Sandeman Scrapbook - Biographical notices (e.g. from "Who's Who")

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* Albert George Sandeman (1833- ) - Who's Who	* John Glas Sandeman (1836-1921) - Who's Who
* Alfred Patrick Sandeman (1868- ) - Whitaker's Peerage	* Phyllis E. Sandeman (wife of Henry Gerard Walter Sandeman) - Debrett's Peerage
* Condie Sandeman (1868- ) - Who's Who	* Robert Sandeman (1718-1771) - Dictionary of National Biography
* D.G. Sandeman - Cumulative Book Index	* Robert Sandeman (1718-1771) - The Popular Encyclopedia
* David Alexander Stewart Sandeman - Whitaker's Peerage	* Robert Sandeman (1718-1771) - American National Biography
* Edward Sandeman (1862- ) - Who's Who	* Robert Sandeman (1718-1771) - The New International Encyclopaedia
* George Sandeman (1724-1803) - Conniseur	* Robert Sandeman (1718-1771) - Sandemanians - The Catholic Encyclopedia
* Gerald Robert Sandeman - Whitaker's Peerage	* Robert Groves Sandeman (1835-1892) - Dictionary of National Biography
* Gerard Sandeman (Hon. Mrs.) - Whitaker's Peerage	* Robert Groves Sandeman (1835-1892) - Cassell's Encyclopaedia
* Henry George Glas Sandeman (1868- ) - Who's Who	* Robert Groves Sandeman (1835-1892) - Dod's Peerage
* Henry Gerard Walter Sandeman ( -1953) - Debrett's Peerage	* Robert Groves Sandeman (1835-1892) - Colonel Sir Robert Sandeman; his Life and Work on our Indian Frontier. By Thomas Henry Thornton [book review], and Chapter One
* Isabella Emma Sandeman - Whitaker's Peerage	* Ronald Leighton Sandeman - Whitaker's Peerage

Biographical Notices

Chairman of George G. Sandeman, Sons & Co., Limited, London; Director of the Bank of England (Governor 1895-1897); one of H.M.’s Commissioners of Lieutenancy for the City of London; Commissioner of Income Tax for the City of London; President of the London Chamber of Commerce, 1898; J.P. for Hertfordshire,

Born 21 October 1833; son of George Glas Sandeman, merchant of London and Oporto, and Elizabeth, daughter of Albert Forster.

Married Maria Carlota Perpetua de Moraes Sarmento, daughter of Viscount Moncorvo, Portugese Ambassador to Court of St. James’s, 1856.

High Sheriff of Surrey, 1872; late Major 12th Middlesex (Prince of Wales’s Own Civil Service) R.V.

Note: Later editions give address as Greylands, Bexhill-on-Sea. T.:Bexhill 381.

Lt.-Col. Alfred Patrick Sandeman, O.B.E., I.A. Whitaker’s Peerage (1912) p.726

Born 1868, son of F. Stewart Sandeman, of Stanley, Perthshire, and Laura, daughter of James Condie, writer, Perth.

Educated: Perth Academy; Craigmount; Edinburgh University. Called to Scottish bar, 1889.

Clubs: Royal Automobile; Scottish Conservative, Edinburgh; Elie Golf House; Burgess Golf. Who’s Who (1912)

Note: Later editions list clubs: Royal Automobile; University, Edinburgh; Royal and Ancient, St. Andrews; Honourable Company, Musselburgh.

London, Longman, 1971. 157pp., illust. (paperback) £2.95 Cumulative Book Index

(1973) Note: State Library of S.A. purchased a copy of this book on publication.

M.Sc.; M. Inst. C.E., M.I. Mech. E.; Associate Professor of Water Supply and Irrigation, Manchester University; consulting civil engineer.

Born 8 December 1862, 5th son of the late William Sandeman of Hollin Bank, Church, Lancashire.

Married Edith Mary, daughter of William P. Vosper, Merafield, Plympton St. Mary, Devon. Two sons.

Constructed works for supplying Plymouth with water from Dartmoor, whilst acting as Water Engineer to that town, 1891-1900, and during succeeding 12 years constructed works of water supply costing three millions sterling for supply of Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, and the county of Derby.

Hon. Mrs. Gerard Sandeman, daughter of the second Baron Newton. Whitaker’s Peerage (1925) See Henry Gerard Walter Sandeman, below.

Joined H.M.S. Britannia as Naval Cadet, 1881, served as Flag-Lieut. to Admiral Sir J. O. Hopkins, G.C.B., in N. America and West Indies and in Mediterranean; commanded H.M.S. Britannia, European War; Commodore and Senior Naval Officer at Hong Kong, 1916-1918; retired 1918.

Rr.-Adm Henry George Glas Sandeman, C.M.G., R.N. Whitaker’s Peerage (1912) p.726

John Glas Sandeman, M.V.O. 1902; F.S.A.; late sub-officer and Senior Member H. M. Bodyguard Hon. Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms.

Born 18 August, 1836, second son of late George Glas Sandeman of Westfield, Hayling Island.

Married,1862, Eliza Victoire Cormick, eldest daughter of late Captain Henry C. Lynch of Galway and Leigh Park, Hants.

Served in 1st Royal Dragoons, 1853-1859; Crimean Campaign, 1854-1856, battles of Balaklava, Inkerman and Tehernaya, and siege of Sebastopol; afterwards Lieut.-Col. commanding Essex Yeomanry Cavalry, and Hon. Lieutenant Royal Naval Reserve; Cavalheiro of the Order of Christ in Portugal.

Clubs: Junior United Service (Hon.); Royal St. George Yacht, Kingstown; Union, Brighton.

