Kitty Kirkpatrick
Encyclopedia
Katherine Aurora "Kitty" Kirkpatrick (9 April 1802–1889) was born in India
to James Achilles Kirkpatrick
, British
Resident
in Hyderabad
(1798–1805), and Khair-un-Nissa, a Hyderabadi noblewoman, but lived most of her life in England
. She was for a few years the love interest of the Scottish
writer and philosopher Thomas Carlyle
.
and Keston
, Kent
, leaving their mother in India.
Although brought up as Muslims, the two children were baptised on 25 March 1805 at St. Mary’s Church, Marylebone Road
, and were thereafter known by their new Christian names, William George Kirkpatrick and Katherine Aurora "Kitty" Kirkpatrick. William was disabled in 1812 after falling into boiling water and had to have an arm amputated; he married and had three children but died in 1828 aged 27.
, M.P., she met Thomas Carlyle, who was then employed as the Buller children's tutor. Romance was encouraged by another of Kitty's cousins, Julia (who married Edward Strachey, grandfather of the writer Lytton Strachey
), but the marriage of a wealthy lady to a poor, struggling writer was not generally approved of. Instead, on 21 November 1829, Kitty married Captain James Winslowe Phillipps and went on to have seven children.
Kitty Phillips died in Torquay
, Devon
, in 1889.
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to James Achilles Kirkpatrick
James Achilles Kirkpatrick
Lieutenant Colonel James Achilles Kirkpatrick was the British Resident at Hyderabad from 1798 to 1805. He also built the historic Koti Residency in Hyderabad, a landmark and major tourist attraction.-Biography :...
, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Resident
Resident (title)
A Resident, or in full Resident Minister, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indirect rule....
in Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
(1798–1805), and Khair-un-Nissa, a Hyderabadi noblewoman, but lived most of her life in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. She was for a few years the love interest of the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
writer and philosopher Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
.
Early life in India
Kitty Kirkpatrick was born Noor un-Nissa, Sahib Begum, at Hyderabad. In 1805, the year of her father's death, she and her elder brother Mir Ghulam Ali, Sahib Allum, were sent to live with their grandfather Colonel James Kirkpatrick, in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Keston
Keston
Keston is a part suburban, part rural area of the London Borough of Bromley, England. It lies on the edge of Hayes Common, to the northwest of Greater London's border with Kent.-History:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, leaving their mother in India.
Although brought up as Muslims, the two children were baptised on 25 March 1805 at St. Mary’s Church, Marylebone Road
Marylebone Road
Marylebone Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east-west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington...
, and were thereafter known by their new Christian names, William George Kirkpatrick and Katherine Aurora "Kitty" Kirkpatrick. William was disabled in 1812 after falling into boiling water and had to have an arm amputated; he married and had three children but died in 1828 aged 27.
Personal life
Her brother's death, as well as that of her grandfather and other relations, left Kitty with an inheritance estimated at about £50,000. In 1822, while staying with her cousin Barbara Isabella, wife of Charles BullerCharles Buller
Charles Buller , was a British barrister, politician and reformer.-Background and education:Born in Calcutta, British India, Buller was the son of Charles Buller , a member of a well-known Cornish family, and Barbara Isabella Kirkpatrick, daughter of General William Kirkpatrick, considered an...
, M.P., she met Thomas Carlyle, who was then employed as the Buller children's tutor. Romance was encouraged by another of Kitty's cousins, Julia (who married Edward Strachey, grandfather of the writer Lytton Strachey
Lytton Strachey
Giles Lytton Strachey was a British writer and critic. He is best known for establishing a new form of biography in which psychological insight and sympathy are combined with irreverence and wit...
), but the marriage of a wealthy lady to a poor, struggling writer was not generally approved of. Instead, on 21 November 1829, Kitty married Captain James Winslowe Phillipps and went on to have seven children.
Contact with India in later life
After 36 years of silence, Kitty was able to establish contact with her grandmother Sharaf un-Nissa with the help of Englishman Henry Russell. Although they never saw each other again, the two women corresponded regularly for six years.Kitty Phillips died in Torquay
Torquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, in 1889.
Further reading
The story of the love affair between Kitty's parents is the focus of William Dalrymple's book White MughalsWhite Mughals
White Mughals is a 2002 history book by William Dalrymple.Its Dalrymple's fifth major book.-Summary:The book is a work of social history about the warm relations that existed between the British and some Indians in the 18th and early 19th century, when one in three British men in India was married...
.