William Boscawen (28 August 1752 – 8 May 1811) was an English barrister, author and translator.
Boscawen was a younger son of GeneralGeorge Boscawen and Anne Trevor, and nephew ofEdward Boscawen. His elder brother wasGeorge Boscawen, M.P. He was educated atEton College, under Dr. Barnard. He became a gentleman-commoner ofExeter College, Oxford, in 1770.[1][2]
In London Boscawen entered theMiddle Temple.[2] He studied law underFrancis Buller, and went the western circuit. He was appointed a commissioner in bankruptcy, and in 1785 was made aVictualling Commissioner.[1]
Boscawen died of asthma, atLittle Chelsea, aged 58.[1]
Boscawen published legal works includingTreatise on Convictions on Penal Statutes (1792). He translated works ofHorace: theOdes,Epodes,Carmen Seculare; then theSatires,Epistles, andArt of Poetry. His notes owed much toJohn Foster, of Eton College.[1]Thomas James Mathias was scathing about his ability as translator.[3]
In the period 1798 to 1801, Boscawen published original poems and other works. He was also a contributor to theGentleman's Magazine, and to theBritish Critic. For a long time he wrote annual verses for theLiterary Fund.[1]
With his wife, Charlotte Ibbetson, daughter of the Rev.James Ibbetson, Boscawen had five daughters.[1] They were:[4]
His surviving daughters became heiresses to theTrevalyn Hall estate inDenbighshire of his mother, when his elder brotherGeorge died childless in 1833. Elizabeth Mary Griffith resided there, and was mother to Boscawen Trevor Griffith (born 1835).[6]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1886). "Boscawen, William".Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 5. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
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