See also: Rear-Admiral H. G. G. Sandeman; Sir N. Bowden-Smith. Who’s Who (1920)

Scottish sectary, eldest son of David Sandeman, merchant and magistrate (1735-1763), of Perth, was born at Perth in 1718. After being apprenticed at Perth as a linen-weaver, he studied a session or two at Edinburgh University. While hesitating between medicine and the church as his future profession, he came under the influence of John Glas, whose religious views he adopted. Returning to Perth in 1730, he married in the following year Glas’s daughter Katherine (died 1746) and entered into partnership with his brother, William Sandeman, as a linen manufacturer. From this business he withdrew in 1744, on being appointed an elder in the Glassite communion. He exercised his ministry successively at Perth, Dundee, and Edinburgh, and became widely known by his ‘Letters’ (1757) in criticism of the ‘Dialogues between Theron and Aspasio’ by James Hervey (1714-1758). This publication led to a controversy with Samuel Pike, who ultimately became his disciple. In 1760 Sandeman removed to London, where he gathered a congregation at Glovers’ Hall, Beech Lane, Barbican. It was soon transferred to a building formerly the Friends’ meeting-house, in Bull and Mouth Street, St. Martin’s-le-Grand. His writings and preaching attracted attention. Among those who went to hear him was William Romaine.

On the urgent invitation of his followers in New England, Sandeman sailed from Glasgow for Boston on 10 August 1764, with James Cargill and Andrew Olifant. The first church of his connexion was founded at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 4 May, 1765. He succeeded in planting other churches in New England, but the success of his mission was hindered by his warmth in urging the duty of loyalty to the mother country at a critical time in American politics. In March, 1770, he was brought to trial by the authorities of Connecticut. He died at Danbury, Connecticut, on 2 April, 1771. His interment there was the signal for a hostile display of political feeling.

Sandeman added nothing to the principles of theology and church polity adopted by Glas; but his advocacy gave them vogue, and the religious community which is still called Glassites in Scotland is recognised as Sandemanian in England and America.

2. Letters on Theron and Aspasio (1757) 2 vols (often reprinted); a contribution to

In Christian Songs, Perth, 1847, 8vo, are nineteen pieces of religious verse by Sandeman, of no poetical merit.

2. Biography by D. M[itchelson] in Discourses (1857) (portrait, wearing wig)

Scottish sectary, born in Perth. Having married a daughter of John Glas, he became so identified with the doctrines of his father-in-law, that the body known as the Glassites in Scotland is known as the Sandemanians in England and America. In 1744 Sandeman resolved to devote himself entirely to the ministry. In 1760 he formed a congregation in London, and in 1764 sailed for New England, but was prosecuted by the colonial authorities. Cassell’s Encyclopaedia

In whom the sect called Sandemanians originated, was born at Perth, in Scotland, in 1723. He studied at Edinburgh, and afterwards engaged in the linen trade. On marrying the daughter of the Rev. John Glass (founder of the Glassites) he became an elder in his congregation, and soon after published a series of letters, in which he endeavours to show that a justifying faith means nothing more than a simple assent to the divine mission of Christ. This position caused much controversy, and those who adopted it were called Sandemanians. Having formed themselves into church order, they now form a separate, but not numerous religious body, chiefly in Scotland. The chief opinions and practices in which this sect differs from others are their weekly administration of the Lord’s supper, washing each others’ feet, &c. In 1764 Mr. Sandeman accepted an invitation to New England, where he died in 1771. He was author of some other theological tracts besides his Letters on Theron and Aspasio.

SANDEMAN, Robert (29 Apr. 1718 - 2 Apr. 1771). founder of the Sandemanian churches in New England, was born in Perth, Scotland, the son of David Sandeman and Margaret Ramsay. His father was a wealthy linen merchant and magistrate. Around 1734 Robert enrolled at the University of Edinburgh, where he intended to becone either a minister in the national Church of Scotland or a medical doctor.

At Edinburgh Sandeman met John Glas, founder and leader of the Glassite sect. In the 1720s, Glas, a minister in the Church of Scotland at Tealing (near Dundee), had concluded that the concept of a national church contradicted the teaching of Scripture. In 1725 nearly one hundred members of his congregation agreed to follow in Glas’s teaching and establish their faith on Scripture alone. Glas and his followers were soon deemed a threat to the social and ecclesiastical order of Scotland, and following the publication of his views, he was suspended (1728) and deposed (1730) by the Church of Scotland. As a fervent restorationist--one who seeks to reform the Christian faith by restoring New Testament teachings and practices of the church--Glas not only advocated congregational independency and the separation of the church from the state, but he also promoted a return to the early church’s practice of weekly communion, believer’s baptism by immersion, and footwashing. When Glas visited Edinburgh in 1734 to form a "Glassite" meetinghouse, he found an enthusiastic convert in Sandeman.

After completing two terms at the university, Sandeman returned to Perth as an apprentice in the weaving business. From 1736 to 1744 he and his brother William manufactured linen. In 1737 he married Glas’s eldest daughter, Katherine. After his election to the office of elder in the Perth Glassite church in 1744, Sandeman withdrew from the weaving business and devoted his energies to the church.

For a quarter of a century, beginning in the mid-1750s, Sandeman greatly assisted in the expansion of Glassite congregations. His aggressive and controversial ways overshadowed the amiable manner of his father-in-law, and gradually Sandeman became the movement’s leader. In 1757 he published Letters on Theron and Aspasio, his major theological treatise and a work that thrust the small and insignificant Glassites into public view. Earlier, Sandeman had carried on a private correspondence with Evangelical Anglican clergyman James Hervey over Hervy’s theological views expressed on Dialogue between Theron and Aspasio (1755). Sandeman’s Letters was a public rejoinder to Hervy’s Calvinism, particularly Hervy’s defense of the doctrine of the "imputed righteousness" of Christ. This doctrine, first expressed by Martin Luther, developed by Philip Melancthon, and taken up by virtually all of the majot Protestant reformers, held that God’s justifying righteousness was imputed in the sinner by God through the merits of Christ’s righteousness. Sandeman argued otherwise, attacked the doctrine as unscriptural, and insisted that faith alone, not a divine transaction, ensured salvation. Sandeman advanced an intellectualist view of faith, which he defined as a simple assent to scriptural testimony about Christ. His convictions put him squarely at odds with the writings of Jonathan Edwards, whose views on evangelical repentance and the role of the affections were popular among evangelicals on both sides of the Atlantic. Sandeman thus rejected the evangelical conception of an emotional, heartfelt conversion experience as a necessary precondition to salvation.

