retirement in 1854, this position was his constant
concern. He expanded its staff and physical facilities, established surveys over the
entire globe, and served on many naval commissions. Deeply affected by his wife's tragic
death in 1834, he found support in closeness to his children: Daniel Augustus, Francis
Lestock, William Morris, Emily Anne Sophia, and Rosalind Elizabeth. In 1839 he
remarried, his new wife being Honora, daughter of Richard Lovell Edgeworth. In 1846 he
was named Rear Admiral (ret.), and knighted in 1848. His retirement was accompanied by
unfortunate and painful quarrels over the amount of his annuity.
Sir Francis had spent his early married life at Lestock Wilson's house at Epping,
Surrey. As hydrographer, he lived on Manchester St., London; he passed his last days at
Brighton. At his death on December 17, 1857, he was survived by all six of his
children.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains the papers of British admiral and hydrographer Sir Francis
Beaufort and members of the Beaufort and Edgeworth families dating from 1710-1953 (bulk
1780-1890) and consisting of diaries, journals, account books and correspondence.
Subject matter includes the Beaufort and Edgeworth families; British naval history of
the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in particular the period of the Napoleonic Wars;
geography and hydrography, particularly of the Eastern Mediterranean; Irish affair of
the late 18th and early 19th centuries, particularly related to economic and commercial
issues; and the Royal Society and scientific affairs in England in the early 19th
century.
The bulk of the collection is comprised of the papers of Sir Francis and includes
journals of his naval service (1791-1812); journals, notes, and working papers for his
survey of Karamania (or Caramania), along the southern coast of Turkey (1813-1817); his
professional diaries as hydrographer to the British Navy (1840-1857); and 854 letters by
Sir Francis.
Notable topics included in the correspondence of Sir Francis includes a letter-journal
of his first sea-voyage, to Indonesia (1789, July 24); a description of the Battle of
San Joseph, in which he was critically wounded (1800, Oct. 28); letters to Richard
Lovell Edgeworth detailing the construction of the Dublin-Galway telegraph (1803) and
later discussing various projects for navigation mensuration (1808, May 5); commentary
at length on the death of Lord Nelson (1805, Nov. 9); a voyage to Cape of Good Hope
(1806, May 16-22); Malta (1808, Oct. 21); Quebec and French Canada (1809, Oct.-Nov.);
and an explanation of a naval cause celebre in which he opposed the Admiralty by
asserting that an escaped slave that had served 2 years on his ship was by definition
enfranchised (1814, Feb. 3); a visit with Sir Walter Scott (1821, Apr. 23); the
intellectual community in Paris (Laplace, Cuvier, etc.) (1825, Nov. 4); an eyewitness
description of the Coronation of William IV (1831, Sep. 9); Sir Francis's knighthood
ceremony (1848, May 7); and attempts to locate Sir John Franklin by balloon (1850, Jan.
9).
Notable correspondence about science written to Beaufort includes:
- Brinkley, John. Letters describing astronomical research 1824-1829.
- Dalrymple, Alexander. Series of letters concerning activities of the
Hydrographical office, etc. 1805-1808.
- Franklin, Sir John. Two letters from northern Canada describing his explorations.
1825, Apr. 21; 1826, Feb. 6
- Hall, Basil. Series of letters to Sir Francis Beaufort describing efforts to
salvage the Royal George using a diving bell. 1839, Sep.-Oct.
- Herschel, Sir John Frederick William. Letter discussing his career, his election
as president of the Royal Society, and issues facing the Society. 1830, Nov.
26.
- Parry, Sir William. Letter from Davis Strait describing problems of mensuration in
polar regions. 1824, July 1.
- Ussher, Henry. Letter discussing astronomical research. 1789, Nov. 6.
In addition to the papers of Sir Francis, the collection also includes the papers of
other members of the Beaufort family including thirty-seven letters and four diaries of
Sir Francis's father, Daniel Augustus Beaufort; seventeen letters and a journal of
family history by Sir Francis's first wife, Alicia Magdalena Wilson Beaufort (d. 1834);
a volume of original botanical watercolor paintings by Frances Anne Beaufort Edgeworth
(1769-1865); and correspondence with and about writer Maria Edgeworth, including a
series of letters from her to Sir Francis discussing literary maters and the Society for
the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, dating from 1814-1827. There are also two letters by
Sir Francis describing in detail the critical response to Maria Edgeworth's
Patronage (1814, Feb. 3), and a letter discussing details of the
publication of Edgeworth's novel
Ormond (1817, June 12). Additional
family correspondents include: William Lewis Beaufort (21 letters); Frances Anne
Beaufort Edgeworth (3 letters); and Richard Lovell Edgeworth (7 letters). The oldest
item in the collection is a grant of nobility to Francis de Beaufort (Sir Francis's
ancestor) from Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I Hapsburg, dated March 4, 1710.
Some interesting or important items include:
- Allott, Anna Maria. Memoirs of Edward Gibbon's residence in Switzerland
[fragment]. c. 1794.
- Beaufort, Emily Anne and Beaufort, Rosalind Elizabeth. Manuscript entitled
Anecdotes of Captain Beaufort, R.N., compiled by his daughters. 1840-42.
- Blennerhasset, Jeanne. Series of letters giving fascinating insight into the early
life of Daniel Augustus Beaufort. 1764-1775.
- Hillyar, Mary Taylor. Letter describing last days of Sir James Hillyar. 1843, Oct.
29. Accompanied by three letters of Sir James Hillyar.
- Lennon, Maria. Series of letters chronicling her dramatic rescue by Sir Francis
Beaufort and her loyalty to his memory decades afterwards. 1809-1843.
- Melville, Sir Peter Melville (also spelled Melvill). Series of letters describing
his travels from India to Egypt, Turkey, Vienna. 1832, Jan. 5-Aug. 23.
Some additional significant persons represented in the collection include: Sir Thomas
Dyke Acland (2 letters); Thomas Arnold (7 letters); Sir Joseph Banks (3 letters); Sir
John Barrow (9 letters); William Bligh (1 letter); Robert Cadell (3 letters); Stratford
Canning (7 letters); Charles Robert Cockerell (4 letters); Cuthbert Collingwood (2
letters); John Wilson Croker (12 letters); Sir Roger Curtis (2 letters); Sir Humphrey
Davy (1 letter); James Gambier, Baron Gambier (1 letter); Davies Gilbert (5 letters);
Sir Charles Hamilton (4 letters); Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1 letter); Sir John
Frederick William Herschel (1 letter); John Jervis, Earl of St. Vincent (1 letter);
Alicia Le Fanu (1 letter); Edward Hawke Locker (2 letters); Sir Thomas Erskine May (2
letters); Sir James Nicoll Morris (2 letters); Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (1 letter);
Horatio Nelson (1 letter); Sir William Edward Parry (2 letters); Sir Edward Pellew (7
letters); Lady Jane Spencer-Wilson Perceval (2 letters); Sir Henry Prescott (2 letters);
James Rennell (29 letters); George Cecil Renouard (4 letters); Elisabeth-Paul-Edouard,
Chevalier de Rossel (3 letters); Sir James South (4 letters); Thomas Spring-Rice (1
letter); Leslie Stephen (1 letter); Sir Robert Stopford (4 letters); Victoria, Queen of
Great Britain (2 letters); Robert Walpole (7 letters); Sir John Borlase Warren (2
letters); John Washington (4 letters); William Wellesley-Pole, 1st Baron Maryborough (2
letters); Joseph Blanco White (1 letter); Lestock Wilson (12 letters).
