A-Z of Entries

Darnal 17.11.1799 at John King's, hard to read but possibly Darval see my entry for Derville

Darnel calls 11.2.1805 (& Annis) / 7.8.1809 call on Darnel with M(ary) J(ane)

James Darnell was a schoolmaster of White Lion St, Clerkenwell five of whose children with his wife Sarah were baptised on the same day in 1814 at Clerkenwell St John, and three more in 1815, 1816 and 1819. According to an advert in the Morning Post of 21.11.1821 his school was called Prospect House Academy and he followed the educational system of a Mr Perry whose address was 3 Adam St Adelphi and whose Academy was in Manchester. Darnell may have been a relation of George Darnell DNB 1799-1857 who…

write to Darton 5.7.1805 / 22.8.1807 Darton calls / 29.3.1809 W Darton calls / 27.9.1809 call on Darton / 16.11.1809 call on D & H / 24.2.1810 T Darton calls / 21.3.1810 Requests v Darton / 24.8.1824 call on (Darton &) Harvey / 7.6.1825 seek (Darton &) Harvey

Must be William Darton DNB 1755-1819 publisher and/or his son William DNB 1781-1854. William senior had a son Thomas born 1783. Joseph Harvey 1764-1841 was a partner (see DNB for Darton). Like Godwin they specialised in children's books. The 1810 entry suggests that Godwin had a case against Darton in the Court of…

SWEDENBORGIANS:  Baptisms at New Jerusalem chapel bapt 7.2.1796 John s of Benjamin & Jane Darwin born 24.5.1760 Linton Craven, Yorks / Jane Frances of John & Ann Darwin born 21.1.1796 "dead" bapt 22.4.1796 / Ann of John & Ann Darwin born 4.5.1794 bapt 21.7.1797 / Ann Darwin dau of William & Ann Stockdale born 15.9.1766 bapt 4.2.1798 / John of John & Ann Darwin born 22.10.1799 bapt 17.11.1799 / Intellectual Repository New Series vol 1 p169 Mr John Darwin of Newington Butts died 7.11.1823 in 64th year particularly attached to Rev M Sibly

John Darwin bach = St…

call on mrs Darwin 13.6.1797 at Derby

Erasmus Darwin DNB 1731-1802 married 2ndly Mrs Elizabeth Pole 1747-1832 illegitimate daughter to the Earl of Portmore

dine at Darwin's 17.8.1800

Robert Waring Darwin 1766-1848 in his son Charles Darwin DNB 1809-1882 lived at Shrewsbury where Godwin had slept the night before. The GD website has coded this entry to Erasmus Darwin, his father, who lived in Derby

Davenport at Timothy Hollis' 13.1.1789 / 9.10.1803 Davenport at Lofft's, Troston Hall / 12.11.1815 Davenport &c. (GD website has te 2361 unable to identify)

Selina Davenport 1779-1859 in her husband Richard Alfred Davenport DNB 1776/7-1852. They separated about 1809 and she ran a school and wrote novels, one of the first three of which Godwin could have been reading in 1815. Presumably the first entry above was not him as he was only twelve. The DNB says nothing is known of his parentage but since he appeared in the 1851 census with a place of birth Lambeth, he was likely the…

E Davenport, printer, 6 George Court, Red Lion Street, Clerkenwell on list of LCS contacts, 2nd edition of report of the LCS general meeting at St George's Fields 29.6.1795, At General Committee 2.6.1795 a Davenport was deputed to absent Div 22 and was nearly voted onto the Exec Cttee. On 6.8.1795 a Davenport elected to Exec Cttee. At General Cttee 13.8.1795 Bustle in place of Davenport became delegate of Div 3. Exec Cttee 27.8.1795 Davidson printer sent letter complaining at Davenport using position on Exec Cttee to underquote him. General Cttee 3.9.1795 Davenport ballotted off Exec Cttee…

see Poland Street 19 to 44 in London Addresses dataset

William Davey 21 Poland St ratebooks 1785-6 / William Davay chandler Poland St coroners jury 1786 / William Davey = St James 27.8.1770 Elizabeth Barber botp by banns wit John Roberts

see Poland Street 19 to 44 in London Addresses dataset

John Davidge 28 Poland St ratebooks 1790-1800 / John Davidge born 16.5.1756 Breamore, Hants (Ancestry user-submitted tree) / John Westrow Davidge = St Geo Han Sq 23.4.1785 Sarah Sutliff botp banns wits Nathl Sutliff, Susanah Lappacq / John Westrow Davidge son of John & Sarah bapt 29.7.1791 bur 3.2.1792 St James / Elizabeth Davidge bapt 20.1.1793 dau of John & Sara bur 12.4.1795 St James / John Davidge son of John & Sarah bapt 26.4.1795 bur 14.5.1795 St James / Deborah bapt 11.6.1796 Ann bapt 16.8.1798 Joseph Daniel…

