Daniel Bolton
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Major General Daniel Bolton (1793 – 1860) was an English military engineer of the
Corps of Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
, who served in the
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...
(1813–1814), Netherlands Campaign (1814–1815), army of occupation in France (1815–1818), in Canada (1823–1843), particularly as superintending engineer in the construction of the
Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 Lock (water navigation), locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres (272 ...
(1832–1843) and as Commanding Royal Engineer at
Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...
(1846–1847),
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
(1847–1853) and
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
(1855–1860). He also collected fossil, plant, insect and seashell specimens, particularly for the scientific collections under Sir
William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botany, botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew Gardens, Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botan ...
and
Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For 20 years he served as director of the Ro ...
at the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...
,
William Henry Harvey William Henry Harvey, FRS FLS (5 February 1811 – 15 May 1866) was an Irish botanist and phycologist who specialised in algae. Biography Harvey was born at Summerville near Limerick, Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His father ...
at the Herbarium,
Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...
, and Francis Walker at the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
.


Early years

Daniel Bolton, born on or about 11 April 1793, at
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
,
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
, England, was the second of thirteen children of John Bolton (1767–1851), an excise officer, and Mary Jodrell (1767–1851), a daughter of the Rev. Daniel Jodrell, Rector of
Hingham, Norfolk Hingham is a market town and civil parish in mid-Norfolk, England. The civil parish covers an area of and had a population of 2,078 in 944 households at the time of the 2001 United Kingdom census, 2001 census, increasing to 2,367 at the 2011 ce ...
, and Mary Breeze. Bolton's sister mentions dates and the names of a few family members; sufficient to identify the family: Mary, mother; Joanna Sophia Bolton (1798–1884), sister; and daughters of her sister Apollonia, Alice Rosa Muspratt (1844–1895), niece; Isabelle Diana Muspratt (c. 1839–1909), niece; Frances "Fanny" Laetitia Muspratt (1841–1900), niece. He was baptised at the church of
St Peter Parmentergate, Norwich St Peter Parmentergate, Norwich (also ''Permountergate'') is a Grade I listed redundant parish church in the Church of England in Norwich. History The church is medieval and was rebuilt in 1486. The church closed in 1980 when the congregation ...
on 14 April 1793. Regarding the family's connection with
Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
, ancestral records indicate that Daniel Bolton's first cousin once removed, Thomas Bolton, had married Horatio's sister, Susannah Nelson, in 1780.


Career

Daniel Bolton was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the
Corps of Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
,
Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...
, on 14 December 1811, and promoted lieutenant on 1 July 1812.


Europe


Peninsular War

Bolton is said to have been "present, among other actions, at the siege and storm of St Sebastian". The Commanding Royal Engineer,
Sir Richard Fletcher Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Richard Fletcher, 1st Baronet (1768 – 31 August 1813) was an engineer in the British Army known for his work on the Lines of Torres Vedras. He fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and Peninsular Wars, and was me ...
, was killed in the final assault of the fortress on 31 August; thereafter the siege was conducted by Lieutenant Colonel
John Fox Burgoyne Field Marshal Sir John Fox Burgoyne, 1st Baronet, (24 July 1782 – 7 October 1871) was a British Army officer. After taking part in the Siege of Malta during the French Revolutionary Wars, he saw action under Sir John Moore and then under ...
, RE, who was severely wounded in that effort which ended on 8 September 1813. Elsewhere, Bolton is noted as serving at the
Peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
from October 1813 to the end of the war in 1814.


