Crawford Caffin 1844-1891

Crawford Caffin

Of all the Caffyns I have found, Crawford Caffin is my least favourite because in 1889 he changed his name by deed poll from Crawford Caffin to Crawford Crawford-Caffin.

Crawford is the son of James Crawford Caffin and Frances nee Atfield who married in 1843 in Widley, Hampshire.  Crawford was their eldest child born in 1844 and baptised in Portsea on the 18th August; he had six younger sisters.

The Crawford name comes from Crawford Caffin's paternal grandmother - Bethia Crawford.  Bethia married William Caffyn in Plumstead on the 18th December 1801.  They had six children including James Crawford Caffin who was their fourth child, he was baptised in Woolwich in 1812.   William worked at the Royal Laboratory where weapons and ammunition were designed and produced, he did well for himself and was considered a gentleman by the time he died in 1869 (he was worth the equivalent of £6-£13 million).

William and Bethia's son James joined the Royal Navy in 1824, making the rank of commander in 1842 just before his marriage to Frances Atfield.  He eventually became the director of stores in the war department until retirement in 1868 when he was made a civil KCB and in 1877 was made Admiral.  Frances died in 1871 and James in 1883.

The Times - 25th April 1889

Crawford Caffin also joined the Royal Navy, by 1879 he had reached the rank of commander, he was involved in the Zulu campaign and served in Alexandria during the Egyptian war.  He married Josephine Mary Rose in 1883 at St Judes in Southsea but they had no children.  As mentioned Crawford changed his name in 1889 but he died in Nice on the 9th March 1891 aged just 46 years.  His wife remarried in 1896 to Lauritz Holst, an artist from Denmark.