In Chambers's _Edinburgh Journal_, No. 359., New Series, may be found an
account of this family, written by myself; I hope to be excused when I say
that it is the most accurate hitherto published. It gave me great pleasure
to find that so distinguished an antiquary as DR. RIMBAULT mainly
corroborates the article alluded to; but I regret that I feel bound to
notice a serious error into which that gentleman has fallen. DR. R. states
that "Old John Tradescant died in the year 1652;" and in another place he
states that-- {394}
"It was not the _youngest_ John Tradescant that died in 1652, but the
_oldest_, the _grandfather_, the first of that name that settled in
England."
The conflicting accounts and confusion in the history of the Tradescants,
have no doubt arisen from the three, "grandsire, father, and son," having
been all named John; consequently, for the sake of perspicuity, I shall
adopt the plan of our worthy editor, and designate the Tradescant who first
settled in England, No. 1.; his son, who published the _Musaeum
Tradescantianum_, No. 2.; and the son of the latter, who "died in his
spring," No. 3. Now, to prove that it was the youngest of the Tradescants,
No. 3., who died in 1652, we have only to refer to the preface of the
_Musaeum Tradescantianum_, which was published in 1656. There we find that
Tradescant No. 2. says that--
"About three years agoe (by the perswasion of some friends) I was
resolved to take a catalogue of those rarities and curiosities, which
my father had sedulously collected, and myself with continued diligence
have augmented and hitherto preserved together."
He then proceeds to account for the delay in the publication of the work in
these words:
"Presently thereupon my _onely son_ died, one of my friends fell sick,"
&c.
Again, in Ashmole's _Diary_ we find the following entry:
"_Sept._ 11th, 1652. Young John Tredescant died."