Author: Carr, John
Biography:
CARR, John (1732-1807: ODNB)
He was born at Muggleswick, Durham, the third of at least four children of Joseph Carr (1705-75), a farmer and small estate owner, and his wife Hannah Swinburne (1708-38), who married sometime after the date of their marriage bond, 4 September 1727. There is no record of his baptism. He was educated locally at the village school and then by Rev. Daniel Watson, the local curate, before proceeding to St. Paul’s in London. His father could not afford to send him to university. He became first usher then Master of Hertford Grammar School until about 1792 when he became Mayor of Hertford. He was said to have been a candidate for the mastership of St. Paul’s but the lack of a degree prevented his appointment. On the recommendation of James Beattie (q.v.) he was awarded the LLD in 1781 by Marischal College, Aberdeen. He married Mary Dacres (1734-1793) on 12 Jan. 1769 at Hertford. There is no record of any issue and no children are mentioned in his will. He was best known for his translation of Dialogues of Lucian (5 vols. 1773-98) and had earlier published minor poems and a poor continuation of Sterne’s Tristram Shandy. He also contributed to the Gentleman’s Magazine, with his work listed here first appearing there as “Ode to the River Derwent” (GM Sept. 1783, 784). He died on 6 June 1807 and was buried at St. John’s, Hertford, where there is a memorial plaque. (ODNB 21 Sept. 2022; Leeds Mercury 20 June 1807; GM Sept. 1783, 784, and June 1807, 596; John Nichols, Literary Anecdotes [1812], 3: 168-9, 8: 305-312) AA