Prinsep may mean any of several notable members of the British Prinsep family. The family descended from John Prinsep, an 18th-century merchant who was the son of Rev. John Prinsep, rector of Saundby, Nottinghamshire, and Bicester, Oxfordshire. John Prinsep, his son, founded indigo production in India as well as the making of cotton fabrics in Bengal, opened a copper mint in India and was a founder of the Westminster Life Insurance Society in London, where he later served as Alderman and in Parliament. Prinsep arrived in India as a soldier in the army of the East India Company but became a merchant soon afterwards. During his 16 years in India, John Prinsep amassed a £40,000 fortune, which he used to set himself up as a London businessman and get himself elected to Parliament. Prinsep made two large fortunes and lost both. He was the first of three succeeding generations of Prinseps in India, all of whom were known for their artistic abilities. Among his descendants are the artistValentine Cameron Prinsep, the Anglo-Indian antiquarian, scholar and architect James Prinsep and others. A partial listing of Prinsep family members:
Augustus Prinsep, eighth and youngest son of John Prinsep, sketcher, writer, civil servant, born in London, attended Haileybury College, then clerk with East India Company, Calcutta, attempted to settle in Australia but, unsuccessful, died aboard ship
Charles Robert Prinsep, Singapore merchant for whom Singapore's Prinsep Street and Prinsep Place are named, owner of the Prinsep nutmeg plantation, 6,700 nutmeg shrubs covering much of what is now downtown Singapore
Edward Augustus Prinsep,, Calcutta merchant, son of William Prinsep of Calcutta
George Augustus Prinsep Esq., prominent Anglo-Indian journalist, cotton merchant, salt manufacturer, shipping owner, Calcutta, member, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, assumed editorship of The Courier newspaper of Calcutta after failure of early business venture, publisher Calcutta Gazette, regained fortune through salt interests, son of merchant John Prinsep
Sir Henry Thoby Prinsep, judge of the High Court, Calcutta
John Prinsep, vicar's son, patriarch of the Prinsep family in India, indigo planter, entrepreneur, arrived in India a few weeks after Warren Hastings became Governor General in 1773, amassed a large fortune in indigo production, retired to frescoed mansion on London's Leadenhall Street later occupied by the India Office, London alderman, Member of Parliament
James Hunter Prinsep, Bengal Civil Service
James F. M. Prinsep, footballer, was the grandson of Henry's brother, William.
Thomas Prinsep, engineer, amateur artist, Calcutta, India
Thomas Levett-Prinsep, heir to his uncle Thomas Prinsep and son of Theophilus Levett of Wychnor Park Derbyshire. On the early death of Prinsep, his seat at Croxall Hall, Derbyshire, devolved onto his nephew Levett, who took the name Levett-Prinsep, resided at Croxall Hall, Derbyshire, Justice of the Peace and landowner
Valentine Cameron Prinsep, painter, son of Henry Thoby Prinsep, trained to become an Indian merchant but turned to art instead, author of Imperial India, a book of travel writing
