 Sidney Swinney letter to Lord George Townshend
Collection DescriptionHistorical NoteSidney Swinney (1721-1783) was a Church of England clergyman and author. He was born at Pontefract, Yorkshire and was one of the five children of the Irish soldier Major Matthew Swinney (b. 1681) and Mary Kitchingham. Little is known of his family history and early life. He was educated at Eton college and at Clare College, Cambridge, where he received a BA in 1744, a MA in 1749 and a DD in 1763. He was ordained a priest of the Church of England on 22 September 1745 and became curate of Swillington, Yorkshire, in the same year. Matthew Swinney had enjoyed a distinguished military career, and as a reward for his services his son Sidney was granted a chaplaincy in the British army. Swinney served as chaplain during the Seven Years' War (1756-63), participating in the British army's campaigns in Germany. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - Sidney Swinney (1721-1783). http://www.oxforddnb.com (Retrieved June 23, 2009) George Townsend, the first Marquess Townshend (1724-1807) was a politician and caricaturist. He was born on 28 February 1724 in London, England. The eldest son of Charles Townshend, third viscount Townshend (1700-1764) and his wife Etheldrelda Townshend (c. 1708-1788), the daughter and sole heir of Edward Harrison of Balls Park, Hertfordshire. George I was one of the sponsors at his baptism, at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, 25 March 1725. The future chancellor of the exchequer Charles Townshend was his younger brother. He was educated at Eton College and St. John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a MA on 3 July 1749. Regarded by contemporaries as a very handsome man, Townshend is described by Sir Lewis Namier as "warm hearted, sensitive and capable of enthusiasms, but unsteady and odd, intermittently ambitious, often disgruntled, quarrelsome, lacking in judgement, and burdened with an unsuperable urge to ridicule, the resort of the intelligent under oppression." Oxford Dictionary of National Bibliography - George Townshend. http://www.oxforddnb.come (Retrieved June 23, 2009) Scope and ContentThe collection consists of a letter written by Sidney Swinney to Lord Townshend dated 8 March 1768 that mentions General Oglethorpe. There are also two accompanying letters dated 1923 which were between the donor of the Swinney letter, F. C. Winchester of Sussex, and the State Librarian, Maud B. Cobb. Administrative InformationPreferred CitationSidney Swinney letter to Lord George Townshend, ms2864, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject Terms | ||||||||||||||||||