Oglethorpe's residence in England--Marriage--Military appointments--A
Major General under the Duke of Cumberland for the suppression of
the rebellion in 1745--Arraigned at a Court Martial and
acquitted--Domestic and social life, and character--Death.
Having accomplished the great design of settling the Colony of
Georgia, watched over its nascent feebleness, cherished its growth,
defended it from invasion, vindicated its rights, and advanced its
interests and welfare, Oglethorpe resigned the superintendence and
government into other hands, and retired to his country seat at
Godalming, "to rest under the shade of his own laurels."
In March, 1744, he was appointed one of the officers under Field
Marshal, the Earl of Stair, to oppose the expected invasion from
France.
Having been so happy as to form a tender attachment to an amiable
lady, which was reciprocated, he married, on the 15th of September,
1744, Elizabeth, the only daughter of Sir Nathan Wright, Baronet, of
Cranham Hall, Essex.[1]
[Footnote 1: On this occasion some congratulatory verses were written
by the Rev. MOSES BROWN, and printed in the Gentleman's Magazine, Vol.
XIV. p. 558.]
His chief residence was at his country seat; but he spent his winters
in the venerable family mansion in St. James, Westminster, London, to
attend his duties as member of Parliament and enjoy the society of men
of the first respectability for rank, talents, and literature.
On the 25th of March, 1745, he was promoted to the rank of Major
General; and the Rebellion breaking out in that year, he was placed at
the head of four companies of cavalry, one of which bore the title
of "Georgia Rangers."[1] They had been raised at the expense of some
loyal individuals, to act against the insurgents; "and," (says an
Historian who had the best authority for the declaration,)[2] "they
did very signal service to their country." Their uniform was blue,
faced with red; and they wore green cockades. They did not encamp with
the foot, but were quartered in the towns.
[Footnote 1: Marshal Wade, the Commander in Chief, had under him
the following officers, viz.: Lieutenant Generals Lord Tyrawly, and
Wentworth; the Major Generals Howard, Huske, and Oglethorpe; and the
Brigadier Generals Mordaunt and Chemondelly.]
[Footnote 2: See _Impartial History of the Rebellion in 1745, from
authentic memoirs, particularly the Journal of a General Officer; and
other original papers; with the characters of the persons principally
concerned_. By SAMUEL BOYSE. 8vo. Dublin. 1748. p. 80.]
As this expedition was commenced late in the fall, the King's troops
were retarded in their operations by the rigor of the season, their
late forced marches, and a most uncomfortable diarrhoea, which
prevailed among the soldiers; but good quarters, proper refreshments,
and the extraordinary care of their officers, relieved these
difficulties, and put the army into so good a condition as enabled
them to go through the campaign with fewer inconveniences and much
less loss than could reasonably be expected, considering the great
hardships and excessive fatigues to which they were exposed.
As soon as Marshal Wade had intelligence at Newcastle of the route
which the rebels had taken, he resolved, notwithstanding the severity
of the season, to march thence to the relief of Carlisle. Accordingly,
on the 16th of November, the army began to move for that purpose. His
Excellency intended to have begun his march as soon as it was light;
but, moving from the left, the troops which had the van, delayed their
motions several hours, to the great prejudice of the expedition; for
the weather being extremely cold, and the travelling impeded by a deep
snow, or made rough by frozen ground, the troops suffered very
much. The Major Generals Howard and Oglethorpe, and the Brigadiers,
Cholmondley and Mordaunt, marched on foot at the head of the infantry
to encourage the soldiers. It was eight at night and very dark before
the front line got into the camp at Ovington; and though the soldiers
resolutely pressed forward, yet, the roads being terribly broken and
full of ice, it was foreseen that many of the last column might drop,
through excessive fatigue; and therefore the Major Generals Huske and
Oglethorpe sent out countrymen with lights and carts to assist the
rear guard, and bring up the tired men. In this service they were
employed till near nine the next morning.
On the 17th the Marshal continued his march to Hexham, where he
arrived, with the first line, about four in the afternoon, but the
rear of the army did not come up till near midnight. Having received
intelligence that Carlisle had surrendered, he resolved to march back
to Newcastle; but, the weather continuing bad, and the roads become in
a manner impassable, he did not arrive there with his army till the
16th; and, even then, the forces under his command were so exhausted
by fatigue, and lamed by travelling, that, if it had not been for the
great care taken of them by the people of Newcastle, they must have
been, not only disheartened, but disqualified for service.
In the meantime the Duke of Cumberland's army was forming in
Staffordshire; for, upon the approach of the Rebels, it was resolved
that his Royal Highness should be sent down to command the forces in
that part of the kingdom; and he arrived at Litchfield on the 28th of
November.
Towards the latter end of the month, the army, under the command of
Marshal Wade, began to move; the cavalry having reached Darlington
and Richmond by the 25th. On the 29th the infantry was at Persbridge,
whence he proposed to march to Wetherby, and there canton the
whole army in the adjacent villages; looking upon this as the most
convenient station either for distressing the enemy, should they
attempt to retire, or for cooperating with the forces of his Royal
Highness, as occasion should render necessary.
On the 8th of December the Marshal held a council of war, at
Ferry-bridge, to consider of the most effectual means for cutting off
the Highlanders on their retreat; and, in this council it was resolved
to march directly to Wakefield and Halifax into Lancashire, as
the most likely way of intercepting the rebels. Having arrived at
Wakefield on the 10th, and having advice that the main body of the
rebels was at Manchester, and their van-guard moving from thence
towards Preston, and finding that it was now impossible to come up
with them, he judged it unnecessary to fatigue the forces by hard
marches, and, therefore, detaching Major General Oglethorpe, on the
11th, with the cavalry under his command, he began the march, with the
rest of the forces to Newcastle. On the 13th a great body of the horse
and dragoons under Oglethorpe arrived at Preston, having marched a
hundred miles in three days over roads naturally bad, and at that time
almost impassable with snow and ice; "which," says the Historian, "was
a noble testimony of zeal and spirit, especially in the new raised
forces."
His Royal Highness immediately gave his orders for continuing the
pursuit of the rebels, with the utmost diligence. Accordingly
Oglethorpe advanced towards Lancaster; which place the Duke reached
on the 16th. Oglethorpe, continuing his pursuit at the heels of the
rebels, arrived on the 17th in front of a village called Shap, where
their rear was supposed to be, just before night-fall, in very bad
weather. Here he held a consultation with his officers, in which it
was decided that the lateness of the hour, and the exhaustion of the
troops, rendered it inexpedient to make the attack that night. He,
therefore, entered the neighboring village to obtain forage, and to
refresh. Meanwhile the Duke pressed on; and, next morning, when he
came to Shap, found that it had been abandoned by the rebels; but was
surprised at seeing on his right, towards the rear, an unexpected body
of troops. It turned out to be Oglethorpe's corps, which, from being
the van-guard of the army, had thus unaccountably become the rear.
Vexed at the disappointing occurrence, he caused Oglethorpe to be
arraigned before a Court Martial, for having "lingered on the road."
His trial came on at the Horse-guards on the 29th of September, and
ended the 7th of October, 1746; when "he was honorably acquitted, and
his Majesty was graciously pleased to confirm the sentence."[1]
[Footnote 1: See _London Gazette_ for October 20th, 1746; and the
_Memoir_ in _European Magazine_ for 1785.
CROKER, in a note to his edition of BOSWELL's _Life of Johnson_, Vol.
I. page 97, says that "though acquitted, he was never again employed.
It is by no means surprising that this neglect should have mortified
a man of Oglethorpe's sensibility; and it is to be inferred, from Mr.
Boswell's expressions, that, late in life, he had in vain solicited
for 'some mark of distinction, 'to heal his wounded feelings." The
last intimations are confuted by the advancements in military rank
stated in the following pages of these memorials. The "mark of
distinction," deserved, perhaps expected, but certainly not
"solicited," might be that of _Knight_, a title worn by his father, as
also by the father of his wife.]
As a still higher proof that he stood high in public estimation, on
the 13th of September, 1747, he was made Brigadier General in the
British army.
On the establishment of the British Herring Fishery, in 1750, he took
a very considerable part, and became one of the Council; in which
situation, on the 25th of October he delivered to the Prince of Wales
the Charter of incorporation in a speech which was printed in the
public journals.
In 1754 he was candidate for the borough of Haslemere, which he had
represented in former Parliaments; but on the close of the poll, the
numbers were found to be for J. Moore Molyneaux, 75; Philip Carteret
Webb, 76; Peter Burrel, 46; and Oglethorpe only 45.
On February 22d, 1765, he was raised to the rank of General of all his
Majesty's forces; and for many years before his death was the oldest
general officer on the staff.[1]
[Footnote 1: In the _Army list, issued from the War Office_, 20th
July, 1781, and in STOCKDALE's _Calendar for the year_ 1785, (the year
of Oglethorpe's death,) both of which are now before me, his name is
_first on the list_.]
Here, perhaps, is the proper place to introduce an anecdote given
by Major McCall, in his _History of Georgia_, Vol. I. p. 325,
too striking to be omitted. "At the commencement of the American
Revolution, being the senior officer of Sir William Howe, he had the
prior offer of the command of the forces appointed to subdue the
Rebels. He professed his readiness to accept the appointment, 'if
the Ministry would authorize him to assure the Colonies that justice
should be done them.' His proposal appeared to be the result of
humanity and equity. He declared that 'he knew the Americans well;
that they never would be subdued by arms; but that obedience would be
secured by doing them justice.' A man with these views was not a fit
instrument for the British Government, and therefore, agreeably to his
own request, he was permitted to remain at home."
McCALL refers to "the Annual Register," for his authority; but, after
careful searching, I do not find the statement. The intermediate
comments, and the last sentence, are undoubtedly the Major's. The
anecdote is also related in RAMSAY's _History of the United States_,
Vol. III. p. 166.
I much doubt, however, that an official offer was made to him, as he
was too old to engage in such a service; and deem the statement not
sufficiently authenticated to be relied on.
He continued to reside, principally, at Cranham Hall, in Essex, a fine
country seat of which he became possessed by his marriage with the
heiress of Sir Nathan Wright. In this beautiful retreat, favored with
the enjoyment of uninterrupted health, the possession of worldly
competence, and the heart-cheering comforts of connubial life, he
looked back upon the chequered scene of his former services with
lively gratitude that he had escaped so many dangers, and been an
honored instrument of effecting so much good; and the present happy
condition of his lot was heightened by its contrast with past
hardships, fatigues, and perils.
