A-Z of Entries

HCR diary 8.10.1831 "dinner at Aders, but Laurent the painter and a Mr Corbould were there so we had not much conversation"

                  13.10.1831 "Laurent who is cleaning A's pictures is in raptures at their excellence"

There were a number of French painters at the time called Laurent or Laurens, none of them is said in the art dictionaries to have visited England. Jean Francois Laurent born Brussels 1773 was probably the most likely, as he was said in Benezit to have been a painter and art restorer. Joseph Bonaventure Laurens 1801-1890 made extensive travels in Europe…

W & H Laurie at tea 30.8.1803 / 11.1.1805 3 Lauries adv at dinner / 30.8.1805 4 Lauries adv at dinner / 14.1.1806 again / 9.7.1806 Laurie, DS calls / 11.12.1812 Rev Laurie calls / 2.11.1822 Laurie of Stowmarket calls

Possibly John Laurie of 2 Polygon (see Oracle & Daily Advertiser 15.6.1799). His father was Robert Laurie 1725-1774 will PCC 1774 trussmaker of Bartholomew Close London and his mother was Ann Laurie who died 12.3.1813 age 83 will PCC 1813 widow of Holloway. His brother William 1754-1827 will PCC 1827 gent of Cheshunt Herts and his sister Rebecca 1757-1836…

Laval 29.12.1799 at Lanesborough's / 19.1.1800 again

Perhaps Anne Alexandre &c, duc de Laval, 1747-1817 will PCC 1817 marshal of France 1783, who was certainly in England in August 1799 as the Oracle of 14.8.1799 reported his departure for Switzerland with his two sons, one of whom, Anne Pierre Adrien 1767-1837, succeeded him as duke and would have been styled marquis de Laval at the time (Hoefer, Nouvelle Biographie Generale). There are biographies of father and son in Adolphe Robert's Dictionnaire des Parlementaires Francais which I haven't yet seen

see Poland Street 19 to 44 in London Addresses dataset

James Lavell 21 Poland St ratebooks 1784-6 / SunFire 1784 chandler & wine cooper Poland St / SunFire 1788 cooper & turner 24 Whitcomb St / wine cooper Whitcomb St voted Hood 1788 & 1790 / Wakefields directory 1790 wine cooper 24 Whitcomb St / coroners jury 1793 cooper Whitcomb St / wine merchant St Martins La voted Maxwell 1818 / James Lavell = St Marylebone 11.1.1784 Mary Spink / their sonJohn born 27.9.1784 bapt 10.10.1784, dau Lydia bapt 11.2.1793, dau Elizabeth bapt 9.3.1795 all at Grays Inn Lane Independent /…

call on Fell (Laver's) 13.1.1804 / 13.4.1804 Fell at Laver's / 20.12.1813 Day writes to Pattison & Laver

The first two entries above referred to Godwin's friend Ralph Fell who'd been arrested for debt. Three of the Laver family were officers of Giltspur St Compter, William of 1-9 Chancery Lane, Joseph of Took's Court Cursitor St and Benjamin of 92 Chancery Lane, the last two kept safe custody houses. See work notes below for others of the name in London

3.10.1809 call on Law / 4.10.1809 again / 9.10.1809 calculations for Law / 10.10.1809 call on Law / 16.10.1809 Law calls / 15.11.1809 call on Law / 22.12.1809 again / 19.2.1810 again / 11.7.1810 again / 3.11.1810 again / 6.11.1811 meet Law / 30.12.1812 call on Law / 9.7.1813 again / 1.2.1814 again / 16.9.1814 call on Law (not seen) / 20.9.1814 call on Law

Probably Charles Law bookseller 13 Southampton-row & 13 Ave Maria-lane. Several of the above calls were in a round of booksellers, but others like the calculations in 1809 suggest a more particular business arrangement

miss Lawless's 8.8.1800 at Burne's / 6.5.1825 Lawless calls

Valentine Lawless (Lord Cloncurry) DNB 1773-1853, who was imprisoned at this time, in 1800 had two unmarried sisters, and one sister married to Thomas Whaley (see Whaley) who was also present at this dinner. Valetina Letitia was to marry in Merrion Row June 1801 the Hon Francis Nathaniel Burton, and Charlotte Louisa married Edward Plunkett 4th Baron Dunsany in 1803. John Lawless DNB c1773-1837 Irish nationalist was one of 21 children so probably had some sisters too. A Mary Lawless travelled to France with Lady Mountcashell…

SOCIETY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION: French Lawrence of Corpus Christi College, Oxford proposed member 4.1781 by John Cartwright 2nded Edward Bridgen

French Lawrence DNB 1757-1809

13.9.1796 call on Saunders, Cliffords Inn & mr J Lawrence with Holcroft & Nicholson

GD website has this entry coded to Lawrence, which it says is for those who might be Thomas, James or William Lawrence but it is unclear which. Obviously (from the initial) this could only be James of those three. James Henry Lawrence (known as Chevalier Lawrence) DNB 1773-1840 suggests he was on the continent at this time. All the other (plain) Lawrence entries before and shortly after this one were very likely Thomas Lawrence, except just possibly Godwin called again on mr J Lawrence the…

HCR diary 11.7.1836 at Mrs Aders blue stocking party "Miss Lawrence"

