OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Smith, John (1657-1726)

​SMITH, JOHN (1657–1726), judge, son of Roger Smith of Frolesworth, Leicestershire, was born on 6 Jan. 1657, and matriculated from Lincoln College, Oxford, on 12 Sept. 1676, at the age of nineteen (Foster, Alumni Oxon.) He entered Gray's Inn on 1 June 1678, was called to the bar on 2 May 1684, and, having been made a serjeant-at-law on 30 Oct. 1700, was appointed a justice of the common pleas in Ireland on 24 Dec. 1700, but was transferred to be a baron of the court of exchequer in England on 24 June 1702. In the leading case of Ashby v. White, arising out of the Aylesbury election, he gave his decision in opposition to the judgment of the majority of the court of queen's bench, and concurred in the view expressed by Lord-chief-justice Sir John Holt [q. v.] in favour of the plaintiff Ashby whose vote the returning officer, White (the defendant), had declined to record. On appeal to the House of Lords, the judgment was reversed, and the opinion of the chief justice and Baron Smith was confirmed (State Trials, xiv. 695; Hallam, Constitutional Hist. iii. 271–4). In May 1708 he was selected to settle the court of exchequer in Scotland, subsequently to the union with England, and for that purpose was made lord chief baron of the exchequer in Scotland, being still allowed (though another baron was appointed) to retain his place in the English court, and receiving ​500l. a year in addition to his salary. He was re-sworn on the accession of George I as a baron of the English exchequer, although he performed none of the duties, and enjoyed both his English and his Scottish office until his death on 24 June 1726, at the age of sixty-nine. Smith was much attached to his native village of Frolesworth, where, by his will, he founded and endowed a hospital for fourteen poor widows of the communion of the church of England, who were each to have 12l. a year and a separate house.
W. R. W.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Smith, John (1797-1861)

​SMITH, JOHN (1797–1861), musician, was born at Cambridge in 1797, and educated as a chorister in one of the chapel choirs. In 1815 he entered the choir of Christ Church, Dublin, and on 9 Feb. 1819 was appointed a vicar choral of St. Patrick's Cathedral. He also held the offices of chief composer of state music, master of the king's band of state musicians in Ireland, and com​poser to the Chapel Royal, Dublin. He possessed a fine tenore robusto voice, and considerable gifts as a composer of church music. His most important work was an oratorio, ‘The Revelation.’ In 1837 he published a volume of cathedral music, comprising services and anthems, a ‘Veni Creator’ and a ‘Magnificat’ and Nunc Dimittis in B flat, which are well known in English cathedrals. Of his secular music, the trio ‘O Beata Virgine’ (1840?) and the quartet ‘Love wakes and weeps’ attained considerable popularity. Smith died in Dublin on 12 Nov. 1861, and was succeeded in his professorship by Dr. (afterwards Sir Robert) Stewart [q. v.]
[Grove's Dictionary of Music, iii. 540; Musical Times, 1 Jan. 1862.]
R. N.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Chilcot, Thomas

​CHILCOT, THOMAS (d. 1766), organist and composer, was appointed in 1733 organist of Bath Abbey. The few works which he published show that he was a good musician. His chief compositions are a set of twelve songs to words by Shakespeare, Marlowe, Anacreon, and Euripides, and six concertos dedicated to Lady Elizabeth Bathurst. The latter work appeared in 1756. Chilcot died at Bath in November 1766. His wife had predeceased him, in June 1758.
W. B. S.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Child, John (1638?-1684)