He passed his winters in London, where he enjoyed the acquaintance
and even intimacy of some of the most honorable and distinguished
characters of the day. "A gentleman and a soldier, he united the
virtue of chivalrous honor and magnanimity with the acquirements of
learning and that love of polite literature which associated him with
the first scholars of the age." One who knew him intimately has said,
"This extraordinary person was as remarkable for his learning and
taste, as for his other eminent qualities; and no man was more prompt,
active, and generous in encouraging merit."[1]
[Footnote 1: BOSWELL, in the _of Johnson_, Vol. I. p. 97, of CROKER'S
edition.]
To the celebrated Dr. Johnson he was respectfully attached; and
was fond of having him often as a guest. Boswell has detailed some
pleasing particulars of these interviews; and, after relating one,
adds in a note the following remarks: "Let me here pay a tribute of
gratitude to the memory of that excellent person, my intimacy with
whom was the more valuable to me, because my first acquaintance with
him was unexpected and unsolicited. Soon after the publication of
my 'Account of Corsica,' he did me the honor to call on me, and
approaching me with a frank, courteous air, said, 'Sir, my name is
Oglethorpe, and I wish to become acquainted with you.' I was not a
little flattered to be thus addressed by an eminent man, of whom I had
read in Pope from my early years,
"Or, driven by strong benevolence of soul,
Will fly like Oglethorpe from pole to pole."
"I was fortunate enough to be found worthy of his good opinion,
insomuch that I was not only invited to make one of the many
respectable companies whom he entertained at his table, but had
a cover at his hospitable board every day when I happened to be
disengaged; and in his society I never failed to enjoy learned and
animated conversation, seasoned with genuine sentiments of virtue and
religion."[1]
[Footnote 1: Vol. III. p. 225.]
Dr. Warton, referring to Oglethorpe, says, "I had the pleasure of
knowing him well;" and, in a note upon the couplet quoted from Pope,
says, "Here are lines that will justly confer immortality on a man who
well deserved so magnificent an eulogium. He was, at once, a great
hero, and a great legislator. The vigor of his mind and body have
seldom been equalled. The vivacity of his genius continued to great
old age. The variety of his adventures, and the very different scenes
in which he had been engaged, made me regret that his life has never
been written. Dr. Johnson once offered to do it, if the General would
furnish him the materials. Johnson had a great regard for him, for he
was one of the first persons that highly, in all companies, praised
his 'London.' His first campaign was made under Prince Eugene against
the Turks, and that great General always spoke of Oglethorpe in the
highest terms. But his settlement of the Colony of Georgia gave a
greater lustre to his character than even his military exploits."
With Goldsmith, too, he was intimate. In the lately published
biography of this poet by Prior,[1] referring to the occasional relief
contributed to him in his exigences, it is added, "Goldsmith was
content, likewise, to be made the channel of conveyance for the
bounty of others, as we find by a letter of General Oglethorpe,
a distinguished and amiable man, at whose table he met with good
society, and spent many agreeable hours, and who now, at an advanced
period of life, displayed the same love for the good of mankind, in a
private way, that he had exerted on a more extended scale." With the
letter he sent five pounds, to be distributed in aid of a charitable
institution, in whose behalf Goldsmith seems to have taken an active
interest; and the letter concluded with this kindly expressed
invitation; "If a farm, and a mere country scene will be a little
refreshment from the smoke of London, we shall be glad of the
happiness of seeing you at Cranham Hall."
[Footnote 1: Vol. II. p. 457.]
It is asserted that "his private benevolence was great. The families
of his tenants and dependants were sure of his assistance whilst they
deserved it; and he has frequently supported a tenant, whose situation
was doubtful, not merely forbearing to ask for rent, but lending him
money to go on with his farm."[1]
[Footnote 1: _Gentleman's Magazine_ for July, 1785, p. 518.]
Of his public liberality, repeated mention has been made in the course
of this work, more particularly in the settlement of Georgia; in the
furtherance of which he not only bore his own expenses, but procured
various outfits. He also contributed pecuniary assistance and
conferred favors to encourage exertion, or reward well doing. No
one excelled him in those smaller attentions to the interests and
gratification of his friends and acquaintance; which, though they do
not of themselves constitute a great character, are, certainly, very
pleasing recommendations of it.
It is not denied that he had his imperfections and errors; and some,
for which the plea of human frailty alone may not be a sufficient
excuse. He was rather passionate in his temper, impatient of
contradiction, and quick in his resentments; but, upon any ingenuous
concession, was placable and ready to admit an apology. To the humble
offender he was reconcilable, and to the submissive, magnanimous. In
the heyday of life, a soldierly pride, or military point of honor,
sometimes betrayed him into indiscretions or involved him in
rencounters, to which, as he became more mature in age and in
judgment, a dignified sense of true greatness rendered him superior.
Some instances of rashness have been noted by Walpole with unsparing
vituperation;[1] and some self-complacent or boasting sallies, have
been pointed at by Croker with a sarcastic sneer. But, admitting
that these were far from being venial faults, yet it would be very
uncharitable now to recall them from the forgetfulness and forgiveness
in which they have long been passed over; especially as they were
fully redeemed by noble qualities and beneficent deeds. Surely, he
who was celebrated by Pope and Thompson, honored by the Reverend Dr.
Burton, vindicated and praised in Parliament by the excellent Duke
of Argyle, and favored by the regards of Dr. Johnson, "the English
moralist,"[2] must have had a large prevalence of what, in the opinion
of the best judges, is estimable in disposition and conduct, and
irreproachable in character!
[Footnote 1: "All the stories of Horace Walpole are to be received
with great caution; but his Reminiscences, above all, written in
his dotage, teem with the grossest inaccuracies and incredible
assertions." LORD MAHON'S _History of England_. Lond. 1837. Vol. II.
p. 174, _note_.]
[Footnote 2: This honored friend he outlived; and, while attending
the sale of his library, February 18th, 1785, the fine characteristic
portrait of him was taken by S. Ireland, an engraving of which makes
the frontispiece of this volume.]
He had a pleasing talent at narrative, and when animated by the
cheering attention of his friends, he would give full scope to it.
Anecdotes of times past, incidents and scenes of his eventful life,
and occurrences which had passed under his observation, when detailed
by him at length, and set off with his amusing episodical remarks and
illustrations, made him a most entertaining chronicler. These were
sometimes enlivened with a sportive humor that gave a charm to the
social hour, and contributed to the amusement of his guests and
friends. If in his extreme old age he indulged in egotisms or
loquacity, still his observations were those of one who had seen and
read much, and was willing to communicate his acquired knowledge and
the results of his observation and experience; and few who attended to
him, did so without receiving information and entertainment. Even his
old stories of his own acting, served to confirm what he said, and he
made them better in the telling; so that he was rarely troublesome
with the same tale told again, for he gave it an air of freshness.
Polite in his address and graceful in his manners, the gallant veteran
was a favorite visiter in the parties of accomplished ladies that
occasionally met at the house of Mrs. Montague, Mrs. Garrick, Mrs.
Boscawen, and Mrs. Carter.--Hannah More, in a letter to her sister,
in 1784, says, "I have got a new admirer; it is the famous General
Oglethorpe, perhaps the most remarkable man of his time. He was
foster-brother to the Pretender; and is much above ninety years old;
the finest figure you ever saw. He perfectly realizes all my ideas of
Nestor. His literature is great; his knowledge of the world extensive;
and his faculties as bright as ever. He is one of the three persons
still living who were mentioned by Pope; Lord Mansfield and Lord
Marchmont are the other two. He was the intimate friend of Southern,
the tragic poet, and all the wits of that time. He is, perhaps, the
oldest man of a _Gentleman_ living. I went to see him the other day,
and he would have entertained me by repeating passages from Sir
Eldred. He is quite a preux chevalier, heroic, romantic, and full
of the old gallantry."[1] In another letter, she mentions being in
company with the General at Mrs. Vesey's, where the Dutchess of
Portland and Mrs. Delany were present, and where "Mr. Burke talked
a great deal of politics with General Oglethorpe. He told him, with
great truth, that he looked upon him as a more extraordinary person
than any he had ever read of, for he had founded the province of
Georgia; had absolutely called it into existence, and had lived to see
it severed from the Empire which created it, and become an independent
State."[2]
[Footnote 1: _Life and Letters_, Vol. I. p. 181.]
[Footnote 2: Ibid. 204.]
The late President, John Adams, saw Oglethorpe in 1785, a short time
before his decease. Within a day or two after his arrival in London,
as Ambassador from the United States, had been announced in the
public prints, the General called upon him; as was very polite and
complimentary. "He had come to pay his respects to the first American
Ambassador and his Family, whom he was glad to see in England;
expressed a great esteem and regard for America; much regret at the
misunderstanding between the two countries; and felt very happy to
have lived to see the termination of it."[1] There was something
peculiarly interesting in this interview. He who had planted Georgia,
and provided for it during the earliest stages of its _dependent
condition as a Colony_, held converse with him who had come to a Royal
Court, the Representative of its NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE!
[Footnote 1: See a letter from President Adams to Dr. Holmes.
_Annals_, Vol. II. p. 530.]
A writer in the year 1732, and within the month on which the charter
for Georgia was issued, made the following remarks: "If the Trustees
give liberty of Religion, establish the people free, fix an agrarian
law, and go upon the glorious maxims of liberty and virtue, their
Province, _in the age of a man_, by being the asylum of the
unfortunate, will become more and more advantageous to Britain than
the conquest of a kingdom."[1] The suggestion here made was seasonable
and judicious; and the prospective intimation was a prophecy,
accomplished in a sense not imagined, and surely not anticipated
by the writer. The Province did become, whilst its founder was yet
living, and therefore "in the age of a man," a highly advantageous
acquisition to Great Britain in a commercial relation; and, though
dismembered from the Empire, an important independent State.
[Footnote 1: _London Magazine_ for 1732, p. 198.]
This remarkable man, abstemious in his mode of living, regular in his
habits, and using much exercise, enjoyed good health to extreme old
age; and such was his activity, that he could outwalk persons more
than half a century younger. At that period of advanced life, when
the weight of years usually bears down the elasticity of the mind,
he retained all that spring of intellect which had characterized the
promptitude of earlier days; his bodily senses seemed but little
impaired; and his eye-sight served him to the last.
