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Author: Crawford, M.

Biography:

CRAWFORD, M. (fl 1814)

The Advertisement to his book describes the poem as “the first, the last, and only production” of the author, and M. Crawford seems to have stayed true to his word on this, despite an encouraging review from MR. The Advertisement also states that the author has taken on “an arduous profession.” The author may have been Matthew Crawford, a barrister of the Middle Temple, who was residing in Elm Court, Temple, at the time the book was printed in nearby Chancery Lane. If so, he was born in Staindrop, Durham, to William and Elizabeth Crawford and baptised on 8 Feb. 1789. He served as a clerk to a barrister, Francis Smales, in Durham from 1806 to 1811 before being called to the bar at the Middle Temple. He married Louisa Matilda Jane Montagu of Wiltshire on 13 Aug. 1822 at Saint Mary’s, Hampton; they do not seem to have had children. Louisa wrote songs and contributed to the Metropolitan Magazine; she died in 1857. Crawford died in North London Hospital and was buried at Kensal Green cemetery on 16 Sept. 1862. There is, however, no conclusive evidence that the M. Crawford who wrote The Olive Branch was Matthew Crawford the barrister. MR states that the proceeds from the publication were intended for a fund for the relief of the sufferers of the war in Germany. (ancestry.co.uk 26 Mar. 2024; O’Donoghue [for Louisa Crawford]; MR Nov. 1814, 326-28)

 

Books written (1):

London: Cadell and Davies, 1814