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

​WALTER of Lorraine (d. 1079), bishop of Hereford, a native of Lotharingia or Lorraine, was chaplain of Edith or Eadgyth (d. 1075) [q. v.], the Confessor's queen, and as a reward of his industry was appointed to the bishopric of Hereford at Christmas 1060 (Flor. Wig. sub an.; Codex Diplomaticus, No. 833). As the position of Archbishop Stigand [q. v.] was held to be uncanonical, he and Gisa [q. v.], bishop-designate of Wells, received leave from the Confessor to go to Rome for consecration, and were commissioned by him to obtain the pope's confirmation of privileges for St. Peter's Abbey, Westminster. He was consecrated with Gisa by Nicholas II at Rome on 15 April 1061, and set out to return home with Earl Tostig [q. v.] and others; was with them robbed on the way, and, owing to the earl's remonstrances, had his losses made up to him by the pope. He is said to have resisted the tyranny of the Conqueror, to have had his lands ravaged, to have been oppressed by the king and Lanfranc [q. v.], and to have been forced to take refuge in Wales (Gesta Abbatum S. Albani, ii. 45-6, 48-9; there is no doubt an element of truth in these statements). He was present at Lanfranc's councils of 1072 and 1075. According to a story, told as a report by William of Malmesbury, he had, when advanced in age, a violent passion for a seamstress of Hereford, attempted to violate her, and was killed by her. He died in 1079, was buried in his church, and was succeeded by Robert Losinga [q. v.], like himself a native of Lotharingia.
W. H.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Sewell, James Edwards

​SEWELL, JAMES EDWARDS (1810–1903), warden of New College, Oxford, born at Newport, Isle of Wight, on 25 Dec. 1810, was seventh child and sixth son of Thomas Sewell, solicitor, of Newport, by his wife Jane, daughter of Rev. John Edwards, curate of Newport. He was one of a family of twelve, which included Richard Clarke Sewell, legal writer [q. v.], William Sewell, divine [q. v.], Henry Sewell, first premier of New Zealand [q. v.], and Elizabeth Missing Sewell [q. v. Suppl. II], authoress. Admitted a scholar of Winchester College in 1821, James became a probationary fellow of New College, Oxford, in 1827, and a full fellow in 1829. He graduated B.A. in 1832, proceeding M.A. in 1835, B.D. and D.D. in 1860, and was ordained deacon in 1834 and priest in 1836. Except for a few months in 1834-5, when he was curate to Archdeacon Heathcote [q. v.] at Hursley, he resided in New College from 1827 to his death in 1903. He filled successively every office in the college, and in 1860 was elected warden. He took a large part in university affairs, was the first secretary of the Oxford local examinations delegacy, and from 1874 to 1878 was vice-chancellor. He actively aided in the preservation and arrangement of the MS. records in the library of the college. The chief share in the growth of New College during his long wardenship is to be attributed to his colleagues, but Sewell loyally accepted changes which did not commend themselves to his own judgment. It was largely owing to him that there was no break in the continuity of college tradition and feeling, and that older generations of Wykehamists were reconciled to the reforms made by successive commissions and by the college itself, Sewell died unmarried in the warden's lodgings. New College, on 29 January 1903, and was buried in the cloisters of the college. A portrait by Sir Hubert von Herkomer (which has been engraved) hangs in the hall of New College. A cartoon portrait by 'Spy' appeared in 'Vanity Fair' in 1894. Sewell compiled a list of the wardens and fellows of New College, with notes on their careers; the MS. is preserved in the college library.
[The Sewells of the Isle of Wight, by Mountague Charles Owen (privately printed); Rashdall and Rait's New College (Oxford College Histories); New College, 1856-1906, by Hereford B. George, 1906.]
R. S. R.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Sergeant, Lewis