He died at his seat at Cranham, of a violent fever, 30th of June,
1785.
"And dropt like Autumn fruit, which, ripening long,
Was wondered at because it fell no sooner."[1]
[Footnote 1: The library of General Oglethorpe was sold by Calderwood
in 1788. It comprised standard works of Ancient and Modern History, of
the Drama, Poetry, and Polite Literature.]
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
The preceding pages have given details of some principal actions
and exploits of a very remarkable man; whose projects, dictated by
benevolence and inspired by philanthropy, were all prospective. Their
first, and, apparently, principal object, was to provide relief for
the indigent, and an asylum for the oppressed. Their second, to unite
the pensioners on the liberally contributed bounty, in a social
compact for mutual assistance, and a ready cooperation for the general
good. But even this, beneficent as it was, fell short of his aim. He
considered himself to be engaged in forming a Colony, destined to
extend and flourish under the salutary principles of order and
justice, and the sustaining sanctions of civil law, and a form of
government, which his breast swelled with the patriotic hope, would be
well constituted and wisely administered.
This very statement of the origin of these political institutions,
bears on it the indications of their perpetuity, especially as the
_freedom_ obtained for the first emigrants from rigorous exaction in
their native country, was remembered and cherished in that which they
settled, till it formed the constituents of civil liberty, which
at length "threw off every yoke," for the attainment of NATIONAL
INDEPENDENCE.
Hence, his agency, services and expenditures in settling the Province
of Georgia, his disinterested devotedness to its establishment and
progressive welfare, and his bravery and personal exposure in its
defence, enrolled among the important achievements of his long and
eventful life, constitute the most splendid trophy to his fame, and
will ensure to his name a memory as lasting as that of America itself.
On a mural tablet of white marble, in the chancel of Cranham Church,
is the following inscription, drawn up by CAPEL LOFFT, Esq.
Near this place lie the remains of
JAMES EDWARD OGLETHORPE, Esq.
who served under Prince Eugene,
and in 1714 was Captain Lieutenant in the
first troop of the Queen's Guards.
In 1740 he was appointed Colonel of a Regiment
to be raised for Georgia.
In 1745 he was appointed Major General;
in 1747 Lieutenant General; and
in 1760, General of his Majesty's forces.
In his civil station,
he was very early conspicuous.
He was chosen Member of Parliament
for Haslemere in Surry in 1722,
and continued to represent it till 1754.
In the Committee of Parliament,
for inquiring into the state of the gaols,
formed 25th of February, 1728,
and of which he was Chairman,
the active and persevering zeal of his benevolence
found a truly suitable employment,
by visiting, with his colleagues of that generous body,
the dark and pestilential dungeons of the Prisons
which at that time dishonored the metropolis;
detecting the most enormous oppressions;
obtaining exemplary punishment on those who had been
guilty of such outrage against humanity and justice;
and redressing multitudes from extreme misery
to light and freedom.
Of these, about seven hundred, rendered, by long confinement for debt,
strangers and helpless in the country of their birth, and desirous
of seeking an asylum in the wilds of America, were by him conducted
thither in 1732.
He willingly encountered in their behalf
a variety of fatigue and danger,
and thus became the founder of
the Colony of Georgia;
a Colony which afterwards set the noble example
of prohibiting the importation of slaves
This new establishment
he strenuously and successfully defended
against a powerful attack of the Spaniards.
In the year in which he quitted England
to found this settlement,
he nobly strove to secure
our true national defence by sea and land,
--a free navy--
without impressing a constitutional militia.
But his social affections were more enlarged
than even the term Patriotism can express;
he was the friend of the oppressed negro,--
no part of the globe was too remote,--
no interest too unconnected,--
or too much opposed to his own,
to prevent the immediate succor of suffering humanity.
For such qualities he received,
from the ever memorable John, Duke of Argyle,
a full testimony, in the British Senate,
to his military character,
his natural generosity,
his contempt of danger,
and regard for the Public.
A similar encomium is perpetuated in a foreign language;[1]
and, by one of our most celebrated Poets,
his remembrance is transmitted to posterity
in lines justly expressive of
the purity, the ardor, and the extent of his benevolence.
He lived till the 1st of July, 1785;
a venerable instance to what a duration
a life of temperance and virtuous labor
is capable of being protracted.
His widow, Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir Nathan Wright of Cranham hall, Bart.
and only sister and heiress of Sir Samuel Wright, Bart.
of the same place,
surviving, with regret,
but with due submission to Divine Providence,
an affectionate husband,
after an union of more than forty years,
hath inscribed to his memory
these faint traces of his excellent character.
"Religion watches o'er his urn,
And all the virtues bending mourn;
Humanity, with languid eye,
Melting for others' misery;
Prudence, whose hands a measure hold,
And Temperance, with a chain of gold;
Fidelity's triumphant vest,
And Fortitude in armor drest;
Wisdom's grey locks, and Freedom, join
The moral train to bless his shrine,
And pensive all, around his ashes holy,
Their last sad honors pay in order melancholy."[2]
[Footnote 1: Referring to the encomium of the Abbe Raynal, in his
_Histoire Philosophique et Politique_.]
[Footnote 2: These last verses were added by the old friend of the
General, the Rev. Moses Browne.]
OBITUARY NOTICE
OF
MRS. ELIZABETH OGLETHORPE,
WITH EXTRACTS FROM HER WILL.
OBITUARY NOTICE
COPIED FROM THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE FOR 1787, PAGE 1025
October 26th, 1787, died, at her seat, Cranham Hall, Co. Essex,[1]
aged 79, Mrs. Elizabeth Oglethorpe, widow of the late General
Oglethorpe. She was daughter of Sir Nathan Wright, Bart., (nephew
to the Lord Keeper,) by Abigail, his fourth wife, who survived and
married Mr. Tryst. Sir Nathan, by his first wife, (Anne Meyrick)
had two sons; Nathan, who succeeded him in title, and who married a
daughter of Sir Francis Lawley, and died in April, 1737; and John, who
died without issue. By his second wife, (Elizabeth Brage) he had a
son, Benjamin, who died before him. By his third wife, (Elizabeth
Bowater) he had no issue. By the fourth he had a son, Samuel, and Mrs.
Oglethorpe. Sir Nathan, the son, had one son and two daughters; and
the son dying without issue, his half-brother, Samuel, succeeded to
the title and part of the estate. He dying a bachelor, Mrs. Oglethorpe
became his heir, and has died without leaving any child. September
15, 1744, she married the late General Oglethorpe, who died July
1,1785;[2] and to her magnanimity and prudence, on an occasion of much
difficulty, it was owing that the evening of their lives was tranquil
and pleasant, after a stormy noon. Very many and continual were her
acts of benevolence and charity; but, as she would herself have been
hurt by any display of them in her lifetime, we will say no more. Not
to have mentioned them at all would have been unjust to her memory,
and not less so to the world, in which such an example may operate as
an incitement to others to go and do likewise.
[Footnote 1: This old mansion, situated on a pleasant rising ground,
was built about the end of the reign of James I. In the hall is a
very fine whole-length picture of Mr. _Nathan Wright_, a considerable
Spanish merchant in the beginning of Charles the First's time, who
resided long in that country, by Antonio Arias, an eminent painter of
Madrid; and the more curious, as perhaps there is not another picture
of that able master in England. _Gentleman's Magazine_, LV. 518.]
[Footnote 2: The date for the time of the death of General Oglethorpe,
which is given on the 296th page of this volume, was taken from the
public Gazettes. As it took place late in the night, it might be
rather uncertain as to its being the close of one day or the beginning
of another. But the above, corroborated by the testimony of the
monumental inscription, must be correct. I regret, however, that I did
not perceive it sooner. T.M.H.]
By her will, which is very long, and dated May 30, 1786, and has four
codicils, the last dated September 11, 1787, she leaves her estate at
Westbrook, in Godalming, Co. Surrey, bequeathed to her by the General,
to his great nephew, Eugene, Marquis of Bellegarde, in France, then in
the Dutch service, but born in England, and his heirs, with all her
plate, jewels, &c.; to her nephews, John and Charles Apreece, and
their sister Dorothy, wife of ---- Cole, an annuity of £100 amongst
them, and the survivor for life; and if either John or Charles succeed
to the Baronet's title, the annuity to go over to the other; but if
their sister survive, she to have only £200 per annum; also four
annuities, of £50 each, to four of her female friends or neighbors.
All these annuities are charged on the Cranham estate, which she
gives in trust to Sir George Allanson Wynne, Bart., and Mr. Granville
Sharpe, for the use of her nephew, Sir Thomas Apreece, of Washingley,
Co. Huntingdon, for life, remainder in tail to his issue male or
female, remainder to his brothers John and Charles, and sister
Dorothy, successively, remainder to her own right heirs. The manor of
Canewdon Hall, Essex, to be sold to pay legacies, viz.: £100 to Sir
G.A. Wynne; £1000 to the Princess of Rohan, related to her late
husband; £500 to the Princess de Ligne, her late husband's niece;
£1000 to Samuel Crawley, Esq., of Theobalds, Co. Herts; £500 among the
Miss Dawes's, of Coventry; £500 to James Fitter, Esq., of Westminster;
£500 to the Marquis of Bellegarde. The manor of Fairstead Hall, Co.
Essex, to Granville Sharpe, for life, paying £50 per annum to his
friend Mr. Marriott, relict of General Marriott, of Godalming, and
to settle the said estate to charitable uses after his death, at his
discretion. To Edward Lloyd and Sarah his wife, her servants,
£500; and £10 each, to other servants. By a codicil: to Maria Anne
Stephenson £1000 stock out of any of her property in the funds; to
Miss Lewis, who lives with Mrs. Fowle, in Red-lion square, and to
Miss Billinghurst, of Godalming, £50 each; to the poor of Cranham,
Fairstead, Canewdon, and Godalming, £20 each; her turn of patronage
to the united livings of St. Mary Somerset and St. Mary Mounthaw,
in London, to the Rev. Mr. Herringham, of South Weald. By another
codicil, £1000 more to the Marquis of Bellegarde; £1000 to Count
Bethisy; £200 to Granville Sharpe. By another, revokes the legacies
to the Princess de Ligne and Count Bethisy, and gives them to the two
younger daughters of the Marquis of Bellegarde, at the age of 21, or
marriage. As the Marquis resides in France, and it may be inconvenient
to him to keep the estate, she gives the manors of Westbrook and
Brimscombe, and Westbrook-place in Godalming, in trust to G. Sharpe,
and William Gill, Esqrs., and their heirs, to be sold, and the money
paid to the Marquis. Her executors are Mr. Granville Sharpe, and Mrs.
