lx INTRODUCTION

son of John Ruskin of St. Bartholomew the Great, London,” to Robert Walker, vintner, dated February 16, 1776. It is thus clear that the first known John Ruskin, the author’s great-grandfather, was settled in London, that John Thomas Ruskin was there apprenticed, and that he migrated some years later to Edinburgh. His ancestry has not been traced, and whether it was Scottish or English cannot be said. It is perhaps worth noting that Ruskin in a letter of 1882 spoke of his “English ancestors.”¹

The spelling of the name varies greatly, and its origin has been the subject of much conjecture. In the Edinburgh directories, John Thomas appears as Russken and Rusken; in the Register of Births as Risken and Rusken.² According to the legend noticed above, it means “the Tanner”; according to others it is a case of metonymy, for “Erskine”; while yet a third derivation makes it mean “Little Red-head” (rus, red; French roux).³ Whatever may be the origin of the name, it has been traced back to the fourteenth century, when a Ruskin was captain of one of Edward III.’s ships; whilst in the sixteenth century, “Richerde Ruskyn” and his family were landowners at Dalton-in-Furness.⁴ The place-name Ruskington, in Lincolnshire,

are at Brantwood a few letters written between 1805 and 1817 by Catherine Tweddale to her son John James Ruskin in London. From these it appears that John Thomas Ruskin’s conduct or misconduct of his affairs, as well as the condition of his health and mind, had long given anxiety to his family. His wife writes freely to her son on the subject, speaking of “a father so unstable as yours” who “seldom knows his own mind for two hours together.” This was in 1808. In 1805 he had objected to his son’s going to London, although his temper made it impossible for him to settle at home, and it devolved on his son to prepare without delay to be the mainstay of his family. Already, in his father’s lifetime and early in his own business career, John James Ruskin was contributing substantially to his mother’s income. The condition of his father’s affairs at length (1809) required the economy of departure from their house (15 St. James Square, Edinburgh), and settlement in a small house by the sea at Dysart. Her own daughter having married and gone to Perth, Mrs. John Thomas Ruskin now had with her, and as dear and helpful to her as any daughter, her niece, Margaret Cox, who afterwards became her son’s wife. The precise nature of John Thomas Ruskin’s occupation in later life does not appear, but in 1809 and 1811 he was away from home at Morpeth and in Newcastle, presumably on business. His mind failed in the summer of 1815; but the precise year of his death has not been ascertained.

¹ When Ruskin speaks of his “English ancestors” (Vol. XXXIV. p. 561) he is referring to his mother’s family: see p. 465, below.

² The following is the entry of the birth of Ruskin’s father (27th May 1785): “John Thomas Risken, Merchant, and Katherine Tweedale his Spouse, Old Kirk Parish, a son born 10th current named John James. Witnesses, Robert Stewart, Grocer, and William White, Iron Monger, Edinburgh.”

³ See, for these theories, Notes and Queries, August 22 and September 5, 1885.

⁴ Communicated by Mr. W. Hutton Brayshay, from the Record Office. See Ruskin Relics, p. 16, and Dr. Barber’s Furness and Cartmel Notes, p. 380. Richerde Ruskyn was churchwarden of Dalton-in-Furness in 1553.

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