IV.

The Blakeneys of Distington: who they were, and what they did.

Reprinted from the "Whitehaven Herald," Nov. 20, 1872.

HE Blakeneys take their name from Blakeney, a small seaport in the County of Norfolk, where they once possessed considerable property. This having passed into another family by the marriage of the heiress of the elder branch, a younger son migrated to Ireland in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was ultimately successful enough to become the owner of a considerable estate there, on which he built a fortified mansion, "calling it after his own name," Castle Blakeney. From a younger descendant of this patriarch sprang the subordinate branch, the Blakeneys of Mount Blakeney; and between these kindred houses several marriages have occurred.

The first of the name that specially concerns us is John Blakeney of Castle Blakeney, who about the year 1670 married Sarah Persse, by whom he had three children-Robert, who continued the family; John, an outline of whose life I shall endeavour to give; and Susanna, who married John Colpoyse, Esq. Robert, the eldest son, married Sarah, the daughter of Colonel William Ormsby, and had several children, of whom I have good reason for supposing that George Augustus, the second subject of this notice, was one, the fortunes of whose family, to its extinction in the male line almost in our own day, it is proposed to trace. That love of strife, either in the tented field supposed to be specially characteristic of

or the law courts,

Irishmen, has ever, singularly enough, manifested itself most in

those families engrafted on the native stock; and in attachment to the military life the Blakeneys have always been pre-eminent. John Blakeney most probably received his "baptism of fire the battle of Donauvert on the 2nd July, 1704, when the first blood was drawn in the campaign of that year, the French and Bavarians being driven across the Danube by the Allied Armies under Prince Eugene and Marlborough, and the first of that brilliant series of victories gained by those two eminent men ; eminent not merely for their warlike talents, but super-eminent because no shade of mistrust nor envy ever arose between them during the long period they co-operated in their warlike enterprises. This battle was but the prelude to a far more important engagement, which took place on the 13th of the following month, and will render the name of the petty town of Blenheim ever one of the best known in history. It is probable that Blakeney was with his regiment, the Royal Irish, forming part of the division under the command of Colonel Rowe, which, placed at the extreme left of Marlborough's forces, was moved forward to attack the town of Blenheim; and, surging again and again upon the almost impregnable entrenchments of the town, was as frequently hurled back by the overwhelming force against which it vainly strove, until, towards the close of the hard fought day, Marlborough succeeded in piercing the enemy's centre at Unterglau, and so, pivoting round, attacked their right wing, consisting almost entirely of the choicest regiments of the French army that had bravely held the town, and which, after suffering tremendous slaughter, was now obliged to surrender at discretion. That Ensign John Blakeney was not inconspicuous in the struggle is proved by the fact that his commission (under the sign manual of Marlborough) to a lieutenancy in his regiment bears date August 25th, at Seffelt, the place where the Allied Armies first halted, on the 21st, after this great battle. On this very day was held the famous Conference betwixt Prince Eugene, Prince Louis of Bavaria, and Marlborough, at which it was decided to move forthwith towards the Rhine, on the track of the retreating French and Bavarians, leaving sufficient force for the capture of Ulm, which yielded in a few days.

On the surrender of Landau and Trauerbach the Allied Armies, after a campaign of unexampled success, went into winter quarters. We have no means of ascertaining whether John Blakeney was present in the campaign of 1706, which culminated in the battle of Ramilies, nor in that of 1708, rendered remarkable by the brilliant, bloody, but indecisive victory of Oudenarde. We gain sight of him at Orchies on the tenth of August, 1709, when and where his commission, signed by the great Duke, bears date, on his promotion to the captaincy in his regiment, then under the command of Lieut.-General Ingoldsby. At this place Prince Eugene was encamped with his forces, forming the covering party, whilst Marlborough, under whom Captain Blakeney was actively employed, prosecuted the siege of Tournay, at which the system of mining and counter-mining was carried to such an extent that almost as great a slaughter took place underground as above. The citadel, which had held out long and bravely, was surrendered on the 3rd September. Scarcely was this important fortress secured than the besieging force was hurried off to take part in the then imminent battle of Malplaquet, fought on the 11th of September. Very probably Captain Blakeney was a unit among the 15,000 wounded in this bloody battle, in which Frederick Hamilton, General of his brigade, was slain, for his commission. as Captain of the company lately held by Richard Hussey in his regiment is dated at St. James's on the 10th of the following month, and is signed by Marlborough, who had come over to England to endeavour-vainly, as it soon appeared-to check the intrigues of Mrs. Masham and Bolingbroke. Another commission as Captain, still in the Royal Regiment of Foot of Ireland, and signed by Viscount Townshend, Bolingbroke's successor in the Secretaryship of State, bears date at St. James's on the 11th of January, 1714-15, which renders it not improbable that he had his share in quelling the Rebellion of that year. After this we learn no more of his military life, and at present the writer is uninformed as to how he came to settle at Distington, where he spent his later years; but a glimpse is afforded us of his home surroundings in his old age; and, as might be expected, on the wall of his favourite sitting room hung a painting of his old

