Daniel Oliver Guion

Captain Daniel Oliver Guion

Daniel Oliver Guion (London, 20 April 1776 – Ringkøbing, 24 December 1811) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He was the son of Daniel Guion (1742–1780) – a Merchant who was befriended and professionally involved with Oliver Toulmin (Navy Agent), Major David Parry (a close friend to William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne) and Henry Cort and lived for some years in 35 Crutched Ffriars opposite to the Office of the Royal Navy^[1] – and Ann (Harwood) who would be Matron of the London Hospital 1790–1797. He was the brother of Captain Gardiner Henry Guion. The Guion family were Huguenots and probably related to the family de Guyon de Geis from France. Another Huguenot branch of this family is still living in England and a famous member of this family is Richard Debaufre Guyon, general in Hungarian and Turkish service.

Appointments

Guion was appointed lieutenant on 18 April 1794, to commander on 22 May 1796 and to captain on 21 May 1802.^[2]

Biographical notes

In 1801 Commander Guion was captain of Eurus, a 32-gun frigate, armed "en flute", with most of her guns removed, one of the 28 troop ships in Admiral Lord Keith`s fleet which carried 16,500 soldiers to Aboukir Bay on 2 March 1801. They began disembarking on the 8th. Daniel Guion was one of the five commanders put on shore under Sir Sidney Smith in charge of a battalion of 1000 seamen to co-operate with the army. Along with the other captains who had served in Egypt he was awarded a Turkish gold medal by the Grand Signior. In 1802 he was promoted to post-captain and appointed to the 50-gun HMS Trusty 1782 another troopship.

In February 1811 he was appointed to the St George as flag-captain to Vice-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds, commanding a detachment of the Baltic fleet at Hanö where merchantmen from Swedish, Finnish, Russian and Prussian ports with cargoes for England assembled to join their convoy. The last convoy of the year, 129 merchantmen, left on 1 November, but were forced back and finally left on the 9th. The convoy was dispersed by a gale on the 15th. St George narrowly escaped being wrecked on a shoal off Zealand but lost her masts and rudder. She was floated again on the 17th and Admiral Saumarez wanted the ship to winter in Sweden but both Reynolds, and Guion said she was as fit to make the passage as any in the fleet. On Tuesday 17 December the whole fleet sailed from Vingå with the St George initially in tow of the Cressy.

With jury masts and a temporary rudder she was making fair progress when the wind backed and made the coast of Jutland a lee shore. She was unable to work off and was wrecked before the coast of Thorsminde, 3 miles from Ringkøbing, Danmark on 24 December 1811, with the loss of all but seven of the 738 on board.^[3][4][5]

Family

Daniel met and married Sara Fuller-Harnett (1792–1873) in 1809 while he was cruising off Ireland near the Ponsonby's home. He fell in love with Miss Sally, as she was called, who was a beautiful girl, but was called on account of her frightful temper the beautiful fiend. They were married in her stepfather's library (against her parent's desire who nevertheless consented) and she went off with him directly. She was however disowned by her stepfather after she left with Daniel.^[6][7] She is the daughter of James Fuller-Harnett (d. 1794–1796) and Elizabeth Gun (d. 9 Jun 1812, Cork) who married 2ndly William Carrique Ponsonby (d. Bef 1837).^[8] The family lived in Crotto or Crotta House Streetview between Tarbert and Tralee. Ann Ponsonby, her halfsister, was obviously the only member of the family who kept contact with Sara. Anne married George Lloyd^[9] and their son George Ponsonby Lloyd is the only member of the family who is mentioned in Sara's last will. In her Last Will, made 1867, Sara grants legacies to a memorable list of friends. Among them are

• Joshua Wilson Faulkner and his daughter Mrs Shand and her daughters Edith and Edrica Cowling from her 1st husband
• the widow of General Richard Guyon (probably related to her late husband).
• the daughters of late General d' Arcy
• Capt Trollope
• Wife of Capt Edwards of Freshford
• Fanny, the wife of Col. Burrowes of Bourton Court

John Frederick Guyon born 21 Nov. 1807, brother of General Richard Guyon, entered the Navy, 11 Feb. 1823, as Fst.cl. Vol., on board the Tribune commanded by Capt. Gardiner Henry Guion.

References