OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Tenison, Edward

​TENISON, EDWARD (1673–1735), bishop of Ossory, baptised at Norwich on 3 April 1673, was the only surviving child of Joseph Tenison of Norwich by his wife Margaret, daughter of Edward Mileham of Burlingham in Norfolk. Philip Tenison archdeacon of Norfolk, was his grandfather and Thomas Tenison [q. v.], archbishop of Canterbury, his first cousin. After being educated at St. Paul's school under Dr. Gale he was admitted a scholar of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, on 19 Feb. 1690-1. He graduated B.A. in 1694, and proceeded LL.B. in 1697 and D.D. in 1731, the last two at Lambeth. He was at first intended for the law, and was bound apprentice to his uncle, Charles Mileham, an attorney at Great Yarmouth. Abandoning the law for the church, he was ordained deacon and priest in 1697, and presented the same year to the rectory of Wittersham, Kent. This he resigned in 1698 on being presented to the rectory of Sundridge in the diocese of Rochester, which he held conjointly with the adjacent rectory of Chiddingstone. On 24 March 1704-5 he was made a prebendary of Lichfield, resigning in 1708 on being appointed archdeacon of Caermarthen. On 9 March 1708-9 he became a prebendary of Canterbury. In 1714 he inherited considerable estates from his uncle, Edward Tenison of Lambeth, but lost the greater part of his wealth in 1720 by investing it in the South Sea Company. In 1715 he acted as executor to his cousin the archbishop, and was in consequence involved in litigation on the question of dilapidations.
A curious correspondence on the subject was published by him in 1716. In 1730 he became chaplain to the Duke of Dorset, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, who in 1731 nominated him to the bishopric of Ossory.
He died in Dublin on 29 Nov. 1735, and was buried in St. Mary's Church in that city, where a monument was erected to his memory by his wife. His will contained many charitable bequests, especially for the education of the poor and the promotion of agriculture in Ireland. It was published in 'Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica' (3rd ser. vol. ii.) in an article entitled 'Tenisoniana,' by C. M. Tenison of Hobart, Tasmania. In a codicil, dated 23 Jan. 1735, he left a bequest of 200l. to his old college, Corpus Christi at Cambridge. By his wife, Ann Searle (d. 1750), who was related to Archbishop Tenison, he had one son and five daughters. His son Thomas (1702-1742) became a prebendary of Canterbury in 1739.
Besides an edition of two books of Columella's 'De Re Rustica' (Dublin, 1732, 8vo) and a paper on 'The Husbandry of Canary Seed,' published in 1713 in 'Philosophical Transactions,' Tenison's published writings are limited to occasional sermons and to pamphlets connected with the Bangorian controversy. His portrait was painted by Kneller and engraved in 1720 by Vertue.
J. H. L.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Tench, Watkin

​TENCH, WATKIN (1759?–1833), soldier and author, is conjectured to have been born about 1759 in Wales; in his 'Letters in France' (p. 140) he refers to the 'happier days passed in Wales,' and in the dedication of his 'Account of Port Jackson' (1793) he acknowledges the 'deepest obligations' from the family of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn. He became first lieutenant of marines in 1778 and served in America, being a prisoner in Maryland in that year. In 1782 he was raised to the rank of captain, and in 1787 was sent to Australia as one of the captains of marines in the charge of convicts. The expedition left Portsmouth under the command of Arthur Phillip [q. v.] 13 May 1787, and arrived at Port Jackson in January 1788. With some other officers he explored during six days in August 1790 the country inland (Collins, New South Wales, i. 131), and on 18 Dec. 1791 he left Port Jackson for England. He published in 1789 'A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay, with an Account of New South Wales.' dated from Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, 10 July 1788. Its conclusions were perhaps over sombre, but its value is shown by the issue in that year of two more editions in English as well as by the publication of a Dutch translation at Amsterdam and a French rendering by M. C. J. Pougens at Paris.
Tench on his return seems to have fixed his residence at Plymouth. In 1793 he published 'A Complete Account of Settlement at Port Jackson in New South ​Wales,' with a dedication to Sir Watkin Wynn, and then entered upon active service again. He was on board the Alexandra with Captain Richard Rodney Bligh [q. v.] when, after a fight of two hours and a quarter, that vessel was captured and taken into Brest (6 Nov. 1794). On the announcement of Bligh's elevation to the rank of rear-admiral, Tench was selected by him as aide-de-camp and interpreter. From Brest they were sent to Quimper (17 Feb. 1795). Some time later he obtained permission to come to England, and he arrived at Plymouth 10 May 1795. Next year he brought out an interesting and trustworthy volume of 'Letters written in France to a Friend in London between November 1794 and May 1795.'
Tench was promoted to be major 1794, lieutenant-colonel 1798, lieutenant-colonel of marines 1804, and colonel 1808. He was appointed colonel-commandant en second in marines 1809, and was created major-general in the army 4 June 1811 (Gent. Mag. 1811, i. 669). At this date he was in command of the division of marines stationed at Plymouth, where Cyrus Redding [q.v.] often heard him describe the life at Port Jackson and give his views on the future of the settlement (Personal Reminiscences, iii. 259-78). His commission as lieutenant-general in the army was dated 19 July 1821 (Gent. Mag. 1821, ii. 175). He died in Devonport at the house of Daniel Little, a brother-in-law, 7 May 1833. His widow, Anna Maria, daughter of Robert Sargent, surgeon at Devonport, died there 1 Aug. 1847, aged 81.
W. P. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Templeton, John (1802-1886)