commander, the victor of Blenheim, close to another of King William, the hero of the Boyne, the battle which first led his fancy to deeds of arms. A print of George I., and another of George II., collectively showed his attachment to the Protestant Succession. The last scene, which ends his eventful history, is afforded us by the contents of his will, bearing date March 1st, 1747-8, wherein, after describing himself as of Distington (to quote his own words), he says, "First I recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God, my Creator, and (specially note this request) my body to be buried in a private and decent manner in Distington Churchyard, three or four yards to the north of any burying place at the west end of the church." Next, he bequeaths £50 Irish to his grandnephew, John Blakeney, in General Blakeney's regiment; a similar sum to his grand-nephew, Robert, son of his nephew, Robert Blakeney; and £10 yearly during her life to his sister, Susanna Colpoise; finally appointing his nephew, George Augustus Blakeney, residuary legatee and sole executor, requesting him to set aside a sum of £200, and to continue the same at interest, and add the interest to the principal, for the sole use and behoof of his daughter, Sarah Blakeney, "my grand niece, till he find a fit opportunity to dispose of it for her better advantage, which I most heartily recommend, and an upright conduct towards my little favourite." He died 21st May, 1749, aged 68 years, and was buried strictly in conformity with his request.

His nephew, George Augustus Blakeney, was born on the 29th January, 1716-7, at the family seat of Castle Blakeney. He, too, had the family penchant towards a military life; and his commission as Quarter-Master of his relative Colonel Blakeney's Regiment of Foot, is dated at Kensington, June 25th, 1739, and signed by the Earl of Harrington. His commission as Lieutenant in the same regiment, under the same command, bears date at Lintzbourg, the 18th September, 1741, during one of the numerous and lengthy visits paid by George II. to his favoured Hanoverian dominions. War having been declared with Spain on the 15th October, 1739, two expeditions were fitted out to act against the American colonies of that country. The one intended to operate on the west coast was placed under the command of Anson, and the

narrative of its doings and sufferings remains to this day a classical work in English literature. Admiral Vernon, whose sayings, when contrasted with his doings, stamp him as a braggart, was appointed Admiral of the magnificent fleet which was to do so much for the honour of England on the eastern side of the great Continent. The easy conquest of Porto Bello raised the popularity of the Admiral to the highest pitch; and a second expedition, to reinforce the first, was fitted out under Sir Chaloner Ogle, on board of which a large land force of some twelve thousand men, commanded by Lord Cathcart, was placed. That George Augustus Blakeney was one of the officers we learn from his provisional commission, bearing date 27th April, 1742, on board the Grafton, signed by Thomas Wentworth, the General who had succeeded to the command on the death of Lord Cathcart. A more ill-starred expedition never left the shores of England. A disagreement soon arose between Vernon and Wentworth; and it is actually stated that Vernon looked on with satisfaction whilst Wentworth's land forces were mown down by hundreds in the illjudged attack on Carthagena. Sickness slew most of those who had escaped the balls of the Spaniards; and after attempting to do something against the town of St. Iago, in Cuba, the expedition returned to England. The experiences of Lieutenant Blakeney must have been considerably enlarged by this protracted absence, and he was a fortunate man to reach home again when so many of his comrades perished.

An extract from the will of Catherine Dixon, of Distington, dated 16th September, 1743, gives us a pleasant insight into the doings of two households in that village; and in it we have the first glimpse of a love story which, like most others, ended satisfactorily. Catherine Dixon, after leaving £30 to her son, John Dixon, who was no doubt amply provided for by his father, bequeaths to her daughter, Mary Dixon, all that house, with the appurtenances, known as the "Black Cock," appointing her residuary legatee and sole executrix, and then goes on to say:-"I make it my earnest request to my much esteemed friend, Captain John Blakeney, that he will be pleased to assist my children with his advice, and see this my last will and testament put into