Bassett Family Association - , Modern Founder (originally founded in 1897)
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Splinters From The Tree December 2010
(1) Welcome * * * * * Section 2 - Featured Bassett: Death of Bryan Basset EDP24, Britain’s Regional Newspaper of the Year Industrialist Bryan Basset, who was made CBE and also farmed on the Holkham estate in North Norfolk, has died peacefully after a short illness, aged 78. As chairman of Royal Ordnance, he oversaw the sale of the state-owned business, which had 16 factories and employed 19,000 people, to British Aerospace in April 1987 for £188.5m. After a long career in the city, Mr Basset, of Quarles, near Wells, who was awarded a CBE in the 1988 New Year’s Honours list, had resigned from the board of Royal Ordnance. His marriage at the parish church of St Withburga, Holkham, to Lady Carey Coke, second daughter of the former Earl and Countess of Leicester, on April 30, 1960, was described as “the wedding of the year”. The wedding vows were exchanged in front of the former Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Percy Herbert, and the witnesses included the Queen Mother. The bridegroom’s mother was a Women of the Bedchamber for the Queen Mother for some 30 years. After a reception for about 500 guests at the hall, the bride and groom left by helicopter for a honeymoon in Beirut. Educated at Eton and then the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, he became a captain in the Scots Guards. Then Mr Basset joined a stockbrokers in Toronto, Canada, in 1957. After two years, he returned to London and worked for the city stockbrokers, Panmure Gordon & Co until 1972. Earlier in December 1971, Mr Basset and his wife were fortunate to survive a serious accident on a private road on the Holkham estate. After his Bentley hit an 80ft high obelisk in Holkham Park in thick fog, he broke five ribs and his wife had multiple fractures to her arm. Both were admitted to the Norfolk & Norfolk Hospital. In 1972, he became managing director of Philip Hill Investment Trust until 1985, when he was appointed to head Royal Ordnance. A reserved man, who enjoyed shooting and fishing, he had always taken a keen interest in the mainly arable farm at Quarles.
He introduced the hardy breed of Sussex cattle to the estate. Particularly interested in pedigree cattle, he also introduced a new pedigree breed, the Saler, which were successfully crossed with his native stock to produce faster-growing and leaner beef animals.
In 1996, a home-bred cow, the eight-year-old Quarles Viagere took the first supreme championship in the British Salers at the Royal Norfolk Show and a yearling heifer was reserve junior female.
At the 1997 Royal Show at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, his Quarles cattle dominated the breed championships to take supreme titles. * * * * * Section 3 - Featured Bassett: The Honorable John Down Bassett of Washington An Illustrated History of the Big Bend Country Embracing Hon. John D. Bassett, one of the most widely known bankers in the State of Washington, now living in Ritzville, was born in Plainfield, Connecticut, January 6, 1858, and is descended from an old English family, which came to Connecticut and settled in Guilford in 1660. His father, William E. Bassett, a Congregational minister, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and his mother, Mary (Dowd) Bassett, was also a native of the "Wooden Nutmeg State," and came of one of the old New England families. The father died in 1881 and the mother five years later in Norfolk, Connecticut.
Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, September 16, 1937 J.D. Bassett, first banker in Adams county and deputy state auditor for many years, died Tuesday morning at his home in Spokane. * * * * * Section 4 - Featured Bassett: David Bassett and son Robert N. Bassett of Connecticut The History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1800 David Bassett was born in Derby, 1789, was a blacksmith by trade, and one of the pioneer manufacturers of the town. He leased the privilege of building a dam on Beaver Brook in 1831, and afterwards built his auger factory at this place, now Ansonia. Prior to this, Walter French, at Humphreysville, a local Methodist preacher, made augers, and is believed to have been the first auger make in Connecticut. In 1836 Mr. Bassett at Birmingham manufactured augers in connection with Eleazor Peck, which he carried on very successfully for many years, when he retired, leaving the business in the hands of his son, Robert N. Bassett. Mr. Bassett also established the coal trade in Derby, and many of our citizens will remember how faithfully he served the public with honest coal at $3 a ton. He was one of the substantial, influential, upright men of the town; was its Representative in the Legislature in 1844, deacon in his church (Congregational) for many years, and died full of honors, deeply lamented, at the advanced age of 83 years.
