I wonder whether Mr. Woodburn has taken his departure this snowy morning, my own dear GrannyMary Russell Mitford, or: Mrs. Mitford | Born: 1750 in Ashe, Hampshire, England. Died: 1830-01-02 in Three Mile Cross, parish of Shinfield, Berkshire, England.
Mary Russell was the youngest child of the Rev. Dr. Richard Russell and his second wife, Mary Dicker; she was born about 1750 in Ashe, Hampshire. (Her birth date is as yet unverified; period sources indicate that she was ten years older than her husband George, born in 1760.) Through the Russells, she was a distant relation of the Dukes of Bedford (sixth creation, 1694). She had two siblings, Charles William and Frances; both predeceased her and their parents, which resulted in Mary Russell inheriting her family’s entire estate upon her mother’s death in 1785. Her father’s rectory in Ashe was only a short distance from Steventon, and so she was acquainted with the young Jane Austen. She married George Mitford or Midford on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford. Their only daughter, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. Mary Russell died on January 2, 1830 at Three Mile Cross in the parish of Shinfield, Berkshire. Her obituary in the 1830 New Monthly Magazine gives New Year’s day as the date of her death.—ajc, lmw
! If so he will have a sad journey—Of that however I am not so much afraid as that he will seize the weather as a good excuse.—I hope & trust that you will not think of coming home in the snow out of complaisance to my birthday[1] Mitford's birthday was December 16, six days from the date this letter was begun.—lmw—Much as we long to have you back again you must not risk catching cold in the transportation.—I hope you find your cloth gown comfortable & that you have worn my shawl constantly—Have you done a frill? Does it look pretty? You must want something of the sort to wear by this time I think—though I suppose they wash in WinchesterWinchester, Hampshire, England | Winchester | Hampshire | England | 51.059771 -1.3101420000000417 City and county town of Hampshire. Site of Winchester Cathedral and Winchester College, one of the oldest public grammar schools. Jane Austen died here and is buried in the Cathedral. John Keats wrote several of his best-known poems while on a visit to the city.—lmw though they do not keep netting needles—The only thing about which LucyLucy Sweatser Hill | Born: 1790-05-02 in Stratfield Saye, Berkshire, England. Died: .
Beloved servant for twelve years in the Mitford household who, on 7 August 1820 married Charles Hill. She is the basis for the title character in the Our Village story. Source: Needham Papers, Reading Central Library. —scw is troubled is your nightcap which she says can't be washed because you have no change—I dare say however you borrowed one of Mrs. Woodburn.—I have a letter from FysheCharles Fyshe Palmer, or: Long Fyshe | Born: 1769 in Luckley House, Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Died: 1843-01-24 in Wokingham, Berkshire, England.
Charles Fyshe Palmer was the son of Charles Fyshe Palmer and Lucy Jones. He married Lady Madelina Gordon Sinclair in 1805 at Kimbolton Castle in Kimbolton, Herefordshire . They lived at Luckley House, Wokingham, Berkshire and at East Court, Finchampstead, Berkshire. Through her siblings, Lady Madelina was connected to several of the most influential aristocratic families in the country, and Charles Fyshe Palmer’s marriage to Lady Madelina thus gained him access to aristocratic houses, including the Holland House.
A Whig politician, Palmer began running for Parliament elections as the member for Reading after 1816, and appears to have served off and on in that role until 1841. He led the Berkshire meetings to protest British government’s handling of the Peterloo Massacre in 1819. On March 16, 1820, Palmer ran for a seat in Parliament against two other candidates. The votes ran: John Berkeley Monck (418 votes), Charles Fyshe Palmer(399 votes), and John Weyland(395 votes.) Mitford’s letters around this time indicate she much preferred his opponent J. B. Monck, and she had earlier satirized Palmer in 1818 as vastly like a mop-stick, or, rather, a tall hop-pole, or an extremely long fishing-rod, or anything that is all length and no substance.
