Draft:David Coulton

• Comment: Please see Draft talk:David Coulton#Trivia. Hoary (talk) 02:36, 11 October 2024 (UTC)

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David Trevena Coulton (3 Oct 1810—8 May 1857) was an author, newspaper proprietor and editor.

Early Life:

David Trevena Coulton was born on the 3rd of October 1810 in Devizes, Wiltshire. He was the youngest of the four children of bookseller & author.. James Trevena Coulton & Sophia Pain (daughter of a tripe dealer) who were married in 1799 at St Martin Outwich, London. Their other three children were: 1804 tragedian and theatre manager Edwin Trevena Coulton (AKA Edwin Holmes), 1808 author Sophia Coulton, and 1808 mercantile captain Philip Coulton.

"Owing to delicate health he was educated under a private tutor"

In May 1823 - At the age of 12, his father died in Kensington.

"At an early age he began to contribute both poetry and prose to the periodicals"

Founder of The Britannia newspaper:

He founded The Britannia newspaper, first published on 20 April 1839; the aim of which was to "extend and popularise the principles of conservatism as embodied in the institutions of the realm". From 1843 it was titled "The Britannia and Conservative Journal". In 1855/6 it was merged with John Bull.

His address in the 1841 Post Office register was 12 New Inn, Strand, London.

"As a journalist, while a close reasoner, he possessed considerable skill in the popular exposition of complex questions."

"In 1847 he withdrew from active journalism".

On 18 Apr 1848 his mother died aged 72 years of influenza, bronchitis & pneumonia at 1 Claremont Place, Lambeth, and at the same address in

His sister Sophia was close to John Gillyatt Booth and receive an annuity of £600 in his will.

On 31 March 1851 - Brother Philip died of apoplexy at 2, Loudoun Place, North Brixton - Mercantile captain

Marriage and move to Goudhurst, Kent:

At the age of 39, on 22 Apr 1850 he was licensed to marry five months pregnant Sarah BONIFACE, 10 years his junior by the Vicar General, and they married the following day in St Bride's church, Fleet Street. She was from Sidlesham in Sussex. The witnesses were Henry SMITH & Sarah GOOD.

0 he was licensed to marry five months pregnant Sarah BONIFACE, 10 years his junior by the Vicar General, and they married the following day in St Bride's church, Fleet Street. She was from Siddlesham in Sussex. The witnesses were Henry SMITH & Sarah GOOD.

That year in 1850 David "sold The Britannia, and settled at Goudhurst, Kent, where he took to farming, occasionally contributing to the influential periodical Quarterly Review, often uncredited, works which included:

......

16 Oct 1850 - "Trevvy" born in Goudhurst.

30 March 1851 census - "Green Trees", Goudhurst, Kent - Critical Writer, Aujiying 12 of land

21 Nov 1852 - Son "Trevvy" dies in Bear St, Soho - Gentleman

He published an Inquiry into the Authorship of the Letters of Junius [QR: Dec. 1851, art. iv], proposing the author as the peer and Whig MP Thomas Lyttelton, 2nd Baron Lyttelton (1744-79). The 69 popular Letters of Junius, published from 1769-72 in London in Woodfall's "Public Advertiser" powerfully promoted civil liberties and denouncing the government. of Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton

In 1853 his novel "Fortune - A Romance of Life" later titled: "Fortune, A Story of London Life (in the nineteenth century)" was published.

On 27 Apr 1954 - his son Philip Beaumont Grunieson (27 Apr 1854-18 Feb 1939) was born.

MOVE TO WESTMINSTER

And the same year David moved into 22 Park Prospect, Great Queen Street, Westminster to be able to entertain adequately statesmen and leading literary figures. DISRAELI, DICKENS, THACKERAY and Bulwer LYTTON are mentioned. His daughter Irene writes that he spent a considerable sum on the purchase of the house and furnishing it. His sister Sophia must have lived there too.

