Daniel Richard Francis CALDWELL [1816-1875]

Gillian Wallis sent in this photo of the robe:

She writes:

The robe is in two parts as you can see. the 'skirt' is of a fine  fabric woven with gold? thread and is wrap around and the top has a satiny finish.I was told that Daniel was a tall man. The man  in photo wearing it is 6ft 2ins.

Many thanks to all of you who replied to my request for info on Daniel Caldwell. Please accept my deepest apology for this late reply. Thanks Adam for your comment that it's unlikely Caldwells still live on the island. Thanks wleungt for mentioning that there is a road in Hong Kong named after him and for your suggestions on where to look for more info. I will be in touch through ypour email. And thanks too to you Gillian for mentioning your remarkable possession, the silk robe, and posting a photo of same. And to you David, for orchestrating this and notifying me of these posts.

I have somehow managed to mislay your email David, which included a note from Gillian on how she came to be in possession of the robe. Rats. Gillian or David, if you read this post, I'd be grateful if you could re-send that info to me at peterbruce@shaw.ca.

Regarding the robe and its large size, there is a line in Patricia Lim's 'Forgotten Souls' that reads...'...John Wright, who was a friend and Godfather to one of his sons, described him in his diary as 'slim but well built with peculiar largish blue eyes which the natives cannot at all understand.' The words 'slim but well built' seem to add credence to the belief that your robe Gillian indeed belonged to Daniel. Patricia devotes a number of pages in her book to Daniel and his adventures as both pirate and pirate hunter. It's a fascinating tale, truly the stuff of a Harrison Ford movie.

Again, thank you all.

Peter

I don't think there is a Caldwell Road on Hong Kong Island. Perhaps the suggestion was to Kotewall Road as the Cantonese pronunciation would sound similar.

E. J. Eithel's Europe in China confirms Caldwell passed away on 2 October 1875. The obituary appears in the Hong Kong Daily Press on 4 October 1875. See also page 60 of The Happy Valley - A History and Tour of the Hong Kong Cemetery.

David, I misled you on the link to my Ancestry tree. Anyone can use the link to access the tree. No membership is required. Cheers, Peter Bruce

Many thanks moddsey. Yet more information and ideas on Daniel Caldwell. I'm thrilled. Peter

Apologies. The Ancestry tree address given above does not work. But this will: email me a request to access my tree and I will make you a 'Guest' of the tree with visiting rights. You will be notified of same by me. Cheers. Peter

Many thanks to past responders of this website. You have been extremely helpful. There is yet much to uncover about this extraordinary family living in an extraordinary place and time in history. I have recently learned that there were 12 (not 10) biological children of Daniel R Caldwell and Mary Ayow Caldwell AND over 20 adopted children of Chinese descent. I met  for the first time a descendent of one of those adopted children this week (my 3rd cousin), who learned of me through this website (yet more gratitude). So now the challenge is to find the descendents of all the biological and adopted Caldwell children and identify the names of those children. If anyone reading this can help with this search I would be forever grateful. Thank you. For those wanting information on the Caldwells of Hong Kong and their descendents, please get in touch. Our knowledge is growing by the day. Cheers.

Peter Bruce

I have since learned that Daniel R Caldwell and Mary Ayow Caldwell lived on Gough Rd at mid-level, Hong Kong. Thanks again for your great research ideas Moddsey. Peter

Anglo-China by Christopher Munn has extensive and well researched information on Daniel Caldwell. There's certainly enough in there (many pages) to warrant buying the book. You can get it here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Anglo-China-Chinese-British-1841-1880-Classics/dp/9622099513/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380515164&sr=1-1&keywords=Anglo-China

best,

Adam

Many thanks Adam. It sounds solid. I'll get it. Cheers. Peter

Hello-

I am trying to trace the origins of Deacons in Hong Kong.http://gwulo.com/node/21983

I am interested in any information you may have on the law firm of  Henry Charles Caldwell  which my great great grandfather William Henry Brereton joined in 1867. 

WH Brereton died in HK 24 Oct 1887. You will see his portrait & obituary on this site http://gwulo.com/node/21937.

I look forward to hearing from you.

"Flagrant harbour: the sordid affair that cemented Hong Kong's reputation for vice and corruption"

... see SCMP article

Peter,  to help with your big family tree, I've added a tree to Geni.com - a collagorative geneology site.

Since the basic site is free, and designed to be collagorative with one big tree, I have found it helpful when trying to help people find their place in their larger family tree.

