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John Cracroft Wilson
Sir John Cracroft Wilson KCSI CB (21 May 1808 – 2 March 1881), also known as Nabob Wilson, was a British-educated civil servant in India, farmer and politician in New Zealand.
John Cracroft Wilson was born in Onamore, India, the son of Alexander Wilson FRS, a judge in the Madras Civil Service and a noted botanist, and Elizabeth Clementina Wilson (née Cracroft). His mother was from a long established family—the Cracrofts of Hackthorn Hall in Lincolnshire. Her family name was given to him as a second Christian name, a custom that has been followed by the family ever since; they are thus known as the Cracroft Wilsons.
He was educated at Haileybury College and Brasenose College, Oxford. He returned to India in 1828 and entered the Bengal Civil Service as a cadet, advancing to become a magistrate. Advancing to the rank of assistant commissioner to William Sleeman, he was assigned to the Doab region in 1832 where he investigated men who were accused of thuggee.
He married Elizabeth (née Wall), probably on 4 November 1828 at Westminster, or Brixton, Surrey. His wife died in 1843 in Moradabad after giving birth to their eighth child. He was married again, on 12 October 1844, to Jane Torie Greig in Bareilly near Moradabad. There were no children from this second marriage.
In 1853 his health broke down and he was ordered to convalesce in a cooler climate. He wanted to find a country suitable for the retirement of employees of the East India Company. Accordingly, he sailed to Australia on the Queen with his wife, daughter Emma, many servants, stock and exotic livestock. He did not like Australia, but met Alfred Cox, who was buying sheep for his next venture in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Wilson decided to also go to Canterbury, and, after purchasing sheep and cattle in Sydney, took them to Lyttelton in the Akbar. After a disastrous journey where much of his stock died and 1,200 sheep had to be jettisoned, he arrived on 8 April 1854. His stock was transferred to the nearby Gollans Bay (the bay in Lyttelton Harbour beneath Evans Pass), where he lost more stock to tutu poisoning and cold southerly winds. His party made its way over the Port Hills via the Bridle Path. He took up 108 hectares (1.08 km2) of land on the other side of the Port Hills and named the farm Cashmere (now a suburb of Christchurch) after Kashmir in India. He leased three more runs further away from Christchurch which he named Broadlands, High Peaks, and Cracroft. The run at Cracroft, near Hinds, was at 20,392 hectares (203.92 km2) the second largest in Canterbury. At his Cashmere station, he built a house with 11 rooms and several farm buildings. Wilson left Lyttelton on 19 December 1844 on the Waterwitch for India, and the following year, his eldest son arrived to take over the management of the properties.
His wife and daughter followed him later, and did not arrive in Moradabad before 1857. His daughter Emma met John Logan Campbell on the journey; they married on 25 February 1858 at Meerut, NWP India; they lived in Europe then in Auckland, New Zealand.
Wilson arrived in India in May 1855. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, he secured special powers from the Lieutenant-Governor and acted to prevent the spread of disaffection. His intervention was so effective that, after the Mutiny, Lord Canning, the Viceroy, recommended him for a distinction
because he has the enviable distinction of having, by his obstinate courage and perseverance, saved more Christian lives than any man in India … at the repeatedly imminent peril of his own life.
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John Cracroft Wilson
Sir John Cracroft Wilson KCSI CB (21 May 1808 – 2 March 1881), also known as Nabob Wilson, was a British-educated civil servant in India, farmer and politician in New Zealand.
John Cracroft Wilson was born in Onamore, India, the son of Alexander Wilson FRS, a judge in the Madras Civil Service and a noted botanist, and Elizabeth Clementina Wilson (née Cracroft). His mother was from a long established family—the Cracrofts of Hackthorn Hall in Lincolnshire. Her family name was given to him as a second Christian name, a custom that has been followed by the family ever since; they are thus known as the Cracroft Wilsons.
He was educated at Haileybury College and Brasenose College, Oxford. He returned to India in 1828 and entered the Bengal Civil Service as a cadet, advancing to become a magistrate. Advancing to the rank of assistant commissioner to William Sleeman, he was assigned to the Doab region in 1832 where he investigated men who were accused of thuggee.
He married Elizabeth (née Wall), probably on 4 November 1828 at Westminster, or Brixton, Surrey. His wife died in 1843 in Moradabad after giving birth to their eighth child. He was married again, on 12 October 1844, to Jane Torie Greig in Bareilly near Moradabad. There were no children from this second marriage.
In 1853 his health broke down and he was ordered to convalesce in a cooler climate. He wanted to find a country suitable for the retirement of employees of the East India Company. Accordingly, he sailed to Australia on the Queen with his wife, daughter Emma, many servants, stock and exotic livestock. He did not like Australia, but met Alfred Cox, who was buying sheep for his next venture in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Wilson decided to also go to Canterbury, and, after purchasing sheep and cattle in Sydney, took them to Lyttelton in the Akbar. After a disastrous journey where much of his stock died and 1,200 sheep had to be jettisoned, he arrived on 8 April 1854. His stock was transferred to the nearby Gollans Bay (the bay in Lyttelton Harbour beneath Evans Pass), where he lost more stock to tutu poisoning and cold southerly winds. His party made its way over the Port Hills via the Bridle Path. He took up 108 hectares (1.08 km2) of land on the other side of the Port Hills and named the farm Cashmere (now a suburb of Christchurch) after Kashmir in India. He leased three more runs further away from Christchurch which he named Broadlands, High Peaks, and Cracroft. The run at Cracroft, near Hinds, was at 20,392 hectares (203.92 km2) the second largest in Canterbury. At his Cashmere station, he built a house with 11 rooms and several farm buildings. Wilson left Lyttelton on 19 December 1844 on the Waterwitch for India, and the following year, his eldest son arrived to take over the management of the properties.
His wife and daughter followed him later, and did not arrive in Moradabad before 1857. His daughter Emma met John Logan Campbell on the journey; they married on 25 February 1858 at Meerut, NWP India; they lived in Europe then in Auckland, New Zealand.
Wilson arrived in India in May 1855. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, he secured special powers from the Lieutenant-Governor and acted to prevent the spread of disaffection. His intervention was so effective that, after the Mutiny, Lord Canning, the Viceroy, recommended him for a distinction
because he has the enviable distinction of having, by his obstinate courage and perseverance, saved more Christian lives than any man in India … at the repeatedly imminent peril of his own life.
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