22 Dec 1855 - will of John Gillyat(t) BOOTH died naming DTC as an executor in the will.

29 May 1856 - Daughter "Rene" born at 2 Park Prospect, Westminster.

Overwork and poor health caused his early death on the 8th of May 1857 at Brighton. He had gone to Macclesfield in cold weather three weeks earlier to collect the four orphan children of his brother Edwin who died on 17 April, and he had developed bronchitis. He was buried in the family vault at Norwood.

and having in 1850 sold the ‘Britannia’ he settled at Goudhurst, Kent, where he took to farming, occasionally contributing to the 'Quarterly Review'. He published ’An Inquiry into the Authorship of the Letters of Junius', and in 1853 a novel entitled 'Fortune, a story of London Life’.

SEVEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE:

On the 22nd of April 1850, two years after his mother had died, and at the age of 40, David was licensed by the Vicar General to marry the daughter of a Sussex bricklayer Sarah BONIFACE. They married the next day. Throughout her married life it seems Sarah tried very hard to hide her humble family background from her husband's family. She consistently declared her age to be four years less than her actual age. On her marriage certificate she declared her father to be builder and farmer Benjamin instead of journeyman-bricklayer William, and at her death her father was declared to be William-Charles. The signature on their marriage certificate appears competent. She was known to be close to her brothers and sisters, as she attended the mass christening of her brother Charles' children in Waterford, Ireland together with her sister Jane and brother William and his wife Rhoda in 1846.

David and Sarah's first son James Trevena "Trevy" (16 Oct 1850-21 Nov 1852) was born at Goudhurst, five months and 24 days after their marriage. The event was recorded in the Maidstone and South Eastern Gazette. David's daughter Irene wrote a letter:

“My father was a clever engineer. He built a small railway drawn by hydraulic power; he used to put Trevy in it and it ascended and descended in the easiest way; it appears Disraeli and other great statesmen were delighted with it."

Trevy died when only two in Soho and is buried in the family" vault at Norwood. The informant on Trevy's death certificate was Sarah NASH, presumably the same Sarah "Annie" NASH (born 1812) who moved with the family to Bourbourg.

An incomplete manuscript: "The Threshold of Life, or Friendly Counsels to Youth In a series of Familiar Letters", by D.T. Coulton; with related proofs. Date: Circa 1853. is held in the archives of John Murray publishing house

1854 THE PRESS

29 Aug 1854-8 May 1857 - Editor of weekly "The Press" (weekly circulation of 3,500) (2, Park Prospect, Great Queen St, Westminster, London). The Press was founded by Disraeli and ran from 7 May 1853 until sold in 1858. Far from being a strictly Conservative Party organ, The Press was rather, to use Disraeli’s words, ‘of a very progressive and enlightened design’. The contributors included Disraeli’s old friends George SMYTHE and Bulwer LYTTON, and Disraeli himself wrote many of the first leading articles, although he was in pains to continue his writing role in secret.

In the summer of 1853 appeared the Press newspaper, a weekly journal containing the usual number of leading articles and reviews of books, but combined with squibs, poetry, and humorous essays, after the manner of the Anti-Jacobin. The first editor is believed to have been Mr. Francis. He, however, was in a very short time succeeded by Mr. Samuel Lucas, and he in turn by David Trevena Coulton [qv.], who conducted the paper till his death in 1857, and in whom Disraeli reposed the greatest confidence. The first leading article in the first number was written by Disraeli himself, and the fifteenth earl of Derby, then Lord Stanley, was for a time a regular contributor. For their verses, dialogues, and comic articles in general, the management relied chiefly on Shirley Brooks [qv.]. But Disraeli himself continued to be the inspiring spirit of the paper down to 1858. He kept it constantly supplied with the best political information; and on Thursday afternoons he might often be seen coming out of Mr. Coulton's house in Little Queen Anne Street with the stealthy step and furtive glance of one who is on secret service. But governments are not to be written down any more than individuals, except by themselves; and what neither the logic nor the satire of the Press could perhaps have done for Lord Aberdeen, was done for him effectually by his good friend the emperor of Russia.