In 1760, Sandeman’s Letters were published in America. The book gained favor with a few New England ministers, including two Connecticut clergymen, David Judson of Newtown and Ebenezer White of Danbury. Disillusioned with the theological factionalism and spiritual torpor then prevalent among Congregationalists, Judson, White, and several other clergy found in Sandeman’s writings a tonic for Congregationalism’s ills. A correspondence ensued with Sandeman, who, encouraged by the reception of his views, embarked for the colonies. He arrived in Boston in the fall of 1764, accompanied by James Cargill, a Dunkeld (Scotland) Elder.

Sandeman itinerated up and down the Atlantic coast, preaching wherever he could find an audience--in taverns, public houses, and Separatist churches. While he attracted sizeable crowds, they tended to be more curious than convinced of his message. But Sandeman persisted, even when threatened with violence. On 14 December 1764 a Portsmouth, New Hampshire, mob broke the windows of a meetinghouse where Sandeman was preaching and gave him four days to leave. Leave he did, but by the folllowing May Portsmouth Sandemanians (as Glassites were called in America) established a church. In 1765, when the Stamp Act was issued, Sandeman and his Portsmouth followers became even more unpopular when they expressed their loyalty to the British Crown. They proclaimed that Scriptures explicitly taught the duty of citizens to support those in political authotity over them. Their views, however, enjoined a passive rather than active loyalty; that is, Sandemanians recognized England’s authority, but they refused to actively support Britain’s efforts to quash the rising independence movement. During the Revolution, however, such distinctions meant little, as in 1777 when several Sandemanians were ordered out of New Haven for expressing Loyalist sentiments.

Sandeman and his followers encountered opposition not only to their political and theological views, but their ecclesiastical practices were often ridiculed. As restoration- ists the Sandemanians reintroduced the primitive church practices of footwashing, the love feast, and the kiss of peace, for which they were derisively dubbed "Kissites." Samuel Finley, Presbyterian minister and president of the College of New Jersey, typified a common sentiment among the established clergy in noting that Sandeman was "an instrument of Satan to divide the Church."

In the fall of 1766 Sandeman settled permanently in Danbury Connecticutt. As in previous settings, he was met by resistance from town authorities. In 1770 a Danbury judge ordered Sandeman and a cohort arrested and fined £40 each because they ignored an order issued four weeks earlier to leave town as "strangers and undesirable persons." Sandeman pled his case, the sentence was never executed, and he continued to minister to a congregation that became the largest, most influential, and longest lasting in New England.

During his tenure in America, Sandeman gave himself wholly to missionary work and to establishing Sandemanian congregations. He had no family obligations (his wife died childless in 1746), nor did he need to work, for his followers shared their possessions with him. By the time he died, in Danbury, churches were formed in Taunton, Massachusetts, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Danbury and Newtown, Connecticutt. In the 1770s groups of followers worshipped regularly in New Haven, Providence, and Boston.

In several respects Sandeman’s convictions anticipated developments that recast America’s religious landscape in the quarter century after his death. His views on the separation of church and state, shared by Baptists (who otherwise opposed him) and other religious dissenters, achieved a legal status in the U.S. Constitution. Sandeman also indirectly influenced the restorationist ideas of Alexander Campbell, founder of the Disciples of Christ. While Campbell rejected much of Sandeman’s theology, during his student year at the University of Glasgow (1808-1809), he was attracted to Sandeman’s ecclesiology as mediated by the Haldane brothers. Not surprisingly, When Campbell visited the Sandemanians of Danbury in the 1840s, the church transferred to the Disciples.

Massachusetts Historical Society has the Sandeman-Barrell Papers, a volume of correspondence between Sandeman and Nathaniel Barrell, a prominent Portsmouth merchant, member of New Hampshire’s Governor’s Council, and ardent Sandemanian

The Stiles Collection at Yale University contains letters about Sandeman, written between 1764 and 1769, by twelve clergymen.

The Sandemanians of New England, by Williston Walker in American Historical Association’s Annual Report, 1901 (1902) This remains the standard treatment of Sandeman in America.

Restoration Roots, by Lynn McMillon. Published in 1983. This is a recent interpretation of Sandeman’s political views. It charts the rise of the Sandemanians and their impact on America.

Leader, and with John Glas, founder of the sect of Glassites or Sandemanians. He was born at Perth, Scotland, studied for a short time at Edinburgh University, and engaged in the linen trade. Coming under the influence of Glas, he adopted his views, became an elder in his church (1744), and married his daughter. He became a Glassite preacher, and in 1760 went to London, where he formed a congregation, whose members took the name of Sandemanians. Four years later he removed to America, and established a church at Portsmouth, N.H. (1765), and other points in New England. He died at Danbury, Conn. His works include three Letters on [J. Hervey’s] Theron and Aspasio (1757), which attracted much attention; An Epistolary Correspondence between S. Pike and R. Sandeman (1760); Some thoughts on Christianity (1764); Discourses (with a bio- graphical sketch, 1857). Consult: Andrew Fuller - Strictures on Sandemanianism (Nottingham, 1810).

Source: The Catholic Encyclopedia Edwin Burton. Transcribed by Joseph E. O’Connor

