To W. M. Hacon   16 April [1874]1

Ap 16th

Private  Hacon

My dear Sir.

My son Francis will be married in July to a Miss Ruck2 & as I am very ignorant about business affairs I much wish for your advice—what I ought to settle on Miss R. In order that you may advise me, I must state that judging from a careful estimation of my property each of my son will on the death of myself & wife, receive from 30 to 32 thousand pounds.

I think that all my property is shares only but it may fall in value   I have no idea whether Mr & Mrs Ruck can settle anything on her.3 They are not poor, but I have always heard that Mr R. holds his land on an extraordinary will, & that if he dies before his brother4 his children will inherit none.— Mrs R. land I believe is all entailed on the eldest son.5 So that they may be able to settle hardly anything on their daughter; but I hope may make some allowance this ought, I presume to make no difference on what I ought to settle on Miss Ruck.

I can see that it wd be rash to settle too large a sum on Miss R. in case of her death & having one or two children & my son marrying again. And in case my son shd die, it wd be unfair on my other children if too large a sum had been settled on his widow.— Now will you be so kind as to reflect over these circumstances & give me your advice.—

I hear it is usual for the solicitor of the Lady to draw up the settlement.— I have written to Mr Ruck to ask for name of his solicitor, & have told him, that as soon as he has given his intructions I wd ask you to communicate with his solicitor, & arrange about the affair.6

My dear Sir | Yours very sincerely | C. D

P. S I am much obliged for your note about the Land7

Draft

1
The year is established by the reference to Francis Darwin’s marriage to Amy Ruck (see n. 2, below).
2
Francis married Amy on 23 July 1874 (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).
3
Amy’s parents were Lawrence and Mary Anne Ruck.
4
Lawrence Ruck’s only surviving brother was Adam Joseph Ruck.
5
The Rucks’ eldest son was Arthur Ashley Ruck.
6
CD’s letter to Lawrence Ruck has not been found.
7
The note from Hacon has not been found; see, however, the letter to John Lubbock, 3 April 1874.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.1 will be married] above del ‘is going to b’
1.4 each of] interl pencil
1.4 will] after del ‘Francis’
2.1 I think] ‘I’ after pencil del pencil ‘Although As most of my property is in’
2.1 that] pencil interl pencil
2.1 I think … value] interl pencil
2.3 Mr R.] above del ‘he’
2.3 he] altered from ‘his’
2.3 dies before his 2.4] interl
2.4 his children] after del ‘dies [illeg]’
2.6 I hope … allowance] interl
3.3 unfair] after del ‘hard’
3.3 had been] above del ‘was’
4.3 his] above del ‘any’
4.3 I] after del ‘which he may think fit.’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9415,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9415