Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Charles Frederick Braine (1850 – 1896), Adventurous, Accident Prone, Great grandfather

I have previously written about my great, great grandfather Charles Joseph Braine (1814-1890), who became a coffee and tea planter in Ceylon. Charles Frederick was the fourth child Charles Joseph. He was born in Norton Fitzwarren, a village in Somerset, UK, where his parents resided upon their return from Hong Kong.

Charles Frederick first came to Ceylon in 1869, at the age of 19, to work for Ceylon Company Ltd., where his father Charles Joseph was the manager. He returned to the UK to marry Adeline Mary Becher on 9 April 1874 at Kensington, London. Their first child, Charles Stanley (my grandfather) was born the same year, on 25 December, in Ceylon.

I wonder if Ceylon Company Ltd., where both Charles Joseph and Charles Frederick worked, was the predecessor of Ceylon Tea Plantations Co., which came to own extensive rubber and coconut plantations as well.

Charles Joseph left Ceylon around 1880, having become the first owner of Abbotsleigh Estate by then. But, although he, too, was a planter, Charles Frederick may not have worked at Abbotsleigh.

An article in The Times of Ceylon, dated 12 March 1896, the day he died, sequences Braine’s career and gives an indication of his family life. Braine “learnt planting” (“creeping”, in planting jargon) at Meddacombra Estate, in the Nuwara Eliya area, owned by Ceylon Company Ltd., and later worked at Pussellawa and Badulla on company estates.

In 1880, when he was only 30, Braine moved to Dickoya, as manager of Maniekwatte Estate, which amalgamated with Warleigh Estate to become the well-known Wanarajah Estate. I have driven through this vast plantation, which I believe now consists of ten estates. Ceylon’s best teas, and perhaps the world’s as well, are grown in this area.

Braine served for 12 years at Dickoya. He was injured and Mrs. Braine suffered a broken thigh in a carriage accident which may have occurred during this period.

From 1887 to 1888, Braine is listed as the owner of Beecherton Estate, in Kalutara, which must have been a rubber plantation. In 1890 and 1891, he is listed as the owner of Arapolakanda Estate, in Kalutara district, which may also have been a rubber plantation. What made Braine, working in upcountry estates, buy a property on the south-western coast is puzzling.

For some reason, perhaps the opportunity to become a pioneer, Braine joined a new employer - Finlay, Mur, and Co. - and moved to Kurunegala, in the North Western Province, to open Delwita Estate. “Open” perhaps means clearing the forest to plant rubber or coconut. (I believe Delwita Estate was in the Ridigama area.) The move, from lush and salubrious Dickoya to hot and humid Kurunegala, did not bode well for Braine, because he was thrown from his horse and suffered a fractured skull, and also came down with malaria. After being treated at a local hospital (Kurunegala?), Braine was moved to the Cargill’s Ward at Colombo hospital. He was treated by Dr. T.F. Garvin, and Mrs. Braine also attended to him “assiduously”. But, after a long illness, he passed away, only 45.

His funeral was at Colombo’s General Cemetery on the following day. Sixteen Europeans, all male, are listed as attending the funeral. Charles Stanley Braine, the eldest son (my grandfather), was the only family member there. Perhaps female attendees and children were not identified in the newspaper report. I have not been able to find Braine’s grave.

The lovely Christ Church at Warleigh is where Braine attended service when he worked in the Dickoya area. This YouTube version of the church and Wanarajah Estate is worth a look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsOJ5zN5_mY

The inside of the church bears a brass plaque in Braine’s memory, “erected by his friends”.

At Braine’s death, his elder son Charles Stanley was 22 years old (and already a planter) but daughter Eudora was only 19 and son William and daughter Muriel were much younger.

Mrs. Braine then moved to Nuwara Eliya with her three younger children. Nuwara Eliya, at an elevation of more than 5000 ft., has a climate similar to that of England, and was a favorite sanctuary of English planters and civil servants. Filled with churches, public buildings, clubs and private homes in the Victorian style, and a golf course, a race course, polo grounds, a cricket field, a brewery, and botanical gardens. Surrounded by rolling hills, forest, and rushing streams, Nuwara Eliya was nicknamed “Little England”.