Mitford also mentions Palmer in connection with a legal issue surrounding the Billiard Club, in her letter to Talfourd of 31 August 1822 . Mitford also mentions the ways that Palmer’s political opponents sometimes undermined his Whig reformist positions by referencing the noble privileges (and money) he accrued by marrying the Lady Madelina Gordon in 1805.
—ajc, lmw
See note 2 in The Browning’s Correspondence rendering of Mitford’s letter of 12 March 1842 to Elizabeth Barrett Browning .
to day to whom, in enclosing a letter to forward to Sir WilliamWilliam Elford, Sir, baronet, Recorder for Plymouth, Recorder for Totnes, Member of Parliament | Born: 1749-08 in Kingsbridge, Devon, England. Died: 1837-11-30 in Totnes, Devon, England.
According to L’Estrange, Sir William was first a friend of Mitford’s father, and Mitford met him for the first time in the spring of 1810 when he was a widower nearing the age of 64. They carried on a lively correspondence until his death in 1837.
Elford worked as a banker at Plymouth Bank (Elford, Tingcombe and Purchase) in Plymouth, Devon, from its founding in 1782. He was elected a member of Parliament for Plymouth as a supporter of the government and Tory William Pitt, and served from 1796 to 1806. After his election defeat in Plymouth in 1806, he was elected member of Parliament for Rye and served from July 1807 until his resignation in July 1808. For his service in Parliament as a supporter of Pitt, he was made a baronet in 1800. After his son Jonathan came of age, he tried to secure a stable government post for him but never succeeded. Mayor of Plymouth in 1796 and Recorder for Plymouth from 1797 to 1833, he was also Recorder for Totnes from 1832 to 1834. Sir William served as an officer in the South Devon militia from 1788, eventually attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel; the unit saw active service in Ireland during the Peninsular Wars. Sir William was a talented amateur painter in oils and watercolors who exhibited at the Royal Society from 1774 to 1837; he exhibited still lifes and portraits but preferred landscapes. He was elected to the Royal Society Academy in 1790. He was also a talented amateur naturalist and was elected to the Royal Linnaean Society in 1790; late in life, he published his findings on an alternative to yeast.
He married his first wife, Mary Davies of Plympton, on January 20, 1776 and they had one son, Jonathan, and two daughters, Grace Chard and Elizabeth. After the death of his first wife, he married Elizabeth Hall Walrond, widow of Lieutenant-Colonel Maine Swete Walrond of the Coldstream Guards. His only son Jonathan died in 1823, leaving him without an heir.
—ebb, lmw

last Sunday, I had mentioned your not having received that I sent to you—FysheCharles Fyshe Palmer, or: Long Fyshe | Born: 1769 in Luckley House, Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Died: 1843-01-24 in Wokingham, Berkshire, England.
Charles Fyshe Palmer was the son of Charles Fyshe Palmer and Lucy Jones. He married Lady Madelina Gordon Sinclair in 1805 at Kimbolton Castle in Kimbolton, Herefordshire . They lived at Luckley House, Wokingham, Berkshire and at East Court, Finchampstead, Berkshire. Through her siblings, Lady Madelina was connected to several of the most influential aristocratic families in the country, and Charles Fyshe Palmer’s marriage to Lady Madelina thus gained him access to aristocratic houses, including the Holland House.
A Whig politician, Palmer began running for Parliament elections as the member for Reading after 1816, and appears to have served off and on in that role until 1841. He led the Berkshire meetings to protest British government’s handling of the Peterloo Massacre in 1819. On March 16, 1820, Palmer ran for a seat in Parliament against two other candidates. The votes ran: John Berkeley Monck (418 votes), Charles Fyshe Palmer(399 votes), and John Weyland(395 votes.) Mitford’s letters around this time indicate she much preferred his opponent J. B. Monck, and she had earlier satirized Palmer in 1818 as vastly like a mop-stick, or, rather, a tall hop-pole, or an extremely long fishing-rod, or anything that is all length and no substance.