An English form of the Scottish sect of Glassites, followers of John Glas (b. 1695; d.1773) who was deposed from the Presbyterian ministry in 1728, for teaching that the Church should not be subject to any league or covenant, but should be governed only by Apostolic doctrine. Glas’s son-in-law, Robert Sandeman (b. 1718; d.1771), having been for many years an elder in the Glassite sect, removed to London in 1760, where he gathered a congregation at Glovers’ Hall. Though for the most part he followed the teaching of Glas, he went beyond that doctrine in maintaining that faith is only a simple assent to Divine testimony which differs in no way from belief in ordinary human evidence. In 1764 Sandeman went to America to propagate his views, and founded some congregations there, for which reason the Glassites in America, like those in England, are known as Sandemanians. In England the sect has never been numerous, possessing less than a dozen meeting-places in the whole country, including two in London. It is chiefly known owing to the great chemist Sir Michael Faraday (b. 1791; d.1857) having officiated as a Sandemanian elder in London in the middle of the nineteenth century. Membership is granted on confession of sin and public profession of faith in the Death and Resurrection of Christ. The new member receives a blessing and the kiss of peace from all present. Each congregation is presided over by several elders, all unpaid, who are elected for their earnestness of conviction and sincerity, and who hold office for life. On the death of an elder the survivors propose for election the name of a suitable member of the congregation, who is then elected by the whole body. The Sandemanians practice a weekly celebration of the Lord’s supper, and the agape or love-feast, which takes the form of dining together between the morning and afternoon services. The elders alone preach, but the ordinary members take turns in offering prayers. The ceremonial washing of feet is also performed on certain occasions. They abstain from things strangled and from blood. As they consider that casting lots is a sacred process, they regard all games of chance as unlawful. They practice community of goods to a modified extent, considering all their property as liable to calls on behalf of the Church and the poor. It is also considered wrong to accumulate wealth. If any member differs obstinately from the rest he is expelled and by this system perfect unanimity is secured. They refuse to join in prayer with members of other denominations and to eat and drink with an excommunicated person is held to be a grievous sin. The Sandemanians as a religious body are very obscure and it is difficult to obtain reliable information with regard to them, but the total membership in Great Britain is believed not to exceed two thousand.

Letters in Correspondence by Robert Sandeman, John Glas and their contemporaries. [Twenty-two discourses by Robert Sandeman. Thirty-nine notes on scripture texts [by] John Glas. Ten discourses by William Lyon. Notes by Gabriel Russell. Dundee, Scotland, Hill & Alexander, 1851. 320pp. 23cm. Edited by D. Mackintosh.

The above book is in the Joint Theological Library, Ormond College, Parkville, Melbourne, 3052. Teleph 03 9347 8480. The catalogue number is LY 73 Sa M 158

Indian officer and administrator, born on 25 Feb. 1835 at Perth, was son of General Robert Turnbull Sandeman of the East India Company’s service, by his wife, whose maiden name was Barclay. The family was long connected with Perth, members of it having filled various municipal offices since 1735. Robert was educated at Perth Academy and at St. Andrews University. In 1856 he was appointed to the 33rd Bengal infantry, his father’s regiment, which, though disarmed at a time of supreme anxiety, remained faithful throughout the mutiny, and afterwards had its arms publicly restored. From it Sandeman was transferred to Probyn’s Horse, now the 11th (Prince of Wales’s Own) Bengal lancers, with whom he saw some service, taking part in storming Dilkhusha, in the capture of Lucknow, and other minor operations in which he was twice severely wounded. He was selected to carry despatches to Sir John Lawrence who appointed him to the Punjab commission. He thus gained an opportunity of distinction of which he took full advantage.

To the performance of administrative and magisterial duties Sandeman brought patience and pertinacity curbed by much cautious sagacity. In 1866, as magistrate of Dera Ghazi Khan, an arid and unattractive trans-Indus district of the Punjab, he used his utmost endeavours to obtain influence with the tribes within and beyond the border. He succeeded by irregular methods which were often viewed unfavourably by the chief officer of the Sind frontier, who had the control of the Baluch tribes. But Sandeman was supported by the Punjab government, whose opinions were ultimately adopted by the government of India. When the policy of non-intervention adopted by Lord Lawrence and his school was abandoned, Sandeman endeavoured by securing the acquaintance and good-will of neighbouring chiefs, to strengthen the defences of the frontier. In 1876 he conducted negotiations which led to a treaty with the khan of Khalat. The value of his work was recognised at the Delhi assemblage, where, on 1 Jan. 1877, he was made C.S.I. On 21 Feb. following he was gazetted agent to the governor-general in Baluchistan, and he held that post for the rest of his life. In July 1879, when holding the rank of major, he was made K.C.S.I.

During the Afghan war of 1879-80 the fidelity of the Baluchis under Sandeman’s control was severely tested when the news of the disaster at Maiwand (27 July 1880) spread through the country. Some tribes arose, attacked the outposts, and blocked the roads; but Sandeman, trusting the people, made over his stores in out-stations, and those posts themselves, to the charge of the village headmen, and was thus set free to assist the troops who were in evil plight at Kandahar. Order was soon restored by his good management, and the zeal and energy displayed were brought to the notice of the queen. In September 1880 General Sir Frederick (afterwards Lord) Roberts, when on his way to the scene of war, stayed with Sandeman at Quetta, and Sandeman effectively aided Sir Frederick Roberts in the transport service to Quetta and Kandahar. ‘He was,’ Lord Roberts wrote of Sandeman, ‘intimately acquainted with every leading man [of the native tribes], and there was not a village, however out of the way, which he had not visited.’ (LORD ROBERTS, Forty-one Years in India, ii, 372-3). ‘After the war he was instrumental in adding to the empire a new province of much strategic importance, commanding the passes into South Afghanistan, and access to three trade-routes between Persia, Kandahar, and British India.

Outside the limits of the new province, in the mountain region westward of the Sulimans, between the Gumal river and the Marri hills, he opened out hundreds of miles of highway, through territories till then unknown, and, in concert with the surrounding Patan tribes, made them as safe as the highways of British India.... But perhaps the most important of his achievements was this--that he succeeded in revolutionising the attitude of the government of India towards the frontier tribes, and made our "sphere of influence" on the western border no longer a mere diplomatic expression, but a reality.’ (THORNTON)

Sandeman’s last days were spent at Lus Hayla, the capital of a small state on the Sind frontier about 120 miles north-west of Kurachi. He had gone thither in hope of healing a misunderstanding between the chief and his eldest son, and to arrange for carrying on the affairs of the state. After a short illness he died there on 29 Jan. 1892, and over his grave the Jàm, or chief caused a handsome dome to be erected. The governor-general, Lord Lansdowne, issued a notification in the ‘Gazette’ of India, dated 6 Feb., in which testimony was borne to Sandeman’s good qualities, and his death was lamented as a public misfortune.