Mrs. Braine became a “well-known resident” of the town, and was an active member of the United Club. I assume the younger children must have attended school there.

A photo shows Mrs. Braine and her children at Nuwara Eliya. The older son, Charles Stanley (my grandfather), was already a planter in the North Western Province, and would have been visiting. In the photo, Muriel, his youngest sister, has her arm circling his. Sister Eudora, perhaps in her early twenties, is seated alongside Mrs. Braine. Younger brother William is seated on the ground, on a leopard skin, holding a banjo. This could have been a Christmas gathering. The leopard may have been shot by Mr. Braine, who appears with a double-barreled shotgun in his photo and may have liked to hunt. Leopards were a threat to estate workers.

Mrs. Braine returned to England in August 1909 with Muriel, perhaps because she was ill. She passed away soon after, on 9 November, at Albert Hospital, London. She was 60. Daughter Eudora was married by then, a Mrs. Combe, and younger son William was a planter, too.

Some years ago, my sister, BIL, and I drove to the Dickoya area, visiting churches looking for evidence of Charles Fredrick’s life there. At the quaint St. Mary’s church at Bogawantalawa, we found the grave of his infant son. The child's full name was Frank Wyndham Becher Braine (his mother's maiden name was Becher) and he had died on March 9, 1879, at the age of 11 months. His birth or death has not been recorded on any document that I have seen. We may have been the first Braine’s to visit his grave in more than a hundred years. It was a solemn moment for me.

Charles Frederick’s grandfather had 11 children. His father, 10. If not for his untimely death, he may have had more than five.

Sunday, December 6, 2020

The life of Charles Joseph Braine, my enterprising ancestor

C.J. Braine was born in Middlesex, England, in 1814. His parents were John Smith Braine and Mary Leworthy of St. Sidwell, Exeter, UK. C.J.B. had ten siblings and was the seventh child. He was baptized on Oct. 14, 1814, at St. John the Evangelist Church in Westminster. His father’s (place of) occupation is stated as Navy office, and their address is Abingdon Street.

The next record for Braine is at his wedding, on 8 May 1945, to Eudora Marriott at St. Mary Magdalene Church, in Taunton. Braine’s occupation appears as merchant, Madras.

India

Although no records of Braine’s work or his life in Madras has been found yet, their first child, Eudora (named after her mother) was born in Madras in 1846. I believe Braine traded in tea.

Hong Kong

Braine worked for Dent & Co, one of the wealthiest British merchant firms, or Hongs, active in China during the 19th century, and rivaling Jardine’s. In Hong Kong (which came under the British only in 1841) Braine is listed as a partner of Dent’s, a Justice of the Peace and a member of the Asiatic Society.

Dent's HQ in Hong Kong

Braine's residence in Green Bank

Braine’s stay in Hong Kong is best known for his ownership of “Green Bank”, a luxuriant garden. The Gardner’s Chronicle of March 1849 states that Green Bank was owned by C.J. Braine, a partner in Dent’s, and was located near the center of Victoria. “It had been stocked in 1845 with rare plants transplanted from … Macau. A path though a winding shrubbery led to an orchid walk where the orchids were kept cool by shady bamboos. Above this were banks of myrtles, gardenias, and oleanders. A large collection of flowers in pots, prettily painted in Chinese style were arranged on each side of the broad terrace in front of the mansion. To one side a flower garden was arranged in the English style around a lawn with a ‘cool house’”.

Dent's House within Green Bank. Lush greenery around, and rugged hills at the back.

A longer, more sumptuous description (1000+ words) of Green Bank can be found in A Journey to the Tea Countries of China by Robert Fortune (1852). Fortune wrote that rugged mountains were seen to one side of Green Bank, contrasting with the luxuriant vegetation of the garden. He lists the shrubs and fruit trees, such as Chinese banyan, India rubber, Indian neem, Chinese cinnamon, coconut, loquat, Chinese gooseberry, wangpee, longan, leechee, pinus, bamboo, and more.

