Sir Cecil Beadon ^{34,232,233,234}

  General Notes:

From The Times, July 20, 1880

We have to record the death of Sir Cecil Beadon, K.O.S.I., which
occurred on Sunday at Latton, Wiltshire. He was the youngest son of
the late Mr. Richard Beadon by his marriage with Annabella, daughter
of the late Sir William Pierce Ashe A'Court (sic), and was born in the
year 1816. Educated at Haileybury College, he entered the Bengal
Civil Service, and proceeded to India in 1836. He was appointed
Under-Secretary to the Government of Bengal in 1843, Secretary to the
Board of Revenue in 1847, and Secretary to the Government of Bengal in
1852. In 1854 he was appointed Secretary ot the Government of India,
Home Department, and was transferred to the Foreign Department in
1859. He was nominated a member of the Supreme Council of India in
1860, and was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal in 1862. He
recieved the Order of the Star of India in recognition of his long
services in that country on his retirement, in 1866. Sir Cecil
Beadon, who was a grandson of the late Right Rev. Dr. Richard Beadon,
Bishop of Bath and Wells, was twice married-first, in 1837, to
Harriet, daughter of Major Ralph H. Sneyd, of the Bengal Cavalry; and,
secondly, in 1858, to Agnes, daughter of Mr. William H. Sterndale, of
Ashford, Derbyshire.
Lieutenant Governor of Bengal
Educated at Eton College and Shrewsbury School. Joined the Bengal
Civil Service and reached India in 1936. Before joining as the Lt
Governor, Cecil Beadon served as the Under Secretary to the Bengal
Government, 1843; Secretary to the board of revenue, 1847; Secretary
to the Government of Bengal, 1852; Home Secretary to the Government of
India, 1854 and Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, 1859. He
was a member of the Supreme Council (1860-62) immediately before his
appointment as Lieutenant Governor. Civilian and Lieutenant Governor
of Bengal from 23 April 1862 - 23 April 1867.
During the sepoy revolt, 1857 Beadon was the Home Secretary and had to
deal with the policy measures towards suppressing the revolt. It is
alleged that many of the most harsh and inhuman measures adopted for
dealing with the mutineers originated from Beadon and the success of
such measures made him immensely popular among the Anglo-Indian
community. Beadon was mainly responsible for the idea of sending an
expedition to Bhutan for conquering the country, a plan that led to
vassalage of Bhutan to the raj.
As Lt Governor, Beadon is held responsible for destroying the
settlements of some resisting Khasias and Nagas in 1862 - 63. He is
said to have mismanaged the after-effects of the great cyclone of 1864
and the famine of 1866-67. While the famine was raging Orissa and
Bihar, Beadon chose to shift his Secretariat to Darjeeling to escape
the heat and humidity of Bengal summer. The Famine Commission (1867)
made Beadon responsible for the loss of lives and properties during
the famine. The House of Commons also criticised his role. In the face
of general criticism Cecil Beadon retired and left India in April
1867.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Census UK 1871: 1871, The Lypiatt, Lansdown, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

2. Resided: 5 March 1879, 92 Lexham Gardens, South Kensington, London. ¹³ Wife's death

3. He had an estate probated on 13 August 1880 in Principal Registry.

Cecil married Harriet Sneyd, daughter of Major Ralph H. Sneyd and Unknown, on 6 December 1837 in Allahabad, India.²³¹ (Harriet Sneyd died on 31 August 1855 in Madras, India.)

Cecil next married Agnes Sterndale, daughter of William H. Sterndale and Unknown, in 1860 in Bengal, India. (Agnes Sterndale was born on 26 September 1836 in East Indies and died on 17 August 1906 in Leintwardine, Herefordshire ¹³.)