                   27.9.1836 at Charles Baldwin's "Miss Lawrence there. She was aware of the expected failure of A: and I find Gilman takes out a friendly commission. I think it fortunate I was not in London - 'For' she says 'a few hundreds would have enabled them to go on'!! Had I been applied to I hope I should have had courage to refuse"

                 19.10.1836 Mrs Aders circular announcing her intention to open a hotel garnie at Brussels "several friends have already said they will take up their…

meet Lawrence, ST 16.6.1802

This entry has been coded in GD website to the artist Thomas Lawrence DNB 1764-1830, but in asking what did ST stand for I thought of Somers Town. There was a John Lawrence of Brill Path in St Pancras Land Tax assessments 1802 and in Holden's Directory 1811 John Laurence Esq 10 Brill Row, Somers Town. John Lawrence mason of St Pancras left a will PCC 1814. ST cannot have meant Sir Thomas because the artist wasn't created a baronet until 1815.

HCR diary 18.12.1820 Mrs Aders talking about her father John Raphael Smith "Lawrence was also patronise3d by Smith, but becoming a great man refused a favour S: asked of him (to be the engraver of one of his pictures which he refused)"

letter from Mrs Aders in London to Robinson in Italy 10.1.1830 (of the Flaxmans & Denmans) "they have been doomed to suffer a heavy loss to them, which indeed hundreds will regret as well as them - Sir T Lawrence is no more - he died (I think the servant said) on Thursday night at 9 o'clock, I went there yesterday with my friend Miss James, and…

Lawson 20.4.1798 at (Samuel) Lister's / 5.5.1798 again

As Lister (see Lister, Samuel) was an attorney and so were most of his guests, Lawson was likely William Lawson attorney of 5 Holborn Court Grays Inn or William Lawson attorney with David Smith at 22 Gt St Helens (Law List 1800). William son of Hannah Lawson widow of Stokesly, Yorks was articled 18.7.1791 to James Coates of Stokesly and transferred 11.6.1795 to Wm Spear of Grays Inn. A William Lawson attorney of Grays Inn took on a clerk 5.3.1790, The will PCC 1801 of William Lawson of Grays Inn mentioned his wife Elizabeth, and…

Mlle Le Canu 29.01.1799 (& Mary Hays & miss Reid) / 8.6.1799 E Le Canu calls (not in) / 14.6.1799 E Le Canu calls

le Cronier 6.1.1805 adv at dinner

Probably a merchant and ship's captain from the Channel Islands, Peter or Philip Le Cronier, sailing often to Plymouth, Padstow and Bristol also to Spain (search newspapers). At Bodmin sessions in 1805 Elizabeth wife of Philip Le Cronier was involved in an assault. Le Cronier's ships were taken by the French several times in the 1790s. Likely to have been an acquaintance of Mary Jane, Godwin's wife, from her earlier days. In France there was a Commissaire de Police of the name mentioned in 1825, and also painters called Le Crosnier in that period…

SunFire 1789 Irrouard le Girardy, 37 the corner of King St in Dean St Soho painter, other occupier Guerres engraver / Sun Fire 1791 Jerouard le Girardy 1 Poland St painter / 22 & 23.5.1793 case in Kings Bench Girardy v. Richardson (no address given but name was very rare in London) Girardy tried to recover rent from tenant who had told him she was a "lady of the town" when she moved in. Girardy lost, as prostitution is against the public good. Painter often meant house painter but in this case with the connection to Guerres engraver he may have been an artist, but doesn't appear in any…

Le Grice 16.9.1800 at Lamb's

Brothers Samuel Le Grice 1775-1802, Charles Valentine Le Grice 1773-1858 see Letters of Charles & Mary Lamb. Winifred F Courtney "Young Charles Lamb" p282 gives a good reason why this entry was Samuel

Le Maitre 2.11.1803 at Joseph Johnson's / 14.6.1807 coach to Wimbledon with Le Maitre

Both the above entries should probably be added on GD website to the person record for Paul Thomas Le Maitre

Le Texier's 8.5.1799 with Fell / 25.5.1799 Este & Le Texier adv at theatre

Anthony A Le Texier DNB c1737-1814. Children of Anthony Stephen Peter le Texier & Mary bapt St Anne Soho 28.8.1784 Horatio 21.4.1787 Anthony / Sun F 1791 Le Texier 4 Lisle St Leicester Fields (insured by Sarah Dickinson widow 80 Gt Russell Bloomsbury) / Nat Arch HO42/23/313 Jacobin clubs 1792 / bankrupt 10.4.1797 / Chancery case between Le Texier and Margravine of Anspach 1796 Nat Arch C12/685/1, 1798 C12/681/2, 1799 c12/687/15 1807 C13/633/32.

24.10.1788 Le Vade at Robinson's. Jean David Paul Etienne LeVade (A de Montet, Dictionnaire Biographique des Genevois et des Vaudois) born Lausanne 2.10.1750 died there 9.1.1834 was a minister in England then Amsterdam. His translation of Tristram Shandy into French was published 1786 in York and Paris, and a translation of his True and Surprising Account of a Natural Sleepwalker, given as a lecture in Lausanne 6.2.1788, was published in Edinburgh in 1792