Sarah Dickinson, of Tottenham; the latter residuary legatee.
At the foot of the monument erected to the memory of General
Oglethorpe, was added the following inscription:
"His disconsolate Widow died October 26,1787,
in her 79th year,
and is buried with him,
in the vault in the centre of this Chancel.
Her fortitude of mind and extensive charity
deserve to be remembered,
though her own modesty would desire them to
be forgotten."
OGLETHORPE'S
ACCOUNT OF
CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.
This article is extracted from SALMON'S _Modern History_, Vol. III.
page 770, 4th edition; where it is introduced in these words: "The
following pages are an answer from General OGLETHORPE to some
inquiries made by the author, concerning the State of Carolina and
Georgia."
ACCOUNT OF CAROLINA AND GEORGIA.
Carolina is part of that territory which was originally discovered by
Sir Sebastian Cabot. The English now possess the sea-coast from the
river St. John's, in 30 degrees, 21 minutes north latitude. Westward
the King's charter declares it to be bounded by the Pacific ocean.
Carolina is divided into North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia;
the latter is a province which his Majesty has taken out of Carolina,
and is the southern and western frontier of that province, lying
between it and the French, Spaniards, and Indians.
The part of Carolina that is settled, is for the most part a flat
country. All, near the sea, is a range of islands, which breaks
the fury of the ocean. Within is generally low land for twenty
or twenty-five miles, where the country begins to rise in gentle
swellings. At seventy or eighty miles from the sea, the hills grow
higher, till they terminate in mountains.
The coast of Georgia is also defended from the rage of the sea by a
range of islands. Those islands are divided from the main by canals
of salt water, navigable for the largest boats, and even for small
sloops. The lofty woods growing on each side of the canals, make very
pleasant landscapes. The land, at about seven or eight miles from the
sea, is tolerably high; and the further you go westward, the more it
rises, till at about one hundred and fifty miles distance from the
sea, to the west, the Cherokee or Appallachean mountains begin, which
are so high that the snow lies upon them all the year.
This ridge of mountains runs in a line from north to south, on the
back of the English colonies of Carolina and Virginia; beginning
at the great lakes of Canada, and extending south, it ends in the
province of Georgia at about two hundred miles from the bay of
Appallachee, which is part of the Gulf of Mexico. There is a plain
country from the foot of these mountains to that sea.
The face of the country is mostly covered with woods. The banks of the
rivers are in some places low, and form a kind of natural meadows,
where the floods prevent trees from growing. In other places, in the
hollows, between the hillocks, the brooks and streams, being stopt by
falls of trees, or other obstructions, the water is penned back. These
places are often covered with canes and thickets and are called, in
the corrupted American dialect, swamps. The sides of the hills are
generally covered with oaks and hickory, or wild walnuts, cedar,
sassafras, and the famous laurel tulip, which is esteemed one of the
most beautiful trees in the world. The flat tops of the hillocks are
all covered with groves of pine trees, with plenty of grass growing
under them, and so free from underwood that you may gallop a horse for
forty or fifty miles an end. In the low grounds and islands in the
river there are cypress, bay-trees, poplar, plane, frankincense or
gum-trees, and aquatic shrubs. All part of the province are well
watered; and, in digging a moderate depth, you never miss of a fine
spring.
What we call the Atlantic ocean, washes the east and southeast coast
of these provinces. The gulf stream of Florida sets in with a tide in
the ocean to the east of the province; and it is very remarkable that
the banks and soundings of the coast extend twenty or twenty-five
miles to the east of the coast.
The tides upon this coast flow generally seven feet. The soundings are
sand or ooze, and some oyster banks, but no rocks. The coast appears
low from the sea, and covered with woods.
Cape Fear is a point which runs with dreadful shoals far into the sea,
from the mouth of Clarendon river in North Carolina. Sullivan's Island
and the Coffin land are the marks of the entry into Charlestown
harbor. Hilton head, upon French's island, shows the entry into Port
Royal; and the point of Tybee island makes the entry of the Savannah
river. Upon that point the Trustees for Georgia have erected a noble
signal or light-house, ninety feet high, and twenty-five feet wide.
It is an octagon, and upon the top there is a flag-staff thirty feet
high.
The Province of Georgia is watered by three great rivers, which
rise in the mountains, namely, the Alatamaha, the Ogechee, and the
Savannah; the last of which is navigable six hundred miles for canoes,
and three hundred miles for boats.
The British dominions are divided from the Spanish Florida by a noble
river called St. John's.
These rivers fall into the Atlantic ocean; but there are, besides
these, the Flint and the Cahooche, which pass through part of Carolina
or Georgia, and fall into the gulf of Appellachee or Mexico.
All Carolina is divided into three parts: 1. North Carolina, which is
divided from South Carolina by Clarendon river, and of late by a line
marked out by order of the Council: 2. South Carolina, which, on the
south is divided from 3. Georgia by the river Savannah. Carolina is
divided into several counties; but in Georgia there is but one yet
erected, namely, the county of Savannah. It is bounded, on the one
side, by the river Savannah, on the other by the sea, on the third by
the river Ogechee, on the fourth by the river Ebenezer, and a line
drawn from the river Ebenezer to the Ogechee. In this county are the
rivers Vernon, Little Ogechee, and Westbrook. There is the town of
Savannah, where there is a seat of judicature, consisting of three
bailiffs and a recorder. It is situated upon the banks of the river of
the same name. It consists of about two hundred houses, and lies upon
a plain of about a mile wide; the bank steep to the river forty-five
feet perpendicularly high. The streets are laid out regular. There
are near Savannah, in the same county, the villages of Hampstead,
Highgate, Skidoway, and Thunderbolt; the latter of which is a
translation of a name; their fables say that a thunderbolt fell, and a
spring thereupon arose in that place, which still smells of the bolt.
This spring is impregnated with a mixture of sulphur and iron, and
from the smell, probably, the story arose. In the same county is
Joseph's town and the town Ebenezer; both upon the river Savannah; and
the villages of Abercorn and Westbrook. There are saw mills erecting
on the river Ebenezer; and the fort Argyle, lies upon the pass of this
county over the Ogechee. In the southern divisions of the province
lies the town of Frederica, with its district, where there is a
court with three bailiffs and a recorder. It lies on one side of the
branches of the Alatamaha. There is, also, the town of Darien, upon
the same river, and several forts upon the proper passes, some of four
bastions, some are only redoubts. Besides which there are villages in
different parts of Georgia. At Savannah there is a public store house,
built of large square timbers. There is also a handsome court house,
guard house, and work house. The church is not yet begun; but
materials are collecting, and it is designed to be a handsome edifice.
The private houses are generally sawed timber, framed, and covered
with shingles. Many of them are painted, and most have chimneys of
brick. At Frederica some of the houses are built of brick; the others
in the Province are mostly wood. They are not got into luxury yet in
their furniture; having only what is plain and needful. The winter
being mild, there are yet but few houses with glass windows.
The Indians are a manly, well-shaped race. The men tall, the women
little. They, as the ancient Grecians did, anoint with oil, and expose
themselves to the sun, which occasions their skins to be brown of
color. The men paint themselves of various colors, red, blue, yellow,
and black. The men wear generally a girdle, with a piece of cloth
drawn through their legs and turned over the girdle both before and
behind, so as to hide their nakedness. The women wear a kind of
petticoat to the knees. Both men and women in the winter wear mantles,
something less than two yards square, which they wrap round their
bodies, as the Romans did their toga, generally keeping their arms
bare; they are sometimes of woolen, bought of the English; sometimes
of furs, which they dress themselves. They wear a kind of pumps, which
they call moccasons, made of deer-skin, which they dress for that
purpose. They are a generous, good-natured people; very humane to
strangers; patient of want and pain; slow to anger, and not easily
provoked, but, when they are thoroughly incensed, they are implacable;
very quick of apprehension and gay of temper. Their public conferences
show them to be men of genius, and they have a natural eloquence, they
never having had the use of letters. They love eating, and the English
have taught many of them to drink strong liquors, which, when they do,
they are miserable sights. They have no manufactures but what each
family makes for its own use; they seem to despise working for hire,
and spend their time chiefly in hunting and war; but plant corn enough
for the support of their families and the strangers that come to visit
them. Their food, instead of bread, is flour of Indian corn boiled,
and seasoned like hasty-pudding, and this called hommony. They also
boil venison, and make broth; they also roast, or rather broil their
meat. The flesh they feed on is buffalo, deer, wild turkeys and other
game; so that hunting is necessary to provide flesh; and planting for
corn. The land[1] belongs to the women, and the corn that grows upon
it; but meat must be got by the men, because it is they only that
hunt: this makes marriage necessary, that the women may furnish corn,
and the men meat. They have also fruit-trees in their gardens, namely,
peaches, nectarines, and locust, melons, and water-melons, potatoes,
pumpkins, onions, &c. in plenty; and many kinds of wild fruits, and
nuts, as persimons, grapes, chinquepins, and hickory nuts, of which
they make oil. The bees make their combs in the hollow trees, and the
Indians find plenty of honey there, which they use instead of sugar.
They make, what supplies the place of salt, of wood ashes; use for
seasoning, long-pepper, which grows in their gardens; and bay-leaves
supply their want of spice. Their exercises are a kind of
ball-playing, hunting, and running; and they are very fond of dancing.
Their music is a kind of drum, as also hollow cocoa-nut shells. They
have a square in the middle of their towns, in which the warriors sit,
converse, and smoke together; but in rainy weather they meet in the
King's house. They are a very healthy people, and have hardly any
diseases, except those occasioned by the drinking of rum, and the
small pox. Those who do not drink rum are exceedingly long-lived. Old
BRIM emperor of the Creeks, who died but a few years ago, lived to one
hundred and thirty years; and he was neither blind nor bed-rid, till
some months before his death. They have sometimes pleurisies and
fevers, but no chronical distempers. They know of several herbs that
have great virtues in physic, particularly for the cure of venomous
bites and wounds.
[Footnote 1: That is _the homestead_.]
The native animals are, first the urus or zoras described by Caesar,
which the English very ignorantly and erroneously call the buffalo.
