Horatio Hornblower

Horatio Hornblower

Male 1798 -

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  • Name Horatio Hornblower 
    Christened 30 Sep 1798  Truro, Cornwall, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Notes 
    • The Origin of the Hornblower family

      The Hornblower surname probably began as an occupational name. According to one story, a Walter de la Grene living in England in 1320 was paid one penny per week for blowing the horn. Versions of the surname do appear in records dating back to the 1300s. including Blauhorn, Blawhorn, Horniblow, Hornblow, Hornisblow, Hornesblow, and Horneblow. The British National Archives contain deeds and papers of Hornblower family members living in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, dating as far back as the 17th century.

      Another Hornblower family tradition explains that Charles II of England (1630-1685) was captivated by the strains played by a bugler in his service. He therefore exclaimed that from that time forward the bugler, whose name was Green, should be the king?s ?horn blower.? As a reward for his service the king gave the bugler?s family an estate of Crown land at Kidderminster, near Stourbridge. Supposedly the Hornblower family crest with three bugle horns can be seen in the Tower of London.

      Apart from the great family of mining engineers who settled in Cornwall and in colonial America in the mid-eighteenth century, the best-known members of the Hornblower family are fictional. Fans of J. R. R. Tolkien recall that he tells of an important Hobbit family whose most famous member was Tobold Hornblower of Longbottom. Tobold introduced pipe-weed into the Shire. (Pipe-weed, probably a variety of Nicotiana, or tobacco plant.) Frodo Baggins had Hornblower blood. His great-grandfather Largo married one Tanta Hornblower.

      The second and probably most famous character with the surname is the British Royal Navy officer, Horatio Hornblower. The original character was created by C. S. Forester, (1899-1967) who wrote eleven novels and several short stories about the adventures of his hero, who lived during the era of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. In a 1951 movie Gregory Peck starred as Captain Horatio Hornblower. More recently, a series of movies for television based on Forester?s character retold the history of the naval hero.

      Before dismissing the fictional Hornblower, take a look at his pedigree chart. Yes, we can claim him as one of our cousins. C. Northcote Parkinson (best known for Parkinson?s Law) was so taken with the character of Horatio that he wrote a biography, ?The Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower.? In creating a family tree for his hero, Parkinson placed him in the same Hornblower family as Jonathan and Ann Carter Hornblower.

      Parkinson?s family tree shows the naval hero descended from Jonathan Hornblower, engineer, 1717-1780, through a fictional son named Jacob. The pedigree includes three ancestors who are found on the real Hornblower family pedigree. So when people jokingly ask whether you are related to Horatio, you can answer ?yes.? Incidentally, on our family tree we do have an actual Horatio Hornblower, born in 1798 to Joseph Hornblower, 1755.

    Person ID I10545  Complete
    Last Modified 21 Feb 2009 

    Father Joseph Hornblower,   b. 17 Feb 1755, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 28 Feb 1840, Chacewater, Cornwall, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 85 years) 
    Mother Grace Carpenter,   b. 1761,   d. 26 Apr 1825, Chacewater, Cornwall, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 64 years) 
    Married 23 Mar 1793  Illogan, Cornwall, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F4477  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Mary Matthews 
    Last Modified 14 Jul 2008 
    Family ID F7975  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsChristened - 30 Sep 1798 - Truro, Cornwall, England Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 
    Pin Legend  : Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  • Documents
    Family Tree for Horatio Hornblower
    Family Tree for Horatio Hornblower
    This is the family tree for the fictional character created by C. S. Forester. See note below, Origin of the Hornblower family, for a full explanation.