John Graham McKerlie
Col. Sir John Graham McKerlie (1815-1900)
1900 Obituary [1]
SIR JOHN GRAHAM McKERLIE, Colonel R.E. retired, K.C.R., died at his residence, 3 Longford Terrace, Monkstown, Dublin, on the 7th January, 1900.
The eldest surviving son of the late Captain Robert McKerlie, of Wigton, the representative of an ancient Galloway family, he was born in 1815, and entered the Corps of Royal Engineers from the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, in 1833.
He was first stationed at Mauritius, where he remained for some years. There he married in 1841 Sophia Caroline, daughter of the late Lieutenant-General Henry John Savage, R.E.
On returning to England he was engaged on Ordnance Survey work successively at Chatham, Manchester and York.
In 1855 he was appointed a Commissioner of the Board of Public Works in Ireland, and in 1864 he succeeded Sir Richard Griffiths as Chairman of that Board. In the following year he retired from the corps of Royal Engineers with the rank of Colonel.
He was created a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1870, and in 1883, on his retirement from the office of Chairman of the Irish Board of Works he was promoted to the rank of Knight Commander of that Order.
Sir John McKerlie was devoted to his work and carried out the duties of his post with unwearying zeal, and in times of political and agrarian troubles even at personal risk. His unfailing courtesy and the kindly spirit he displayed to all who sought his advice and aid, gained for him the title of “the poor man’s friend.” He was an ardent sportsman, a painter and lover of art, and rendered much service as one of the Governors of the National Gallery of Ireland.
Sir John McKerlie was an Associate of this Institution for nearly forty-nine years, having been elected on the 21st January 1851.