Alfred Fox

Alfred Fox, (9 September 1794 – 20 May 1874)^[1] of Falmouth, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, was owner and developer of Glendurgan Garden, now a National Trust property, and was a member of the Quaker Fox family of Falmouth.

Business interests

He ran the fishing and pilchard-salting and export part of the diversified Fox family business. He was also involved in the firm’s following activities:

• Shipbroking at Falmouth
• Iron Founding at Perranarworthal
• Falmouth Docks: In 1859, he was elected as Chairman of the Directors of the Company authorised by Parliament to improve Falmouth Docks ^[2] and in 1861, he was Chairman of the Falmouth Docks company board, when it issued 144,700 shares.^[3]
• Mining and smelting tin and copper, in Cornwall and South Wales, at Neath Abbey.^[4]

He was Vice Consul of the U.S.A. in Falmouth, 1858–65 and Consul in Falmouth, 1863-74.^[5] He acted as Consul in Falmouth for Belgium and Vice-Consul for Russia, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Hanover, Mecklenburgh, the Hanse Towns, Greece, Brazil, the Argentine and Mexico.^[6]

Scientific interests

Alfred Fox, his cousin, George Croker Fox (1784–1850) and brother, Robert Were Fox FRS, assembled excellent collections of minerals, which are now in the British Museum (Natural History), given by Arthur Russell.^[7]

Glendurgan House

Family

He was the fourth son of Robert Were Fox (1754–1818) and his wife, Elizabeth Tregelles (1768–1849). He had ten siblings (for more information on Fox Family genealogy see: Fox family of Falmouth).

He married Sarah Lloyd on 16 May 1828 ^[8] and they had twelve children:

• Alfred Lloyd Fox (26 May 1829 – 23 June 1885), married Mary Jane Fox (died 21 October 1919)^[9]
• Theodore Fox (4 April 1831 – 27 September 1899). Married Harriet Howell Kirkbridge.^[10]
• Rachel Elizabeth Fox (6 February 1833 – 18 August 1923),^[11] who married first Samuel Lindoe Fox (16 June 1830 – 22 November 1862),^[12] in 1854 and second Philip Debell Tuckett (1833 – 1894) in 1867.^[13]
• Sarah Charlotte Fox (15 March 1834). On 27 October 1852 she married Sir Robert Nicholas Fowler, (12 September 1828 – 22 May 1891), a banker, M.P. for the Penryn and Falmouth Constituency 1868 – 1874, Conservative M.P. for the City of London Constituency 1880 – 1891 and Lord Mayor of London. He was created a Baronet in 1885,.^[14]
• Mary Fox, (11 August 1835 – 3 August 1892)^[15] who married Joseph Whitwell Pease (1828 – 1903) 1st Baronet of Hutton Lowcross and Pinchinthorpe.
• Howard Fox (10 December 1836 – 15 November 1922). Married Olivia Blanche Orme.^[16] U.S. Consul 1874-75.^[17] His daughters gave Fox-Rosehill Gardens in Falmouth ^[18] to Carrick District Council in 1944. Author of Observations in further illustration of the history and statistics of the Pilchard Fishery(1879)
• Helen Maria Fox (17 November 1838 – 1 May 1928). Married John William Pease (1836–1901).
• Lucy Anna Fox, (5 October 1841 – 26 December 1934)^[19] who married Thomas Hodgkin (29 July 1831 – 2 March 1913), banker and historian on 7 August 1861.^[20] Lived at Treworgan, Mawnan Smith.^[8]
• Charles William Fox (13 June 1843 – 18 June 1866).^[21]
• George Henry Fox (27 September 1845 – 13 January 1931). Married Rachel Juliet Fowler (1858 - 30 August 1939).^[22] They had seven children and lived at Glendurgan from 1938.^[8]
• Wilson Lloyd Fox (27 January 1847 – 13 January 1936). Married (1) Augusta Mary Rogers ^[8](2) Constance Louis Grace Rogers ^[23]
• Sophia Lloyd Fox (28 September 1848 – 25 December 1870).^[24]

The Book of Mawnan ^[25] gives more details.

Their first grandson, Samuel Middleton Fox describes his happy childhood, with a multitude of first cousins in his book, Two homes (1925).

Notes and references

1. Fox Hound database
2. Falmouth Packet archives
3. The Times, 28 October 1861; pg. 3; col A: Falmouth Docks share issue.
4. Company records held by West Glamorgan Record Office
5. The Political Graveyard: database of the U.S. Foreign service
6. Dictionary of Quaker Biography.
7. Mineralogy references: Embery, P.G. and Symes, R.F. (1987) Minerals of Cornwall and Devon, British Museum (Natural History), ISBN Hardback 0-565-01046-8 Paperback 0-565-00989-3.
8. Book of Mawnan (2004:59)
9. Fox Hound database for DoB, DoD and marriage
10. Fox Hound database for DoB, DoD and marriage
11. Fox Hound database for DoB, DoD
12. NOT Samuel Fox (1815-1871). Date of birth from Fox Hound database, Date of Death Milligan's Dictionary.
13. Philip Debell Tuckett: confusingly, his father and grandfather bore the same name as him.
14. Fox Hound database see also Malchow, H. L. "Fowler, Sir Robert Nicholas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
15. Fox Hound database for DoB, DoD
16. Fox Hound database for DoB, DoD and marriage
17. Political Graveyard
18. Fox Rosehill Gardens (Falmouth)page
19. Fox Hound database for DoB, DoD
20. Martin, G. H. "Hodgkin, Thomas". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33915. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
21. Fox Hound database for DoB, DoD
22. Fox Hound database for GHF DoB, DoD RJF death notice The Times, Thursday 17 August 1939; pg. 1; Issue 48386; col B . Glendurgan by Charles Fox, p119 gives dates of Rachel Fox and the names and dates of their children.
23. Fox Hound database for DoB, DoD and marriage (2)
24. Fox Hound database for DoB, DoD
25. Mawnan History Group (2002). The Book of Mawnan: celebrating a South Cornwall parish. Tiverton, Devon: Halsgrove. ISBN 1-84114-148-8.. pp59-65: Life at Glendurgan, Group photograph of Alfred Fox's descendants, extracts from Alfred Fox's diary, Glendurgan staff and gardeners.

Printed sources

• Tod, Robert (1980). Caroline Fox, Quaker blue-stocking 1819-1871, friend of John Stuart Mill, Thomas and Jane Carlyle, Frederick Denison Maurice and helper of sailors in distress. York: Sessions. ISBN 0-900657-54-5. Caroline Fox was Alfred Fox's niece. A Family Tree on page viii.
• Fox, Charles (2004). Glendurgan: a personal memoir of a garden in Cornwall. Newmill, Penzance, Cornwall: Alison Hodge. ISBN 0-906720-35-4. by a great grandson of Alfred Fox.
• Mawnan History Group (2002). The Book of Mawnan: celebrating a South Cornwall parish. Tiverton, Devon: Halsgrove. ISBN 1-84114-148-8.
• The Biographical dictionary of British Quakers in commerce and industry, 1775-1920, by Edward H. Milligan, Sessions of York (2007) ISBN 978-1-85072-367-7.

Online sources

• Fox Hound database indexing large numbers of people with the surname "Fox", by First Name, giving Dates of Birth and Death and name of marriage partner.
• The Political Graveyard A site attempting to list deceased members of the U.S. Diplomatic Service, and other U.S. political persons, and their burial places