Volume 1
A catalogue of the manuscripts preserved in the British Museum hitherto undescribed: consisting of five thousand volumes; including the collections of Sir Hans Sloane, bart., the Rev. Thomas Birch, D.D / By Samuel Ayscough, clerk.
- Samuel Ayscough
- Date:
- 1782
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A catalogue of the manuscripts preserved in the British Museum hitherto undescribed: consisting of five thousand volumes; including the collections of Sir Hans Sloane, bart., the Rev. Thomas Birch, D.D / By Samuel Ayscough, clerk. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![After he had done fo much to perpetuate the memory of others, I fliall take the liberty of adding fomething to the account given of him in the^ Biographia Britannica^, I found * The writers of the Biographia Britannica were led into a miflake refpefling the time of Dr. Birch’s going into orders, by a copy of Dean Smedley’s letter, recommending him- to a Bifhop as a proper perfon for it. He was ordained deacon by the Bifhop of Salilbury, at King-ilreet Chape], Jan. 17, 1730, and priell by the fame Bifhop, Dec. 21, 1731, as appears by his letters of orders; fo that he could not be curate to his wife’s father when he marrieil, as he did not go into orders until a year and a half after her death. I do not fnd any mention of his wife’s name, though there are two letters from her to him before their marriage, but without fignature. A puerperal fever was not the foie caufe of her death, as Ihe had fuffered the various gradations of a regular confumption, though child- bearing brought on the dreadful criiis. He was prefented at the fame time to the reftory of Siddington St. Mary, and the vi- carage of biddington St. Peter. I'he letter from Dr. Blackwell, Primarius ProfelTor Theologiae, to Dr. Birch, informing him of the diploma of D. D. being paffed, is dated Marifchall College, Aberdeen, Feb. 15, 1753; the diploma is dated Feb. 14. (M. A. diploma dated prid. kal. Nov. 1735-) Dr. Birch has added the following note under the letter : N. B. I received this letter the beginning of March. The Archbifhop of Canterbury, Mar. 8, 1753, ordered his fecretary to prepare a faculty for conferring on me the degree of D. D. I took the oaths, March 9, and the 13th the faculty palled the Ctreat Seal. In refpedl to his literary purfuits, I lhall mention only a few additions, chiefly extrafled from a fmall pocket-book. The lirll; mentioned in the Biographia is in 1732. In this pocket-book 1 And mentioned in 1726 A Latin tranflation of Hughes’s Ode to the Creator. 1727 Verfes on the General Hiftory of Printing. Publifliing the General Hiflory of Printing, Colleflions for Smedley’s View. 1728 Abelard to Philintas.. 1732 Began the General Hiftory. 1739 Account of Alga. Publilhed In the Works of the Learned for July. Account of Milton. Publilhed in the Works of the Learned. Began and finifned feveral articles in letter W. in the General Dictionary. 1741 Wrote the Letter of Cleander to Smerdis, in the Athenian Letters. J742 Wrote’an account of Mr. Orr’s Sermon, in the Works of the Learned.. 1743 Wrote the preface to Boyle’s works. 1760 By a letter from Dr. Stonhoufe, it appears, that he wrote the life of the Rev. Mr. James Hervey, which is prefixed to his works. Befldes thefe writings, not taken notice of, we find the DoCtor employed in correcting a great number of publications. At the time of the DoClor’s death,, he had prepared for the prefs a colleClion of letters, to which he had given the following- title : ‘‘ Hiftorical Letters, written in the reigns of fames I. and Charles!, containing a detail of the public tranfaCtions and events in Great- Britain during that period ; with a variety of particulars not mentioned by our hiftorians. Now firft publilhed from the originals in the Britilh Mufeum, Paper Oflice, and private ♦ colleClions.” More particularly deferibed at p. 182 of the Catalogue. Should thefe letters appear defirable to the public, I lhall have no objeClion to undertake the publication of them, as foon as I could be alTured of my being re-imburfed the expences. Therefore](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29001109_0001_0009.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
