Charles Washington Augero Eves,
CMG, (13 September 1838 – 20 April 1899) was a British
merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
prominent in the trade between London and the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, and a promoter of the products of
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
. He was the honorary commissioner for Jamaica at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London, 1886, and was appointed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to represent Jamaica at the Colonial Conference of 1887.
Early life and family
Eves was born in 1838 and educated in London,
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Sa ...
, and Bonn.
[ He was resident in Jamaica during his early life and later in north London.][ He married Annie and had four daughters][ and a son, Major Edward Hubert Egerton Eves, RMLI.
]
Career
Eves was in business with Edward Reinach at 1 Fen Court, in the City of London, in the business of import-export and general merchants, trading as C.W. Eves and Co., until 30 July 1887 when their partnership was dissolved.
He was closely involved in the trade between London and the West Indies, in particular with Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, and was the honorary commissioner for Jamaica at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition
The Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886 was held in South Kensington in London with the objective to (in the words of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, the then Prince of Wales) "stimulate commerce and strengthen the bonds of union now exis ...
in London, 1886.[ He was appointed by the ]Secretary of State for the Colonies
The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom's government minister, minister in charge of managing certain parts of the British Empire.
The colonial secretary never had responsibility for t ...
to represent Jamaica at the Colonial Conference of 1887 and he was chairman of the London committee of the Jamaica International Exhibition of 1891[ which was modelled on the ]Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition that took ...
of 1851. He was a member of the council of the Royal Colonial Institute.
He became a member of the Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
in 1887 and was also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
. He was appointed a companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...
in 1890 for "services rendered in connection with the Island of Jamaica" which was seen as a reward for his work on the Colonial and Indian Exhibition. In March 1890 he was made Honorary Colonel of the 6th Middlesex (St. George's) Corps.
Writing
Eves wrote the introduction to the Jamaica handbook for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition and for Jamaica's participation in the Royal Jubilee Exhibition, Liverpool, of 1887. The remaining text of the later work being made up of official statistics, lists of exhibitors and their goods, and material drawn from the '' Handbook of Jamaica'' by A.C. Sinclair of the Government Printing Establishment in Jamaica and Laurence R. Fyfe of the Colonial Secretary's Office.
In 1889, he produced ''The West Indies'' which was published under the auspices of The Royal Colonial Institute and combined history, travel advice, and discussion of the general state of the principal islands of the West Indies.
Death
Eves died suddenly at his home of Trelawny House, 49 Highbury New Park, London, on the 20 April 1899.["Obituary. C. Washington Eves, C.M.G."]
'' Journal of the Society of Arts'', Vol. 47, No. 2423 (28 April 1899), p. 517.["Births, Marriages and Deaths", ''The Morning Post'', 21 April 1899, p. 1.] An inquest was held into the death by Dr. Danford Thomas a few days later at Holloway Road. According to evidence given, early on Thursday morning Eves went into the basement of his home to repair some electric burglar alarm bells. After he did not immediately return, Edward Moorhead
Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
, a ship-owner of Cardiff and Eves' son-in-law, went to investigate and found Eves unconscious at the bottom of the staircase with a head injury. A doctor attended but Eves died within hours from "compression of blood on the brain, coupled with concussion". A verdict of accidental death was recorded.
He was survived by his wife, son, and four daughters and was buried on the western side of Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...
on 24 April 1899. The funeral was attended by Colonel Bird and the whole of the officers of the Victoria and St George's Rifles (1st Middlesex) who formed a guard of honour
A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...
. His executors were fellow West Indian merchant Joseph Frank Alderhoven
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
, and major James Rufus Boosé.[''The Times'', 25 April 1899, p. 12.] All three were members of the Royal Colonial Institute.[''Proceedings of the Royal Colonial Institute'', Volume 17 (1886).]
Selected publications
*
Jamaica at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, 1886
'. Spottiswoode, London, 1886. (includes a reprinting of ''The Jamaica Court at the Indian and Colonial Exhibition: Handbook compiled for the Governors of the Jamaica Institute'' by A.C. Sinclair and Laurence R. Fyfe)
*
Jamaica at the Royal Jubilee Exhibition Liverpool 1887
'' Spottiswoode, London, 1887.
*
The West Indies
'. Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, London, 1889. (2nd 1891)
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eves, Charles
British merchants
Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society
Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
1838 births
1899 deaths
History of the Colony of Jamaica
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
Accidental deaths in London
19th-century Jamaican people
19th-century British businesspeople