Death John Ellis Welsh Antiquarian

John Ellis (1674 – 1735) was a Welsh priest and antiquarian who died in July 1735. He was the second son of Thomas Ellis, from Llandegwning, Llŷn. He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, matriculating 31 March 1690 aged 16. He obtained his BA 1693 and MA 1696. He was also appointed a Fellow of Jesus College 1696, holding this position until 1713. In 1703, he obtained the degree of BD. He was ordained deacon 7 September 1707, with his ordination to the priesthood taking place 4 July 1708. He was then appointed rector of Llandwrog on 30 September 1710; in the same year, he was made a Canon of Bangor Cathedral. In 1713, he was made prebend of Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd and surrendered his position at Bangor Cathedral. On 24 July 1719, he became rector of Llanbedr-y-cennin and vicar of Caerhun. His wife, Catherine (whom he married on 13 May 1720), was the step-sister of Humphrey Humphreys, Bishop of Bangor 1689-1701. Only one of their children survived infancy, also called John, becoming vicar of Bangor. Ellis had a particular interest in antiquarian matters and assisted with Browne Willis's work A Survey of the Cathedral Church of Bangor in 1721, as Willis acknowledged. Ellis himself died at Llanbedr-y-cennin and was buried in the parish on 12 July 1735.

Three Deaths

Deaths

August 17. Died, George James, one of the common councilmen for the ward of Aldersgate-without, and printer to the city of London. His widow carried on the business for some time, when the office of city printer was conferred on Henry Kent, printer, deputy of the ward of Broad-street.

November 10. Died, Thomas Dean, of Malden, in Kent, aged 102 years. When king Charles I. was beheaded, he was then twenty years of age, and was a fellow of University college, Oxford; but being a Catholic, was deprived at the revolution. He wrote some pieces of his religion, which were privately printed in the master's lodgings, and December 18, 1691, he stood in the pillory for concealing a libel: from that time he subsisted mostly on charity.

November 25. Died, Jacob Tonson, the second. He was the eldest son of Richard Tonson, and nephew to the first Jacob Tonson; and it appears from his will, which was made August 16, and proved December 6, 1735, that he was a bookseller, bookbinder, and stationer, all which businesses were carried on in his own house; and that he was also a printer, in partnership with John Watts. The elder Jacob probably also carried on all these several occupations. His will, which filled twenty-seven pages, written by himself, shows him not only to have abounded in wealth, but to have been a just and worthy man - according to the printed accounts of that period he was at the time of his death worth £100,000. After having devised his estates in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire, and bequeathed no less a sum than £34,000 to his three daughters and his younger son, Samuel, and disposed of his patent between his eldest sons Jacob and Richard, he mentions his uncle old Jacob Tonson, to whom he leaves fifty guineas for mourning; but, knowing his love of quiet and retirement, he says he would not burden him with the office of executor of his will. He, however, recommends his family to his uncle's care, and exhorts all his children to remember their duty to their superiors and their inferiors, tenderly adding - “And so God bless you all!” It appears by the grant and assignment of his uncle, that he was entitled to the collection of the kit-cat portraits, and that he had not long before his death erected a new room at Barn-elms, in which the pictures were then hung. Seventeen days after his death old Jacob Tonson made his will, in which he confirmed a settlement that he had made on him, (probably at the time of his marriage) and appointed his great nephew, Jacob Tonson, the eldest son of the former Jacob, his executor and residuary legatee.

Death of Thomas Lewis Welsh Baptist Minister

Born c. 1671, son and heir of John Lewis, landed gentleman and Baptist of Glascwm, Radnorshire. who experienced persecution in the Restoration. The son, like his father, became a member of the Baptist church at Leominster c. 1692 or at least before 1694 and is believed to have started to preach soon afterwards. He had left Leominster before 1707 and had incorporated the Baptists of east Radnorshire into a church at Glascwm and New Radnor. He was very active among them and is said (Dr John Evans ‘Return’ (1715)) to have had a congregation of 400. In 1728, in company with Thomas Evans, brother of Caleb Evans, minister at Pentre, Radnorshire, he was appointed distributor for Wales of the Baptist Fund. He was buried in a burial-ground at Glascwm which his father had given to the church.

Death of Cassandra Willoughby Brydges, Duchess of Chandos

Cassandra Willoughby, Duchess of Chandos (1670-1735) was an English historian, travel writer and artist. She was the daughter of Francis Willoughby of Wollaton, Nottinghamshire, a Fellow of the Royal Society and a writer on natural history, and his wife Emma, the daughter of Sir Henry Barnard of Bridgnorth, Shropshire and London.

When her 19-year-old brother Francis disagreed with his stepfather's handling of his finances, Cassandra accompanied him in 1687 to the Willoughby family's earlier seat, Wollaton Hall in Nottinghamshire: "This proposall [of her brother's] I was much delighted with, thinking it would be no small pleasure for me to be Mrs of Wollaton, and to doe whatever I had a mind to." She then oversaw restoration of the gardens and rebuilding of the house over a quarter of a century.