Mitford also mentions Palmer in connection with a legal issue surrounding the Billiard Club, in her letter to Talfourd of 31 August 1822 . Mitford also mentions the ways that Palmer’s political opponents sometimes undermined his Whig reformist positions by referencing the noble privileges (and money) he accrued by marrying the Lady Madelina Gordon in 1805.
—ajc, lmw
See note 2 in The Browning’s Correspondence rendering of Mitford’s letter of 12 March 1842 to Elizabeth Barrett Browning .
's letter is not particularly civil I think—though perhaps the man only means to be funny & does not know how—It is not every body that can combine playfulness with goodbreeding.—At all events the delay was his as he confesses.—So I shall never trust any Despatch that requires dispatch to his punctuality—He seems to have taken a lesson in writing from his friend Dr. Parr—half his words one is forced to guess at—he literally "writes as ill as a Member of Parliament."[2] Quotation unidentified. Likely proverbial.—lmw—I have had a superb present from Mr. John ValpyAbraham John Valpy | Born: 1786-10-30 in Reading, Berkshire, England. Died: 1854-11-19 in St. John’s Wood Road, London, England.
Abraham John Valpy, called John or A.J. Dr. Richard Valpy’s second son, Abraham John was born about 1786 and was baptized on October 30, 1786 in Reading, Berkshire. He was educated at Reading School and then matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford on April 25, 1805; from that institution, he received his B.A. (1809) and M.A. (1811) and was appointed a Fellow for a short time in 1811. According to the DNB, he was bound apprentice to a freeman of London, Humphrey Gregory Pridden, a printer. He was admitted a Liveryman of the Stationer’s Company in London in 1807. He worked as a printer-publisher and editor, and owned premises in London at 21 Tooke’s Court, Cursitor Street (1811) and later at Red Lion Court, Fleet Street (1821). He published numerous works of ancient and modern literature, and was the printer and publisher of periodical The Museum (1822-1825). He worked with E.H. Barker of Thetford, George Burges, George Dyer, and T.S. Hughes. He retired from the publishing industry in 1837. On February 25, 1813 he married Harriet Wylde at Burrington, Somerset. John and Harriet Wylde lived in greater London and died without issue. John died on November 19, 1854 at St. John’s Wood Road, London, and is buried at All Soul’s, Kensal Green, London.—lmw, ebb
—a fine thick grand quarto volume—printed upon wire wove paper & hotpressed page 2
—the book has but one fault—the small fault of being totally unreadable. It is an English Poem by a German Gentleman called Time or Light & Shade—And seems in all points a very fit companion to a certain work called CylleniusThe Travels of Cyllenius: A Poem, in 66 cantos. Charles Dickinson . published for the author [Charles Dickinson]. 1795.
First published in 1795 and privately printed by Charles Dickinson himself. Period records suggest that the poem was available in at least four different forms: as individual quarto cantos sold for 1 shilling each (some listing ’White’ as the name of the publisher, although this may be a bookseller); as a 1796 quarto complete edition of all sixty-six cantos; as partial quarto editions of the middle 40 cantos (possibly gathered from individual cantos, as each were numbered separately); and a 12mo. complete edition in two volumes, with 389 pages listed as printed at Farley-Hill in 1820, of which only 12 copies were made and which were presentation copies to Dickinson’s friends. Some editions appear in boards, others in half morocco. An auction catalog for Richard Valpy’s library indicates that there were only 12 copies, printed by the author himself, who presented this to me (ie, Richard Valpy); another presentation copy appears in an auction catalogs for Samuel Rogers’s library. Periodicals and their reviewers from 1796 do not appear to have had access to the complete work in 66 cantos but instead review partial editions of cantos 41-60 (Edinburgh Magazine); canto 38 only (Analytical Review); Cantos 38-60 (British Critic); Cantos 38 and 40 only (Monthly Review). WorldCat lists an edition of cantos 37 to 60 only from 1795. Separate listings for a two-page mock title-page for the work, attributed to Horne-Took, appear as Speedily will be published, price 3l.6s. in boards, The travels of Cyllenius: a poem. In sixty-six cantos. —lmw—I intend to make Mr. DickinsonCharles Dickinson, or: Mr. Dickinson | Born: 1755-03-06 in Pickwick Lodge, Corsham, Wiltshire, England. Died: 1827 in Farley Hill, near Swallowfield, Berkshire, England.