​SERGEANT, LEWIS (1841–1902), journalist and author, son of John Sergeant, who was at one time a schoolmaster at Cheltenham, by his wife Mary Anne, daughter of George Lewis, was born at Barrow-on-Humber, Lincolnshire, on 10 Nov. 1841. Adeline Sergeant [q. v. Suppl. II.] was Lewis's first cousin, being daughter of Richard Sergeant, his father's brother.
Lewis, after education under a private tutor, matriculated at St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, in 1861, graduating B.A. with mathematical honours in 1865. At the union he distinguished himself as an ardent liberal and supporter of Mr. Gladstone. On leaving college, after a period as assistant master under Dr. Hayman at Cheltenham grammar school, he took to journalism, becoming editor, in succesion, of 'An anti-Game Law Journal,' of the 'Examiner,' and of the 'Hereford Times.' He was afterwards long connected with the 'Athenæum' and with the London 'Daily Chronicle' as leader writer. He became meanwhile a recognised authority on education, was elected to the council of the College of Preceptors, and edited the 'Educational Times' from 1895 to 1902.
Deeply interested in modern Greece, he worked zealously in Greek interests. From 1878 onwards he acted as hon. secretary of the Greek committee in London. He published 'New Greece' in the same year (republished 1879), and ’Greece' in 1880. There followed 'Greece in the Nineteenth Century: a Record of Hellenic Emancipation and Progress, 1821–1897,' with illustrations, in 1897. King George of Greece bestowed on him the Order of the Redeemer in October 1878.
Sergeant's historical writings covered a wide ground, and include:
* 'England's Policy: its Traditions and Problems,' Edinburgh, 1881.
* 'William Pitt,' in 'English Political Leaders ' series, 1882.
* 'John Wyclif,' in 'Heroes of the Nations' series, 1893.
* 'The Franks' in 'Story of the Nations' series, 1898.
He also wrote a volume of verse; a novel, ’The Caprice of Julia' (1898); and other fiction pseudonymously. Sergeant died at Bournemouth on 3 Feb. 1902. He married on 12 April 1871 Emma Louisa, daughter of James Robertson of Cheltenham, and left, with other children, an elder son, Philip Walsingham Sergeant, author of historical biographies.
[The Times, 4 Feb. 1902; Athenæum, 8 Feb. 1902; Sphere (with portrait), 8 Feb. 1902; Who's Who, 1901; Hatton's Journalistic London, 1882; private information.]
C. F. S.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Severn, Walter

​SEVERN, WALTER (1830–1904), water-colour artist, born at Frascati, near Rome, on 12 Oct. 1830, was eldest son of Joseph Severn [q. v.] by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Archibald, Lord Montgomerie. His brother Arthur became a distinguished landscape painter, and his sister Mary, who married Sir Charles Newton [q. v. Suppl. I], was a clever figure painter. Walter was sent in 1843 with his brother Arthur to Westminster School, and from an early age showed a fondness for art. In 1852 he entered the civil service, and was for thirty-three years an officer in the education department. Meanwhile he took a lively interest in varied branches of art. In 1857, with his friend, Charles Eastlake [q. v. Suppl. II], he started the making of art furniture. In 1865 he made a vigorous effort to resuscitate the almost forgotten craft of art needlework and embroidery, for skill in which he earned medals in South Kensington and much encouragement from Ruskin. But his leisure was chiefly devoted to landscape painting in water-colours. Fifty of his water-colours were exhibited in 1874 at Agnew's Gallery in Bond Street. The most popular of his works, 'Our Boys,' circulated widely in an engraving. He also made illustrations for Lord Houghton's poem 'Good Night and Good Morning' in 1859. In 1861 he published an illustrated Prayer Book, and in 1865 an illustrated calendar. In 1865 Severn instituted the Dudley Gallery Art Society. The Old Water-colour Society had lately rejected his brother Arthur when he applied for membership. The Institute of Painters in Water-colours also seemed to Severn too exclusive. He accordingly called a meeting of fifty artists at his brother's house, when Tom Taylor [q. v.], art critic of 'The Times,' took the chair, and the Dudley Gallery Art Society was the outcome. Exhibitions were held annually at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly until its demolition in 1909, when they were continued in the new building erected on the site of the hall. The artists who sent pictures included Albert and Henry Moore, George Leslie, Burne-Jones, and Watts. The merit of the Dudley Society's exhibitions led the Institute of Painters in Water-colours in 1883 to elect several of its members 'en bloc,' including Severn's brother Arthur, but not himself. Severn was elected president of the Dudley Society in 1883, and held office till his death on 22 Sept. 1904 at Earl's Court Square.
Examples of Severn's work are at the National Galleries of Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide, There is a portrait of him painted by C. Perugini.
He married on 28 Dec. 1866 Mary Dalrymple, daughter of Sir Charles Dalrymple Fergusson, fifth baronet, by whom he had five sons and one daughter.
[William Sharp's Life and Letters of Joseph Severn; Gordon's Life of Dean Buckland; The Times, 23 Sept. 1904; private information.]
F. W. G-n.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Daft, Richard