* * * * * Section 5 - Featured Bassett: John Bassett, editor of the Printing World Typo: A Monthly Newspaper and Literary Review, Volume 7 Bassett – On 14th December, 1892, John Bassett, proprietor and editor of the Printing World, aged 29. Supplement to the Phonetic Journal for ‘7 Jan., 1893 Mr. John Bassett, editor and proprietor of the London Phonographer, and of the Printing World, died at his residence at Mortlake, on 13th December, after only forty-eight hours’ illness. The deceased gentleman had long suffered from affection of the lungs and heart, the immediate cause of death being hemorrhage. An industrious and able worker, there is reason to fear that he put too great strain on a constitution which was never very hardy. A career of much promise has thus been brought to an early close, Mr. Bassett’s death occurring when he had but just completed his twenty-ninth year. We are indebted to a notice contributed to the Printing Times and Lithographer a few months since by Mr. E. Whitfield Crofts, for the following biographical particulars: - Mr. Bassett came of an old Cornish family, and was born on 12th December, 1863. After leaving school he was apprenticed to Mr. Frederick Rodda, the leading printer in Penzance, with whom he served his time. Mr. Rodda has remarked to the writer that Mr. Bassett was the best apprentice he ever had, intelligent beyond the average, and always thorough and conscientious. At the expiration of his apprenticeship he took the management of an office at Taunton, from whence he determined to go to London, and here he secured a situation in one of the largest printing establishments in the City. At the end of four years he left to undertake the management of a large magazine and jobbing office in Shoe Lane. Though he had only just passed his majority, he was by this time master of every detail of his business, and had acquired a very considerable knowledge of typography in all its branches. Moreover he was graduating as a practical journalist, and was soon engaged in writing on typographical subjects for several French, American, and English papers, including The Inland Printer, Les Archives de l’Imprimerie, and the Effective Advertiser. He eventually became editor of the last named periodical, and filled this post with great efficiency until the latter part of 1890, when he resigned in order to launch the Printing World. The contemplated undertaking was considered unwise by many of his friends. He had, however, well calculated the difficulties before him, and his enterprise was rewarded in the success of his journal from the outset. To his genial and cheery manner, his tact and thorough-going business qualities, he was doubtless largely indebted for the success which he achieved. He was a very hard worker, and there is little doubt that during the first few months of his new venture he worked too hard, and his health consequently gave way under the strain. Thus for several months the journal was conducted under great difficulties, but even in the most acute stages of his illness the keen interest which he took in the paper was undiminished. His active mind, apparently, did not find sufficient occupation, as editor of a single paper, and in June, 1891, Mr. Bassett, who was a phonographer, projected a new journal, the London Phonographer, which has become very popular with phonographers and typists. He married in 1891, the eldest daughter of the late Mr. Augustus Aubert, of Regent street, W. * * * * * Section 6 - New family lines combined or added since the last newsletter The following family lines have been added since the last newsletter. 28B. George Lott Bassett of Warrington, Lancashire, England (b. 1827) * * * * * Section 7 - DNA project update Donations of any amount can be made to the Bassett DNA project by clicking on the link below. Any funds donated will be used to fund select Bassett DNA tests that will further our project as a whole and benefit all Bassetts worldwide. http://www.familytreedna.com/group-general-fund-contribution.aspx?g=Bassett This is just a reminder that the DNA portion of the Bassett Family Association can be found at: http://www.bassettbranches.org/dna/ A current spreadsheet of results can be found at: http://www.bassettbranches.org/dna/BassettDNA.xls If you don't have Excel and can't open the spreadsheet above, you can now see the DNA test results at the following website. http://www.familytreedna.com/public/Bassett/ Jeffrey Bassett | |
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