Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (1863 - 1944)

Born 21 Nov 1863 in Bodmin, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Louisa Amelia (Hicks) Quiller-Couch — married 1889 (to 12 May 1944) in St Austell, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom

Died 12 May 1944 at age 80 in Fowey, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Arthur Quiller-Couch is Notable.

Arthur Quiller-Couch was born in Cornwall, England.

Arthur Thomas Couch (pronounced Cooch), later Quiller-Couch, was born in Bodmin, Cornwall on 21 November 1863^[1], and christened there on 6 January the following year^[2]. His parents were Mary Couch, née Ford, and Thomas Quiller Couch, a doctor. The family were relatively well off, being able to afford a cook and housemaid^[3], and later to send Arthur to Clifton College^[4]. From there he went to Oxford, where he studied classics, graduating in 1886^[14].

Arthur married Louise Amelia Hicks in St Austell in 1889^[5], and they had two children: a son named Bevil, who survived World War 1 only to die of the Spanish Flu in 1919, and a daughter, Foy. They lived in Fowey (which is pronounced 'Foy'), though Arthur's work as Professor of English Literature at Cambridge meant he often had to be away.

Arthur died at Fowey on 12 May 1944^[8][11], and an obituary was published in the Western Morning News the following day^[9]. He was buried in St Fimbarrus churchyard^[10].

Literary and political career

Arthur was a distinguished literary critic, perhaps most famous for his anthology The Oxford Book of English Verse. He was also a poet, and a prolific novelist under the pseudonym 'Q'. His novels were typically amusing adventures in a style similar to one of his literary heroes, Robert Louis Stephenson, and several were set in his beloved Cornwall. Fowey itself featured in them under the name 'Troy town'^[12].

Arthur was a member of the Liberal Party, opposing the Boer War and supporting progressive causes. Above all he was a champion of education and of literature in education, establishing the English Tripos at Cambridge University, and working for years on the Cornwall Education Committee^[13].