They have deer, of several kinds, and plenty of roe-bucks and rabbits.
There are bears and wolves, which are small and timorous; and a brown
wild-cat, without spots, which is very improperly called a tiger;
otter, beavers, foxes, and a species of badger which is called
raccoon. There is great abundance of wild fowls, namely, wild-turkey,
partridges, doves of various kinds, wild-geese, ducks, teals, cranes,
herons of many kinds not known in Europe. There are great varieties of
eagles and hawks, and great numbers of small birds, particularly the
rice-bird, which is very like the ortolan. There are rattlesnakes,
but not near so frequent as is generally reported. There are several
species of snakes, some of which are not venomous. There are
crocodiles, porpoises, sturgeon, mullet, cat-fish, bass, drum,
devil-fish; and many species of fresh-water fish that we have not in
Europe; and oysters upon the sea-islands in great abundance.
What is most troublesome, there, are flies and gnats, which are
very numerous near the rivers; but, as the country is cleared, they
disperse and go away.
The vegetables are innumerable; for all that grow in Europe, grow
there; and many that cannot stand in our winters thrive there.
APPENDIX. This portion of the work contains additional notes, original
documents, and notices of some of the distinguished friends of
Oglethorpe.
APPENDIX
No. I
FAMILY OF OGLETHORPE.
The following genealogical memoranda are taken principally, from a
note in Nichols's _Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century_, Vol.
II. p. 17, on his having given the title of a book ascribed to the
subject of the foregoing memoir
"This truly respectable gentleman was the descendant of a family very
anciently situated at Oglethorpe, in the parish of Bramham, in the
West Riding of the County of York; one of whom was actually Reeve
of the County (an office nearly the same with that of the present
high-sheriff) at the time of the Norman Conquest. The ancient seat of
Oglethorpe continued in the family till the Civil Wars, when it was
lost for their loyalty; and several of the same name died at once in
the bed of honor in the defence of monarchy, in a battle near Oxford.
"William Oglethorpe, (son of William) was born in 1588. He married
Susanna, daughter of Sir William Sutton, Knight and sister to Lord
Lexington. He died in November, 1634 leaving two children, Sulton,
born 1612, and Dorothy (who afterwards married the Marquis of Byron, a
French nobleman,) born 1620.
"Sutton Oglethorpe, being fined £20,000 by the Parliament, his estates
at Oglethorpe, and elsewhere, were sequestered, and afterwards given
to General Fairfax, who sold them to Robert Benson of Bramham, father
of Lord Bingley of that name. Sutton Oglethorpe had two sons, Sutton,
and Sir Theophilus. Sutton was Stud-master to King Charles II.; and
had three sons, namely, Sutton, Page to King Charles II.; John, Cornet
of the Guards; and Joseph, who died in India.
"Sir Theophilus was born in 1652; and was bred to arms. He fought,
under the Duke of Monmouth, in the affair at Bothwell bridge, where a
tumultary insurrection of the Scots was suppressed, June 22, 1679.
He commanded a party of horse at Sedgmoor fight, where the Duke was
defeated, July 6, 1685; and was Lieutenant Colonel to the Duke of
York's troop of his Majesty's horse-guards, and Commissioner for
executing the office of Master of the Horse to King Charles II.
He was afterwards first Equerry and Major General of the army of
King James II.; and suffered banishment with his Royal Master." After
his return to his native country he purchased a seat in the County
of Surrey, called "the Westbrook place," near adjoining the town of
Godalming; a beautiful situation, in a fine country. It stands on the
slope of a hill, at the foot of which are meadows watered by the river
Wey. It commands the view of several hills, running in different
directions; their sides laid out in corn fields, interspersed with
hanging woods. Behind it is a small park, well wooded; and one side is
a capacious garden fronting the south-east.
Sir Theophilus was for several years a member of Parliament for
Haslemere, a small borough in the south-west angle of the county of
Surrey. This place was, afterwards, in the reigns of Anne, George I.,
and George II., successively represented by his three sons, Lewis,
Theophilus, and James. He died April 10,1702, as appears by a pedigree
in the collection of the late J.C. Brooke, Esq., though the following
inscription in the parish church of St. James, Westminster, where he
was buried, has a year earlier.--"Hie jacet THEOPHILUS OGLETHORPE,
Eques auratus, ab atavo Vice-comite Eborum, Normanno victore, ducens
originem. Cujus armis ad pontem Bothwelliensem, succubuit Scotus:
necnon Sedgmoriensi palude fusi Rebellos. Qui, per varies casus et
rerum discrimina, magnanimum erga Principem et Patriam fidem, sed non
temerè, sustinuit. Obiit Londini anno 1701, aetat. 50."
Sir Theophilus married Eleanora Wall, of a respectable family in
Ireland, by whom he had four sons and five daughters; namely, Lewis,
Theophilus, Sutton, and James; Eleanora, Henrietta, Mary, and
Frances-Charlotte.
I. LEWIS, born February, 1680-1; admitted into Corpus Christi College,
in the University of Oxford, March 16,1698-9. He was Equerry to Queen
Anne, and afterwards Aid-de-camp to the Duke of Marlborough; and, in
1702, member of Parliament for Haslemere. Having been mortally wounded
in the battle of Schellenburgh, on the 24th October, 1704, he died on
the 30th.
The following inscription to his memory is placed below that of Sir
Theophilus.
"Hujus claudit latus LUDOVICUS OGLETHORPE, tam paternae virtutis,
quam fortunae, haeres; qui, proelio Schellenbergensi victoria
Hockstatensis preludio tempestivum suis inclinantibus ferens
auxilium vulnere honestissima accepit, et praeclarae spe Indolis
frustrata.--Ob. XXII aetatis, Anno Dom. 1704.
"Charissimo utriusque marmor hoc, amantissima conjux et mater possuit,
Domina Eleonora Oglethorpe."
II. THEOPHILUS, born 1682. He was Aid-de-camp to the Duke of Ormond;
and member of Parliament for Haslemere in 1708 and 1710. The time of
his death is not recorded. He must have died young.
III. ELEONORA, born 1684; married the Marquis de Mezieres on the 5th
of March, 1707-8, and deceased June 28, 1775, aged 91. The son of this
lady was heir to the estate of General Oglethorpe. He is mentioned, in
the correspondence of Mr. Jefferson, as highly meritorious and popular
in France, (1785.)
IV. ANN [mentioned in Shaftoe's narrative.]
V. SUTTON, born 1686; and died in November, 1693.
VI. HENRIETTA, [of whom we have no account.]
VII. JAMES, [see the next article.]
VIII. FRANCES-CHARLOTTE ... Married the Marquis de Bellegarde, a
Savoyard.[1] To a son of this union is a letter of General Washington,
dated January 15, 1790, in the 9th volume of Sparks's _Writings of
Washington_, p. 70.
[Footnote 1: _Gentleman's Magazine_, Vol. LVII. p. 1123.]
IX. MARY, who died single.
The ARMS of the family are thus described: "Argent, a chevron, between
three boar's heads, erased, sable armed, or, lingued proper."
CREST. "A boar's head, as before, holding an oaken branch, vert,
fructed or."
II
DISCUSSION RESPECTING THE BIRTH-DAY OF OGLETHORPE.
There are great difficulties in ascertaining the age of Oglethorpe.
The newspapers, soon after his decease, in 1785. and the _Gentleman's_
and _London Magazine_, contain several articles about it.
While these inquiries, investigations, and statements were going the
round of all the periodicals of the day, it is unaccountably strange
that the family did not produce the desired rectification, and yet
more surprising that in the inscription on the monument erected to his
memory by his widow, and which was drawn up by her request, she should
not have furnished the writer with the date of his birth, and the
years of age to which he had arrived.
The _London Gazette_, first announcing his death, stated it _one
hundred and four years_. The _Westminster Magazine_ for July 1785,
(a periodical published in the very neighborhood of the old family
mansion,) in the monthly notice of deaths, has "June 30th, General
Oglethorpe, aged 102. He was the oldest general in England." And I
have a fine engraved portrait of him taken in February preceding his
decease, or which is inscribed "he died 30th of June, 1785, aged 102."
A writer in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for September, 1785 p. 701,
who was one of the first emigrants to Georgia, and personally and
intimately acquainted with the General, declares that "he lived to be
_near a hundred years old_, but was not _one hundred and two_, as has
been asserted."
In the Biographical Memoir of him in the 8th volume of the _European
Magazine_; in NICHOLS's _Anecdotes of Literature_ and in McCALL's
_History of Georgia_, his birth is said to have been in 1698; and yet
it is asserted by the best authorities, that he bore the military rank
of Ensign in 1710, when, according to their date of his nativity,
he could have been but _twelve years of age_; and this before his
entering College at Oxford.
Again, some make him Captain Lieutenant in the first troop of the
Queen's Guards in 1714; the same year that others put him to College.
According to such statements, he must on both these military
advancements, have been of an age quite too juvenile for military
service, and more so for military rank. And yet, to account for his
obtaining such early, and, indeed, immature promotion, the writers
suggest that "he withdrew precipitately from the sphere of his
education." But I see no reason for supposing that he left the
University before he had completed the usual term of residence for
obtaining a degree; though he did not obtain that of _Master of Arts_
till the 31st of July, 1731.[1]
[Footnote 1: See _Catalogue of Oxford Graduates_.]
PRIOR, in _The Life of Goldsmith_, page 457, expressly says that
Oglethorpe, "_after being educated at Oxford_, served under Prince
Eugene against the Turks."[1]
[Footnote 1: About this time he presented a manuscript French
paraphrase of the Bible, in two folio volumes, finely illuminated, to
the library of Corpus Christi College in Oxford. "The gift of James
Oglethorpe, Esq., Member of Parliament." GUTCH's _Appendix to Wood's
History and Antiquities of the Colleges and Halls in the University of
Oxford_.]
Again, CROKER has a long note upon a passage in Boswell's _Life
of Johnson_, II. p. 173, to invalidate a narative of Oglethorpe's
respecting a writing of Colonel Sir Thomas Prendergast, who was killed
at the battle of Malplaquet, on the 31st of August, 1709, which thus
concludes: "At the battle of Malplaquet, Oglethorpe was _only eleven
years old_. Is it likely that Oglethorpe, at the age of _eleven
years_, was present at Pope's interview with Colonel Cecil? And, even
if he were, what credit is to be given to the recollections, after the
lapse of sixty-three years, of what a boy of _eleven_ heard?"[1]
[Footnote 1: CROKER means that the time when Oglethorpe told the story
to Dr. Johnson was _sixty-three_ years after the battle of Malplaquet,
when the event referred to took place.]
