2.12.1807 call on Daponte, Oriel / 3.12.1807 call on Daponte
The will PCC 19.5.1809 of Paolo da Ponte, printer of Poland-st mentioned a child Henry da Ponte at a school in Somers Town and his guardian Miss Caroline Hughes spinster. Paolo was the brother of the more famous Lorenzo da Ponte who had gone to America by 1807. Thomas Oriel was a tailor in Poland-st
23.3.1789 Darby at Miss Williams'.
1786 subscribers to HMWilliams poems Harry Darby Esq Grange Hill Essex; Mr John Darby Hatfield Herts; Mr Edmund Darby. See PCC wills of Mary Darby 1815, John Darby surgeon of Hatfield 1823, and Edmund Darby of Aston House, Herts 1831. Not at all clear which of these (or one of several other possible) Darbys
13.7.1800 dine at la. Mountcashel's with C(urran) (Dargle & Scalp) / 14.7.1800 Dargle & Water-fall
Dargle is the river that flows to the sea at Bray south of Dublin, and Scalp the name of a hill near that river and the village of Enniskerry, or that is as much sense as I could get out of Google maps
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…
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…
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
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
Davis, Welch Unitarian calls 20.1.1803
David Davis DNB 1745-1827 poet and dissenting minister was a radical in politics and became an Arian in theology but some of his congregation broke away to form Unitarian churches. His son David Davis Dict Welsh Biog 1778-1846 was a Unitarian and the diaries of his son Timothy Davis 1779-1860 are in the Nat Libr of Wales (5487-99). As far as I can gather none of the ministries of this family were in London so they are less likely to have been any of the later Davis entries (see Davis after 1805)
23.1.1795 Davies / 30.1.1795 adv Thelwal & Davis (Erskine's) / 13.2.1795 / 4.3.1795 / 26.4.1795 / 20.8.1795 / 9.11.1795 / 26.11.1795 / 12.2.1796 / 2.5.1797 / 19.12.1798 / 16.1.1799 / 17.11.1799 / 2 Davis's 5.1.1800 / Davis's 26.1.1800 / 9.2.1800 / 25.5.1800 / 27.12.1801 / 21.3.1802 all at King's, also 5.3.1795 Davis's, Hazlits & King at Thelwal's (compare to 30.1.1795), and 6.8.1796 & 19.8.1796 meet W Davis. Also 15.2.1800 adv Davis jr at opera was perhaps his son William. In 1796 list inserted above with others Godwin met at King's early 1795.
William 'Black'…