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Birth: COUCH, ARTHUR THOMAS, mother's maiden name FORD, GRO Reference: 1863 D Quarter in OF BODMIN. General Register Office online search
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Christening: Name: Arthur Thomas Couch; Event Type: Christening; Event Date: 6 Jan 1864; Event Place: Bodmin, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom; Event Place (Original): Bodmin, Cornwall, England; Gender: Male; Birth Date: 21 Nov 1863; Father's Name: Thomas Quiller Couch; Mother's Name: Mary. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQXV-4BX : 19 March 2020), Arthur Thomas Couch, 1864.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} 1871 census: Bodmin, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Thomas Q Couch, Head, M, 44, Married, General Practicioner Of Medicine, Polperro, Cornwall; Mary Couch, Wife, F, 29, Newton Abbot, Devonshire; Arthur T Couch, Son, M, 7, Scholar, Bodmin, Cornwall; Florence M Couch, Daughter, F, 5, Scholar, Bodmin, Cornwall; Herbert L Harwood, Boarder, M, 19, Unknown, Medical Pupil, Almondbury, Gloucestershire; Ann Morris, Servant, F, 23, Unknown, Cook, St Judy, Cornwall; Annie Trebilcock, Servant, F, 19, Unknown, Housemaid, St Columb, Cornwall; ; Household ID: 64; Entry Number: 16; GS Film Number: 000834877; Digital Folder Number: 004034523; Image Number: 00403; Indexing Project (Batch) Number: N04203-0. "England and Wales Census, 1871", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VFJH-PL1 : 28 September 2019), Arthur T Couch in entry for Thomas Q Couch, 1871.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} 1881 census: Name: Arthur T Couch; Event Type: Census; Event Date: 1881; Event Place: Clifton, Gloucestershire, England; Registration District: Barton Regis; Residence Note: College Road; Gender: Male; Age: 17; Marital Status: Single; Marital Status (Original): Single; Occupation: Scholar; Birth Year (Estimated): 1864; Birthplace: Bodmin ((Hale)), Cornwall, England; Relationship to Head of Household: Boarder; Affiliate Image Identifier: GBC/1881/4314947/00069&parentid=GBC/1881/0011178831. "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27X-NZSJ : 13 December 2017), Arthur T Couch, Clifton, Gloucestershire, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 54, Piece/Folio 2483/29, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,745.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Marriage: Name: Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch; Event Type: Marriage; Event Place: St. Austell, Cornwall, England; Registration District: St. Austell; County: Cornwall; Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep; Registration Year: 1889; Possible Spouse: Louisa Amelia Hicks; Possible Spouse: Louisa Amelia Hicks. "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2DX2-PQY : 13 December 2014), Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, 1889; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1889, quarter 3, vol. 5C, p. 165, St. Austell, Cornwall, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
6. ↑ 1901 census: Fowey, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Arthur T Quiller Couch, Head, M, 37, AUTHOR, Bodmin, Cornwall; Louisa A Quiller Couch, Wife, F, 39, Lantaglosby Fowey, Cornwall; Bevil B Quiller Couch, Son, M, 10, Fowey, Cornwall; Foy F Quiller Couch, Daughter, F, 1, Fowey, Cornwall; Amabella Broad Foot, Servant, F, 25, NURSE (DOMESTIC), Forest Hill, Oxfordshire; Alice Kinver, Servant, F, 20, COOK (DOMESTIC), Lansallos, Cornwall; Florence Hilda Tabb, Servant, F, 19, PALOURMAID (DOMESTIC), Lantaglosby Fowey, Cornwall; Eliza Jeffry Lakeman, Servant, F, 18, HOUSEMAID (DOMESTIC), Fowey, Cornwall. "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XSH6-W1Z : 21 May 2019), Arthur T Quiller Couch, Fowey, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Fowey subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
7. ↑ 1911 census: Fowey, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Arthur Thomas Quiller Couch, Head, M, 47, Married, AUTHOR NOVELIST CRITIC, Bodmin, Cornwall; Louisa Amelia Quiller Couch, Wife, F, 48, Married, Lanteglos By Fowey, Cornwall; Bevil Brian Quiller Couch, Son, M, 20, Single, STUDENT UNDERGRADUATE, Fowey, Cornwall; Foy Felicia Quiller Couch, Daughter, F, 11, Single, Fowey, Cornwall; Elizabeth Ludlan, Servant, F, 25, Single, GOVERNESS, Yolgrave, Derbyshire; Alice Kniver, Servant, F, 29, Single, COOK DOMESTIC, Polperro, Cornwall; Mary Smith, Servant, F, 24, Single, PARLOURMAID DOMESTIC, Liverpool, Lancashire; Annie Luke, Servant, F, 27, Single, HOUSEMAID DOMESTIC, Polruan, Cornwall; ; Record Type: Household; Line Number: 1. "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7LP-PB4 : 18 July 2019), Arthur Thomas Quiller Couch, Fowey, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Death: Name: Arthur T Quiller-Couch; Event Type: Death; Registration Quarter: Apr-May-Jun; Registration Year: 1944; Registration District: St. Austell; County: Cornwall; Event Place: St. Austell, Cornwall, England; Age: 80; Birth Year (Estimated): 1864. "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVCC-ZG2P : 4 September 2014), Arthur T Quiller-Couch, 1944; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, St. Austell, Cornwall, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Obituary: "British Newspaper Archive, Family Notices," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPZ7-WD58 : 17 April 2019), Arthur Quiller-Couch, Sir, Plymouth, Devon, England, United Kingdom; records extracted FamilySearch and images digitized by FindMyPast; citing Plymouth, Devon, England, United Kingdom, 13 May 1944, The British Newspaper Archive, Ireland; FHL microfilm .
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Burial: Find A Grave: Memorial #17945638 See also Name: Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch; Event Type: Burial; Event Place: Fowey, Cornwall Unitary Authority, Cornwall, England; Age (Estimated): 81; Photograph Included: N; Birth Date: 21 Nov 1863; Death Date: 12 May 1944; Cemetery: St Fimbarrus Churchyard; Note: Contains Biography; Affiliate Record Identifier: 17945638; Affiliate Image Identifier: 17945638. "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVN-G8M1 : 5 August 2020), Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch, ; Burial, Fowey, Cornwall Unitary Authority, Cornwall, England, St Fimbarrus Churchyard; citing record ID 17945638, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Probate: 1944. QUILLER-COUCH sir Arthur Thomas of The Haven Fowey Cornwall knight died 12 May 1944 Probate Bodmin 12 August to Louisa Amelia Quiller-Couch widow and Foy Felicia Quiller-Couch spinster. Effects £5431 0s. 9d. Probate Registry online search
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} Works: Project Gutenberg has a number of his novels, poems, and other writings.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1} Q website: research by Andrew Symons, working from Morrab Library, Penzance.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Wikipedia: Entry for Arthur Quiller-Couch