Lot 68: John Thomas Barber Beaumont, FSA, FGS (British, 1774-1841) Captain Samuel Edward Cook (later Widdrington) RN (1787-1856), wearing blue coat, white waistcoat, chemise and stock

Captain Samuel Edward Cook (later Widdrington) RN (1787-1856), wearing blue coat, white waistcoat, chemise and stock.
Signed on the obverse with initials itb, gold frame, the reverse glazed to reveal strands of hair set with gilt-wire and split seed pearls on opalescent glass.
Oval, 60mm (2 3/8in) high
Provenance: The Widdrington family, Newton Hall, Northumberland

Samuel was the eldest of the three sons and two daughters of Reverend Joseph Cook and his wife, Sarah (née Brown), the great-niece of Nathaniel Widdrington (d.1780), the last in the male line of the Widdringtons of Hausley. The Widdringtons were powerful land owning Barons in Northumberland recorded as far back as the 12th century. Upon Nathaniel's death, the family estates passed out of the family until revived by the descendants of Samuel Cook (b.1722) for whom Newton Hall was built in 1772. Captain Samuel Edward Cook assumed the name Widdrington upon the death of his mother in 1840, along with his co-heir General Sir David Tinling Widdrington KCH.

Samuel joined the navy in 1802 at the age of fifteen, as a midshipman. He became a lieutenant when stationed in the West Indies in 1809 and captured a French government transport ship aboard the Swallow in 1813. Samuel retired as a Commander in 1824, having been decorated by the King of Portugal for services to the crown.

His naval career concluded, Samuel lived in Spain between 1829 and 1832. Upon his return to Newton Hall in 1832, he married Dorothy, the youngest daughter of Alexander Davison (1750-1829), an agent and confidant to Lord Admiral Nelson. Dorothy shared his love of painting and travelling. In 1834, Samuel published 'Sketches in Spain'. The couple returned to Spain in 1843 and published 'Spain and the Spaniards'. Samuel became a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Geographical Society.