This
branch of the Durnfords has produced generations of military
officer—mostly in the Royal Engineers—and is responsible
for many of the descendants all over North America, England
and Australia.
Born
in Ringwood on May 13, 1739 he was the eldest son of Elias
Durnford, Sr. and grandson of Thomas Durnford. He
jointed the Royal Engineers and was made a Practitioner
Engineer with rank of Ensign on March 17, 1759 and promoted
Sub-Engineer and Lieutenant on Jan. 28 1762. In
the same year he was present at the siege and capture
of Belleisle. The next year he was in an expedition
headed by the Earl of Albermarle to Havana, Cuba to cripple
the Spaniard's West Indian colonies. The force landed
at Havana and attacked a fort called El Moro. This fort
was strongly defended by a gigantic ditch and scarp, which
could only be overcome by mining. The Engineers dug two
mines. A breach was made and the fort surrendered
after being besieged for 42 days. Shortly afterwards
the whole island capitulated. Afterwards in London he
produced a series of six engravings with views of the
city of Havana,
which - together with the series of 12 engravings of the
siege operations by Canot and Mason, after Dominic Serres,
from drawings by Orsbridge - form the earliest in situ
representations of the Island of Cuba (thanks to Alfred
Rau for information on Elias' engravings).
He
was the first in the family to serve in North America.
In 1764 Elias was appointed Commanding Engineer and Surveyor-General
of West Florida, and in 1769 he was made Lieutenant-Governor
of that Province. He laid out the city of Pensacola
in Seville Square district. In 1770, he was promoted
Engineer-Extraordinary and Captain-Lieutenant, and Engineer
in Ordinary and Captain on March 26, 1779. In 1780
he was in command at Mobile when it was besieged
and was forced to surrender to the Spaniards.
He returned to England a prisoner of war under condition
that he did not serve again either in Florida or Louisiana.
In 1784 he was Commanding Engineer at Newcastle (at the
same time his brother Andrew was Chief Engineer at Chatham,
with rank of Captain-Lieutenant) and was later appointed
the chief Engineer at Plymouth. At the beginning
of 1794 an expedition was sent to attack the French West
Indies colonies under General Sir Charles Grey, Durnford
(now a Colonel) was appointed to command the Royal Engineers
who accompanied the force. His eldest son, Elias
Walker Durnford, an ensign, was also with the expedition
and served directly under his father. The island
of Martinique, St. Lucia and Guadeloupe were captured,
however Guadeloupe was later recaptured by the French. He
and his son, Elias Walker, a subaltern, were captured
by the French. A few weeks after the capture by the English
of Guadeloupe, Elias Durnford died of yellow fever at
Tobago on June 21, 1794. He served for 35 years
in the Royal Engineers.
Elias
Durnford was married on August 25, 1769 to Rebecca Walker.
He had 4 sons, Elias Walker (1774), Philip (1780),
Thomas William (1784) and George (1788). and 4 daughters,
Charlotte, Caroline, Maria and Harriet. Philip was
a Lieutenant-Colonel and George a Lieutenant-General in
the Royal Artillery. |
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Elias
Walker Durnford, son of Elias Durnford, Jr., received
his commission in the Royal Engineers on Oct. 17, 1793
and accompanied his father on the 1794 expedition.
In 1801 he was taken prisoner at the surrender of camp
Berville with 66 other officers, and was exchanged 17
months later. In the summer of 1809, he and his
family sailed for St. John's, Newfoundland on the HMS
Britannia. He was Chief Engineer 1809 to 1815. While there
he started a massage building program that lasted 22 years.
Near the city at Signal Hill, the Queen's Battery and
a large block house still stands. In 1816 they moved to
Quebec. From 1816 to 1831 he was the Commanding Engineer
for Upper and Lower Canada. While stationed in Quebec
he superintended the erection of the Citadel in Quebec
City and fortifications at Quebec. Construction on
the Citadel started in May 1820 and was not completed
until 1831. History of the Citadel.