​CHILD, JOHN (1638?–1684), baptist preacher, born at Bedford about 1638, was apprenticed to a handicraft; after a while he adopted another calling, and removed to Newport Pagnel, Buckinghamshire, where he lived for some years, married twice, had several children, and increased in wealth. He held 'the baptism of believers,' joining himself to the baptists, or, as they were then generally called, 'anabaptists,' and for some years was in the habit of preaching occasionally. About 1679 he removed to London. Fear of ​ cution and anxiety to better his position led him in 1682 to publish ‘A Second Argument for a more Full and Firm Union amongst all good Protestants,’ in which he argued against dissent from the church of England and ‘slandered his brethren.’ He appears to have published an earlier book of the same character, but neither of his pamphlets has been discovered by the writer of this notice. The idea that he had acted the part of a traitor preyed upon his mind. He fell into religious mania, and hanged himself in his house on the night of 3 Oct. 1684. A broadside was published the same year on the subject of his death, and after the declaration of indulgence and the subsequent increase in strength of the dissenting interest, pamphlets on Child’s ‘fearful estate' obtained a large circulation.
[‘A Warning from God to all Apostates . . . wherein the fearful states of Francis Spira and John Child are compared,' broadside, 1684. ‘The Mischief of Persecution exemplified by a true Narrative of Mr. John Child,’ 1688; the writers, Thomas Plant and Benjamin Dennis, ministers, add a postscript to the effect that this book had been written before, but could not be published until the king, ‘to his immortal honour.' put forth the Declaration of Indulgence. ‘A Relation of the Fearful Estate of Francis Spira . . .as also . . . of Mr. John Child,’ 1715, 1718, 1734 12mo, 1770 24mo; the preface to the reader is signed B. H. (Benjamin Harris, printer ?); the first part is a reprint of ‘ A Relation of the Fearful Estate of Francis Spira,’ 1640, with preface signed N. B. (Nathaniel Bacon), and dated 5 April 1638.]
W. H.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Childe, Elias

​CHILDE, ELIAS (fl. 1798–1848), landscape painter, was a very prolific artist, painting both in oil and in water colours. He first exhibited in 1798, when he appears to have been residing at 29 Compton Street, Soho, together with James Warren Childe [q. v.], who was probably his brother. From the first he always confined himself to landscape, and achieved considerable success in this line of art. In 1825 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Artists, and exhibited upwards of five hundred pictures at the exhibitions of that society, the Royal Academy, and the British Institution. His pictures were very popular, and always commanded a good sale. He particularly excelled in moonlight effects, and there is an example of this style in the National Gallery of British Art at South Kensington. He exhibited for the last time in 1848, after which date he cannot be traced.
[Redgrave’s Dict. of English Artists; Graves's Dict. of Artists, 1760-1880; Arnold's Magazine of the Fine Arts; Catalogues of the Royal Academy, &c.]
L. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Lonsdale, James

​LONSDALE, JAMES (1777–1839), portrait-painter, was born at Lancaster on 16 May 1777. After some practice in art, in which he was encouraged by the patronage of Archibald, ninth Duke of Hamilton, he arrived in London early in life, became a pupil in the house of George Romney, and a student at the Royal Academy. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1802, sending a portrait of ‘Miss Brooke,’ and was thenceforward a regular contributor of portraits to that exhibition. In 1818 he exhibited a portrait of Talma the actor as ‘Hamlet.’ On the death of John Opie in 1807 Lonsdale purchased his house in Berners Street, where he resided for the remainder of his life. He took a large share in the foundation of the Society of British Artists, and was a frequent exhibitor at their gallery. He was also portrait-painter in ordinary to the Duke of Sussex and to Queen Caroline, painting several portraits of each, and was one of the painters to the Beefsteak Society. Lonsdale conceived his paintings in a strong and vigorous manner, but his execution was smooth and rather tame. He had a very extensive practice, and some of his portraits were engraved. He painted for the Duke of Norfolk at Arundel Castle a large historical subject of ‘King John signing Magna Charta,’ and, besides some portraits of the duke, among other notabilities, painted the emperor of Russia, the king of the Belgians, and the Archduke Maximilian of Austria. In the National Portrait ​Gallery there are portraits by Lonsdale of Lord Brougham, Sir Philip Francis, J. Nollekens, R.A., W. Sharp the engraver, Abraham Rees, Sir William Bolland, James Heath the engraver, Captain Charles Morris, and Queen Caroline, as well as a bust of Lonsdale himself by E. H. Baily, R.A. [q. v.]. Lonsdale died in Berners Street on 17 Jan. 1839. He married Miss Thornton of Lancaster, and left three sons, of whom the eldest became an artist; the second, John James Lonsdale, became recorder of Folkestone and died in 1887; and the third adopted the surgical profession.
[The Art Union, 1839, p. 22; Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Scharf's Cat. of National Portrait Gallery; information from George Scharf, esq., C.B., F.S.A.]
L. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Longstrother, John

