Hugh Cloberry Christian KB RN (1747 - 1798)

Born 12 Aug 1747 in Westminster, Middlesex, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 23 Nov 1798 at age 51 in Cape of Good Hope, South Africa

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Biography

Hugh Christian KB RN is Notable.

Hugh Cloberry Christian was born on the 12th of August 1747 and was baptised at St Martin in the Fields in Westminster on the 18th, son of Thomas Christian and his wife, Anne Hughes. ^[1]
[Baptized in August 1747] 18 Hugh Cloberry Christian of Thomas & Ann - [Born] Aug:12

He joined the Royal Navy in 1761 and was promoted lieutenant after ten years service. ^[2]

In 1775 he married Anne Leigh, daughter of Mr. B. Leigh of Thorleigh on the Isle of Wight. They were parents of two daughters and two sons.^[2]

Having commanded the hired ship Vigilant he was promoted to Post Rank on the 8th of December 1778 and given command of HMS Suffolk, flag ship of Commodore Rowley, seeing service in the West Indies. When he returned to England he found himself ashore and out of work until in 1790 he was appointed Captain of the Queen Charlotte.^[2]

On the 1st of June 1795 Hugh was advanced to the rank of Rear- Admiral of the Blue and Commander in Chief in the West Indies. With his flag in the 98 gun HMS Prince George he set out with his squadron and a fleet of more than two hundred merchant ships and transports. Caught almost immediately in a most violent gale, many ships foundered or were driven ashore while the men-of-war were driven back to Spithead in shattered condition. Transferring his flag to HMS Glory he put to sea on the 9th of December and again encountered ferocious weather. Five ships of the line made it back to Spithead around the 29th of January with some fifty merchantmen. Other ships of the convoy made it across the Atlantic or were lost at sea. ^[2]

On the 17th of February he was invested with the order of the Bath and sailed again on the 20th of March with his flag aboard Thunderer. Arriving at Barbados in April he joined with sir Ralph Abercromby in the conquest of St Lucia in May. In October he returned to England. ^[2]

In 1797 he was sent to the Cape of Good Hope as second in command, was appointed Commander in Chief in 1798 and died suddenly in November. ^[2] His will was proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury on 18 June 1799. ^[3] A transcription of the will is here: Will of Sir Hugh Christian, Rear Admiral, 1799. In his will Hugh mentioned his wife and five surviving children as legatees.

Research Notes

Wikipedia, perhaps following Stewart ^[4], asserts that he was born at Hook Norton in Oxfordshire. ^[5][6] The property at Hook Norton was inherited by Hugh Cloberry Christian in 1768 through the Will of his grandmother Letitia Mascall who herself did not become possessed of the property until 1757, ten years after Hugh was born.

He is listed in the Christian Family Memorial in Lezayre Parish Church, Isle of Man. This following passage is unsourced and there is no mention in the Gazette of him having received any Peerage. ^[7]
" Admiral Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian, K.B 1747-1798, Commander-in-Chief at the Cape, who had a peerage conferred upon him with the title, Lord Ronaldsway, but died before the patent reached him; who was thanked for his services by Parliament and received a sword of honour from George III."

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism: "Westminster, London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1558-1812"
   City of Westminster Archives Centre; London, England; Westminster Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: STM/PR/8/14
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 61865 #1575400 (accessed 9 November 2023)
   Hugh Cloberry Christian baptism on 18 Aug 1747 (born 12 Aug 1747), child of Thomas Christian & Ann Christian, in St Martin-In-The-Fields, London, Westminster, England.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 10 Christian, Hugh Cloberry by John Knox Laughton
3. ↑ Will of Sir Hugh Cloberry Christian 1799: "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858"
   The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 1325
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry uk Record 5111 #103846 (accessed 25 November 2023)
4. ↑ Book: William Stewart, Admirals of the World: A Biographical Dictionary, 1500 to the Present
   United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2014
   Google Books (accessed 15 November 2023)
5. ↑ Wikipedia: Hugh Cloberry Christian
6. ↑ William Stewart: Admirals of the World: Christian Sir Hugh Cloberry
7. ↑ Christian Family Memorial. http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/mquart/mq29135.htm