Netherlands Campaign

In May 1815, Bolton was lodged at
Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
, where
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
resided after quitting Paris in March, but as his superior had left without passing on instructions, he and his fellow engineers had little to do. Sir George Wood, commanding artillery, who had fallen in with them there, communicated their situation to Colonel Carmichael-Smyth. In consequence, Lieutenant
John Sperling John Glen Sperling (January 9, 1921 – August 22, 2014) was an American billionaire businessman who is credited with having led the contemporary for-profit education movement in the United States The fortune he amassed was based on his founding ...
, RE, took charge from 1 April, with the two engineer officers, an assistant engineer and 250 men, to construct two earthen
redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a Fortification, fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on Earthworks (engineering), earthworks, although some are constructed of ston ...
s to defend the bridge over the river
Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...
and reinstate part of the city's misshapen rampart. The redoubts would burden the enemy with having to build a river crossing, as well as serve as a rallying point for troops retreating from the frontier. When Sperling departed on 10 April, Bolton took charge of the works and now 2000 workmen until the arrival of Captain Harris. The
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
was fought on 18 June 1815, some 43 miles away.


Occupation of France

Following the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
and agreements to the Treaty of Paris in November 1815, Bolton served with the army of occupation in France to 1818.


Canada

Some five years after France, Bolton left London for Canada on 13 April 1823, landing at
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
from the brig ''Susan'' on 23 May 1823. Under Lieutenant Colonel
Elias Walker Durnford Major General Elias Walker Durnford R.E (28 July 1774 – 8 March 1850) was the builder of the Citadel, Quebec City. Durnford was born in 1774 in Lowestoft, Suffolk to British Army officer Elias Durnford and Rebecca Walker. He was commi ...
, Commanding Royal Engineer, he carried on works from
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
to
Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...
, including
Fort Wellington Fort Wellington National Historic Site is a historic military fortification located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River at Prescott, Ontario. The military fortification was used by the British Army, and the Canadian militia for most of t ...
at Prescott. In the course of the works he discovered a new species of
trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three-lobed entities") are extinction, extinct marine arthropods that form the class (biology), class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most succ ...
in fossil limestone. It was described by
John Jeremiah Bigsby John Jeremiah Bigsby (14 August 1792 – 10 February 1881), was an English physician who became known for his work on geology, an interest developed while on military service in Lower and Upper Canada, 1818-1826. He was a member of the Ame ...
who named it ''Paradoxus boltoni'', "after its discoverer, Lieut. Bolton, Royal Engineers", in 1825. The specimen had been found at
Lockport, New York Lockport is both a city and the town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York, United States. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census figures, and an estimated population of 20,305 as of 20 ...
.


England and Ireland

Home again in England, Daniel Bolton married Ann Lawrence Hawkes, daughter of the late Judge John Lawrance of New York, at
St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham The Cathedral Church of Saint Philip, also called the Birmingham Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral and the seat of the Bishop of Birmingham. Built as a parish church in the Baroque style by Thomas Archer, it was consecrated in 1715. Lo ...
, Warwickshire, on Wednesday, 23 February 1825. Ann was the widow of George Wright Hawkes (1780–1821) of
Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...
, England, who’d settled in New York City in 1798, and mother of Adelaide and Wootton Wright Hawkes. Soon after, on 7 June 1825, Bolton advanced to the rank of 2nd Captain. Their first child, John Lawrence Bolton, was born on 7 December 1825 at Drumcovitt House in the Parish of
Banagher, County Londonderry Banagher (pronounced , ) is a parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The parish is made up of the medieval parish of Banagher and parts of the ancient parish of Boveva and the townland of Tireighter and Park, County Londonderry, Park, ...
, Ireland.