"On 21 August Sammuel LUCAS had reported his dismissal of George Henry FRANCIS (1817?-66) the Press accountant to take effect on 27 August. For ‘temporary exigencies,’ he had hired Coulton from 29 August with a view to permanent employment. On 26 August ‘a peaceful solution’ with Francis was reported, while Coulton would take over from Lucas. after a week's supervision. Disraeli approval left Lucas free to take a holiday from 13 September leaving Coulton in charge. This arrangement was confirmed in Lucas's letter of 12 September responding to Disraeli's ‘ltind letter of yesterday' (not found). ‘Francis', on the basis of a 28 May letter to Lucas about printer problems signed ‘G.H. Francis’, was George Henry Francis , who had written on Disraeli for Fraser's Magazine in 1847 and 1852 (expanded into ... A Critical Biography in 1852 - see Stewart Writing: 122 (#749)); presumably his is the name that has been left out in the catalogue's transcription. H B/Vl/177, 181b, 184, 187a, 188, 190, 191; Wellesly Index II 395., 415 (items 2280, 2289, 2933). Coulton's 1853 novel Fortune: A Romance of Life would be reviewed in the Press on 8 October (545-6).

Yielding to solicitations of friends, he undertook in 1854 to edit the 'Press’, devoting' himself” to his duties with remarkable vigour and energy. The strain of overwork was relieved by the recreation of mechanics in which he acquired considerable proficiency, and he invented a plan for an atmospheric railway. He died of bronchitis at Brighton 8 May 1857.”

The Life of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield" by Moneypenny and Buckle Vol III 1914 Edition John Murray, records:

“… yielded reluctantly to the importunities of Disraeli and others ... threw himself into the work with great vigour and energy ... Disraeli conceived and retained a very high opinion of him. Several years after his death he wrote of him to Rose: ‘Coulton was a powerful political writer, a true man of letters and of signal integrity ... always animated by a high sense of duty. He died in harness, writing the best articles in the Press newspaper, which, had he lived, would I think have been established as a powerful organ’."

The report continues that COULTON took the burden of writing the leading articles off DISRAELI's shoulders. He used to go to the House of Commons to talk to DISRAELI on Friday nights before writing these.

Up to February 1856 these communications were constant, and in its best days the paper seems to have had a circulation of up to 3,500, quite a considerable figure for a weekly journal at that time.

A letter exists from Lord Henry LENNOX 8 February 1857 on House of Commons paper addressed to the Editor of the Press:

“My Dear Coulton, ... I should ask permission, to express to you the success achieved by your Prussian article. It was quite admirable. The Austrian ambassador called it, “another of those grave and statesmanlike articles for which cette feuille is now so celebrated” ... Our friend was delighted with the number. Hoping your cold is better. Believe me yours very truly.”

On 17 April 1857 his brother the tragedian and theatre manager Edwin Trevena Coulton (AKA Edwin HOLMES) died in Macclesfield, leaving four orphans as his wife Suzannah had died the previous year. The children were: Adelaide Sophia (15y), Ambrose Lethbridge (10y), Sophia Philippa Booth (8y), Elisa Sarah (5y)

1857 FAMILY AFTER DEATH:

8 May 1857 - Died aged 47 of Bronchitis - 7 Royal Crescent, Brighton - Editor of the Press

ADMINISTRATION OF WILL

The administration of his will reads in shortened form:

5 June 1857: Administration of the Good Chattels and credits of David Trevena Coulton was granted to his sister Sophia; Sarah Coulton widow their mother having first renounced the letters of Admon ... and Guardianship of the said Infants to David's sister Sophia. £800.