In 1713, at the age of 43, Cassandra married her wealthy cousin, James Brydges FRS, at Chelsea College Chapel. She was his second wife. Brydges' social standing rose the following year when he was made Earl of Carnarvon and inherited a barony and baronetcy. When his father, the 8th Baron Chandos of Sudeley, died; in 1719 he became Duke of Chandos, and Cassandra the Duchess.

The National Gallery of Canada has a portrait of Cassandra and her husband by Sir Godfrey Kneller dated 1713 which also features Brydges' two sons by his first wife.

Cassandra died childless aged 65, and was buried at St Lawrence, Whitchurch near the ducal seat Cannons. Both the mother and sister of Jane Austen were named after Cassandra, to celebrate their link with a ducal family; Jane's mother was the granddaughter of the first Cassandra's sister-in-law, Mary Brydges.

Writings: Before she married she compiled a history of her father's family she entitled The Continuation of the History of the Willoughby Family which is preserved in the Manuscripts Department at Nottingham University Library. Some of her correspondence from before and after her marriage has been preserved at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Record Office, at the North London Collegiate School and the Huntington Library and Art Gallery, in San Marino, California. In addition, there are travel writings and genealogies.

First Lady Diana Spencer

“Dear little Di,” as her mother called her, was born in London, in 1710. She was the daughter of the Countess of Sunderland. When only six her mother died and she was sent to be raised by her famous grandmother.

Pedigree
This 18th century Diana’s mother, Anne, (see both in pic) was the daughter of John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, and his wife, Sarah, chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne. Diana’s Churchill grandfather had served five monarchs and been briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London. Little Diana’s father, Charles Spencer, was the third Earl of Sunderland and England’s Secretary of State.
It is Diana’s brother John (1708-1746) and his wife, Lady Georgiana Caroline Carteret, who are the ancestors of Lady Diana Spencer who married Charles, Prince of Wales, in 1981. The line runs from their son John, the 1st Earl Spencer, his son George (2nd Earl Spencer), George’s son Frederick (4th Earl Spencer), Frederick’s son Charles (6th Earl Spencer), Albert (7th Earl Spencer), and Edward (8th Earl Spencer), the father of Princess Diana.

Troubled Household
The first Diana’s father had been dismissed as Secretary of State by Queen Anne the year she was born. His life, like his father’s, was full of political intrigue and he began thinking of his position after the aging Queen’s death. Using connections, he ingratiated himself with King George I and became First Lord of the Treasury. His name was tied to a financial fiasco, he resigned in 1721 and died in 1722 when Diana was 12.
Diana’s brother Robert became 4th Earl of Sunderland, but died at age 28. It was her brother Charles who salvaged the family and insured its prominence for more than two centuries. On his mother’s side of the family, the Churchill Dukedom of Marlborough passed to him; in addition, he was the next Earl of Sunderland. The next historical Lady Diana Spencer was the daughter of this Charles Spencer and named for his sister.

Grooming Diana to Wed Royalty
After her mother’s death, Diana’s upbringing was overseen by her maternal grandmother, the Duchess of Marlborough. Diana had an intense interest in the arts and music. One biographer notes that Handel was a guest next door and notes from the musical soirees floated into her nursery.
Grandmother had great aspirations for Diana. She was planning a royal alliance with Frederick, Prince of Wales, consideration being given more to the prince’s need for fortune than to any consideration of mutual affection. It was one of the few things the powerful grandmother was unable to manage. King George II arranged for Frederick to wed Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha and in 1731 Lady Diana married Lord John Russell.

Duke and Duchess of Bedford
A year after Lady Diana was married to British statesman John Russell (1710-1771), his older brother died and Lt. Gen. John Russell became Duke of Bedford. He was the fourth son of Wriothesley Russell and Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Howland of Streatham in Surrey.
Lady Diana brought a 30,000 pound dowry to the marriage and inherited 100,000 pounds upon the death of her grandmother, The Duchess of Marlborough. She died almost four years after she and Lord Russell married. Their only child had died the day it was born in 1732.

Winston Churchill’s Ancestry
The Duke of Bedford held many important British offices during decades of stormy politics. He remarried and had two children, Francis and Caroline. His son Francis died at age 28 after falling from a horse. He was a member of Parliament, married, and had three sons, Francis (5th Duke of Bedford), John (6th Duke of Bedford) and Lord William Russell. Lady Caroline Russell married George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, which made her a niece of her father’s first wife, Lady Diana. George, who adopted the Churchill surname, and Caroline are ancestors of numerous Dukes of Marlborough and of Sir Winston Churchill.
For those who want to know more: The First Lady Diana: Lady Diana Spencer 1710-1735, Victoria Massey’s deeply researched 1999 biography, is available online (both new and used) at reasonable prices.

