Captain Crozier's family and historical context

Crozier's monument and family home in Banbridge


Existing information can be fragmentary and at times contradictory, because many of the original documents are lost (which is typical for Ireland, due to the fires and the bombardment of the Four Courts building). F.H. Crozier attempted a chronological family tree, including a list of all the Crozier siblings, back in 1881. The following version combines all data available at the moment.

Francis' parents:
 
Jane Elliot Graham, b. 1760 (baptised Mar 15) in Ballymoney Lodge, Co. Down, m. ca. 1778 George Crozier, had children. Jane d. Nov 4 1838.
 
George Crozier, b. 1755, was a solicitor/attorney-at-law (still practising in 1824); built Crozier House (or Avonmore) in the main Church Square in 1791. George d. Nov 27 1831 and was buried at the Banbridge First Presbyterian graveyard ("To the memory of their justly and ever to be lamented parent George Crozier of Banbridge his sons have dedicated this monument"). 
 
Jane and George's children:
  1. Rachel Crozier, b. 1780 (baptised Jul 24), d. unmarried Aug 15 1856, Sandford Place, Dublin.
  2. Martha Crozier, b. Jul 23 1781 (? bapt. Jul 3), d. unmarried of illness Dec 7 1804, Banbridge.
  3. Jane Crozier, b. Dec 4 1782 (bapt. Dec 19), m. Sep 10 1803 Robert Whitlaw/Whitelaw O'Brien (related to below O'Brien) of Mullingar Co., Westmeath, at Dromore, Co. Down. They had children. Jane d. a widow Jan 11 1860, Sandford Place, Dublin.
  4. Elizabeth (Eliza) Crozier, b. Apr 10 1784 (bapt. Apr 30), m. Dec 10 1833 William Edward O'Brien of Mowhill. Eliza d. a widow Dec 2/6 1865, Mohill.
  5. Sarah (Sally) Crozier, b. 1785 (bapt. Dec 19), m. Jan 1 1812 James Brownrigg Ferguson (1789-1834). Emigrated to Canada in 1830, the younger son d. on arrival. Sally d. May 17 1843, a widow, at Peterborough, Upper Canada.
  6. William Crozier, b. Mar 22 1787 (bapt. Mar 24), was Chief Examiner in the Court of Exchequer. He m. 1811 Jane Ledlie (d. 1862, aged 76, at Greenwood, Co. Dublin), had seven children. One of the sons, George, a solicitor, m. Francis Leopold McClintock's sister. William's eldest daughter Jane m. 1838 John Henry Loftie of Tandragee, Armagh, by her uncle, rev. Graham Crozier. William d. Dec 12 1872, Middle Gardiner Street, Dublin.
  7. George Crozier, b. 1789 (bapt. Dec 20), d. unmarried Nov 22 1852 in Peterborough, Upper Canada.
  8. Thomas Crozier, b. 1791 (bapt. Jun 20), was an attorney/solicitor and the Examiner in the Court of Queen's Bench. He m. Dec 15 1823 Mary Darley (d. Feb 26 1872), had eleven children. Son b. 1837, Henry Darley Crozier, was Major General of the Royal Engineers and lived in Blackheath, Kent. Son b. 1839 named Francis Rawdon Moira (baptism) became a solicitor in his father's firm, d. 1902 in Istanbul (three of Francis' sons are worth a mention: Lt. William Magee Crozier was killed at the Somme in 1916; Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier became a solicitor; RN Commander Louis Herbert Crozier was the donor of the portrait and other artefacts now at the RGS). Thomas d. Apr 20 1873, a widower, at Seafield, Dublin (record).
  9. John Crozier, b. 1793 (bapt. Jan 14), d. in infancy.
  10. [Jonathan Crozier, John's twin ?]
  11. Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier, b. Oct 17 1796 (bapt. Sep 21 1797) (named after the Earl of Moira), d. unmarried 1848? in Nunavut, Canada.
  12. Charlotte Crozier, b. ca. 1799?, d. unmarried May 30 1869 at 2 Sandford Place, Dublin.
  13. Margaret Crozier, b. ca. 1800?, m. Feb 1 1822 Charles Magee of Loughbrickland, had five children. Margaret d. Aug 25 1843 at Rostrevor (staying there for health reasons).
  14. Rev. Graham Philip Crozier B.A., b. ca. 1801, vicar, Rector of Tannagh, m. ca. 1831 Anne Robinson (d. 1870 at the Parsonage, Riverstown, Co. Sligo). They had two children. Graham d. Oct 27 1872, a widower, at 9 Glenart Ave, Blackrock, Co. Dublin (record).

William (directory) and Thomas lived in Dublin for some time. Thomas' earliest known address appears to be 3 Dominick St, Old (dir), in about 1835 he moved to 2 Rutland Sq E (dir 1 | dir 2). In 1841 Thomas was registered at 17 Granby Row, Rutland Sq W (dir) (also Banbridge in 1842 (dir) and 2 Great Denmark Street, Dublin, in 1852). His last address was in Seafield, Co. Dublin. Rachel and Charlotte moved to Dublin, 2 Sandford Pl in early 1840's, and were later joined by their sister Jane. Crozier is known to have stayed at 2 Rutland Square East (before the 1839 expedition) and 2 Sandford Place (between the 1839 and 1845 expeditions).
 