​DAFT, RICHARD (1835–1900), cricketer, was born at Nottingham on 2 Nov. 1835, and learned cricket as a boy from George Butler and Harry Hall, both old county players. Daft commenced his career as an amateur in 1857, and played for the gentlemen in 1858, when he received a prize bat; but from the close of that year he commenced to play as a professional for Nottinghamshire, which county he served regularly until 1881. He was probably at his best between 1861 and 1876, and in the early seventies he had no superior but Dr. W. G. Grace. His most creditable scores include 118 for the North v. the South at Lord's in 1862 (without 'giving the ghost of a chance'), 111 at Old Trafford in 1867 for the All England Eleven against the United and the bowling of George Freeman, 102 for the Players in 1872, and 161 for Nottinghamshire v. Yorkshire at Trent Bridge in June 1873. He captained the Nottingham team for nine years, after the retirement of George Parr [q. v.], and maintained the high position of his county. In 1879 he took a team composed of some of the best Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire professionals to Canada and the United States.
He was in his early days an extremely fine field, and after relinquishing first-class cricket he often made enormous scores as an amateur against good players. In 1891 he was induced once more (as substitute for Shrewsbury) to represent Nottinghamshire at the Oval, and also played for his county at Clifton and Trent Bridge. As a batsman he was distinguished for elegance and style.
Tall and well proportioned, he held himself remarkably well, and 'utilised every inch of his height.' He held the bat 'lightly as regards the left hand, putting great pressure on the handle with the forefinger of his right.
His style of play was without the slightest suspicion of flourish. The easy way he would play back at a good length ball on the off-stump was worth going miles to see. Willsher once said to me, "When Richard plays that ball I always feel as if he said, 'If that's all you can do, Ned, you'd better put somebody else on at once'"' (Caffyn, Seventy-one Not Out, 1899, p. 129). In a period when matches were fewer and pitches far more uncertain than at present, Daft never scored a thousand runs during a season; but in 1867 and again in 1870 he had an average over fifty, while in 1867 he attained an average of sixty-seven. In his last years he often stood umpire, and in 1893 he issued his interesting recollections under the title 'Kings of Cricket,' to which was prefixed an essay by Mr. Andrew Lang. Daft retired to the native place of his old captain, George Parr, at Radclyffe-on-Trent, where he had a small brewery. There he died on 18 July 1900, leaving two sons.
T. S.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Dacre (1814-1892)

​DACRE, twenty-third Baron. [See Brand, Sir Henry Bouverie William, 1814–1892.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Cynric

​CYNRIC (d. 560?), king of the Gewissas or West Saxons, the son of Cerdic [q. v.], is said to have landed with Cerdic at Cerdicsora, at the mouth of the Itchen, in 495, to have taken part in his battles, and with him to have been raised to the kingship in 519. Some genealogies, however, make him the son of Creoda, who is represented as the son of Cerdic, and this would remove the difficulty as to the length of life attributed to him by the generally accepted record. It has been suggested that his name may be 'an abstraction from the establishment of the cynerice' or kingship (Plummer). He is said to have succeeded his father Cerdic in 534, and to have reigned twenty-six years. After the battle of Mount Badon in 520, the progress landward of the West Saxons has been supposed to have been checked for some thirty years, during which they are pictured lying quiet 'within the limits of our Hampshire' (Green). Be this as it may, in 552 Cynric is said to have fought with the Britons at the place called Searobyrig, or Old Sarum, and to have put them to flight; ​he probably stormed the fortress. He again fought with them in 556, in conjunction with his son Ceawlin at Beranbyrig, probably Barbury camp in Wiltshire. Of this battle Henry of Huntingdon gives an account, which of course cannot be accepted as historical. Cynric is said to have died in 560, and to have been succeeded by Ceawlin. That he also had a son who is called Cutha rests on as good authority as we have. A third son, Ceowulf, has also been given him, but it seems probable that he was the son of Cutha. That Cuthwulf was a son of Cynric seems not to rest on good authority.
There are, however, so many apparent discrepancies between the pedigrees of the early descendants of Cerdic that it is dangerous to speak dogmatically on the subject.
W. H.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement/Cussans, John Edwin

