Ossian Collection > Gentleman's magazine, and historical chronicle > Volume 66, Part 2

5'|>2 Ohiiuary of remarkable Per Jons \ with Biographical Anecdoleu [Sep
val, (lied inflfiiilly. Fr(^m his Ltl.sr, Mr.
R. had inlierittxt a Urgfc c:if)ital,,anc! a con-
fiileraHe biif)n«fs in tlie line of Enft-lncia
Clipping. Neither bis fortnr.s nor his bii-
fuiefs weie known to have besn in tlic
fraalleft det^ree dimiiiiJlied, aiu! his cie.iit
was equal to tiiat of any ma-i in iKe ciiy.
A few yeai s- fitice, when the houfe of Bur-
ton and Forbes lloppwi, his property, or
his corarnand of monoy, was fuch, that he
was one of four who oflibred a loan of
5o,oc.rl. each to fave ihem.
At Stoice Newington, in his 78(h year,
Mr. Joiiii Field, niai^y yea;'; an eminent
apothecary in Kcwgate ftrcet. Of a man
fa greatly efteemed by an extenftve circle
of relations and friends, ne prefunne a
fliort hiographicfll Iketch will not be unsc-
ceptahle. He was defcended from aii an-
tient- fan>ily of that name, wi'.o had been
long fettled in the Noitli-wert parts of
Hertfordihlrc. His grandfatlier (tlie com-
mon anceflor of a numerous familv, now
refiding chiefly in London) was Thomas
Field, of CocKernhoe, a gei-tleinan farmer,
who lived upon, and f.'rn:ed, his own
lands. His father xvas John Fit-Id, an apo
thecary in New^ate-ftreet, who died about
tl>e year 1740. His mother was lilizaheth
Waters, the daughter cf a refpedlab'.e
Iradclir.an in that neighbouihiiod. He was
born Der. 17 iS, in the pai nh oT Chrift-
chureh, London ; and, being the eldeft fon,
was educated in his father's, pr feflion, b-.il,
he dying when he was judged too young to
c*Ty on the bufuiefs alone, !ie entered into
partnerfhip with Mr. S'.mnel !.atham> apo-
thecary, in thef'.roe flrect, who had ferved
an apprenticclhip with his dsceafed i.Htber.
ThSy continued together nntil the year
1754; when Mr. Latham, liaving been long
in an ill (late of health, and having acquired
aneafycorapetetice, retired. Mr.F. continued
from that time to follow lii^ pnifeSional du-
ties with diligencf and approbation until the
year 1786, when he reiinuuif'hed t!ie f-
tigues of a labodous ami anxious pratcffion.
The evening of h's life was palfed at Stoke
KewingtoK, where lie had occafu;nally
refiJed fonie years before, !anJ in which
jilace he <li>'d full of years, leaving to an
afflidled widow ."and children an example
of fincere religion without enthufialm,
csconomy and frugality devoid of me.annefs
and" parlimony, diligence and fuccefs in
the ali'airs of life untainted with avarice,
and every where accompaniad with the
fln6le!i 'integrity and uprigi>tocfs. His
religious- profeffion was t^:.t of the Pro-
leftant pilknters ; but liis conduct in life
would have done honour to a;:; church.
Notwithftanding hi;, metlical engagements,
he found leisure to attend to feveral p'aWic
concerns. The Society of Apothecaries of
London, of which he had long been a
mtn.her, fotind him fingularly aftive and
uicful in the conduct of tlieir ex'enfive
J.
pharmaceiiti :al undertakings, and particu-
larly in that dspavtment whofe chief defijn
is the providing meilicines for the uyal
navy. He was alfo a very a<5f ive and tiiii-
pent member of the Committee at St. Luke's
hofpitaL K'Jt the ini^itition which lay
neareft to his heart, and to wliich he had,
from the firft formaiion of ir, devoted a
confidvsr.^ble portion of his time, wj.^ ihe
London Ann iity booiety for the benefit (i|
Widows, of v^hich lie was the fir(t mem-
ber, and indeed the principal founder.
This So^iesy was Cilabhlhed in the year
1765, am! lie liad t)ie haiipinefsof living 1,1
fee It flouiilh in a deg:ee e;:ceeding tils
moft fanguine txpedlations. Their capita!,
as appears from tlie laft annual repurt,
amounts to 89,000!. 3 -p.r ecu:. Go\ ernment
Annuity (befides their lioufe and unices
ill Old Fifh-llrfiet), and tne number of
widows ii'i, receiving annually 2;8731.
He had collected a great many curiojs pa-
pers from different qnarteis ujion the pro-
bability of life in ordsr to enable him to
form the rules for his focieiy. Odh \,
1753, '1* marriec', at Edmniton, Anne,
daughter of Thomas Cronuteii, grocer, on
Snow-hi!!, and great grand d.uighter of
Henry Cromwell, fome time lord deputy .
of IreluKi, f^icond 'on of the protetlor
Oliver*-, by whom he had 7 fons and
5 daughters : Henry, born Sept. 29, 1755,
an apoihpcary m London, fuccsffor to'hij
father, married, r7S4, Eflli^r l^aron j .
JoSn, born 1760, ditd 1762 ; Oliver, bora.
I 761, Luen draper at Woicefter; John,
born 1764, a maihematical inftrumeiitt
maker, now cornfaclor at Hammerfmith;
William, b* rn 1768, educated firll at the
old indspendentCalviniftic academy at Ho-
mer-ton, tranflated to Hackney, ordained
by Dr. Pricflley and Mr. Behham a Dif-
fenting mini<^er at Warwick. (Sec his Let,
ters to t!ie Inhabitants of W arwii,k, and .
Remarks on, LXl. 1220); Thonia'j, born
1770, died J771 ; ■ born and died
1773 ; Anne, married May 24, 1787,
Gwinntl, of Woicelter, cork-cutter,
and had two children who died inf.ints, and
are buried in a vault made for the family
in Cheffcunt church-yard, and two living;
Elizabttt', born 1758, died 17S6; Sophia,
Mary, Letitia, all unnjanied. Mr. F. was
bnr ed, Sept. 6, in the vault with his fs-.
cond daughter, in Cheflmnt church-yaid-
In his 75th year, Mr. Richard ^'ace,
npwards of 50 years an eminent pei uke-
maker at.Oxforvl, but who had retired
from bufinels fume time.
After a lingering illnefs, in his 69th year,
Mr. Ba'em.ai, Ic.n. boolifeller, in Devon-i
ftiire Itreef, Qiieen-fquare.
At Gorliambury, co. Hertford, in Iiis
79th year, John Alkcll Bucknall, efq. of
* Se'e Noble's Memoirs of Cromwell,
II. 230, 2d eJ<