Nix family

The Nix family, also described as the Nix and Ashburner Nix family or “Nix of Tilgate,” is an English family whose prominence developed through London banking, property ownership, and public roles in Sussex. The family’s documented origins trace to John Parfitt Nix, a leather cutter of Tower Dock in the City of London who died in 1802. His son, John Nix (1791–1873), established the immediate family line that later became prominent in the City of London. Two of John Nix’s sons, John Hennings Nix and Edward Winkelmann Nix, became partners in the private London bank Fuller, Banbury, Nix & Co., linking the family to the nineteenth-century financial establishment. A significant change in the family’s social and economic position followed John Hennings Nix’s 1865 marriage to Sarah Ashburner, who was born in Calcutta and was the daughter of George Ashburner, a wealthy businessman born in India. The Ashburner family had longstanding connections with India dating to the period of East India Company rule. Through this marriage and inheritance, the Nix family became associated with substantial wealth and landed property. John Hennings Nix acquired Tilgate House and its estate near Crawley in Sussex from his father-in-law. The property covered approximately 2,185 acres, and a new French-style great house was built during the 1860s. The estate employed around 150 people and became the principal geographical association of the family. Tilgate passed in 1904 to John Ashburner Nix, the son of John Hennings Nix and Sarah Ashburner. John Ashburner Nix participated in Sussex public life and served as High Sheriff of Sussex in 1911. He died in 1927, after which the estate passed to his brother Charles George Ashburner Nix. Charles was also notable outside the family’s banking and landholding history: he won a silver medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, he placed the Tilgate estate up for auction, marking the end of the family’s direct ownership of that major property. The family’s wider history includes marriages linking it to continental European nobility and to British colonial-era social networks. Caroline Ashburner Nix, a sister of John and Charles, married Luigi Casimiro di Rovasenda, an Italian count whose descendants remained connected with Italian nobility. The family’s inheritance and wealth also reflect the complex history of British commerce and empire in India, particularly through the Ashburner line. The available account records these connections historically and does not present the family as a contemporary operating company or consumer brand. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the family name became associated with finance and political consulting through later descendants. Paul David Ashburner Nix was an investment banker and a shareholder in SCL Group. His son, Alexander James Ashburner Nix, became a long-time director of SCL Group and chief executive officer of Cambridge Analytica. Alexander Nix’s public profile brought the family name into modern business and technology-related discussions, although the Nix family itself is a lineage rather than a single incorporated enterprise, product brand, or unified commercial organization. The family is included under “Nix of Tilgate” in Burke’s Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry.

The Nix family’s recorded lineage begins with John Parfitt Nix, a leather cutter based at Tower Dock in the City of London who died in 1802. His son, John Nix, born in 1791 and deceased in 1873, was the father of John Hennings Nix and Edward Winkelmann Nix. Both sons became partners in the London private bank Fuller, Banbury, Nix & Co., establishing the family’s nineteenth-century association with City banking. In 1865 John Hennings Nix married Sarah Ashburner, who had been born in Calcutta in 1845. Sarah was the daughter of George Ashburner, a wealthy businessman born in India. The Ashburner family had maintained connections with India since the era of the East India Company’s influence there. Through the marriage and related inheritance, John Hennings Nix acquired Tilgate House and a large estate near Crawley from his father-in-law. The estate extended over approximately 2,185 acres. During the 1860s, John Hennings Nix constructed a new French-style great house, and the property reportedly supported a staff of about 150 people. The family’s status consequently expanded beyond banking into landownership and the landed gentry. In 1904, Tilgate passed to John Ashburner Nix, the son of John Hennings Nix and Sarah Ashburner. John Ashburner Nix took part in Sussex county administration and served as High Sheriff of Sussex in 1911. He died in 1927, when the estate passed to his brother Charles George Ashburner Nix. Charles George Ashburner Nix had an additional public distinction as a competitor at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, where he won a silver medal. His ownership of Tilgate ended during the Second World War: in 1939, following the outbreak of the conflict, he put the estate up for auction. This sale ended the family’s direct connection with Tilgate as a major landed property, although the place remained central to the family’s historical identity. Other family relationships extended beyond Britain. Caroline Ashburner Nix, the sister of John and Charles, married Luigi Casimiro di Rovasenda, an Italian count, and had descendants connected with Italian nobility. The family history also records the colonial-era background of the Ashburner inheritance and its links to India. These connections are part of the family’s social and financial history rather than evidence of a single modern corporate structure. Later descendants entered modern finance and political consulting. Paul David Ashburner Nix was an investment banker and a shareholder in SCL Group. His son Alexander James Ashburner Nix served for many years as a director of SCL Group and became chief executive officer of Cambridge Analytica. The family is listed as “Nix of Tilgate” in Burke’s Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry. It is best understood as a historical family lineage, not as a conventional commercial brand with products, a unified management team, or a current corporate owner.

• 1939

  Tilgate estate offered at auction

  [1]Nix familyen.wikipedia.org

  Charles George Ashburner Nix put the Tilgate estate up for auction following the outbreak of the Second World War.

• 1927

  Death of John Ashburner Nix

  [1]Nix familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Ashburner Nix died, after which Tilgate passed to his brother Charles George Ashburner Nix.

• 1911

  John Ashburner Nix serves as High Sheriff

  [1]Nix familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Ashburner Nix served as High Sheriff of Sussex.

• 1908

  Olympic silver medal

  [1]Nix familyen.wikipedia.org

  Charles George Ashburner Nix won a silver medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.

• 1904

  Tilgate passes to John Ashburner Nix

  [1]Nix familyen.wikipedia.org

  Ownership of the Tilgate estate passed to John Ashburner Nix, the son of John Hennings Nix and Sarah Ashburner.

• 1865

  Marriage into the Ashburner family

  [1]Nix familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Hennings Nix married Sarah Ashburner of Calcutta, connecting the Nix line with the wealthy, India-connected Ashburner family.

• 1860

  Development of Tilgate House

  [1]Nix familyen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1860s, John Hennings Nix built a new French-style great house on the approximately 2,185-acre Tilgate estate near Crawley.

• 1802

  Death of John Parfitt Nix

  [1]Nix familyen.wikipedia.org

  John Parfitt Nix, a leather cutter of Tower Dock in the City of London, died and is identified as the ancestor of the later banking and landed family.

1. 1Nix familyen.wikipedia.org