He married, first, in 1864, Catherine, daughter of John Allen, esq., of Kirkby Lonsdale; and secondly, on 17 Jan. 1882, Helen Kate, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel John William Gaisford of Clonee, co. Meath. There is an excellent portrait of Sir Robert Sandeman, by the Hon. John Collier, which is reproduced in his biography.

Indian administrator, was born at Perth. He saw active service in the Indian Mutiny, being present at the fall of Delhi, the storming of the Dilkusha, and the capture of Lucknow. Subsequently he was twice severely wounded. In May, 1859, he became assistant-commissioner of the Punjab. There his energy, firmness and tact, his dauntless courage, and his hearty sympathy with the natives, won him the confidence of the border tribes, and gave his name to a system of frontier administration.

SANDEMAN, K.C.S.I. Created 1879; C.S.I. 1877.-- Sir Robert Groves Sandeman, son of Major-General Edward Sandeman, Bengal army.

Married 1882, Helen Kate, daughter of Lieut.-Col. J. W. Gaisford, late 72nd Highlanders;

Educated at St. Andrew’s; entered the Indian army 1857, became captain 1868, major 1876, lieut.-col. 1881; served against the hill tribes 1857, in the Indian Mutiny1857-1858; and with Oude column 1858-1859; commanded levies in Umbeylâ campaign 1863; conducted two missions to Kelat, and restored peace to Baloochistan, for his services on this occasion, thanked by government of India and received the C.S.I.; has been since 1877 agent to governor-general for Baloochistan; accompanied the Candahar invading army in 1878 to Pesheen, and restored friendly relations between British government and the people. Residence--Quetta, Baloochistan.

Sir Robert G. Sandeman - Order of the Star of India (1879) Dod’s Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage (1892) p.966

Colonel Sir Robert Sandeman: his Life and Work on our Indian Frontier. By Thomas Henry Thornton, C.S,I., D.C.L. (Murray)

During the last quarter of a century a great change has taken place in the frontier policy of the Government of India, partly because circumstances are different from what they were then, and partly because the aversion to advance which characterized the administration of Lord Lawrence, and was esteemed the highest wisdom by his school, is dying out. That dread may reasonably have originated in the misfortune which befell us in 1841-42, when an ill-advised forward policy, or a policy of interference in the affairs of Afghanistan resulted in failure, in financial difficulties, and in the humiliation of defeat--a dishonour but imperfectly redeemed by subsequent victories, and by Lord Ellen- borough’s skilful management of the withdrawal of our forces.. Hence many able men who were then beginning their careers were so profoundly impressed by our errors and their results, that they seemed unable for the rest of their lives to shake off a nervous apprehension of anything like expansion, or of a policy which extended British influence and responsibilities beyond the frontier acquired when the Punjab was annexed. In support of this inaction Lord Lawrence brought to bear a strong financial instinct, which seemed sometimes to outweigh other considerations; if a question of annexing a piece of country arose, the answer turned not on military or political considerations but on whether the revenue from the land would pay for its administration and leave a surplus. The result was what has been called a policy of masterly inactivity, but was in reality no policy at all beyond that with which a burnt child is credited in respect to fire. The Punjab officers, however, were not all dominated by Lawrence’s strong personality, and fortunately, at various important moments, men like Herbert Edwards and John Nicholson were found who could on occasion, to the public advantage, oppose the policy of inaction. Still on the whole it prevailed; and whilst Russian officers were exploring in every direction and collecting valuable information, British officers were forbidden to move a step beyond the frontier, the result being that they were deplorably ignorant even of the tribes in their immediate neighbourhood. But the rapidity and certainty of Russia’s advance have shown that acquaintance with the country between the great powers must be gained in order that wherever necessary the frontier may be rectified, and that, should occasion arise, we may know by what routes an army could move and be supplied. Various steps, some wise, some the reverse, have been taken to obtain the requisite knowledge, and the influence over the tribes which we desire to possess; and the chief interest of the volume before us lies in Mr. Thornton’s description of the methods adopted for these ends by Sir Robert Sandeman on that part of the frontier which was under his charge.

His career deserved record, though the exceptional position claimed for him by part of the Anglo-Indian press cannot be admitted, for he was neither a great soldier nor a great statesman; but he did his work in his own way remarkably well, without compromising the Government which he served.

Robert Groves Sandeman was born at Perth in 1835, a member of a family one of which founded a quaint religious sect, and another, better known, identified the name with much that is excellent in port wine. He received a scanty education at Perth Academy and at St. Andrews University, and in 1856 was sent as a cadet of infantry to India, where he served creditably in the Mutiny, being soon appointed to Probyn’s Horse, and afterwards selected to carry despatches to Sir John Lawrence, in whose eyes he found favour, and who offered him an appointment in the Punjab Commission. It was accepted, and thus the first step of importance in his career was taken.

Sandeman brought neither high education nor legal knowledge to the performance of his new duties, but he "had plenty of good sense, patience, bonhomie, and dash." In other words, he was a Scotchman, positive and pertinacious, allowing himself much licence in gaining his ends; yet, guided by a full measure of sagacity and caution, he managed to steer, if not clear of danger, yet so as to avoid shipwreck. In 1866 he was placed in charge of Dera Ghazi Khan, a miserable district occasionally enlivened by inroads of barbarians from beyond the border. Here he applied himself to obtain influence with the tribes and to learn their feelings and prejudices. Soon a serious raid occurred, and Sandeman distinguished himself in helping to defeat the freebooters. He took two hundred prisoners, whom he kept till the people promised to plunder his district no more; and then he gave service to tribal horsemen by whose means he kept communication open with the chiefs.