Surname Langstrother in the ODNB.
​LONGSTROTHER, JOHN (d. 1471), lord treasurer of England, was a knight of the order of St. John of Jerusalem. He was a favourite of Henry VI, who transacted business with him connected with his order in 1453. He then held the position of castellan of Rhodes. In 1454 he went to Rome, ​bearing messages from Henry to the cardinals. On 9 March 1469 he became English prior of the order of St. John, though a Lancastrian, and took an oath of fealty to Edward IV on 18 Nov. He joined, however, in Warwick's rebellion of 1470, and on 20 Oct. swore fealty to Henry VI, and was appointed lord treasurer. On 16 Feb. 1470–1 he was sent into France to bring back Queen Margaret and Prince Edward, and landed with them at Weymouth on 14 April. At the battle of Tewkesbury he, with Lord Wenlock, had charge of the young prince, and after the battle took sanctuary in the abbey church with the Duke of Somerset and others. Edward promised them on 4 May a free pardon, but two days afterwards they were all tried and beheaded.
[Dugdale's Monasticon, vi. 799; Paston Letters, ed. Gairdner, iii. 9; Rymer's Fœdera, vol. xi. passim; Polydore Vergil's Hist. of Engl., ed. Ellis (Camd. Soc.), p. 148, Warkworth's Chron. (Camd. Soc.); Chron. of Rebellion in Lincolnshire (Camd. Misc.), i. 8, 23; Oman's Warwick (Engl. Men of Action); Gairdner's Richard III, pp. 16, 17.]
W. A. J. A.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Longmate, Barak

​LONGMATE, BARAK (1738–1793), genealogist and heraldic engraver, born in 1738, was son of Barak and Elizabeth Longmate of St. James, Westminster. He engraved some topographical drawings, but was more distinguished as an heraldic engraver. He died on 23 July 1793 in Noel Street, Soho, and was buried on the 27th in Marylebone churchyard (Gent. Mag. 1793, pt. ii. p. 679). By his wife Elizabeth (d. 1781) he had a son Barak. His small but valuable library, and a large collection of heraldic manuscripts, fetched at auction on 6 and 7 March 1794 only 235l. 9s. 9d.
Longmate published an edition (the fifth) of Collins's 'Peerage,' 8 vols. 8vo, London, 1779, and a 'Supplement' in 1784. Of this work he left materials for a new edition. He also edited the 'Pocket Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland,' 12mo, London, 1788 (new edition, 1790). For Richard Joseph Sulivan's 'Thoughts on the Early Ages of the Irish Nation and History,' 4to, 1789, he engraved an elaborate genealogical plate, entitled 'A Genealogical History of the Family of O'Sullivan More from Duach ​Donn, monarch of Ireland. Anno Mundi 912.' which he regarded as his masterpiece (Martin, Cat. of Privately Printed books, p. 105).
His son, Barak Longmate (1768-1836), born in 1768, succeeded his father in his profession and as editor of the 'Pocket Peerage,' of which he issued an edition in two duodecimo volumes in 1813; but the increased success of Debrett's 'Peerage' interfered with the sale. He was a good draughtsman, and well skilled in heraldry, and was of much assistance to John Nichols and other antiquarians in their topographical labours.
About 1801 he made notes respecting the churches in many Gloucestershire parishes, with the view of publishing a continuation of Bigland's 'History' of that county. Owing however, to the fire at Nichols's printing-office in 1808, the work was abandoned, and the manuscript was deposited among the collections of Sir Thomas Phillipps at Middle Hill, Broadway, Worcestershire. Longmate died on 25 Feb. 1836 (Gent. Mag. 1836, i. 441).
[Nichol's Lit Anecd. ix, 4. 51; Redgrave's Dict. of Artists, 1878.]
G. G.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Lindsay, David (1566?-1627)

