Syms Covington

Syms Covington (c. 1816-1861) was a fiddler and cabin boy on HMS "Beagle" who became an assistant to Charles Darwin and was appointed as his personal servant in 1833, continuing in Darwin's service after the voyage until 1839. He then emigrated to Australia and settled as a postmaster.harvnb|Keynes|2001|p= [http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?viewtype=side&itemID=F1925&pageseq=481 449] .]

"Beagle" voyage

When he was around fifteen years old, Syms Covington became "fiddler & boy to Poop-cabin" on the second survey expedition of HMS "Beagle", [In July 1832 Darwin copied out a Watch-bill listing the crew and their positions, harvnb|Keynes|2001|p= [http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?viewtype=side&itemID=F1925&pageseq=116 84] .] which left England on 27 December 1831 under the command of captain Robert FitzRoy.

Covington kept a journal of the voyage, and in September 1832 at Bahia Blanca in South America he noted wildlife found there, including a find of Rhea eggs, and giant fossil bones of the megatherium which were collected and sent to England. It is not clear if he was assisting Charles Darwin with this work, but FitzRoy's later account suggests that both Darwin and Covington worked at excavating the fossils,cite web |url=http://austehc.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/covingto/chap_3.htm#cite37 |title=The Journal of Syms Covington - Chapter Three |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= |accessdate=2008-07-13] and on November 3 Darwin arranged some clothing for Covington. [harvnb|Keynes|2001|p= [http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?viewtype=side&itemID=F1925&pageseq=211 179] , harvnb|Barlow|p= [http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?viewtype=side&itemID=F1571&pageseq=189 169] .]

On 29 April 1833, Darwin and Covington landed and took up residence ashore at Maldonado, Uruguay, while the "Beagle" went elsewhere on survey work. [harvnb|Keynes|2001|p= [http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?viewtype=side&itemID=F1925&pageseq=184 152] , cite web |url=http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/covingto/chap_4.htm#negro |title=The Journal of Syms Covington - Chapter Four |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-07-18] After an excursion into the interior lasting twelve days,harvnb|Barlow|1945|pp= [http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?viewtype=side&itemID=F1571&pageseq=95 85-88] .] they spent several weeks at Maldonado preparing the collections to be sent back to England. In a letter home started on 22 May, Darwin told his father that he had decided to take Covington on as a servant – He had been thinking about this for some time, but had not yet consulted the captain. In an addition to the letter, dated 6 July, Darwin announced that he had FitzRoy's agreement, and an unexpected saving –

As well as working as a servant and general amanuensis, writing out Darwin's records of investigations, Covington became Darwin's assistant as a collector, hunter and taxidermist, In addition to his duties, Covington kept a personal journal regarding his impressions of the voyage. His journal includes accounts ranging from his daily mundane tasks to impressions of the lands and the people he encountered, and it provides an alternative perspective to supplement Darwin's "Journal and Remarks", better known as "The Voyage of the Beagle".

Return, work for Darwin and emigration

After the "Beagle" returned in 1836, Covington became Darwin's manservant and continued in his duties as a general amanuensis. His own collection of bird specimens was invaluable in establishing the relationship of "Darwin's Finches" to each of the Galapagos Islands as, unlike Darwin, he had taken care to label where each specimen had been taken.

Covington remained in Darwin's service until 25 February 1839. He decided to emigrate, and was given a personal reference from Darwin in a letter dated 29 May 1839.cite web |url=http://austehc.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/covingto/chap_8.htm |title=The Journal of Syms Covington - Chapter Eight |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-07-20]

Life in Australia

Records indicate that Covington landed in Sydney in 1840, and he married Eliza Twyford who came from Stroud, a small town in northern New South Wales. He was able to draw on his naval connections to find employment, and by 1843 was working as a clerk at the Sydney coal depot of the Australian Agricultural Company. Around 1844 the family, with their first two sons, accepted the invitation of Captain Lloyd and moved to the South coast property at Pambula, New South Wales, which Lloyd had been given in lieu of a pension from the Royal Navy.