Before long he formed decided views of frontier management, which clashed with those of the Commissioner of Sind, a senior officer, who had charge of the relations of the Baluch tribes on his frontier, and who was under the orders of the Government of Bombay. The younger man preferred democratic measures, the older supported those aristocratic ways which had hitherto prevailed.; but the former found an ally in the Sind camp, with whom he worked in favour of his own methods. Eventually Lord Mayo desired the late Sir Henry Durand to hold a conference with the view of establishing uniformity between the Bombay and Punjab system of dealing with frontier affairs. Durand unfortunately was killed on his way to obey orders, and the conference was held by his successor. The Bulach tribes were placed under the control of Sind, and Sandeman, who was an officer of the Punjab Government, was, as regarded them, put under the orders of the Political Superintendent of the Sind frontier! It is difficult to conceive an arrangement more likely to lead to trouble between a junior, who interpreted "subordination" by a dictionary of his own, and his senior. Yet, apparently, this measure became the second main step for Sandeman up the ladder of success. The opportunity soon came: a rising occurred, and views respecting it differed--one describing it as a people rightly struggling to be free, the other as a riot indiscreetly encouraged by our officers. Then followed the natural result of a man having two masters--one was adroitly played against the other. The Punjab Government supported Sandeman, and the Government of India seems to have adopted its view. Other similar differences occurred with similar results, and ultimately the conduct of Khêlat affairs was transferred to Sandeman’s benevolent senior in the Punjab. The victory was gained; and although after this time Sandeman’s career was occasionally in peril, yet by a mixture of audacity tempered with great caution his ultimate success was assured. He was made C.S.I. on the occasion of the Delhi assemblage, and was gazetted Agent for Baluchistan.

Henceforward relieved from the struggle, his course was clear, and he devoted himself heart and soul to his work. His beneficent influence was gradually extended to the further limits of Baluchistan; one tribe was reconciled with another, and all with their lord paramount the Khan of Khêlat. During the Afghan war (1878-80) he supplied the army in Pishin and the Bolan Pass with provisions and protected its communications. But most important of all he lent a powerful hand towards overthrowing the close border system or policy we have already referred to, which even if suited to former times was antiquated and incompatible with present needs.

"After the war he was instrumental in adding to the Empire a new province, of much strategic importance, commanding the passes into South Afghanistan and access to three trade-routes between Persia, Kandahar, and British India; a province he administered with prudence and success, and in hearty sympathy with the Patàn races which inhabit it; maintaining peace and order; dispensing justice promptly, with as little interference as possible with native usages; associating chiefs and tribesmen with us in the work of government; improving communications, promoting trade, providing medical aid for the people, developing irrigation, preserving forests."

His system of administration was patriarchal; he disliked lawyers and would have none of them in his courts; but doubtless they will soon appear with other advantages of civilization. Already there are signs of the departure of the old order: "The Political Agent is now designated Deputy-Commissioner or District Officer, and the number of courts of justice has been gradually increased from seventeen to twenty-five." A trained civil servant, entitled Revenue Commissioner, and a code of laws have been introduced, and no doubt before long all the accompaniments of civilian rule will follow. Meanwhile Sandeman’s work was good, and we may hope that it will survive. During his administration many distinguished persons arrived at Quetta and enjoyed his hospitality. In addition to officials such as Lieutenant-Governors, Governor-Generals, and Commanders-in-Chief, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, the Duke and Duchess of Manchester, Mr. Childers, Sir Charles Dilke, the Hon. George Curzon, and others, have visited this most western cantonment of the Indian army, and at least two of those mentioned have considered on the spot problems connected with the defence of our frontier and with the wellbeing of Greater Britain.

Sandeman died in harness on January 29th, 1892, at the small state of Lus Beyla, where he had gone to meet the chiefs of Makran, and to devise means, as little distasteful to them as possible, for the government of that country. He was buried there, and over his tomb a dome was erected by the ruler who owed his position to the Agent’s good offices.

In many respects, which need not be enumerated, Mr. Thornton is specially qualified for the work he has undertaken, and the labour has been one of love, performed with the care and fidelity for which he is distinguished. The volume, however, is not biography pure and simple, or much less space would have sufficed; it contains a careful analysis of the old and new systems of policy on the frontier; a brief history of Khelat and the Baluch confederacy; a geographical account of Baluchistan; together with statistics which, if they somewhat interfere with his biographical interest, will unquestionably prove a mine of information to officers employed on that frontier, and which, indeed, form the most valuable part of the book. The illustrations deserve praise, and the map is sufficient; there is likewise an index. Printers’ errors are few, and the work is altogether well done.

Note: Reproduced below is Chapter 1 of Thornton’s biography of Sir Robert Sandeman. Thornton was the second son of Thomas Thornton (1786-1866), born in 1832 after Robinson Thornton, D.D. (b. 1825) and before Samuel Thornton, D.D. Thomas Henry Thornton, D.C.L. Oxon was judge of the chief court of the Punjab, and member of the Legislative Council of India in 1877-1879. In his introduction to this biography Thornton records his long and close association with Sir Robert.

Chapter One- Colonel Sir Robert Sandeman: his Life and Work on our Indian Frontier

Birth and parentage--Origin of the Sandeman family--Members of it distinguished for individual force of character--Robert Sandeman, founder of the "Sandemanian" sect--Inscription on his tomb at Danbury in Connecticut--General Sandeman, Sir Robert’s father, his career and character--Sir Robert’s mother--His education--Character as a boy--Anecdotes--Proceeds to India and joins his father’s regiment--The Mutiny -- His regiment disarmed--Conduct of Sandeman on that occasion--Volunteers for service at Delhi--After fall of Delhi takes part in the capture of Jhajhar; then joins thev1st Sikh Cavalry and serves throughout the Oude Campaign--Incident at Unao--Death of his commander, Major Wale--Sandeman twice wounded--Testimony of Lord Roberts to his general pluck and forwardness--Appointment to the Punjab Commission.

ROBERT GROVES SANDEMAN was born on February 25, 1835, at Perth, where his father’s family had been settled for some generations.

