Joseph Ellison Portlock

Joseph Ellison Portlock
Born	(1794-09-30)30 September 1794 Gosport
Died	14 February 1864(1864-02-14)(aged 69) Dublin
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Ordnance Survey
Years of service	1813–1857
Rank	Major-General
Battles/wars	Siege ofFort-Erie,1814
Awards	Fellow of the Royal Society

Major-GeneralJoseph Ellison Portlock(30 September 1794 – 14 February 1864) was born atGosportand was aBritishgeologistandsoldier,the only son ofNathaniel Portlock,and a captain in theRoyal Navy.

Educated atBlundell's Schooland theRoyal Military Academy,Portlock entered theRoyal Engineersin 1813. In 1814, he took part in frontier operations inCanada.In 1824, he was selected by Lieut-colonel (afterwards Major-General)T.F. Colby(1784–1852) to take part inOrdnance Survey of Ireland.He was engaged for several years in the trigonometrical branch and subsequently compiled information on the physical aspects,geology,and economic products ofIreland,including the Memoir for which he wrote substantial sections on productive economy.

In 1837, he formed atBelfasta geological and statistical office, a museum for geological and zoological specimens, and a laboratory for the examination ofsoils.The work was then carried on by Portlock as the geological branch of the Ordnance Survey, and the chief results were embodied in hisReport on the Geology of the County of Londonderry and of parts of Tyrone and Fermanagh(1843), an elaborate and well-illustrated volume in which he was assisted byThomas Oldham.

After serving inCorfuand atPortsmouth,he was, in 1849, appointed Commanding Royal Engineer atCork,and from 1851–1856, he was Inspector of Studies at the Royal Military Academy,Woolwich.For a short time, commanding officer atDover,when the Council of Military Education was formed in 1857, he was selected as a member.

During these years of active service, he contributed numerous geological papers to the scientific societies ofDublinand to the British Association. He published, in 1848, a treatise on geology inJohn Weale'sRudimentary Series(3rd. ed., 1853). He was president of the geological section of the British Association at Belfast (1852) and of theGeological Society of London(1856-1858). He wrote aMemoir of the late Major-General Colby, with a Sketch of the Origin and Progress of the Trigonometrical Survey(reprinted in 1869 from Papers on Subjects connected with the Royal Engineers, vols. iii-v.). He also contributed several articles on military subjects to the 8th edition of the Encyclopaedia. He was elected a Fellow of theRoyal Societyin 1837. He died in Dublin on 14 February 1864.

He married twice: firstly Julia Browne at Kilmaine, Co Mayo, Ireland on 24 February 1831, and secondly to Fanny Turner at Cork, Ireland on 11 December 1849. Fanny was the 4th daughter ofMajor General Charles Turner,KH commander of the Cork District. There was no issue from either marriage.

Bibliography

• Portlock, Joseph Ellison(1843).Report on the geology of the county of Londonderry, and of parts of Tyrone and Fermanagh.Ordnance Survey of Ireland.
• Portlock, Joseph Ellison(1849).A rudimentary treatise on geology.John Weale.
• Portlock, Joseph Ellison(1858).Papers on geometrical drawing: on the arms in use and permanent fortification, on the attack and defence of fortresses, on military mining and the defence of coasts.J. Weale.
• Portlock, Joseph Ellison(1869).Memoir of the life of Major-General Colby: R.E., LL.D., F.R.S.L. & E., F.R.A.S., F.G.S., M.R.I.A., etc: together with a sketch of the origin and progress of the ordnance survey of Great Britain and Ireland; a work with which General Colby was connected for forty-five years.Seeley, Jackson & Halliday.

References

• "Obituary: Major-General Joseph Ellison Portlock".Proceedings of The Royal Society of London.14:xii–xvi. 1865.
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Portlock, Joseph Ellison".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 122–123.