Canada and the Rideau Canal

Drawn out of retirement, Lieutenant Colonel
John By Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was desi ...
was, on 21 April 1826, appointed Commanding Engineer for the
Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 Lock (water navigation), locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres (272 ...
; the 200 kilometre military canal to be cut through the Canadian wilderness to connect Montreal to Kingston by a more secure route in the event of another American invasion. He landed at
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
on 30 May 1826, and headed on to Montreal a few days later to make a start on the canal project. John Mactaggart, a civil engineer recommended by John Rennie for By's Clerk of Works, also joined the project. In October, Colonel Durnford at Montreal, recommended that By employ Bolton at Kingston, the canal's proposed terminal, and accordingly Bolton was assigned to By's staff. MacTaggart soon noted Bolton's keen scientific interests: "Boulder Stones of all sorts and sizes, are met with in abundance in Lower Canada: my worthy and scientific friend, Capt. Bolton, R.E. who examined these with the care of mineralogist, expressed himself astonished at the great variety and value. There is little lime, however, in any of them." Soon after the
Natural History Society of Montreal The Natural History Society of Montreal, which ran from 1827 to 1928, was the oldest scientific organisation in Canada, and one of the oldest in North America. Its first meeting took place on May 12, 1827. The first chair of the society was Andrew ...
(NHSM) was formed in May 1827, Bolton was elected a founding member on 27 August 1827, along with By, MacTaggart and others that year, and contributed to the Society's programme. The Boltons' second child, Augusta Bolton, was born at Ontario in 1828. Dogged by the unrealistically low estimates formed during the canal's conception before By's appointment, and despite early least-sum estimates at its inception, it was an impossible task to calculate the exact cost to construct the Rideau Canal—"135 miles long, through an uncleared country, with eighteen or twenty miles of excavation, some of which was rock, and deep cutting, with forty-seven locks to surmount, a difference of level of 455 feet, with a variety of extensive dams and waste weirs necessary to regulate the spring torrents of the Rideau River, which is the outlet of several lakes." In 1832, the year of the completion of the canal, By was recalled to England to explain construction costs. Bolton took over as Superintending Royal Engineer and moved into By's former Bytown residence. Bolton was promoted to captain in 10 January 1837. Later that year, 27 September 1837,
Charles Daubeny Charles Giles Bridle Daubeny (11 February 179512 December 1867) was an English chemist, botanist and geologist. Education Daubeny was born at Stratton near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, the son of the Rev. James Daubeny. He went to Winchest ...
of
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
visited Bytown:
"Obtained from Captain Bolton a specimen of
Sarracenia purpurea ''Sarracenia purpurea'', the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae. Taxonomy The species is further divided into two subspecies, ''S. purpurea'' subsp. ...
, which grows in the swamps adjacent. He also presented me with several minerals, obtained from boulders, broken during the formation of the Rideau Canal. The rocks found in situ at Bytown and neighbourhood, consist of that dark, fœtid, limestone, loaded with organic remains, which I saw at Quebec and Montreal. The Captain had found in it
Trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three-lobed entities") are extinction, extinct marine arthropods that form the class (biology), class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most succ ...
s of several species, both large and small, the Huron fossil ( orthoceratite), turritellæ, encrinites, common and lily, and several other fossils. The organic remains are very abundant near the Chaudiere falls."
Bolton advanced to ranks of brevet major on 28 June 1838, major in the army on 3 July 1838 and lieutenant colonel on 29 March 1839 as Superintendent of the Canal. After more than sixteen-years of service in Canada, Bolton's assignment came to an end in 1843. He was succeeded by Major Francis Ringler Thomson, RE. The family's close connection with Bytown, drew some 300 of its oldest inhabitants to present Bolton and his family with a substantial farewell address on 9 August 1843.


England: Harwich

Back in England Bolton was assigned the role of Commanding Royal Engineer at
Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...
, Essex, where in 1846 his office worked on the sea wall and other works. He was promoted to rank of lieutenant colonel on 16 November 1846 and took on assignment as Commanding Royal Engineer to New Zealand, to relieve Major William Biddlecomb Marlow, CRE, with a detachment of 13 men of the Royal Sappers and Miners in company with Captain William Kenny, the Pioneer Company of the
Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps The Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps was formed in 1846, following the conclusion of the Northern War phase of the New Zealand Wars against Hone Heke. The Governor, George Grey, had requested military forces for the defence of the early settlers ...
and their families. Following the 1845 battles at Te Kahika pā and Ōhaeawai pā in New Zealand, Marlow had sent drawings and descriptions of Ōhaeawai pā to England, enabling similar test sections of the pā to be erected on the left of the Chatham Lines in August, September, October and December 1846. Experiments in determining the best mode of breaching them by bags of powder were carried out. Bolton and the Sappers with Kenny and the Fencibles, settled on board the ''Ramillies'', departed the
Port of Tilbury The Port of Tilbury is a port located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It serves as the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facili ...
,
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
, for New Zealand on 14 April 1847.


