Frederic Boase - Modern English Biography (volume 1 of 4) A-H

ABERGAVENNY, Rev. William Nevill, 4 Earl of. b. 28 June 1792; succeeded 12 April 1845. d. Birling manor near Maidstone 17 Aug. 1868.

Note.—His personalty was sworn under £300,000 Oct. 1868.

ABINGDON, Montagu Bertie, 5 Earl of. b. 30 April 1784; succeeded 26 Sept. 1799; cupbearer at coronation of George iv 19 July 1821; lord lieut. of Berkshire 1828 to death. d. Wytham abbey, Berkshire 16 Oct. 1854. bur. at Rycote 24 Oct.

ABINGDON, Montagu Bertie, 6 earl of. b. Dover st. Piccadilly 19 June 1808; ed. at Eton and Trin. coll. Cam., M.A. 1829, D.C.L. Ox. 1834; M.P. Oxfordshire (tory) 5 Aug. 1830–23 April 1831, and 17 Dec. 1832–1 July 1852, for Abingdon 3 Dec. 1852–16 Oct. 1854, when he succeeded; lord lieut. of Berkshire 13 Feb. 1855–1881. d. 18 Grosvenor st. London 8 Feb. 1884. bur. Wytham abbey 13 Feb.

ABINGER, Robert Campbell Scarlett, 2 Baron. b. London 5 Sep. 1794; barrister I.T. 27 Nov. 1818; M.P. Norwich (conserv.) 7 Jany. 1835–17 July 1837, for Horsham 28 June 1841–7 April 1844, when he succeeded; envoy ex. and min. plen. to Tuscany 13 Dec. 1859–22 March 1860, when mission was abolished on annexation of Tuscany to Sardinia. d. Abinger hall near Dorking 24 June 1861.

ABINGTON, Leonard James. b. London 27 Nov. 1785; edited The Pottery Mercury at Hanley Staffordshire 1824; pastor of New st. baptist chapel, Hanley 1836–63. d. Northwood, Hanley 7 Aug. 1867. Personal recollections of late L. J. Abington 1868, pt.

ABRAHALL, Theophilus Bennett Hoskyns ( 2 son of Rev. John Hoskyns Abrahall, C. of Badgworth, Somerset ). Barrister I.T. 25 June 1830; went western circuit; sec. of commissions of the peace to lord chancellor; revising barrister S. Lancashire and Northumberland; deputy registrar of London court of bankruptcy 1844–54, registrar 1854–14 Dec. 1861; comr. of Newcastle district court of bankruptcy 14 Dec. 1861–31 Dec. 1869, when country district courts were abolished, d. Wonford house lunatic asylum, Heavitree, Exeter 2 Aug. 1874 aged 72.

ABRAHAM, George Frederick, admitted solicitor Nov. 1805; practised in London to death; originated with Thomas Thompson of the Stock Exchange the Home Missionary Society 11 Aug. 1819, the Congregational Union was merged in it 1827. d. 3 Mansfield st. Portland place, London 3 Jany. 1870 aged 88.

ABRAHAM, Robert, b. Cumberland; ed. for medical profession at Univ. of Edin.; served on the press in Cumberland; edited a leading Liverpool journal; went to Canada about 1843; Proprietor of the Montreal Gazette , editor to Dec. 1848, when it was sold; admitted an advocate of Lower Canada; edited the Transcript 1849 to death; edited the Lower Canada Agricultural Journal to death. d. Montreal 10 Nov. 1854. Morgan’s Bibliotheca Canadensis (1867) pp. 4–5.

ABRAHAM, Thomas, b. Bampton, Devon 1807; ed. at Blundell’s gr. sch. Tiverton; apprenticed to Edward Acton at Grundisburgh, Suffolk; studied at Guy’s hospital, London; L.S.A. Dec. 1833, M.R.C.S. April 1834; began practise in Old Broad st. 1834; surgeon to parish of Allhallows on the Wall for 3 years from Jany. 1835; surgeon to London infirmary for diseases of the skin 1836 to its close in 1837; member of Health of London association 1847; a comr. of sewers to his death; M.D. Erlangen 1851; M.D. Edin. 1859; a governor of Dulwich college 1861 to death and of Bridewell and Bethlehem hospitals; one of a sub committee of 4 who drew up “Report of health of London association on sanitary condition of Metropolis”; member of council of Hunterian society; helped to found Ragged school in Foster st. city of London; treasurer of London philanthropic society, d. Marsden villa, Haverstock hill 16 July 1864 in 57 year. bur. Kensal Green 21 July. Medical Circular i , 10, 25 (1852) pt.

