Volume 1
The life and letters of Charles Darwin : including an autobiographical chapter / edited by his son, Francis Darwin.
- Charles Darwin
- Date:
- 1887
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The life and letters of Charles Darwin : including an autobiographical chapter / edited by his son, Francis Darwin. Source: Wellcome Collection.
22/422 page 4
![“ It is suspected that the third line may be accounted for by his wife, the mother of Erasmus, having been a very learned lady. The eldest son of Robert, christened Robert Waring, succeeded to the estate of Elston, and died there at the age of ninety-two, a bachelor. He had a strong taste for poetry, like his youngest brother Erasmus. Robert also cultivated botany, and, when an oldish man, he published his ‘ Principia Botanica.’ This book in MS. was beautifully written, and my father [Dr. R. W. Darwin] declared that he believed it was published because his old uncle could not endure that such fine cali- graphy should be wasted. But this was hardly just, as the work contains many curious notes on biology — a subject wholly neglected in England in the last century. The public, moreover, appreciated the book, as the copy in my possession is the third edition.” The second son, William Alvey, transmitted Elston to his granddaughter, the late Mrs. Darwin, of Elston and Creskeld. A third son, John, became rector of Elston, the living being in the gift of the family. The fourth son, and youngest child, was Erasmus Darwin, the poet and philosopher. The table on page 5 shows Charles Darwin’s descent from Robert, and his relationship to some other members of the family, whose names occur in his correspondence. Among these are included William Darwin Fox, one of his earliest correspondents, and Francis Galton, with whom he main tained a warm friendship for many years. Here also occurs the name of Francis Sacheverel Darwin, who inherited a love of natural history from Erasmus, and transmitted it to his son Edward Darwin, author (under the name of “High Elms”) of a ‘Gamekeeper’s Manual’ (4th Edit. 1863), which shows keen observation of the habits of various animals. It is always interesting to see how far a man’s personal characteristics can be traced in his forefathers. Charles Dar win inherited the tall stature, but not the bulky figure of](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b18031961_vol_1_0023.JP2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