Durnford was responsible for surveying many of the garrisons
of Upper and Lower Canada and was responsible for the
building of the Rideau Canal, Ft. Lennox (at Ile aux Noix
on the Richelieu River), the Grenville-Carillon Canal
on the Ottawa River. In 1823 he surveyed the Garrison
of York (Toronto), and provided plans of the military
structures. He was stationed in Portsmouth, England
from 1830 to 1837 when he was promoted to Major-General.
He subsequently became a Lieutenant-General. He
died on Oct. 8, 1849. He married Jane Sophia Mann
on Oct. 30, 1798. He had 10 children, 6 sons and
4 daughters, Four of his children were born in Ireland
while stationed there (his two brothers and mother, with
her 2nd husband an R.A. officer, were also stationed there
at the same time). Also, Four of their children died early
between 1832 and 1836. Three children, Philip, John and
Elizabeth married into the Sewell family from Quebec and
settled in Canada. Two of his sons were gazetted
to the Royal Engineers. Letter.
Maps.
His
daughter Mary wrote a book about him: Family recollections
of Lieut. General Elias Walker Durnford. It was printed
in 1863. Publication: Montreal, Printed by J. Lovell.
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Son
of Elias Durnford, Jr., married Eliza Frazer Earle,
a direct descendant of Captain Peregrine White, the
first child born after the Mayflower landed in Plymouth,
MA. He was in the Royal Artillery along with his brother
Philip. He rose to Lt. General.
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Son
of Elias Durnford, Sr. and brother of Elias Durnford,
Jr., he was born at the "Hundred Windowed House,"
Fordingham, Hants on April 4, 1744. He obtained his commission
in the Royal Engineers on July 28, 1769 and the next year
he was appointed Assistant Commissary to superintend the
demolition of the fortifications and canal of Dunkirk,
according to the terms of the Treaty of 1763.
On leaving Dunkirk in 1774 he was next engaged for 2 years
on the defenses at Plymouth, and in 1776 he sailed for
America, where he served throughout the War of Independence
as the Deputy Assistant Quartermaster-General in Georgia
and West Florida from 1780 to 1783. From 1784 to 1787
he was Chief Engineer at Chatham, with the rank of Captain-Lieutenant.
In 1788 he was selected to fortify the forts
of Bermuda. He was promoted to the rank of Captain
and later to Major. He remained at Bermuda till
his death in 1798.
Andrew
Durnford married Jemima Margaret Isaacson on July 8, 1772.
They had 2 sons, Andrew Montague Isaacson, born June 24,
1773 and Anthony William, born Jan. 24, 1775. He also
had 5 children in Bermuda with Elizabeth Lucas. He was
supposedly involved in a few "illegal" activities
and died before the scandal caught up with him. Last
Will and testament. After his death Elizabeth Lucas
moved to New York State and passed herself off as his
widow. |
Son
of Andrew Durnford, he was a Lieutenant-Colonel of the
3rd Foot Guards. He married Barbara, daughter of
Sir Patrick Blake. He had 5 children Barbara.
He also had 5 children with a Mary Hadley who died in
childbirth, and 6 with a woman named Harriet. Apparently
he "married" the other two women while still
married to Barbara. He retired as a Lieutenant.
Last Will and Testament.
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Son
of Andrew M.I. Durnford and Barbara Shea, he entered the
military around 1813/14 and served in the 60th Foot (now
the Kings' Royal Rifle Corps) and in the 31st Regiment.
He was in South Africa in 1818, Chatham, UK in 1832 at
the Royal Engineers HQ, and around 1834 he went to Canada.