​CUSSANS, JOHN EDWIN (1837–1899), antiquary, born in Plymouth 30 Oct. 1837, claimed descent from the family of De Cusance or Cusancia, settled in Burgundy in the thirteenth century. Upon the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685, Thomas de Cusance, son of Claude and Isabella de Fontenoy his wife, left France and settled first in Hampshire and then in Jamaica. Cussans, who claimed descent from this Thomas de Cusance, was the fifth child of Thomas Cussans, who had been a lieutenant in the Madras horse artillery, by his wife Matilda Ann (Goodman). After education at North Hill School, Plymouth, he entered a commercial house, in connection with which he visited America (1858) and Russia (1861). After his marriage in 1863 he became a professed author and devoted the best part of his life to heraldic and genealogical studies. In both these departments he achieved work of lasting value. His first work, 'The Grammar of Heraldry, with the Armorial Bearings of all the Landed Gentry in England prior to the Sixteenth Century' (London, 1866, 8vo), was followed in 1869 by his better-known 'Handbook of Heraldry … with Instructions for tracing Pedigrees and deciphering Manuscripts,' a book remarkable for its attractive clearness (London, 8vo, several editions). In the meantime Cussans, who established his home in the north of London, had commenced those studies into the genealogical and other antiquities of Hertfordshire which resulted, after fifteen years' labour, in the completion of his most important work, 'A History of Hertfordshire, containing an account of the Descents of the various Manors, Pedigrees of Families, Antiquities, Local Customs, &c.' (Hertford, 16 parts forming three folio volumes, 1870-81). Cussans's work is an important supplement to the existing histories of Chauncey and Clutterbuck. The preface was dated from 4 Wyndham Crescent, Junction Road, London, on Christmas day 1880. Cussans subsequently moved to 46 St. John's Park, Upper Holloway, where he died on 11 Sept. 1899. From 1881 to 1897 Cussans had been secretary of the Anglo-Californian Bank in Austin Friars. He married, on 10 March 1863, Emma Prior, second surviving daughter of John Ward of Hackney, by whom he left eight children.
[Times, 12 and 15 Sept. 1899; Antiquary, October 1899; Athenæum, 1899, ii. 303; Hertfordshire Mercury, 23 Sept. 1899; private information; Cussans's works in British Museum.]
T. S.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Trevor, Richard

1904 Errata appended.
​TREVOR, RICHARD (1707–1771), successively bishop of St. David's and of Durham, born on 30 Sept. 1707, was second surviving son of Thomas Trevor, baron Trevor of Bromham [q. v.], by his second wife, Anne, daughter of Colonel Robert Weldon, and widow of Sir Robert Bernard, bart. Richard was educated at Bishop Stortford in Hertfordshire, and afterwards at Westminster school. On 6 July 1724 he matriculated from Queen's College, Oxford, graduating B.A. on 13 May 1727 and M.A. on 28 Jan. ​1730–1. In November 1727 he was elected a fellow of All Souls' College. In 1732 his half-brother, Sir John Bernard, presented him to the living of Houghton with Wilton in Huntingdonshire, and on 8 Nov. 1735 he was appointed a canon of Christ Church, retaining his prebend till 1752. On 10 June 1736 he proceeded to the degree of D.C.L., and on 1 April 1744 he was consecrated bishop of St. David's, whence he was elected to the see of Durham on 9 Nov. 1752. In 1759 he competed for the office of chancellor of Oxford University against George Henry Lee, third earl of Lichfield [q. v.] and John Fane, seventh earl of Westmorland [q. v.], and had the advantage of his competitors singly, but was defeated by Lichfield giving his interest to Westmoreland. Trevor died unmarried at Bishop Auckland in Durham on 9 June 1771, and was buried at Glynde in Sussex. He was a munificent patron of merit, a man of considerable learning and exceptional benevolence. By his will he left large sums for charitable purposes. A monument was erected to him in the antechapel at Auckland. His portrait, drawn by Robert Hutchinson and engraved in 1776 by Joseph Collyer, was prefixed to a memoir by George Allan [q. v.] published in that year. A portrait in oils is preserved at Glynde Place near Lewes, the seat of Viscount Hampden. Trevor was the author of several published sermons.
E. I. C.
Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p.268 N.B.— f.e. stands for from end and l.l. for last line
| Page | Col. | Line | |
| 226 | i | 19 | Trevor, Richard: for Bishop's Auckland read Bishop Auckland |
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Trigge, Francis