​LINDSAY, DAVID (1566?–1627), presbyterian divine, born about 1566, was possibly the son of David Lindsay [q. v.], bishop of Ross. He was educated at St. Salvator's College, St. Andrews, and graduated M.A. in 1586. He was admitted to the charge of Forfar in 1590, to the second charge of St. Andrews on 17 Aug. 1597, to Forgan on 20 May 1606, to South Leith, second charge, on 30 July 1609, and to the first charge in 1613. According to Calderwood, the appointment to Leith was made at the instance of the bishops, and 'notwithstanding the protestation of the parochiners made in the ​contrare' (History, vii. 20). He died in January 1627, aged about 61. By his wife, Margaret Hepburn, he had two daughters, Elspeth and Barbara.
Lindsay was the author of 'The Heavenly Chariot laid open,' St. Andrews, 1622'; and 'The Godly Man's Jouney to Heaven,' London, 1625.
[Hew Scott's Fasti Eccles. Scoticanæ, i. 99, 104, ii. 394, 429, iii. 761; Calderwood's Hist. of the Kirk of Scotland.]
T. F. H.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Lindsay, Alexander (d.1646)

1904 Errata appended.
​LINDSAY, ALEXANDER, second Lord Spynie (d. 1646), was the eldest son of Alexander, first lord Spynie [q. v.], by his wife Jean Lyon. He was still a minor at the time of his father's murder in 1607; but when, in 1609, the trial of his father's murderer was not proceeded with on account of the absence of a prosecutor, a protest was made on his behalf and that of the other infant children that their ultimate right of prosecution should not be invalidated. Spynie, however, after he came of age, agreed to waive his right of prosecution, on Lindsay of Edzell, the murderer, affirming ‘by his great aith’ that the slaughter was accidental, and undertaking to pay a sum of eight thousand merks, and make over to him and his sister the lands of Garlobank, Perthshire. Edzell, on 7 March 1617, obtained a remission for the slaughter under the great seal.
Spynie was one of the Scottish lords who attended the funeral of James I in Westminster Abbey in 1625 (Balfour, Annals, ii. 118). On 2 June 1626 he was made commander-in-chief in Scotland for life. Having raised a regiment of three thousand foot for the king of Denmark (ib. p. 154), he served with distinction under Gustavus Adolphus. In 1628 he threw himself into Stralsund, then held by Sir Alexander Leslie [q. v.] against Wallenstein, and rendered him aid of prime importance, his regiment being chosen to make a sally against an attacking party of the enemy, which drove them back on the main body. After his return to Scotland, his appointment as commander-in-chief was confirmed 28 June 1633.
In the dispute with the covenanters, Spynie supported the king. He joined Montrose at Perth after the battle of Tippermuir in September 1644 (Spalding, Memorialls, ii. 404), and with him on the 14th entered Aberdeen (ib. p. 408), but when Montrose two days afterwards vacated the city he was taken prisoner, and finally sent south to Edinburgh (ib. pp. 410, 416). He died in March 1646.
He married first, Joanna Douglas, and secondly, Lady Margaret Hay, only daughter of George, first earl of Kinnoul [q. v.] By his first wife he had no issue, but by his second he had two sons—Alexander, master of Kinnoul, and George, who succeeded him as third lord—and two daughters: Margaret, married to William Fullarton of Fullarton, and Anne, who died unmarried.
[Pitcairn's Criminal Trials; Balfour's Annals; Spalding's Memorialls; Monro's Expedition with the worthy Scotch Regiment (1637); Lord Lindsay's Lives of the Lindsays; Jervise's Lands of the Lindsays; Lindsay Pedigree, by W. A. Lindsay, in the College of Arms; Douglas's Scottish Peerage (Wood), ii. 518.]
T. F. H.
Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p.182 N.B.— f.e. stands for from end and l.l. for last line
| Page | Col. | Line | |
| 282 | ii | 5 | Lindsay, Alexander, 2nd Lord Spynie: for Tibbermuir read Tippermuir |
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Lindsay, David (1551?-1610)