He served as the Government Agent at Arthur, Ontario from
1840 until 1846 and was responsible or the construction
of the Garafraxa Road (now Hwy 6 in Ontario). There
is a historical marker north of where he lived in Arthur
which mentions his contribution to the road: "One
of the province's earliest colonization roads. It
ran from Arthur through the Queen's Brush to the mouth
of the Sydenham River. The original line was run by Charles
Rankin in 1837, but was considerably altered by John McDonald
in 1840. In that year construction was commenced
and completed in 1848. supervised by Capt. A.M.I.
Durnford in the southern section and John Telfer in the
northern, free grants of land were made along its route
subject to the performance of settlement duties.
It opened up Grey County and at its northern terminus
the flourishing community of Sydenham (Owen Sound) was
established." He married Susan Knott in the
1820's. When they moved to Canada they brought
along a maid by the name of Mary Ann White, whom he eventually
married in 1850 while still married to Susan Knott and
had numerous children by both women. He retired
as a Lieutenant. letters. |
Younger
son of Andrew Durnford became an Ensign in the 1st Foot
Guards (now the Grenadier Guards) in 1794. He was
promoted Lieutenant and Captain in 1796, Adjutant of the
1st Battalion and on Jan. 1, 1797 and Brigade-Major in
1805. He embarked with General Wynyard's Brigade
of Guards for Sicily in June, 1806, during the Napoleonic
War, and served there until Oct. 1807 when the Brigade
embarked as part of the force under General Sir John Moore,
destined for Lisbon. Owing to adverse circumstances
the expedition proceeded to England. Major Durnford
was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1807. He embarked
in 1811, with the 3rd Battalion for Cadiz, where they
were blockaded by the French. He returned to England
in 1811 and then sold out of the Army. In 1814,
he entered the Barrack Department, then under the Treasury,
and was appointed Barrack Master at Norman Cross, in Hutingdonshire,
a depot for French prisoners. In 1815 he was removed
to Hounslow and in 1920 to Chatham, where he remained
until 1837 when he retired. He married Barbara,
daughter of the Hon. William Brabazon (2nd son of the
7th Earl of Meath).
Commission
dates: Ensign, 1st Foot Guard Feb. 1794; Lieutenant
& Captain, Sept. 23, 1796; Adjutant 1st Battalion,
Jan. 1, 1797; Brigade Major, Aug. 1805, Captain and Lieut-Colonel,
Nov. 26, 1807. |
Second
son of Anthony William Durnford, was born on Sept. 18,
1804. He entered the army and became a Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel
of the 27th Regiment. He died unmarried in 1856.
more |
Eldest
son of Anthony William Durnford, was born Oct. 22, 1803.
In 1825 he was nominated a "Candidate for the Corps
of Royal Engineers," and joined the Ordnance Survey
at Cardiff. In August 1826, he was posted to Chatham
and was gazetted 2nd-Lieutenant in Sept. of the same year.
He joined the Ordnance Survey of Ireland in 1827 and served
there until 1842 when he transferred to the English Survey
in which he served until 1844. He was promoted 2nd-Captain
in 1841. In 1845 he embarked for service in China.
In 1849 he served in Scotland until 1855 when he embarked
for service in the Crimea. He was however, detained
at Malta and served there until 1856, when he embarked
for Ireland where he was employed upon district duties
until 1857, being appointed Assistant Adjutant-General
to the Royal Engineers serving there. In the meantime,
he had been promoted to Brevet Major in July 1854 and
Lieutenant-Colonel in December of the same year.
Shortly after his promotion to full Colonel in 1860 he
was appointed Commanding Royal Engineer in Ireland, which
he held until 1866 when he again embarked for Malta as
Commanding Royal Engineer and Colonel on the Staff.
He remained at Malta until his promotion to the rank of
Major-General in 1868. He was promoted Lieutenant-General
in 1874, and in the same year he was gazetted to the rank
of Colonel Commandant in the Corps. He was further
promoted to the rank of General on Oct. 1, 1877.
He died a the age of 85 on Jan. 30 1889. General
Durnford was married on June 3, 1829 to Elizabeth Rebecca
Langley. They had 3 sons, Anthony William, Edward
Congreve Langley and Arthur George and 3 daughters.
