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