​LINDSAY, Sir DAVID, of Edzell, Lord Edzell (1551?–1610), eldest son of Sir David Lindsay of Edzell, ninth earl of Crawford, by his second wife, Catherine Campbell, daughter of Sir John Campbell of Lorn, was born about 1551. On the death of his father in 1558 he succeeded only to barony and other estates of Edzell, the earldom of Crawford passing to David Lindsay, son of the 'wicked master' [see under Lindsay, David, eleventh Earl of Crawford]. With his brother, John Lindsay, lord Menmuir [q. v.], he was educated on the continent under the care of John Lawson [q. v.], afterwards colleague of Knox, and in his tastes and accomplishments resembled his brother. 'The sword, the pen, and pruning-hook,' says Lord Lindsay in his 'Lives of the Lindsays,' 'were equally familiar to him; he even anticipated the geologist's hammer, and had at least a taste for architecture and design.' He devoted much attention to the utilisation of the minerals on his estate, and to agricultural improvements.
Edzell was one of those who on 3 May 1578 signed a band in favour of the Earl of Mar as guardian of the young king, James VI (Reg. P. C. Scotl. ii. 691). On 14 June of the same year he appeared as procurator for the sureties of David, eleventh earl of Crawford (ib. p. 705; see under Lindsay, David, eleventh Earl). He was knighted at the creation of Esme Stuart as Duke of Lennox in October 1581. On 27 Aug. 1583 a remission was granted to him and others under the great seal for the murder of Campbell of Lundie. On 2 May 1593 he was, under the title of lord Edzell, admitted a lord of session. His name first appears as a member of the privy council on 16 Nov. 1598 (Reg. P. C. Scotl. v. 495). For conniving at a fray between his son and the young laird of Pitarrow in the High Street of Edinburgh, 17 June 1605, he was for a short time warded in Dumbarton Castle. In 1607, while seeking to revenge the murder of his relative, Sir Walter Lindsay of Balgavie [q. v.], he had the misfortune, at least indirectly, to occasion the death of Lord Spynie [see Lindsay, Alexander, first Lord Spynie]. On 10 Aug. 1609 the privy council fixed 19 Sept. for the trial of him and his son Alexander for the murder, but his prosecutor, David Lindsay, twelfth earl of Crawford [q. v.], having failed to appear, no trial took place (Pitcairn, Criminal Trials, iii. 61). Edzell died on 18 Dec. 1610. By his first wife, Lady Helen Lindsay, daughter of David, tenth earl of Crawford, whom he married without 'tocher or fortune,' he had three sons—Sir David of Edzell, John, and Alexander of Canterland—and a daughter, Margaret, married to David, first earl of Southesk. By his second wife, Isobel Forbes, he left no issue.
[Reg. P. C. Scotl. vols. ii-viii.; Pitcairn's Criminal Trials; Brunton and Haig's Senators of the College of Justice; Douglas's Scottish Peerage (Wood), i. 165-6; Lord Lindsay's Lives of the Lindsays; Lindsay Pedigree, by W. A. Lindsay, in the College of Arms.]
T. F. H.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Lawless, William