Davidson 3.3.1789 at Timothy Hollis' / 7.3.1789 Dn  / 5.5.1789 again / 24.7.1789 again / 25.9.1789 again / 19.2.1790 again / 30.3.1790 again / 15.6.1790 again

The Dn entries might be George Dyson, but probably Davidson, whom I have failed to identify so far

James Davidson printer Clare Court, Strand voted Tooke 1790. St Clement Danes rates 1789 to 1794 James Davidson, Clare Court, Strand value £30. Thale is the source for otherwise unreferenced items below. On 11.4.1793 he printed handbills for LCS; a Davidson was in committee of correspondence 21.11.1793; a Davison was delegate of Div 5 on 2.1.1794. In the examination of spy Nodder by the Privy Council 22.5.1794 (Nat Arch TS 11/963) James Davidson of (Rickett?) Court, Covent Garden was claimed to have been sometimes printer for Lambeth Loyal Association. The list of witnesses for the treason…

Davies 10.11.1793 at Perry's / Davies 23.1.1795 at John King's was probably William 'Black' Davis (QV*) spelt differently on first encounter as so often in Godwin's diary. The next Davies spelt this way called 3 times in April 1812 (see my entry for Davis/Davies after 1805). See also Davis, Robert in Society for Constitutional Information dataset.

miss Davis 30.11.1795 at miss Jones's with Breach's / 15.12.1795 at miss Jones' / 18.12.1795 again / 7.3.1798 at Bath Davis's & Richardson's at tea

The above entries may well have been the same Davis family, on 5.3.1798 Godwin had taken tea in Bath at Richardson's with the Jones's, see entries for Breach and for Jones, Louisa and Jones, Margaret. (The miss Jones of 1795 usually appeared with Godwin's sister Hannah and on 19.2.1797 L Jones appeared with Hannah Godwin). See Richardson entry for possibllity that this was the family of Thomas Davis DNB 1749-1807, whose will PCC 1808…

Davis from Virginia calls 9.12.1802

I think this was probably John Davis 1774-1854 traveller and author. Sadly nothing on him in DNB or Amer Nat Biog. (The only account of his life I have found is by Colin Elliott in the 1985 reprint by Tops'l books of his classic "The Post Captain" a comic naval yarn) I have since found the account by Thelma Louise Kellogg published by the University of Maine in 1824. His work "Travels of four and a half years &c" publ London 1803 gave exact dates for his journey much of which was on foot in Virginia. He landed back in England on 14.9.1802 near…

Davis, apud Leland, pp.18.  10.8.1800 / 11.8.1800 meet Davis

On 9.8.1800 Godwin had resumed his reading of Leland's History of Ireland after his journey to Carlow and reached p182 (presumably of Vol 3). I'm not clear what he meant by Davis apud Leland, must have a look at the Leland. Apud generally means "in" when applied to a book. Was it just coincidence that he met Davis the next day?

2.4.1810 dine at Tipper's, Cumberland, Bligh, Dr & mr Davis,  H Robinson, Crowe & J Richter

Perhaps David Daniel Davis DNB 1777-1841 or perhaps John Bunnell Davis DNB 1777-1824. Less likely John Ford Davis DNB 1773-1864. Another (medical?) doctor in London (Holdens 1811) was Dr John Davis 23 Cato-st, Edgware-rd. See my entry for Bligh

From 3.2.1792 to 1.8.1797 there were 68 'call on Davis' entries, often next to a call on Robinson, and on 4.1.1793 'best book that ever was published'. These probably all referred to the printer Jonas Davis of Chancery Lane c.1756-1827, who had been an assistant to Archibald Hamilton (see John Nichols, Literary Anecdotes vol 3 p398-9) and who was mentioned as Davis, 91, Chancery Lane in a letter fron Godwin to Wollstonecraft. In the five and a half years of Godwin calling on Davis there were just 2 'Davis calls' entries, on 19.5.1792 and 18.11.1796; these may have also been Jonas Davis.…

Davis 14.6.1797 at Bage's / 10.6.1800 Davis of Tamworth calls

Likely to have been James Davis gent of Tamworth will PCC 1811

SOCIETY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL INFORMATION:  Robert Davis of Shoreditch proposed 21.3.1783 by Michael Pearson 2nded John Satchell

Bailey's Directory 1790 Robert Davis cheesemonger 190 Shoreditch (plenty of other Robert Davises but this was the only one of Shoreditch found) / born 1747 Slimbridge Glos son of Robert Davies, gent and his wife Anna Maria (nee Stone) who married at Long Crendon, Bucks 28.6.1738 / his brother William (Alum Ox) was rector of Eastington, Glos / Robert Davies bach of Shoreditch (cheesemonger in Marr License) = Enfield 20.4.1769 Mary Cradock otp sp wits John…