Friend of the Mitford family. He was the son of Vikris Dickinson and Elizabeth Marchant. The Dickinson family were Quakers who lived in the vicinity of Bristol, Gloucestershire. On August 3, 1807, he married Catherine Allingham at St Giles, South Mimms, Middlesex. They lived at Farley Hill, near Swallowfield, Berkshire, where their daughter Frances was born, and where the Mitfords visited them. Charles Dickinson owned a private press he employed to print literary works by his friends (See letters to Elford from March 13, 1819 and June 21, 1820). He wrote and published an epic poem in sixty-six cantos, The Travels of Cyllenius, in 1795. Upon his uncle's death, Charles Dickinson inherited the considerable wealth his extended family had amassed in the West Indies.—ajc, lmw
read it & expect to be exceedingly amused by his strictures—He'll pull it to pieces just as much as if CylleniusThe Travels of Cyllenius: A Poem, in 66 cantos. Charles Dickinson . published for the author [Charles Dickinson]. 1795.
First published in 1795 and privately printed by Charles Dickinson himself. Period records suggest that the poem was available in at least four different forms: as individual quarto cantos sold for 1 shilling each (some listing ’White’ as the name of the publisher, although this may be a bookseller); as a 1796 quarto complete edition of all sixty-six cantos; as partial quarto editions of the middle 40 cantos (possibly gathered from individual cantos, as each were numbered separately); and a 12mo. complete edition in two volumes, with 389 pages listed as printed at Farley-Hill in 1820, of which only 12 copies were made and which were presentation copies to Dickinson’s friends. Some editions appear in boards, others in half morocco. An auction catalog for Richard Valpy’s library indicates that there were only 12 copies, printed by the author himself, who presented this to me (ie, Richard Valpy); another presentation copy appears in an auction catalogs for Samuel Rogers’s library. Periodicals and their reviewers from 1796 do not appear to have had access to the complete work in 66 cantos but instead review partial editions of cantos 41-60 (Edinburgh Magazine); canto 38 only (Analytical Review); Cantos 38-60 (British Critic); Cantos 38 and 40 only (Monthly Review). WorldCat lists an edition of cantos 37 to 60 only from 1795. Separate listings for a two-page mock title-page for the work, attributed to Horne-Took, appear as Speedily will be published, price 3l.6s. in boards, The travels of Cyllenius: a poem. In sixty-six cantos. —lmw was not made of such stuff—"A fellow feeling makes us wondrous kind"[3] From David Garrick's Prologue on Quitting the Stage, June 10, 1776: "Their cause I plead,—plead it in heart and mind;/ A fellow feeling makes one wondrous kind."—lmw—may be a true axiom in some cases but not in poetry.—You will be glad to hear that Kate ValpyCatherine Elizabeth Blanch French Valpy | Born: 1795-08-04 in Reading, Berkshire, England. Died: 1873 in St. Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands.
One of four daughters of Dr. Richard Valpy and his second wife, Mary Benwell; she baptized on August 4, 1795 at St. Lawrence parish, Reading, Berkshire. She married Rev. Philip Filleul, rector of St. Helier and later vice-dean of Jersey on October 13, 1823, on the same day that her sister Penelope married the Rev. Peter French. Catherine Valpy and Philip Filleul lived at St. Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands, their children were born there, and Catherine was buried there in the Mont à l’Abbaye cemetery.—ebb is better—the DoctorRichard Valpy, Doctor of Divinity, or: Dr. Valpy | Born: 1754-12-07 in St. John’s, Jersey, Channel Islands. Died: 1836-03-28 in Reading, Berkshire, England.