In reply to this, I would observe, that it is not even probable, as
this statement would imply, that the interview of Pope with Colonel
Cecil was directly after the battle. There might have been intervening
years. Moreover, Croker goes upon the presumption that the birth of
Oglethorpe was in 1698. Now, to assign his birth to that year would
make him only _eighty-seven years_ old when he died; but Dr. Lettsom,
in "a letter on prisons," in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, Vol. LXXI. p.
21, has this remark: "I spent an evening, which agreeably continued
till two o'clock in the morning, with the late General Oglethorpe,
when this veteran was in the _ninety-sixth_ year of his age; who told
me, that he planted Georgia chiefly from prisons." And Hannah More
writes of being in company with him when he was _much above ninety
years_ of age. He was, therefore, born before 1698. And, finally,
the record of his admission into Corpus Christi College, at Oxford,
decides the matter beyond all controversy; and, by certifying his
age to be _sixteen_, proves that he was born in _sixteen hundred and
eighty-eight_. For the _month_ and _day_, I receive the testimony of
William Stephens, Esq., Secretary for the affairs of the Trustees in
Georgia, in the first volume of his Journal. On Thursday, December,
21st, [1738,] he makes this record.
"Another heavy rain of all last night, and this whole day's
continuance; which, whatever impediments it might occasion to our
other affairs, was no hindrance to our celebration of _the General's
birth-day_, as had been always the custom hitherto; and in the very
same manner as we did last year, under the discharge of cannon, &c."
And McCall, who has named _December_ 21st, says, "I am indebted to the
Encyclopedia Perthensis, and to the Journal of a private gentleman in
Georgia, where his birth-day was celebrated, for the date which I have
inserted."[1]
[Footnote 1: _History of Georgia_, Vol. I. p. 321.]
This assignment will tally with the other dates and their attendant
circumstances; allow time, with becoming propriety, for finishing his
education at the University; and show that he was not so precocious a
soldier as has been represented, but that, instead of the _juvenile_
age of _eleven_, he entered the army at the _manly_ age of
_twenty-one_.
_Memorandum_. This attempt to ascertain the exact age of Oglethorpe,
was written in 1837. I have, since then, received the following
letter, dated London, October 2d, 1840.
My Dear Sir.
In compliance with your request, I. have been, this morning,
to the vestry of St. James, Westminster, where I examined
the record of Oglethorpe's baptism, of which the following is
an exact copy in substance and form.
Bapt. | June 1689
2. | James Oglethorpe of Sir Theophilus and
| his lady Elinor, b. 1.
I certify that the above is a true extract from the Register
Book of Baptisms belonging to the Parish of St. James,
Westminster.
J.G. GIFFORD, _Preacher and Assistant_.
Hence it appears that Oglethorpe was born on _the first_ of
June, 1669, and baptized on the _second_. I was assured by
Mr. Gifford that this is the true meaning of the record; and
I observed in the Register Book that other names were recorded
in like manner. There were several other baptisms the
same day, with different days of birth.
Most truly your friend and obedient servant,
JARED SPARKS.
This will be deemed decisive; though to me not entirely satisfactory.
I think I see cause for questioning the "b.1." not their _import_, but
their _correctness_: occasioned either for family reasons, or that
the date given at the font either was not distinctly heard by the
officiating clergyman, or misremembered at the time when the entry
was made in the Book. Besides, there would seem no occasion for the
presentation so immediately after the birth; for, according to custom,
it is very unusual before _the eighth day_. On the other hand, from
the statement of Nichols, Vol. II. p. 19, that of the children of Sir
Theophilus, "the five eldest were born at St. James London," we may
infer that JAMES, who was the _sixth_ in the order of births in the
family, was born at Godalming. This is proved, also, by Shaftoe's
narrative, which mentions the going down of the mother to London, in
consequence of the sickness and death of one of the nurslings. Now,
though the main statement of that document may not be true, such an
incidental circumstance as this, which has no direct bearing on "the
vexed question," may be admitted. If, therefore, born at Godalming,
he could not be taken to London, for baptism, _on the day after his
birth_. And, admitting that his nativity was on the 21st of December,
the season of the year alone would be sufficient reason for deferring
the public ceremony till after the inclement weather, and the
opportunity favored for having it in the Parish Church, where all the
other children had been baptized.
After all, the fact that on the _ninth_ of July, _seventeen hundred
and four_, he was _sixteen years_ old, as is testified on the Record
of his admission into College, is incompatible with the date of June
1st, 1689, for the day of his birth, but consistent with that of
December 21st, 1688.
To adjust all these discrepancies respecting the time of his birth,
and others of the time of his death, one needs the ingenuity of the
Benedictins of St. Maur, who published a 4to volume with this title:
"_L'art de verifier les dates des faits historiques_."
III.
CHARLES MORDAUNT, _Earl of Peterborough_. This great man died on his
passage to Lisbon, 25th of October, 1735, aged 77. To bravery and
heroism, he added a penetrating genius and a mind highly polished and
well instructed in ancient and modern literature, as his _Familiar
Epistles_, preserved among those of his friend Pope, fully evince.
Of REV. GEORGE BERKELEY, D.D., the celebrated Dean of Derry, and
afterwards Bishop of Cloyne, I give the following particulars.
His learning and virtues, his lively and agreeable conversation,
introduced him to the acquaintance, and procured him the esteem and
friendship of many great and learned men, and among others the Earl of
Peterborough, who made him his Chaplain, and took him as a companion
on a tour of Europe in 1714-15. Soon after his return, the Dean
published a proposal for the better supplying of the churches in
the American Plantations with Clergymen, and for instructing and
converting the savages to Christianity, by erecting a College in
Bermuda. The first branch of this design appeared to him in the light
of importance; but his principal view was to train up a competent
number of young Indians, in succession, to be employed as missionaries
among the various tribes of Indians. It appeared to be a matter of
very material consequence, that persons should be employed in this
service who were acquainted with the language necessary to be used;
and he had also a strong persuasion that such missionaries as he
proposed would be much better received by the savages than those of
European extraction. These Indian lads were to be obtained from the
different tribes in the fairest manner, and to be fed, clothed and
instructed at the expense of the Institution.
The scheme, for some time, met with all the encouragement that was
due to so benevolent a proposal. The King granted a charter; and the
Parliament voted a very considerable sum to be obtained from the
sale of lands in St. Christophers. Such a prospect of success in
the favorite object of his heart, drew from Berkeley some beautiful
verses, "in which," a writer of the day remarks, "another age,
perhaps, will acknowledge the old conjunction of the _prophetic_
character with that of the _poetic_, to have again taken place."
In consequence of this encouragement, he resigned his rich Deanry;
and in execution of his noble design, embarked in the latter part of
Autumn, 1728; his lady and her sister accompanying him; and arrived
at Newport, in Rhode Island, in February following. This situation
he pitched upon with a view of settling a correspondence there for
supplying his College. He purchased a country-seat and farm in the
neighborhood, where he resided about two years and a half. His
residence in this country had some influence on the progress of
literature, particularly in Rhode Island and Connecticut. The presence
and conversation of a man so illustrious for talents, learning,
virtue, and social attractions, could not fail of giving a spring
to the literary diligence and ambition of many who enjoyed his
acquaintance.
Finding, at length, that the promised aid of the ministry towards his
College would fail him, he embarked at Boston in September 1731, on
his return to England. At his departure he distributed the books which
he had brought with him, among the Clergy of Rhode Island. He sent,
as a gift to Yale College, a deed of his farm; and afterwards made a
present to its Library of about a thousand volumes.
Immediately after his arrival in London, he returned all the
private subscriptions that had been advanced for the support of his
undertaking.
The fund, which had been calculated upon for his College, had been
chiefly appropriated as a marriage portion of the Princess Ann, on her
nuptials with the Prince of Orange. There remained, however, £10,000,
which General Oglethorpe had interest enough in Parliament to obtain
for the purpose of carrying over and settling foreign and other
Protestants in his new Colony of Georgia in America;[1] "having
first paid Dean Berkeley the compliment of asking his consent to the
application for the money, before he moved for it in Parliament."
[Footnote 1: See _Journal of the House of Commons_, May 10, 1733.]
He passed the latter part of his life at Oxford; and deceased January
14th, 1753, aged 74.
The character of this worthy prelate was expressed in few words by
Bishop Atterbury, who, having heard much of him, wished to see him.
Accordingly, he was one day introduced to him by the Earl of Berkeley.
After some time, Mr. Berkeley quitted the room; on which the Earl said
to the Bishop, "Does my cousin answer your Lordship's expectations?"
The Bishop, lifting up his hands in astonishment, replied, "So
much understanding, so much knowledge, so much innocence, and such
humility, I did not think had been the portion of any but angels, till
I saw this gentleman."
Mr. Pope sums up Bishop Berkeley's character in one line. After
mentioning some particular virtues that distinguished other Prelates,
he ascribes
"To Berkeley every virtue under heaven."
I close these memoirs of the early companion, and congenial and
lasting friend of Oglethorpe, with the verses referred to, written by
him.
"ON THE PROSPECT OF ARTS AND SCIENCES IN AMERICA."
The muse, disgusted at an age and time,
Barren of every glorious theme,
In distant lands now waits a better clime,
Producing subjects worthy fame.
In happy climes, where from the genial sun
And virgin earth such scenes ensue,
The force of art by nature seems outdone,
And fancied beauties by the true:
In happy climes, the seat of innocence,
Where nature guides and virtue rules;
Where men shall not impose, for truth and sense,
The pedantry of courts and schools:
There shall be seen another golden age,
The rise of empire and of arts;
The good and great inspiring epic page,
The wisest heads and noblest hearts.
Not such as Europe breeds in her decay,
Such as she bred when fresh and young,
When heavenly flame did animate her clay,
By future ages shall be sung.
Westward the course of empire takes its way,--
The four first acts already past,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day,--
Time's noblest offspring is the last.
IV.
REFERENCE TO DEBATES IN THE BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS IN WHICH
OGLETHORPE TOOK A PART.
[_See History and Proceedings of the House of Commons_.]
Against the banishment of Francis Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester.
April 6, 1723.
On ecclesiastical benefices.