Anthony William and Arthur George served in the Royal
Engineers and Edward served in the Royal Marine Artillery. |
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Eldest
son of General Edward William Durnford, Anthony William
Durnford was born on May 24, 1830, and was educated chiefly
in Germany. He entered the Royal Military Academy
at Woolwich in 1846. After Military Academy he became
a 2nd-Lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers. He spent
a few years in Scotland, England and Ceylon where he was
chiefly engaged in the harbour defenses at Trincomalee.
He was promoted to Lieutenant in 1854. The next year he
took up civil duties in addition to his military duties,
being appointed Assistant Commissioner of Roads, and Civil
Engineer to the Colony. He was known to be a heavy loser
at the gaming tables. He went against Army tradition and
married Frances Tranchell, daughter of Colonel Tranchell,
Ceylon Rifles, while a junior officer, however the marriage
was not happy; of 3 children born only 1 daughter survived
past infancy. His gambling became worse and eventually
his wife sought solace elsewhere. As an Army officer
he could not divorce so his wife was quietly put aside
and never mentioned again. When the Crimean War
broke out he volunteered for service there, and was eventually
ordered to Malta with a view to being sent on to the Crimea,
but he was kept at Malta where he served as Adjutant until
1858, when he returned to England. He was promoted
to 2nd-Captain in 1858 and in 1860 he was ordered to Gibraltar
in command of the 27th Company, Royal Engineers.
He served there until August 1864 when he returned to
England, having been promoted 1st-Captain in January of
that year. Towards the end of 1864 he was ordered
to China, but landed in Ceylon suffering severely from
heat apoplexy and a nervous breakdown. He was nursed
back to health by Colonel Gordon - afterwards the distinguished
General and hero of Khartoum. He spent the next 5 years
in England and Ireland. In 1871 at 41 years of age he
arrived in Cape Town, and a year later to Natal.
A tall, balding man, with handsome features and a famous
mustache that dangled below his collarbones, he soon attracted
the attention of Fanny Colenso, the 25 year old frail
daughter of the Bishop of Natal.
Although
he was prone to rash decisions, he was considered a kind
and considerate commander; his African troops were fiercely
loyal to him. This did not make him popular among
his fellow officers. His superb troops of Mounted Basuto
guides were soon known as "Durnford's Horse."
He was sympathetic towards the native population, having
served on the Boundary Commission that had found in favour
of the Zululand claims versus those of the Boers. Shortly
before the war he wrote of King Cetshwayo of the Zulus,
"Poor devil! He is doing all he can to keep peace,
but the white man wants his land, and alas for Cetshwayo!"
Towards
the end of 1873 he was appointed Chief of Staff to a Field
Force under the command of Colonel Miles which was sent
as a reconnaissance to deal with a rumoured native rising
under Chief Langalibalele. Durnford was ordered
to seize and hold the Bushman's River Pass to prevent
the escape of Langalibalele. After a difficult march up
the pass Durnford met with an accident by being dragged
backwards over a precipice by his horse, sustaining a
dislocated shoulder and 2 injured ribs. He succeeded in
reaching his destination where he was surrounded by hostile
natives. Having been ordered by the Lieutenant-Governor
"not to fire the first shot," he went forward
attended by his native interpreter, and endeavored to
pursued the natives to disperse peacefully which they
refused to do. The natives opened fire and they
retreated. The native interpreter's house was shot,
and Durnford rode to his assistance. While helping him
to mount behind them the interpreter was shot and two
of the natives seized Durnford's bridle. He was
able to escape but received an assegai through his already
helpless left arm. In spite of his severe injuries,
he led out a rescue party. He permanently lost the
use of his left arm the assegai wound. In 1873 he
was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. He returned
to England 1876 returning to South Africa in 1877.