ABYSSINIA, Alam-ayahu, Prince of. ( son of Theodore King of Abyssinia 1818–68 ). b. Debra Tabor 23 April 1861; arrived in England 14 July 1868; ed. at Cheltenham, Rugby and Sandhurst, d. Headingley, Leeds 14 Nov. 1879.

ACKERLEY, Charles Henry ( younger son of John Hawksey Ackerley, barrister, who d. 18 May 1842 aged 73, by Elizabeth dau. of Rev. John Chamberlayne of Maugersbury house, Gloucester ). Entered navy 1 Feb. 1810; lieut. 20 Nov. 1822; commander on half pay 1 July 1864; presented with large silver medal of Society of arts for his safety rods for ships’ boats 2 June 1828; invented a lamp which he called the lamp of life; tried at Swansea 27 Feb. 1851 for causing death of a miner named Dingle by the use of this lamp, and found not guilty; author of A plan for the better security of vessels navigating the river Thames 1834 . d. at residence of his sister Mrs. Peter Brown at Dover 22 Nov. 1865.

ACKERS, George Holland, b. 10 Aug. 1812; commodore of royal Victoria yacht club 1850–62, this club was founded at Ryde, Isle of Wight 24 May 1845, its admiralty warrant is dated 29 July 1845; sheriff of Cheshire 1852; author of Universal yacht signals 1847, of which he gave the copyright to Robert Henry Hunt who at his suggestion started Hunt’s Yachting Magazine Aug. 1852. d. 15 Hyde park terrace, London 20 Jan. 1872.

ACKERS, James, b. 1811; M.P. for Ludlow (conserv.) 3 July 1841–23 July 1847; purchased estate of Prinknash, Gloucestershire 1847. d. 27 Sep. 1868.

ACLAND, James ( son of Mr. Acland of London, Government contractor ). b. city of London 21 March 1799; ed. at Alfred house academy, Camberwell; joined Phillimore’s theatrical company at Chew Magna; clerk in office of Hullett Brothers & Company, South American merchants, Austin Friars; leading tragedian of Royalty theatre, Wellclose square; taught English at Calais; a penny a liner in London; sub editor of the British Traveller ; took lodgings in Queen st. Hull 1831; started a publication called The Portfolio, or memoirs and correspondence of an editor , Aug. 1831; printed it himself at 23 Queen st.; erected a stall in the market place and refused to pay usual fee for it; ran a packet called the “Magna Charta” from Hull to Barton on Humber, charging less than half fares; ran a light cart over all bridges in the town and refused to pay bridge toll, great alarm being created, the Mayor swore in 800 special constables, corporation began action against him in court of King’s Bench, Jany. 1832; tried at York 31 March 1832 for infringement of Barton ferry, when verdict went against him with damages one farthing, his costs amounting to £270, he barricaded his house for several months to prevent anyone entering to arrest him, his Portfolio being sold through a crevice in the window; elected churchwarden of Holy Trinity, Hull, Easter Monday 1832; taken to gaol for not paying his costs; a candidate for office of chamberlain of Hull, Sep. 1832; a grocer at 23 Queen st., to which house he gave name of “Anti-corporate castle;” confined in the King’s Bench prison, Nov. 1832; sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in gaol of Bury St. Edmunds for libel; served the full term; contested Hull as a liberal 13 Dec. 1832, polled only 433 votes; last number of the Portfolio issued 13 July 1833, a few sheets followed, which he styled Prison Proverbs . Proprietor with Richard and Anthony Dugdale of Paris Sun , “the largest continental journal and the only English paper in the world, published daily throughout the year,” was director and editor of it at 7 Rue Vivienne, Paris 1 Jany. 1837; only number of it in British Museum library is headed “Vol. 2, No. 54, Thursday morning, Feb. 23, 1837, 10 sous,” the proprietors were condemned by the president of 6th chamber of correctional police to a fine to government of 2000 francs, and to payment of 1000 francs to proprietors of an opposition paper for libel 22 Feb. 1837; lecturer of Anti-corn law league 1838–46; convened and addressed farm labourers of every village in Devon and Cornwall; an election and parliamentary agent 1846 to death; a very good speaker on nearly any subject; author of True patriotism , a poem 1817, The Imperial poll book of all elections from 1832 to 1864, Second ed. 1869. d. 14 Ellerslie terrace, Clapham, London 21 June 1876. The Bristolian Nos. 1–7, 23 Feb.–11 May 1872 ; W. A. Gunnell’s Sketches of Hull celebrities 1876, 460–64.