 1756 - 1812 (56 years)
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| Name |
William KIRKPATRICK |
| Prefix |
Major General |
| Suffix |
,the Orientalist,of the East India Company |
| Born |
1756 |
Ireland  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Died |
22 Aug 1812 |
Exeter, Devonshire, England |
| Cause: an overdose of laudanum he had been taking for his rheumatic gout and chronic bowel compla |
- Ref:The European magazine, and London review, Volumes 61-62,for January 1812,by Philological Society (Great Britain).
Ref:Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette Somerset, England 3 Sep 1812
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| Person ID |
I8364 |
Kirkpatrick Family |
| Last Modified |
21 Sep 2016 |
| Father |
Colonel,later Maj.General James KIRKPATRICK, "The Handsome",Commander of Horse, the Madras Army, b. 1731, d. 28 Mar 1818, Hollydale, Keston Common, Kent, England (Age 87 years) |
| Mother |
Mrs BOOTH, d. Yes, date unknown |
| Status |
de facto relationship |
| Family ID |
F2892 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family |
Maria Seton PAWSON, ,daughter of George Pawson,wine merchant of London, b. 1766, London, Middlesex, England , d. Yes, date unknown |
| Married |
26 Sep 1785 |
Calcutta, India |
| Children |
| | 1. Cecilia KIRKPATRICK, b. 1783, Calcutta, India , d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 2. Maria Clementina KIRKPATRICK, b. 1786, d. 7 Dec 1861, Eaton Place, London, England (Age 75 years) |
| | 3. Barbara Isabella KIRKPATRICK, b. 1788, Fort William-Calcutta, West Bengal, India , d. 14 Mar 1849 (Age 61 years) |
| | 4. Eliza KIRKPATRICK, b. 1790, d. 12 Dec 1828 (Age 38 years) |
| | 5. Julia Woodbine KIRKPATRICK, b. 3 Feb 1791, St Mary Marylebone, London, England , d. 20 Nov 1847 (Age 56 years) |
|
| Last Modified |
5 Apr 2013 |
| Family ID |
F2898 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Notes |
- William was supposedly the child of a liaison between Col. James Kirkpatrick and the wife of a friend,a Mrs Booth(the sister of a well known anarchist).In his book "White Moghals", William Dalrymple records that William was born in Ireland ,and raised in an Irish boarding school. His father supported him and later paid for a military cadetship.
He joined the East India Company as a cadet in 1771 at 17, promoted to Captain in 1781 and Major in 1790. In 1793, he was appointed Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General, Sir John Shore, and was dispatched as an envoy to Nepal, to mediate between the Nepalese, the Tibetans and the Chinese. In 1795, he was appointed Resident at Hyderabad, and was charged by Richard Wellesley with finding out as much as possible about Tipu , his policies and strategy. This was vital to Wellesley as he planned his strategies in India. During the Fourth Mysore War, Kirkpatrick was seconded to General Harris as his Persian Interpreter, and after the Fall of Seringapatam, was Military Secretary to Lord Mornington. With Henry Wellington, Kirkpatrick was a member of the 5-strong Commission appointed to broker the final settlement.
William founded the Calcutta Orphan Society in 1783, which built two homes (for the mixed-race children) .The Military Orphan School was originally built about 1767 as a rum distillery by John Levett, Esq., Mayor of Calcutta, and was later known as "Levett's Gardens," but was later converted in 1782 by William.
Sadly William eventually became addicted to Opium, which he took as medication,and he finally returned home to Exeter ,in failing health ,in 1807.
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