He was appointed one of the Commissioners to inquire
into the disputed Natal-Zululand boundary. On Dec.
11, 1878 he was promoted to Brevet Colonel. On the
outbreak of the Zulu War in 1879 he was placed in command
of No. 2 Column of the expeditionary force.
The
record of the Zulu War is studded with tales of unparalleled
drama: the Battle of Isandhlwana, where the Zulu wiped
out the major British column (and where Durnford was killed)
and Rorke's Drift, where a handful of troops beat off
thousand of attacking warriors (and for which no fewer
than 11 Victoria Crosses were awarded). When the
British suffered disastrous defeats at Isandhlwana Durnford,
although an engineer, was the highest ranking officer
there in Lt. Gen. Chelmsford's absence, became the scapegoat.
Chelmsford stated he did not follow orders to defend the
fort, however the whole battle was a disaster, right down
to the lack of bullets due bureaucracy. Fanny Colenso
spent years after his death trying to clear his name.
With his brother Edward's help, she published an accurate
history of the war, and under the pseudonym on Atherton
Wylde she published Durnford's eulogy. In 1884 she
wrote 2 volumes covering the story of the nation after
1871. She died of tuberculosis in 1887.
Grave
of Anthony Durnford |
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Anthony
Durnford and the Zulu War:
MOVIES
- Zulu
Dawn
with Bert Lancaster
as Anthony Durnford
BOOKS
- The
Washing of the
Spears
Donald R. Morris
- My
Chief and I
Frances Colenso
- The
Road to
Isandhlwana
R.W. Droogleever
- By
the Order of the
Great White Queen
Ian Knight
- Rorke's
Drift
James W. Bancroft
- The
Lions They Fought
Roger Edgerton
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General
Edward William Durnford's second son, he was born May
8, 1832. He entered the Royal Marines in 1851 and
appointed to the Royal Marine Artillery in 1852.
During the Crimean War he served on HMS James Watt in
the Baltic and was present at the siege of Bomarsunt.
He served briefly with the 2nd Company of the Royal Sappers
and Miners. He was later appointed to the command of mortar-boats
and served during the bombardment of Sweaborg on August
9, 1855. For this service he was mentioned in dispatches
and received the Crimean War medal. He subsequently
served on HMS Forth until 1856. In 1862 he was promoted
to Captain. From Sept. 1867 to May 1870 he was Staff
Captain, Royal Marine Artillery and appointed to Superintendent
of Artificers. He was in charge of all public works
in progress at Eastney Barracks and Fort Cumberland.
He was promoted to Brevet-Major in 1872 and promoted to
(honorary) Lieutenant-Colonel on May 8, 1877 at his retirement.
He married Julia Penrice on March 3, 1859. Four
children, two sons and two daughters were born to them.
His eldest son and youngest daughter died in infancy.
He died in 1926 at the age of 94. His
sword at the National Maritime Museum. |
General
Edward William Durnford's youngest son was born on Aug.
9, 1838. He entered the Royal Engineers on June
21, 1856. He served at Chatham until 1857, Ireland
until May 1859 and then Gibraltar until 1864. From
1860 to 1864 he was Adjutant at Gibraltar. On his
return to England he was with 40th Depot Company at Chatham
and transferred to the 10th Co. at Shorncliffe in 1865
and then 33rd Co. at Malta. He was promoted to Captain
in 1866. While in Malta he served under his father.
Between May 1870 to July 1882 he was posted at Aldershot,
command of B Troup, command of the C Troop, Dover, Instructor
at the School of Military Engineering, Chatham.
He was promoted to Major in 1873, Brevert Lieutenant-
Colonel in 1881 and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1882.
In July 1882 he was appointed Commanding Royal Engineer
at Shorncliffe, and 1883 Assistant Director of Works at
the War Office. In Nov. 1884 he accompanied the
Bechuanaland expedition. He was promoted Colonel
in July 1, 1885. In 1889 he was appointed Colonel
on the Staff and Commanding Royal Engineer of the North-Western
District (England) and subsequently transferred in the
same capacity to the Southern district where he served
until Aug. 31, 1894 when he retired. He was married
to Victoria Devon and had two sons and two daughters.