The Literary Gazette, Sat 16 Sep 1843 (PDF; read)

Of one of these commanders [of the Antarctic expedition] we have to speak with regret, and the public will join with us in it. After all his toils and exertions, Captain Crozier has had but a sad home to welcome him. The death of two sisters [Sarah and Margaret] had to be communicated to him a few days ago; and his grief may hardly be imagined.

Three of the Crozier siblings rest in what is now Canada. Margaret's descendants established themselves in Australia.
 

Sources:
  1. Ancestry.co.uk
  2. Crozier, F.H., Memorials of the Family of Crozier, 1881
  3. Crozier Family of Seafield, Stillorgan and Roebuck formerly of Banbridge
  4. Ros Davies' Co. Down, Northern Ireland Family History Research Site
  5. Ferguson, James & Robert Menzies Ferguson, Records of the Clan and Name of Fergusson, Ferguson and Fergus (read)
  6. Findagrave.com, George Crozier
  7. Kimmins, Olga, Captain Crozier in Ireland: Locations and Connections
  8. Kimmins, Olga, The Croziers of Banbridge
  9. Kimmins, Olga, Family
  10. WikiTree, George Crozier
  11. WikiTree, Thomas Crozier
Relevant letters from the IMIRCE project:
Campbell, 1832 (mentions James Ferguson);
Simpson, 1836 and 1839 (life in Peterborough).
 
 
 
Context: Religion and Irish history
 
Crozier's identity was a conflict in itself (a problem very common in the 19th c.). As a Royal Navy officer, he was loyal to the Crown, and England was his home. Still, he didn't try to assimilate beyond the natural falling-in – he was Irish, from a country different to that of his friends and colleagues. It put him at a disadvantage throughout his life. And this shadow of the contemporary perception is rarely filtered out when talking about Crozier in these modern times. The other, and opposite, radical distortion is placing his family in the upper echelons of society.
 
Calling Crozier Anglo-Irish and Protestant without further explanation creates a false impression that he enjoyed a great amount of privilege – which couldn't be further from the truth. While his father was comfortable and did have connections, the family didn't wall themselves off, they were still Irish, and the religious manoeuvres for the sake of politics didn't change the fact they were, throughout generations, Presbyterian.
 
It is assumed that the Croziers originally came from France, and the Norman wave brought them to the Scottish Borders. Ireland meantime had experienced a changing, but steady influx of Celts, Vikings, Anglo-Normans (English and Welsh). In the 16th and 17th c. the immigration became substantial as "formal schemes for colonization and plantation, in Munster, Ulster, and elsewhere, were reinforced and eventually overshadowed by large-scale spontaneous migration" (Connolly, S.J. [ed.], The Oxford Companion to Irish History 2nd ed., 2007 [OCtIH], p. 267). By mid 17th c. the Croziers too were on the move again as they joined the reversal of the Irish colonisation of Scotland. William Crozier and his three sons, John, Samuel and William, eventually established themselves in County Down, and the sons inherited, respectively, Upper Stramore, Lower Stramore and The Parke. John Crozier was Francis' great-grandfather.
 
Irish Presbyterianism hitched with the population moving from Lowland Scotland to Ireland, and "was allowed a precarious existence" (OCtIH, p. 483). The new arrivals clashed with the Gaelic speaking inhabitants – and the Protestants. In the 17th c. Presbyterians were considered an even bigger threat than Catholicism (Foster, R.F., Modern Ireland: 1600-1972, 1988 [Foster], p. 82). In the 18th c. "Ulster Presbyterians experienced political and religious discrimination" (OCtIH, p. 529), the Dissenters were excluded from public office and "the Established Church remained the fountain of privilege in Ireland" (Foster, p. 156). It led to disenchantment with the British government and even a radical alliance with the Catholics – Presbyterianism and its libertarian republicanism played a prominent part in the United Irish movement.
 
The Society of United Irishmen was established in 1791. Their aims were parliamentary reform and the removal of English control; the movement was soon forced underground. The insurrection of 1798 saw four outbreaks (Henry Munro in County Down) either dispersed or massacred, with flare-ups of sectarian violence on both sides. Unlike most Presbyterians, George Crozier, Francis' father, didn't support the United Irish, and this political decision prompted him to make a religious shift towards the Established Church as well. The insurrection ended in ca. 30.000 deaths – and the Act of Union. On the 1st of January 1801 the creeping British occupation of Ireland was complete.

This period also saw an important economical fluctuation. At the time of Crozier's birth Ireland was unexpectedly prospering, due to the combined effect of rapid population growth in Britain and Ireland, and the blockades of the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. However, the end of the international conflicts meant an instant and sharp depression in 1813. There was no solution to the multiplying problems, and no support from Britain. Charity did little to mitigate the consequences of the famine that broke out in the middle of the 19th c. Had Crozier decided to retire and settle in the country, he would've still found himself trying to save people dying of starvation, scurvy and tuberculosis in 1848.