244 Life and Letters of Francis Gait on 



" William Darwin " for ine, and he dates the painting from the wig as belonging to the 

 period 1730 to 1745. The only "Williams" possible are therefore William Darwin of 

 Cleatham (1681 — 1760), elder brother of Robert Darwin and uncle of Erasmus Darwin, 

 —who would have been 49 in 1730 and rather old for the portrait — William Morgan 

 Darwin, his son (1710 — 1762) — who would have been much the right age, but little likely 

 to have a portrait at Elston — and William Alvey Darwin (1726 — 1783), as a very young 

 man. The latter is the only alternative that seems probable, and the portrait is not 

 wholly unlike Wright's portrait of a later date. It seems therefore reasonable to ascrilx- 

 this " William Darwin " portrait to William Alvey Darwin although probably no 

 certainty will ever now be possible. The Newnham Grange portraits are reproduced 

 on Plate XLII. 



There is a miniature at Creskeld Hall of Aun Lascelles, that is, Ann Waring 

 (1664 — -1722), whose first husband was William Darwin (1655 — 1682), the mother 

 of Robert Darwin (1682 — 1754), and grandmother of Erasmus. A portrait of the 

 Rev. John Darwin (1730 — 1805), another brother of Erasmus and Rector of Elston — 

 artist and date unknown — is at Elston Hall. Finally we may note that there exists in 

 Mr William E. Darwin's possession a very fine portrait, also said to be of a " William 

 Darwin." This portrait, an undoubted Romney, is dated V)y the Director of the National 

 Portrait Gallery 1780 — 1783 ; it represents a very young man. There appears to be no 

 " William Darwin " of this date ; and the only Darwins at all of an appropriate age 

 would be the sons of Dr Erasmus Darwin by his first wife. The portrait bears no 

 marked resemblance to Erasmus or Robert Waring, nor is there any knowledge of a 

 poi'trait of Charles. Its history before purchase appears to be unknown. The difficulties 

 that have arisen in this case may emphasise the importance of returning to the good old 

 custom of painting on the canvas itself the name of the subject. 



NOTE 11 



On the Howard Ancestry of Charles Darwin 

 (See Pedigree Plate E) 



While working on the Darwin side of Francis Galton's pedigree, 1 came across 

 a good deal of material bearing on the noteworthy ancestors of Charles Darwin, and it 

 occurred to me that, as it might be many years before any one else again went through 

 the same material, it would be worth while forming a pedigree of the noteworthy 

 ancestors of Charles Darwin. Accordingly I determined to put together a pedigree 

 for Charles Darwin similar to the one already issued by the Galton Laboratory for 

 Francis Galton. In this task I have received great assistance from letters to me of the 

 late Sir George Howard Darwin touching on points I had asked him about with regard to 

 the latter pedigree, and referring to papers in his possession bearing on family history. 

 Through the kindness of Lady Darwin and Mr William Erasmus Darwin and with the per- 

 mission of Mr Charles Galton Darwin I have been able to examine a variety of documents 

 bearing on the matter ; the most valuable of these documents were drawn up many years 

 ago by Erasmus Darwin, son of Dr Erasnms Darwin; he must have had a very extended 

 antiquarian and historical knowledge of genealogical facts, which more than a century 