Richard Valpy (the fourth of that name) was the eldest son of Richard Valpy [III] and Catherine Chevalier. He was a friend and literary mentor to Mary Russell Mitford. He matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford University on April 1, 1773, aged eighteen, as a Morley scholar. He received from Oxford a B.A. (1776), M.A. (1784), B.D. & D.D. (1792). He took orders in the Church of England in 1777. Richard Valpy served as Second Master at Bury School, Bury, Huntindonshire from 1771 to 1781, and was also collated to the rectory of Stradishall, Suffolk, in 1787. He became the Headmaster at Reading School, Reading, Berkshire, in 1781 and served until 1830, at which time he turned the Headmastership over to his youngest son Francis E. J. Valpy and continued in semi-retirement until his death in 1836. During his tenure as Headmaster of Reading Grammar School for boys over the course of fifty years, he expanded the boarding school and added new buildings. He is the author of numerous published works, including Greek and Latin textbooks, sermons, volumes of poetry, and adaptations of plays such as Shakespeare’s King John and Sheridan’s The Critic. His Elements of Greek Grammar, Elements of Latin Grammar,,Greek Delectus and Latin Delectus, printed and published by his son A. J. Valpy, were all much used as school texts throughout the nineteenth century. Valpy’s students performed his own adaptations of Greek, Latin, and English plays for the triennial visitations and the play receipts went to charitable organizations. Valpy enlisted Mitford to write reviews of the productions for the Reading Mercury. In 1803, his adaptation of Shakespeare’s King John was performed at Covent Garden Theatre.
Richard Valpy was married twice and had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to adulthood. His first wife was Martha Cornelia de Cartaret; Richard and Martha were married about 1778 and they had one daughter, Martha Cartaretta Cornelia. His first wife Martha died about 1780 and he married Mary Benwell of Caversham, Oxfordshire on May 30, 1782. Together they had six sons and five daughters and ten of their eleven children survived to adulthood. Richard Valpy and Mary Benwell’s sons were Richard Valpy (the fifth of that name), Abraham John Valpy, called John; Gabriel Valpy, Anthony Blagrove Valpy; and Francis Edward Jackson Valpy. His daughters were Mary Ann Catherine Valpy; Sarah Frances Valpy, called Frances or Fanny; Catherine Elizabeth Blanch Valpy; Penelope Arabella Valpy; and Elizabeth Charlotte Valpy, who died as an infant.
Richard Valpy died on March 28, 1836 in Reading, Berkshire, and is buried in All Souls cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Dr. Valpy’s students placed a marble bust of him in St. Lawrence’s church, Reading, Berkshire, after his death. John Opie painted Dr. Valpy’s portrait. See .—ebb, lmw
was going to dine at the bookclub which was held at Jacobs—& Jacob pressed DrumGeorge Mitford, Esq., or: George Midford | Born: . Died: .
Father of Mary Rusell Mitford, George Mitford was the son of Francis Midford, surgeon, and Jane Graham. The family name is sometimes recorded as Midford. Immediate family called him by nicknames including Drum, Tod, and Dodo. He was a member of a minor branch of the Mitfords of Mitford Castle in Northumberland. Although later sources would suggest that he was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh medical school, there is no evidence that he obtained a medical degree and he did not generally refer to himself as Dr. Mitford, preferring to style himself Esq.. In 1784, he is listed in a Hampshire directory as surgeon (medicine) of Alresford. His father and grandfather worked as apothecary-surgeons and it seems likely that he served a medical apprenticeship with family members.