He died in 1912. |
Eldest
son of Colonel Arthur George Durnford, he was born on
Jan. 26, 1875 at New Brompton, Chatham. He was baptized
at Gillingham Church, Kent, on Mar. 19, 1875 by Rev. Fitz-Gerald.
Educated at Hill House School, Guildford from Nov. 1885
to midsummer 1887, Sandroyd House, Cobham, Surrey till
Easter, 1889 and Uppingham May 1889 until Aug. 1891 after
which he was tutored privately until he passed in to the
Royal Military College in Sandhurst. He was appointed
2nd Lieutenant, the West India Regiment on Mar. 25, 1896.
He was attached to the 17th, the Leicestershire Regiment
at Aldershot form April 25 1896 to Sep. 12, 1896.
On Oct. 17, 1896 he embarked for Sierra Leone. He
proceeded from Sierra Leone to Cape Coast Castle with
two companies, West India Regiment, to which he was appointed
Adjutant and Quarter-Master on May 5, 1897. He arrived
at Cape Coast Castle May 11, 1897 and died of malarial
fever, May 23, 1897. |
The
youngest son of Colonel Arthur George Durnford, he was
born on May 29, 1876. In 1895 he received his commission
in the Royal Engineers. From 1900 to 1905 he was
Assistant Instructor of Submarine Mining and Instructor
(Workshops) from 1910 to 1914 at the School of Military
Engineering. He served in WWI from 1914 to 1918
as Staff Officer to the Chief Engineer of the 1st Army
in France and Commanding Royal Engineer of the 61st Division
1916 to 1919. He was awarded the D.S.O. He
was appointed Commanding royal Engineer of the Athlone,
Ulster and Chatham Districts. He retired as a Colonel
in 1926. He was married to Bessie Muriel Ford.
They had one son and one daughter. |
Andrew
Durnford was a very successful black plantation owner
in the South prior to the Civil War. He was born
around 1800 in New Orleans LA, the son of Thomas Durnford
(1st cousin to Elias Durnford, Jr.) and Roselind Mercer,
a "free women of colour". It is not known
if Thomas & Roselind were married. He married
Marie Charlotte Remy who was also free. He became
a planter in 1828 by purchasing land on the Mississippi
and building or purchasing a plantation called St. Rosalie;
he also inherited land from his mother. He also
purchased 14 slaves to run the plantation. He had
a child named Albert with a slave called Wainy.
He later sold Wainy & Albert to his 15 year old daughter
Rosella. His father Thomas had another son, Joseph,
Andrew's half-brother. Joseph was also born free.
Andrew's line died out with the death of grand-daughter
Sarah Mary Jr., in 1954.
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They
were the twin daughters of A.M.I. Durnford I and Barbara
Ann Shea.
The
following is an article written about them from Devon
Characters and Strange Events by Sabine Gould, 1906:
During the forties of last century, ever visitor to
Torquay noticed 2 young ladies of very singular appearance.
Their residence was in one of the two thatched cottages
on the left or Tor Abbey Ave., looking seaward, very
near the Torgate of the avenue. Their chief places of
promenade were the Strand and Victoria Parade, but they
were often seen in other parts of the town. Bad weather
was the only thing that kept them from frequenting their
usual beat. They were two Misses Durnford, and their
costume was peculiar. continued.....
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Edward
Phillip Durnford was the youngest son of A.M.I. Durnford
I & Barbara Ann Shea. According to his father's
will be died at sea on the HMS Leven off Madagascar:
"And whereas the said Edward Philip Durnford was
born on the 15th day of February 1803 and died interstate
on the 14th day of August 1824 on board her Majesty's
ship Leven, then of the Island of Madagascar."