​TRIGGE, FRANCIS (1547?–1606), divine and economic writer, was born about 1547. He matriculated from University College, Oxford, in 1564, graduating B.A. on 16 Feb. 1568–9 and M.A. on 12 May 1572. After taking priest's orders he was appointed rector of Welbourn in Lincolnshire some time before 1589. While in Lincolnshire Trigge devoted considerable attention to the economic state of the country. In 1594 he published ‘A Godly and Fruitfull Sermon preached at Grantham in 1592 by Francis Trigge’ (Oxford, 1594, 8vo), in which he reproved the commercial morality of the time. The treatise contains interesting particulars of the condition of agriculture and commerce in Lincolnshire. This was followed in 1604 by a work entitled ‘To the King's most excellent Majestie. The Humble Petition of two Sisters, the Church and Common-wealth. For the restoring of their ancient Commons and Liberties’ (London, 1604, 8vo), which contained a vehement protest against the enclosure of common lands and against the conversion of arable land into pasture. Trigge not only denounced the moral turpitude of such proceedings, but pointed out forcibly the detriment inflicted on the state by the diminution and impoverishment of the country population. He also sought to prove that the action of the lords of the manor was unconstitutional (cf. Cheyney, Social Changes in England in the Sixteenth Century, pt. i. passim). Trigge died in 1606 at Welbourn and was buried in the chancel of the church. He married a daughter of Elizabeth Hussey ‘of Hunnington,’ probably the widow of John Hussey of Harrington (Metcalfe, Visitation of Lincolnshire, p. 69). Besides certain benefactions to the poor of Grantham, Trigge bequeathed a valuable collection of books for the use of the town. They were kept in a chamber over the south porch of Grantham church, and on the wall of the library were formerly some verses recording the gift (Street, Notes on Grantham, 1857, p. 157).
Besides the works mentioned, Trigge was the author of:
* ‘An Apologie or Defence of our dayes against the vaine murmurings and complaints of manie. Wherein is … proved that our dayes are more happie … than the dayes of our forefathers’ (London, 1589, 4to), a eulogy of the Reformation.
* ‘Noctes Sacræ seu Lucubrationes in primam partem Apocalypseos,’ Oxford, 1590, 4to.
* ‘Analysis Capitis Vicesimi Quarti Evangelii secundum Matthæum,’ Oxford, 1591, 4to.
* ‘A Touchstone whereby may easilie be discerned which is the true Catholike Faith,’ London, 1599 and 1600, 4to.
* ‘The true Catholique, formed according to the Truth of the Scriptures, and the Faith of the ancient Fathers,’ London, 1602, 4to.
Wood also assigns to him
An unpublished work entitled ‘Considerationes de authoritate Regis, et Jurisdictione Episcopali, et iterum de Cæremoniis et Liturgia Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ,’ is among the Harleian manuscripts (No. 4063).
[Wood's Athenæ Oxon. ed. Bliss, i. 759; Foster's Alumni Oxon. 1500–1714; Ames's Typogr. Antiq. ed. Herbert, pp. 1175, 1405; Madan's Early Oxford Press (Oxford Hist. Soc.), pp. 30, 31, 37, 38.]
E. I. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Trimmer, Joshua

​TRIMMER, JOSHUA (1795–1857), geologist, the eldest son of Joshua Kirkby Trimmer, was born at North Cray in Kent on 11 July 1795. When he was about four years old his parents removed to Brentford, Middlesex, to be near his grandmother, Mrs. Sarah Trimmer [q. v.], the authoress. The child spent much time in her company, and she had great influence in forming his character. From 1806 he was instructed by William Davison, curate of New Brentford, and at the age of nineteen was sent to North Wales to manage a copper-mine for his father. Afterwards he was in charge of a farm in Middlesex, but returned in 1825 to oversee some slate-quarries near Bangor and Carnarvon. As he had been always fond of natural history, these occupations turned his thoughts especially to geology, and during his stay in North Wales he made the important discovery that sands containing marine-fossils of existing species lie under a boulder clay almost on the summit of Moel Tryfaen, fully 1,350 feet above sea level. Quitting Wales about 1840 he was for some time employed upon the geological survey of England, but after that spent the remainder of his life in Kent, residing, at any rate for part of the time, at Faversham.
Trimmer was elected a fellow of the Geological Society in 1832, and in 1841 published a book entitled 'Practical Geology and Mineralogy;' he was also, according to the Royal Society's catalogue, the author of twenty-four papers. These, as might be expected from his interest in agriculture, related chiefly to the more superficial deposits of the earth's crust, in the classification of which he made important advances, distinguishing them into northern drift and warp drift; dividing the former and older into a lower or boulder clay, and an upper sand and gravel; and showing that the more widely distributed warp drift rests on an eroded surface of one of these deposits or of some older rock, and is in immediate connection with the surface soil. Owing to his intimate knowledge of these subjects his advice on questions of drainage, planting, and the more scientific aspects of agriculture was much valued. While engaged in writing a book on the geology of agriculture he died, unmarried, in London on 16 Sept. 1857.
T. G. B.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wrightsland, Lord

​WRIGHTSLAND, Lord. [See Craig, Sir Lewis, 1569–1622.]