He married Mary Russell on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford; they later came to live at Broad Street in New Alresford. Their only child to live to adulthood, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. He assisted Mitford's literary career by representing her interests in London and elsewhere with theater owners and publishers. He was active in Whig politics and later served as a local magistrate. He coursed greyhounds with his friend James Webb.
—lmw very much to dine with them—but DrumGeorge Mitford, Esq., or: George Midford | Born: . Died: .
Father of Mary Rusell Mitford, George Mitford was the son of Francis Midford, surgeon, and Jane Graham. The family name is sometimes recorded as Midford. Immediate family called him by nicknames including Drum, Tod, and Dodo. He was a member of a minor branch of the Mitfords of Mitford Castle in Northumberland. Although later sources would suggest that he was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh medical school, there is no evidence that he obtained a medical degree and he did not generally refer to himself as Dr. Mitford, preferring to style himself Esq.. In 1784, he is listed in a Hampshire directory as surgeon (medicine) of Alresford. His father and grandfather worked as apothecary-surgeons and it seems likely that he served a medical apprenticeship with family members.
He married Mary Russell on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford; they later came to live at Broad Street in New Alresford. Their only child to live to adulthood, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. He assisted Mitford's literary career by representing her interests in London and elsewhere with theater owners and publishers. He was active in Whig politics and later served as a local magistrate. He coursed greyhounds with his friend James Webb.
—lmw is inexpressibly good he had never dined in ReadingReading, Berkshire, England | Reading | Berkshire | England | 51.4542645 -0.9781302999999753 County town in Berkshire, in the Thames valley at the confluence of the Thames and the River Kennet. The town developed as a river port and in Mitford’s time served as a staging point on the Bath Road and was developing into a center of manufacturing. Mitford lived here with her parents from 1791 to 1795, on Coley Avenue in the parish of St. Mary’s and attended the Abbey School. The family returned to Reading from 1797 to about 1804, after which they relocated to Bertram House. They frequently visited Reading thereafter from their homes at nearby Bertram House, Three Mile Cross and Swallowfield. Mitford later used scenes from Reading as the basis for Belford Regis; or Sketches of a Country Town.—lmw except the once we dined together at Dr. ValpyRichard Valpy, Doctor of Divinity, or: Dr. Valpy | Born: 1754-12-07 in St. John’s, Jersey, Channel Islands. Died: 1836-03-28 in Reading, Berkshire, England.
Richard Valpy (the fourth of that name) was the eldest son of Richard Valpy [III] and Catherine Chevalier. He was a friend and literary mentor to Mary Russell Mitford. He matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford University on April 1, 1773, aged eighteen, as a Morley scholar. He received from Oxford a B.A. (1776), M.A. (1784), B.D. & D.D. (1792). He took orders in the Church of England in 1777. Richard Valpy served as Second Master at Bury School, Bury, Huntindonshire from 1771 to 1781, and was also collated to the rectory of Stradishall, Suffolk, in 1787. He became the Headmaster at Reading School, Reading, Berkshire, in 1781 and served until 1830, at which time he turned the Headmastership over to his youngest son Francis E. J. Valpy and continued in semi-retirement until his death in 1836. During his tenure as Headmaster of Reading Grammar School for boys over the course of fifty years, he expanded the boarding school and added new buildings. He is the author of numerous published works, including Greek and Latin textbooks, sermons, volumes of poetry, and adaptations of plays such as Shakespeare’s King John and Sheridan’s The Critic. His Elements of Greek Grammar, Elements of Latin Grammar,,Greek Delectus and Latin Delectus, printed and published by his son A. J. Valpy, were all much used as school texts throughout the nineteenth century. Valpy’s students performed his own adaptations of Greek, Latin, and English plays for the triennial visitations and the play receipts went to charitable organizations. Valpy enlisted Mitford to write reviews of the productions for the Reading Mercury. In 1803, his adaptation of Shakespeare’s King John was performed at Covent Garden Theatre.
