William Henry Kitto (1855 – 26 March 1930) was Captain of the

Foxdale Mines The Foxdale Mines is a collective term for a series of mines and shafts which were situated in a highly mineralised zone on the Isle of Man, running east to west, from Elerslie mine in Crosby, Isle of Man, Crosby to Niarbyl on the coast near Dal ...

, vice-chairman of the

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited (abbreviated to IoMSPCo or, locally, The Steam Packet ()) is the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world, having been founded in 1830. The company provides freight, p ...

, a director of the

Isle of Man Railway The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) is a narrow gauge steam locomotive, steam-operated railway connecting Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas with Castletown, Isle of Man, Castletown and Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The line is Narrow gauge railway, ...

and a Justice of the Peace who became a Member of the

House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in Lat ...

for the constituency of

Glenfaba Glenfaba ( ; ) is one of the six sheadings of the Isle of Man. It is located on the west of the island (part of the traditional ''North Side'' division) and consists of the two historic parishes of German and Patrick. It includes the town of ...

in 1902.''Ramsey Courier.'' Friday, March 28, 1930; Page: 4

Early life

William Henry Kitto was born in

Perranzabuloe Perranzabuloe (; ) is a coastal civil parish and a hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Perranzabuloe parish is bordered to the west by the Atlantic coast and St Agnes, Cornwall, St Agnes parish, to the north by Cubert parish, to the ea ...

, near

Perranporth Perranporth () is a seaside resort town on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is 2.1 miles east of the St Agnes Heritage Coastline, and around 7 miles south-west of Newquay. Perranporth and its long beach face the Atla ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in 1855. His father, also named William Kitto, was a mine engineer who had worked in the Cornish mining industry before moving with his family to the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

to take a position with the

Isle of Man Mining Company The Isle of Man Mining Company, also referred to as the Foxdale Mining Company, was a mining company formed to operate the Foxdale Mines on the Isle of Man. ''Manx Sun.'' Saturday, 20 March 1886; Page: 4 History The date that mining operations ...

as manager of the

. Following his schooling the younger Kitto followed him into the profession. ''Mona's Herald''. Wednesday, February 11, 1914; Page: 6 Kitto Family

Mining

Kitto joined the

, serving as under-manager to his father until 1890 when his father was appointed to take charge of the Cape Copper Company's property at

Namaqualand Namaqualand ( Khoikhoi: "Nama-kwa" meaning Nama Khoi people's land) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over and covering a total area of . It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River int ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Kitto then succeeded his father as manager of the

mines Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun Mi ...

Foxdale Foxdale (; ; – 'waterfall dale or valley'), also called Balley'n Eas (meaning "waterfall-town in Manx"), is a village consisting of the on the A3 Castletown to Ramsey Road with the junction of the A24 Foxdale to Braaid road and the A40 ''T ...

, the position being referred to as the Mine Captain. William Kitto remained with the

until the closure of the

in 1911. Said to have been highly respected within the mining industry, he is noted for his display of extraordinary courage during the

Snaefell Mine Disaster The Great Snaefell Mine, also referred to as the East Snaefell Mine, was a zinc mine located high in the Laxey Valley on the slopes of Snaefell Mountain, in the parish of Lonan, Isle of Man. The mine reached a depth of and is remembered as ...

in 1897 when he was instrumental in the recovery operation.

Other interests

Kitto was also a director of the

, being vice-chairman at the time of his death in addition to which he served as a director of the Isle of Man Railway Company. In 1901 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace, a position which he also held until his death, by which time he was recognised as the oldest

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

on the

Politics

William Kitto was elected as a Member of the

for the constituency of

in 1902, succeeding John Joughin. Said to have been liberal in his political beliefs, he held the position until 1919 when he declined re-nomination.

Personal life and death

Kitto was twice married. On 23 March 1876 he married Susan (née Edge) of

New Ferry New Ferry is an urban area on the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula, with the River Mersey to the east and the town of Bebington to the west. Within the boundaries of the historic count ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

; they had four sons and three daughters - one daughter, Louisa, predeceased him. His first wife predeceased him in 1914. He married Isabel Goldsmith (1874-1967) in 1928. In 1908, in the company of Alex Hill, a fellow magistrate and a manager with the

Isle of Man Bank The Isle of Man Bank is a bank in the British Crown dependency of the Isle of Man, providing retail, private and business banking services to the local population. Incorporated in 1865, it has operated as a trading name of RBS International sin ...

, Kitto undertook a trip around the world. Captain Kitto was also involved in the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

movement, being the senior member of the St Maughold Lodge,

Ramsey, Isle of Man Ramsey () is a coastal town in the north of the Isle of Man. In 2024 it became the largest town on the Island after Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas was granted city status. Ramsey's population is 8,288 according to the Census in the Isle of Man, ...

. On 4 March 1930, in the capacity of a director of the

, Capt. Kitto attended the launch of the company's new steamer, the ''

Lady of Mann The Lord of Mann () is the lord proprietor and head of state of the Isle of Man, currently King Charles III. Before 1504, the title was King of Mann. Relationship with the Crown Since 1399, the kings and lords of Mann were vassals of the ...

'' at

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

. He presided at a dinner on the eve of the launch. Upon his return to the Isle of Man, Captain Kitto suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and died at his home, Burnside,

Union Mills Union Mills () is a village in the parish of Braddan on the A1, the primary road which connects Douglas and Peel in the Isle of Man, close to the River Dhoo. History The village was known from 1511 as (The Mill on the Black Ford). In 1807 ...

, on the evening of 26 March. The funeral was on Saturday 29 March, and his body was interred at St. Paul's Churchyard,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitto, William Henry 1855 births 1930 deaths Manx politicians