The Life of William Roscoe
Chapter XIII. 1812-1815
Samuel Parr to William Roscoe, [Autumn 1815]
“And now, dear Sir, I must entreat you and Mrs. Roscoe to accept my warm and unfeigned
thanks for the hospitable and friendly reception with which you honoured me at
Allerton. To the latest hour of my life shall I remember my tour with joy, and
even triumph. Within the same space of. time never was so much happiness,
intellectual and moral, crowded upon my mind. Within the same circuit of space
I never met with so many enlightened and interesting companions. As I lay great
stress on all the little courtesies which endear man to man, I beg you will
remember me, in strong terms of tenderness and respect, to Mrs. and Misses
Roscoe, and your sons; to Mr. and Mrs. Martin, and
their little ones; to Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd; to Dr. Bostock, Dr. Traill,
&c. &c. &c.”
John Bostock (1772-1846)
Educated under Joseph Priestley at Hackney and at Edinburgh University, he was a
Liverpool physician and from 1817 a medicinal chemist in London.
Frances Julia Martin [née Smith] (1776-1854)
The daughter of the Norwich wool merchant James Smith (1727-1795) and sister of the
botanist Sir James Edward Smith; in 1804 she married the Liverpool merchant Thomas Martin
(1769-1850).
Thomas Martin (1769-1850)
Educated at Hackney College, he was a Liverpool merchant and pamphleteer who was a member
of William Roscoe's circle. He married a sister of Roscoe's botanical friend, Sir James
Edward Smith.
Jane Roscoe [née Griffies] (1757-1824)
The daughter of William Griffies, a Liverpool linen-draper; in 1781 she married the poet
and historian William Roscoe.
Frances Shepherd [née Nicholson] (d. 1829)
The daughter of Robert Nicholson, Liverpool merchant; in 1792 she married the Unitarian
minister William Shepherd. They had no children.
William Shepherd (1768-1847)
Educated at the dissenting academies at Daventry and the New College, Hackney, he was a
Unitarian minister and schoolmaster at Gateacre near Liverpool, a political radical, and
member of William Roscoe's literary circle.
Thomas Stewart Traill (1781-1862)
Educated at Edinburgh University, he was a Liverpool physician and associate of William
Roscoe before being regius professor of medical jurisprudence at Edinburgh in 1832.