Richard Valpy was married twice and had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to adulthood. His first wife was Martha Cornelia de Cartaret; Richard and Martha were married about 1778 and they had one daughter, Martha Cartaretta Cornelia. His first wife Martha died about 1780 and he married Mary Benwell of Caversham, Oxfordshire on May 30, 1782. Together they had six sons and five daughters and ten of their eleven children survived to adulthood. Richard Valpy and Mary Benwell’s sons were Richard Valpy (the fifth of that name), Abraham John Valpy, called John; Gabriel Valpy, Anthony Blagrove Valpy; and Francis Edward Jackson Valpy. His daughters were Mary Ann Catherine Valpy; Sarah Frances Valpy, called Frances or Fanny; Catherine Elizabeth Blanch Valpy; Penelope Arabella Valpy; and Elizabeth Charlotte Valpy, who died as an infant.
Richard Valpy died on March 28, 1836 in Reading, Berkshire, and is buried in All Souls cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Dr. Valpy’s students placed a marble bust of him in St. Lawrence’s church, Reading, Berkshire, after his death. John Opie painted Dr. Valpy’s portrait. See .—ebb, lmw
's & indeed I think goes in a morning only to get me books. You have no notion how well we get on.—I have got two new numbers of BlackwoodBlackwood’s Magazine. Edinburgh: 1817-04-1980.
Founded as a Tory magazine in opposition to the Whig Edinburgh Review.—ebb.—The rest of the Tent is capital.—Dr. Parr courses there.—& Prince Leopold—they make famous use of the DoctorRichard Valpy, Doctor of Divinity, or: Dr. Valpy | Born: 1754-12-07 in St. John’s, Jersey, Channel Islands. Died: 1836-03-28 in Reading, Berkshire, England.
Richard Valpy (the fourth of that name) was the eldest son of Richard Valpy [III] and Catherine Chevalier. He was a friend and literary mentor to Mary Russell Mitford. He matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford University on April 1, 1773, aged eighteen, as a Morley scholar. He received from Oxford a B.A. (1776), M.A. (1784), B.D. & D.D. (1792). He took orders in the Church of England in 1777. Richard Valpy served as Second Master at Bury School, Bury, Huntindonshire from 1771 to 1781, and was also collated to the rectory of Stradishall, Suffolk, in 1787. He became the Headmaster at Reading School, Reading, Berkshire, in 1781 and served until 1830, at which time he turned the Headmastership over to his youngest son Francis E. J. Valpy and continued in semi-retirement until his death in 1836. During his tenure as Headmaster of Reading Grammar School for boys over the course of fifty years, he expanded the boarding school and added new buildings. He is the author of numerous published works, including Greek and Latin textbooks, sermons, volumes of poetry, and adaptations of plays such as Shakespeare’s King John and Sheridan’s The Critic. His Elements of Greek Grammar, Elements of Latin Grammar,,Greek Delectus and Latin Delectus, printed and published by his son A. J. Valpy, were all much used as school texts throughout the nineteenth century. Valpy’s students performed his own adaptations of Greek, Latin, and English plays for the triennial visitations and the play receipts went to charitable organizations. Valpy enlisted Mitford to write reviews of the productions for the Reading Mercury. In 1803, his adaptation of Shakespeare’s King John was performed at Covent Garden Theatre.
Richard Valpy was married twice and had twelve children, eleven of whom lived to adulthood. His first wife was Martha Cornelia de Cartaret; Richard and Martha were married about 1778 and they had one daughter, Martha Cartaretta Cornelia. His first wife Martha died about 1780 and he married Mary Benwell of Caversham, Oxfordshire on May 30, 1782. Together they had six sons and five daughters and ten of their eleven children survived to adulthood. Richard Valpy and Mary Benwell’s sons were Richard Valpy (the fifth of that name), Abraham John Valpy, called John; Gabriel Valpy, Anthony Blagrove Valpy; and Francis Edward Jackson Valpy. His daughters were Mary Ann Catherine Valpy; Sarah Frances Valpy, called Frances or Fanny; Catherine Elizabeth Blanch Valpy; Penelope Arabella Valpy; and Elizabeth Charlotte Valpy, who died as an infant.
