Here is the next in our occasional series of guest bloggers... Catherine Beck is a doctoral student looking at the recently acquired papers of Admiral John Markham. This is the first of three of Catherine's posts, so plenty more to come!
Officers in the Georgian Navy relied upon the patronage and interest of their friends to advance their career. One way I seek to understand patronage is by reconstructing John Markham’s friendship network.
One letter that Markham received as a young lieutenant from his father, the well-connected Archbishop of York, has been extremely useful.
In 1782 his Father wrote: ‘I have been taking every measure to provide for your future…’. He then lists his friends that promised their patronage, including Captain John Lindsay, Admiral Sir George Rodney and the Prince of Wales.
It is difficult to say for definite which connection’s involvement prompted Markham’s appointment as Commander of the fire-ship
Volcano in March 1782. By understanding the patronage that made Markham’s career, I can see patterns in the requests he received when he became a Lord of the Admiralty in 1801.
You can see this letter currently on show in the
Nelson, Navy, Nation gallery.
NOTE: Since writing this blog post my research has taken me north to view a private collection at Scone Palace. I found a letter to the Archbishop from the Viscount Stormont, David Murray, brother to Captain John Lindsay. Murray writes how he had dined with Admiral Rodney and pressed him to remember young Markham. The Archbishop’s letter from the papers at the Caird Library mentions an ‘earnest letter’ of recommendation to Admiral Rodney from David Murray. From this, I can argue that the connection that secured Markham’s appointment was Murray’s friendship with Rodney. However, the Archbishop’s letter also shows us how many connections the Archbishop needed to draw upon to gain an appointment. So, it becomes clear that a strong friendship with the patron was not enough in itself to ensure success in patronage requests.
Catherine Beck