In 1822 there was an expedition from Cape Town to Delagoa
Bay under the command of Captain William Fitzwilliam Owen,
in the ships Leven and Baracouta (and possibly one other
vessel) to undertake a survey of the southeast coast of
Africa, charting the coastline. Their journey was
plagued by bad weather, and the ships were forced out
to sea, which prevented Port Natal, later to be of great
importance as a harbour, being charted. Malaria caused
much sickness among the crews, and some deaths.
Port Durnford, Cape Vidal and Boteler Point were named
in honour of the officers under Captain Owen's command
who charted these areas. Durnford was serving as midshipman.
The expedition returned to Cape Town where accounts of
Captain Owen's adventures were received with interest
and led to other voyages. Among those who benefited
by the information collected on the Leven journey were
James Saunders King and Francis Farewell, who, together
with Henry Francis Fynn, formed a trading company, made
their own exploration along the coast, and in 1824 established
the first white settlement at Port Natal.
Narrative
of voyages to explore the shores of Africa, Arabia and
Madagascar Performed in H.M. Ships Leven and Barracouta
under the direction of Capt W F Owen RN By command of
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty .... in 2 vols
New York published by J and J Harper US. the extract on
the death of E P DURNFORD, chap iv vol 2 p 26/27 (in first
edition)
"On
the 13th, about half-past twelve at night, Mr Edward Philip
Durnford, our principal hydrographer, who had long been
suffering from a dysentery, breathed his last, to the
sincere regret of all on board, to whom he had endeared
himself by the kindness and excellence of his disposition.
His body was the following morning consigned to the deep,
when Captain Owen, anxious to render his testimony to
the units of this deserving young officer, and at the
same time to record the esteem in which he held him, gave
his name to the bay off which the ocean received his remains,
and which is thus marked in our charts; the two large
islands near it being called Edward and Philip as a further
memorial."
Note:
This narrative seems to indicate that there is a spot
in Africa, presumably near Madagascar where the expedition
was operating at that time, named Durnford - plus a couple
of islands after his forenames. We believe that this map
shows this location. We know of three locations, Punta
Durnford on the north west coast, Port Durnford in Natal
and Port Durnford in Somalia. We do not know how Punta
Durnford got it's name and as the area is presently in
a long civil war we may never know. More to follow as
we unravel this mystery!
Information
provided by Rosemary Dixon-Smith. www.genealogyworld.net
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Born
in 1735, he was a distant cousin of Colonel Elias Durnford
who joined the Royal Engineers in 1759. He entered
the Corps of Engineers in 1755, became a Captain-Lieutenant,
and after serving at Rochefort, Louisberg, and Quebec,
under General Wolfe, he died in 1761. |
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UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
Maps
by Desmaretz Durnford. |
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The
son of Augustus Decimus Durnford and Oneida Galt.
His grandfather was Sir
Alexander Tilloch Galt, one of the Canadian Fathers
of Confederation. A.T. Galt Durnford was born in Montréal
in 1898 and obtained his Bachelor of Architecture from
McGill University in 1922. He was connected with two architecture
firms in New York City, G.B. Post and Sons, and Delano
and Aldrich, but practiced in Montréal from 1924 onwards.
From 1924 to 1934 Durnford had his own firm. In 1934 he
merging with Harold Lea Fetherstonehaugh. Later in 1946
they were joined by Richard E. Bolton and R. V. Chadwick.
In 1955 Featherstonhaugh retired. Durnford served in World
War II as Lieut.-Commander (S.B.), R.C.N.V.R.and lived
in Ottawa during the war years. He was also a member of
a number of associations, including the Royal Architectural
Institute of Canada and the Royal Institute of British
Architects. From 1955 to 1957 he was the Dean, College
of Fellows, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. In
1964 Durnford retired from the firm of Durnford, Bolton,
Chadwich and Ellwood. |
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