Author: Devonshire, Charles
Biography:
DEVONSHIRE, Charles (1783-1851: Bibliotheca Cornubiensis)
pseudonym A Mechanic
He was born in Falmouth, Cornwall, on 10 Dec. 1783, the son of John Devonshire and his second wife, Jane Richards. They had married on 16 Sept. 1781. Nothing is known about his education but he became a joiner and cabinet maker, and was in partnership with his elder brother, John (d 1834), until 1814. His occupation is given as “builder” in the 1841 Census. On 1 Mar. 1809 he married Mary Hodge; they had at least four children—two sons and two daughters. On 23 Sept. 1830 he wrote to Walter Scott from Devonshire Place, Falmouth, to say that he had written a dramatic version of Scott’s novel, Kenilworth (1821). He published two more plays: Clara, or The Marriage Feast (1836) and The Sorceress of Saragoza (1846). The Tri Dead, issued in Salem MA in 1832 is attributed to him on the basis of the pseudonym, “A Mechanic,” which Devonshire had used for Clara. There is, however, no evidence of Devonshire being in Salem. The work is not included in Bibliotheca Cornubiensis although it lists two other plays by Devonshire—Eugene Aram and The Love Chase, or the Magic Phials—which were produced in Falmouth but not printed. Bibliotheca Cornubiensis gives his date of death as 15 Oct. 1851 in Indiana; it is not known when he travelled to America. (ancestry.co.uk 9 July 2023; findmypast.co.uk 9 July 2023; Bibliotheca Cornubiensis; Millgate; London Gazette 5 Mar. 1814) SR