Persons of Interest – Part 1, Sir Charles Umpherston AITCHISON Posted 24 June 2019 by Tessa Keough 20 May 1832 – 18 February 1896 Charles Umpherston Aitchison, son of Hugh Aitchison and Elizabeth Umpherston, was born on 20 May 1832 in Edinburgh Parish, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. The second child of four with an older brother Christopher and two younger sisters, Mary and Elizabeth. His father Hugh was from Edinburgh and his mother Elizabeth was the daughter of Charles Umpherston of Loanhead near Edinburgh. He was educated at the Royal High School and the University of Edinburgh where he took his degree of M.A. on 23rd April 1853. While a university student, Charles attended the lectures of Sir William Hamilton on logic and metaphysics. He afterwards passed some time in Germany, where he studied the works of Fichte, and attended the lectures of Tholuck at the University of Halle. In the Census of 1851 the family were staying at 22, Nelson Street, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland where he was 18, an unmarried son and a student. In 1855 he passed fifth at the first competitive examination for the Indian Civil Service and after spending a year in England in the study of law and oriental languages he landed at Kolkata (then Calcutta) on 26th September 1856. In March 1857 he was appointed an assistant in Hissar, then a district of the North-Western Provinces and in the following month was transferred to the Punjab, where he joined shortly after the outbreak of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Owing to this transfer he escaped a massacre of Europeans which took place at Hissar on 29th May. His first station in his new province was Amritsar and immediately after his arrival there he was employed under the orders of the deputy commissioner in carrying out the measures which were taken to prevent the Jalandhar mutineers from crossing the Beas River. Shortly afterwards he was appointed personal assistant to the judicial commissioner, in which capacity he compiled A Manual of the Criminal Law of the Punjab (1860). In 1859 he joined the secretariat of the government of India as under-secretary in the political department, and served there until 1865, when at the insistence of Sir John Lawrence, then governor-general, in order that he might acquire administrative experience, he took up administrative work in the Punjab, serving first as a deputy – commissioner and subsequently officiating as commissioner of Lahore. He married Beatrice Lyall Cox on 2nd February 1863 in Serampore Church, India. Born around 1843 she was one of four daughters of James Cox (1808 – 1875) D.L. of Clement Park, Forfarshire, who as the senior partner of Cox Brothers and Co, were owners of Camperdown Works in Lochee, Dundee. She was living in Singapore at the time of the marriage and Charles was living in Calcutta, Bengal, India. Twin girls Marion Ellen and Gertrude arrived on 31st May 1866, with Edith Margaret following just before Christmas on 21st December 1868. To be continued … Diana Aitchison, Member 7739 This is the first in three-part series on Sir Charles Umpherston Aitchison, KCSI CIE – this is a wonderful example of combining the facts and events of a person’s life with great visuals to help tell the story. On the second and fourth Mondays of each month, we share a short story provided by a member about a person of interest in their one-name study. Whether your person is good, bad, or simply interesting or unusual, please send us your story. This post is from Guild member Diana Aitchison, who is working on her Aitchison ONS. Diana is a member of the Guild’s Europe Region. Her Aitchison ONS is a category 1, and it has a profile, a Facebook page, and a registered/members’ website. Diana has been a member of the Guild since 2017. Why not submit a story (200-300 words OR a bit longer if need be) about a person of interest in your own one-name study. Email each story and image(s) to marketing@one-name.org.