​TEMPLETON, JOHN (1802–1886), tenor vocalist, son of Robert Templeton, was born at Riccarton, near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, on 30 July 1802. He had a fine voice as a boy, and, joining his eldest brother, a concert-singer and teacher in Edinburgh, he took part in concerts there. In 1822 he became precentor to the Rose Street secession church, then under John Brown (1784-1858) [q. v.] Resolving to adopt a professional career, he went to London and studied under Blewitt, Welsh, De Pinna, and Tom Cooke. In July 1828 he made his début on the stage at Worthing, Sussex, and, after some wanderings in the provinces, obtained an engagement at Drury Lane, where he appeared as Meadows in 'Love in a Village.' Soon afterwards he undertook, at the short notice of five days, the part of Don Ottavio in Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' at Covent Garden. In 1833 Malibran selected him as her tenor for 'La Sonnambula,' and he continued to be successfully associated with her until her death in 1836. Bellini was so pleased with his performance of the part of Elvino that he once embraced him and, 'with tears of exultation,' promised to write a part that would 'immortalise him.' After touring for some years in the provinces he visited Paris in 1842, where he was entertained by Auber. In 1843 he started concert-lecture entertainments on national and chiefly Scottish music, and toured through the provinces as well as America. He retired to New Hampton, near London, in 1852, and died there on 1 July 1886. He had four brothers, all more or less celebrated for their vocal abilities (cf. Brown and Stratton).
Templeton's voice was of very fine quality and exceptional compass. Cooke called him 'the tenor with the additional keys.' His chest voice ranged over two octaves, and he could sustain A and B flat in alt with ease. His weakness was an occasional tendency to sing flat. He had a répertoire of thirty-five operas, in many of which he created the chief parts. He wrote a few songs, one, 'Put off! put off!' on the subject of Queen Mary's escape from Lochleven. One of his concert lectures, 'A Musical Entertainment,' was published at Boston, United States, in 1845.
[Templeton and Malibran, by W. H. H[usk], which contains two portraits of Templeton; Kilmarnock Standard, 16 Feb. 1878; Brown and Stratton's British Musical Biography; Baptie's Musical Scotland; Grove's Dictionary of Music.]
J. C. H.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Richmond, Dukes of

​RICHMOND, Dukes of. [See Fitzroy, Henry, 1519–1536; Stewart, Lodovic, 1570–1624; Stewart, James, 1612–1655; Stewart, Charles, 1640–1672; Lennox, Charles, first Duke (of the last creation), 1672–1723; Lennox, Charles, second Duke, 1701–1750; Lennox, Charles, third Duke, 1735–1806; Lennox, Charles, fourth Duke, 1764–1819; Lennox, Charles Gordon-, fifth Duke, 1791–1860.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Richmond, Duchesses of

​RICHMOND, Duchesses of. [See Fitzroy, Mary, d. 1557, and Stewart, Frances Teresa, d. 1702.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Richmond, Thomas