Annelise

Here is a link that describes the land where their residence was on IL 62 Hollywood Road, near Gough Street.  They may have also owened land/house on adjacent Gough Street.

http://hongkongsfirst.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html

Hello Peter Bruce,
My mother is Ailsa Keane Caldwell. Daughter of Daniel Augustus (Gus) Caldwell and Marie Amanda Wilemina Caldwell. Would love to connect with you. We are living in London ON Canada. Ailsa and 3 other siblings are alive. Denis, Alan and Rita. I understand you are living in BC and my first cousins from Lorna Caldwell, Hillary (new Westminster) and Cheryl Vancouver) would also love to connect with you. We understand you are writing a book, and we may have further information. Cheers, Linda

Hi Linda,

I just wrote you a lovely long reply which I managed to make disappear. Ah me. Suffice it to say for now that I am THRILLED to make your acquaintance, cousin. THANK YOU for getting in touch.

And a big THANK YOU to David and Gwulo for making this and the several huge break-throughs on the hunt for Caldwells possible.

My profuse apologies for not responding to this note earlier. I simply haven't checked in to Gwulo in some (long) time. Yes, let's connect and swap stories. Here is my email: pkbruce@gmail.com. Would you be kind enough to pass it on to your (my) cousins. If you send along your email adresses, I will send you invites to my (our) family tree. In the meantime, you might wish to poke around my family history website (under construction with much left to do): www.newearthvillage.com/rogues/

I wait with bated breath. Cheers,

Peter

This is great. And I must apologize profusely for this very late reply. I've checked out the entire lot 62 on street view -- a far cry from what it was in the 1850s, but what fun to see it. Many thanks for this Annelise. Much appreciated.

Peter

Thank you again Annelise. Stuart Heaver did a good job of summarizing an extremely convoluted era in Hong Kong politics. And thank you too for creating the tree on Geni. I shall explore it further.

Peter

Hi Brereton_84,

Shamefully, a year has passed since you posted your request for info. I am very sorry. I have just now visited Gwulo for the first time in over a year.

I have reviewed the info I have on HC Caldwell. The only document I possess of note is a paper, seemingly an in-house paper, that was acquired from the HK law firm Wilkinson and Grist, although there is no identifying letterhead on it. It came to me from a descendent of an adopted child of Daniel R and Mary Caldwell, Henry's brother.

The paper was likely written in the 1970s. It is not dated or authored but was type-written pre-computers. It explores the roots of Wilkinson and Grist with a great deal of social comment along the way, beginning with Henry's troubles in Singapore and his hasty departure to avoid the law and ending with the arrival of Mr Wilkinson on Sep 22, 1886 aboard the P and O steamer Ravenna.

This version of history (which I believe includes some questionable 'facts') shows WHB joining the firm of HC Caldwell in 1871, not 1867. Yet in the previous paragraph, the author states HCC departed for England in 1871. Your date of 1867, therefore, is likely accurate. This author also states HCC came to Hong Kong in 1856, the year he disappeared from Singapore. Yet we know from "History of Laws" that he did not arrive in HK until 1861. 

Despite these discrepancies, it is worth a read and I am happy to forward to you a digitized copy should you wish it. I only hope this offer is not too little too late! You are welcome to email me directly at pkbruce@gmail.com. All the best.

Regards,

Peter

Moddsey,

I write this response a pathetic two years after your comment, but THANK YOU for your comments on Kotewall Rd vs Caldwell Road. I believe you are quite correct -- that Kotewall Road is a phonetic version to Caldwell, spelled as a Chinese person would pronounce it. Here is an interesting sidebar to that. About two years ago I was contacted by a gentleman with the surname Ko (through this bulletin board). Mr Ko, it turns out, lives not far from me, which allowed us to get together and share notes on the Caldwell family, as Mr Ko is related. His ancestor was an adopted Chinese child of the Caldwell's. However, because the word Caldwell is so difficult for Chinese to pronounce, the family decided to shorten it to Ko, as it happens, the first two letters of Kotewall! 

Thank you too for the reference to Eithel's Europe in China, the obit in the Hong Kong Daily Press and the book Happy Valley. I shall explore them all.

Cheers,

Peter

Through Gwulo, I met a man by the name of Eugene Ko, who as it happens lives not far from me in British Columbia. Eugene explained that his ancestor was the first of more than 20 Chinese children adopted by the Caldwells. Eugene explained that because Caldwell was such a difficult name for a Chinese person to pronounce, his ancestor took the name Ko. That leaves me to believe that Kotewall Road is indeed a reference to Caldwell. Once again, I am beholding to Gwulo for making this valuable connection to Eugene possible. Thank you David. Peter Bruce, Great, Great Grandson of Daniel Caldwell.