Author: A'Beckett, William
Biography:
A’BECKETT, William (1806-69: ADB)
He was born in London on 28 July 1806 to William A Beckett, solicitor, and his wife Sarah Abbott. He attended Westminster School before working in his father’s office; from there he went to Lincoln’s Inn where he was called to the bar in 1829. He turned to writing to supplement his income, contributing biographies to The Georgian Era, writing A Universal Biography (1835), and publishing The Censor and The Literary Beacon with two of his brothers. On 1 Oct. 1832 he married Emily Hayley at St. Pancras, London; they had four sons who survived infancy. On 15 Jan. 1837 he with his family, mother-in-law, and two of Emily’s sisters embarked for Sydney, arriving in Apr. 1837. There he rose quickly through the legal ranks. Emily died in June 1841 and on 30 Oct. 1849 he married her sister, Matilda, in Melbourne, Australia. He became Solicitor-General of New South Wales in Mar. 1841, acting judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales in July 1844, and judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria in Oct. 1846. He suffered from paralysis in his legs in the late 1840s and the family went to England in 1853 to seek medical assistance. Although his condition was unrelieved, he was able to travel on the continent with the help of his sons. In 1857 he retired and initially continued living in Melbourne. He returned to England in 1863 and died at his home in Upper Norwood, Surrey, on the 27 June 1869. His other publications include Out of Harness (1854)—an account of his European travels—and The Earl’s Choice and Other Poems (1863). (ADB 19 Apr. 2022; ODNB 19 Apr. 2022; ancestry.co.uk 19 Apr. 2022)
Other Names:
- William A Beckett