​RICHMOND, THOMAS (1771–1837), miniature-painter, was son of Thomas Richmond, originally of Bawtry, and of an old Yorkshire family. The father was ‘groom of the stables’ to the Duke of Gloucester, and afterwards the proprietor of the Coach and Horses at Kew, where the artist was born in 1771. His mother, Ann Bone, was a cousin of George Engleheart [q. v.], ‘miniature-painter to the king.’ Thomas consequently became Engleheart's pupil, and was employed by the royal family in copying miniatures by his master and Cosway. He also copied in miniature size many of the portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds in the possession of royalty. His original and unsigned miniatures are numerous. Some are on ivory, others are on paper, and in many cases full or half length, with the head in colours and the rest in pencil. Though the pose of some of his figures is in the stiff manner usual at the time, the portraits are lifelike, and the drawing and expression excellent. In later years Richmond lived in the centre of fashion, 42 Half-Moon Street, Mayfair. He died in 1837, and was buried in Paddington churchyard, near the grave of Mrs. Siddons. From 1795 to 1825 he exhibited forty-six miniatures at the Royal Academy. An early portrait of Richmond became the property of Frederick W. Farrer, esq., who married his granddaughter. One of his miniatures, a portrait of his wife (Ann Oram), taken in 1808, was engraved by William Holl, jun. His younger son, George [q. v.], to whom many of his works passed, is noticed separately.
His eldest son, Thomas, born in 1802, practised for many years as a miniature-painter in Sheffield and afterwards in London. He had a large connection among hunting men. He visited Rome with his brother George in 1840, and there made Mr. Ruskin's acquaintance. He died in 1874 at Windermere, where he had purchased an estate, but was buried in Brompton cemetery, London. He exhibited fifty-one portraits at the London exhibitions between 1822 and 1860—forty-five at the Royal Academy and six at the Suffolk Street gallery.
[Information kindly supplied by Canon T. K. Richmond; Graves's Dict. of Artists; Redgrave's Artists of the English School.]
A. N.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Richey, Alexander George

​RICHEY, ALEXANDER GEORGE (1830–1883), Irish historian, born in 1830, was the son of Alexander Richey of Mountemple, Coolock, co. Dublin, and his wife, Matilda Browne, whose sister Margaret married Henry, second son of the first earl and father of the third earl of Charlemont. He was educated at Dungannon royal school, entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1848, and was elected on the foundation in 1861. He graduated B.A. in 1853, winning the first gold medal in classics, LL.B. in 1855, and ​LL.D. in 1873. He was called to the Irish bar in 1855, and took silk in 1871. In 1871 he was appointed deputy regius professor of feudal and English law at Trinity College; he was also vice-president of the Royal Irish Academy, and an auditor and prizeman of the college historical society. He died at his residence, 27 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin, on 29 Nov. 1883, having married the elder daughter of Major-general Henry Smith of Bathboys, co. Wicklow, who survived him with three sons and two daughters. He was buried on 3 Dec. in Mount Jerome cemetery. Sir Samuel Ferguson [q. v.], in his address to the Royal Irish Academy, described Richey as a man of the widest range of culture, an able lawyer, and a learned jurist. In politics he was a liberal.
Richey was author of:
* ‘Lectures on the History of Ireland; two series,’ 1869, 1870, 8vo; the first was a course delivered at Alexandra College, Dublin, and comprised the history of Ireland down to 1534; the second was delivered at Trinity College and went as far as the plantation of Ulster. These lectures, together with other occasional lectures, were embodied in ‘A Short History of the Irish People, down to the Plantation of Ulster’ (1887, 8vo), edited, after Richey's death, by Dr. Robert Romney Kane.
* ‘The Irish Land Laws,’ 1880, 8vo. Richey also edited vols. iii. and iv. of the Brehon laws, published by the commissioners for publishing the ancient laws and institutes of Ireland, to which he contributed masterly prefaces.
He likewise contributed frequently to the ‘Athenæum’ and ‘Saturday Review.’ He was engaged on a more detailed history of Ireland at the time of his death, but only one chapter had been written, which was incorporated in the ‘Short History’ (1887). Richey's history, though incomplete, is the most dispassionate and impartial work on the subject that has yet appeared; ‘he saw his way through the complexities of ancient and modern Celtic life with a discernment almost intuitive in its appreciation of facts’ (Edinburgh Review, April 1886, p. 437); and his work on the land-laws was quoted as an authority by Mr. Gladstone in the debates on his Land Bill of 1881.
[Preface, by Dr. Kane, to the Short History, 1887; Irish Law Times, 8 Dec. 1883; Dublin Daily Express, 30 Nov. and 4 Dec. 1883; Athenæum, 1883, ii. 738 (by Professor J.P. Mahaffy); Academy, xxxiii. 22 (by R. Dunlop); Spectator, 1883, ii. 1571; Times, 4 Dec. 1883; Dublin Univ. Cal. 1883; Cal. Graduates Trin. Coll. Dublin; Works in Brit. Mus. Libr.; information kindly supplied by Dr. J. K. Ingram, registrar of Trinity College, Dublin.]
A. F. P.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Richmond, Earls of

​RICHMOND, Earls of. [See Peter of Savoy, d. 1268, and Tudor, Edmund, 1430?–1456.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Richmond and Derby, Countess of

​RICHMOND and DERBY, Countess of (1441–1509). [See Beaufort, Margaret.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Sexred