On the preference of a militia to a standing army. Plea in behalf of
the persecuted Protestants in Germany January, 1731-2.
On the bill for the better securing and encouraging the trade of the
sugar Colonies. January 28, 1732.
On the petition of Sir Thomas Lombe relating to his silk winding
machine.
On the petition from the proprietors of the Charitable Corporation,
complaining of the mismanagement of their directors &c. February,
1732.
On a second reading of the sugar colony bill.
On the motion for an address of thanks in answer to the King's speech.
January 27, 1734. [His speech fills more than three pages.]
On the motion in the grand committee on the supply for granting thirty
thousand men for the sea service for the year 1735. February 7th,
1734-5. [This speech fills six pages and a half.]
Against committing the bill for limiting the number of officers in the
House of Commons.
On Sir J. Barnard's motion for taking off such taxes as are burdensome
to the poor and the manufacturers.
Against the act for disabling Alexander Wilson, Esq., from the holding
office, &c.
On the petition, in 1747, of the United Brethren to have the _Act for
naturalizing foreigners in North America_, extended to them and other
settlers who made a scruple of performing military service.
On another petition of the United Brethren presented 20th of February,
1749.
[All the speeches in both Houses of Parliament on each of these
petitions, were printed in the _Universal Magazine_ for the months of
April and May, 1749.]
He spoke on other occasions, to have indicated which would have
required more research than I could spare.
V.
PRISON-VISITING COMMITTEE.
This committee consisted of the following gentlemen:
James Oglethorpe, Esquire, Chairman,
The Right Honorable the Lord Finch,
The Right Honorable Lord Percival,
Sir Robert Sutton, Knight of the Bath,
Sir Robert Clifton, Knight of the Bath,
Sir Abraham Elton, Baronet,
Sir Gregory Page, Baronet,
Sir Edmund Knatchbull, Baronet,
Vultus Cornwall, Esquire,
General Wade,
Humphry Parsons, Esquire,
Captain Vernon,
Robert Byng, Esquire,
Judge Advocate Hughes.
On Thursday, the 27th of February, they went to the Fleet prison to
examine into the state of that gaol, in order for the relief of the
insolvent debtors, &c., when the irons were ordered to be taken off
Sir William Rich, Baronet. The next day, the same committee went a
second time to the Fleet prison, where, upon complaint made to them
that Sir William Rich was again put in irons, they made report thereof
to the House of Commons, who thereupon ordered Mr. Bambridge, the
warden of the Fleet, to be taken into the custody of their sergeant at
arms.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE
"On Thursday, the 20th of March, Mr. Oglethorpe from the committee
appointed to inquire into the state of the gaols of this kingdom, made
a REPORT of some progress they had made, with the RESOLUTIONS of
the committee thereupon, and he read the Report in his place, and
afterwards delivered the same (with two appendixes) in at the table,
where the Report was read, and the resolutions of the committee
being severally read a second time, were agreed to by the House, in
substance as follows, viz.:
"Resolved, _nemine contradicente_, that Thomas Bambridge, the acting
Warden of the prison at the Fleet, hath wilfully permitted several
debtors to the crown in great sums of money, as well as debtors to
divers of his Majesty's subjects to escape; hath been guilty of the
most notorious breaches of his trust; great extortions, and the
highest crimes and misdemeanors in the execution of his said office;
and hath arbitrarily and unlawfully loaded with irons, put into
dungeons, and destroyed prisoners for debt under his charge, treating
them in the most barbarous and cruel manner, in high violation and
contempt of the laws of this kingdom:
"Resolved, _nemine contradicente_, that John Higgins, Esq., late
warden of the prison of the Fleet, did during the time of his
wardenship, wilfully permit many in his custody to escape, and was
notoriously guilty of great breaches of his trust, extortions,
cruelties, and many other high crimes and misdemeanors, &c., &c.
"And that James Barnes, William Pindar, John Everett, and Thomas King
were agents of, and accomplices with the said Thomas Bambridge in the
commission of his said crimes.
"At the same time, upon a motion made by Mr. Oglethorpe, by direction
of the committee, it was unanimously resolved to address his Majesty
that he would be graciously pleased to direct his Attorney General
forthwith to prosecute, in the most effectual manner, the said Thomas
Bambridge, John Higgins, James Barnes, William Pindar, John Everett,
and Thomas King for their said crimes.
"It was also ordered that the said Bambridge, Higgins, Barnes, Pindar,
Everett, and King be committed close prisoners in His Majesty's gaol
of Newgate.
"Then, upon Mr. Oglethorpe's motions, two bills were ordered to be
brought in, one to disable Thomas Bambridge from holding or executing
the office of Warden of the Prison of the Fleet, or to have or
exercise any authority relating therein. The other, for better
regulating the prison of the Fleet, and for more effectually
preventing and punishing arbitrary and illegal practices of the Warden
of the said prison.
"In the last place the Commons ordered the Report from the Committee
relating to the Fleet prison to be printed." [N.B. The substance of
this report is given in BOYER's _Political State of Europe_, Vol.
XXXVII. p. 359-377.]
The labors of Oglethorpe and his associates to correct prison abuses,
were warmly acknowledged by their country, and were the grateful theme
of the poet. They were alluded to by THOMSON in the following strain:
"And here can I forget the generous hand
Who, touched with human woe, redressive searched
Into the horrors of the gloomy jail?
Where misery moans unpitied and unheard,
Where sickness pines, where thirst and hunger burn,
And poor misfortune feels the lash of vice?
* * * * *
"Ye sons of mercy! yet resume the search,
Drag forth the legal monsters into light;
Wrench from their hands oppression's iron rod
And bid the cruel feel the pains they give!"
[_Winter_, l. 359-388.]
"The wretched condition of confined debtors, and the extortions and
oppressions to which they were subjected by gaolers, thus came to be
known to persons in high stations, and this excited the compassion of
several gentlemen to think of some method of relieving the poor from
that distress in which they were often involved without any fault
of their own, but by some conduct which deserved pity rather than
punishment."
VI.
RELEASE TO INSOLVENT DEBTORS, FROM PRISON.
In a very excellent publication entitled "_Reasons for establishing
the Colony of_ GEORGIA, _with regard to the trade of Great Britain,
the increase of our people, and the employment and support it
will afford to great numbers of our own poor, as well as foreign
Protestants_," by BENJAMIN MARTIN, Esq. _Lond_. 1733; are some remarks
in reference to the release of insolvent debtors from gaol, which I
deem it proper to extract and annex here; and the rather, because the
work is exceedingly rare.
After describing the deplorable condition of those who are in reduced
circumstances, and need assistance and would be glad of employment,
the writer refers to the situation of those who are thrown into
prison for debt, and judges that the number may be estimated at _four
thousand every year_; and that above one third part of the debts is
never recovered hereby; and then adds, "If half of these, or only
five hundred of them, were to be sent to Georgia every year to be
incorporated with those foreign Protestants who are expelled their own
country for religion, what great improvements might not be expected in
our trade, when those, as well as the foreigners, would be so many new
subjects gained by England? For, while they are in prison, they are
absolutely lost,--the public loses their labor, and their knowledge.
If they take the benefit of the Act of Parliament that allows them
liberty on the delivery of their all to their creditors, they come
destitute into the world again. As they have no money and little
credit, they find it almost impossible to, get into business,
especially when our trades are overstocked. They, therefore, by
contracting new debts, must return again into prison, or, how honest
soever their dispositions may be, by idleness and necessity will be
forced into bad courses, such as begging, cheating, or robbing. These,
then, likewise, are useless to the state; not only so, but dangerous.
But these (it will be said) may be serviceable by their labor in
the country. To force them to it, I am afraid, is impracticable; to
suppose they will voluntarily do it, I am sure is unlikely. The Colony
of Georgia will be a proper asylum for these. This will make the act
of parliament of more effect. Here they will have the best motive for
industry; a possession of their own, and no possibility of subsisting
without it.
"I have heard it said that our prisons are the properest places for
those that are thrown into them, by keeping them from being hurtful to
others. Surely this way of thinking is something too severe. Are these
people, with their liberty to lose our compassion? Are they to be shut
up from our eyes, and excluded also from our hearts? Many of very
honest dispositions fall into decay, nay, perhaps, because they are
so, because they cannot allow themselves that latitude which others
take to be successful. The ways that lead to a man's ruin are various.
Some are undone by overtrading, others by want of trade; many by being
responsible for others. Do all these deserve such hardship? If a man
sees a friend, a brother, a father going to a prison, where felons are
to be his society, want and sickness his sure attendants, and death,
in all likelihood his only, but _quick_ relief; if he stretches out
his hand to save him from immediate slavery and ruin, he runs the risk
of his own liberty, and at last loses it; is there any one who will
say, this man is not an object of compassion? Not so, but of esteem,
and worth preserving for his virtue. But supposing that idleness
and intemperance are the usual cause of his ruin. Are these crimes
adequate to such a punishment as confinement for life? But even yet
granting that these unhappy people deserve no indulgence, it is
certainly imprudent in any state to lose the benefit of the labor of
so many thousands.
"But the public loss, by throwing men into prison, is not confined to
them only. They have many of them wives and children. These are,
also, involved in their ruin. Being destitute of a support, they must
perish, or else become a burden on their parishes by an inability
to work, or a nuisance by their thefts. These, too, are useless to
society.
"In short, all those who can work yet are supported in idleness by any
mistaken charity, or are subsisted by their parishes, which are at
this time, through all England overburdened by indolent and lazy poor,
who claim and are designed only for impotent poor;--all those who
add nothing by their labor to the welfare of the state, are useless,
burdensome, or dangerous to it. What is to be done with these
necessitous? Nobody, I suppose, thinks that they should continue
useless. It will be then an act of charity to these, and of merit to
the public, for any one to propose, forward, and perfect a better
expedient for making them useful. If he cannot, it is surely just to
acquiesce, till a better be found, in the present design of settling
them in Georgia." p. 16-21.
VII.
SIR THOMAS LOMBE'S MILL FOR WINDING SILK
"In 1719, a silk-throwing mill was erected at Derby, and from that
time to the beginning of the present century, various improvements
were introduced.