This left David's sister, Sophia, at time age of 49 with, six young orphans to bring up. The fact that Sophie was 16 years older than Sarah could be a clue why David's wife Sarah did not take on the burden. Sarah has been described as “a homely admirable wife” and “she was sterner than Sophy and if she had lived perhaps Philip her son would have behaved better.” In her book “Our Farm of Four Acres”, Sophie referred to Sarah as her sister "H", and in her will Sophie states: “... I desire that if I die in Bourbourg aforesaid I may be buried in the Protestant Cemetary of Dunkirk by the side of Mrs Coulton …”

5 Jun 1857 - Administration - £800 - Gentleman Late of Park Prospect, Great Queen Street, Westminster Wife Sarah renounced the letters of administration of the goods of her ex-husband and the guardianship of her children 

Perhaps because of the Big Stink of 1858 by census time in 1861 Sophia had moved the family to the fashionable Waltham Holy Cross

     1857 - Moved to "Farm of Four Acres", 12 miles SW of London

census 1861 - 9 Green Yard West Side, Waltham Holy Cross, Middlesex - Annuitant. Wrote three books: "Our Farm of Four Acres and the money we made by it" (1859), "From Hay-Time to Hopping" (1860), "My Eldest Brother. A tale" (1861).

1 May 1860 - Guest at a dinner at Waltham House where Anthony Trollope was present.

2 Nov 1863 - Trollope

D.J. Coulton's incomplete manuscript dated circa 1853, "The Threshold of Life, or Friendly Counsels to Youth In a series of Familiar Letters", with related proofs was sent to the publisher John Murray

1849-71: CHANCERY PROCEEDINGS:

In his will of 20 Sep 1849, John Gillyatt BOOTH, brother or Sir Felix BOOTH, owners of Booth's Gin left an annuity of £600 to Sophia Coulton. Director of

Managing Director was insurance magnate John Augustus Beaumont. He soon began releasing large chunks of the northern half of the Wimbledon Park to wealthy individuals who commissioned architects and landscape gardeners to create prestigious homes.

He died 16 October 1849 . 3 Nov 1949.

Brentford, Cow Cross Street in Smithfield and Crouch End in Hornsey.

In July, 1857, a decree was made disallowing interest on the arrears of the annuities. £517 8s. for interest on the arrears of her annuity;.

In January 1863 the income from the estates became insufficient to pay the annuities. "Unexpected suspension" of Sophia Coulton's income, occasioned by some proceedings in Chancery .5-6 Dec 1860 & 31 Jan 1861, 10-11 Jun 1870 & &, and 31 Jan 1871 "arrears must be provided for out of accruing income" with reference to her brother D.T. Coulton 

APPLICATIONS TO THE ROYAL LITERARY FUND:

This loss of income from the estate of John Gillyatt BOOTH substantially affected the family.

1862 - Sophia and Sarah moved from with David's children to Bourbourg, Nord, France.

Between 31 Dec 1862 and 20 Jan 1863 Sarah Coulton successfully applied for £80 to Octavian BLEWITT at the from The Royal Literary Fund (case 1615). The application was supported by letters to and from Robert Bell, Benjamin Disraeli and John Murray.

From 24 Oct 1863 to 15 Feb 1867 Sophia Coulton applied for £50 (1863), £50 (1865) & £25 (1867) from The Royal Literary Fund (case 1629). The application was supported by letters to and from Robert Bell, Robert Cooke, C L Grunieson, John Murray, Samuel LUCAS, Anthony TROLLOPE, Chapman & Hall, Eliza BELL (Mrs Robert Bell), Anna Maria HALL.

1862 - Moved to Bourbourg, France

14 Sep 1873 - Wife Sarah died aged 49 in Rue des Gravelines, Bourbourg, France, and buried in the Protestant Cemetary of Dunkirk

17 Oct 1890 - Died - rue de Gravelines, Bourbourg, France, and buried in the Protestant Cemetary of Dunkirk

14 Nov 1890 - Probate granted to Irene - £1383 8s 4d