​SEXRED or SEXRÆD (d. 626), king of the East-Saxons, was the son of Sebert (d 616?) [q. v.] the first Christian king of the East-Saxons. He refused to accept Christianity, and when he succeeded his father in 616, reigning conjointly with his two brothers, Sæward and another, said on no good authority to have been named Sigebert (Bromton, ap. Decem SS. col. 743), openly practised paganism and gave permission to his subjects to worship their idols. When he and his brothers saw Mellitus (d. 624) [q. v.], bishop of London, giving the eucharist to the people in church, they said to him, so it was commonly believed in Bede's time, ‘Why do you not offer us the white bread ​that you used to give to our father Saba, for so they called him, and which you still give to the people?’ Mellitus answered that if they would be washed in the font they should have it, but that otherwise it would do them no good. But they said that they would not enter the font, for they did not need washing but refreshment. The matter was often explained to them by the bishop, who persisted in refusing their request. At last they grew angry and banished him from their kingdom. Not long afterwards they went out to fight with the West-Saxons, and were slain, their army being almost wholly destroyed (Bede, Hist. Eccl. ii. c. 5). This battle was fought against Ceawlin [q. v.] and Cwichelm, the West-Saxon kings who invaded their territory with a larger force than the East-Saxons could muster in or about 626. They were succeeded by Sæward's son Sigebert the Little.
W. H.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Seyer, Samuel

​SEYER, SAMUEL (1757–1831), historian of Bristol, born in 1757, was the son of Samuel Seyer (1719?–1776), then master of Bristol grammar school. The elder Seyer, son of a gentleman of Bristol of the same names, was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford, whence he graduated B.A. in 1739 and M.A. in 1742. In 1764 he became rector of St. Michael's, Bristol. He published ‘Essays in Scripture Truths’ (1771) and other works.
The younger Seyer matriculated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, on 25 Nov. 1772, and graduated B.A. in 1776 and M.A. in 1780. About 1790 he succeeded John Jones at the Royal Fort school, where for ten years Andrew Crosse [q. v.], the electrician, was among his scholars; Crosse deemed his master narrow-minded and unjust. Other pupils were John Kenyon [q. v.] and William John Broderip [q. v.] In 1813 he became perpetual curate of Horfield, and in 1824 rector of Filton, Gloucestershire.
Following in the footsteps of William Barrett (d. 1789) [q. v.], author of the ‘History and Antiquities of Bristol,’ with whom he was well acquainted, Seyer published in 1812 ‘Charters and Letters Patent granted to the Town and City of Bristol’ (4to). The Latin is printed under an English translation. Seyer was refused access to the originals in the Bristol council-house, and founded his text on a late manuscript in the Bodleian (Rawlinson 247). He used a translation published in 1736 which was not of much value. In 1821–3 appeared Seyer's ‘Memoirs, Historical and Topographical, of Bristol and its Neighbourhood,’ with plates, by Edward Blore [q. v.] and others (2 vols. 4to). The work, which brings the narrative down to 1760, incorporated the archives of the Berkeley family and the Bristol calendars. Painstaking and learned, it remains a valuable specimen of local history. Seyer's collections for a second part, on the topography of Bristol, are preserved in manuscript in the Museum Library, Bristol (cf. Hunt, Bristol, 1887, p. 189; Ricart, Kalendar, Camden Soc., vol. ii.).
Seyer died at Bristol on 25 Aug. 1831. A portrait was engraved by Walker from a painting by Branwhite. Another was painted and engraved by Pether.
Besides his archæological works, Seyer published: 1. ‘The Principles of Christianity,’ 1796, 1806, 12mo. 2. ‘The Syntax of Latin Verbs,’ 1798, 8vo. 3. ‘Observations on the Causes of Clerical Non-residence, and on the Act of Parliament lately passed for its Prevention,’ 1808, 8vo. 4. ‘Latium Redivivum: a Treatise on the Modern Use of the Latin Language and the Prevalence of the French; to which is added a Specimen, accommodated to Modern Use,’ 1808, 8vo. He also translated into English verse the Latin poem of Vida on Chess.
G. Le G. N.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Seymour, Aaron Crossley Hobart

