INGELOW, George Kilgour

1821 - 1865

George Kilgour Ingelow was baptised at St Botolph’s church, Boston, Lincolnshire on 14 August 1821, eldest son of William Ingelow (1796-4 May 1855), a banker, and his wife Jean Kilgour (1800-10 October 1896), daughter of George Kilgour (1766-1839), George's elder sibling was the author Jean Ingelow (1820-1897). On the failure of William Ingelow & Son, bankers, at the first bankruptcy at Wisbech, Lincolnshire in 1825, the family moved to Ipswich where his father opened a branch of the Suffolk Banking Company in Elm Street and in 1836 purchased the banking house in Elm Street for £2,300 but the bank failed in 1845 and was merged into the East of England Bank, now part of NatWest Bank. George was educated at Ipswich grammar school where Ingelow was an intimate school friend of the future Punch artist Charles Keene, and then took a position at Oakes Bank at Bury St Edmund’s, Suffolk. Ingelow and Keene moved to London and shared lodgings in Great Ormond Street for two years but, on his father’s second bankruptcy in 1845, George moved to Calcutta, India working for the Oriental Banking Corporation. He remained in Calcutta for about ten years, during which time he kept up a regular correspondence with Keene, who managed to get some of George’s Indian drawings reproduced in the 'Illustrated London News'. George married at Danapur, India on 1 September 1849, Catherine Henchman, daughter of Francis Henchman and their daughter Kate, was born at Clive Row, Calcutta the following year. He then moved to Singapore where he remained for about a year before finally moving to Sydney, Australia, taking the position as an agent to the Oriental Bank, and where his son was born on 10 August 1855 and a daughter Edith was born in 1857. George Kilgour Ingelow, manager of the Oriental Bank Corporation died at O'Connell Street, Sydney, New South Wales on 10 August 1865, his daughter Edith [Stocker] was the executor to his will. During his time in Australia, he continued with his painting and etching and in April 1855 is listed as a member of the Sydney Sketching Club and in 1862 exhibited his work at the London International Exhibition. Ingelow's poet sister Jean dedicated her 'Poems' (London 1867), written in 1863, 'to George K. Ingelow. Your loving sister offers you these poems, partly as an expression of her affection, partly for the pleasure of connecting her efforts with your name.’ he had in fact died some two years prior to their publication. (Copsey - Suffolk Writers 1800-1900)

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Works by This Artist