​LAWLESS, WILLIAM (1772–1824), French general, was born at Dublin, 20 April 1772, joined the United Irishmen, was outlawed in the Fugitive Bill, and, having taken refuge in France, entered the army. He was placed on half-pay in 1800, but in 1803 was appointed captain of the Irish legion, and in July 1806 was ordered to Flushing, then besieged by the English, to command the ​Irish battalion. To reach his post he had to pass in a small open boat through the English fleet. He was dangerously wounded in a sortie, and when General Monet capitulated without stipulating for the treatment of the Irish as prisoners of war, Lawless escaped from the town with the eagle of his regiment, concealed himself for two months in a doctor's house, and at length found an opportunity of getting by night in a fishing boat to Antwerp. Bernadotte welcomed him, extolled him in general orders, and reported his exploits to Napoleon, who summoned him to Paris, decorated him with the Legion of Honour, and promoted him to be lieutenant-colonel. In 1812 he gained a colonelcy, and in August 1813 he was wounded at Lowenberg and his leg was amputated. On the restoration of the Bourbons the Irish regiment was naturally looked on with little favour by a dynasty so deeply indebted to England, and in October 1814 Lawless was placed on half-pay with the rank of brigadier-general. He died at Paris, 25 Dec. 1824.
[Fieffé's Hist. des Troupes Etrangères, Paris, 1854; Madden's United Irishmen, 2nd ser. ii. 525, London, 1843; Mem. of Miles Byrne, Paris, 1863.]
J. G. A.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Law, William John

​LAW, WILLIAM JOHN (1786–1869), commissioner of insolvent court, was born on 6 Dec. 1786. His father, Ewan Law, second son of Edmund Law, bishop of Carlisle, was member of parliament for Westbury, Wiltshire, 1790–5, for Newtown, Isle of Wight, 5 May to 29 June 1802, and died at Horsted, Sussex, 29 April 1829, having married, 28 June 1784, Henrietta Sarah, eldest daughter of Dr. William Markham, archbishop of York; she died on 15 Aug. 1844, aged 80. The eldest son, William John, was educated at Westminster School, and matriculated, 16 May 1804, from Christ Church, Oxford, where he held a studentship until 1814. He took a university prize for Latin verse in 1807, a first class in the following year, graduated B.A. 1808, and proceeded M.A. 1810. On 11 Feb. 1813 he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, and on the passing of Lord Eldon's Act in 1825 became one of the commissioners of bankruptcy. Subsequently he was appointed a commissioner of the court for the relief of insolvent debtors, and on 1 Aug. 1853 promoted to be the chief commissioner. This court was abolished in 1861. He was a hard-working and intelligent lawyer, possessed of a thorough practical mastery of the branch of justice which he administered for so many years. Though he was not a betting man, he knew the 'Racing Calendar' by heart, and never missed seeing the Derby. His fondness for the classics never declined. Between 1854 and 1856 he was engaged in controversy with Robert Ellis (1820?–1885), whose views respecting Hannibal's route over the Alps he sharply attacked in three pamphlets (1855–6). In 1866 he published a voluminous treatise, in 2 vols., 'On the Passage of Hannibal over the Alps,' which had formed his employment in his intervals from business during many years. He died at 5 Sussex Square, Brighton, 5 Oct. 1869, having married, 1 Jan. 1817, Charlotte Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Simpson of Middlethorpe Hall, Yorkshire.
Law was also writer of: 1. 'Reports of Cases in the Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors,' by H. R. Reynolds and W. J. Law, 1830. 2. 'Comments on the New Scheme of Insolvency, with Remarks on the Law of Certificate in Bankruptcy,' 1843. 3. 'Some Remarks on the Alpine Passes of Strabo,' 1846. 4. 'History of a Court-Martial held 1848 on Lieutenant E. Plowden. Sentence Reversed in 1854,' 1854. 5. 'Remarks on the right of Personal Protection acquired through Bankruptcy and the Contempt of it by certain County Courts,' 1855. 6. 'A Letter to E. Cooke, Esq., on Illegal Commitments made by some Judges of County Courts,' 1856. 7. 'Comments on the Bankruptcy and Liquidation Act, 1858,' 1859. 8. 'Remarks on the Bankruptcy Act, 1861,' 1862.
G. C. B.