​SEYMOUR, AARON CROSSLEY HOBART (1789–1870), hymn-writer, elder brother of Michael Hobart Seymour [q. v.], was the son of John Crossley Seymour, vicar ​of Caherelly, diocese of Cashel, who married the eldest daughter of Edward Wight, rector of Meelick, co. Limerick, a member of an old Surrey family. He was born in co. Limerick on 19 Dec. 1789, and received most of his education at home. He was drawn in early life into the religious group formed by Selina Hastings, countess of Huntingdon [q. v.], whose biography he afterwards wrote. His first work was ‘Vital Christianity,’ exhibited in a series of letters on the most important subjects of religion, addressed to young persons; it appeared in 1810; a second edition was published in 1819. This work contains all his hymns, some of which are highly popular. In 1816 Seymour published a memoir of Charlotte Brooke [q. v.], prefixed to an edition of her ‘Reliques of Irish Poetry.’ His ‘Life and Times of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon,’ appeared in 1839. About 1850 he went to reside in Italy, and spent many years in Naples. In 1869 he retired to Bristol, and died there in October 1870. He took a deep interest in hymnology, and assisted Joseph Miller in preparing his ‘Singers and Songs of the Church.’
[Miller's Singers and Songs of the Church, 2nd edit.; Julian's Dict. of Hymnology; Allibone's Dict. of Engl. Lit.; Brit. Mus. Cat.]
D. J. O'D.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Seymour, Edward Adolphus (1775-1855)

​SEYMOUR, EDWARD ADOLPHUS, eleventh Duke of Somerset (1775–1855), born on 24 Feb. 1775 at Monckton Farley in Wiltshire, was the third but eldest surviving son of Webb Seymour, tenth duke, by his wife Anna Maria, daughter and heir of John Bonnell of Stanton-Harcourt in Oxfordshire. His grandfather, Edward (1695–1757), who came of the elder branch of the Seymour family, succeeded as eighth Duke of Somerset on the failure of the younger line in 1750 [see Seymour, Edward, first Duke of Somerset]. Edward was educated at Eton and matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, on 31 Jan. 1792. He succeeded to the peerage on the death of his father on 15 Dec. 1793. He was created M.A. at Oxford on 2 July 1794, and received the honorary degree of D.C.L. on 3 July 1810. From an early age he devoted himself to science and mathematics, displaying genuine aptitude for both studies. He was equally well versed in historical and antiquarian knowledge, and Patrick Fraser Tytler [q. v.] the historian valued his judgment in these matters highly. In 1797 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, in 1816 a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and in 1820 a fellow of the Linnean Society. He was also a member of the Royal Asiatic Society. He took an interest in the Royal Institution, of which he was president for some years, and from 1801 to 1838 he was president of the Royal Literary Fund. From 1826 to 1831 he was vice-president of the Zoological Society, and in 1834 he was chosen president of the Linnean Society, and held the office till 1837. He was bearer of the orb at the coronation of William IV in 1831 and of Victoria in 1838. On 19 April 1837 he was elected a knight of the Garter. He was esteemed an excellent landlord, and, unlike most large landowners, supported the repeal of the corn laws. In the period of agricultural depression which followed he showed his confidence in the measure by making large purchases of land. He died in London at Somerset House, Park Lane, on 15 Aug. 1855, and was buried at Kensal Green cemetery.
He was twice married: first, to Charlotte, second daughter of Archibald, ninth duke of Hamilton; she died on 10 June 1837, leaving three surviving sons and four daughters. The sons, Edward Adolphus Seymour, twelfth duke [q. v.], Archibald Henry Algernon, and Algernon Percy Banks (father of the present duke), all succeeded in turn to the title. The second wife of the eleventh duke of Somerset was Margaret, eldest daughter of Sir Michael Shaw-Stewart of Blackhall, Renfrewshire. She died at Somerset House on 18 July 1880.
The duke was the author of: 1. ‘The Elementary Properties of the Ellipse deduced from the Properties of the Circle,’ London, 1842, 8vo. 2. ‘Alternate Circles and their Connexion with the Ellipse,’ London, 1850, 12mo.
E. I. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Ochiltree, Michael

​OCHILTREE, MICHAEL (fl. 1425–1445), bishop of Dunblane, was dean of Dunblane some time before 18 March 1424–5, when the king, as a mark of friendship, conceded to him a tenement in the burgh of Perth (Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1424–1513, No. 18). While dean of Dunblane he rebuilt the church at Muthill, the residence of the deans, of which the ancient Romanesque belfry and the nave and aisles erected by him still remain. He became bishop of Dunblane some time before 24 Jan. 1429–30, when he was appointed a commissioner to meet the English ambassadors at Hawdenstank (Cal. Documents relating to Scotland, iv. 1032). In 1439 he set his seal to a solemn agreement between the queen-dowager and a committee of parliament about the keeping of the young king, James II. He continued in the bishopric of Dunblane until 1445.
[Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1424–1513; Cal. Documents relating to Scotland, vol. iv.; Rymer's Fœdera; Keith's Scottish Bishops.]
T. F. H.