Indian Mutiny 1857-59, no clasp (Mr. G, H, Kearney. Volunteer) nearly extremely fine ...

Indian Mutiny 1857-59, no clasp (Mr. G, H, Kearney. Volunteer) nearly extremely fine £300-£400 --- Whilst this medal is correct in all respects, it is unclear exactly where Kearney came under fire. The Directories place him around Meerut and the Etawah and Aligarh Districts at the time of the Mutiny but the medal rolls fail to mention him. It is known that small groups of resourceful Indigo Planters and other growers joined together roaming through these districts looking for safe haven. George Henry Kearney was born on 22 April 1829, at Nasirabad, son of James Kearney, Gunner, 3rd Company, 4th Battalion Bombay Artillery and his wife Ann. He had enlisted in 1808 stating he was a labourer from Tullakean, County Down, for a period of 7 years. He served for 24 years before joining the Bombay reserve corps 1st Company Artillery Invalids in 1832, with further reserve service in the Invalid Veteran Company to 11 November 1841. He was struck off for Europe on 1 October 1845, an impressive 37 years service albeit much in the reserves. Kearney's adult life from the Directories and Mofussil lists show him firstly living at Hauper, a sub-district of Meerut, from 1849 to 1854. In 1852 it is noted he bought seedlings from the Botanical Gardens of the North West Provinces showing he resided at Goojranwalla, now in modern day Pakistan. In 1859 he resided at Aligarh being the Officiating Superintendent of Roads confirmed by his payment of subscriptions to “The Engineer's Journal and Railway and Public Works Chronicle of India and the Colonies”. In 1862 he is listed as an Indigo Planter at Bholee Plantation, Etawah and also a committee member to promote the objects of the provincial exhibition. In 1875 he was the Assistant at the Muloye Indigo factory Aligarh. While Kearney states he was an Indigo planter, his later writings indicate he was equally at home with the growing of cotton and coffee. This was partly due to the 1859 Indigo Revolt. The growing of Indigo forced by planters on land rented by the local peasants, or Ryots, from the land owning Zamindars had a devastating effect on both planters and growers alike. With the Ryots growing no food for their families both growers and planters had to diversify into food and other commodities. In 1863 Kearney was brought before a committee with respect to “cotton” growing in the Doab and the lack of water being distributed to the growers. His solution was to place the revenue from the Ganges Canal into the hands of the Collector which the Zamindars, who did not attend, thought a very bad idea. A. O. Hume, Commissioner of the district, stated that Indigo growing in and around the Etawah and Aligarh districts had declined considerably in favour of cotton and other profitable commodities. Kearney was a regular contributor and member of the Asiatic Society with learned articles on such subjects as the “Mode of destroying the Cotton Bole Worm”. Other contributions were to the Magazine of Natural History with respect to Butterflies found at the Berkodee Coffee-Estates at Mysore and to the Bombay Natural History Society. Further he was a Correspondent of the Indian Museum. In 1860 he married Arabella Frances, aged 14, at Chunar the daughter of Charles Hurley, Assistant Apothecary to the 31st Regiment, stating that he was an Indigo Planter at Aligarh. He had two daughters namely Arabella Frances Hurley who became the Principal of St. John's School, Dalhousie, Punjab (died 1890) and Kathleen Antoinette Isabella. Kearney died on 2 July 1900, of hyperpyrexia and is buried at Agra Cantonment Cemetery.