Saturday 11 August 2018

Naming Of Names





The pictures are of two brothers. The Rev. Gerald Wellesley and Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley. If Gerald Valerian Wellesley had gone into the Army and his brother Arthur had gone into the Church, what might have been the futures of India and Britain?

In previous centuries families had come and gone with the wars, conflicts and ups and downs of life. The landed classes were adept at removing each other. This made way for those who became rich, merchants and such, who bought into land.

If they then picked the right sides in politics, had enough heirs and made enough marriages to the daughters of families of high rank they could rise into the highest levels.

The marriage agreements might entail the lower order family taking the name of a higher order female. So the Colley family became at first Wesley and then amended to Wellesley.

Why has no TV company run a series about these Wellesley brothers and their sister? They were a remarkable group. Gerald was born 7 December, 1770 and died 24 October 1848.

He was the son of Garret Colley Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington and Anne Wesley, Countess of Mornington and was husband to Emily Maude Cadogan.

His brothers and sister were:

Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley of Norragh.
William Wellesley - Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington.
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley.
Lady Anne Smith.

Were Gerald's sermons about hellfire and brimstone? As delivered by Arthur?

2 comments:

  1. There's an opinion that the Wellesley was nothing more than an affectation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There was another Wesley family who were active and controversial re Methodism at the time with whom they did not wish to be confused. Amen.

    ReplyDelete