A bamboo avenue called “Orchid Walk”, cool even in midday, led to an orchid garden, in which numerous of orchid plants are listed by their scientific names. Above Orchid Walk were banks of myrtles, gardenias, oleander, and croton. A large collection of plants was placed on each side of the broad terrace in front of the “mansion”. These plants, camellias, azaleas, roses, and others plants were grown in pots “prettily painted in Chinese style and placed on porcelain stands”.

Green Bank

Braine and Eudora Marriott had 10 children. Two, Julia Caroline and Helen, were born in Hong Kong, in 1848 and 1849.

Braine appears to have left Hong Kong around 1850. The house and garden were offered for sale to the Hong Kong Government as the Governor’s residence and a public garden.

Before he left Hong Kong, Braine had sent Sir William Jackson Hooker, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, dried ferns and a large collection of seeds. The two letters he wrote to Hooker are on record. A passionate collector of ferns, one, Brainea, is named after Charles Joseph Braine.

Brainea

Lan Kwai Fong

Mid-Levels

The area where Green Bank was located is now called Lan Kwai Fong, best known in Hong Kong for its night life (see above photo). The rugged hills in the background of Dent’s House (in the picture above) is now known as mid-levels. Both Lan Kwai Fong and mid-levels are extremely expensive, built-up areas, in terms of property values.

Back in the UK

Braine next appears two letters he wrote from Way House, near Taunton, UK, to Sir Jackson Hooker of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. In one, dated 13 December 1850, he complains that two boxes of plants that were sent to Hong Kong had gone to Rio de Janeiro instead, and assumes they were lost. Braine regrets that the Hong Kong Governor will not agree to his proposal of turning Braine's garden in Hong Kong into a public botanical one, because of the expense of getting the plants from Rio.

Braine next appears, in 1850, as the owner of a stately mansion, Abbotsley, in Devon, UK. The house is described as a “very elegant Mansion of the Italian style” with four ground floor rooms and a verandah, seven bedrooms, dressing and bathrooms, and servants’ quarters. He must have been wealthy, paying £6300 (about £800,000 in today’s money) for the 36-acre property.

Having renamed it “Abbotsleigh”, Braine began its development, adding a 52-foot conservatory, a greenhouse, a well-planted walled garden, ornamental trees and thriving plantations in undulating park-like pastures. He persuaded Kew Gardens to supply the trees and shrubs. New farm buildings were also added, with stables and cow sheds, supplied with spring and rain water, poultry sheds, barns for implements and root crops, a harness room and a liquid manure tank. The workers’ accommodation included a gardener’s cottage and a coach house with a groom’s room above it.

Six of his children were born at Abbotsleigh, including twin boys John and Percy, in 1855. But, Braine got into disputes with his neighbors and to financial difficulties as well, having to mortgage the property for £5000. The house was sold in 1862 to the Roman Catholic church, and Augustinian nuns moved in to start a Priory.

Abbotsleigh Priory

In Ceylon

In 1862, Braine moved to Ceylon as the manager of Ceylon Co. No information is available on his work at the company. In 1880, he is listed as the owner of Abbotsleigh Estate in Hatton, in the central hills, known for the best tea. (Obviously named after his property in Devon.) He may have bought some acres of forest, cleared it, and planted coffee. The timing was not good, because a leaf disease known as the “coffee blight” began to spread and decimated the coffee plantations. Of 1700 coffee planters, only 400 stayed on in Ceylon.

Braine must have left, because, in 1881, he is listed as the head of a household in Kensington, in central London. In 1879, he had hired a manager, Norman Roswell, for Abbotsleigh. (Roswell later became the Ceylon’s first Commissioner of Labor.) By 1883, only 19 acres at Abbotsleigh were used for tea, while 209 acres were used for coffee and cinnamon. Braine is listed as the owner of Abbotsleigh till 1884.

Eudora, Braine’s wife, passed away in 1873, and is buried at St Mary church burial ground, Caterham, Surrey, UK.

Two of their sons, Charles Frederick (in 1869) and Arthur Belgrave, came to Ceylon as planters. Charles Frederick first worked for Ceylon Company Ltd., where his father was manager, before taking up planting. Neither joined Abbotsleigh Estate. Arthur Belgrave is listed along with his father in the Kensington household in 1881, so he, too, must have returned to the UK.