England: Home for family

After almost seven years abroad, in New Zealand, Bolton arrived home to the reality of Britain and France's support for Turkey, and their declarations of war upon
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
in late March 1854. Bolton and his family were not unaffected. Ann signed her will on 1 April 1854 and appears to have left England soon after. As the
Crimean campaign The Crimean campaign was conducted by the Axis powers, Axis as part of Operation Barbarossa during World War II. The invading force was led by Nazi Germany, Germany with support from Kingdom of Romania, Romania and Fascist Italy, Italy, wh ...
invasion force assembled at
Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...
, Turkey, New York's ''Evening Post'' of 5 September 1854 reported from that scene of death—11,000 men from
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
, and more from
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
and
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
— that Ann Lawrance Bolton, wife of Colonel Bolton, and daughter of the late Judge John Lawrance of New York, had died at Varna on 2 August. Some nine months later, on 25 May 1855, daughter Augusta married Lieutenant Edward Charles Acheson Gordon, RE, at
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. Gordon had served in the campaign since the April 1854 start and, along with Lieutenant Pratt, RE, and a detachment of Sappers and Miners, had landed at Varna on 22 May 1854 from HMS ''Caradoc'' to build wooden piers for landing the troops, horses and ordnance in preparation for build-up of forces. Augusta's brother, Captain John Bolton, RA, served in the Crimea from 12 April 1855 and took part in the battle of Sebastopol. Following leave and promotion to brevet colonel on 20 June 1854, Bolton took assignment to the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
, largely at the insistence of Sir
George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...
, now Lieutenant Governor of
Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...
. On 13 December he advanced to rank of colonel, to relieve Colonel Pennel Cole, RE, as Commanding Royal Engineer.


Cape of Good Hope

Stationed upon the frontier at
Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...
, Eastern Cape, in early 1856 Bolton was elected a member of the newly formed Graham's Town Literary, Scientific and Medical Society—founders of the
Albany Museum The Albany Museum, South Africa, situated in Makhanda, South Africa, is affiliated to Rhodes University and dates back to 1855,Chinsamy, Anusuya. (1997). "Albany Museum, Grahamstown, South Africa." ''Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs''. Edited by Philli ...
. Bolton advanced to the rank of major general on 20 June 1859, in succession to the late Major General Thomas Blanshard, CB.