Alexander Mack

On January (or was it February) 19, 1735, Alexander Mack died at his home in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Sometime before his death, he had said to his sons, “Now when I am gone, don’t mark my grave, or they might sometime want to erect a monument....” Mack’s sons were distressed and protested to their father. At last Mack agreed to allow them to mark his grave with a small slab.
Mack was buried in a community cemetery which was later abandoned. In 1894 his remains were moved to the cemetery at the back of the mother church in Germantown where six generations of his descendants are also buried.

Mack was the founder of the Church of the Brethren in Schwarzenau in Germany, in 1708. He was born in Schriesheim in 1679. He was a miller by trade. More here.

The Brethren movement began as a melding of Pietist and Anabaptist ideas. The first of its churches in America was established in 1723. These churches became commonly known as German Baptist Brethren. The denomination holds the New Testament as its only creed. Historically the church has taken a strong pacifist stance. Distinctive practices include baptism by immersion; a threefold Love Feast consisting of feetwashing, a fellowship meal and communion; anointing for healing; and the holy kiss. More here.

Charity Hospital New Orleans

Nothing being more certain than death, and nothing more uncertain than its hour, being stricken with a dangerous bodily malady, but sane of mind, I desire to settle my affairs, explaining how I intend that my last will be carried out by testamentary executor … a sale shall be made of all that remains, which, together with my small lot, I bequeath to serve in perpetuity to the founding of a hospital for the sick of the City of New Orleans, without anyone being able to change my purpose, and to secure the things necessary to succor the sick.

These words written more than 250 years ago are part of the Last Will and Testament of Jean Louis dated November 16, 1735. Jean Louis, a French seaman who built boats in New Orleans, bequeathed his holdings to the founding and maintenance of Charity Hospital, a hospital for the indigent sick of the colony of New Orleans.

He left 200 Livres to "the poor who are too proud to beg and one hundred livres to procure clothes for the most needy orphans". What ever else he possessed was to go toward founding the hospital. $4,000 was the legacy. Bienville wrote to France that the hospital would be used to put the street beggars to work. A hurricane blew the building down 40 years after being built. The facility was rebuilt (1784) and supported by Don Andres Almonester y Roxas who became its administrator, appointed by the King of Spain and named the Hospice of St Charles in his honour.

Johann Philipp Krieger

Johann Philipp Krieger was born in 1651 and died July 18, 1735. Krieger was a German Baroque composer who, although not prominent, contributed quality music (such as keyboard music,trio sonatas and operas) to the 17th and 18th Century world.
As a young boy he studied with Drechsel and Joachim Schutz in Nurnberg. In his teens he studied for nearly five years as a pupil of Schröder and Förster. After returning to his home in Bayreuth he served as organist, while the Nurnberg Council promised him the first available position.
He travelled to Italy in 1673 and studied in Venice with Johann Rosenmuller and Volpe. In Rome he studied with Abbatim and Bernardo Pasquini. In 1675 he performed for Leopold I at Vienna, and was ennobled by him. He later returned to Bayreuth, and shortly thereafter visited Frankfurt and Kassel, refusing job opportunities in both places. At Halle, in 1677, he was named chamber musician and organist, became Vice-Kapellmeister in 1678 and Kapellmeister when the court moved to Weissenfels in 1680. The court’s musical establishment soon became one of Germany’s greatest. A catalogue of vocal works performed there lists over 2,000 of Krieger’s compositions along with hundreds of works by his brother Johann and other German and Italian composers.

Ruth Dunster

Ruth Dunster, daughter of Henry and Martha Dunster, died in 1735 at 1 year, 9 months. In her grave, her sister Elizabeth, age 4 months, lies next to her. A grave nearby reveals another tragically young death and refers to a larger historical context: "Beneath this tomb rests the remains of Mr. Jon Hughes, only son of Mr. John Hughes of Norwich in Connecticut. He died in his Country's Cause July 25th AD 1775 in Ye 21st Year of his Age." Henry Dunster was the son of Henry Dunster, Harvard's founding president who is buried nearby.

Some deaths

Wikipedia again

Jan 12 - John Eccles, British composer (b 1668)

Jan 18 - Maria Clementina Sobieski, Polish princess (b 1702)

Feb 27 - John Arbuthnot, British physician and author (b 1667)

Apr 5 - William Derham, English minister and writer (b 1657)

Apr 25 - Samuel Wesley, Religious leader and poet, father of John and Charles (b 1662)

Jun 10 - Thomas Hearne, British antiquarian (b 1678)

Sep 27 - Peter Artedi, Swedish naturalist (drowned) (b 1705)

Oct 08 – Yongzheng, Emperor of China (b 1678)

Dec 14 - Thomas Tanner, English bishop and antiquarian (b 1674)