"The following account of the first silk mill erected in England will
be interesting. At the commencement of the last century, a person of
the name of Crochet erected a small mill near the present works, with
the intention of introducing the Italian method of spinning into this
country. About 1715, a similar plan was in the contemplation of a
mechanic and draughtsman named John Lombe, who travelled into Italy
to procure drawings and models of the machines necessary for the
undertaking. After remaining some time in that country, and gaining as
much information as the jealousy and precautions of the merchants of
Italy would allow, he returned with two natives, accustomed to the
manufacture, into this country, and fixed upon Derby as a proper place
to establish his works. He agreed with the corporation for an island,
or rather swamp, in the river, 500 feet long and 52 feet wide, at the
rent of about £8 yearly. Here he established his silk mills, and
in 1718 procured a patent to enable him to secure the profits for
fourteen years. But Lombe did not live much longer; for the Italians,
exasperated at the injury done to their trade by its introduction into
England, sent an artful woman over, who associated with the parties in
the character of a friend, and, having gained over one of the natives
who had originally accompanied Mr. Lombe, administered a poison to
him, of which, it is said, he ultimately died. His death, however, did
not prove fatal to his scheme; for his brother, and afterwards his
cousin, carried on the business with energy, and employed more than
three hundred persons. A little before the expiration of the Patent,
Sir Thomas Lombe petitioned for a renewal of it; but this was refused,
and instead of it, £14,000 was granted him, on condition that he
should allow a complete model of the works to be taken; this was
accordingly done, and afterwards deposited in the town for public
inspection.
"This extensive mill stands upon a huge pile of oak, double planked
and covered with stone-work, on which are turned thirteen stone
arches, which sustain the walls.
"The spinning mills are eight in number, and give motion to upwards
of 25,000 reel bobbins, and nearly 3000 star wheels belonging to the
reels. Each of the four twist mills contains four rounds of spindles,
about 389 of which are connected with each mill, as well as the
numerous reels, bobbins, star wheels, &c. The whole of this elaborate
machine, though distributed through so many apartments, is put in
motion by a single water-wheel twenty-three feet in diameter, situated
on the west side of the building."
[_Treatise on the Manufactures and Machinery of Great Britain_, by P.
BARLOW, Esq., F.R.S., &c., in the _Encyclopedia Metropol_. Part VI.
"Mixed Sciences."]
"Sir Thomas Lombe, Alderman of Bassishaw Ward, died, at his house in
Old Jury, London, on the third of January 1739, aged 81. A gentleman
of great integrity and honor. He was the senior Alderman, next the
chair. Worth £120,000 sterling."
VIII.
CASE OF CAPTAIN PORTEOUS.
There is an account of the riot, and of all the particulars attending
the murder of Captain Porteous, at the close of the 9th volume of the
_History of the Proceedings of the House of Commons_, from page 506
to 545; and a concise narrative in the _History of England_, by Lord
MAHON, Vol. II. p. 285-298. He introduces it by the following remarks:
"Some years back, the real events might have excited interest; but the
wand of an enchanter is now waved over us. We feel the spell of the
greatest writer that the world has seen in one department, or Scotland
produced in any. How dull and lifeless will not the true facts appear
when no longer embellished by the touching sorrows of Effie, or the
heroic virtue of Jeanie Deans!" He refers, in a note, to chapter
VI. of _The Heart of Mid Lothian_, by Sir WALTER SCOTT, and to "his
excellent narrative" in the 2d series of the _Tales of a Grandfather_,
from p. 231 to 242, the end of the volume. See also the able speech of
Mr. LINDSAY, in the _Parliamentary History_, p. 254.
It is worthy of remark that the Bill was carried in Committee by the
least possible majority. One hundred and thirty-one members voted for
reporting the Bill as amended; the same number voted against it. And,
though it is customary for the Chairman to give his vote on the side
of mercy, he voted in favor of the Bill. It is further remarkable,
that two Scots members, the Solicitor General, and Mr. Erskine of
Grange, were then attending an appeal in the House of Lords, and were
refused leave of absence in order to be at this discussion, otherwise
the Bill would have been entirely lost.
IX.
About the end of the month of August, 1732, Sir Gilbert Heathcote
acquainted the court of directors of the Bank of England, that his
Majesty had granted a charter for establishing a regular colony in
Georgia; that the fund was to arise from charitable contributions
which he recommended to them, shewing the great charity of
the undertaking and the future benefit arising to England, by
strengthening all the American Colonies, by increasing the trade and
navigation of the kingdom, and by raising of raw silk, for which
upwards of £500,000 a year was paid to Piedmont, and thereby giving
employment to thousands of tradesmen and working people. Then Sir
Gilbert gave a handsome benefaction to the design, and his example
was followed by the directors then present, and a great many others
belonging to that opulent society; and James Vernon, Robert Hucks, and
George Heathcote, Esquires, paid into the Bank (the treasury for this
use) £200 each for the charity, which was conducted by the following
gentlemen as trustees:
Anthony Earl of Shaftesbury, Francis Eyles, Esq.
John Lord Viscount Purceval, John Laroche, Esq.
John Lord Viscount Tyrconnel, James Vernon, Esq.
James Lord Viscount Limerick, Stephen Hales, A.M.
George Lord Carpenter, Richard Chandler, Esq.
Edward Digby, Esq. Thomas Frederick, Esq.
James Oglethorpe, Esq. Henry L'Apostre, Esq.
George Heathcote, Esq. William Heathcote, Esq.
Thomas Towers, Esq. John White, Esq.
Robert Moore, Esq. Robert Kendal, Esq.
Robert Hucks, Esq. Richard Bundy, D.D.
William Sloper, Esq.
Collections were made all over England, and large sums raised, and the
Parliament gave £10,000, which enabled the trustees to entertain
many poor people that offered, and to make provision for their
transportation and maintenance till they could provide for themselves.
[OLDMIXON, I. p.526.
"Those who direct this charity have, by their own choice,
in the most open and disinterested manner, made it impossible
for any one among them to receive any advantage from
it, besides the consciousness of making others happy. Voluntary
and unpaid directors carry on their designs with honor
and success. Such an association of men of leisure and fortune
to do good, is the glory and praise of our country."]
[_Sermon before the trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia_,
by THOMAS RUNDLE, D.D., _Bishop of Londonderry, Ireland_. Lond. 1734,
page 16.]
X.
OGLETHORPE'S DISINTERESTEDNESS IN THE UNDERTAKING.
As Oglethorpe's going along with this new Colony proceeded merely
from his public spirit, and from a disinterested and generous view of
contributing all that was in his power, towards the benefit of his
country, and the relief of his distressed countrymen, it met with just
and deserved applause. In one of the public prints of the day the
following encomium was inserted.
"Whether it is owing to an affectation of being thought conversant
with the ancients, or the narrowness of our minds, I know not, but we
often pass over those actions in our contemporaries which would strike
us with admiration in a Greek or a Roman. Their histories perhaps
cannot produce a greater instance of public spirit than what appeared
in an evening paper of Saturday, the 18th instant, that 'James
Oglethorpe, Esq., one of the Trustees for establishing the Colony of
Georgia, is gone over with the first embarkation at his own expense.'
To see a gentleman of his rank and fortune visiting a distant and
uncultivated land, with no other society but the miserable whom he
goes to assist; exposing himself freely to the same hardships to which
they are subjected, in the prime of life, instead of pursuing his
pleasures or ambition; on an improved and well concerted plan, from
which his country must reap the profits; at his own expense, and
without a view, or even a possibility of receiving any private
advantage from it; this too, after having done and expended for it
what many generous men would think sufficient to have done;--to see
this, I say, must give every one who has approved and contributed to
the undertaking, the highest satisfaction; must convince the world of
the disinterested zeal with which the settlement is to be made, and
entitle him to the truest honor he can gain, the perpetual love and
applause of mankind.
"With how just an esteem do we look back on Sir Walter Raleigh for the
expeditions which he made so beneficial to his country! And shall we
refuse the same justice to the living which we pay to the dead, when
by it we can raise a proper emulation in men of capacity, and divert
them from those idle or selfish pursuits in which they are too
generally engaged? How amiable is humanity when accompanied with so
much industry! What an honor is such a man! How happy must he be! The
benevolent man, says Epicurus, is like a river, which, if it had a
rational soul, must have the highest delight to see so many corn
fields and pastures flourish and smile, as it were, with plenty and
verdure, and all by the overflowing of its bounty and diffusion of its
streams upon them.
"I should not have written so much of this Gentleman, had he been
present to read it. I hope to see every man as warm in praising him
as I am, and as hearty to encourage the design he is promoting as I
really think it deserves; a design that sets charity on a right foot,
by relieving the indigent and unfortunate, and making them useful at
the same time."[1]
[Footnote 1: Transcribed into the _Political State of Great Britain_,
for February, 1733, Vol. XLV. p.181.]
XI.
On the 13th of January, 1732-3, the Governor of South Carolina
published in their Gazette the following advertisement.
Whereas I have lately received a power from the Trustees for
establishing a Colony in that part of Carolina between the rivers
Alatamaha and Savannah, now granted by his Majesty's Charter to the
said Trustees, by the name of the Province of Georgia, authorizing me
to take and receive all such voluntary contributions as any of his
Majesty's good subjects of this Province shall voluntarily contribute
towards so good and charitable a work, as the relieving poor and
insolvent debtors, and settling, establishing, and assisting any poor
Protestants of what nation soever, as shall be willing to settle in
the said Colony; and whereas the said intended settlement will, in
all human appearance, be a great strengthening and security to this
Province, as well as a charitable and pious work, and worthy to be
encouraged and promoted by all pious and good Christians; I have,
therefore, thought fit to publish and make known to all such pious and
well disposed persons as are willing to promote so good a work, that
I have ordered and directed Mr. Jesse Badenhop to receive all such
subscriptions or sums of money as shall be by them subscribed or paid
in for the uses and purposes aforesaid; which sums of money (be they
great or small,) I promise them shall be faithfully remitted to the
Trustees by the aforesaid charter appointed, together with the names
of the subscribers, which will by them be published every year; or,
(if they desire their names to be kept secret) the names of the
persons by whom they make the said subscriptions.
The piety and charity of so good an undertaking, I hope will be a
sufficient inducement to every person to contribute something to
a work so acceptable to God, as well as so advantageous to this
Province.
R. JOHNSON.
_A Copy of the Letter of the Governor and Council of South Carolina,
to Mr. Oglethorpe_.
Sir--We cannot omit the first opportunity of congratulating you on
your safe arrival in this province, wishing you all imaginable success
in your charitable and generous undertaking; in which we beg leave to
assure you that any assistance we can give shall not be wanting in the
promotion of the same.