The Sandemans, or Sandymanns, as they were formerly called, are of Scandinavian origin, but have been domiciled in British territory for more than 200 years. They are said to have come originally as fur-merchants trading with their own ships. The first member of the family of whom an authentic record exists was David Sandeman, who lived in Alyth in Fife, where he was married in 1628. From Fife he is believed to have migrated to Perth, where we find his descendant and namesake, David Sandeman, one of the leading citizens and City Magistrate from 1735 to 1763. He left five sons, each of whom acquired distinction by individual force of character. The fourth, William Sandeman, is renowned in the annals of the burgh for his "indefatigable industry" in diverting a river and excavating a canal through granite for manufacturing purposes; the fifth, Thomas Sandeman, Sir Robert’s great-grandfather, was Treasurer and Magistrate of Perth; the eldest, Robert Sandeman, was author of papers on religious questions, which caused some sensation at the time, and gave his name to a sect of Christians--the first assertors in Scotland of the "voluntary principle"--among whom patience, benevolence, and self-sacrifice are regarded as cardinal virtues.

At the time of his death, in 1771, Robert Sandeman was engaged on a religious mission to America, and in doing his utmost to promote "peace and good-will" between the colonists and their mother country. From the inscription on his tomb at Danbury, in Connecticut (given below), he would seem to have possessed not only the same conciliatory instincts, but also the same tenacity of purpose which characterized his great-great-nephew and namesake:--

In recognition of the services of the family to Perth a cadetship in the East India Company’s service was bestowed by the town-council on Thomas Sandeman’s grandson, Robert Turnbull Sandeman, the father of the subject of this Memoir.

Robert Turnbull Sandeman entered the military service of the East India Company in 1824, and rose to considerable distinction. When only a captain he commanded his regiment (the 33rd Bengal Native Infantry) at the battles of Ferozeshuhur and Sobraon, and in the crisis of 1857 his personal influence saved the regiment from mutiny.

For his belief in the sepoy, and determination to deal justly with him, even in the darkest days of the great Mutiny, he received the sobriquet of "White Pandy;" but his men remained staunch, and their arms, which had been taken from them, were publicly restored upon parade, and the regiment, now known as the 4th Bengal Native Infantry, as a mark of royal favour, had for its Honorary Colonel the late Duke of Clarence.

Besides being a galland soldier, he was a man of fervent piety, his religious views being those of the sect which bears his name. His son Robert never joined the sect, but greatly respected its tenets, and had much of the religious earnestness which characterizes its members.

For some years General Sandeman commanded a brigade in the Punjab, retired in 1862, and died in 1876, after an honourablecareer of 38 years.

The relations between General Sandeman and his son Robert were delightful. It too often happens that parents and children, who have been long separated, find, when brought together, a want of mutual sympathy; but this was never the case with the two Sandemans. Though they never met from the time Robert was left an infant with his aunts until his arrival in India, they at once became fast friends and more like brothers than father and son. And the General’s death, which occurred at a critical period of his son’s career, was a cause of the deepest sorrow to him.

Sir Robert’s mother was the daughter of Mr. Barclay, son of a retired naval officer. By all accounts, she was a lady of attractive manners and appearance, an affectionate mother, and blest with a singularly placid disposition. But, owing probably to frequent separation from her children (an unhappy necessity of Anglo-Indian life), her influence was less strongly felt than it would otherwise have been.

Robert was one of a family of ten; some died in infancy; seven--three brothers and four sisters--survive.* About ten months after his birth the parents returned to India, and Robert was left, together with his elder brother, in the charge of his father’s sisters--four maiden ladies, who lived at Perth. The aunts brought him up with most devoted care, and sowed the seed of that strong religious belief which, steadily developing through life, became a guiding principle of his maturer years. And doubtless their loving influence and example fostered the sensitive and strongly affectionate side of his nature, which had much to do with his power of influencing others. Their kindness and devotion were never forgotten by the nephew, who regarded them, through life, with the affection of a son.

* Of the brothers, the eldest, William Barclay Sandeman, is settled at Horsham; the second, Colonel J. E. Sandeman, of the Indian Staff Corps, is at present Deputy Surveyor-General of India; the third, George Sandeman, a solicitor in London. Of his sisters, one is the wife of J. C. Robertson, Esq., of the Bengal Civil Service, lately Commissioner of Bareilly; another married General E. Pulteney Gurdon, late Commissioner of Multan; another, Colonel Cotton, late of the Gordon Highlanders; another is the wife of J. Greene, Esq., now in Australia.

Two anecdotes of Sir Robert’s boyhood, illustrative of this side of his character, may here be mentioned. One night he was found upon the stairs weeping bitterly, because he had neglected, before going to bed, to release a "blue-bottle" he had imprisoned in a tumbler, and was afraid the insect was suffering pain. Again, when a young college student, he presented himself, one evening, at his home in Perth weary and footsore, having walked some thirty miles to inquire why he had not received his customary letter, which had been accidentally delayed.

It must not be supposed from this that Sandeman was in the slightest degree wanting, as a boy, in manliness or spirit. On the contrary, pluck and tenacity were his characteristics then as ever. A single instance will suffice. One day he had occasion to administer slight chastisement to a younger school-fellow for impertinence. The boy’s elder brother interfered and offered to fight Sandeman. Sandeman replied that he would be happy to fight them both at once, and accordingly the three set to. But the two brothers combined were more than a match for Sandeman, who got so severely punished, that the bystanders interfered and separated the combatants. Sandeman, however, was far from having had "enough of it" and retired protesting that he "would fight them both again on the earliest opportunity." The second fight never came off, but in due time the "elder brother" became a distinguished officer in the Punjab Frontier Force, and one of Sandeman’s best friends.

Robert was educated at Perth Academy, and subsequently at St. Andrew’s University. We do not find that he distinguished himself either at his books or in athletic sports. This was attributable partly to the fact that as a growing lad he was not strong, and partly (according to Sandeman himself) to the over-indulgent rule of his devoted aunts. In later years he used deeply to regret the poor use he had made of his opportunities, and, in particular, his lack of literary power. "If I could only put my ideas adequately on paper," he used to say, "what grand things I should accomplish."

When Robert was about sixteen his father was offered cadetships in the East India Company’s Service for two of his sons, but for the time, to his sons’ great disappointment, he refused them, not wishing any member of his family to adopt an Indian career. Robert, the second son, was afterwards offered by his relations--the great firm of wine merchants--a place in their office, but he declined it with thanks; he was determined to be a soldier, and his father had ultimately to yield.