Covington continued to correspond with Darwin, who sent him a gift of a replacement ear-trumpet to help with Covington's increasing deafness.cite web |url=http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/darwinletters/calendar/entry-700.html |title=Darwin Correspondence Project - Letter 700 — Darwin, C. R. to Covington, Syms, 7 Oct 1843 |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-07-20] In response to Darwin's request for specimens, Covington and his eldest son collected a large number of barnacles at nearby Twofold Bay. Darwin's letter of 23 November 1850 expressed his delight at having just received the box, which included particularly unusual species. This contributed to the extensive studies of barnacles which established Darwin as a biologist.cite web |url=http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/darwinletters/calendar/entry-1370.html |title=Darwin Correspondence Project - Letter 1370 — Darwin, C. R. to Covington, Syms, 23 Nov 1850 |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-07-20]

Covington became Postmaster of Pambula in 1854, and managed an inn called the "Forest Oak Inn" built on the coast road above the floodplain where the first Pambula township had been repeatedly damaged by floods. His original inn was licensed in 1855, and the building which still stands was constructed on the same site about a year later.cite web |url=http://thebegavalley.org.au/fileadmin/pambula/registrations/community/pambulaprogress/docs/heritage_walk.pdf |title=Discover Pambala, Walk in the Pioneers' Footsteps |author=Angela George |coauthors=Pat Raymond |date= 2006 |format=pdf |publisher=Pambula Area Progress and Planning Association Inc. |accessdate=2008-07-21] By 1848 he and his wife had eight children,cite web |url=http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/darwinletters/calendar/entry-2276.html |title=Darwin Correspondence Project - Letter 2276 — Darwin, C. R. to Covington, Syms, 18 May [1858] |format= |work= |accessdate=2008-07-20] six sons and two daughters.cite web |url=http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=A27b&viewtype=text&pageseq=68 |title=Charles Darwin: A companion |author=Freeman, R. B. |date= 2007 |publisher=The Charles Darwin Trust |pages=61 |accessdate=2008-07-20] In 1861 Covington died of 'paralysis' at only 47 years old. The inn was then run by his widow, and later by her second husband Llewelyn Heaven. The license was taken over by John Behl around 1864, and the building became known as "The Retreat" in 1895. It has been used as a doctor's surgery and more recently as a Thai restaurant, and its red tin roof and double chimneys can still be seen beside a sharp bend of the main Coast Road.

Books discussing Covington

"The Journal of Syms Covington, Assistant to Charles Darwin Esq." was discussed by Jonathan Hodge and Gregory Radick in "The Cambridge Companion to Darwin".

In 1998, Australian author Roger McDonald published a novel based on Syms Covington's journal, called "Mr. Darwin's Shooter".

References

*Citation
last= Darwin
first= Charles
author-link=Charles Darwin
year=
date=
publication-date= 1945
contribution=
contribution-url=
editor-last= Barlow
editor-first= Nora
editor-link= Nora Barlow
title=. Charles Darwin and the voyage of the Beagle
publication-place= London
publisher=Pilot Press.
*Citation
last = Desmond
first = Adrian
last2 = Moore
first2 = James
author2-link =James Moore (biographer)
year = 1991
title = Darwin
publication-place = London
publisher =Michael Joseph, Penguin Group
isbn =0718134303
*Citation
last= Darwin
first= Charles
author-link=Charles Darwin
year=
date=
publication-date= 2001
contribution=
contribution-url=
editor-last=Keynes
editor-first= Richard
editor-link=Richard Keynes
title=Charles Darwin's Beagle Diary
publication-place= Cambridge
publisher=Cambridge University Press.

External links

* [http://austehc.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/covingto/chap_4.htm#cite78 Chapter 4 of Covington's Journal]
* [http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/covingto/chap_7.htm Chapter 7 of Covington's Journal]