Sir George Head Barclay, (23 March 1862 – 26 January 1921) was a British diplomat.

Early life

Barclay was born on 23 March 1862 at

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

, Essex, England. He was the son of Richenda Louisa (née

Gurney A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

) Barclay (1827–1888) and Henry Ford Barclay (1826–1891) of Monkhams, Woodford. Among his siblings was Edith Richenda Barclay (mother of Sir George Nevile Bland); Sarah Adelaide Barclay (who married her cousin, Charles Alfred Leatham; son of William Henry Leatham); Henry Ford Barclay Jr.; Maj. Cameron Barclay (who married Hon. Charlotte Horsley-Beresford, daughter of the 3rd Baron Decies; Marion Alice de Gournay Barclay (wife of Sir Lancelot Carnegie); Charles Theodore Barclay and Col. Hugh Gurney Barclay, MVO (who married Evelyn Louisa Hogg, daughter of Sir

Stuart Saunders Hogg Sir Stuart Saunders Hogg CIE (17 February 1833 – 23 March 1921) was a British civil servant in the Indian Civil Services of British India. Early life He was born in 1833 in Delhi to Sir James Hogg, formerly a director of the British Eas ...

). His father was a Justice of the Peace and served as the

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

in 1886. His paternal grandparents were Ford Barclay and Esther (née Reynolds) Barclay. His maternal grandfather was Samuel Gurney of the Norwich Gurney family that established

Gurney's Bank Gurney's bank was a family-run bank founded by members of the Gurney family in 1770 and headquartered in Norwich, England. It merged into Barclays Bank in 1896. History The bank was founded in 1770 by John and Henry Gurney, sons of John Gurney ...

in 1770, which merged into

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

in 1896. Among his maternal family was uncle Samuel Gurney (a member of parliament for Penryn & Falmouth); aunt Catherine Gurney, who was the wife of Sir Edward Buxton, 2nd Baronet (an MP for Essex South and East Norfolk); aunt Elizabeth Gurney, who was married to Ernest Christian Ludwig de Bunsen (an Anglo-German writer); and aunt Priscilla, who was married to William Henry Leatham (an MP for

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

and West Riding of Yorkshire South). His first cousin, Sir Maurice de Bunsen, 1st Baronet, was the

British Ambassador to Spain The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Spain is the United Kingdom's foremost Diplomat, diplomatic representative in the Kingdom of Spain, and in charge of the UK's diplomatic mission in Spain. The official title is His Britannic Majesty's Am ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Through his uncle, the Rev. John Gurney, he was a first cousin of John Gurney, the mayor of Norwich who married Isabel Blake-Humfrey. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Career

On 24 July 1886, Barclay joined the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

and in 1888 became attaché in Washington, D.C., serving until 1891. In that year, he became Secretary of Legation in Rome and, between 1897 and 1898, was posted to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. He subsequently served as Second Secretary in

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 ...

until August 1902, when he was posted as Secretary of Legation at Tokyo. He returned to the capital of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

as His Majesty's Minister Plenipotentiary at Constantinople. From 1908 to 1912, he was

Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

to His Majesty the Shah of Persia in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

. In 1912, he was appointed Minister at

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, the capital and largest city of Roumania. Barclay retired from the diplomatic service in 1920.

Honours

He was invested as 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 I ...

in 1898. In 1906, he was made a Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

. In 1913, Barclay was invested as a Knight Commander of the Orders of St Michael and St George,Chancery of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.
''The London Gazette'' (1 September 1908) and of the Star of India.Supplement to the London Gazette: India Office
''The London Gazette'' (1 January 1913).

Personal life

In 1891, while secretary of the British Legation at Washington, Barclay was married to Beatrix Mary Jay Chapman (1864–1942) at the

Jay Estate The Jay Estate is a 23-acre park and historic site in Rye, New York, with the 1838 Peter Augustus Jay House at its center. It is the keystone of the Boston Post Road Historic District (New York), Boston Post Road Historic District, a National His ...

Rye, New York Rye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, within the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. It received its charter as a city in 1942, making it the most recent such charter in the state. Its area of ...

. Beatrix, an American who had been painted by

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...

in , was the daughter of

Henry Grafton Chapman Jr. Henry Grafton Chapman Jr. (1833 – March 14, 1883) was an American banker who served as the president of the New York Stock Exchange. Early life Chapman was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1833. He was one of four children born to Henry Grafton ...

, who served as

President of the New York Stock Exchange This is a list of presidents of the New York Stock Exchange. References {{reflist, 30em External linksPresidents and Chairmen of the New York Stock Exchange
(PDF) Lists of people by employer, New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchang ...

, and the sister of noted writer

John Jay Chapman John Jay Chapman (March 2, 1862 – November 4, 1933) was an American writer. Early life Chapman was born in New York City on March 2, 1862. He was a son of Henry Grafton Chapman Jr. (1833–1883), a broker who became president of the New York St ...

. Her maternal grandfather was

John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

, the U.S. Minister to Austria-Hungary. Before their divorce in 1919, they were the parents of one child: * Dorothy Katherine Barclay (–1953), an author who became Lady Kennard after her marriage to Sir Coleridge Kennard, 1st Baronet, who was then Barclay's third secretary in Tehran, on 5 April 1911. In May 1920, Beatrix remarried to Maj. Gen. Raymond de Candolle, CB, C.E., son of

Casimir de Candolle Anne Casimir Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (20 February 1836, Geneva – 3 October 1918, Chêne-Bougeries) was a Swiss botanist, the son of Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle. Early life and education He studied chemistry, physics and mathematics i ...

. In 1921, she lived in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, Greece. Barclay died in London on 26 January 1921.

Descendants

Through his daughter, he was the maternal grandfather of Sir Lawrence Kennard, 2nd Baronet and Sir George Kennard, 3rd Baronet.

References

External links

Barclay, Sir George Head (1862–1921) Knight Diplomat
at the

National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, George 1862 births 1921 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Star of India Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order