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 1795 - 1877 (82 years)
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| Name |
John Rice Crowe |
| Birth |
1795 |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
10 Jan 1877 |
| Person ID |
I253107 |
Cecilie Family |
| Last Modified |
5 Apr 2016 |
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| Photos |
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| Notes |
- 6 years Russian service, part of the time under his Uncle, Admiral Crowe
Vice-Consul to Great Britain @ Hammerfest May 1824
Consul for the Province of Finmarken, to reside at Hammerfest Mar 14, 1837
Consul-General in Norway to Great Britain, 16 august 1843
Queen Victoria appointed him to be Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the Third Class, or Companions, of the most Honourable Order of the Bath, 06 Dec 1859
King Oscar I, of Norway, honored him by appointing him Commander of the Order of St. Olaf
At Windsor Castle, Queen Victoria conferred the Honour of Knighthood on John Rice Crowe, Esq., C.B., 07 July 1874
Retired at Kristiania on a pension 02 April 1875
Sir John Rice Crowe (taken from a newspaper published in Kristiana, Norway, January 21st, 1877.
The man whose picture is shown on our front page today, will, on the report of his sudden death, be remembered by many in this country, notwithstanding the fact that he did not exactly belong in the ranks of distinguished Norsemen or among the geniuses of the mind that naturally become the property of the civilized world at large.
As a representative of the British Nation with which we have so many and varied connections, he was brought in close contact with many different individuals and enterprises and these fellow interests has formed a strong tie between him and us.
He felt that this city was his home and after resigning his position as British General Consul, he continued to reside at his villa "Nunkedammen" where his family also was residing and could gather at his home. There is no document to ascertain just what year Sir John was born. He generally gave 1795 as the year in which he was born, but it might have been nearer the 90's. His father died at the age of 24 and so, when 10 years of age, he was adopted by his uncle, Adm. Crowe, who at that time saw service in Russia. He served in the militia under his uncle's command for several years and fought in the battle against the Turks at the Isle of Lemnos and also at the conquest of the Isle of Tenedos.
When his uncle died he went back to England and was for two years attached to the Russian embassy wherefrom he resigned and entered the Civil Administration. We are informed that the first time Crowe's name was mentioned in this country was in connection with the famous Bodo case and this surely can be ascertained by a reading of the documents in connection with this case, but later on we find that Crowe represented his nation in a different way and shows England in a better light that in this deplorable case, where England take the stand that "Might is Right".
In 1823 Crowe came to Kaafjordens Coppermine’s as Superintendent and 1824 sees him as British Vice-Consul at Hammerfest (Northernmost city in the world). In 1843 he was promoted to British General-consul at Kristiania (Oslo) and has held this position until two years ago. He had far-reaching and influential connections in his native country and in this way Sir John was able to be of great assistance with the different projects launched by British capitalists and he was very eager to see more intercourse between us and the British Empire.
In this way, we think he was largely the mainspring to get the steamship line to Hull started and whose first boat was the "Courier."
We have reason to believe that, when Westye Egebert got a survey started on the new railway line to Eidswold, Sir John was the one who got English capitalists interested in the project and we know that his word on the subject carried great weight. He was also a medium to get the Kristiania Gas Plant started and he was a director of the Great Railroad for many years, representing the English interests.
Sir John has a pleasant and friendly personality and his house was a gathering place for the finest amongst our citizens and also for the influential Britishers who made trips to our City. As the British representative in our country he was showing great tact and we are certain that both in his official reports as well as in private business affairs he never failed to point our our financial outlook in a favorable light as he knew it by personal contact. It means a lot to a country's credit on the World-Bourse in London when a man like Sir John who has numerous acquaintances in England who has studied Norwegian conditions and in his official position as England's representative takes an interest in seeing it stabilized and recognized. It was very fitting indeed that upon his retiring as General-Consul a large body of Kristiania’s citizens arranged for a banquet in his honour at the Victoria Hotel on April 17, 1875 At this banquet the Mayor of Kristiania, Herr Lovenskiold gave the toast to the guest of honour at this, his 50th Anniversary as Consul in this country. The speaker also mentioned that it is a not unusual thing to foregather to show honour to a fellow citizen who has served his country and community but it is very much out of the ordinary that a citizen of a foreign land and serving his own country within our boundaries so has lived himself into our hearts and affections that we feel that he is also our fellow citizen.
Such is the case with Sir John. He has spent the best years of his life among us and during this time has gained our unstinted love and respect through his own goodwill and absolute integrity in his dealings for our interests. A short time before this, General Consul Crowe was awarded the honour of Knighthood of the Order of Bath by Queen Victoria. Before this, our own King had honoured him by appointing him a commander of the Order of St. Olaf.
Sir John passed away in the afternoon of January 10th. He was not feeling very well and after his doctor had left the house he went to lie down while reading his paper. So quietly as to be unknown by his daughter who was in the same room, he passed away though heart failure. The funeral was largely attended. Sir John was married and was also mourned by several children and grandchildren. One of his sons, Septimus Crowe is Vice-Consul at Kristiania and a daughter married to Manufacturer Halvor Schou, of this city.
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