Volume Thirteen - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Remarkable Connections - Darwin, FitzRoy, Hawkshaw & Wedgwood . . . .

The Wedgwood connection

The relationship became much closer through the Wedgwood family. Charles Darwin was a grandson of Josiah Wedgwood, founder of the famous pottery company. His wife, Emma, was also a member of the extended Wedgwood family.

In June 1862, John Hawkshaw's eldest daughter Mary married Godfrey Wedgwood, a great-grandson of Josiah Wedgwood. Then, in October 1865, Hawkshaw's son John Clarke Hawkshaw married Cicely Mary Wedgwood. Cicely was Emma Darwin's niece.

The Darwin Correspondence Project records her as 'Cicely Mary Hawkshaw' following the marriage. The two families were now related by marriage. But something rather more interesting was about to happen.

Clarke Hawkshaw and Darwin's theory

John Clarke Hawkshaw was not simply the son of a famous engineer. He had studied at Cambridge and developed an interest in natural science. In 1871, Clarke wrote an essay entitled: The Persistence of Forms of Life in the Depths of the Sea.

The essay considered what observations of deep-sea life might tell us about the origin and development of species. This was a subject very close to Darwin's own interests. Darwin read Clarke's work and his response is revealing.

In a letter to his son George, dated 30th January 1871, Darwin described Clarke Hawkshaw's essay as 'a quite original essay', saying that the ideas had not previously occurred to him. He also suggested that Clarke might submit the work to Nature. Most strikingly, Darwin remarked that Clarke 'could pass an examination on the ‘Origin’', because he appeared to understand the book so thoroughly.

This is a remarkable glimpse into the relationship. Darwin was not simply acknowledging his young relative by marriage. He was engaging seriously with Clarke Hawkshaw's scientific ideas.