Richard Valpy died on March 28, 1836 in Reading, Berkshire, and is buried in All Souls cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Dr. Valpy’s students placed a marble bust of him in St. Lawrence’s church, Reading, Berkshire, after his death. John Opie painted Dr. Valpy’s portrait. See .—ebb, lmw
.—That is famous fun—There certainly is an originality & audacity of impudence about Messrs LockhartJohn Gibson Lockhart, or: John Gibson Lockhart | Born: 1794-07-12 in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Died: 1854-11-25 in Abbotsford, near Melrose, Scotland.
A prominent writer for Blackwood's Magazine in its early years, Lockhart joined the staff of the magazine in 1817, and came to be associated with its abrasive style and particularly (though without verification) its insulting characterization of London artists and literary figures as a Cockney School in 1820 and 1821. Assumptions and bitter accusations in the matter led to a bitter personal conflict aired in the pages of Blackwood's and The London Magazine resulting in the death by duel of The London Magazine's editor, John Scott in February 1821, at the hands of Lockhart's literary agent Jonathan Christie . Lockhart married Walter Scott's daughter Sophia in 1820, which caused John Scott and others to assume that Walter Scott had some involvement with Blackwood's campaign against the Cockneys. Lockhart took over the editorship of the Quarterly Review from March 1826 until June 1853, shortly before his death. He is perhaps best known as the author of his father-in-law's 7-volume biography, Life of Walter Scott, published in 1837-1838 .—ebb
and WilsonJohn Wilson, or: Christopher North | Born: 1785-05-18 in Paisley, Scotland. Died: 1854-04-03 in Gloucester Place, Edinburgh, Scotland.
John Wilson wrote under the pseudonym Christopher North for Blackwood's Magazine. He later served as Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh.—lmw
, more amusing than anything that can be imagined. I shall keep these two numbers for you to read.—Jacob was so much better that he did not go to Mr. Arnott.—I have a great number of Bobbies coming every day to be fed, which is a great delight poor little lambs I don't know what they would do without my board—unless something in your Sunday's letter—(for you must write Sunday my dear GrannyMary Russell Mitford, or: Mrs. Mitford | Born: 1750 in Ashe, Hampshire, England. Died: 1830-01-02 in Three Mile Cross, parish of Shinfield, Berkshire, England.
Mary Russell was the youngest child of the Rev. Dr. Richard Russell and his second wife, Mary Dicker; she was born about 1750 in Ashe, Hampshire. (Her birth date is as yet unverified; period sources indicate that she was ten years older than her husband George, born in 1760.) Through the Russells, she was a distant relation of the Dukes of Bedford (sixth creation, 1694). She had two siblings, Charles William and Frances; both predeceased her and their parents, which resulted in Mary Russell inheriting her family’s entire estate upon her mother’s death in 1785. Her father’s rectory in Ashe was only a short distance from Steventon, and so she was acquainted with the young Jane Austen. She married George Mitford or Midford on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford. Their only daughter, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. Mary Russell died on January 2, 1830 at Three Mile Cross in the parish of Shinfield, Berkshire. Her obituary in the 1830 New Monthly Magazine gives New Year’s day as the date of her death.—ajc, lmw
) should require it I shall not write again—Good bye my own dear darling—Kind regards to dear Mrs. Woodburn.

LucyLucy Sweatser Hill | Born: 1790-05-02 in Stratfield Saye, Berkshire, England. Died: .
Beloved servant for twelve years in the Mitford household who, on 7 August 1820 married Charles Hill. She is the basis for the title character in the Our Village story. Source: Needham Papers, Reading Central Library. —scw and Molly desire their duty.