Death

Bolton carried on collecting botanical specimens throughout the district. During a long ride on 31 December 1859, several months after the
Carrington Event The Carrington Event was the most intense geomagnetic storm in recorded history, peaking on 1–2 September 1859 during solar cycle 10. It created strong auroral displays that were reported globally and caused sparking and even fires in telegr ...
, he was overcome by "sun-stroke" and nearly died. Having resigned his command, and whilst moving on toward Cape Town in the expectation of returning home to England, he suffered a second crippling apoplectic fit at Port Elizabeth and died on 16 May 1860, aged 66. In reporting the news to Sir William Hooker in July, Dr
William Guybon Atherstone William Guybon Atherstone (; 1814–1898) was a medical practitioner, naturalist and geologist, one of the pioneers of South African geology and a member of the Cape Parliament. Life He arrived in South Africa with his parents as 1820 Sett ...
asserted that "he was a great lover of plants and an excellent geologist." Bolton was buried at St George's burying ground, Cape Town, with full military honours. The services attended by the Lieutenant Governor General Wynyard, CB, Commander of the Forces, Colonel Alexander Gordon, RE, the whole of the garrison troops, officers and men of HMS ''Brisk'', and a large number of civilians and friends. The ''Grahamstown Journal'' wrote:
In May, 1855, Major-General Bolton came to this country, principally at the insistence of Sir George Grey, after a very short sojourn with his family in England; he was stationed, until with a few weeks of his death, upon the frontier, where his amiable qualities and intelligent mind won for him deservedly the admiration and esteem of all who had the good fortune to be thrown in contact with him. His memory will long hold a high place in the estimation of numerous friends who had the pleasure of cultivating his much-valued acquaintance.
That year, Bolton's sister anonymously published a book of personal poetry in his memory, called ''The Rainbow'', which included some of his poems.
Thomas Bernard Collinson Major General Thomas Bernard Collinson (17 November 1821 – 1 May 1902) was an English military engineer of the Corps of Royal Engineers who carried out the earliest British surveys of Hong Kong, and planned roads and other early military an ...
, RE, recalling his time in New Zealand, wrote:
My commanding officer was Colonel Bolton, a most kind hearted and agreeable man; who took more interest in his friends than his Engineer duties. Whenever he came to inspect my district, we passed most of our time fishing for shells, some of which, like other animals & plants in N.Z. were of special Biological interest. He could not however tell me the special scientific interest of the " Trochus Imperialis", he was satisfied in its being a beautiful & a valuable shell! and many a splendid specimen we fished up in Cook Strait.


Legacy

Plant and animal species named after Daniel Bolton: * ''Arctinurus boltoni'' (''Paradoxus boltoni''), a
trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three-lobed entities") are extinction, extinct marine arthropods that form the class (biology), class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most succ ...
described and named by
John Jeremiah Bigsby John Jeremiah Bigsby (14 August 1792 – 10 February 1881), was an English physician who became known for his work on geology, an interest developed while on military service in Lower and Upper Canada, 1818-1826. He was a member of the Ame ...
in 1825 * ''
Myadora boltoni ''Myadora boltoni'' is a marine bivalve mollusc of the family Myochamidae. It is endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other define ...
'', a New Zealand mollusc described and named by
Edgar Albert Smith Edgar Albert Smith (29 November 1847 – 22 July 1916) was a British zoologist and malacologist. His father was Frederick Smith, a well-known entomologist, and assistant keeper of zoology in the British Museum, Bloomsbury. Edgar Albert Smith ...
in 1880 * '' Leioproctus boltoni'', a New Zealand bee described and named
Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell (22 August 1866 – 26 January 1948) was an American entomologist and Systematics, systematic biologist who published nearly 4,000 papers, some of them only a few lines long. Cockerell's speciality was the insect or ...
in 1904 * ''
Asplenium boltonii ''Asplenium'' is a genus of about 700 species of ferns, often treated as the only genus in the family Aspleniaceae, though other authors consider ''Hymenasplenium'' separate, based on molecular phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences, a different ...
'', an African fern collected at Grahamstown, Cape of Good Hope, named by Hooker * ''Bonatea boltonii'', a southern African orchid named by
William Henry Harvey William Henry Harvey, FRS FLS (5 February 1811 – 15 May 1866) was an Irish botanist and phycologist who specialised in algae. Biography Harvey was born at Summerville near Limerick, Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His father ...
1860 He is remembered in Ottawa in Bolton Street and
Major's Hill Park Major's Hill Park is a park in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. The park stands above the Rideau Canal at the point where it enters the Ottawa River. The parliament buildings can be seen across the canal to the west, to the north of the park is the Nat ...
, a prominent downtown park in Ottawa; site of the former residence of Lieutenant Colonel
John By Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was desi ...
, and Major Daniel Bolton and his family.


Publications

* *


Bibliography

* * *


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Daniel 1793 births 1860 deaths Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars 19th-century Canadian engineers Rideau Canal Canadian naturalists British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars 19th-century New Zealand military personnel 19th-century New Zealand engineers Botanists active in New Zealand Botanists active in Kew Gardens Cape Colony engineers Botanists active in Africa 19th-century English botanists