Accordingly, in 1856, he closed his brief career at the University and proceeded to India with what was technically known as a "direct Infantry appointment;" and in after years he used to repeat with infinite humour the parting words of his old schoolmaster, the Rector of Perth Academy, when he called to say good-bye. "Robert Sandeman!" said the Rector, speaking with a broad Scotch accent, "Robert Sandeman! ye did little work at school, but I wish ye well. And I would not be a Saracen of Bagdad or the Tartar of Samarkund that comes under the blow of your sabre."

These words describe, quaintly but effectively, some of the main features of Sir Robert’s character. He was indeed a "starlwart" in the best sense. A true knight, strong-in-the-arm and determined, but always courteous; with no pretence to scholarship, but none the less deserving of the blessings of the community. He was all this, and a good deal more besides, as our subsequent history will show. But he was the friend, not the foe, of the "Saracen" and "Tartar," and force was the last weapon of his armoury.

After some service with an English corps, he joined his father’s regiment, the 33rd Native Infantry, as ensign. As already mentioned, the regiment remained staunch during the Mutiny, but at Philor, on its road to Delhi, it was disarmed, as a precautionary measure, by order of General Nicholson. On this occasion, young Sandeman did excellent service. Though only a junior subaltern of a few months’ standing, he had great influence with the men, and did much towards pacifying them; he had also great influence over his father, and it was mainly through his advice that his father, who had implicit faith in his sepoys, and was strongly disposed to resist the order for their disarmament, was induced to acquiesce in it. Others say that, through young Sandeman’s contrivance, his father was kept in complete ignorance of the order until the fatal moment for its execution arrived. However this may be, the men gave up their arms quietly and remained faithful, and, after the crisis was over, their arms, as has already been stated, were publicly restored to them. "This satisfactory result," says a general officer well acquainted with the circumstances, "was in no small measure due to Sandeman, who, though a mere youngster, grasped the situation better than his seniors, and showed all the tact and discretion of a field officer,"

After the disarmament of his father’s regiment, Sandeman was transferred to the cadre of the 14th Native Infantry, then at Jhilam, but volunteered for active service before Delhi, and was appointed to do duty with the 2nd F. B. Fusiliers. On the fall of Delhi, the regiment with which he was doing duty was attached to Shower’s pursuing column, and with it he took part in the capture of Jhajhar. In February, 1858, he was appointed to do duty as lieutenant in the 1st Sikh Cavalry--a regiment newly raised in the Punjab by Major Wale, and afterwards well known as "Probyn’s Horse,"--now as the 11th (Prince of Wales’ Own) Bengal Lancers. After some time spent on outpost duty near Cawnpore, he joined the main body of his new regiment in Oude, was made adjutant, and took part in the storming of Dilkhushah, the final capture of Lucknow, the engagement at Músabágh,, and subsequent operations in pursuit of the rebels.

Owing to the disappearance of home-letters, and the absence of a diary or book of reminiscences, there are few details to be recorded of Sandeman’s experiences as a soldier; but ample testimony is borne by Lord Roberts and others to his general pluck and forwardness. It is said that, while on duty at the Kashmir Gate of Delhi, after its capture, he gave proof of his soldierly obedience to orders by firmly refusing to admit (without a pass) no less a personage than the Civil Commissioner, although personally well known to him. And we have glimpses of his work on outpost duty in the "Mutiny Memoirs" of Colonel A. R. D. Mackenzie, C.B., who served as subaltern in the same cavalry regiment, and was one of his most intimate friends. We find him joining in a successful night attack on a bivouac of rebels near Unao, in Oude, in a manner very characteristic of him. His squadron, it appears, was ordered to meet a detachment of the 3rd battalion of the Rifle Brigade, and go to the protection of a village and police-post besieged by the enemy. On arriving at the place of rendezvous, to Sandeman’s great disappointment, there were no Rifles, but a messenger from the Colonel, with a letter. "Unfortunately," says Colonel Mackenzie, "it was too dark to read the letter without a light, and I had no matches! Neither, very curiously, had Sandeman! At any rate we didn’t find any in our pockets; so we held a short council of war, and decided that, in the absence of instructions, we felt it our duty to go ahead." After the rebel bivouac had been successfully discovered, attacked, and dispersed, the colonel’s letter was read, and found to contain orders, not for their advance, but for their immediate return to camp, "as the retirement of the enemy had put an end to the object of the expedition."

At Músabágh he was by the side of Major Wale (his commander), when that gallant officer was mortally wounded, and carried him in his arms to a place of shelter. "My native A.D.C. who was in the regiment," writes Lord Roberts, "often spoke to me about ‘Sinniman’ Sahib’s pluck and forwardness; and when I last visited Lucknow, about fifteen months ago, showed me where Wale was killed, and where he saved Sandeman’s life."

Sandeman himself was twice severely wounded, and once reported as killed, and the circumstances led to an important phase in his career. On the occasion referred to--we give the story current in the family--while in the pursuit of mutineers after a skirmish, his horse was shot under him; he was separated from the rest of his party at the time, and as he did not appear, they supposed he had been killed. On his eventually getting back to camp, he found, to his concern, that his place in the regiment had already been filled up. As a consolation, however, he was made the bearer of important despatches to Sir John Lawrence, then Chief Commissioner of the Punjab. The duty was a hazardous one, for the country to be traversed was infested with mutineers and plunderers, but the despatches were conveyed to their destination with marvellous rapidity, and Sir John Lawrence was so taken with the zeal and smartness of the young officer, that he offered him a place in the Punjab commission. He hesitated to accept the offer, as it involved the renunciation of a military career, which, as a keen soldier, he had no desire to relinquish. But the fighting was now practically over, and his father (an old friend of Lawrence) strongly advised acceptance, so he decided reluctantly to enter civil employ, and in May, 1859, he was gazetted Assistant Commissioner in the Punjab. After a few months’ service in Kohát and two years’ service in Cis-Indus districts, he was re-transferred to the Punjab frontier, where he laid the foundation of his future fame.